Hon DAVID PARKER (Minister for the Environment): The Government is committed to promoting freshwater ecosystem health throughout the country, including in Canterbury. Our essential freshwater work programme was set up in response to poor environmental outcomes, including the effects of excessive nitrogen on aquatic environments. Under the 2020 National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management, councils are required to improve water quality to meet a range of water-quality indicators, including for nitrates. I suppose increasing the amount of water entering an aquifer could, theoretically, reduce nutrient concentrations in groundwater downstream of that point if the new water wasn't, itself, contaminated by nitrates—but I'm not suggesting this is either a practical or desirable solution. Nitrate leaching into groundwater can be reduced through changing farm practices; we're supporting farmers to do this through the development of a nutrient risk index tool, improvements to OVERSEER, and freshwater farm plans.