An ACT MP claims cultural requirements in resource consents are creating extra costs and slowing down solar farm projects.
Undersecretary for RMA Reform, Simon Court says at one Hawke's Bay site local hapu have to be invited to perform karakia every time a native tree is removed.
He says ultimately it will be consumers missing out.
"What this means is that if solar farms can't get built, or if they get built but there's all this extra cost, that's going to add to your power bill."
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
You're listening to a podcast from News Talk SEDB. Follow
this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Right now. Remember last week we revealed that Ikea Big
Store had to consult with seven different Manafenoa groups to
build their Sylvia Park store, including inviting them to perform
kaakiir and other cultural ceremonies on the site three separate times. Well,
the under Secretary for RMA Reform Acts, Simon Court, has
(00:37):
gone through some more resource consents and found even more
ridiculous examples. One resource content in Central Hawk's Bay requires
local HPUO to be invited to give a katakia whenever
a native plant or tree is removed. Simon Court is
with me now, Hi, Simon.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
Good evening, Ryan, So what exactly.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Is have you found in Hawk's Bay?
Speaker 3 (01:02):
Well, right, We've found more mad resource content conditions for
Solo far in Central Hawks Bay, which include, as you
pointed out, inviting Manifena to perform prayers before removing any
native trees or plants, and requiring the developer to provide
written reports every six months until at least two years
(01:23):
after construction's finished, outlining how they can fly with a
sixty six page cultural impact assessment and what ongoing reporting
around that. What this means is that if solar farms
can't get built, or if they get built, but there's
all this extra cost that's going to add to your
power built. We hear councils and many others saying they
(01:44):
want more renewable energy, but then in the resource consenting
space they demand ceremonial chanting and spreadsheet level detail about
everything a contractor does when they're building and developing the site.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Whose land is it?
Speaker 3 (02:00):
Well, these two sites that we've been looking at this
week are both around on in Central Hawks Bay. One
is oone private, the other is owned by the local
lines company. The private developer was proposing a solar farm
that would supply eighteen thousand homes. They're in liquidation because
(02:20):
they can't make the economics of their proposal stack up.
So the question is there are many of these projects
that we need to get built, go simply cost more,
which is going to add to people's power bills, or
just never get built at all. Like one of these
projects in Hongwong, it looks.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Like what's the theory. So this one that's on private land,
it's a private solar farm, on private land is you
have the gone bus. But what's the logical the theory
of having mana Feno was so involved with the cutter
care and stuff would what is the theory.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
Will Ryan. It's a wonky theory. And it's called the
Resource Management Act. And what parts of the Resource Management
Act say is that planners and decision makers has to
give a high level of weight to the Treaty of
Ways King Principles into other cultural matters when they're coming
up with resource consent conditions. Now, we can't get things
(03:15):
built in New Zealand if we're going to force the
companies to essentially perform ceremonial chanting every time they want
to get something built. And that's why Act committed to
scrapping the Resource Management We campaigned on that before the
last election. We've got that into the National Act Coalition agreement.
And one of the things I'm working on is delivering
(03:36):
a new piece of resource management law that's based on
property rights and without this general Treaty Principles clause that
drives this kind of insanity.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
Have you discussed with the locally about the need for
these three separate cut of here.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
Well, I haven't personally discussed it with them. But one
of the problems we've got is.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Local did the land I mean, did anyone actually just say, hey,
do we need to do all this stuff? Is as necessary?
Because I mean they might do they even know? I mean,
is this?
Speaker 3 (04:08):
Well? Ryan, I was a civil engineering project manager for
nearly twenty five years before I was elected as an
act MP, and what I do know is that the
kind of questions you've asked, do we even need any
of this stuff? Are often asked at the project stage,
But once you go to your local council, they'll say, oh, Craigie,
do you know who the man of Fenway is in
your area? And have you consulted with them? And you say, well,
(04:29):
what interests would they have in a solar farm? Well,
it turns out, according to council and under the RMA,
they do have an interest. And that's why councils keep
enforcing all of these conditions on developers. And if you
want your resource consent, eventually you're just going to roll
over and say yes to it, no matter what the cost.
And that's why we have to replace the Resource Management
Act with the system based on property right. So Christop
(04:52):
and I've given us elves to the end of the
year to introduce it, and we'll have that legislation into
the House ladder this year.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
Okay, so later this year when when will at part
by the end of by start next year to path.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
We're aiming to have it passed through all stages by
the middle of twenty twenty six and implemented in large
part immediately, but with a full implementation date of one
July twenty twenty seven.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
One July, okay, but by mid twenty twenty six we
will have the legislation passed that will put an end
to all of this.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
Well, what it's going to do is say whether it
was a treaty settlement, and you know, the government has
agreed that there are certain ewe or hapu who have
a right to have their say at the planning stage,
then those rights should be preserved. But when it comes
to individual consent conditions like the IKEA one you reference
before saying up to seven mono fenoma groups have to
(05:46):
be consulted and by the way, you have to invite
them to every stage of construction, site clearance, earthworks, putting
the site back together again to say prayers.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
We're not going to have that Simon caught at party MP.
Nice to have you on the program.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
For more from News Talks dB, listen live on air
or online, and keep our shows with you wherever you
go with our podcast on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to a podcast from News Talk SEDB. Follow
this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Right now. Remember last week we revealed that Ikea Big
Store had to consult with seven different Manafenoa groups to
build their Sylvia Park store, including inviting them to perform
kaakiir and other cultural ceremonies on the site three separate times. Well,
the under Secretary for RMA Reform Acts, Simon Court, has
(00:37):
gone through some more resource consents and found even more
ridiculous examples. One resource content in Central Hawk's Bay requires
local HPUO to be invited to give a katakia whenever
a native plant or tree is removed. Simon Court is
with me now, Hi, Simon.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
Good evening, Ryan, So what exactly.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Is have you found in Hawk's Bay?
Speaker 3 (01:02):
Well, right, We've found more mad resource content conditions for
Solo far in Central Hawks Bay, which include, as you
pointed out, inviting Manifena to perform prayers before removing any
native trees or plants, and requiring the developer to provide
written reports every six months until at least two years
(01:23):
after construction's finished, outlining how they can fly with a
sixty six page cultural impact assessment and what ongoing reporting
around that. What this means is that if solar farms
can't get built, or if they get built, but there's
all this extra cost that's going to add to your
power built. We hear councils and many others saying they
(01:44):
want more renewable energy, but then in the resource consenting
space they demand ceremonial chanting and spreadsheet level detail about
everything a contractor does when they're building and developing the site.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Whose land is it?
Speaker 3 (02:00):
Well, these two sites that we've been looking at this
week are both around on in Central Hawks Bay. One
is oone private, the other is owned by the local
lines company. The private developer was proposing a solar farm
that would supply eighteen thousand homes. They're in liquidation because
(02:20):
they can't make the economics of their proposal stack up.
So the question is there are many of these projects
that we need to get built, go simply cost more,
which is going to add to people's power bills, or
just never get built at all. Like one of these
projects in Hongwong, it looks.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Like what's the theory. So this one that's on private land,
it's a private solar farm, on private land is you
have the gone bus. But what's the logical the theory
of having mana Feno was so involved with the cutter
care and stuff would what is the theory.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
Will Ryan. It's a wonky theory. And it's called the
Resource Management Act. And what parts of the Resource Management
Act say is that planners and decision makers has to
give a high level of weight to the Treaty of
Ways King Principles into other cultural matters when they're coming
up with resource consent conditions. Now, we can't get things
(03:15):
built in New Zealand if we're going to force the
companies to essentially perform ceremonial chanting every time they want
to get something built. And that's why Act committed to
scrapping the Resource Management We campaigned on that before the
last election. We've got that into the National Act Coalition agreement.
And one of the things I'm working on is delivering
(03:36):
a new piece of resource management law that's based on
property rights and without this general Treaty Principles clause that
drives this kind of insanity.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
Have you discussed with the locally about the need for
these three separate cut of here.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
Well, I haven't personally discussed it with them. But one
of the problems we've got is.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Local did the land I mean, did anyone actually just say, hey,
do we need to do all this stuff? Is as necessary?
Because I mean they might do they even know? I mean,
is this?
Speaker 3 (04:08):
Well? Ryan, I was a civil engineering project manager for
nearly twenty five years before I was elected as an
act MP, and what I do know is that the
kind of questions you've asked, do we even need any
of this stuff? Are often asked at the project stage,
But once you go to your local council, they'll say, oh, Craigie,
do you know who the man of Fenway is in
your area? And have you consulted with them? And you say, well,
(04:29):
what interests would they have in a solar farm? Well,
it turns out, according to council and under the RMA,
they do have an interest. And that's why councils keep
enforcing all of these conditions on developers. And if you
want your resource consent, eventually you're just going to roll
over and say yes to it, no matter what the cost.
And that's why we have to replace the Resource Management
Act with the system based on property right. So Christop
(04:52):
and I've given us elves to the end of the
year to introduce it, and we'll have that legislation into
the House ladder this year.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
Okay, so later this year when when will at part
by the end of by start next year to path.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
We're aiming to have it passed through all stages by
the middle of twenty twenty six and implemented in large
part immediately, but with a full implementation date of one
July twenty twenty seven.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
One July, okay, but by mid twenty twenty six we
will have the legislation passed that will put an end
to all of this.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
Well, what it's going to do is say whether it
was a treaty settlement, and you know, the government has
agreed that there are certain ewe or hapu who have
a right to have their say at the planning stage,
then those rights should be preserved. But when it comes
to individual consent conditions like the IKEA one you reference
before saying up to seven mono fenoma groups have to
(05:46):
be consulted and by the way, you have to invite
them to every stage of construction, site clearance, earthworks, putting
the site back together again to say prayers.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
We're not going to have that Simon caught at party MP.
Nice to have you on the program.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
For more from News Talks dB, listen live on air
or online, and keep our shows with you wherever you
go with our podcast on iHeartRadio.
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