Groundswell NZ calls for farmer action against ‘land grab’
Farmer protest group Groundswell NZ will hold a meeting in Gore this week to discuss a new government policy that has been called a ‘‘land grab’’ by some farmers.
Councils are required to survey land to identify significant natural areas as part of the Government’s National Policy Statement on Indigenous Biodiversity, which contains objectives and policies to identify, protect, manage and restore indigenous biodiversity.
It specifies that councils must identify ‘‘significant natural areas’’ within five years.
Some farmers have likened the identification of such areas to a land grab, fearing that land would be locked up and they would be unable to use it.
Groundswell spokesman Bryce McKenzie urged farmers not to allow people from a state agency onto their land to do surveys unless they knew why they were coming onto the farm, and where the information they obtained would be used and shared.
‘‘We’re not sure who that information belongs to and how it can be kept private. If the information is obtained under the Resource Management Act it is public information, but if it is for a farm environment plan we think it is private. Farmers need to be aware of that,’’ he said.
Groundswell, which organised a tractor protest in Gore against the Government’s freshwater rules last year, would be talking to councils about the policy statement, McKenzie said. ‘‘It is becoming a bit of a land grab. We know of one farmer on the West Coast who has had 80 per cent of his farm designated as a significant natural area, and people need to know what the effects of that are because it could affect urban people too.
‘‘It’s just another attack on farmers, and we are very concerned about their mental health – it’s just one thing after another coming at them.’’
However, Minister of Climate Change and Associate Minister of Environment (Biodiversity) James Shaw said the policy statement had been developed in collaboration with landowners, as well as with organisations such as Federated Farmers.
‘‘Once finalised, the NPS will give our unique indigenous plants and wildlife a voice in local decision-making,’’ Shaw said.
‘‘The draft NPSIB includes criteria for establishing significant natural areas, which councils will be required to identify and protect through regional plans.
‘‘This will obviously require information to be gathered about a particular area . . . To ensure transparency, councils will required to inform landowners on how they gather and use information about the indigenous biodiversity on their land.’’
Groundswell NZ’s public meeting, with guest speaker Jamie McFadden from the Rural Advocacy Network, will be held at the Heartland Hotel Croydon on Thursday night at 7pm.