Fed Farmers aghast at water plan
Govt calls claim it will drive some out of the dairy industry ‘ridiculous’
Federated Farmers says sweeping new rules proposed to clean up the country’s waterways will force some out of the dairy industry. But Government has called the claim “ridiculous” and says plenty of the farming sector are already on board with a need for urgent change.
Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor and Environment Minister David Parker yesterday unveiled new proposals intended to clean up New Zealand’s rivers, streams and lakes.
The shake-up to the standards, Parker said, was the biggest since the introduction of the Resource Management Act nearly three decades ago and aimed at improving conditions within five years and getting waterways healthy in a generation.
“If we don’t fix things now they will only get worse and will be more expensive to fix,” he said.
Much of the debate about river quality has centred on the effects of nitrates coming from growing and intensifying dairy farming in recent decades — and, in particular, livestock waste and fertiliser adding nitrate into waterways, along with pollution from sewage and urban growth.
The 19 proposals include new rules that will affect both country and city.
In one of the most significant changes, the Government plans to
restrict further intensification of rural land from June next year.
It would mean dairy conversions over 10 hectares or irrigation schemes would only go ahead if they could prove they wouldn’t increase pollution, likely putting a brake on some development.
The restrictions would stay in place until at least 2025, when regional councils would have new rules in place based on a new “National Policy Statement” on freshwater.
Other changes farmers may face include:
● an interim nitrogen cap for waterways in some regions;
● new farm planning requirements that consider water quality;
● stricter rules to keep stock away from waterways;
● new restrictions for winter grazing, feedlots and stock holding areas;
● protections designed to stop development on wetlands.
The recommendations would also require councils to set significantly tougher limits for nutrients in waterways around the country.
The technical group advising the Government said fewer than half of the country’s 16 regional councils had set limits in catchments using current rules, and that the existing “bottom lines” weren’t good enough.
But some of the changes will come at a price to farmers. Fencing along waterways alone is expected to cost $600 million over the next decade, among a series of other costs.
Federated Farmers said the proposals were unnecessarily stringent and “throwing farmers under the tractor”, arguing some of the requirements would see parts of New Zealand having to reduce their nitrogen levels by up to 80 per cent.
“It becomes very hard to continue economically farming animals or growing vegetables under a regime like this,” environment and water spokesperson Chris Allen said.
“The long-term targets for nitrogen reduction are effectively unachievable in some parts of the country, and will end pastoral farming in these areas.”
Farmers wanted to improve water quality and were already doing significant work in the area, he said.
O’Connor said he had sympathy for many farmers who were already struggling but said claims dairy farmers would be driven out of parts of the country or that the goals were unachievable were “ridiculous”.
“There are many, many farmers out there who are wanting to get guidelines from us, who want to move forward on this.
“We won’t see farmers closing down because of this. But we appreciate that at the moment farmers are under pressure for a number of reasons . . . That’s why we want to work through these costs.” The Government in the May Budget included a $229 million package to help fund the transition.
Environmental lobby group Fish & Game said the proposals had potential but that some options put up could fall short. “The focus on ecosystem health is long overdue, as are the new proposed planning processes that should force councils to change how they manage water,” its chief, Martin Taylor, said. “However, we have concerns regarding a number of bad options around industry set standards and enforcement. These need to be rejected.” Consultation will begin in September and go to Oct 17, with Cabinet to sign-off on any final decisions.