Submissions on river plans set to close

The council’s management has knocked back a request by farmer groups to extend the closing date; submissions for the Healthy River Plan Change close March 8.

Six farmer groups— Horticulture New Zealand, Federated Farmers, Pukekohe Vegetable Growers Association, Waikato and Waipa branches of the New Zealand Deer Farmers’ Association, Primary Land Users Group, and Beef + Lamb New Zealand— have filed a judicial review against the plan.

These groups claim that in making this decision, the WRC has failed to comply with requirements of the Resource Management Act (RMA) to ensure integrated management of the natural and physical resources of the region and to give effect to the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPSFM).

Since November last year, when the WRC withdrew 120,000 hectares from the plan to enable consultation with Hauraki iwi, the farmer groups have been trying to get the submission date deferred, or put on hold, while that consultation takes place.

Horticulture New Zealand chief executive Mike Chapman says he is disappointed by the “delay tactics” used by the council.

"We do not want to have to work through two separate submission processes, and spend a lot of time and money on lawyers and court processes.

"We have variously written, emailed, tried to talk to council and councillors, and appeared before council meetings.

But council chief executive Vaughan Payne says any extension could actually be against the interest of rural sector groups.

A decision on the plan change needs to be made within two years of it having been publicly notified last October.

“If we delay closing off the submissions on 8 March this will leave less time for us to work with submitters on resolving any issues prior to public hearings due to get underway late this year or early 2018. We want as much time as possible to do this before the two year deadline for a decision on the plan change is up.

“We indicated to Horticulture NZ before they filed their court application that we would rather spend our energies working with them to resolve issues than getting tied up in legal battles. But they and the others went ahead anyway.”

Payne stressed that it had been known since September last year that there was an 8 March 2017 deadline for submissions, four times the usual period required under the Resource Management Act.