Last minute Parliamentary moves put kibosh on ORC vote

A “sad, sad day for democracy” and “shameful” is how Dunedin MPs today described the Government's “last-minute” efforts to amend the Resource Management Act, effectively curtailing Otago Regional Council’s ability to notify its proposed Land and Water Regional Plan.

A debate around that was supposed to happen tomorrow but Otago Regional Council has confirmed that will not happen now.

The amendment introduced to Parliament this afternoon, will restrict councils’ ability to notify freshwater plans before the gazettal of the replacement National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management, RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay and Environment Minister Penny Simmonds say.

“The Government is taking this step to provide farmers the clarity they need around freshwater management, and to minimise inefficiencies and duplication for councils, and prevent unnecessary costs for ratepayers,” Mr McClay says

Mr Bishop added: “Labour’s National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020 (the NPS-FM) is extremely complex and expensive for farmers and councils to implement – and despite that it won’t deliver the outcomes for freshwater that New Zealanders would expect.

“That’s why late last year the Government legislated so that councils would have an additional three years to notify their freshwater plans and why this Government is committed to reviewing and replacing the NPS-FM.”

Ms Simmonds says the amendment is about protecting the interests of the primary sector, resource users, and ratepayers.

“Ratepayers and farmers need certainty, and they don’t deserve to have their money wasted.

“By delaying plan notifications, we are providing certainty to farmers, that their planning efforts will be in sync with national direction.

“Councils will still have an avenue to progress their freshwater plans in some circumstances – for example, where doing so would more quickly enable key housing or infrastructure projects to go ahead – by applying for approval from the Minister for the Environment.”

Under the amendment, councils would be prohibited from notifying plans until  December 31, 2025, unless the Government grants an exemption or until the NPS is finalised.

The Otago Regional Council is scheduled to meet tomorrow to decide whether it should notify its proposed Land and Water Regional Plan.

Dunedin MP Rachel Brooking said the move was  a “shameful” example of the Government skipping the Select Committee Process.

Dunedin-based green Party MP Scott Willis agreed.

“Through this bit of scrutiny, this tiny bit of scrutiny we've got on a very, very sad day for democracy.

“We're seeing a shrilling out of localism and something that looks very chaotic and disruptive and actually will create incredible uncertainty for environmental outcomes for our rural communities, for our businesses as well. At the moment today, for example, I've been feeling queries, concerns from iwi, from our local Otago regional council, from community members about this last minute amendment that the government's put in.

“I've been fielding queries from a very, very concerned community that feels as though this government not only has cut a tiger adrift, it has disavowed the localism, the local decision making.”

Green Party environment spokesperson Lan Pham asked why the Government “stepping in to override the democratically elected councillors to override the wishes of community”.

ORC chief executive Richard Saunders said he will withdraw tomorrow’s paper on ORC’s proposed Land and Water Regional Plan (pLWRP), and there will be no vote taken.

There was no staff recommendation on whether to pause or notify the pLWRP. The council was going to be presented with options and decide which decision to make; with voting to date seeing seven Councillors wishing to notify, and five wanting to pause.

Mr Saunders says the council had been expecting to hear from groups in its public forum tomorrow and had switched to a larger venue to accommodate more people at the Otago Museum.

He says the meeting will still go ahead, but the 1pm paper will be withdrawn.

ORC Chair Gretchen Robertson says although ORC had worked closely with the Government in the lead-up to tomorrow’s vote, their new stance “is a change”.

“We now need to take some time to consider the implications of this for the Otago community who still need these issues to be addressed.”

More information around impacts of this change on Otago farming, business, recreational and environmental interests, will be communicated in due course, she says.

She extended a “big thank you” to the thousands of people involved over the past almost five years in helping draft the plan, from attendance at public meetings and feedback sought, the partnership with mana whenua on the journey and a wide variety of rural and urban industry groups who got involved.

“This has been a significant process, and everyone has worked well with us democratically so far – as we have worked towards a plan which has been years in the making.

“We have valued the partnership approach taken with mana whenua in the development of the draft plan and acknowledge the time and effort given to the process.

“However, the Government has made a different decision the day before our decision. We look forward to working with the Government on the Plan into the future,” she said.

On the question of “disruption” to the Plan, Cr Robertson says that there is still more work to do to understand the exact impacts of this decision.

“To date the Minister for the Environment Penny Simmonds has consistently messaged that regional councils retain the autonomy to decide when to notify their plans, taking into account the need to address regionally specific issues. While tomorrow was a democratic decision by local government, the amendment signals a shift in law and thus government stance.

“Each councillor takes an oath to serve all the people of Otago. It serves a community that tells us in community surveys that freshwater is its top environmental concern that is vital for both livelihoods and futures.”

“We look forward to continuing to work with the Government on the development of the new National Policy Statement – Freshwater Management” she says.

“The current Water and Waste plans are still operative, so it will be business as usual for consent holders,” says Cr Robertson.

“This will give us time to understand the changes the government is bringing in with the review and replacement of the NPSFM”.

“This is not a pause that will stop the council from continuing to work with mana whenua and our community to improve freshwater in Otago, it is a pause for the planning process. The good work of protecting and enhancing our environment will continue across Otago.

“Additionally, Council will work with Government officials on legislative options to ensure that unintended consequences do not negatively impact on resource users or pose an unnecessary burden on ratepayers. We have specific time sensitive issues in Otago which will need to be addressed.”

Federated Farmers vice president Colin Hurst welcomed the Government's intervention.

Main image: ORC chief executive Richard Saunders.