I’m writing to update you on the important legislation passed by Parliament this week, the boycott of Southland Fish & Game, and our campaign to protect property rights in Gore (and why both of those are important for the whole country).

Farewell to the National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management

Last week, we saw an important step forward for unwinding the unworkable regulations on food production in New Zealand. The Government passed its first round of amendments to the Resource Management Act, which had always included some good starts:

• Ending Te Mana o te Wai priorities for Freshwater Management until replacement rules are made

• Repealing the unworkable low slope map for stock exclusion

• Repealing the resource consent requirement for winter grazing

• Suspending the requirement for councils to make new Significant Natural Areas

The problem with the reforms is that while they let councils wait until new rules were made, they didn’t require them to wait. So some councils were pushing ahead with making rules under Labour’s unworkable regulations, trying to get them in force before the replacement rules came out.

But the Government added an additional amendment to prohibit councils from issuing rules under Labour’s Freshwater Management rules until they get replaced, stopping those councils in their tracks.

Groundswell started in 2020 to raise awareness about how Labour’s then new Freshwater Management regulations would make food production in New Zealand nearly impossible for many farmers.

Since then, we’ve stood up for food producers and rural communities on many other issues, but that National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management (NPS-FM) was the unworkable regulation that kicked off the Groundswell movement.

It was great to see when the new Government said early on that they would replace the NPS-FM, but you can never bank on politicians plans ahead of the actual delivery. Then these councils brought on a new fight by trying to lock in the worst of NPS-FM rules before they got changed.

Finally, though, with the new law officially passed by Parliament, Labour’s NPS-FM cannot be implemented by councils and is set to be replaced. That unworkable regulation that got us in our tractors years ago is on the way out.

Thank you to everyone who stood with us then and also to those who’ve joined along the way. There’s plenty more to do, but this shows the power of grassroots communities standing up and speaking out when something needs changing. We couldn’t have done it without you.

The fight about the rest of the RMA reform continues. We’ll be making sure the Government knows that Groundswell and its supporters demand regulations that respect property rights and provide stable and predictable environmental protections that farmers can actually work with.

Southland Fish & Game boycott

This is a problem that’s worst in Southland, but it applies to the rest of the country too.

Fish & Game is a regulatory body tasked with managing sports fish and game birds, along with their numbers and habitats. They’re funded by the fees people pay for hunting and fishing licences.

There are quibbles and fights about that core function from time to time, but on the whole, most people are happy enough with how that works.

The trouble is that Fish & Game also wades in to bigger fights about environmental rules and regulations and they don’t just take the side of the environmental activists, they attack farmers in court using those fees from hunters and fishers – many of whom are farmers themselves.

In Southland in particular, Southland Fish & Game argued in court for a decision that will require 3,000 farmers to get resource consents just to keep farming. That’s an enormous expense, intrusive bureaucracy, and potentially even the ability to keep farming on the line.

We’re backing Southland Federated Farmers’ call for a boycott on Southland Fish & Game by farmers stopping access for hunting and fishing across their land. It’s a shame for many of the innocent access users, but it’s time to make the point that Fish & Game can’t keep using its environmental advocacy against the people it relies on.

It’s time for Fish & Game to get back in its lane. Its environmental activism is incompatible with its role in managing fish and game and it has pushed its relationship with farmers too far.

At this point, the boycott is just in Southland, but for those outside, you might want to let your local Fish & Game know what you think. Just in case they were thinking about doing the same thing as Southland.

Gore Property Rights Pledge

Over 1,200 people have signed the Gore Property Rights Pledge! That's nearly 10% of the population of the Gore District and approaching as many votes as some councillors got in the last election.

We know our campaign has been having an impact on local opinion in Gore and the council, mayor, and councillors have heard loud and clear that their ratepayers do not want the blanket designation of their land under the Sites and Areas of Significance to Maori part of the Resource Management Act.

It's support from people like you that has made this strong first move in this campaign possible. Thank you to everyone who signed the petition or sent it to someone the know in Gore and to those who contributed to our campaign fund. There's still time left to sign the petition or pass it on at this link: https://www.groundswellnz.co.nz/protect-property-rights-in-gore

We're putting together the next steps in this campaign, including putting on the spot those councillors who voted for this blanket designation. Watch this space!

Thank you again for your support.

Kind regards,

Bryce, Laurie, Mel and the Team at Groundswell NZ

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