Govt to extend farming resource consents for 24 months

A second bill will then ‘freeze’ all resource consents until new regional plans are in place, at which point farmers will have 24 months to apply for any consents they still require. Farmers will still have the same environmental conditions placed on them that their current resource consent requires.

Today’s announcement will be music to the ears of farmers voicing growing frustration with regional councils, resource consents, and the cost of compliance.

Federated Farmers is happy that the Government will be taking urgent steps to end the spiraling consenting crisis that has been hammering farmers and rural communities.

"This is a really practical and pragmatic step from the Government that will be a relief for thousands of farming families," says Federated Farmers vice president Colin Hurst.

"Consenting issues have been a hot topic in rural New Zealand with a lot of people wondering how the transition to new resource management laws will work in practice.

"Farmers have been faced with huge costs and uncertainty with consenting processes taking months - in some cases years. Quite rightly, they’ve been asking questions.

"Today all those questions have been answered with confirmation that all existing resource consents will be rolled over until the new resource management system is up and running."

"Many farmers and growers will also have Farm Environment Plans, so the checks and balances will remain in place while the new system is stood up," Hurst says

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A new transitional consenting regime will also be established from mid-2026 so new applicants can benefit from the incoming system, which is expected to be much simpler and lower cost.

"This is a huge win for common sense - but also for Federated Farmers grassroots advocacy on behalf of our members. We’re proud to have led the charge on this issue," Hurst says.