Latest news with #AndrewHoggard
Scoop
3 days ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Government Launches Consultation On Freshwater National Direction
Press Release – New Zealand Government This is a key step toward restoring balance in how freshwater is managed across the country and ensuring the interests of all water users, including farmers, growers, and rural communities, are properly reflected, Mr McClay says. Minister of Agriculture Hon Andrew Hoggard Associate Minister for the Environment The Government has today opened public consultation on options to reform New Zealand's freshwater national direction Agriculture Minister Todd McClay and Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard announced today. 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. 'This is a key step toward restoring balance in how freshwater is managed across the country and ensuring the interests of all water users, including farmers, growers, and rural communities, are properly reflected,' Mr McClay says. This move follows the Government's decisive intervention in 2024 to stop the Otago Regional Council from pushing ahead with a freshwater plan that would have imposed unnecessary costs and uncertainty on rural landowners. 'Regional councils must work within national direction that is fit for purpose, not pursue agendas that undermine local economies or the people who rely on the land,' Mr McClay says. 'We're committed to a freshwater system that protects the environment while also supporting the people who feed and grow New Zealand,' Mr Hoggard says. 'The current rules are too complex, too expensive, and too often ignore the practical realities of landowners. We're fixing that.' The consultation proposes replacing the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020 and related regulations with a more practical, efficient, and regionally adaptable system. 'The current system's Te Mana o te Wai has caused frustration across rural New Zealand, with some councils applying it in a way that sidelines the very people working to improve water outcomes,' Mr Hoggard says. 'Farmers aren't asking for a free pass – they're asking for a fair go,' Mr McClay says. 'We won't stand by while councils weaponise Te Mana o te Wai, to push ideology over common sense. It must reflect the importance of freshwater to all New Zealanders.' The proposed changes would: Replace the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020 and the National Environmental Standards for Freshwater; Give councils greater flexibility to balance environmental goals with economic impacts and allow longer timeframes to reach targets where needed; Remove unnecessary consents for practices like crop rotation and enable commercial domestic vegetable growing; Support long-term water security by enabling water storage; Improve the protection of drinking water sources; and Review and simplify data requirements under synthetic nitrogen fertiliser regulations. These are practical, farmer-focused reforms will restore confidence and reduce red tape, while still delivering environmental gains. 'We've heard from farmers across the country that nationally determined bottom lines are not always appropriate and can be unachievable even in some catchments dominated by native bush. They also take away flexibility from local communities to achieve the environmental outcomes they want,' Mr Hoggard says. 'We're putting outcomes ahead of process and backing rural New Zealand to be part of the solution,' Mr McClay says. Public consultation is now open on the Ministry for the Environment's 'Have Your Say' website and will run until 27 July 2025. Submissions from all New Zealanders are encouraged. This is the first of a two-stage process. Feedback will inform final decisions on what to amend in national direction, with a draft set of proposals to follow later in the year. Notes: Fact sheet attached here: Freshwater consultation package National direction includes national policy statements, environmental standards, and other RMA instruments that guide how regional and local councils manage resources. Updated direction is critical to ensure consistent, practical, and efficient freshwater management across New Zealand.
Scoop
3 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
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.
Scoop
3 days ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Government Launches Consultation On Freshwater National Direction
Minister of Agriculture Hon Andrew Hoggard Associate Minister for the Environment The Government has today opened public consultation on options to reform New Zealand's freshwater national direction Agriculture Minister Todd McClay and Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard announced today. 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. 'This is a key step toward restoring balance in how freshwater is managed across the country and ensuring the interests of all water users, including farmers, growers, and rural communities, are properly reflected,' Mr McClay says. This move follows the Government's decisive intervention in 2024 to stop the Otago Regional Council from pushing ahead with a freshwater plan that would have imposed unnecessary costs and uncertainty on rural landowners. 'Regional councils must work within national direction that is fit for purpose, not pursue agendas that undermine local economies or the people who rely on the land,' Mr McClay says. 'We're committed to a freshwater system that protects the environment while also supporting the people who feed and grow New Zealand,' Mr Hoggard says. 'The current rules are too complex, too expensive, and too often ignore the practical realities of landowners. We're fixing that.' The consultation proposes replacing the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020 and related regulations with a more practical, efficient, and regionally adaptable system. 'The current system's Te Mana o te Wai has caused frustration across rural New Zealand, with some councils applying it in a way that sidelines the very people working to improve water outcomes,' Mr Hoggard says. 'Farmers aren't asking for a free pass – they're asking for a fair go,' Mr McClay says. 'We won't stand by while councils weaponise Te Mana o te Wai, to push ideology over common sense. It must reflect the importance of freshwater to all New Zealanders.' The proposed changes would: Replace the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020 and the National Environmental Standards for Freshwater; Give councils greater flexibility to balance environmental goals with economic impacts and allow longer timeframes to reach targets where needed; Remove unnecessary consents for practices like crop rotation and enable commercial domestic vegetable growing; Support long-term water security by enabling water storage; Improve the protection of drinking water sources; and Review and simplify data requirements under synthetic nitrogen fertiliser regulations. These are practical, farmer-focused reforms will restore confidence and reduce red tape, while still delivering environmental gains. 'We've heard from farmers across the country that nationally determined bottom lines are not always appropriate and can be unachievable even in some catchments dominated by native bush. They also take away flexibility from local communities to achieve the environmental outcomes they want,' Mr Hoggard says. 'We're putting outcomes ahead of process and backing rural New Zealand to be part of the solution,' Mr McClay says. Public consultation is now open on the Ministry for the Environment's 'Have Your Say' website and will run until 27 July 2025. Submissions from all New Zealanders are encouraged. This is the first of a two-stage process. Feedback will inform final decisions on what to amend in national direction, with a draft set of proposals to follow later in the year. Notes: Fact sheet attached here: Freshwater consultation package National direction includes national policy statements, environmental standards, and other RMA instruments that guide how regional and local councils manage resources. Updated direction is critical to ensure consistent, practical, and efficient freshwater management across New Zealand.
RNZ News
3 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Primary sector not impressed with government's horticultural product approval targets
Access to agricultural and horticultural products is managed under the Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines (ACVM) Act and the Hazardous Substances and New Organisims (HSNO) Act. Photo: AFP/ Costfoto / NurPhoto Those in the primary sector say the government's new targets to reduce the queues to approve new agricultural and horticultural products don't go far enough. It follows a regulatory review which found the approval process for the agricultural and horticultural products, like pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers, wasn't always allowing timely access to the products. Cabinet has agreed to all 16 of the recommendations from the regulatory review, including updating the Environmental Protection Authority's risk assessment models, reducing efficacy requirements for inhibitors to the minimum required to manage risks and introducing targets to reduce product queues. Access to the products is managed under the Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines (ACVM) Act and the Hazardous Substances and New Organisims (HSNO) Act. Environment Minister Penny Simmonds said she had set a target to reduce the HSNO queue by 10 percent in 2025-26 and would set a more ambitious target once additional staff were appointed. Environment Minister Penny Simmonds. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver Food Safety Minister Andrew Hoggard said he wanted a 20 percent queue reduction for ACVM products by the end of June 2025, compared to October 2024. By the end of June 2026, he wanted to see queues reduce by a further 30 percent. The ministers would be responsible for an Omnibus Bill to accelerate the improvements. However, Animal and Plant Health New Zealand (APHANZ) chief executive Dr Liz Shackleton said the targets to reduce product queues seemed unlikely to deliver the rapid change that industry needed. "While it's positive that Ministers have answered industry's calls to set targets that hold regulators to account, hitting the bullseye requires a bold focus on the targets that matter most. "Industry keenly await the more ambitious target signalled by the Minister for Environment and hope it's not too little too late." Dr Shackleton said the priority should be parent products with new active ingredients in the queue already, rather than just increasing approvals for generic products. She said this would allow farmers and growers to rotate products to manage resistance, improve environmental outcomes and phase out older chemistry. Many of the products - which have been in the queue for years - are already being used by countries like Australia, Canada and the United States, she said. "Let's look at blackspot. It's in the queue, there's a solution for that. Apple growers it's their number one barrier to trade and it's been sitting under assessment for almost four years." Dr Shackleton feared manufacturers of agricultural and horticultural products would exit the New Zealand market unless more bold action was taken. ""The companies that make the new stuff are talking about pulling out of New Zealand. "New Zealand had once been seen as a desirable place to get early registration. That's no longer the case, the global view is we're now well behind." Dr Shackleton said time was running out. The Environmental Protection Authority says the proposed rule changes for hazardous substances would give the industry a clearer path for making use of new chemicals in New Zealand. Photo: supplied Horticulture New Zealand's general manager of strategy and policy Michelle Sands also felt the targets to reduce product queues didn't go far enough and would not make a difference to the existing backlog. "We have a situation in New Zealand where other countries have access to newer, softer innovative actives and in New Zealand our process is very slow and so that means we don't have access to those sort of things. "What that means is that we're actually missing out on things that might have lesser impacts on the environment, on human health." Sands was also worried that manufacturers would stop providing agricultural and horticultural products to the New Zealand market because of the delayed approvals process. Chief executive of the New Zealand Veterinary Association Dr Kevin Bryant said under the current system New Zealand was "missing out". He said the proposed changes were a good start but more was needed to get products into the vet clinics faster. "For vets on the ground treating animals and coming at it from an animal welfare perspective, we know there are products available in Australia that are not available here that are needed. "The issue we have is why can we not have a process that enables products that have been approved in other jurisdictions which New Zealand trusts, that they cannot be actually fast-tracked in terms of registration in New Zealand." Dr Bryant said there was a balance to be achieved between speed and effectiveness, which was why he wanted to see the ACVM better resourced. "We want to see government prioritising resourcing for ACVM so that new medicines and vaccines can be approved and in our vet clinics as fast as possible." The Environmental Protection Authority said the proposed changes to the rules for hazardous substances would give the industry a clearer path for making use of new chemicals in New Zealand. It said the proposed changes would make it easier for applicants to apply in cases where chemicals had already been used safely in other countries, allow the temporary use of some new products and improve transparency around application timeframes and processes. Meanwhile the Environmental Law Initiative's senior legal advisor Tess Upperton said the EPA's focus must remain on rigorously assessing the possible risks to human and ecosystem health, especially as hazardous substance approvals did not expire. She said decisions must be "carefully made" and the EPA shouldn't become too focused on having to "shorten the queue" of products waiting for assessment which may divert the EPA from its core environmental obligations. Upperton agreed with the review that the EPA was "significantly under-funded". "The best way to streamline applications would be for the EPA to be fully funded to perform as an effective regulator through recovery of the costs of its HSNO (Hazardous Substances and New Organisms ACT) functions from applicants. As it stands, the public is subsidising private interests through majority Crown funding of these EPA functions." 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Otago Daily Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Hoggard: Can't ‘smash through' change
Associate Minister for Agriculture and for the Environment Andrew Hoggard at the Croydon Lodge on Monday, speaking on beef and lamb issues related to his portfolios. PHOTO: ELLA SCOTT-FLEMING Act New Zealand MP Andrew Hoggard visited Gore this week to speak on issues facing local producers, including the conversion of farms to forests, but said changes to the surrounding law were not something the government could rush. Mr Hoggard, the Minister of Biosecurity and Food Safety and Associate Minister of Agriculture, said while the rapid conversion of arable land to forestry might be a pressing concern for the farmers in the audience, it was not something the government could just "smash through". "It's probably good that, in some respect, it isn't that easy, because you don't want governments to be able to smash stuff through," he said. "It's good to have some checks and balances on them." The forum was hosted by Beef + Lamb NZ at the Croydon Lodge on Monday, where Beef + Lamb senior staff gave a outline of their key policy areas, the minister touched on what related to his portfolios and the audience were then invited to raise their concerns. The policy areas touched on by the executives and MP were global warming, forestry, biosecurity, gene technology, the Resource Management Act and fresh water. Mr Hoggard, a former Federated Farmers president, said Act would support the trend of turning farms to forestry if it was about the price of timber but it was not. The change was driven by the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) price, however, which had created a "false market", he said. Due to the rise in forestry for ETS money, once the world discovered technology that rendered carbon farming obsolete, we could be left with a country covered in pines, he said. "We're going to be left with a country that's covered in pine trees, a massive fire risk, with nothing productive happening. "These companies will basically just walk away." On global warming, he said if the world "walked back" its level of ambition, New Zealand would have already met that standard. Despite this, he saw no need for New Zealand to reduce its farming. "There is zero sense of the most carbon-efficient farming nation in the world to reduce its farming. If anything ... we don't need to be farming less, we need to be farming better." In regard to gene technology, he said the key thing for him was co-existence, allowing space for those who wanted to be organic and GMO-free as well as those who wanted to use the latest innovation. He said that legislative process was in the hands of a select committee. "The last thing I want is someone from either side telling me how I have to farm," he said. Changes to fresh water legislation was going to be messy, he said, as the government aimed to work with local government, with a variety of different needs and plans already in place. "We are trying to build the plane as we're flying it in some cases," he said.
