Federated Farmers Warn Government Is Running Out of Time on Freshwater Reform
With six months until the election, Federated Farmers says the Government is running out of time to deliver its long-promised reform to the country's freshwater system.
The petition at www.consentingcrisis.nz was launched in mid-November with no fixed end date.
Federated Farmers vice president Colin Hurst says the petition will be live until the Government listens and gives farmers a practical solution.
“The response has been huge. We had almost 2000 farmers sign the petition in the first week and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down. This is a real hot-button issue now,” he says.
He says Federated Farmers has heard the message loud and clear from members, particularly in places like Canterbury, that the resource consenting system is badly broken.
“Hard working farming families are being forced to fork out tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of dollars for what will ultimately be a very expensive but useless piece of paper,” he told Rural News.
“To make matters worse, often their applications are being processed at snail’s pace with endless paperwork, requests for information, additional fees and unnecessary delays.
“Why are farmers being put through this nonsense when the RMA is about to be thrown in the bin and replaced in a few months anyway? It’s absolutely outrageous and makes no sense.
“Farmers have had enough, so Federated Farmers are grabbing the bureaucratic bull by the horns and pushing hard for a solution to bridge the gap until the RMA is replaced.”
Hurst says farmers are really stepping up and sharing their consenting horror stories since the petition was launched.
“A lot of people have been going through this nightmare privately for a long time, but now they can see they’re not alone – there are hundreds of families in the exact same situation.
“I’m incredibly proud of those farming families who have come forward and spoken publicly, especially the likes of David Clark who was really the first to blow the whistle on the issue.
“It takes a lot of guts to put yourself out there and share your personal story, but it’s the only way we’re going to get a solution. Daylight is a great disinfectant for this kind of thing.”
