Fish and Game opposes dams

Fish and Game's interests are "diametrically opposed" to damming any further free-flowing rivers, Otago council chairman John Barlow says.

Mr Barlow's comments follow a presentation and discussion with representatives from Contact Energy in a public-excluded session before its council meeting in Dunedin last week.

Contact is seeking public opinion on old plans for four hydro-electricity projects, ranging in cost from an estimated $300 million to $1.5 billion on the Clutha River - Tuapeka Mouth (350MW), Queensberry (160MW), Luggate (86MW) or Beaumont (185MW).

The one-hour "workshop" was held behind closed doors to provide for a "free and frank" discussion, the council meeting's agenda said.

Mr Barlow said Fish and Game was opposed to damming any further free-flowing rivers.

It was hard to take any comfort from Contact saying that its policy was to first consider rivers already dammed or modified, since decisions were ultimately made at government level, he said.

While the company might think enough protections were in place through the Resource Management Act and other legislation, Fish and Game was not too confident.

It believed conservation orders were the best tool to protect rivers, although it would not try for an order on the lower Clutha as it was so modified, he said.

"We think that is open to manipulation and political pressure, so really a conservation order is the gold standard."

rebecca.fox@odt.co.nz