Feds, council at loggerheads

But the Otago Regional Council says it disagrees with claims from Feds that residents and landowners have been kept in the dark, saying there has been an open consultation process.

Luke Kane, Federated Farmers Otago president, says that since the release of draft regulations, significant changes have been made, but because of the “secretive nature” of the consultation process, the local community has been left in the dark.

“This is serious stuff and there needs to be some urgency,” he says. “The rules are scheduled to come into force in October and will have immediate legal effect.”

Kane says he would like to know how the principle of Te Mana o te Wai will be applied under the new regulations. Te Mana o te Wai, introduced by the previous Labour Government, encompasses six principles relating to the roles of tangata whenua and other New Zealanders in the management of freshwater.

“Our local councils need to be up front and let our community know how they plan to give effect to Te Mana o te Wai and how much it’s going to cost us,” Kane says.

“Federated Farmers are incredibly concerned about how the principle of Te Mana o te Wai may be applied in the Otago region and what it might mean for our community."

He says that council engagement has led to a view that no treated wastewater that has passed through a human body can be discharged back into local waterways.

“This would mean that wastewater, despite being treated to an incredibly high standard, would need to be discharged to land at significant cost to ratepayers.”

Additionally, he says, there are concerns for irrigated farmers that water that has been drawn from one waterway will not be able to be discharged into another.

“This is because of beliefs that each waterbody has a distinct mauri, or spirit, and mixing mauri would reduce the mana of the water,” he explains.

However, Otago Regional Council general manager planning and transport, Anita Dawe, says the consultation on Te Mana o te Wai took place in late 2020 and 2021, as part of the development of the council’s Regional Policy Statement.

“The process involved a number of meetings across Otago to share the draft policy statement and get feedback, as well as online feedback options,” Dawe told Dairy News.

She says that the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020 requires every regional council to include an objective that describes how the management of freshwater will give effect to Te Mana o te Wai.

She says that when the statement was notified, Te Mana o Te Wai was consulted on, with submissions and hearings, resulting in amendments.

Currently, Te Mana o te Wai is under appeal to the High Court for how it has been interpreted for Otago.

Otago Regional Council chairperson Gretchen Robertson told Dairy News that because Te Mana o te Wai will largely be implemented through the Land and Water Regional Plan, currently in development, it is difficult to tell how it will be applied.

“It is important that the draft plan has an aspirational goal and a practical lens. This includes for activities such as wastewater discharges,” Robertson says.

“Like all regions, investment in wastewater infrastructure upgrades is needed for systems that will not meet the needs of current and future communities,” she adds. “Despite the unfounded criticism, the plan is actually about creating appropriate consenting pathways, acknowledging that upgrades will happen over realistic timeframes and, on a scale, commensurate with their impacts.”