Wednesday, 14 June 2017
The process can be nerve wracking, but farmers are doing an excellent job of telling their unique story to the hearing commissioners.
Here are a few points to consider, based on the feedback we’ve received from farmers and others so far:
- Remember to put forward solutions – the commissioners are looking for practical ways they can make improvements to the proposed Plan. It’s great to outline where Plan won’t work – but where you can, try to follow this up with solutions too.
- The commissioners have read all the information that you have submitted so far. You may like to read out a summary of the key points that you want the commissioners to remember.
- Stock exclusion rules are currently in front of the New Zealand government. Once the New Zealand government policy is set, regional councils must follow. You may recall from the B+LNZ workshops that the s42A report recommends a change to the stock exclusion rule, which are a cut and pasted directly from the New Zealand government’s proposal on fresh water. If you want to make sure you’re fully up to speed on this before heading into the hearing, consider re-reading the summary of this rule on the ‘Song Sheet’ before you head into the hearing. You may also like to read B+LNZ’s submission to central government – which is available by clicking here.
B+LNZ presented evidence on Monday (week 2 of the hearings), which you can listen to by clicking here
Please consider sharing your experience with B+LNZ, so we can pass your feedback and advice on to other farmers who are yet to appear.
Well done to again to everyone so far. Keep up the excellent effort and get in touch if you have any questions.
