Getting resource management focused on what matters

Dairy farmers have been telling me for years they’re spending too much time on paperwork meaning less time running successful businesses and improving their farms. The Government's latest resource management reforms won't solve that overnight, but they are a welcome step towards a system that is simpler, more practical and better aligned with life on farm.

DairyNZ has engaged intensively throughout the reform process, identifying where proposals would not work on farm and putting forward practical alternatives. I am pleased to see most of the issues we have consistently raised are reflected in the proposed amendments to the Natural Environment and Planning Bills.

One important area of change is Freshwater Farm Plans. Dairy farmers will still need certified and audited plans, but proposed improvements should make the process more practical and less bureaucratic.

These include simpler mapping requirements and audit process and a clearer catchment context, helping farmers focus plans on the freshwater risks and actions most relevant to their farm and area. These improvements should reduce unnecessary cost and administration while maintaining environmental oversight.

Where a farm plan is used instead of a permit, consent or regulation, wider certification requirements may still apply. Our preference remains for whole-farm certification, because farm plans work best when risks are considered together rather than in isolation.

We also support the proposed pathway for the Minister to approve industry organisations to provide certification services to their members, subject to the requirements set in regulations. Done well, this could make the system more accessible and avoid farmers having to navigate repetitive processes.

The amendments also improve the framework for setting environmental limits. Removing the statutory requirement for fixed caps on resource use and allowing limits to be expressed as measurable environmental outcomes, rather than relying only on fixed numerical limits, should give decision-makers more practical ways to deliver on the environmental outcomes communities are seeking.

Importantly, decision-makers would need to consider existing resource use, naturally occurring processes, social and economic expectations, and cost-benefit analysis. Those safeguards matter because environmental limits must be evidence-based and practically achievable in the places where they apply.

One of the most significant changes is the explicit recognition of food and fibre production in the purpose of the new system. While technical in nature, this matters because the goals set in legislation shape everything that follows. Getting that balance right should help ensure future policies and regulations better reflect the reality that New Zealand needs both strong environmental outcomes and a productive farming sector.

There is also greater emphasis on action plans that can combine regulation with practical non-regulatory actions reflecting catchment work programmes and partnerships with communities, catchment groups and tangata whenua. Every catchment is different, so local action needs flexibility to build on work already underway.

The removal of proposed comparative permitting and market-based allocation mechanisms is another sensible change. These untested tools risked adding complexity and uncertainty for farmers. Restoring controlled activities and strengthening safeguards around natural resource levies should also provide greater confidence for long-term investment.

But success will depend on implementation and the detail still to be worked through. Continued engagement between government, farmers, scientists, sector organisations and communities is essential to ensure the reforms genuinely work in practice.

DairyNZ will continue advocating for an evidence-based system, grounded in good science, that delivers real environmental improvements.

New Zealand dairy farmers have shown they are willing to invest, adapt and improve. They want a framework that supports that progress rather than creating unnecessary barriers.

The real test is whether these reforms reduce duplication, support continued improvement and keep the focus on environmental outcomes.