Help shape the future of farm plastics recycling - Simmonds
The Government is calling on rural New Zealanders to share their views on proposed regulations designed to improve the management of farm plastic waste.
Environment Canterbury says it is pausing the development of its Regional Policy Statement following changes in government direction on freshwater management.
New legislation introduced in October states that Councils cannot notify freshwater planning instruments for public consultation before 31 December 2025 or until a new National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management is introduced.
Councillors have also voted to engage with Minister for the Environment Penny Simmonds to clarify if there is a pathway to notify its Plan Change 8 prior to January 2026.
Plan Change 8 would enable decision-making following the Supreme Court decision in the Cloud Ocean Water Limited v Aotearoa Water Action case.
The court found that the Resource Management Act did not require take and use to be considered conjointly in all cases and take and use do not need to be considered separately where a plan does not prescribe it.
Plan Change 8, Environment Canterbury says, aims to create a pathway for key infrastructure work that intercept groundwater to be able to apply for consent, even in fully allocated zones.
Environment Canterbury chair Craig Pauling says the decision to pause both the Regional Policy Statement and Plan Change 8 was tough.
However, he says that given the changes to the Resource Management Act already in place and with further changes signalled, councillors had decided it was prudent to put the work on pause.
“I’d like to thank all the staff for their work and the community for their engagement in this mahi to date and to reassure them that input will inform our future planning work,” Pauling says.
“We will continue to work with our communities to achieve the best outcomes for Canterbury/Waitaha.”
Federated Farmers supports a review of the current genetic technology legislation but insists that a farmer’s right to either choose or reject it must be protected.
New Zealand’s top business leaders are urging the US Administration to review “unjustified and discriminatory tariffs” imposed on Kiwi exporters.
New tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump signal an uncertain future, but New Zealand farmers know how to adapt to changing conditions, says Auriga Martin, chief executive of Farm Focus.
A global trade war beckons, which is bad news for a small open economy like New Zealand, warns Mark Smith ASB senior economist.
Carterton's Awakare Farm has long stood as a place where family, tradition and innovation intersect.
Fonterra says the US continues to be an important market for New Zealand dairy and the co-op.
OPINION: At last, a serious effort to better connect farmers and scientists.
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