Govt's Justification For Last-minute RMA Changes Appears To Directly Contradict EU Free Trade Agreement
On Tuesday, the Government issued a press release stating that its last-minute changes to the Resource Management Act, which would allow agricultural and industrial pollution of waterways to continue where it's causing 'significant adverse effects on aquatic life', are 'Urgent economic action to protect exports'.
The Government is aiming to change a long-standing and fundamental part of New Zealand's environmental law designed to protect fresh waterways from severe damage (ie, the loss of fish and other wildlife).
'What this means is that ongoing, severe pollution is being made legal at the stroke of a pen and that appears to directly contradict our obligations under our EU Free Trade Agreement,' says Tom Kay, Choose Clean Water spokesperson.
'A recent court decision on the Southland Land and Water Plan concluded that farming that was causing serious harm to rivers and other waterways could not simply be allowed as a permitted activity without a resource consent. This meant other councils who had similar permissions in their plans, like Waikato, are likely also allowing farming where it is causing significant degradation too.'
Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
'But rather than do something to address this severe pollution, the Government is trying to cover it up by calling it 'routine on-farm activities', and trying to make the problem disappear by weakening the law and stating this is to 'protect exports'.
'There are clauses in our Free Trade Agreement with the EU about not weakening environmental protection in order to encourage trade.'
Our European Union Free Trade Agreement states,
'Each Party shall strive to ensure that its relevant law and policies provide for, and encourage, high levels of environmental and labour protection, and shall strive to improve such levels, law and policies.'
'A Party shall not weaken or reduce the levels of protection afforded in its environmental or labour law in order to encourage trade or investment.'
'A Party shall not, through a sustained or recurring course of action or inaction, fail to effectively enforce its environmental or labour law in a manner affecting trade or investment.'
'A basic reading of the Free Trade Agreement would suggest that the Government's last-minute changes to the RMA, as well as its other efforts to weaken environmental law, directly contradict the clauses relating to environmental protection.'
The Ministers' press release says they are making the changes because 'The Waikato region generates 20% of the nation's primary exports,' and 'If we don't act, the economic heart of New Zealand's primary sector could grind to a halt.'
However, Kay says, the Government has not mentioned the potentially irreversible and intergenerational damage that could be done to waterways—such as groundwater underneath Canterbury that many rely on for drinking water—by allowing this pollution to be swept under the rug.
Given the consequences of these changes on people's health and well-being, the places we live, and our international trade obligations, Ministers Bishop, McClay and Hoggard must issue a vastly more detailed explanation on the impacts of their changes to environmental protections for the state of our water and our trade agreement.
'There have been other instances where MFAT has advised we may breach these environmental obligations. How much can the Government weaken environmental law before there are international consequences?'
'If so-called 'routine on-farm activities' in New Zealand lead to the severe pollution of our freshwater, then our agricultural industry lobby groups aren't the international leaders they say they are.'
'The Government must drive and support more widespread improvement of farming activities, council enforcement, and accountability. They can not just magic away the problem by taking away environmental protection that safeguards all New Zealanders, the places we live in, and the water we all rely on.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
8 hours ago
- RNZ News
Nationwide pro-Palestinian protests call on government to sanction Israel
Photo: RNZ / Mary Argue Protesters across the country are calling on the government to place sanctions on Israel for its war in Gaza. This week the government announced it is considering whether to join other countries like France, Canada and Australia in recognising Palestinian statehood at a UN leader's meeting next month. But critics say the move is long overdue. Protesters have taken to the streets in about 20 cities and towns, waving flags, holding vigils, and banging pots and pans to represent what a United Nations-backed food security agency has called "the worst case scenario of famine". Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
11 hours ago
- RNZ News
The House chips away at lawmaking, amid distractions
Photo: 123RF A brouhaha about unparliamentary language, an eviction from the House, and apologies, or a lack of them, stole the spotlight from the legislative agenda this week at Parliament. At the beginning of the week, the government had planned to get through as many as 12 legislative stages. By the time the MPs were allowed to go home on Thursday evening, the House had completed just seven of those scheduled debates. After a fiery Question Time and an even fierier Urgent Debate on Palestinian statehood , the legislative agenda began on Tuesday with two new bills. The first, a relatively uncontentious regulatory systems bill for internal affairs, making minor technical changes; and the second, a bill trying to curb 'antisocial' conduct while operating a vehicle. The Greens opposed the Transport Bill, but without their usual Labour ally. Labour had agreed to support the bill, at least to select committee, with the caveat that the committee would be Transport and Infrastructure, rather than Justice. With the first two readings out of the way in just under an hour, the government was making good time on its business. Enter the committee stage of the Resource Management (Consenting and Other System Changes) Amendment Bill, when progress got a whole lot slower. The opposition interrogated the minister in charge, Chris Bishop, over what they described as controversial last-minute amendments, one of which would allow farmers to pollute waterways without consent. The House spent all of Tuesday night and most of Wednesday evening debating that bill, before moving on to the committee stage of the Local Government (Water Services) Bill, which they eventually finished on Thursday morning, thanks to an extended sitting. Thursday afternoon saw the completion of three stages: To learn more about the bills that are going through Parliament this sitting block, have a look at our article from earlier in the week . RNZ's The House, with insights into Parliament, its legislation and issues, is made with funding from Parliament's Office of the Clerk. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
NZ Herald
12 hours ago
- NZ Herald
What will private schools be spending extra Budget money on? David Seymour says he's ‘open' to giving more funding
The multi-million dollar funding boost, announced in Budget 2025, is being driven by Associate Minister of Education David Seymour. He says the amount of money private schools receive has been shrinking, with the last increase to the subsidy coming in 2010. The list of schools receiving the increased subsidy for 2026 will be made available next month by the Ministry of Education. Seymour also says he's 'open' to the idea of the pot growing even more and explains that children at private schools receive around one-tenth of the funding of public-school students. 'Is that fair? Their parents are taxpayers, they're New Zealand citizens, they're entitled to an education. I think in a fair world, that would be higher,' Seymour told the Weekend Herald. St Cuthbert's College principal Charlotte Avery began working at the school in 2024 after moving to New Zealand from England. With a roll of 1650 students, St Cuthbert's College is set to receive an estimated $1.6 million subsidy from the Government. The amount has increased by $160,000 on the previous per-student rate. Principal Charlotte Avery, who took on the leader's role at St Cuthbert's last year after shifting from a prestigious private girls' school in Cambridge, England, says in real terms the subsidy isn't a large payment at a $100 increase per student. 'We are grateful of course for that recognition, but in the end it's a very small part of supplementing our fee income,' Avery says. 'We recognise that we are a school of privilege – privilege is not a dirty word but it is important in terms of recognising responsibility.' Prime Minister Christopher Luxon (left) and Associate Education Minister David Seymour, who says families are often making big sacrifices to pay independent school fees. Photo / Mark Mitchell At co-educational private school Scots College in Wellington, headmaster Graeme Yule says the funding increase is 'well overdue'. He also argues it shouldn't become an ideological debate. 'It's much, much easier to cry elitism and to cry inequality but the facts don't match that, the finances are different,' Yule says. 'There will always be a perception in this that the Government's robbing the poor state schools and giving the money to the rich independent schools ... but we receive around $40 million in government subsidy and we pay GST on fees to the Government of around $150 million.' That tax on fees, Yule says, can be invested back into the state sector to support public school students. Public versus private school funding Post Primary Teachers' Association (PPTA) president Chris Abercrombie, however, sees another reason for the Government making this decision. 'Well, David Seymour's [Epsom] electorate has a lot of private schools in it,' Abercrombie says. In Abercrombie's view, the Government's focus should be firmly on supporting the public education system, and if parents choose to send their child to a private school then the state shouldn't subsidise that decision. 'We don't support private schools getting any subsidy at all, let alone an increased subsidy,' he says. A view of St Cuthbert's College in central Auckland. The private school is one of New Zealand's best-performing for academic results. Photo / NZME Figures provided by the Ministry of Education reveal the subsidy for Years 1-6 at private schools will be rising to $1016 per student – a 20% increase. That amount has increased by $167 per student. Older students from Years 11-13 will receive $1918 per student - an increase of just 6%. Subsidy rates will not be recalculated each year but will be treated like other state school resourcing, with adjustments made for the number of students on private school rolls. But Seymour says his decision hasn't been influenced by private schools in his electorate, one of the country's wealthiest, and the PPTA is 'just flinging mud'. In comparison, figures given to the Herald by Seymour's office reveal the amount for Years 1-6 at state schools is $7648 per student annually, while the funding for secondary schools in the state system is $9853 per student. Funding cuts to public schools At a small Porirua school nestled in native bush on the edge of Cannons Creek, principal Lynda Knight says she has been facing a list of government funding reductions during the last six months. The school's funding has been cut for its Reading Recovery programme, Pasifika Early Literacy Project and the Pacific Education Innovation Fund. Funding has also been cut to Regionally Allocated Professional Learning and Development and te reo Māori training for teachers, so the school can no longer acquire these supports. And there is no longer access to Resource Teachers of Literacy and Māori. They have also lost a whānau liaison support worker role that was funded by Oranga Tamariki. Knight says the school, with just 110 primary-age students, can't hold big parent and community fundraisers as some affluent areas can, and any fundraising initiatives only bring in small amounts of money. 'I think we're increasing that disparity if we're increasing the funding [for private schools]; we must be decreasing the amount of money for public schools like mine,' she says. Abercrombie says disparities between public and private schools are creating a growing divide between the 'haves and have-nots'. Differences in the resources available to schools are exacerbating inequity across the education system, he says. 'State schools are facing that same cost pressure, their power's gone up and the price of toilet paper – they're hurting as well. But they don't have the ability to just increase their fees and tap into other sources of income that private schools do.' What the money will be used for? In Wellington, Yule says the private school subsidy is going to be used to keep fees as low as possible at Scots College and increase accessibility for the school. It will also go towards running costs. Dilworth School in central Auckland is receiving the subsidy but because of its unique position with every student funded fully through a scholarship, the funds will be used elsewhere. Dilworth School in Epsom, Auckland provides full scholarships to its students. Photo / Dean Purcell The money at the boys' boarding school, headmaster Dan Reddiex says, will instead go towards offsetting the cost of food for students, investing in teachers, driving academic results and funding extracurricular activities such as sending their premier choir Fortissimo to the Big Sing Finale in Dunedin. The school's whānau community is not typically in a position to fully fund school trips, he says. 'We provide seven meals a day for our students and inflation has hit hard in this area.' Meanwhile, Avery says the subsidy will support a range of ongoing projects at St Cuthbert's College. These include enhancing its suite of facilities, improving flood resistance in the school's buildings and paying teachers and staff members' salaries. It will also contribute to improving its outdoor campus – Kahunui – in the Bay of Plenty, a place where Year 10 students travel to attend a month-long school camp that embraces off-the-grid learning. At Knight's school in Porirua, Year 6 students used to travel to El Rancho in Waikanae – 45 minutes up the road – for a two-night camp. However, now that community funding is unavailable, the future of camps for their senior students is uncertain. In a community where family holidays are a rarity, Knight says pupils leaving often comment that school camp is their favourite memory from school. Growing waitlists for private schools As Auckland grows, St Cuthbert's College has been experiencing higher demand for places on its school roll and has waiting lists for prospective students. Scots College has also been facing similar pressure, with headmaster Yule noticing parents are being propelled to private schools by their feeling of unease in the current state system. 'The issues with literacy and numeracy, open-plan classes and the dissatisfaction with NCEA and so forth, I think, have driven a number of people towards considering independent schooling.' At Dilworth, Reddiex says demand for places has also increased significantly within the past two years, with scholarship places being highly competitive. Avery says the subsidy is a recognition of the role independent schools play in educating a percentage of the Kiwi population, which takes the financial pressure off the rest of the education system. Similarly, Seymour says private school students suddenly flooding into the state sector would create an enormous cost for the Government. 'This whole debate to me says something about where we are and where we could be as a country. What you've got is a small group – about 4% of children and their parents and grandparents – often making big sacrifices to pay independent school fees because in their view, that's a better future for them,' he says. 'Rather kind of sneering, resentful tone, we should say, 'okay, that's a choice people make', I may or may not make it for myself, but we should be happy for other people. 'Those people are actually saving the taxpayer a lot of money.' In Porirua, Knight believes the $160,000 increase St Cuthbert's College is receiving could make 'a world of difference' at her small school. She says the money would go towards funding two more teachers or more teacher aide support. Eva de Jong is a New Zealand Herald reporter covering general news for the daily newspaper, Weekend Herald and Herald on Sunday. She was previously a multimedia journalist for the Whanganui Chronicle, covering health stories and general news. Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
