increase font size
Jason Herrick, Feds Southand president.
Provisions in the Gore District Council's proposed district plan could have a "chilling effect" on everyday farming activities.
That's the view of Southland Federated Farmers president, Jason Herrick, who says a section in the plan designates the whole district as a 'Site and Area of Significance (SAMS) to Māori’, rather than just identifying specific sites as is the case with the present plan.
Herrick says the implication of such a blanket approach will mean that no farming activity, however mundane, can take place without a cultural report being prepared. He says this is a highly unusual approach to handling iwi interests.
"This is a cop-out on the part of the council. It means we won't be able to put up new fences, install a water tank, build a new shed, a silage pit, a rubbish pit and even repairing lane ways. For example, if we had an adverse event and a landslip came over a laneway, a farmer wouldn’t be able to clear that laneway until they had an assessment done. It’s weird,” he says.
Jason Herrick says farmers want to be respectful of genuine sites of significance for local iwi and to ensure proper protections are in place, but to declare the entire district as a site of significance is a massive overreach that is really going to put farmers’ noses out of joint and divide the community.
“Already we’ve got sites of significance to Māori identified on farm that are being protected and we are working with local rūnanga, and it confuses me as to why this has come about the way it has,” he says.
He says people will also need a cultural assessment for things like cycling and walking tracks, small-scale wind and hydro turbines, subdivisions and installing a septic tank. He says the proposed SAMS rules capture far more than is necessary.
“We’re incredibly concerned they will just add cost, delay and paperwork – for absolutely no gain.”
Herrick says Southland Federated Farmers and some of its individual members have made submissions to the council proposal and make the point that they acknowledge the Māori view of guardianship over land, areas of interest and landscapes. But they point out that the rights of landowners are paramount and must be prioritised.
Commenting on their submission, the council says: “The Gore District Plan manages the impacts of high-risk activities on Ngāi Tahu cultural values, as opposed to restricting a wide range of activities at specific locations. This allows decisions and, where relevant, controls to be meaningful and tailored to the relevant Ngāi Tahu cultural values that are being impacted.”
Herrick says the GDC hasn’t done due diligence on the SAMS proposal and should have pressed iwi harder to define sites of significance.
The consultation period for the plan runs until March 2025 and no final decision is due until then. But Jason Herrick says they have gone public to warn farmers around the country that other councils might try to do the same thing.
OPINION: Recent media commentary from Southland Federated Farmers has raised concerns among our rural communities, particularly around Environment Southland’s approach to winter grazing inspections and nitrogen reporting. But let’s be clear, much of what’s been said simply doesn’t reflect reality.
OPINION: Environment Canterbury's (ECan) decision recently to declare a so-called “nitrate emergency” is laughable.
A shameless political stunt is how Federated Farmers is describing the Canterbury Regional Council decision to declare “a nitrate emergency” on the back of its latest annual groundwater quality survey.
Federated Farmers say Environment Canterbury's decision to declare a 'nitrate emergency' is a shameless political stunt that won't help anyone.
Farmers want the Government to scrap controversial freshwater rules that "put river spirits and ideology ahead of practical water use", says Federated Farmers board member Mark Hooper.
According to ASB, Fonterra's plan to sell it's Anchor and Mainlands brands could inject $4.5 billion in additional spending into the economy.
New Zealand’s trade with the European Union has jumped $2 billion since a free trade deal entered into force in May last year.
The climate of uncertainty and market fragmentation that currently characterises the global economy suggests that many of the European agricultural machinery manufacturers will be looking for new markets.
Dignitaries from all walks of life – the governor general, politicians past and present, Maoridom- including the Maori Queen, church leaders, the primary sector and family and friends packed Our Lady of Kapiti’s Catholic church in Paraparaumu on Thursday October 23 to pay tribute to former prime Minister, Jim Bolger who died last week.
Agriculture and Forestry Minister, Todd McClay is encouraging farmers, growers, and foresters not to take unnecessary risks, asking that they heed weather warnings today.
With nearly two million underutilised dairy calves born annually and the beef price outlook strong, New Zealand’s opportunity to build a scalable dairy-beef system is now.
OPINION: Voting is underway for Fonterra’s divestment proposal, with shareholders deciding whether or not sell its consumer brands business.
OPINION: Politicians and Wellington bureaucrats should take a leaf out of the book of Canterbury District Police Commander Superintendent Tony Hill.
