NZPI Highlight Important Points at Select Committee

NZPI spoke to the Primary Production Select Committee on its submission to the RM (Freshwater and Other Matters) Amendment Bill today, with NZPI Board Chair Andrea Harris highlighting three key points.

1. “NZPI wants to see robust and enduring legislation to govern the resource management system. The current ad hoc approach is not going to achieve that, and, quite frankly, is exhausting”.
2. In relation to the changes to the process for developing national direction: “we consider these are largely unnecessary. Quicker and more agile processes are possible under the current provisions of the RMA. We also observe that it is not always the consultative process that takes the longest in the development of national direction”.
3.  “We have several concerns over the changes in the Bill to specific national direction and national standards.
   
   - First, there is a lack of evidence and poor problem definition behind the proposed changes.`
   
   - Second, we anticipate implementation issues with the changes proposed that will actually result in more delay, cost, and complexity in the system, rather than efficiency and cost savings.
   
   - The changes will result in wasted effort and inefficiencies.”

Andrea concluded by saying “that more certain and enduring results will be achieved through a more considered and comprehensive approach to clearly defined problems. We are wanting enduring and integrated legislative change to the resource management system as a whole, rather than single topic tweaks.”

The team fielded a number of questions from the Committee with important discussions about the application of the Te Mana o Te Wai hierarchy at the consenting stage, the readiness of regional plans and freshwater farm plans around the country to consider winter grazing, and the extensive application of Significant Natural Areas across the country.

NZPI asserted the need for the committee to consider carefully the problems they are trying to resolve, suggesting that quality national direction will deliver on the original policy intent.

Watch David Curtis, Andrea Harris & Emily Grace’s Select Committee appearance (including valuable Q & A) below ...

Primary Production Committee live stream on-demand