Govt urged to rein in councils

There are concerns that some councils - and particularly those with activist staff members - are trying to implement district plans under the previous Labour Government's rules before the new coalition Government can change the RMA.

One such example is the Waitaki District Council (WDC), which is trying to push through its Waitaki District Draft Plan to notified stage.

North Otago farmers Jane Smith and Simon Williamson have written to RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Local Government Minister Simeon Brown, on behalf of many farmers in the region, urging them to act with urgency to send written correspondence to all district councils - including Waitaki District Council - clarifying the need to, "cease notification of their proposed District Plan/s immediately and cease all planning processes related to all RMA Section 6 matters until further notice".

In their letter to the ministers, Smith and Williamson state that the WDC's new draft district plan identifies 44,000 hectares to be classified as Outstanding Natural Landscape, Outstanding Natural Feature, Significant Natural Feature, Rural Scenic Landscape and 300 Significant Natural Areas.

In addition, some 35,000 hectares is earmarked for the new Sites and Areas of Significance to Māori (SASMs).

"These specified areas previously totalled approximately 1980 hectares," they explain. "This is a 2200% increase."

Smith and Williamson claim this will affect 1638 private property owners involving 5979 parcels in the Waitaki District. "Many of whom are unaware of these classifications on their freehold land."

They add that the scale of these new areas appears to have escalated even after the Natural and Built Environment and Spatial Planning Acts were repealed on December 23, 2023.

"We note that no Section 32 RMA analysis has been carried out by council on the economic and social impacts of this plan change," they add. "Around 85% of Waitaki District landowners, that we have surveyed in the past three weeks, have had either no further communication after challenging classifications on their land or had even greater restrictive classifications imposed after questioning the process."

Meanwhile, local MP Miles Anderson has also expressed concerns about the process.

The Waitaki MP and deputy chair of the Primary Production Select Committee says the proposed district plan will include significant overlays that will affect an enormous amount of freehold land.

"Landowners who are significantly affected by the proposed district plan's overlays - which include Significant Natural Areas, Outstanding Natural Features, Sites and Areas Significant to Māori and Rural Scenic Areas - feel it was neither a fair nor equitable process. They also believe that the criteria for these designations were subjective in nature."

Anderson says the proposed plan is currently in draft form, however once it is notified, some rules will have immediate legal effect.

"These proposed overlays are an erosion of private property rights and are likely to drastically de-value productive land, which has been farmed and modified over the past 180 years," he explains. "The downstream effect on landowners is likely to be reduced lending ability and potential pressure from banks to repay debt due to the subsequent loss of equity."

Anderson says he has met with the WDC on behalf of his constituents and shared their concerns and says these discussions were productive.

"I have asked that council consider these concerns when making their decision on notifying the proposed plan."

ORC Going Rogue

Meanwhile, concerns have also been raised about the actions of Otago Regional Council (ORC).

The ORC has been warned against ploughing ahead with a controversial water plan.

Councillors and staff recently met Resource Management Act Reform Minister Chris Bishop, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay to discuss how the new Government's plan to update national freshwater management policies would affect the council's under-development land and water plan.

The council's plan remains on track to be notified at the end of June.

However, when Bishop informed the ORC in December that their June deadline had changed, but the council issued a statement the following day saying, no, it had not.

Bishop said at the meeting the three ministers reiterated the government position regarding "replacing and rebalancing" the national policy statement for freshwater management (NPS-FM) and the government position that all regional councils' freshwater plans has a new deadline of December 31, 2027.

"That applies to Otago Regional Council as it does to other regional councils.

"This means that they can focus on the process of helping the replacement NPS-FM rather than implementing the current one that will soon no longer exist.

Simmonds says a "very clear message" was given that there would be changes and it would be unwise to spend ratepayers' money on a plan that may change substantially within the next 18 months.