Group vows to fight RMA compliance costs

Frustration at crippling costs and conflicting advice on compliance with the Resource Management Act has led to the formation of a rural ratepayers’ action group, after a public meeting in Wellsford on July 19.

The meeting was convened by farmers concerned at the mounting costs of trying to meet Auckland Regional Council rules and regulations. More than 140 people attended, including rural business people, contractors, property developers and road users, with many farmers demanding clearer guidelines on issues such as effluent management, feed pad facilities, and the fencing of waterways.

Gordon Levet said these fell on deaf ears, however, as the ARC had considered it “unnecessary” for a representative to attend.

Several farmers voiced anger and frustration at the way the ARC allegedly sent field officers onto their land to take photographs and “gather evidence” even though no “crime” had been committed – and cited instances of ARC producing maps showing waterways marked on properties which in fact did not exist.

“It’s as though we have to prove our innocence,” Te Hana sharemilker Keith Ferguson said.

Tomarata farmer Brian Mason, one of the convenors of the meeting, said many felt “under pressure” to comply, with the ARC dictating what could or could not be done, often without reference to “the bigger picture”.

“Those affected often don’t know where to turn to for advice,” Brian said. “The rules are very open to interpretation. Field staff lack knowledge and are not consistent in applying the rules. Common sense has gone out of the window. None of us wants to be non-compliant, but as a result of the escalating costs of being so, dairy farmers are in danger of losing the competitive edge they have over their overseas competitors.”

Tapora farmer John Montgomery was unsure of what the ARC defined as a waterway, as he had been given differing advice on what required fencing and the position of fencing from streams or rivers.

“If I have to fence off 15m either side of waterways, as I’ve been led to understand, then I’ll not have much farmland left,” he said.

Another Tapora farmer queried the ARC’s criteria for its selection of its field officers, citing a “text book mentality” and little knowledge of the industry.

“What we want is someone who knows farming inside out.”

The ARC had been asked to send a representative to address concerns, but despite several invitations and phone calls to CEO Peter Winder, the council had deemed the meeting not important enough to warrant attendance, said Gordon Levet.

John Turner, who chaired the meeting, said that despite the ARC being advised of the issues under discussion he had received a two page letter “of brilliant spin” from Mr Winder, in which he said it was “quite unnecessary” for the ARC’s rural-relations executive Rob Hughes to attend, as ratepayers had plenty of avenues through which to address concerns.

“This reply totally avoided the issues and questions that we had posed to the ARC,” he said.

Mr Levet said that it wasn’t just farmers unhappy with the cost of compliance, but that many ratepayers had growing concerns and didn’t know where to turn for advice.

“We are getting to the point where we can’t afford to spend any more on this. The overall effect of these costs is having a negative effect across the productive sector. Councils, in order to implement the increasingly complex consents, have to employ more and more staff, with the result that less money is available for infrastructure. I question if the RMA is about the environment or more about collecting money to provide bureaucrats with jobs.”
Wharehine Transport principal Steve Dodd said that his company faced annual compliance monitoring charges in excess of $200,000 for its two quarries.

“I’ve had a gutsful of ARC plucking invoices out of the air each month – we call the ARC the Auckland revenue collectors,” he said.

Developers were having a hard time meeting the costs of applying for an increasing number of resource consents in order to proceed with subdivisions, Orewa developer Leigh Hopper told the meeting. His Pauanui canal development needed nine consents, while his recent Marsden Cove project required 33 consents for practically the same operation.

“As a breed, developers are becoming extinct, and I have concerns over the loss of production to the nation because a lot of land will become locked away from development due to a fear of costs of compliance,” he said.
Mr Hopper said district plans had become “more complex, voluminous documents” which did not serve
the community well, with the RMA “an expensive, revenue generating activity”.

However, the advent of the Auckland Supercity on November 1 presented an opportunity for change, resource consultant Owen McShane told the meeting.

“Your timing is perfect; you have a real chance to tell Auckland to expect trouble from the rural sector, and then present them with a plan to avoid this. Seize the opportunity to turn what has been a problem into an opportunity.”
A committee elected by the meeting has formed an incorporated society, which will provide an “avenue of help” for those struggling with compliance issues.

Named the Lower North Landowners and Contractors Protection Association, the interim chair Brian Mason says the group aims to work alongside the ARC, Rodney District Council, Fonterra and Dairy NZ to seek clarification of rules of compliance under the Resource Management Act.

“Anyone unsure of how to proceed, or struggling with the cost of complying, should contact us for guidance,” he said.

The group plans to meet monthly and will be seeking community support. Mr Mason believes that his group could be the first of many such advocacy groups countrywide.

Info: Brian Mason, ph 423 7187.

Image: From left, Brian Mason, Roger Farr, John Turner, Gordon Levet, Colin Smith, Neil Jones and Greg McCracken convened the meeting.