increase font size
B+LNZ chair Kate Acland says the announcement provides farmers with further clarity.
There's been widespread support from the primary sector for the Government's move to put the brakes on local authorities to do any more work on planning changes ahead of major changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA).
Federated Farmers and Beef+Lamb NZ have both praised the Government's action, saying it will give greater clarity to farmers.
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop says much of the planning changes that local authorities were about to start work on would not be completed or implemented by the time the new RMA changes would be made in the next couple of years.
"So rather than let these pricey, pointless planning and policy processes play out, the Government will be giving councils clarity on where to focus their efforts while they await the new planning system," he says.
Under the Government's new directive, only plans that have reached the 'hearing stage' can proceed, but the notification of any new changes is now prohibited. There is a provision for a local authority to appeal to go ahead with a plan change in exceptional circumstances, mainly around natural hazards.
But Bishop says he wants to make it clear that stopping plan changes does not mean stopping progress on work that supports the Government's priorities in areas like housing, intensification and urban development.
B+LNZ chair Kate Acland says the announcement provides farmers with further clarity over the coming months. She says they have repeatedly raised concerns about rules coming out of regional planning processes, with significant implications for farmers.
She says last year the Government restricted regional councils from notifying any freshwater planning instruments before 31 December 2025, but that date was looming before any new rules were in place.
“Without a further delay, councils would have restarted their processes based on the current rules. It’s therefore positive to see this deadline pushed out further, as it is something we’d been asking for,” she says.
Federated Farmers RMA reform spokesperson Mark Hooper says councils across New Zealand have been continuing to push ahead with new district plans that put farms under restrictive overlays, such as Outstanding Natural Landscapes and Significant Natural Areas.
He says this is despite the fact that any plan changes may only have a shelf life of months, given the Government intends to pass a new Resource Management Act next year.
“It’s a huge waste of time – and ratepayers’ money.”
Hooper says work on these new rules is pointless when the current RMA will be scrapped within 12 months and all the councils are doing is creating angst and confusion, and wasting bucketloads of ratepayer money.
Academic Dr Mike Joy and his employer, Victoria University of Wellington have apologised for his comments suggesting that dairy industry CEOs should be hanged for contributing towards nitrate poisoning of waterways.
A comment by outspoken academic Dr Mike Joy suggesting that dairy industry leaders should be hanged for nitrate contamination of drinking/groundwater has enraged farmers.
Federated Farmers says the final report into banking competition is a significant step forward for rural New Zealand - and a vindication of the farming sector's concern.
Farmer lobby group Federated Farmers has announced it is supporting a new Member’s Bill which it says could bring clarity to New Zealand farmers and save millions in legal costs.
Federated Farmers says climate protest group Greenpeace is manufacturing outrage and attempting to scare New Zealanders with headlines that have no basis in science.
A landmark New Zealand trial has confirmed what many farmers have long suspected - that strategic spring nitrogen use not only boosts pasture growth but delivers measurable gains in lamb growth and ewe condition.
It was recently announced that former MP and Southland farmer Eric Roy has stepped down of New Zealand Pork after seven years. Leo Argent talks with Eric about his time at the organisation and what the future may hold.
It's critical that the horticulture sector works together as part of a goal to double the sector’s exports by 2035.
RaboResearch, the research arm of specialist agriculture industry banker Rabobank, sees positives for the Alliance Group in its proposed majority-stake sale to Ireland's Dawn Meats.
The ACT Party's call for a better deal on the Paris Agreement on climate change is being backed by farmer organisations.
A 50% tariff slapped by the US on goods from India last month has opened an opportunity for New Zealand wool carpets exports to North America.
OPINION: One particular bone the Hound has been gnawing on for years now is how the chattering classes want it…
OPINION: Our Aussie mates never miss a chance to put one over us, as seen in a recent op-ed by…
