Farmer groups have welcomed government action to clarify discharge consenting provisions in the Resource Management Act.
It comes after recent High Court decisions on sections 70 and 107 of the Resource Management Act (RMA) ruled that discharge consents are unlawful.
Federated Farmers RMA reform spokesperson Mark Hooper said the ruling created huge uncertainty for farmers.
“Hundreds of consents coming up for renewal would have faced an uncertain future and getting any new consent would have simply been impossible.
“It’s great that the government has recognised the significance and time sensitivity of this issue and moved quickly to deliver a pragmatic solution.”
DairyNZ director and Canterbury farmer Cameron Henderson said the change in interpretation of the law threatened to create regulatory roadblocks that no farm or farmer could pass through.
“We strongly believe this was never the intent of the law, given permitted activities and consents come with requirements to manage risks to the environment.
“This isn’t a free pass. Farmers still need to meet national and regional regulations. These amendments simply provide clarity that the regulatory pathways regional councils have spent years and millions of dollars developing will prevail.”
Henderson said without these amendments, pastoral farming in Southland, horticultural production in Pukekohe and Horowhenua, and discharges of wastewater and stormwater by a council would have faced impossible regulatory barriers.
Hooper said that without a law change, huge parts of New Zealand’s productive economy would simply ground to a halt.
Environment Canterbury estimate in that in their region alone, 525 consents would be impacted over the next 12 months.
“This whole saga has benefited nobody but resource management lawyers, costing ratepayers millions of dollars, only for the law to be changed.
“It shows just how slow, broken and cumbersome our resource management laws have become.”
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay said the clarification will make sure councils continue to manage discharge consents in a practical way.
“The court decisions could result in more discharges needing consents, more consent applications being declined, and consent conditions becoming more restrictive, reducing the ability to improve freshwater quality over time.
“Some discharges that previously could have received a consent may be unable to in future.”
In Focus Podcast | Making topsoil top of mind
A feature documentary film, Six Inches of Soil, has been screened in NZ cinemas recently. It follows three young British farmers through their first year of transitioning to regenerative practices.
The film has been brought here by regenerative farmer network Quorum Sense and its chair Becks Smith talks with Bryan about the network, the film and why we’ve been talking about regen the wrong way.
