Yesterday, the council released an eight-page letter it sent to the minister last week after she questioned whether a May 15 report to her on the cost of the council’s new land and water plan had omitted important financial information.
The letter said the council’s plan had changed after initial consultation and was now "less costly, more workable and is pragmatic in allowing time to make change".
Among the changes it outlined: orchards and vineyards were now excluded from controls on land-use expansion, there had been allowances for more water to be taken from a selection of rivers, and the effect of the plan on the forestry industry had been significantly reduced.
The letter also said without a new plan in place soon, new rules could come into effect from April 1, 2026, that would place "an unnecessary burden" on ratepayers.
Further, more than 600 interim consents had been issued to former water permit holders as work on the plan progressed and those consents began to expire from this year to 2030.
"We have some excellent freshwater in Otago but we also have many sites which show degradation ... and there is a strong voice seeking us to act now.
"There is tension in our community and an undermining of the social licence for farmers.
"The plan seeks to address this tension and provide certainty ... of what is expected in both rural and urban settings."
The letter was only part of this month’s response to the minister.
Council chairwoman Cr Gretchen Robertson said attached to the letter, but not released, were draft section 32 extracts on stock exclusion, afforestation and wastewater that supported the council response.
"As part of our response we have committed to providing further information to the minister as soon as it is available," she said in a statement yesterday.
"Along with receiving a response from council we thank the minister for making time to meet with ORC [today] in Wellington to discuss this response."
The council’s letter, signed by Cr Robertson, said the full draft section 32 response would be supplied to the minister in confidence on Tuesday.
Late last year, Ms Simmonds urged the council to delay notification of its land and water plan because the national policy statement for freshwater management underpinning the plan was to be rewritten.
Council representatives met Ms Simmonds and several of her ministerial colleagues in February to discuss the matter.
The council was assured it had until the end of 2027 to prepare its plan, but nevertheless in a 7-5 vote councillors soon after decided to continue to prepare the plan in time for an October 31 notification.
To justify the decision, the council was required to produce the May 15 cost-benefits analysis.
In two letters to the council this winter, Ms Simmonds said a range of Otago ratepayers had informed her and her ministerial colleagues that costs associated with the council’s forthcoming land and water plan would be "astronomical" and repeated her request for the council to provide its understanding of the costs related to the plan.
The same 7-5 split among councillors has been evident in a series of votes around work on the plan in the lead-up to today’s meeting with the minister.
The letter was drafted behind closed doors rather than in public after another 7-5 vote last week.
Yesterday, Cr Michael Laws contacted the Otago Daily Times to note the contents of the letter were approved by a vote of 7-5.
"Five councillors still disagree with the letter’s content and, in good part, because we don’t believe this letter addresses the minister’s concerns, especially relating to the costs associated with the draft land and water plan."
