Hawkes Bay Today
  • Hawke's Bay Today home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Havelock North
  • Central Hawke's Bay
  • Tararua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Gisborne

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Hawkes Bay Today

The Feds say with Rhea Dasent: Vote for those who understand farming

By Rhea Dasent
Hawkes Bay Today·
19 Sep, 2019 12:01 AM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Why do we need the council to have health and safety rules around power lines when they are already regulated by the Code of Practice for Electrical Safety Distances? Photo / File

Why do we need the council to have health and safety rules around power lines when they are already regulated by the Code of Practice for Electrical Safety Distances? Photo / File

Local elections are coming up and Federated Farmers reminds members how important it is to vote.

The quality of local government in rural communities can mean the difference between dodgy roads and safer ones, thousands of dollars in rates, and the kind of regulation you face on-farm.

Councillors have an important role in influencing the development and implementation of regional and district plans.

Councillors who know and understand farming, or who recognised the practical need to engage with farmers on plan development and implementation, are critical to good resource management.

Central Hawke's Bay voters have a special opportunity as the District Plan is part way through development, and councillors will influence the regulation within it.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Farmers are disproportionately affected by regional and district plans, because it is over farmland that resources of interest have been preserved, such as native bush, scenic landscapes, heritage sites, streams and wetlands, which are long-gone from more developed and urbanised areas.

While the RMA applies nationally and there is a lot of case law, councils still have considerable discretion over how policies and plans are developed, and how they are implemented and enforced.

Plans are becoming more complicated and with more and more rules and regulations over multiple chapters, pages of maps, and stacks of appendices.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Regulatory double-up is a big problem. Councils are regulating activities that are already regulated by other means, resulting in farmers having to please two masters.

Examples are: health and safety rules around power lines that are already regulated by the Code of Practice for Electrical Safety Distances; GMOs already regulated by the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act; rules for areas of significant indigenous vegetation already protected by a QEII covenant.

Federated Farmers has put together a comprehensive booklet on all things local government of interest to farmers: Platform: Feds on Local Government.

If you are a candidate or a voter, this booklet is for you to read and ponder election promises and what they do or don't do for farming.

Discover more

Opinion

Rachel Stewart: Farm leaders in dance over freshwater plan

17 Sep 05:00 PM

Don't underestimate the power of democracy. Make sure you vote in council elections.

• Rhea Dasent is a senior policy adviser for Federated Farmers

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Hawkes Bay Today

Napier man arrested after military-style guns found in children's bedrooms

08 Jul 07:17 AM
Hawkes Bay Today

Plan to drill wastewater pipe under Clive River withdrawn amid opposition

08 Jul 02:32 AM
Hawkes Bay Today

Hawke’s Bay Magpies land another Super Rugby star for upcoming NPC campaign

07 Jul 11:17 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Napier man arrested after military-style guns found in children's bedrooms

Napier man arrested after military-style guns found in children's bedrooms

08 Jul 07:17 AM

The man is facing 14 charges, including unlawful possession of prohibited firearms.

Plan to drill wastewater pipe under Clive River withdrawn amid opposition

Plan to drill wastewater pipe under Clive River withdrawn amid opposition

08 Jul 02:32 AM
Hawke’s Bay Magpies land another Super Rugby star for upcoming NPC campaign

Hawke’s Bay Magpies land another Super Rugby star for upcoming NPC campaign

07 Jul 11:17 PM
Premium
'100% a crisis': More than 900 women wait for specialist gynaecology care in Hawke’s Bay

'100% a crisis': More than 900 women wait for specialist gynaecology care in Hawke’s Bay

07 Jul 06:00 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Hawke's Bay Today e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Hawke's Bay Today
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP