Groundswell NZ applauds the Government for being the first in the 35-year history of the Resource Management Act (RMA) to make a serious attempt to fix what everyone agrees is broken legislation, Groundswell NZ Environmental Spokesperson Jamie McFadden says.

“We also applaud the reform of local government and moves to fix the unworkable consent system that heaps huge and unnecessary cost onto our productive sectors and hits ratepayers with large rate rises.

“While we strongly support the direction of reform taken by this Government, we are disappointed the Section 6 Land Grab classifications live on, even if just under different names.

“Significant Natural Areas (SNAs), Outstanding Natural Landscapes and Features, and Sites and Areas of Significance to Maori (SASMs) have caused huge disruption across the country, undermined property rights, turned natural & cultural values into a liability, and penalised landowners who are trying to do the right thing for the environment.

“Changing their names in the new legislation provides no comfort to farmers facing overzealous councils mapping their land. However, we acknowledge the new compensation obligations on councils may temper this.

“We are also strongly opposed to the mandatory Freshwater Farm Plan top-down regulation.

“Farmers have shown they will embrace farm plans if they are done in the right context. However, this proposal increases government interference and red tape for the 90% of sheep and beef farmers who do not require consents.

“It is a broken election promise and does not fit with the values espoused by all three coalition parties. We remind the Government that a Beef + Lamb survey found 83% of farmers were opposed to the Freshwater Farm Plan state prescribed legislation.

"Our role as a farmer advocate organisation is to ensure that grassroots farmers' concerns are articulated. Hence why we remain opposed to Section 6 classifications like SNAs and the new mandatory Government-prescribed Freshwater Farm Plans,” says Mr McFadden.

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