The Country
  • The Country home
  • Latest news
  • Audio & podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life
  • Listen on iHeart radio

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Coast & Country News
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Horticulture
  • Animal health
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life

Media

  • Podcasts
  • Video

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whāngarei
  • Dargaville
  • Auckland
  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Hamilton
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Te Kuiti
  • Taumurunui
  • Taupō
  • Gisborne
  • New Plymouth
  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Whanganui
  • Palmerston North
  • Levin
  • Paraparaumu
  • Masterton
  • Wellington
  • Motueka
  • Nelson
  • Blenheim
  • Westport
  • Reefton
  • Kaikōura
  • Greymouth
  • Hokitika
  • Christchurch
  • Ashburton
  • Timaru
  • Wānaka
  • Oamaru
  • Queenstown
  • Dunedin
  • Gore
  • Invercargill

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 / The Country

Rhea Dasent: Utilities burden for landowners

By Rhea Dasent
The Country·
24 Aug, 2016 10:00 PM2 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

Photo / Getty Images

Photo / Getty Images

It's a burden for landowners to host public infrastructure on their property and most have been installed in the past without compensation.

Utilities companies expect landowners to be prepared to operate their farming activities around public infrastructure, and to have work crews on their property.

In today's health and safety climate, letting crews on farms is not something that farmers take lightly.

District plans have rules that regulate what utilities companies can do as permitted and what needs resource consent. This can have a significant impact on landowners.

Federated Farmers agrees that the operation, maintenance and repair of network utilities is necessary. In the case of electricity, washing or repainting pylons, trimming trees or re-tensioning wires are activities that we accept are needed to maintain power supply.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The replacement or upgrading of infrastructure is a completely different situation and should not be treated by the same permissive council rules.

Government rules do allow for the replacement of structures that support transmission lines so long as they are within height and width limits, and a pole is not allowed to be replaced with a tower.

Councils should not be writing rules that are even more lenient.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Replacing something like an underground pipe can be a seriously big job whereby whole paddocks or areas of the farm may be taken over and dug up and the farmer is unable to use them.

Construction can cause damage or destruction to pasture, soil, gates and fence lines, and crops.

It also causes livestock disturbances and a change in farming practice, like being unable to graze particular paddocks or continue with irrigation.

Then there's the storage of construction materials and machinery on the farmer's property.

Landowners should feel that councils will not give utilities companies carte blanch to do what they want, when so many of our activities are highly regulated.

- Rhea Dasent is a senior policy adviser for Federated Farmers.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from The Country

The Country

Storm-hit region faces 57-hour drenching; heavy rain to hit north of both islands

09 Jul 03:54 AM
The Country

David Seymour co-hosts The Country

09 Jul 02:22 AM
The Country

‘Clearly preventable’: Company, director sentenced over timber yard death

09 Jul 01:26 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Recommended for you
Armed police cordon off Hamilton street after serious firearms incident
New Zealand

Armed police cordon off Hamilton street after serious firearms incident

09 Jul 11:42 AM
Red Bull parts ways with longtime F1 boss Christian Horner
Sport

Red Bull parts ways with longtime F1 boss Christian Horner

09 Jul 10:00 AM
Against the odds: Maroons triumph in epic State of Origin decider
Rugby League

Against the odds: Maroons triumph in epic State of Origin decider

09 Jul 09:30 AM
Jacinda Ardern says she'll provide evidence to Covid Royal Commission
Politics

Jacinda Ardern says she'll provide evidence to Covid Royal Commission

09 Jul 08:35 AM
Lotto numbers revealed in giant $10m Powerball draw
New Zealand

Lotto numbers revealed in giant $10m Powerball draw

09 Jul 08:32 AM

Latest from The Country

Storm-hit region faces 57-hour drenching; heavy rain to hit north of both islands

Storm-hit region faces 57-hour drenching; heavy rain to hit north of both islands

09 Jul 03:54 AM

Friday is expected to bring the worst of the heavy rain, which lingers into the weekend.

David Seymour co-hosts The Country

David Seymour co-hosts The Country

09 Jul 02:22 AM
‘Clearly preventable’: Company, director sentenced over timber yard death

‘Clearly preventable’: Company, director sentenced over timber yard death

09 Jul 01:26 AM
'David and Goliath': Australian gold mine company makes $25m Central Otago land deal

'David and Goliath': Australian gold mine company makes $25m Central Otago land deal

09 Jul 12:54 AM
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
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP
search by queryly Advanced Search