Feds Says One Plan The Best Way Forward

Federated Farmers says legal action announced today by the Environmental Defence Society and Fish & Game against the Horizons Regional Council shows some people just can’t accept that industry and councils can work together effectively.

Federated Farmers Manawatu/Rangitikei provincial president James Stewart says the court action undermines and disregards the enormous amount of good work and investment undertaken by farmers across the region to comply with the new ‘One Plan’ regulations.

In documents filed today, EDS and Fish & Game says the plan has not been "properly implemented".

"The 'One Plan' is not a rubber-stamping exercise. We’ve all been working very hard to meet new stringent requirements and ensure checks and balances are in place that must be met.

"To have organisations, with limited local knowledge, throw stones from outside our region is very disappointing and fails to recognise the large amount of proactive and local work happening to support 'One Plan'," James says.

The ‘One Plan’ cost farmers and the regional council millions of dollars to refine and negotiate, in and out of court, for more than seven years. It finally became operational more than 18 months ago and has been a daily work-in-progress project for farmers and the council since then.

Federated Farmers Tararua provincial president Clint Worthington says the economic cost of revisiting this plan will be depressing for the region, both to the ratepayers who will fork out to fight court action and to the communities who will now operate without the security of the already made plan changes.
"This is going to be an enormous drain on progress in our communities, right across the Horizons region," Clint says.

"In this tough economic climate, farmers have stepped up to the plate, forking out up to $50,000 each to further improve their work in water quality, nutrient management and environmental farm planning," James says.

"Forums like the Manawatu River Leaders group exist for the good of the local community and promote best practices from a local social, economic and environmental perspective. They contribute to this process on a daily basis, and work closely with the council.

James concluded "The people of Manawatu and Rangitikei deserve the opportunity to address environmental issues at a local level, without ‘out of region’ interference from organisations with minimal knowledge of the outcomes from 'One Plan'."

Federated Farmers encourages all farmers to continue their vital work, even with the uncertainty that this legal action brings.

ENDS

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