The Government has today opened public consultation on options to reform New Zealand’s freshwater national direction.
National direction refers to rules and policies sitting under the Resource Management Act (RMA) that inform how councils develop and implement local plans and rules.
The Government is today releasing three discussion documents proposing amendments to 12 different instruments and the introduction of four new instruments, centred on three packages: infrastructure and development, the primary sector and freshwater.
“This is a key step toward restoring balance in how freshwater is managed across the country and ensuring the interests of all water users, including farmers, growers, and rural communities, are properly reflected,” said Agriculture Minister, Todd McClay.
The move follows the Government’s decisive intervention in 2024 to stop the Otago Regional Council from pushing ahead with a freshwater plan that would have imposed unnecessary costs and uncertainty on rural landowners.
“Regional councils must work within national direction that is fit for purpose, not pursue agendas that undermine local economies or the people who rely on the land,” Mr McClay says.
Associate Environment Minister, Andrew Hoggard said the Government is committed to a freshwater system that protects the environment while also supporting the people who feed and grow New Zealand.
“The current rules are too complex, too expensive, and too often ignore the practical realities of landowners. We’re fixing that,” Mr Hoggard says.
The consultation proposes replacing the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020 and related regulations with a more practical, efficient, and regionally adaptable system.
“The current system’s Te Mana o te Wai has caused frustration across rural New Zealand, with some councils applying it in a way that sidelines the very people working to improve water outcomes,” Mr Hoggard says.
“Farmers aren’t asking for a free pass – they’re asking for a fair go,” said Mr McClay.
“We won’t stand by while councils weaponise Te Mana o te Wai, to push ideology over common sense. It must reflect the importance of freshwater to all New Zealanders.”
The proposed changes would:
- Replace the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020 and the National Environmental Standards for Freshwater;
- Give councils greater flexibility to balance environmental goals with economic impacts and allow longer timeframes to reach targets where needed;
- Remove unnecessary consents for practices like crop rotation and enable commercial domestic vegetable growing;
- Support long-term water security by enabling water storage;
- Improve the protection of drinking water sources; and
- Review and simplify data requirements under synthetic nitrogen fertiliser regulations.
These are practical, farmer-focused reforms will restore confidence and reduce red tape, while still delivering environmental gains, said the Ministers.
“We’ve heard from farmers across the country that nationally determined bottom lines are not always appropriate and can be unachievable even in some catchments dominated by native bush. They also take away flexibility from local communities to achieve the environmental outcomes they want,” Mr Hoggard says.
“We’re putting outcomes ahead of process and backing rural New Zealand to be part of the solution,” Mr McClay says.
Public consultation is open on the Ministry for the Environment’s ‘Have Your Say’ website and will run until 27 July. Submissions from all New Zealanders are encouraged.
This is the first of a two-stage process. Feedback will inform final decisions on what to amend in national direction, with a draft set of proposals to follow later in the year.
Federated Farmers was quick to applaud the Government’s announcements.
“We’re pleased to see all options are on the table and that consultation will be open until 27 July,” said Federated Farmers freshwater spokesperson, Colin Hurst.
“The previous Government’s freshwater rules were completely unworkable for farmers. In some cases, even if you converted a whole catchment to native forest, you still wouldn’t have achieved the bottom lines.
“The current Government simply had to push pause on these rules – and now we’re seeing steps towards more sensible national direction to local authorities.”
Mr Hurst says it was particularly welcome that the Government was seeking a more balanced approach to Te Mana o Te Wai.
“That concept, as pursued by the previous Government, has been unworkable and highly problematic,” he said.
“It was unclear how councils should interpret and apply what was a vague concept of protecting the mana and mauri of water under Labour’s rules, and what that might mean for our farms and rural communities.”
Under Te Mana o te Wai, the health and wellbeing of water is put ahead of all other considerations, including human health, and social, cultural and economic wellbeing, said Mr Hurst.
“That seems wildly imbalanced. The Government’s announcements today recognise such a strict hierarchy is flawed.”
The consultation document states: ‘Multiple objectives require councils to provide for multiple outcomes and can better reflect the interests of all water users’.
“Federated Farmers absolutely agrees with this. In fact, we believe it’s worth considering whether Te Mano o te Wai is a concept that should be scrapped altogether, which is one of the options now on the table,” Mr Hurst says.
“Another big question is whether it’s worth making these freshwater changes right now under the current Resource Management Act (RMA), or if this should wait until the Government has reformed the RMA, with the freshwater changes to follow.
“Federated Farmers will be reading through the detail of today’s announcement and going back to the Government with our position, on behalf of our members, in the next few weeks,” he said.
Visit the MfE website [https://environment.govt.nz/news/consultation-on-updating-rma-national-direction] to take part in the consultation.
