Farming
Environment Southland’s heavy-handed approach to compliance is creating unprecedented stress and financial pressure for farmers, Jason Herrick says.
Last week the Southland Federated Farmers president slammed the council for sending farmers unexpected charges related to winter grazing compliance checks.
Now he says the council’s unjustifiable compliance cash grab is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to farmers’ problems with Environment Southland (ES).
“My phone has been running red hot all week with countless calls from local farmers complaining about how the council has been treating them,” Herrick says.
“This seems to be a widespread issue. Farmers aren’t just calling me about the cost-of-recovery invoices – others are saying they’ve received fines from nitrogen reporting.
“In one example, a farmer has accidentally left a section blank and was slapped with a $700 fine for his troubles.”
Herrick says the council’s enforcement approach is a massive overreach, causes unnecessary pressure for farmers, and will no doubt strain the council’s relationships in the community.
“The number of invoices farmers are receiving from council is getting beyond a joke. It’s clearly just a revenue-gathering exercise, because it achieves nothing else.
“Are they achieving better environmental outcomes? No. Are they building trust with the public? No. Are they achieving flood protection? No.
“From my perspective the only thing they seem to be doing well is driving up costs and unnecessary stress in our rural communities.”
Herrick says many farmers who’ve followed the proper consent process, and are doing their best, have been unfairly penalised by the council.
“Farmers who have gone down the right path and applied for a winter grazing consent are now up for thousands of dollars in compliance costs each year.
“They’ve got compliance officers coming down their driveway, and if those officers disagree with something the farmer is doing, they’re creating all sorts of hell for the farmer.”
Herrick is hearing similar complaints about ES from other rural groups, so he’s now setting up a meeting with them to get on the same page.
Regarding the winter grazing fees, Herrick says he’s spoken with numerous Southland farmers who have been visited by the council following a flyover.
“No major issues have been found during the inspection – and then they get a huge bill in the mail six weeks later for cost recovery.
“Where there is confusion about rules for setbacks and buffer zones, the council needs to take some responsibility for that.
“It’s the council’s job to keep farmers informed of the rules and they’re clearly not doing that well enough.”
He says overzealous compliance staff have been throwing the book at farmers who may not be ticking every technical box, but who aren’t causing any environmental harm.
“In fact, some of these farmers are leaders when it comes to good environmental practice, yet they’re being treated like criminals.
“Compliance officers are turning up with body cameras, running farmers through the wringer, and then issuing invoices for hours of investigation time.”
Herrick says suggestions that Federated Farmers agreed to or support these rules are misleading and completely miss the point.
“We consistently argue for science-backed rules, not arbitrary numbers – and we know that one size doesn't fit all.
“Unfortunately, however, the RMA and the court system don’t have much room for the variation across farms and farmland, and we end up with situations like this one.
“These rules are excessive, and we’ll keep fighting for practical alternatives.
"But the biggest issue here is Environment Southland's heavy-handed and threatening approach, and lack of common sense."