Southland Water and Land Plan

Preparing for the hearing

If you made a submission and indicated that you wished to speak to it, then make sure you reinforce your case by presenting to the hearing.

The hearing report

Before the hearing, Environment Southland compiled a hearing report – a 700-page document (called the section 42A report), which provides the Hearing Commissioners with a summary and analysis of submissions, and makes recommendations on possible amendments to the proposed plan.

The Hearing Commissioners don’t have to agree with the recommendations contained in the s42A report, but it is still a useful tool to help understand how the submissions have affected council’s thinking.

Can B+LNZ help me prepare for the hearing?

We ran eight workshops, to help farmers prepare. These covered:

• What you can expect at the hearing
• What makes a powerful farmer hearing statement
• How to gain traction with the decision makers
• A refresh on the key issues and a heads up on where council thinking is changing
• What to include in your hearing statement.

What if I missed the workshops?

The workshop resources included a booklet and videos, which you can download on this page. View the powerpoint presentation to pick up tips on how to be as effective as possible on the day.

Key areas to consider

We have  created a summary of key areas you may which to address called "The Song Sheet". It covers: 

• The policy/rule to consider
• What the notified plan said
• What B+LNZ submitted
• Environment Southland’s recommendations to the hearing panel (s42A report)
• Some ideas for farmers to consider in their hearing statement

The eight key areas summarised in the song sheet are:

1. Physiographic zones
2. Pre-empting limit setting process
3. Dairy conversion
4. Intensive winter grazing
5. Stock exclusion
6. Cultivation setbacks
7. Tile drains
8. Farm Environment Plans