March 18, 2024
Hoggard oversteps mark on SNA taihoa
Labour leader Chris Hipkins says the protection of indigenous biodiversity shouldn’t be sacrificed for narrow farmer interests.
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has walked back his advice that councils stop work on significant natural areas, after describing them as confiscation of the property rights of landowners,
Environmentalists and legal experts pointed out the National Policy Statement on Indigenous Biodiversity was still in force, and ministers don’t have power to suspend legal requirements by executive fiat.
Mr Hoggard claimed it was not his intention that his statement would be read in a way that suggested the change had already come into effect.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins says SNAs are about taking a long term view.
“The SNAs are an important policy in terms of protecting our indigenous biodivesity, in terms of making sure he planet we pass on to future generations is one they can continue to sustain life with. It’s a policy a small number of landowners have quite an interest in but in the bigger scheme of things it’s a pretty important one,” he says.
On Thursday Minister Hoggars, a former Federated Farmers chair, told councils they would be unwise to do any more work on identifying areas where protection was needed, because the Government intended to change the Resource Management Act as quickly as possible.