March 16, 2026 • 9 mins
Jason Herrick wants more transparency around proposed RMA changes which he says is creating unnecessary paperwork.
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
This interview is brought to you by Agricenter South Branches
in Lawnville, Gore, Cromwell, Milton, and Ranfilly. Drop by your
local agri Center South branch today.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Jason Herrick, as President of South and Federated Farmers and
enjoins us on the musta on this beautiful southern afternoon.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Kiddo, Jason, any what a beautiful take?
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Yeah, it's not too bad. I mean, we just need
a couple of weeks of this and a little bit
of rain, a little bit of sunshine, and we found
our little middle bow of Porridge.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Oh totally, Like you know, five meals a night sort
of thing, and beautiful hot twenty to twenty five degree
days wouldn't go miss, you know. But we can all dream,
can't we.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
When you're seeing farmers on your rounds in there, we're
hearing us certain parts of the Regent still being rather dry.
How common is that.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
There's odd pockets around that are rather dry. Coastal areas
are pretty good where I am right now, and Drummond's
actually looking really good, lots of good autumn growth, but
there's definitely stall some pockets around that are relatively dry ish,
you know, they're not brown dry. They're like a green
driver drought. Just yeah, green drought. They're just not growing
the feet.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
It's all okay, Jason. A lot of your time's been
taken up in the last few days regarding the Federated
Farmers challenging what they're calling new EUI cultural cultural Values rules.
Now what's the go here, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
Okay, it's with the Gorg District Council. They you know,
they started this plan, you know, five years ago when
they introduced the Sadden chapter and they got brought to
our attention very dramatically when they classed the whole Court district.
There's a site of area significant the Maori and and
you know, so we started reading into that and we
definitely found some flaws and that then through the process
(01:45):
of hearings and submissions and so forth, they pulled that
chapter out and renamed it the Cultural Values Chapter and
and made some changes within you know, and to be honest,
the Gorg Distract Council made some positive changes through the plan.
Absolutely no too about that. The Cultural Values Chapter is
what we're most concerned about because the way it's written,
it all comes down to interpretation and the way the
(02:07):
council and EWE interpret it right now doesn't mean to
say someone will interpret it differently into the future. So
it needs to be written properly. And I just want
to make one thing clear that this is not a
dig at naitahu or the local EWI. This is about
making sure that things are written properly so it doesn't
create more division, you know, out there in the community.
(02:27):
So you know, it's making sure everybody's going to be
looked after in the sense of it.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
So from your perspective on things, what would this mean
for farmers?
Speaker 3 (02:37):
Look the way it's written, in the way it can
be interpreted, it means that farmers are going to have
to consult with cultural values a lot more than they
have been. And I mean to be honest, that farmers
wanted to change anything on farm, like shifting a solid
bit that's already there slightly or changing direction, then they'll
need a cultural values assessment, you know, anything on who's
(03:00):
interpreting the rule and so on, And you know that
that is our biggest concern. So shifting, shifting anything near
water and so on basically takes your your flexibility away
from farming and so on. So you know, yeah, it's
just those little complexities of the of the the why
(03:21):
it's written in the plan.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
The councils, Sorry, Jason, the Council's loyally is calling bs
on this, saying in the paper this morning that resource
concents will continue to be processed and determined by Council
Planning staff. Notice, hey, we no decision making powers have
been delegated or so been quoted as saying. We know
the proposed district plan has generated conversation. We want to
(03:43):
ensure everyone has access to accurate, straightforward information. There is
no blanket requirement for landowners to obtain cultural assessments.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
Hey, look, that's and again that is the Council's staff's
interpretation of it and the council table itself or only
being told what the staff is saying. So you know,
it's around interpretation. This is any and this is the
key key point here. Yes, we all may interpret it
this way right now and as the way everyone is thinking,
(04:15):
but it's also pretty vague and it's open for a
different interpretation. And this is what we want to make
sure we get nailed down nice and tight going into
the future, because you know, power change hands all the time.
Within councils within local ewe's and so forth, and we
don't want you know, the wrong person coming in and
interpreting it in a different way. Next, we set in
concrete and solid, so there's no way you can interpret
(04:36):
it any other way than it is written.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
And they're also saying that everyday activities, it doesn't as
nothing's going to change. Most routine farming and land use
activities remain permitted, including silence pats under twenty five hundred
square meters. And as well, they're saying only one consent
application this year needed a cultural impact assessment and it
was for the mind that's been proposed proposed, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
I mean, look that's under the old plan as well.
Remember that's not under the new plan. It only just
got notified, right, and it's still not completely operative until
it got past yesterday. And now now that we've lodged
an appeal and I can have confirmed that we have
lodged the appeal and it now needs to go through
the process. So they're still operating under the old rules.
Correct me if I'm wrong. So you know that's definite.
(05:20):
When they can say that they weren't doing it under
this plan, they were doing it under the existing plan
that was there.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
So how long, So how long for the appeal to
get heard?
Speaker 3 (05:29):
Well, that's in the hands of the Environment Court now.
And you know, if we didn't feel so strong about this,
And you've got to remember, it's going to cost us
too to appeal this. And you know we're not doing
it just for the sake of calling the council out.
We're doing it to make sure we get fedness in
amongst all the community and the royal sector and the
urban sector. Right, so it needs to be fedness across
the board. And we're not going to do it just
(05:51):
off a whim because it cost us money to do. So.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
How much dialogue have you had with the gord district
counts on the Hocknu, your andanng and regarding this a lot.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
We had conversations with the Hornunger before the plane got notified.
While we're going through submission process and hearing still in communication,
we're going to make sure those communication doors are open
because that's what we're all about about, all working together
to get the right outcome for the community. There's no
to ways about that, and I think everybody wants that.
(06:19):
It's just how this plan is written and interpreted from
each angle.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
So there's open communication lines between your South a good
district council, and how can we ruining it? Regarding dialogue
around this, like sitting around a table and talking about it.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
Absolutely, and that's what the hearing process is all about. Like,
you know, we could have gone to them with our
concerns and tried to iron it out, but that's not
the process. The process has to happen this way. You know,
they can't just make changes, as they'll have to go
through a whole plan change to make changes to the
current plan. So to get it done properly, the only
way to do this is by appealing and going through
(06:55):
a hero process. So let's hope we can sit down
at mediation between all parts where it doesn't cost everyone
and I'm in a leg and come to an agreement
across the table.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
Regarding the fuel situation we're seeing with prices, is the
concern down here? Are you seeing it with your members? Jason?
Regarding we're basically obtaining fuel going forward given this is
the busy time for a lot of people.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
Hey, Lock, Yeah, definitely there's some concern going forward, and
you know, nobody knows what the future is going to
hold with what's happening in the Middle East. But the
government has reassured us that there is fifty days fuel
ahead of us. And you know, I encourage people not
to panic by, so if you can't panic by and
try and store some up. And I understand why people
are doing it to try and stay themselves for money,
(07:39):
but we put the rest of the country at risk.
And you know, the large transports who rely on our
fuel stations to fuel up their fleet because they don't
can't have fuel text big enough for their fleet, those
are the ones that run the risk of having no
fuel later on when it comes to the crunch, and
they're the ones who transport our food and goods around
the country. So we've got to keep that in mind.
(08:00):
The other thing we've got to keep in mind too,
in the royal sect, there is fuel thefts, so making
sure that everybody's security around there on farm tanks and
so forth, despite and make sure you've got everything in
place to try and prevent you know, that sort of
stuff happening.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Are you hearing a rural thefts on the increase recently,
especially regarding fuel.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
Yeah, So that conversation is being had on a national
level now between Federated Farmers provinces. We've got a check
group going and there's definitely some talk around there thefts
starting to happen and increasing, so yet I just want
to make sure everyone is being vigilant around that and
you have security set in place. Don't drop your guard
because you know, when fuel goes up and price, people
(08:41):
get a bit desperate, don't they.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
So that's the key message. We still have a lot
of fuel in the country. It's about being patient.
Speaker 3 (08:47):
Yeah, agreed, and we'll just play it one day at
a time and just see what comes into the future.
You know, from a farming perspective, we're going to make
sure we put animal welfare first before anything else in
human walth follows.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Good on you, Jason, always appreciate your time.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
You're welcome, Heather, A great up night.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Jason Herrick, President of Self and Federated Farmers regarding the
fuel situation, and of course yeah, the big one as
well were Feds at the moment regarding the proposed district
plan and what it means for farmers and local EWEI
as well as a gord distrac Council. It's a triangle,
I suppose, Daryl Moyles is sage and dan Stock foods
(09:28):
up next. This is the muster
This interview is brought to you by Agricenter South Branches
in Lawnville, Gore, Cromwell, Milton, and Ranfilly. Drop by your
local agri Center South branch today.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Jason Herrick, as President of South and Federated Farmers and
enjoins us on the musta on this beautiful southern afternoon.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Kiddo, Jason, any what a beautiful take?
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Yeah, it's not too bad. I mean, we just need
a couple of weeks of this and a little bit
of rain, a little bit of sunshine, and we found
our little middle bow of Porridge.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Oh totally, Like you know, five meals a night sort
of thing, and beautiful hot twenty to twenty five degree
days wouldn't go miss, you know. But we can all dream,
can't we.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
When you're seeing farmers on your rounds in there, we're
hearing us certain parts of the Regent still being rather dry.
How common is that.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
There's odd pockets around that are rather dry. Coastal areas
are pretty good where I am right now, and Drummond's
actually looking really good, lots of good autumn growth, but
there's definitely stall some pockets around that are relatively dry ish,
you know, they're not brown dry. They're like a green
driver drought. Just yeah, green drought. They're just not growing
the feet.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
It's all okay, Jason. A lot of your time's been
taken up in the last few days regarding the Federated
Farmers challenging what they're calling new EUI cultural cultural Values rules.
Now what's the go here, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
Okay, it's with the Gorg District Council. They you know,
they started this plan, you know, five years ago when
they introduced the Sadden chapter and they got brought to
our attention very dramatically when they classed the whole Court district.
There's a site of area significant the Maori and and
you know, so we started reading into that and we
definitely found some flaws and that then through the process
(01:45):
of hearings and submissions and so forth, they pulled that
chapter out and renamed it the Cultural Values Chapter and
and made some changes within you know, and to be honest,
the Gorg Distract Council made some positive changes through the plan.
Absolutely no too about that. The Cultural Values Chapter is
what we're most concerned about because the way it's written,
it all comes down to interpretation and the way the
(02:07):
council and EWE interpret it right now doesn't mean to
say someone will interpret it differently into the future. So
it needs to be written properly. And I just want
to make one thing clear that this is not a
dig at naitahu or the local EWI. This is about
making sure that things are written properly so it doesn't
create more division, you know, out there in the community.
(02:27):
So you know, it's making sure everybody's going to be
looked after in the sense of it.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
So from your perspective on things, what would this mean
for farmers?
Speaker 3 (02:37):
Look the way it's written, in the way it can
be interpreted, it means that farmers are going to have
to consult with cultural values a lot more than they
have been. And I mean to be honest, that farmers
wanted to change anything on farm, like shifting a solid
bit that's already there slightly or changing direction, then they'll
need a cultural values assessment, you know, anything on who's
(03:00):
interpreting the rule and so on, And you know that
that is our biggest concern. So shifting, shifting anything near
water and so on basically takes your your flexibility away
from farming and so on. So you know, yeah, it's
just those little complexities of the of the the why
(03:21):
it's written in the plan.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
The councils, Sorry, Jason, the Council's loyally is calling bs
on this, saying in the paper this morning that resource
concents will continue to be processed and determined by Council
Planning staff. Notice, hey, we no decision making powers have
been delegated or so been quoted as saying. We know
the proposed district plan has generated conversation. We want to
(03:43):
ensure everyone has access to accurate, straightforward information. There is
no blanket requirement for landowners to obtain cultural assessments.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
Hey, look, that's and again that is the Council's staff's
interpretation of it and the council table itself or only
being told what the staff is saying. So you know,
it's around interpretation. This is any and this is the
key key point here. Yes, we all may interpret it
this way right now and as the way everyone is thinking,
(04:15):
but it's also pretty vague and it's open for a
different interpretation. And this is what we want to make
sure we get nailed down nice and tight going into
the future, because you know, power change hands all the time.
Within councils within local ewe's and so forth, and we
don't want you know, the wrong person coming in and
interpreting it in a different way. Next, we set in
concrete and solid, so there's no way you can interpret
(04:36):
it any other way than it is written.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
And they're also saying that everyday activities, it doesn't as
nothing's going to change. Most routine farming and land use
activities remain permitted, including silence pats under twenty five hundred
square meters. And as well, they're saying only one consent
application this year needed a cultural impact assessment and it
was for the mind that's been proposed proposed, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
I mean, look that's under the old plan as well.
Remember that's not under the new plan. It only just
got notified, right, and it's still not completely operative until
it got past yesterday. And now now that we've lodged
an appeal and I can have confirmed that we have
lodged the appeal and it now needs to go through
the process. So they're still operating under the old rules.
Correct me if I'm wrong. So you know that's definite.
(05:20):
When they can say that they weren't doing it under
this plan, they were doing it under the existing plan
that was there.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
So how long, So how long for the appeal to
get heard?
Speaker 3 (05:29):
Well, that's in the hands of the Environment Court now.
And you know, if we didn't feel so strong about this,
And you've got to remember, it's going to cost us
too to appeal this. And you know we're not doing
it just for the sake of calling the council out.
We're doing it to make sure we get fedness in
amongst all the community and the royal sector and the
urban sector. Right, so it needs to be fedness across
the board. And we're not going to do it just
(05:51):
off a whim because it cost us money to do. So.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
How much dialogue have you had with the gord district
counts on the Hocknu, your andanng and regarding this a lot.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
We had conversations with the Hornunger before the plane got notified.
While we're going through submission process and hearing still in communication,
we're going to make sure those communication doors are open
because that's what we're all about about, all working together
to get the right outcome for the community. There's no
to ways about that, and I think everybody wants that.
(06:19):
It's just how this plan is written and interpreted from
each angle.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
So there's open communication lines between your South a good
district council, and how can we ruining it? Regarding dialogue
around this, like sitting around a table and talking about it.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
Absolutely, and that's what the hearing process is all about. Like,
you know, we could have gone to them with our
concerns and tried to iron it out, but that's not
the process. The process has to happen this way. You know,
they can't just make changes, as they'll have to go
through a whole plan change to make changes to the
current plan. So to get it done properly, the only
way to do this is by appealing and going through
(06:55):
a hero process. So let's hope we can sit down
at mediation between all parts where it doesn't cost everyone
and I'm in a leg and come to an agreement
across the table.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
Regarding the fuel situation we're seeing with prices, is the
concern down here? Are you seeing it with your members? Jason?
Regarding we're basically obtaining fuel going forward given this is
the busy time for a lot of people.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
Hey, Lock, Yeah, definitely there's some concern going forward, and
you know, nobody knows what the future is going to
hold with what's happening in the Middle East. But the
government has reassured us that there is fifty days fuel
ahead of us. And you know, I encourage people not
to panic by, so if you can't panic by and
try and store some up. And I understand why people
are doing it to try and stay themselves for money,
(07:39):
but we put the rest of the country at risk.
And you know, the large transports who rely on our
fuel stations to fuel up their fleet because they don't
can't have fuel text big enough for their fleet, those
are the ones that run the risk of having no
fuel later on when it comes to the crunch, and
they're the ones who transport our food and goods around
the country. So we've got to keep that in mind.
(08:00):
The other thing we've got to keep in mind too,
in the royal sect, there is fuel thefts, so making
sure that everybody's security around there on farm tanks and
so forth, despite and make sure you've got everything in
place to try and prevent you know, that sort of
stuff happening.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Are you hearing a rural thefts on the increase recently,
especially regarding fuel.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
Yeah, So that conversation is being had on a national
level now between Federated Farmers provinces. We've got a check
group going and there's definitely some talk around there thefts
starting to happen and increasing, so yet I just want
to make sure everyone is being vigilant around that and
you have security set in place. Don't drop your guard
because you know, when fuel goes up and price, people
(08:41):
get a bit desperate, don't they.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
So that's the key message. We still have a lot
of fuel in the country. It's about being patient.
Speaker 3 (08:47):
Yeah, agreed, and we'll just play it one day at
a time and just see what comes into the future.
You know, from a farming perspective, we're going to make
sure we put animal welfare first before anything else in
human walth follows.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Good on you, Jason, always appreciate your time.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
You're welcome, Heather, A great up night.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Jason Herrick, President of Self and Federated Farmers regarding the
fuel situation, and of course yeah, the big one as
well were Feds at the moment regarding the proposed district
plan and what it means for farmers and local EWEI
as well as a gord distrac Council. It's a triangle,
I suppose, Daryl Moyles is sage and dan Stock foods
(09:28):
up next. This is the muster
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