Freshwater farm plan cost lamented
By Brendon McMahon
, local democracy reporter
Mounting compliance costs starting at around $10,000 and pushed onto West Coast farmers through new environmental measures, have been lamented at the West Coast Regional Council.
It comes as the formal rollout of the new freshwater farm plan requirements to begin in the next few weeks, which by 2025 will apply to all farming operations across the region above 20 hectares.
"If we bugger our farmer community, we may as well cut the rigging and go to Tasmania or whatever," councillor Frank Dooley said this week.
Council's acting consents and compliance manager, Rachel Clark, reporting to the Resource Management Committee, said council's intention around the farm plan rollout was to provide a standard template for the farming sector "for consistency".
However the impact on individual farmers, including the cost and complexity on top of a declining dairy payout, was worrying councillors.
Committee chairperson Brett Cummings asked if the new plans would effectively disallow what is currently regarded as permitted land use activity by farmers.
Clark said that was not the case currently.
"Ultimately the farm plans will be a form of consent but they are not currently," she said.
Councillor Andy Campbell, a Hari Hari dairy farmer, said what he could see was "the costs escalating".
He related the various requirements individual farmers were having to cover off to undertake the new farm plan regime, including different cost inputs from a variety of providers.
"Farmers are getting a bit concerned about these freshwater plans. They have to have a certifier, auditor, effluent inspection. The costs are escalating."
Campbell said the requirements needed to be "rolled into one" to make it simpler, otherwise the economics of any farm activity continuing for some was under threat.
"If you have a 20ha area of land you might be getting a bill for $10,000 ... are we going to destroy our little blocks of land or what?"
Councillor Peter Ewen said it was becoming "very onerous" for farmers on top of everything else.
"It doesn't help with the milk price. Things are getting tougher."
Cummings said much of the impact was "handed to council" by the Government.
Dooley said council had a responsibility to monitor the impact of the changes but suggested all aspects of the new regime be rolled into one process, and once a year.
"That would make it a damn sight easier for the farmers. I think that is a recommendation that needs to be taken back."
Planning and science manager Fiona Thomson said the council's intention was "to align wherever possible" various strands of the process.
Alongside this they planned to make as much information available as possible, "so farmers can make their own plans".
However, Dooley pointed out that the issue of external funding to implement the new regime was higher level and not necessarily trickling down to individual farmers who had to come up with the plans.
The risk now was not recognising the impact on the viability of the region's farming community.
Thomson noted the new process for farm plans was effectively "the same process" being imposed on the mining sector by the Government.
*Public interest journalism funded through NZ On Air
A reminder this hunting season
As thousands of hunters are making their plans for autumn – the Roar – recreational firearms groups are urging hunters to always be 100% sure of their targets.
Te Tari Pureke - Firearms Safety Authority NZ, which chairs the Recreational Firearms Users Group, has begun a public information campaign reminding hunters everywhere of Rule #4 of the Firearms Safety Code: to identify their target beyond all doubt.
Director Communities and Corporate, Mike McIlraith, says there is an estimated 50,000-60,000 New Zealanders involved in big game animal hunting each year, and the Roar is the key event for many hunters each year.
“The Roar is a fantastic time of year for hunters to get out into the hills after a trophy animal but hunting safely and making sure everyone gets home in one piece, still must be the most important goal of every trip,” says Mike McIlraith.
“The consequences of not fully identifying your target beyond all doubt can be catastrophic. Our message to hunters is a really simple one: If you are not sure, then don’t shoot.”
Mike McIlraith says while hunting fatalities are thankfully rare, research has shown that misidentification of the target is the largest firearms related risk to New Zealand deer hunters, and 80% of the time this involves members of the same hunting group.
The Authority says hunters should not feel pressured to take a shot: “Instead, hunters should take the time to analyse their target, wait and see if it is a hind or stag, how old is the animal, how many points does its antlers have? Identifying your target means never firing at sound, shape, colour or movement alone.”
Mike McIlraith says good hunters will slow down, and run through some simple mental checks:
- Can I see the whole animal, or could this be another hunter?
- Where are my hunting companions – could this be them or someone else?
- How much of the animal can you see, if it is a hind or stag, how old is the animal, how - many points does its antlers have?
“Taking a little extra time to identify your target and check the firing zone is the key to safer hunting. No meat or no trophy is better than no mate,” he says.
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