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An independent review has found Waikato Regional Council’s evidence gathering processes “appropriate, robust, lawful and up to date”.
It also says the council uses best practice when making enforcement decisions when investigations are finished.
In May this year the council started a review of how it investigated farmers’ non-compliance with the Resource Management Act and how it dealt with these malefactors. This was prompted by criticisms of the council’s enforcement actions.
The findings of the review panel, headed by Wellington solicitor Tom Gilbert and including farmers, iwi, regulators, transport and energy people, were last month presented to the council by Gilbert.
He told councilors that 1400-1500 potential or actual breaches of rules were dealt with each year. Formal enforcement action in response to these cases was “very low” as a percentage of the total. This represented a “conservative” approach, he said.
The size of fines handed down by the courts showed that judges were taking council initiated cases seriously.
“The council does enforcement really well,” Gilbert said. “It might not always be popular but that’s obviously not the point.”
Gilbert says the council’s investigative processes are nationally ‘leading edge’, comparing favourably with some other regulators. “The public should have confidence the right matters… are being prosecuted,” he says.
Rawhiti Environmental Park Limited has been convicted on eight charges and fined a total of $437,000 for persistent discharges of raw piggery effluent into the environment between February and October 2023.
The Government has issued a stern warning to regional councils and unitary authorities to toe the line in respect upcoming changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA).
Changes to resource management laws announced last week will spare thousands of farmers from needing an unnecessary resource consent just to keep farming.
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As the sector heads into the traditional peak period for injuries and fatalities, farmers are being urged to "take a moment".
Federated Farmers says almost 2000 farmers have signed a petition launched this month to urge the Government to step in and provide certainty while the badly broken resource consent system is fixed.
Zespri’s counter-seasonal Zespri Global Supply (ZGS) programme is underway with approximately 33 million trays, or 118,800 tonnes, expected this year from orchards throughout France, Italy, Greece, Korea, and Japan.
Animal owners can help protect life-saving antibiotics from resistant bacteria by keeping their animals healthy, says the New Zealand Veterinary Association.
According to analysis by the Meat Industry Association (MIA), New Zealand red meat exports reached $827 million in October, a 27% increase on the same period last year.
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