A claim farmers could halt the implementation of a Waikato Regional Council water quality plan change by “voting in the right people” has been dismissed.
Garry Reymer – 2025
Plan Change One was developed by a 24-member collaborative stakeholder group more than a decade ago and is before the Environment Court with 24 appeals on more than 1000 points. A decision is due by the year’s end.
Waikato Regional Council Waipā-King Country candidate Garry Reymer suggested the plan could be stopped when he spoke at a Federated Farmers candidate meeting on September 18 in Te Awamutu.
“Plan change one is not a given,” Reymer said. “There is a chance to stop it, with the right people around the regional council. Farming should not be a consented process, it should be a permitted activity, and we need to make sure it stays that way.”
Waipā deputy mayor Liz Stolwyk, who is standing against Reymer, her brother-in-law, said he had got it wrong.
Liz Stolwyk – 2025
“It has now reached the Environment Court, so that’s not a process that councillors can be part of, or influence,” Stolwyk said. “Garry is incorrect and certainly giving out the wrong information.”
“Right now, it’s sat at a government and ministers level, and they should be talking to regional council staff and councillors.”
Earlier in the month council chair Pamela Storey used Facebook to say some of what was being said about Plan Change One was “simply incorrect”.
“One thing is clear: PC1 is before the court so no elected member or executive of Waikato Regional Council has the ability to influence the process,” Storey said.
Pamela Storey
“No councillor, including the chair, nor executive of WRC, nor candidates that say they’ll stop it if elected, can stop it. Only the Government can halt proceedings at this point through legislative change. And despite what some might be saying, the recent legislation, which aimed to halt council planning processes, does not apply to PC1.
“As a dairy farmer in the PC1 area, I understand the frustration of this drawn-out process and the angst of the unknown. But I’m committed to making sure that landowners and farmers hear honest information about where we are at in the process and will continue to enable WRC to work closely with our dedicated farmers and food producers as we navigate the next steps, on behalf of our industries, our communities, our region, and our environment.”
Storey’s post directed readers to a post on the council website “setting the record straight” on Plan Change One.
“The plan change cannot be withdrawn,” the post said.
Reymer said he was not surprised by Storey’s post.
“I see it as being defensive,” he said. “I would not expect anything different from her in her position. I am not surprised by it. There’s definitely truth on both sides.”
Reymer said if the majority of the next councils members were opposed to the plan change, they could approach the Government and ask it to step in.
Reymer said the Act Party, a coalition partner in the current government, was strongly opposed to Plan Change One and had launched a campaign to stop it.
Act is promoting a petition calling on the council to immediately suspend work on the plan change and commission a full economic evaluation before proceeding.
At the time of going to press just over 200 signatures had been collected.
Reymer planned to meet Act Party MP and environment spokesman Simon Court yesterday (Wednesday) to discuss the next steps in stopping Plan Change One.
Plan Change One will impact how Waikato farms are managed. Photo: Chris Gardner
