The future of water use in New Zealand is slightly clearer after the release of a draft policy statement by the Land and Water Forum.

The forum – a collection of nearly 60 stakeholders from farming, environmental and local government backgrounds – delivered 53 recommendations to the Government on water infrastructure, allocation and quality.

Environment Minister Nick Smith says the statement is a good start, but is too prescriptive, and more work is needed before a policy can be formalised.

“These aren’t short term issues, there will be some action next year in response to this report.

There’s got to be a balance between improving our management on the impacts on freshwater quality, and the infrastructure around storage, to the benefit of our economy.”

Federated Farmers agrees the report is only a platform for the real work to begin.

Water spokesperson Lachlan McKenzie says not every farmer will be happy with its contents, but the forum has hit most of the right notes.

“There will be people that will have a divergence of views, saying we haven’t gone far enough, and those that will say we’ve gone too far.

"And if we’ve got those in balance, we’ve probably got it about right.”

Forest & Bird is welcoming the statement.

Advocacy manager Kevin Hackwell, one of the trustees of the Forum, says the biggest step has been the consensus on improving water management, which should ensure its long term security.

“It was about people realising that there is an issue we’ve grappled with for a long time

"We’ve grappled with it in a confrontational manner, through the courts and whatnot, so it’s in everybody’s best interests that we sort this out in a non-litigious manner."

Mr Hackwell says the Government now has no excuse not to get it right.

"I’m sure the Government will see the sense of this, it’s the great advantage of all the major stakeholders coming together and getting to an agreement.

"It makes it very difficult for a Government to do something different, where do they go at that point?

"Why would they do something different, when all stakeholders have agreed on another course of action?”