Federated Farmers: Plenty of work needed on Gisborne District Council’s plans for Tairāwhiti land use rules

Gisborne-Wairoa Federated Farmers provincial president Charlie Reynolds believes the council's proposed land use rules need plenty of work before getting finalised. Photo / Paul Rickard

Regional Federated Farmers believes the council’s proposed land use rules have some “great aims and visions,” but there will be plenty of work needed before the rules are finalised.

Gisborne District Council (GDC) has signalled it plans a major shift in land management practices to create more accurate identification and management practices to reduce erosion risks across Tairāwhiti.

GDC aims to “landmark” the most at-risk areas and mandate some pastoral farming and forestry owners to transition their land into permanent vegetation cover.

“The mapping detail released by the council has revealed some interesting points, which we will work through with the GDC and Eastland Wood Council,” said Gisborne-Wairoa Federated Farmers president Charlie Reynolds.

“While we agree the idea of forced vegetation on private land starts to ring some alarm bells, it’s important to acknowledge that no decisions have yet been made.

“GDC has indicated it does not want to destock farms and that it’s looking for a collaborative and transitional approach.

“There are some great aims and visions within this tabled paper and there’s plenty of work to be done by the community to handle our sedimentation losses,” Reynolds said.

“However, we’d like to see the economic value placed higher because it’s very hard to achieve environmental values if you can’t afford to pay for it.

“Environmental values are not free. In fact, they can be one of the most expensive costs for any type of business in any type of sector.

“Native forests, for example, are costly and difficult to maintain.

“They’re likely to require fencing and are vulnerable to goats and deer crossing over from neighbouring properties and public land.

“I’m certainly not saying the environment should be sacrificed for economic gains.

“There’s a direct and positive relationship between a farmer’s livelihood and the health of the land they live and work on.

“As farmers, we care deeply about the land and we want to leave it in a better place for those who come after us,” Reynolds said.

“The irony of urban populations dictating rules to the very people who’ve maintained and lived with nature is certainly not lost on farmers.

“This is why it’s so important that Federated Farmers are involved in this discussion - to ensure the conversation doesn’t move away from flexibility and doesn’t become another unproductive financial burden pushed on to farmers.

“I’d like to see Gisborne District Council, from the chief executive and councillors all the way through the staff, start recognising our farming community as guardians of the land.”

“Resilience and the ability to prosper are written repeatably in this plan,” Reynolds said.

“Federated Farmers are strongly supportive of this, as we want all property owners to succeed in their endeavours.

“I believe this can be a strong opportunity to link our hill country sectors – both farming and forestry – with GDC to work through the issues, but it’s crucial that GDC staff listen to our views and perspectives.

“They need to actually get out of the office and visit our farms to see what our farmers are doing and the struggles they deal with day-to-day.”