Should've waited

Did that stop councils like Southland's forging ahead with regional plans that would probably have to be rewritten after the RMA reforms arrived?

Like hell, Feds Southland 'pres' Jason Herrisk and colleagues won a court decision granting a 'stay' on rules in the Southland Water and Land Plan until changes can be made to section 70 of the RMA by central government, but the Hound reckons the fight shouldn't have been necessary in the first place.

The plan, which should have been delayed anyway, would have required Southland farmers to apply for expensive resource consents just to continue farming.

"The activist groups who initially brought this case, like Fish & Game and Forest & Bird, should be hanging their heads in shame," Herrick says.