We need environmental experts, not bean counters

The title for this post is the byline for a column from the August 30 edition of The Listener by Sarah Barnett.
Sarah describes the toxic legacy of a shamefully polluted Fruitgrowers plant in Mapua and the equally shameful efforts to clean it up.

Not that cleaning the site up wasn't the right idea, but the the effort itself was beset by a lack of operational experience that points to a need to provide a system of independent experts that are capable of overseeing any future efforts.

I found it interesting that she made the point that currently New Zealand's environment is protected by lawyers and accountants.
Now personally, I'm sure that there are some very decent members of each profession who have the good of the environment at heart. However, that warm glow doesn't pay the bills.

In my opinion, environmental policy is driven by chequebook toting conglomerates that flog a team of legal and financial mercenaries in front of them. What drives environmental policy is typically the greed to get more for less at the expense of the environment.
What stands in their way are generally shocked ordinary citizens that suddenly find themselves in the glare of the oncoming headlights of big business. These everyday people are woefully equipped to withstand the experience and arrogance of these economic juggernauts and Sarah Barnett's call for independent experts to be employed by the Ministry for the Environment is a well aimed stone, right between the eyes.