Dannevirke: One Plan sign-off hailed as landmark

Corina Jordan

A decade in the making, Horizons Regional Council's sometimes controversial One Plan has been officially signed off.

Fish and Game's environmental manager Corina Jordan says it is one of the best schemes in the world and the benchmark for all New Zealand regions to aspire to.

The landmark document will guide resource management decision-making in the region and although it become operative on December 19, the One Plan was first notified in 2007 and has been a part of resource management decisions in a transitional phase since then.

Horizons chairman Bruce Gordon said this was a significant moment.

"It has been a long journey with some tensions, challenges and learning and I am proud of what we have achieved," he said.

In the Tararua, it took the establishment of the Economic Impact Society, headed by Te Rehunga dairy farmer Russell Phillips, to ensure changes in the Plan, especially nutrient budgeting, to steer the district away from a potentially disastrous $60 million a year hit to its economy.

Dannevirke businessman Allan Benbow agreed everyone wanted the protect the environment, but warned there needed to be a balance with the economy and the implementation of more scientific data before the One Plan was put in place.

Mr Philips said at the time the One Plan as it stood put at risk the bankability of farms and main-street businesses. After a highly charged public meeting in Dannevirke last year, attended by more than 300 people, the impact group lobbied MPs and worked in consultation with Horizons on modifications to the Plan regarding management nutrient rules. The Plan has now begun to roll out in southern Tararua, with the average dairy farmer in the Horizons region spending more than $110,000 on environmental management in the past five years, according to a Federated Farmers survey. For Fish & Game, the signing of the Plan after a decade of debate and legal action is a landmark in the battle to protect the nation's water quality.

"This is ground-breaking," Ms Jordan said. "The decision by Horizons councillors to sign the One Plan is a historic moment, not only for the region but for all New Zealand."