Sewage flows direct into Shotover River – QLDC on fragile legal ground

At 8.00 am this morning sewage started to flow through a new channel created by engineers over the weekend – but the new channel is not draining the blocked disposal field.

This failure to empty the disposal field may undermine or even render invalid the “emergency” powers QLDC is using for the non-consented discharge

The disposal field is home to a few birds that are at the centre of the QLDC’s declared “emergency” – the risk of a bird strike at the nearby Queenstown airport.

The Resource Management Act has a very clear definition of the level of emergency required to trigger emergency powers being used.

Section 330/330A of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA):

“Any sudden [event] causing or likely to cause loss of life, injury, or serious damage to property.”

 Crux has reported on the fact that the Queenstown airport bird strike team did not mention the bird strike sewage connection once during an entire afternoon spent with Crux on February 13, 2025. They said the main problem was plovers nesting in grass near the airfield boundary.

We have taken samples from both the new channel and the disposal field this morning.

The new channel does not appear to be connected in any way to the disposal field and a QLDC staff member on site this morning told Crux that the plan for the future rested on a hope that disposal would drain naturally.

That plan seems optimistic at best given that council infrastructure boss Tony Avery authorised $700,000 on a non-consented wall around the field last April, in the same hope, but the field continued to floor and in September 2024 the council had to admit defeat and install a non-consented discharge pipe that has been flooding a nearby recreation reserve and flowing into the Kawarau River.

Veolia boss refuses to speak – local MP becomes a council friendly TV reporter

As we dropped off our water samples this morning we came across Veolia regional manager Marcus Warren and asked for his comment on the bird strike “emergency”. Mr Warren refused to comment and said we should not be outside his office on a pubic footpath that leads to the independent testing laboratory used by Crux.

Veolia (ex QLDC) boss Marcus Warren today - "no comment"

Also this morning local MP Joseph Mooney, who has so far refused to take a clear position on the sewage crisis, tried his hand at being a TV reporter. He conducted an friendly interview with council infrastructure manager Simon Mason at the Shotover plant. Mr Mooney said he had seen “a lot of ducks” today, apparently not aware the new sewage  discharge does not affect the disposal field and therefore won’t help reduce the number of ducks near the airport.

Lawyer raises questions over use of emergency RMA powers.

Crux spoke with environmental lawyer Shona Walter  today regarding the emergency powers used by the QLDC to allow today’s discharge of up to 12,000 cubic metres a day for up to five years.

Ms Walter highlighted the serious nature of the RMA emergency powers and cited the Christchurch earthquakes as an example of the situation where such power become most usual.

Environment lawyer Shona Walter - emergency powers can be challenged legally

She also mentioned the general risk to an organisation of being seen as “cowboys” if they took the approach of “it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.”

Asked whether the emergency powers could be challenged or tested legally Ms Walter said that such challenges were possible but expensive.

She also mentioned that the principle of “public nuisance” has been established as a legal liability capable of being tried in court, in the case of Smith vs Fonterra on the issue of climate change.

A public protest is being held tomorrow (Tuesday April 1) by the advocacy group Queenstown Lakes Community Action at 10 Gorge Road (QLDC offices) at 1.00 pm when councillors will meet to vote on removing committee roles from Councillor Nikki Gladding as well as potential launching a Code of Conduct investigation.

Crux has launched a survey to gauge community sentiment on the action against council Gladding … these are the results so far form 619 respondents.