Federated Farmers said the Government’s new planning and environmental laws will strengthen property rights, reduce compliance costs and boost farm productivity.

The organisation welcomed the Government’s blueprint to replace the Resource Management Act (RMA), describing it as a pragmatic and common-sense approach, Mark Hooper said.

“Farmers are spending excessive time and money on costly resource consents, which are delaying vital investments in water storage and rural infrastructure,” Hooper said.

Federated Farmers had long advocated for RMA reform that prioritises landowners’ property rights, he said.

“The red tape and box-ticking have become ridiculous. We have pushed for sensible reform and this plan places respect for property rights front and centre.”

Under the proposed changes, landowners will have more freedom to develop their properties without needing resource consent, provided activities do not negatively impact neighbouring properties.

Hooper said councils will be required to compensate landowners when property rights are restricted, addressing long-standing concerns over overlays such as Outstanding Natural Landscapes (ONLs), Significant Natural Areas (SNAs), and Sites and Areas of Significance to Māori (SASMs).

“Farmers affected by restrictive overlays will welcome these stricter rules,” Hooper said. “Some have been unfairly burdened with impractical regulations, from specifying shed colours to requiring consent for simple fencing.”

Compensation would encourage councils to be more judicious in applying overlays, ensuring they bear some financial responsibility for land-use restrictions, Hooper said.

“Previously, farmers bore the cost of overlays while the wider community benefited. This reform makes the system fairer,” Hooper said.

Hooper said that Federated Farmers also supported the move towards national standards, highlighting the Freshwater Farm Plan system as a ready-made alternative to resource consents.

“It has never made sense for farmers to operate under resource consents. The Freshwater Farm Plan model is a far more efficient approach,” he said.

However, Hooper said that excessive standardisation should be avoided, as farming conditions vary widely by region.

The organisation will closely monitor proposals for market mechanisms, stricter penalty regimes and resource use charges, he said.

“Market mechanisms can work in some areas but not all. Nutrient loss, for example, is difficult to measure accurately,” Hooper said. “Farmers support penalties but they must be reasonable, given that factors like weather and animal behaviour are outside their control.”

Farmers also supported cost-recovery mechanisms in local government but urged caution to ensure charges reflect actual service costs and avoid unnecessary bureaucracy, Hooper said.