With the government announcing they want to make changes to the current National Environmental Standards for Freshwater (NES-F), formed by the previous government, there is much confusion as to where everyone stands.
Unfortunately the rules in the NES-F are still current for this winter.
But still, in reality with the changes coming soon, if the regional council didn’t adhere to them, would they seriously be reprimanded for it? I would imagine not.
It was my recommendation that the regional council kick the current rules to the curb, and focus on the future Water and Land Plan that we have all spent a lot of time and money on to get into a workable position.
The council did announce it, and made the Water and Land plan officially live on May 27 this year. For me, it would be common sense to run with it instead of the current rules, but unfortunately the two words no longer a part of the dictionary these days are "common" and "sense".
With the wet start to winter, we have had challenging times getting animals settled into winter and getting paddocks of crop opened up. In the scheme of things, largely I’m seeing some really good practice out there, but if anyone has any concern in regards to some issues or potential issues please reach out to 0800 Farming and let us know.
I have had some report of issues dealing with the regional council trying to enforce some of the rules and if this happens to you, and you feel it is unjust, also get in touch with us.
I don’t condone unruly behaviour and abuse towards others, so if you feel aggrieved, please reach out to me.
We are also working really hard to push back on the current list of long-term plans from all councils and this problem appears to be a whole country problem, so we will be pushing for councils to start to cut their expenditure, instead of passing on growth costs to rate payers.
It’s time they learnt to spend ratepayers’ money sensibly and responsibly.
Councillors are elected officials representing the views of the people who elected them there. Some need to remember this fact.
