Protect property rights
from council overreach
_{Sign the petition}

Groundswell NZ has taken the Gore District Council to the Environment Court over their Proposed District Plan to set a legal and political precedent stopping councils from using planning laws like the Resource Management Act to undermine the property rights of landowners.

The new proposed plan uses Section 6 of the RMA to apply Ngai Tahu cultural values to the entire district and create a 1-in-200 year flood zone requiring new builds and renovations to raise foundations by 1.5 metres or more across 69 streets in the centre of Gore.

This isn't just about Gore. The precedents set now will affect every council in the country.

The idea of iwi cultural values reaching into every kind of land use is spreading fast and replacing what was a limited requirement to respect particular sites.
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Any town with a waterway could have their council also apply unworkable height requirements in response to a 1-in-200 year flood, instead of letting homeowners decide on their own what risks they want to take.

The Government's RMA replacement bills still keep the Section 6 approach. What gets decided now will stick with us for decades to come.

Show your support for basic property rights against bureaucrats using any cultural or environmental issue to micromanage and give non-democratic groups like iwi a say over how landowners use their land.

Will you pledge your support by signing our petition to protect property rights from council overreach?