increase font size
Federated Farmers vice-president Karen Williams.
Federated Farmers is urging the Government not to try and push through radical reforms of the Resource Management Act (RMA) during the current pandemic.
Vice-president Karen Williams says all is not well with important pieces of the legislation.
"But before we replace the RMA, let's make sure the new legislation will drive better outcomes."
The Government is proposing a drastic overhaul of New Zealand's resource management framework with its Natural and Built Environments Bill.
"But from what we can see in the skeleton of the Bill available so far, things will be much worse, communities will be robbed of their ability to have their say on matters that affect them, there will be disruption to society and the economy, and the environment will be no better off," Williams claims.
"A big problem is not just with what we have seen to date but what is yet to come.
"We've only seen the bare bones of the proposed Natural and Built Environments Act (NBA) and nothing ot the other two pivotal Acts that are proposed to replace the RMA - the Strategic Planning Act and the Climate Change Adaption Act.
"We are effectively running blind at the moment due to a lack of detail," Williams adds.
She says, at this stage, there is no guarantee at all that the Bill will generate more benefits than costs and there is a significant risk of the reverse.
"We mus not under-estimate the costs of delay and the risk of drawn-out litigation that could stem from the lack of clarity. Large chunks of the economy are underpinned by consents and related resource management processes."
Feds' subission included suggested changes to Part 2 of the Bull (the purpose and related provisions), to turn it back to the terminology and concepts in the RMA.
"Any replacement legislation needs to keep local democracy, community stewardship and local identity. They belong at the heart of resource management."
Federated Farmers says new legislation replacing the Resource Management Act will cut red tape, unlock investment and help grow New Zealand's export-led economy, after the Planning Bill and Natural Environment Bill passed their third reading in Parliament yesterday.
Leading figures from the major political parties will be questioned on their primary sector policies at the Rural Issues Debate at Mystery Creek Events Centre, Hamilton, on 30 September.
OPINION: A founding principle of Groundswell NZ is that farmers, and people generally, should be provided with full and accurate information about regulations that directly affect them.
Will the good times last? That's one of the key issues to come out of the latest Federated Farmers confidence survey.
Mid Canterbury Federated Farmers arable chair, Bevan Lill, said Beef + Lamb NZ data indicated that for the last six years, the average arable return on investment was about 0.8% while inflation ran about 4% - so the average arable farm was going backwards at about 3% a year.
Synlait has swung to second-half profit as operations stabilise, but the dairy processor still posted a $75.4m annual loss.
LIC shareholders have elected a new North Island representative to the co-operative's Board, along with five representatives to its Shareholder Reference Group (SRG), following the company's Annual Meeting held in Invercargill.
Farmers across parts of Southland and South Otago are continuing to deal with difficult conditions after a prolonged run of wet weather, with pressure building around feed supply, stock management, pasture damage, farm infrastructure and everyday workloads.
Federated Farmers says it welcomes Labour's commitment to reviewing the Sharemilking Agreements Act, calling on other major parties to do the same.
For Canterbury dairy farmers Sian Meijer and Rick Wobben, wearable technology has become one of their most valuable on-farm tools - helping manage 1850 cows across an expansive, high-performing dairy operation while improving efficiency, mating outcomes and day-to-day decision making.
Fonterra has unveiled its annual results for the 2026 financial year, posting $27 billion in revenue and close to $20 billion returned to New Zealand farmer owners and unit holders.
