BRYCE MCKENZIE: Standing up for property rights in Gore

The following is an update on the RMA Section 6 situation in Gore and how we propose fighting it.

As you might have heard, the proposed Gore District Plan includes applying the Sites and Areas of Significance to Maori rules from RMA Section 6 to the entire district.

That would mean that every place in the whole district could have the counterproductive, unworkable, and intrusive bureaucracy that comes from having an RMA Section 6 classification on your land.

In fact, the proposed District Plan is quite specific, saying:

“All land, waterbodies, natural features, and marae within Gore District are recognised as sites and areas of cultural significance to mana whenua and/or tangata whenua, and are afforded appropriate considerations in relation to their management, development, and use.”

This isn't just about Gore, though. Your council could be next. We need to stop this from going ahead in Gore so other councils won't even try.

We're campaigning in Gore to push the Gore District Council to remove the blanket Sites and Areas of Significance to Maori application from the District Plan before it's too late.

Rather than pick out a list of specific places that have some actual significance, the Gore District Council has put that sentence in their plan, meaning everyone in the Gore District has to wonder when their land will start needing complex consultation for the normal activities they’ve otherwise been able to do.

That uncertainty is what makes this such a terrible proposal.

It’s important to note that it’s the Council at fault here. The Hokonui Runanga (the local branch of Ngai Tahu) put forward their view of how land in Gore should be regulated, but it’s the Council that decided to go along with it without asking anyone else what they thought.

There is still an opportunity to get this changed, as the proposed plan is out for consultation. We just need to make sure the Council knows that their voters will not accept a regulatory system that has food producers and other landowners always looking over their shoulder.

But once a district plan is proposed, as this one is, it can only be changed by submissions. We have to take action now, or the plan as it stands will come into effect.

We’re asking everyone in Gore to pledge their support for our call to protect property rights, including ads online and in the local paper.

We're going to keep pushing to make sure this abuse of the RMA planning laws is stopped in Gore before it becomes a political and legal precedent used around the rest of the country.

If you can help with our campaign, please click here to donate.

Bryce McKenzie is a spokesman for Groundswell NZ, a volunteer group of farmers and rural professionals.