Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Lynette Dunn: Mahurangi Oyster Farmers' Association Chair on the million dollar payout from Watercare for sewage spill in the river

Transcript

Lynette Dunn: Mahurangi Oyster Farmers' Association Chair on the million dollar payout from Watercare for sewage spill in the river · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Water Care is set to pay one million dollars in
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: settlement to ten oyster farmers affected by a sewage spill.
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Around twelve hundred cubic metres of wastewater entered the Maharangi River,
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: forcing farmers to halt harvesting for nearly a month. And
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: Net Done is chair of the Oyster Farmers Association Mahudangi
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: Oyster Farmers Association joining me this morning, the net good morning,
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: Good morning. So a million bucks, What's how far does
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: that go?
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: It goes between ten farmers, So it's it's basically just
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: to get over at this little funt that we're just
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: going through at the moment. But there's further evaluations that
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: need to be done that need to be sort of
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: finalized with the amount of demage has been done to
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: the harbor and the reputation of the Mahangy oyster farmers
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: over the next two months.
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: Are there only ten farmers in the area or what
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: is are there others that have been affected that aren't
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: getting compensation.
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: There's ten farmers in the Maharana Harbor that are part
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: of the cost center. We have spent catching farmers that
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: are in the harbor, which They've got big operators. They
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: catch oysters from the Mahaing and transport them through to
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: the Corimandel and Cleveden.
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: How much do you reckon this has cost the individual farmers.
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: Everally farmers different, so like every farmer of farms and
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: their oiter is in a different way. So I can't
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: really sort of like put an exact pin number on
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: each farmer.
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: What does it do to your your reputation? I mean
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: if you're now, I mean I'm talking about Mahadania oysters
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: and I'm talking about sewerage.
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: Yeah, well, you know the biggest thing is, you know,
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: like what price do you put on not being able
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: to swim fish and eat delicious oysters? You know? A
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: million is not enough each Each and every day the
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: harvest shut their stories about wastewater and the oysters. Our
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: reputation as the Mahonging oyster farmers continues just to be
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: damaged and own it.
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: I completely agree with you. And they're not compensating for
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: that at this point, are they? It does seem it
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: does seem to be fair to them that lake water
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: Care is genuinely engaged like listening and talking and paying.
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: Is that fair.
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: For this sance, yes, but not others.
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: No, how many others.
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: We've had, like I think thirty two thirty five skills
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: throughout the last year we've been open probably about five
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: or six weeks for the whole year, So it's been
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: tougher for every farmer.
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: And this is the only one they're paying out for.
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: This is one of accepting liability for because it supposedly
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: was a power food that their pump stations have like failed.
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: Lynette, appreciate your trying this morning. Lyn Nette Done, chair
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: of the Mahangi Oyster Farmers Association. For more from early
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: edition with Ryan Bridge, some live to news talks. It'd
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: be from five am weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.