8 April 2013

Farmers support Auckland Plan having Immediate Legal Effect

Farmers have swung in behind Auckland’s Unitary Plan having immediate legal effect and Federated Farmers is to tell Parliament’s Local Government and Environment Committee Select Committee that tonight, when the Committee meets in Auckland to hear submissions on the Resource Management Reform Bill.

“Metropolitan Auckland’s past failures to address growth issues properly has resulted in flow-on effects for rural Auckland,” says Wendy Clark, Federated Farmers Auckland provincial president.

“Delaying the implementation of Auckland’s Unitary Plan for as much as three or four years will result in added costs for Auckland’s rural ratepayers. It will also hinder the resolution of metropolitan Auckland’s all too obvious housing issues.

“Federated Farmers generally supports the Auckland Council’s stance for when the Unitary Plan should come into effect.

“The land use rules in the Unitary Plan should have immediate effect on notification. We do not believe there should be a long delay before these rules come into effect, as is being proposed by the Government.

“In the lead up to the release of the draft Unitary Plan we have found Auckland Council consultative and collaborative. Agreement has been reached between rural industries, environmental groups and the Council on some of the potentially “hot potato” issues for farmers.

“That is why Federated Farmers Auckland is confident that the concerns we still have will be addressed one way or the other before the Plan becomes fully operative.

“We are using our submission tonight, to highlight provisions we have concerns about especially those relating to environmental management. This is much wider than farming and could trip up Auckland’s wider economic development.

“It is not well known, but these have immediate effect on plan notification under both the Bill as promoted by the Government and under the Council’s proposal.

“One possible compromise might be for the plan to have legal effect within a fixed timeframe after it is notified; say three or perhaps six months. This would give the Council the opportunity to redress any glaring problems that might arise by way of a variation.

“But any compromise should apply to the plan as a whole and not just to the land use rules”, Wendy Clark concluded.

Federated Farmers is presenting tonight at 8pm to Parliament’s Local Government and Environment Committee Select Committee, which is meeting in Paataka Room One, Novotel Auckland Airport, Ray Emery Drive, Auckland.

ENDS

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