God, am I not a horrible person. Here I am , vindicated. The Environment Courts decision is out. On a range of appeals bought by Fish and Game, including DoC covering most Plans of the One Plan.
I missed the news tonight but I understand that the decision is big news on the TV and radio. Why? Because by my calculations the One Plan will cost the Regional Economy approximately $90 million. And this is just for the Dairy Industry. There is the Horticultural Industry, and Intensive Sheep and Beef (under irrigation) including the rules for soil excavation over 20 degrees, and forestry set backs from streams etc plus one or 2 other.
For the Dairy industry I used the data from Horizons own Land Use Class Tables , being report no 2008/INT/616.
Since 2007 I have been saying how the One Plan will effect resource users, how draconian it will be, leading to the destruction of our Regional Economy.
I am right. I have been vindicated. Only one councillor conceded this. One got shitty, and another got sarcastic, most sat quitely wondering how they got it so wrong. Yet others sat there feeling quite satisfied.
Staff tried to make out that it was not quite so bad and offered a way or 2 of softening the effect of. Have to wait 12 months first. Something to do with time frames for keeping it seemingly.
I point the finger at the council working party. They were supposed to keep council informed, of the process, and decisions they were to make in advising staff on how to proceed during the appeal process. They did not. Council was informed only once and after the decisions had been made.
My view is that this plan could have been made into a workable document if the majority of councillors banded together and demanded changes when the opportunity was there, and it was there, but as I have previously reported , councillors stupidly found themselves taking ownership of it.
The only option now is for all the councillors excluding me to resign. They have not acted in the best interest of the Regions economy and thus the ratepayers. Resign. If they do not then they must be held accountable at the next election.
I hold my greatest criticism for the Generators, Fonterra, Horticulture New Zealand, and of course Federated Farmers of New Zealand. These are the big money organisations. These Identities, spent heaps of money trying to make the Plan a sustainable workable document and misleading their members who queried the logic. What needed to be done was what Property Rights in New Zealand did and challenge the legality of the plan in the Courts. Had there been a consortium of such organisations spending large sums of money on top class Queens Councils , and being prepared to go to the Supreme Court, the outcome may have been quite different. Property Rights in New Zealand I salute you. Not many of you, only a hand fill. But you stood up for what you knew was right. Sadly you were let down by an organisation charged with looking after farmings interests. They did not, and indeed I have to say I expect there are staff and industry representatives within quietly celebrating the Plans success. I also include the District Councils as sadly lacking. They quietly devolved their sec 31 Roles and Functions via the Tri-ennial Agreement process, highly illegal. Now their District Economys are to be devestated. I did my best to inform our council, but I recognised that I was batting away at a brick wall. They just did not want to know.
Today I travelled to Auckland to speak to my submission on the amendments to the Local Government Act. The Local Government and Environment Committee sat at the Ellersley Convention centre hearing submissions. I did not hang back, starting with the Well beings, supporting greater powers for Mayors, the costs of Regional Councils on Rate Payers and including Tax Payers. Do we need them? No.
Asked for clarification of the appeal points In Property Rights Appeal to the High Court. They are right. The decision now means New Zealand is now the Fiji of the South Pacific.
Asked for clarification of the Ministers determination of who controls the effects of the use and development of the natural and physical including Bio-Diversity as per the Ministry for the Environment and the Department of Conservation document ME 805 Protecting our Places, Document. This imparts information about the Statement of National Priorites for Protecting Rare and Threatened Bio-Diversity on Private Land.
On page 45 the Ministers state that the Territorial Authorities do.
I suggested that they, the commissions members, were no different to my fellow councillors , just sitting in Parliamant, eating their lunch, nodding their heads and picking up their pay cheques on Friday.
Of course I got the appropriate rebuttal but what the hell.
Went on to talk about the then Minister for Local Government , Rodny Hides address to the Local Government Conference in Wellinton last year. I quoted the paragraph where he states that Local Government is being used to settle the over burdened fiscal envelope for the treaty settlement process. I gave a great example, being 2 claims over private land in Ruapehu, and detailed the location of several private Iwi and Hapu claims within, identifying that Horizons Regional Councils Sustainable Land Use Programme is sitting bang on top or right next door to.
Well people. I was bang on the money. I take no pleasure from it, I fought it from start to the finish. Today I took that fight to the Local Government and Environment Commission. After the media attention and comment today, may be they will listen to me, and some good will come out it. What do you think?
Mike