Latest news with #ResourceManagementAct
Scoop
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Environmentalists See Forestry Changes As Dangerous Step For Tairāwhiti
Article – Zita Campbell – Local Democracy Reporter Gisborne residents call proposals 'a slap in the face' amid forestry concerns. Tairāwhiti environmentalists have called changes for commercial forestry under proposed Resource Management Act reforms 'a slap in the face' and a return to weaker forestry regulations. Local groups are preparing to make submissions on proposed changes to the way forestry is managed after consultation on the Resource Management Act opened on Thursday. The proposals would make it harder for councils to have their own discretion in setting stricter rules to control tree planting. Gisborne District Council (GDC) said the proposed changes grant both 'real opportunities' and 'some challenges'. The Eastland Wood Council (EWC) is still considering its options around submitting. Mana Taiao Tairāwhiti (MTT), the group behind a 12,000-signature petition that triggered the Ministerial Inquiry into Land Use (MILU) in Tairāwhiti and Wairoa, claimed the Government was relaxing 'already permissive forestry rules'. The inquiry, published in May 2023, followed the destruction caused by Cyclone Gabrielle and other major storms, when woody debris, forestry slash and sedimentation flooded the region's land, waterways and infrastructure. At the time of the inquiry's findings, the previous Government announced actions to reduce the risk of a Gabrielle repeat. MTT spokeswoman and Ruatōria resident Tui Warmenhoven said, 'We were promised stronger protections – what we're getting is deregulation dressed as reform.' The proposed changes were 'a slap in the face to the hundreds of whānau who've already paid the price for poor forestry regulations', said Warmenhoven in a group statement. Another part of the proposed changes will require a Slash Mobilisation Risk Assessment as part of all harvest management plans. It would also consider refining requirements to remove all slash above a certain size from forest cutovers. MTT welcomed the proposed requirement for Slash Mobilisation Risk Assessments, however, it warned 'this would be ineffective without enforceable planning requirements and local oversight'. 'A slash assessment without an afforestation plan is meaningless – it's a partial fix that ignores the root of the problem,' said Warmenhoven. 'We've already seen what happens when forestry is left to regulate itself and the problems with planting shallow-rooting pine on erosion-prone slopes. We are also concerned about the removal of references to woody debris, given that whole pine plantations collapsed during Cyclone Gabrielle and still line many waterways in the region.' Last September, EWC chairman Julian Kohn said forestry firms were 'bleeding money', with many companies finding Gisborne too costly to invest in. Speaking with Local Democracy Reporting, Kohn said EWC was still considering whether to submit its own response or work with other council members to make submissions. 'We've been working closely with the minister and advocating for what we see needs to be real change in respect of some of the causes in the NES-CF [National Environmental Standards for Commercial Forestry],' said Kohn. 'Our real concern is that the way the council is treating many of these consents and these enforcement orders are literally sending these forest companies to the wall.' He said forestry companies would close if things continued the way they were, which would leave forests unmanaged and unharvested. 'Next time we have a rain event, then some of those trees which have been locked up are going to come down the waterways, which is exactly what everybody wants to try to prevent.' GDC's director of sustainable futures, Jocelyne Allen, said the consultation documents came 'as no surprise' as they were broad and aligned with what the council had seen in the Cabinet paper and Expert Advisory Group report. 'The packages cover infrastructure, the primary sector, freshwater, and urban growth, all areas that matter deeply to our region. 'There are real opportunities here, but also some challenges, and we're taking the time to work through both carefully,' she said. The council intends to submit a response and will be taking a strategic and collaborative approach to doing so, including engaging with tangata whenua, whānau, hapū and iwi across the region and working through its sector networks, particularly the Local Government Special Interest Groups and Te Uru Kahika, said Allen. Before the announcement of the proposed changes, in an email to Local Democracy Reporting on Monday, Primary Industries and Forestry Minister Todd McClay said forestry played an important role in the economy and provided many jobs on the East Coast. 'The Government is working closely with the GDC and respected members of the forestry industry, farming and iwi to manage and reduce risk through better and more practical rules rather than blanket restrictions or bans.' He said they are reviewing slash management practices and will amend the NES-CF so councils can focus on the most at-risk areas, lower costs and deliver better social and environmental outcomes. 'We want them to focus on high-risk areas, which is what GDC is currently doing, rather than suggesting that there should no longer be any forestry in the Tairāwhiti region,' he said.
Scoop
15 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
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Environmentalists See Forestry Changes As Dangerous Step For Tairāwhiti
Tairāwhiti environmentalists have called changes for commercial forestry under proposed Resource Management Act reforms 'a slap in the face' and a return to weaker forestry regulations. Local groups are preparing to make submissions on proposed changes to the way forestry is managed after consultation on the Resource Management Act opened on Thursday. The proposals would make it harder for councils to have their own discretion in setting stricter rules to control tree planting. Gisborne District Council (GDC) said the proposed changes grant both 'real opportunities' and 'some challenges'. The Eastland Wood Council (EWC) is still considering its options around submitting. Mana Taiao Tairāwhiti (MTT), the group behind a 12,000-signature petition that triggered the Ministerial Inquiry into Land Use (MILU) in Tairāwhiti and Wairoa, claimed the Government was relaxing 'already permissive forestry rules'. The inquiry, published in May 2023, followed the destruction caused by Cyclone Gabrielle and other major storms, when woody debris, forestry slash and sedimentation flooded the region's land, waterways and infrastructure. At the time of the inquiry's findings, the previous Government announced actions to reduce the risk of a Gabrielle repeat. MTT spokeswoman and Ruatōria resident Tui Warmenhoven said, 'We were promised stronger protections – what we're getting is deregulation dressed as reform.' The proposed changes were 'a slap in the face to the hundreds of whānau who've already paid the price for poor forestry regulations', said Warmenhoven in a group statement. Another part of the proposed changes will require a Slash Mobilisation Risk Assessment as part of all harvest management plans. It would also consider refining requirements to remove all slash above a certain size from forest cutovers. MTT welcomed the proposed requirement for Slash Mobilisation Risk Assessments, however, it warned 'this would be ineffective without enforceable planning requirements and local oversight'. 'A slash assessment without an afforestation plan is meaningless – it's a partial fix that ignores the root of the problem,' said Warmenhoven. 'We've already seen what happens when forestry is left to regulate itself and the problems with planting shallow-rooting pine on erosion-prone slopes. We are also concerned about the removal of references to woody debris, given that whole pine plantations collapsed during Cyclone Gabrielle and still line many waterways in the region.' Last September, EWC chairman Julian Kohn said forestry firms were 'bleeding money', with many companies finding Gisborne too costly to invest in. Speaking with Local Democracy Reporting, Kohn said EWC was still considering whether to submit its own response or work with other council members to make submissions. 'We've been working closely with the minister and advocating for what we see needs to be real change in respect of some of the causes in the NES-CF [National Environmental Standards for Commercial Forestry],' said Kohn. 'Our real concern is that the way the council is treating many of these consents and these enforcement orders are literally sending these forest companies to the wall.' He said forestry companies would close if things continued the way they were, which would leave forests unmanaged and unharvested. 'Next time we have a rain event, then some of those trees which have been locked up are going to come down the waterways, which is exactly what everybody wants to try to prevent.' GDC's director of sustainable futures, Jocelyne Allen, said the consultation documents came 'as no surprise' as they were broad and aligned with what the council had seen in the Cabinet paper and Expert Advisory Group report. 'The packages cover infrastructure, the primary sector, freshwater, and urban growth, all areas that matter deeply to our region. 'There are real opportunities here, but also some challenges, and we're taking the time to work through both carefully,' she said. The council intends to submit a response and will be taking a strategic and collaborative approach to doing so, including engaging with tangata whenua, whānau, hapū and iwi across the region and working through its sector networks, particularly the Local Government Special Interest Groups and Te Uru Kahika, said Allen. Before the announcement of the proposed changes, in an email to Local Democracy Reporting on Monday, Primary Industries and Forestry Minister Todd McClay said forestry played an important role in the economy and provided many jobs on the East Coast. 'The Government is working closely with the GDC and respected members of the forestry industry, farming and iwi to manage and reduce risk through better and more practical rules rather than blanket restrictions or bans.' He said they are reviewing slash management practices and will amend the NES-CF so councils can focus on the most at-risk areas, lower costs and deliver better social and environmental outcomes. 'We want them to focus on high-risk areas, which is what GDC is currently doing, rather than suggesting that there should no longer be any forestry in the Tairāwhiti region,' he said.
Scoop
16 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.
1News
19 hours ago
- Politics
- 1News
Sweeping RMA changes for housing, freshwater, infrastructure rules proposed
Sweeping changes to the rules governing councils' oversight of everything from housing — to mining — to agriculture — under the Resource Management Act are being released to the public for feedback. The government has released discussion documents covering 12 national policy statements and similar instruments, with the aim of having 16 new or updated ones by the end of the year — 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 May 29 to July 27. The topics cover a wide range of portfolios, the early afternoon announcement fronted by RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay, Energy Minister Simon Watts, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones, Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard, and Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. (Source: ADVERTISEMENT "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," Bishop said. "Next year we'll replace the RMA with new legislation premised on property rights. Our new system will provide a framework that makes it easier to plan and deliver infrastructure and energy projects, as well a protecting the environment." Freshwater The changes would "rebalance Te Mana o te Wai to better reflect the interests of all water users", with councils able to "tailor" monitoring and management to local conditions. Councils would be directed to consider how they could help ensure stable domestic food supply, including providing for crop rotation in regional plans. Crop rotation within catchments could be allowed without a consent. Water storage rules would change aiming to ensure water flows during dry periods, protect against climate-change-caused drought, and reduce the need for extraction from natural rivers and lakes. Wetland regulations would change aiming to protect water filtration, flood control, and habitat for diverse species. ADVERTISEMENT The definition of "wetland" would be amended, now excluding unintentionally created "induced" wetlands, and allowing farming activities like irrigation, on-farm water storage and fencing considered "unlikely" to have an adverse effect, while constructed wetlands would have a new objective, standards, and consent pathway. Councils would no longer need to map wetlands by 2030, but Source Water Risk Management areas would now need to be mapped "to help safeguard drinking water sources from contamination". The government is also proposing to "simplify" requirements for fish passages to reduce the administrative burden "while still providing appropriate protection". Changes to rules for synthetic fertiliser are also proposed. Agriculture Minister Todd McClay. (Source: Primary sector Highly productive land changes would extend the timeframes to 2027/28, see the removal of the "Land Use Capability 3" category and trial the use of "special agricultural areas". ADVERTISEMENT Grazed beef cattle and deer in low intensity farms would no longer need to be kept out of wetlands. In forestry, councils would lose the ability to set harder controls, slash would need to be planned for and — above a certain size — removed, and low-intensity harvesting will be permitted by default if "any relevant forest planning requirement is complied with". Restrictions on mines and quarries in wetlands would be loosened. Aquaculture changes aim to streamline consenting for activities and research, and allow small structures in coastal marine areas with no consent. Infrastructure and development Granny flats of up to 70sqm, and papakāinga of up to 10 homes would be allowed without a consent on specific land zones. Papakāinga would also allow commercial activities of up to 100sqm, conservation activity, accommodation for up to eight guests, along with education, health, sports, marae, urupā and māra kai facilities. Medium papakāinga of up to 30 homes would be considered a "restricted discretionary" activity, with those of more than 30 units becoming "discretionary" activities. ADVERTISEMENT Energy changes include new policies on supporting the needs of the electricity network and management of environmental interests, and another new policy on recognising and providing for Māori interests in electricity transmission, and other changes. These would allow more routine work on electricity networks, establish a National Grid Yard and Subdivision Corridor, and scrap consenting for distribution and EV charging infrastructure. A new policy for natural hazards — covering flooding, landslips, coastal erosion, coastal inundation, active faults, liquefaction and tsunami — would cover all environments and zones including coastal environments, directing councils to take a risk-based approach and assess risk based on "likelihood and consequence". A definition of "significant risk" using a risk matrix would be provided, with councils directed to also use the best available information when making decisions. In telecommunications, new poles would be allowed by default in more areas, with restrictions in the road reserve also removed. Renewable energy generation, temporary facilities and connection lines to heritage buildings for telecommunications would no longer need consenting.
