Government Launches Consultation On Freshwater National Direction
Press Release – New Zealand Government
This is a key step toward restoring balance in how freshwater is managed across the country and ensuring the interests of all water users, including farmers, growers, and rural communities, are properly reflected, Mr McClay says.
Minister of Agriculture
Hon Andrew Hoggard
Associate Minister for the Environment
The Government has today opened public consultation on options to reform New Zealand's freshwater national direction Agriculture Minister Todd McClay and Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard announced today.
National direction refers to rules and policies sitting under the Resource Management Act (RMA) that inform how councils develop and implement local plans and rules.
The Government is today releasing three discussion documents proposing amendments to 12 different instruments and the introduction of four new instruments, centred on three packages: infrastructure and development, the primary sector and freshwater.
'This is a key step toward restoring balance in how freshwater is managed across the country and ensuring the interests of all water users, including farmers, growers, and rural communities, are properly reflected,' Mr McClay says.
This move follows the Government's decisive intervention in 2024 to stop the Otago Regional Council from pushing ahead with a freshwater plan that would have imposed unnecessary costs and uncertainty on rural landowners.
'Regional councils must work within national direction that is fit for purpose, not pursue agendas that undermine local economies or the people who rely on the land,' Mr McClay says.
'We're committed to a freshwater system that protects the environment while also supporting the people who feed and grow New Zealand,' Mr Hoggard says.
'The current rules are too complex, too expensive, and too often ignore the practical realities of landowners. We're fixing that.'
The consultation proposes replacing the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020 and related regulations with a more practical, efficient, and regionally adaptable system.
'The current system's Te Mana o te Wai has caused frustration across rural New Zealand, with some councils applying it in a way that sidelines the very people working to improve water outcomes,' Mr Hoggard says.
'Farmers aren't asking for a free pass – they're asking for a fair go,' Mr McClay says.
'We won't stand by while councils weaponise Te Mana o te Wai, to push ideology over common sense. It must reflect the importance of freshwater to all New Zealanders.'
The proposed changes would:
Replace the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020 and the National Environmental Standards for Freshwater;
Give councils greater flexibility to balance environmental goals with economic impacts and allow longer timeframes to reach targets where needed;
Remove unnecessary consents for practices like crop rotation and enable commercial domestic vegetable growing;
Support long-term water security by enabling water storage;
Improve the protection of drinking water sources; and
Review and simplify data requirements under synthetic nitrogen fertiliser regulations.
These are practical, farmer-focused reforms will restore confidence and reduce red tape, while still delivering environmental gains.
'We've heard from farmers across the country that nationally determined bottom lines are not always appropriate and can be unachievable even in some catchments dominated by native bush. They also take away flexibility from local communities to achieve the environmental outcomes they want,' Mr Hoggard says.
'We're putting outcomes ahead of process and backing rural New Zealand to be part of the solution,' Mr McClay says.
Public consultation is now open on the Ministry for the Environment's 'Have Your Say' website and will run until 27 July 2025. Submissions from all New Zealanders are encouraged.
This is the first of a two-stage process. Feedback will inform final decisions on what to amend in national direction, with a draft set of proposals to follow later in the year.
Notes:
Fact sheet attached here:
Freshwater consultation package
National direction includes national policy statements, environmental standards, and other RMA instruments that guide how regional and local councils manage resources. Updated direction is critical to ensure consistent, practical, and efficient freshwater management across New Zealand.
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