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MILLAN RUKA INTERVIEW CLICK HERE
Pūtea to clean up the rivers flowing into the Kaipara Harbour has been welcomed by a man who wages a daily fight for the awa.
Millan Ruka patrols the catchment to indentify sources of pollution such as unfenced stock.
He says the $12 million on offer is will be spread among a number of catchments, so it will be up to farmers and others to pitch in with tree planting and fencing.
"There is a lot of farmers doing great work. In the last four years we have seen a lot of fencing go up but there is a lot more to go and of course Fonterra has to step up. They assess their own fencing. The Northland Regional Council doesn't do that, so there is lack of the right enforcement around fencing and and stock exclusion," Mr Ruka says.
Millan Ruka sediment is adding a 10 millimetre layer to the Kaipara floor every year, choking the seagrass beds where fish breed, while nitrates and e-coli are degrading water quality.
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