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Federated Farmers RMA spokesperson Mark Hooper.
OPINION: New data out last month shows why farmers want the broken Resource Management System fixed, quickly.
Councils are processing fewer new resource consents, doing so more slowly than ever, while at the same time employing a record-high number of staff to do it. That’s according to the Ministry for the Environment’s National Monitoring System data report for 2022-23.
During the 12 months, the proportion of new resource consents being notified remained below 2.5%. At the same time, the median processing time for new resource consents increased from 46 working days to 57 working days and councils employed their highest number of full-time equivalent staff for resource management. A total of 2262 staff were employed across all of New Zealand’s councils, nearly 400 more than the 1891 staff employed in 2020-21.
According to Federated Farmers, all the key trends continue to go in the wrong direction and shows just how badly the current resource management system is serving New Zealanders.
Feds spokesperson for RMA reform, Mark Hooper points out that numbers don’t lie.
“We have a problem with the RMA, and it needs urgent attention,” Hooper says.
Farmers are rightly urging the Government not to take the foot off the gas when it comes to RMA reforms. The Government agrees that the current process for making or amending national direction is unnecessarily onerous, costly, and takes too long. A lot of on-farm projects get caught up in lengthy and expensive litigation.
Resource consents should be limited to those activities that are truly unique. Everyday farm activities can be managed more efficiently through farm plans, farmers say.
As Federated Farmers says, the country needs a new resource management framework to drastically reduce the number of resource consents Kiwis are subject to. Replacing the RMA is the most meaningful long-term economic reform this Government can deliver for farmers.
DairyNZ says Waikato farmers need certainty on Plan Change 1, but they say that certainty must be matched with practical, workable rules and a clear transition that doesn't get ahead of the new resource management system currently under review.
Waikato farmers have been told that the Government’s new planning system legislation and the region’s Plan Change 1 (PC1) “won’t mesh together very well”.
OPINION: Confidence in the wool sector is rebounding as prices hit levels not seen in more than 15 years.
The Government is looking at intervening on behalf of Waikato farmers who face new regulations around agricultural land use while Resource Management Act (RMA) reforms are underway.
A Waihi dairy farmer, Keith Torrens, has been convicted and fined $39,000 for the unlawful discharge of dairy effluent following a prosecution taken by Waikato Regional Council.
Fonterra has reduced its forecast 2026/27 Farmgate Milk Price.
New Zealand dairy farmers are set to be the first in the world to receive access to a new digital physical milk pricing tool that enables them to fix the price for their physical milk.
State farmer Pāmu is opening its farm gates this summer in an effort to give the rural sector the opportunity to see how large-scale, multi-system farming is delivering productivity and profitability across New Zealand.
A five-year study has found that the cost of reducing emissions without technology may be significant and unsustainable for Northland dairy farmers.
DairyNZ says Waikato farmers need certainty on Plan Change 1, but they say that certainty must be matched with practical, workable rules and a clear transition that doesn't get ahead of the new resource management system currently under review.
While the Government has moved quickly to make commercial hauliers' lot easier during the current fuel crisis, they appear to be stuck in the creep box when it comes to the agricultural industry.
OPINION: No one messes around with Winston Peters, more so in a general election year.
OPINION: Staying on Federated Farmers, this week's annual general meeting in Auckland is shaping up to be an interesting one.
