- Hon Todd McClay
The Government is moving to review and update national level policy directives that impact the primary sector, as part of its work to get Wellington out of farming.
"The primary sector has been weighed down by unworkable and costly regulation for too long," Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says.
"That is why we are slashing red tape and removing one-size-fits-all regulations, to enable and empower local decision-making and free up farming.
As part of its reforms to the Resource Management Act, the Government is progressing a second RMA Amendment Bill alongside a comprehensive package of regulatory changes that will drive primary sector growth and productivity.
"In the primary sector, these changes relate to freshwater, indigenous biodiversity, commercial forestry, marine aquaculture, quarrying, and water storage.
"This integrated approach will look to align settings in a way that makes better sense for farmers, foresters, and other land users.
"The current process for making or amending national direction instruments is long and costly and will be streamlined as part of our significant RMA reforms," Mr McClay says.
Changes to free up the rural economy will include:
Freshwater
The Government will change current freshwater policy to create a more balanced approach for all water users. This will include reviewing and replacing the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020, enabling vegetable growing and on-farm water storage to support economic and environmental goals.
Drinking water
Existing drinking water standards will be clarified, making it easier for regional councils to implement regulations while adopting a risk-based approach to source water protection.
Indigenous biodiversity
Policies around indigenous biodiversity will be adjusted to sensibly protect the most unique environments without putting undue restrictions on land-use and better support quarrying and mining activities.
Commercial forestry
Regulations for commercial forestry will be streamlined. This includes reversing parts of the regulations which allowed for increased council discretion for afforestation, and reviewing forestry slash management.
Marine aquaculture
Changes to section 127 of the Resource Management Act will support innovation in the aquaculture industry and maximise growth potential for marine farms.
In addition, cost recovery for councils processing amendments to marine aquaculture consent conditions will be allowed (to incentivise use of the National Environmental Standards for Marine Aquaculture when reviewing a change of consent condition applications).
Quarrying
It will be easier to obtain consents for quarrying materials like crushed rock, gravel, and sand-key resources needed for infrastructure projects such as roads and housing.
Quarried material, including crushed rock, gravel and sand, will be more readily available to support New Zealand's increased infrastructure needs.
Freshwater Farm Plans
Freshwater farm plans were enabled in 2020 through an amendment of section 9A of the Resource Management Act and Resource Management (Freshwater Farm Plans) Regulations 2023.
The Government will pause the rollout of freshwater farm plans until work to improve the system in finalised.
Improving the freshwater farm plans system as a key tool to manage freshwater risks to make it more cost-effective and practical for farmers is a priority for this Government.
All of these changes are part of a broader effort to modernise the resource management system, making it easier to update national policies and boost the primary sector.
"Feedback and input from sector groups will be an important part of ensuring changes are fit for purpose," Mr McClay says.
"This Farming and the Primary Sector package is one of the four packages of Phase 2 reforms to be delivered through a second RMA Amendment Bill and national direction changes. The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform announced the contents of the other three packages last week."
The national direction package will follow the same timeline as the second RMA Amendment Bill which we expect will be introduced to the house in December and pass it into law in mid-2025.
"The cumulative effects of these changes will help to drive a more efficient and effective resource management system, and achieve our ambitious goal to double the value of all exports, including food and fibre products, within 10 years.
