Changes to national freshwater policy
2 min read
Over the next 1-2 years, Government officials will work through changes to national freshwater legislation. This is what we know so far. This page will be updated with changes as they become available.
In mid-December 2023, the coalition Government announced it will replace the current National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020 (NPS-FM), recognising it is complex, expensive, and will not deliver desired freshwater outcomes. There will be a replacement process over the next 18 to 24 months, although the Government is still working through the details. DairyNZ is involved at both the national and regional levels, through engagement with Ministers and officials, and Regional Councils.
While it is early on in the reform process, based on existing information we know that the key changes are:
The Government has made a commitment to uphold the Treaty of Waitangi settlements and other Treaty-related commitments and arrangements in all the reforms.
DairyNZ is advocating for regional councils to pause notification of their freshwater plan changes, wait for national clarity around a replacement national framework, and use the time to go back to communities for further discussion around the economic implications of their environmental limits.
We want to see a national policy framework that supports constant improvement, focused on good practice implemented at the farm level, and the development of solutions at farm and catchment scales. We want a new NPS-FM to survive any change in government.
Regional councils know that change to the national framework is coming, but many are yet to make firm decisions around their work programmes. Most importantly, regional councils have scope to continue down the paths they have committed to under the 2020 version. Some have signalled they want to do so, or feel obliged to, given the consultation they have carried out with communities and tangata whenua to date.
Significant changes may occur but while the targets, methods and timeframes may change there will still be national and regional policy direction requiring improvement in some catchments.
For now, farmers need to keep working on and following national regulations brought in with the NES for freshwater, for example, Intensive Winter Grazing, the cap on nitrogen use and reporting, and stock exclusion requirement. The regional plans and rules also apply as before.