Dark Sky group sees national lighting controls protecting heritage

Dark Sky Reserve street light reflects downwards _ not up (Sackville St, Martinborough).

Martinborough’s founding dark sky reserve group had an early lucky break _ streetlights across Wairarapa’s towns were about to be changed in a bulk deal.

Instead, Waka Kotahi/NZ Transport Agency agreed to install “dark sky friendly” lighting _ even though that style was not their initial choice. But as the proposed replacement “didn’t cost any more,” (it saved on electricity) the more dark sky friendly alternative was installed. 

Wairarapa Dark Sky Reserve’s international designation followed two-plus years later – the second such international approval in New Zealand.

With a dozen dark sky places across the country, the local dark sky group is now advocating for nationwide regulatory change to ensure national public lighting controls are put into the law to address expanding light pollution. And to protect the future of our pristine skies.

Wairarapa Dark Sky Reserve recommends that artificial light at night should be governed by national legislation and environmental standards – just as soil, air and water pollution currently are. Noise pollution is regulated and standards for it are established for enforcement at local council level.

In the absence of a national light pollution regulatory framework, every community has to mount its own efforts to persuade its local council to amend outdoor lighting provisions of the local District Plan. “That is time-consuming, expensive and very inefficient.”

The group told a recent national New Zealand Starlight Conference which included the Royal Astronomical Society NZ (RASNZ) and dark sky groups that the current legislative and regulatory framework for addressing light pollution in New Zealand is clearly inadequate. 

For example, the Resource Management Act, which is in the process of being replaced by new legislation, doesn’t mention it. This gap must be addressed in the legislation which will replace the about-to-be updated RMA. 

“As an example, we would like to see all of New Zealand’s national parks accredited as Dark Sky Reserves. The Department of Conservation should be encouraged to investigate this possibility as a priority. It should be relatively easily achieved and would do much to raise awareness of the importance of reducing artificial light at night,” the group said.

“The Dark Sky movement in Aotearoa enjoys wide community support. Establishing Matariki as a National Holiday recognises this and should be but the first step on the path of us becoming a country that offers strong and widespread protection for our night skies.”

Much of New Zealand would qualify for Dark Sky protection under the criteria set down by Dark Sky International, the world-wide regulatory group.