Federated Farmers are once again calling for Otago Regional Council to delay notification of new freshwater rules and lay the full costs bare for the community to see.

"It’s been over a month since we first called for transparency about the potential impacts of proposed new freshwater rules," Federated Farmers Otago president Luke Kane says.

"Unfortunately, since then the council has been about as transparent as a brick wall. Our requests have been met with nothing but contempt.

"Despite repeated questioning and intense media scrutiny, our community is still none the wiser about what these rules might cost us."

Federated Farmers say nobody has been able to get straight answers from the council about how it plans to apply the principle of Te Mana o te Wai under new water regulations.

"The council has been totally dismissive of Federated Farmers’ concerns," Kane says.

"First they said we were totally wrong and we didn’t understand, then they said it’s complicated and we were only partially correct, and now they’ve gone totally quiet.

"I think that’s because they know Federated Farmers have hit the nail on the head and that these expensive new rules are going to go down very poorly with Otago ratepayers."

Federated Farmers aren’t the only ones who are concerned. On 8 August Environment Minister Penny Simmonds wrote to Otago Regional Council chair Gretchen Robertson.

That letter specifically raised concerns about the potential costs and implications of the new freshwater rules the council plans to notify in October and requested additional information.

"It’s bad enough that the Minister has had to write to the council demanding they provide more detail on the costs of Te Mana o Te Wai," Kane says.

"But to then turn around and say, ‘sorry Minister, we’ve got other stuff to work on, and you didn’t really provide a deadline for the request’ is totally laughable."

Federated Farmers say the sheer arrogance on display from Otago Regional Council is simply jaw-dropping. It’s not just the Minister waiting for these costings. It’s the entire Otago region.

"You would have thought that providing the requested information would be a fairly simple exercise for the council," Kane says.

"The Minister has very clearly requested any information or modelling the council holds on the costs, implications or economic impacts of their proposed new rules." The letter also requested information about what the plan could mean for specific industries like farming and forestry, but also for other groups like district and city councils.

"It’s simply not good enough that that information hasn’t been provided," Kane says.

"The council clearly either has no idea what the full cost to the community will be, or the costs are so astronomically high they don’t want to release them.

"I’m not sure what would be worse; trying to notify a plan without understanding the true costs, or understanding those costs and pushing ahead anyway."

Federated Farmers are calling on Otago Regional Council to delay notification of these new freshwater rules and release the full plan, including costs, for further consultation.

"There is absolutely no need for the council to stubbornly push ahead and notify this plan in October," Kane says.

"They’ve got plenty of time up their sleeve with central government extending the deadline for regional councils to notify new plans to the end of 2027."

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