I think this is not directly politics but rather a discussion on nitrates so have posted here.
A selection of key quotes from the article:
Greenpeace is calling on the government to drastically cut the legal limit of nitrates in drinking water as the Danish government moves to drop its legal limit by almost 90 percent.
The Danish government plans to lower its limit to just over one milligram of nitrate-nitrogen per litre (mg/L) of drinking water, a steep drop from its current limit of 11.3mg/L.
New Zealand's current legal limit for nitrates in drinking water is 11.3 mg/L, but there was growing evidence of health impacts at levels as low as 1mg/L.
"The Danish government aren't operating off a secret playbook or anything, they don't know anything we don't know. They're just following the scientific evidence and choosing to prioritise people's health. Meanwhile, our government is burying its head in the sand," Appelbe said.
The panel's report quoted 2023 University of Copenhagen research, which found lowering nitrate contamination would save 2.2 billion Kroner ($580m NZD) by preventing approximately 127 cases of bowel cancer per year linked to the current nitrate levels.
Appelbe said the government was more concerned with protecting dairy industry profits than human health and he called for reductions in the size of the dairy herd, an end to ongoing dairy expansions and limits to the use of nitrate fertiliser.
Rural communities were disproportionately affected and faced considerable costs installing filters to make their water drinkable, he said.
"We need, as a country, to have a grown-up conversation about nitrate contamination in drinking water - the evidence is pretty overwhelming on what's causing it and there's a growing body of evidence that links risks to human health."
Appelbe said the current limit of 11.3mg/L is based on World Health Organisation guidance from the 1960s to avoid Blue Baby Syndrome, an acute illness that could affect babies.
A 2025 GNS Science research paper estimated there could be more than 21,200 people drinking water above the legal limit of 11.3 mg/L and 101,000 people drinking water above half that (5.65mg/L) across rural New Zealand.
The authors found Waikato, Canterbury and Southland were disproportionately affected by elevated levels of nitrate
Public health specialists had long advocated to lower the nitrate limit, primarily based on international research linking low levels of nitrate (5mg/L) with pre-term birth and colorectal cancer (0.87mg/L).
New research from Australia's Edith Cowan University and the Danish Cancer Research Institute found a link to early-onset dementia as low as 1.2mg/L with nitrates from processed meat and drinking water posing a higher risk, while nitrates from vegetables were associated with a lower risk.
Canterbury's dairy herd has increased by about 1000 percent since 1990 to well over a million cows.
Between 1990 and 2022, Southland's dairy herd increased by 1668 percent from 38,000 to 668,000 cows.
No compensation I would say. He's not declared innocent, the previous court deemed he likely did it.
I think the crown now needs to decide if they think they can win a case in front of a jury. If yes, they will probably charge him then go through the process similar to if it was a new arrest - decide if he is a risk to the public, and if so ask a judge not to grant bail. Then if approved he stays in custody until the trial has an outcome.
Edit: as per other comment he is apparently already on parole, so that would likely continue. It may influence the crown's decision whether to charge him again, as since he's out of prison it will probably be about his risk to the public now. If he's a risk, they would need to get him retried to maintain the (I'm assuming) life-long parole.