Tuesday, 27 August 2024 13:25

Greenmail?

Written by The Hound

font size decrease font size increase font size
Print
Email

OPINION: In the latest example of how broken the RMA consents process is, Meridian Energy has paid out DoC, Fish & Game and iwi rather than risk them blocking the renewal of consents that it needs to keep running its Waitaki hydro scheme.

It's an open secret that it's easier to grease palms than it is to risk getting tied up for years by 'greenmail' demands from rent seekers.

In this case, Meridian agreed to pay, over 35 years, $73.5m to DoC, $2.8m to Central South Island Fish & Game, and an estimated, 'confidential' $104m to Ngai Tahu.

This old mutt reckons this is the tip of the iceberg - the consent process is buggered and is killing development.

The coming overhaul can't come soon enough.

More like this

True Reflection?

A fair question has been raised about how member-funded organisations should conduct themselves when taking a public position on any given issue.

Stuffed!

The canine crusader always has his nose in the air for more media maleficence, so was pointing as soon as he saw the Stuff headline: ‘Wellington residents respond to PM saying he doesn’t need his job!’.

Civil Circus!

OPINION: It really is getting harder to lampoon government bureaucrats when they do such a good job of it themselves.

Anyone in the primary sector will know about the clowns covering the countryside in the red tape we all have to wade through.

Spare a thought then for media outfit Stuff who were threatened with fines up to $200,000 by a snivelling civil servant from the MoH for illustrating a quiz question with a photo of part of the cover of a 45-year-old copy Playboy.

As Stuff notes, “It wasn’t the Playboy cover which caused offence. No, it was the back page which… featured an advert for a cigarette brand”.

As Regulations Minister David Seymour notes, “The real scandal here is, well, no wonder we’ve got problems in healthcare when they’re doing the Stuff quiz during work time.”

Ewe Zealand First

OPINION: After all the criticism that Winston Peters leveled at the India/NZ FTA, it seemed just a trifle ironic to the Hound that the first NZ politician to visit India after Prime Minister Modi's visit was a member of the Ewe Zealand First party.

First H5 Bird Flu Case Confirmed in NZ

New Zealanders are being urged to be alert following a confirmed positive case of H5 bird flu this week.

Featured

Farm Safety Improves Through 'Incremental Gain', Says Birkett

Improving health and safety is about incremental gain rather than a sudden decision, says Leeston farmer and Federated Farmers health and safety spokesman David Birkett.

Editorial: The Price of Progress

OPINION: Alistair Carmichael raises some interesting questions about striking a balance between profitability in farming and preserving the character of rural communities.

NZ Ploughing Champions' Gear Stuck at Sea Before Worlds

Ploughing champions Mark Dillon and Malcolm Taylor earned the right to represent the country at the World Ploughing Championships in Osijek, Croatia, on 5 and 6 September, after winning their titles at the New Zealand Ploughing Championships in Middlemarch in 2025.

Gallagher Adds Second Production Line as Wearables Boom

The man appointed to lead Gallagher's global Animal Management business through the next stage of growth believes the wearables boom is here.

Moxham Family's Organic Milk Now Comes as Gelato

Horowhenua organic dairy farmers Ange and Wayne Moxham have taken their business to a new level.

Faulkner: Take Rural Infrastructure Out of Politics

Federated Farmers' new vice president Sandra Faulkner says the issue of adverse events emergency management and infrastructure needs to be taken out of the three-year political cycle.