{"id":40744,"date":"2020-08-31T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-08-30T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.farmersweekly.co.nz\/nats-blast-new-water-rules\/"},"modified":"2020-08-31T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2020-08-30T12:00:00","slug":"nats-blast-new-water-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.farmersweekly.co.nz\/news\/nats-blast-new-water-rules\/","title":{"rendered":"Nats blast new water rules"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> < 1<\/span> minute<\/span><\/span>

In a Facebook post this week, party leader Judith Collins and the party\u2019s agriculture spokesperson David Bennett described the just-released freshwater regulations as draconian, unworkable and created by the central Government with no regard to regional differences.<\/p>\n

Both Collins and Bennett said the new rules will be \u201cgone by lunchtime.\u201d<\/p>\n

This approach was softened somewhat in a later statement by Bennett and Environment spokesperson Scott Simpson which identifies nine rules and regulations included in the freshwater package that will be reviewed or repealed.<\/p>\n

Bennett says they will work with farmers and interest groups to devise new legislation that is practical, science-based and achievable.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all want improved freshwater outcomes but we have to back farmers to farm their way to better outcomes as they have been doing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFarmers must see a pathway to improve while being profitable. Our rural communities and economic wealth as a country depends on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blanket legislation ignores regional differences, stymies innovation and adds costs.<\/p>\n

NZ First has welcomed the Government\u2019s decision to amend winter grazing rules, which limits pugging around gateways and permanent water troughs.<\/p>\n

The party\u2019s agriculture spokesperson Mark Patterson says as they were written, those rules were unworkable.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile New Zealand First supports the overall intent of the previous drafting, we had concerns about some of the details which were going to be unworkable in the practical sense,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Winter grazing of crops is an important part of farm systems, and farmers need pragmatic rules to follow that address both the environment and animal welfare.<\/p>\n

The nine regulations a National Government will review or repeal are:<\/p>\n

\u2022Standards for intensive grazing.<\/p>\n

\u2022Mandatory freshwater farm plans.<\/p>\n

\u2022Requiring resource consent for stock holding areas.<\/p>\n

\u2022Stricter stock exclusion and fencing of waterways.<\/p>\n

\u2022Removal of stock from natural wetlands.<\/p>\n

\u2022Nitrate toxicity levels.<\/p>\n

\u2022Farm intensification.<\/p>\n

\u2022Synthetic nitrogen fertiliser cap.<\/p>\n

\u2022Electronic measuring and reporting on water use.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A National Government is promising to repeal or review the bulk of the current Government\u2019s new freshwater regulations relating to agriculture and allow regional autonomy in meeting compliance.\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":40745,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t