By failing to protect our water we have failed everything New Zealanders value | Tom Kay

Delaying freshwater reform would be a disastrous step backwards and could be the final nail in the coffin for our rivers, lakes and wetlands

New Zealand is blessed with water. Fresh water flows from our snow and glacier-clad mountains, through our farms and cities, to the sea. Rivers have deep cultural values and one, the Whanganui, has been recognised as having the rights of a person. For Kiwis, our economy, our health, and our way of life depends on clean water.

But our dependence on fresh water has not stopped decades of abuse. Now, our rivers and lakes are in serious trouble. On Thursday, a wide-ranging, data-driven report into the state of New Zealand's rivers, lakes and freshwater ecosystems was released by two government departments, the Ministry for the Environment and Statistics NZ. Their findings, delivered during a nationwide Covid-19 lockdown, couldn't be more alarming. Our freshwater ecosystems are at breaking point; the damage is overwhelming and in some cases irreversible.