Latest news with #NationalPolicyStatementforFreshwaterManagement
Scoop
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Councils Plead For Bipartisan Resource Management Act Reform
Article – RNZ Regional councils want greater certainty and bipartisanship on regulations, as they gear up for an expected spate of rule changes. , Journalist Regional councils want greater certainty and bipartisanship on regulations, as they gear up for an expected spate of rule changes when legislation replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA) next year. The government has announced sweeping changes to the rules governing councils' oversight of everything – from housing, to mining, to agriculture – under the RMA, and these have been released for public feedback. Speaking on behalf of Te Uru Kahika – Regional and Unitary Councils of Aotearoa, Greater Wellington chair Daran Ponter said when policy resets every three years, regulators scramble to deliver the new government's national direction. 'As regional councils we have effectively seen these national instruments landing on our lap as regularly as every three years. The music just has to stop. 'We need certainty, we need to be able to have the chance as regulators to actually bed in policies and rules and provide a greater certainty to people who want to do things – who want to build, who want to farm, who want to mine – because the bigger block on those things at the moment, at national and regional levels, is that we continue to change the rules.' Ponter said bipartisanship on regulations was needed to provide certainty. 'I don't want to be in the position in three or six years' time that all the rules are going to change again, because the pendulum has swung the other way.' Ponter said in recent years there had been 'more radical swings' in policy under successive governments. 'At the moment, the meat in the sandwich of all this, is the regional councils, who get accused of not doing this, or being woke, of being overly sympathetic to the environment… when all we are doing is following the national guidance that is put in front of us.' The government has released three discussion documents covering 12 national policy statements and and national environmental standards, with the aim of having 16 new or updated ones by the end of 2025, ahead of legislation replacing the RMA next year. The consultation covers three main topics: infrastructure and development, the primary sector and freshwater. It is open from 29 May to 27 July. Doug Leeder, chair of Bay of Plenty Regional Council, has governed through the implementation of four National Policy Statements for Freshwater Management. He said implementing national direction was a major undertaking that involved work with communities, industry and mana whenua. 'Councils contend with the challenge also faced by iwi and hapū, industry, and communities that the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management has changed every three years since it has been introduced. 'When policy resets every three years, it imposes significant costs on councils and communities, creates uncertainty for farmers and businesses, and makes it harder to achieve the long-term outcomes we all want. 'We need to work towards something more enduring.' Could bipartisanship on regulations work? 'That's the challenge for the minister but also for the leaders of those opposition parties, as well,' Ponter said. 'Everybody is going to have to find a degree of compromise if something like that is going to work.' But he said regional councils had worked constructively with successive governments and they were ready to do so again.
Scoop
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Councils Plead For Bipartisan Resource Management Act Reform
Regional councils want greater certainty and bipartisanship on regulations, as they gear up for an expected spate of rule changes when legislation replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA) next year. The government has announced sweeping changes to the rules governing councils' oversight of everything - from housing, to mining, to agriculture - under the RMA, and these have been released for public feedback. Speaking on behalf of Te Uru Kahika - Regional and Unitary Councils of Aotearoa, Greater Wellington chair Daran Ponter said when policy resets every three years, regulators scramble to deliver the new government's national direction. "As regional councils we have effectively seen these national instruments landing on our lap as regularly as every three years. The music just has to stop. "We need certainty, we need to be able to have the chance as regulators to actually bed in policies and rules and provide a greater certainty to people who want to do things - who want to build, who want to farm, who want to mine - because the bigger block on those things at the moment, at national and regional levels, is that we continue to change the rules." Ponter said bipartisanship on regulations was needed to provide certainty. "I don't want to be in the position in three or six years' time that all the rules are going to change again, because the pendulum has swung the other way." Ponter said in recent years there had been "more radical swings" in policy under successive governments. "At the moment, the meat in the sandwich of all this, is the regional councils, who get accused of not doing this, or being woke, of being overly sympathetic to the environment... when all we are doing is following the national guidance that is put in front of us." The government has released three discussion documents covering 12 national policy statements and and national environmental standards, with the aim of having 16 new or updated ones by the end of 2025, ahead of legislation replacing the RMA next year. The consultation covers three main topics: infrastructure and development, the primary sector and freshwater. It is open from 29 May to 27 July. Doug Leeder, chair of Bay of Plenty Regional Council, has governed through the implementation of four National Policy Statements for Freshwater Management. He said implementing national direction was a major undertaking that involved work with communities, industry and mana whenua. "Councils contend with the challenge also faced by iwi and hapū, industry, and communities that the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management has changed every three years since it has been introduced. "When policy resets every three years, it imposes significant costs on councils and communities, creates uncertainty for farmers and businesses, and makes it harder to achieve the long-term outcomes we all want. "We need to work towards something more enduring." Could bipartisanship on regulations work? "That's the challenge for the minister but also for the leaders of those opposition parties, as well," Ponter said. "Everybody is going to have to find a degree of compromise if something like that is going to work." But he said regional councils had worked constructively with successive governments and they were ready to do so again.
Scoop
2 days ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Councils Consider National Direction Packages From Government
Councils across the country are considering and preparing for a major implementation task, following the Government's release of proposed reforms to national direction under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA). The proposed changes span 12 existing instruments and introduce four new ones, making this the most wide-ranging reset of national direction since the RMA was enacted. The changes will have significant implications for how land, water, biodiversity and infrastructure are managed. Speaking for the regional councils and unitary authorities of NZ, Greater Wellington Chair Daran Ponter said national direction drives local planning and consent decisions that are central to our environment and economy. 'Regional and unitary councils recognise the pressures on the current system and like central government, want to help solve the housing shortage, support our world-leading primary producers, enable critical infrastructure delivery, and achieve freshwater aspirations. 'We have a lot to offer to ensure national direction is implemented in an efficient and effective way that achieves good outcomes for all parts of New Zealand, and we warmly welcome Ministers and officials to visit councils and see firsthand the scale, complexity, and success of the work being done across the country,' said Chair Ponter. Having governed through the implementation of four National Policy Statements for Freshwater Management in his time as Chair of Bay of Plenty Regional Council, Doug Leeder emphasised that implementing national direction is a major undertaking that involves work with communities, industry, and mana whenua. 'Councils contend with the challenge also faced by iwi and hapū, industry, and communities that the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management has changed every three years since it has been introduced. 'When policy resets every three years, it imposes significant costs on councils and communities, creates uncertainty for farmers and businesses, and makes it harder to achieve the long-term outcomes we all want. 'We need to work towards something more enduring,' said Chair Leeder. Regional government has worked constructively with successive governments to deliver their national direction, Chair Ponter said they're ready to partner and do so again. 'We have appreciated efforts by Ministers during their review to minimise the cost of implementation to ratepayers. 'We stand ready to provide additional advice on this and other matters from our experience enabling water storage, supporting flexible freshwater farm plans, and collectively delivering more than $48 million each year into catchment and biodiversity restoration on the ground,' said Chair Ponter. Looking ahead, Te Uru Kahika welcomes the opportunity to engage constructively with the Government on the new direction. The Government's National Direction Package consultation is open until 27 July 2025.
Scoop
2 days ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Luxon Government To Favour Dairy Pollution At The Expense Of Drinking Water
Press Release – Greenpeace Greenpeace Aotearoa freshwater campaigner Will Appelbe says, 'Safe drinking water requires healthy freshwater ecosystems, and that should always be the priority. But todays decision will drive more water contamination, especially in rural communities.' Luxon's Government is once again putting corporate profits ahead of people's health by proposing freshwater policies that will drive more dairy pollution at the expense of safe drinking water and swimmable rivers. The proposed changes to the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management, announced today, include giving more favour to corporate uses of water like intensive dairy. This fundamentally undermines Te Mana O Te Wai, the framework that prioritises the health of freshwater ecosystems and the health of community drinking water ahead of corporate uses of water. Greenpeace Aotearoa freshwater campaigner Will Appelbe says, 'Safe drinking water requires healthy freshwater ecosystems, and that should always be the priority. But today's decision will drive more water contamination, especially in rural communities.' 'Make no mistake, this will facilitate dairy expansion, and we know what that means for the country. More cows means more pollution from effluent and fertiliser, poisoning waterways with nitrate and nasty pathogens.' 'Just this year, several new dairy expansion consents have been approved in Canterbury, where many communities are facing a drinking water crisis as a result of nitrate contamination from intensive dairy.' 'The Government is meant to be protecting the health of communities, not lining the pockets of corporate polluters. We've already seen the influence the agriculture lobby has had over the rollback of freshwater protections last year, and this announcement today demonstrates how much of a hold lobbyists have over Luxon and his Cabinet.' 'But communities are ready to fight for clean drinking water and swimmable rivers, even if Luxon won't. It's more important than ever that local governments – like Environment Canterbury, which has responsibility over the majority of New Zealand's freshwater ecosystems – step up and take real action to protect lakes, rivers, and drinking water.'
Scoop
3 days ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Luxon Government To Favour Dairy Pollution At The Expense Of Drinking Water
Luxon's Government is once again putting corporate profits ahead of people's health by proposing freshwater policies that will drive more dairy pollution at the expense of safe drinking water and swimmable rivers. The proposed changes to the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management, announced today, include giving more favour to corporate uses of water like intensive dairy. This fundamentally undermines Te Mana O Te Wai, the framework that prioritises the health of freshwater ecosystems and the health of community drinking water ahead of corporate uses of water. Greenpeace Aotearoa freshwater campaigner Will Appelbe says, "Safe drinking water requires healthy freshwater ecosystems, and that should always be the priority. But today's decision will drive more water contamination, especially in rural communities." "Make no mistake, this will facilitate dairy expansion, and we know what that means for the country. More cows means more pollution from effluent and fertiliser, poisoning waterways with nitrate and nasty pathogens." "Just this year, several new dairy expansion consents have been approved in Canterbury, where many communities are facing a drinking water crisis as a result of nitrate contamination from intensive dairy." "The Government is meant to be protecting the health of communities, not lining the pockets of corporate polluters. We've already seen the influence the agriculture lobby has had over the rollback of freshwater protections last year, and this announcement today demonstrates how much of a hold lobbyists have over Luxon and his Cabinet." "But communities are ready to fight for clean drinking water and swimmable rivers, even if Luxon won't. It's more important than ever that local governments - like Environment Canterbury, which has responsibility over the majority of New Zealand's freshwater ecosystems - step up and take real action to protect lakes, rivers, and drinking water."
