Federated Farmers say controversial new requirements for every farmer in Gore to have resource consents assessed against Ngāi Tahu cultural values are excessive and unworkable.

"Creating a parallel approval process will just increase cost, complexity, uncertainty and delays," the organisation’s Southland president Jason Herrick says.

"It’s the council’s job to manage resource consents, not Ngāi Tahu’s. Creating a parallel process through local iwi complicates the situation and divides the community."

It’s unclear to Federated Farmers how Ngāi Tahu cultural values are expected to be understood by farmers or practically applied behind the farm gate.

These values include mauri (life force), wairua (spiritual connections), whakapapa (defined as relationships between all life forms), and utu (restoring balance).

"This is going to be a total disaster for local farmers who are just trying to get on with farming. All it’s doing is adding unpredictability, cost and delay to the process," Herrick says.

"In a practical sense, if I want to dig a silage pit in a way that’s different to what’s permitted in the plan, I’ll have to do an assessment against Ngāi Tahu cultural values.

"How on earth am I supposed to assess whether my earthworks are going to affect the mauri, wairua or whakapapa of the soil?

"The only way to assess impacts is to seek input from Hokonui Rūnanga, and if their input is that the impacts aren’t acceptable, that will be the end of the road."

Federated Farmers say they’ve been left with no option but to lodge an appeal with the Environment Court on behalf of their local members.

Gore District Council released decisions on its Proposed District Plan at the end of January.

The plan sets the framework for how Gore District will grow and develop over the coming decades, while protecting environmental, cultural and community values.

Herrick says the recognition and application of cultural values has been a bone of contention since a review of the Gore plan began in 2021.

Controversially, Gore District Council’s proposed plan released in 2023 didn’t include any maps designating particular Sites and Areas of Significance for Māori (SASMs).

Instead, it described the entire district as a SASM, sparking outcry from farmers.

"We were quick out the gates to sound the alarm about the cost and complexity this would add for absolutely no gain," Herrick says.

Federated Farmers identified 91 rules or standards in that 2023 plan where impacts on Ngāi Tahu’s values would need to be assessed when applying for a consent.

These included everything from building a new farm structure such a shed or herd home, through to earthworks for silage pits and the construction and maintenance of farm tracks.

Herrick says the rules wouldn’t just affect farmers either.

"People would need a cultural assessment for subdivision - including in the urban zones where development is anticipated - and things like cycling and walking tracks, small-scale wind and hydro turbines, and installing a septic tank."

Faced with fierce public backlash, the Gore District Council made changes and decided the entire district was not a SASM after all - but then they go and do this.

"The whole district may not have been declared a SASM, but it may as well have been, because the impact will be almost identical.

"There has been absolutely no meaningful reduction in the 91 rules or standards that would require a cultural impact assessment.

"If I need a resource consent for a silage pit, I’ll still need to ask Hokonui Rūnanga to assess how those earthworks affect cultural values.

Federated Farmers RMA reform spokesperson Mark Hooper says at least with mapped SASMs, a landowner has the option of locating a building or activity on another part of their property.

"What Gore’s proposing will apply a blanket approach to the entire district. It sets a very concerning precedent for the rest of New Zealand."

Federated Farmers’ position is that cultural impacts need to be clearly identified and set when a district plan is formulated - when everyone gets a say and elected councillors make final decisions - not assessed at individual consent by consent.

"It shouldn’t be that any group - iwi or otherwise - gets such wide discretion in deciding whether such a broad scope of activities should or shouldn’t occur, especially when they can charge for such assessments.

"We have seen these rules tried in places like the Whanganui River catchment and the resource consenting process has quickly become slower, more unpredictable and more expensive.

"Often iwi engagement will lead to debates on how resources should be used that seem to go way beyond cultural interests," Hooper says.

"This is also a clear warning that a new replacement RMA needs to clearly rule these systems out as we can’t rely on local councils to not go down these strange paths."

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