Consultation Opens On Sweeping Overhaul Of Primary Sector Regulations
Press Release – New Zealand Government
National direction refers to rules and policies sitting under the Resource Management Act (RMA) that inform how councils develop and implement local plans and rules.
Minister for RMA Reform
Hon Todd McClay
Minister of Agriculture
Hon Andrew Hoggard
Associate Minister for the Environment
The Government has opened public consultation on the biggest package of changes to national direction under the RMA in New Zealand history, with proposals to streamline or remove many of the burdensome regulations holding our primary sector back from growth, say RMA Minister Chris Bishop, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay and Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard.
National direction refers to rules and policies sitting under the Resource Management Act (RMA) that inform how councils develop and implement local plans and rules.
The Government is today releasing three discussion documents proposing amendments to 12 different instruments and the introduction of four new instruments, centred on three packages: infrastructure and development, the primary sector and freshwater.
'The primary sector underpins New Zealand's economy and standard of living. When farmers, and foresters do well, New Zealand does well – but for too long, New Zealand's primary producers have struggled against overly restrictive, confusing and duplicative regulations,' Mr Bishop says.
'The RMA has made it harder to create the high value products the world needs from the land and sea. Our package of proposed reforms seeks to streamline and clarify many of the bugbears causing our primary industries sector sleepless nights and lost productivity.
'The Government has a comprehensive RMA reform programme well in train. We've already repealed Labour's botched RMA reforms and made a series of quick and targeted amendments to provide relief to farmers, such as repealing the permitted and restricted discretionary intensive winter grazing regulations.
'We've also passed the Fast-track Approvals Act to make it much easier to deliver projects with regional or nationally significant benefits, and next year we'll replace the RMA with new legislation premised on property rights.
'The changes we're now proposing to national direction under the existing RMA give effect to a range of coalition commitments, can be done quickly and relatively easily, and will help unclog the growth arteries of the economy. The changes have been designed to be able to transition to the new RMA system once implemented.
'Farmers and growers have had enough of rules that make it harder to farm, not easier. This Government is getting out of the way and backing rural New Zealand with a common-sense approach to primary sector regulation,' Mr McClay says.
'These changes will make it easier to invest on-farm, lift productivity, and build long-term resilience in the face of weather and market challenges. It's about freeing farmers to do what they do best—producing high-quality food and fibre for New Zealand and the world—without being buried in paperwork.
'The Primary Sector package proposes changes to eight national direction instruments. These changes will remove the restrictions on non-intensive grazing of beef cattle and deer in wetlands, streamline changes to consent conditions for the aquaculture sector, reduce inefficiencies for the forestry sector and better enable priority activities in coastal areas.
'National campaigned on removing LUC 3 land from the strictures of the National Policy Statement on Highly Productive Land, and I'm pleased to confirm that our proposed amendments do exactly that. We are also consulting on creating 'special agricultural areas' around key horticulture hubs like Pukekohe and Horowhenua.'
'The significant costs on farmers to fence off cattle and deer from wetlands on low intensity properties was way out of proportion to the environmental risk. This proposed change is another step to cut red tape for farmers and let them find solutions that work for their farm, and their catchment,' says Mr Hoggard.
Consultation on these proposals open today until 27 July 2025. The Government intends to have 16 new or updated national direction instruments in place by the end of this year.
Notes:
Fact sheet attached here:
Primary Industries consultation package
Consultation timeframes and processes:
Public consultation will open this week on the 'have your say' section of the Ministry for the Environment website.
The primary sector discussion document explains the suite of national direction proposed in the primary sector package and includes material on the proposals to create or amend national policy statements and national environment standards under section 46A (1) and (2) of the RMA.
Proposed new provisions for national direction are provided in section 5 of the discussion document and form part of the proposals and its implementation for the primary sector package.
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