UNLIKE so many countries these days, New Zealand is blessed with an abundance of freshwater. Its temperate climate, regular rainfall over much of the country, 3,800 lakes a hectare each or larger and 180,000 kilometres of rivers ensure a good supply. But who owns all this plenty? The government’s view is that no one owns it: not the state, nor any group or individual. But some leaders of the people who have lived in this country the longest, the Maori, would like to challenge that notion.

Maori claim a special relationship with New Zealand’s freshwater supply, based on their historical use of the rivers for transport and trade, drinking water, fishing and shellfish harvest, and spiritual practices, among other things. Their case goes back to February 1840, when the British Crown and most of the Maori tribes signed the treaty which first allowed for colonists’ settlement of the islands. Today the Maori’s claims have backing, as reflected in an interim ruling on freshwater by the Waitangi tribunal, a body set up in 1975 to address Maori grievances about land and related issues. The tribunal put it this way: "Maori have rights for which full ownership was the closest cultural equivalent in 1840."

While his government has been willing to talk about water rights with some Maori organisations, John Key, the prime minister, is adamant that “full ownership” of the country’s freshwater will not be ceded. When his government sought to change the status of a hydroelectricity generator called Mighty River Power in order to make possible its partial sale, a powerful group called the Maori Council, with representatives from each Maori district, sued to have the sale stopped or postponed. In 2012 the high court ruled against them, in favour of the government’s side. Mr Key hopes the freshwater issue can be settled—through political negotiation, not in the courts—by February of next year.

Water may be everywhere, but some parties need more than a drop to drink. Extensive irrigation for farming, especially for the dairy industry, is evident throughout New Zealand. The population of towns and cities is swelling rapidly through immigration, and urban centres draw vast amounts of water. In the countryside soaring sales of Kiwi dairy products, particularly the massive trade of milk powder to China, have encouraged investment by dairy farmers and resulted in the conversion of large tracts which had been pasture for sheep and cattle. The dairy industry, which is freshwater-intensive, has meanwhile become the country's biggest export earner by far. It brought in $10 billion in the year to February 2015, according to a provisional estimate; the next highest exports were of meat and offal, for $4.6 billion. Most of that milk for export is converted to powder and then shipped to China, now New Zealand’s second-largest market (after Australia).

Dairy farming is also polluting freshwater supplies, as phosphates and nitrates seep into the groundwater catchments. This has become a political issue throughout the country, not just for the Maori; many of the rivers and lakes loved by Maori and other Kiwis alike are no longer safe to use as swimming holes. Although farmers are required to fence in their livestock, away from rivers and creeks, enforcement leaves something to be desired.

In opposing Maori ownership of water resources Mr Key seems to be reading the politics carefully. Most New Zealanders dislike the idea of privatising water. But the prime minister cannot afford to refuse negotiating with the Maori, lest he face a backlash. In 2004 a Labour government overruled a court which had given the Maori title to the foreshore and seabed. There was a huge protest and the Maori Party was formed, some of its members having broken away from the Labour camp. The offending legislation was eventually undone. Today Mr Key's National Party leads a minority government which needs the support of the Maori Party from time to time.

No doubt there will be some form of compromise which avoids saying that anyone owns the freshwater. One proposed solution is that Maori get a specified allocation of water, just as farms do, from regional councils. Federated Farmers, an organisation to which the vast majority of farmers belong, argues however that all the available water has already been allocated and specifying any share for the Maori would mean limiting the amount available for others.