Hearings were set to begin later this month on the chapter of the proposed Te Tai o Poutini plan (TTPP) for the whole Coast that deals with significant natural areas (SNA).
But the TTPP committee of Coast council representatives and iwi has told the hearings commissioners they want to postpone the process until November.
By that time, they say, they should have a clearer idea of what change the government is making to biodiversity rules.
Mr Hoggard said it definitely made sense to pause the process because change was under way.
"I would think by November the councils will have a much better idea as to the direction the government will be taking, so any work they do won’t be in vain. "
By November, the Freshwater and Other Matters Bill, which pauses the mapping of new SNAs for three years, will have passed through Parliament and be enacted in law, Mr Hoggard said.
The councils will have been involved in consultation with the government about the nature of planned changes to the National Policy Statement on Indigenous Biodiversity (NPS).
The NPS directs councils to map and protect SNA and has been hugely controversial on the West Coast, where there are still many stands of native forest on private land.
"That consultation’s beginning roughly about now and I would hope, come decision time, the councils will have a clear idea of the government’s intentions", Mr Hoggard said.
"Ideally it would be good if they could hold off till the middle of next year, once all the changes are complete."
But Buller Mayor Jamie Cleine said that prospect was alarming.
"It would have cascading effects and costs for the ratepayers. We’d be working under two plans for a prolonged period — the proposed one and the old operative one", he said.
"So when anyone applies for resource consent you have two lots of evidence, more expense, and lots of uncertainty."
Mr Hoggard said he planned to work with the West Coast councils to reach a pragmatic solution that would not waste ratepayers’ money.
Asked if the government would phase out the SNA classification entirely, Mr Hoggard said the government wanted to redefine the criteria.
"Rather than imposing a whole bunch of rules on landowners that take away property rights, how about we come up with some carrot approaches rather than the stick, and ... reward them for looking after that biodiversity."
Deferring work on the plan until mid 2025 would buy time for councils to write rules in line with the government’s new direction, Mr Hoggard said.
Mr Cleine was worried that further delays could also cost the region $13 million that was approved by the last government for roading and water services in Westport’s new growth area, on Alma Rd.
"The environmental rules are threaded through the whole plan — they apply in so many other sections. It makes no sense just to leave out that chapter", he said.
In any case, the proposed plan gave Westland and Buller three years to start work on SNA, so adopting it in its present form was not at odds with the government’s intentions, Mr Cleine said.
"We could simply go ahead, get the thing operative and when the law changes, go back and do a plan change to accommodate it — which is something you have to do anyway to keep a plan current."
Mr Hoggard said he hoped to find a way through the complexities that would work for everyone.
"I’ll have to check — all this stuff seems simple until I talk to lawyers and then everything gets much more complicated. But we will work with the councils to make sure we get a good outcome."
- By Lois Williams
Local Democracy Reporter
• LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air
