increase font size
Waikato Regional Council chief executive Chris McLay says the plan change is one step closer.
Following twelve years of litigation, a conclusion could be in sight of Waikato’s controversial Plan Change 1 (PC1).
The Environment Court has given Waikato Regional Council until 25 July to respond to its interim decision on the plan, which the council has argued would improve water quality in the Waikato and Waipa rivers.
The court has indicated that it will likely reconvene the hearing in September to consider any proposed amendments.
Work on Waikato Plan Change 1 began in 2012 and it was formally notified in 2016.
Waikato Regional Council chief executive Chris McLay says PC1 is a complex plan change which has been in development for 12 years.
He says council staff will need time to digest the interim decision and address the court’s 35 directions.
“The policies and rules are still not operative, but this interim decision takes the plan change one step closer,” McLay says.
“For farmers and growers, it means there’s no action required right now until a final determination by the court,” he adds.
However, Waikato Federated Farmers president Phil Sherwood says concerns remain.
“Farmers have engaged constructively in the process for over a decade now, but the plan has been stuck in an endless cycle of hearings, appeals and Environment Court processes,” Sherwood says.
“When it comes to farming rules, Waikato farmers are looking for some certainty, but we also need to know rules will be practical, affordable and fair.”
Sherwood says that farmers have been subject to an “incredibly long and expensive process”.
“We’ve spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal costs, and countless volunteer hours,” he says.
“This plan change will have a huge impact on farming families and businesses. It will cover everything from fencing requirements right through to farm environmental plan standards.”
He says PC1 would be the most significant change to Waikato farming rules in more than a generation.
“Under these rules, almost all farmers are going to need a farm environment plan and some will now require a resource consent to continue farming.
“This is largely in line with where national regulation has been heading for a while now and some farmers will already have a farm plan of some description in place.
“Our team are now working through the detail to understand what additional requirements, if any, might be put in place for Waikato farmers over and above existing requirements.”
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.
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.
Graduates of a newly-updated Agri-Women’s Development Trust (AWDT) course are taking more value than ever from the programme, with some even walking away calling themselves the “farm CFO”.
Meet the Need, a farmer-led charity, says food insecurity in New Zealand is dire, with one in four children now living in a household experiencing food insecurity, according to Ministry of Health data.
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.
