NZ's handbrake
OPINION: Your old mate gets the sinking feeling that no matter who we vote into power in the hope they will reverse the terminal slide the country is in, there will always be a cohort of naysayers determined to hold us back.
A controversial land swap deal which would have advanced the Ruataniwha dam scheme may now not go ahead.
This follows a successful appeal by Forest & Bird against a High Court decision which allowed the land swap so that the dam project could proceed. The dam is aimed at irrigating about 25,000ha of farm land in Central Hawke's Bay.
The Department of Conservation had proposed swapping 22ha of the Ruahine Forest Park for 170ha that the Hawke's Bay Regional Investment Co Ltd (HBRIC) proposed to buy from Smedley Station. This would have triggered a downgrade of the protected conservation status of the land to allow it to be flooded as part of the Ruataniwha scheme.
HBRIC, the investment arm of Hawke's Bay Regional Council, last year reached agreement with DOC to exchange the land.
The swap was agreed to last October, but Forest & Bird challenged the decision by the director-general of conservation, saying not only was it illegal, but it also had implications throughout New Zealand for specially protected land under the Conservation Act 1987.
"This land swap would have set a precedent for up to one million hectares of specially protected conservation land, which includes forest parks, conservation parks and ecological and wilderness areas," says Forest & Bird lawyer Sally Gepp.
"This case goes to the heart of the purpose of the Conservation Act 1987 and upholds Forest & Bird's position that specially protected conservation land should not be subject to commercial or political whim."
Award-winning boutique cheese company, Cranky Goat Ltd has gone into voluntary liquidation.
As an independent review of the National Pest Management Plan for TB finds the goal of complete eradication by 2055 is still valide, feedback is being sought on how to finish the job.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand has launched an AI-powered digital assistant to help farmers using the B+LNZ Knowledge Hub to create tailored answers and resources for their farming businesses.
A tiny organism from the arid mountains of mainland Greece is facilitating a new way of growing healthier animals on farms across New Zealand.
Alliance has announced a series of capital raise roadshow event, starting on 29 September in Tuatapere, Southland.
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