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Horticulture New Zealand president Andrew Fenton is calling for local government to streamline the resource consent process, saying it was holding the horticulture industry to ransom.
Speaking at the annual Horticulture New Zealand conference in Auckland, Fenton said: "Jumping through the complex and lengthy consent process is the biggest costs to growers."
Fenton said that last year HortNZ spent 30% of its levy funding advocating on resource management issues, the issue was that serious.
"We understand the importance and need for the Resource Management Act (RMA) in developing and protecting our country's natural resources, but that's not what we're questioning. It's how local councils are implementing the Act. Their systems are stifling growers from improving their businesses and ultimately their communities."
"We urge councils to revisit their resource management systems and work closely with their horticulture communities, because at the end of the day its growers' livelihoods and thousands of Kiwi jobs that are at stake."
HortNZ has estimated the RMA has cost the industry up to $30 million over the last 12 months in compliance costs.
Fenton welcomed the work Minister for Primary Industries David Carter and the Government have done to try and remove some of the obstacles in the RMA system and said HortNZ would be closely monitoring progress being made.
He also recognised Auckland Council, and the Taranaki and Environment Canterbury regional councils which have consistently demonstrated a positive attitude towards working alongside growers.
Horticulture New Zealand (HortNZ) and the Government will provide support to growers in the Nelson-Tasman region as they recover from a second round of severe flooding in two weeks.
HortNZ's CEO, Kate Scott says they are starting to see the substantial cumulative effects on their members of the two disastrous flood events in the Nelson Tasman region.
Dairy farmers are set to benefit from the radical sweeping changes the Government is planning to make to the regulations that form part of the Resource Management Act (RMA).
Horticulture New Zealand (HortNZ) says that commercial fruit and vegetable growers are getting ahead of freshwater farm plan regulations through its Growing Change project.
Nominations are open for three positions on the Horticulture New Zealand (HortNZ) board.
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