“Which is, we want to be out on our farms, making it better for everyone, but we’ve been forced to engage in more office work and with people outside the farm gate, when we’re capable of doing that work ourselves.”
The Dannevirke dairy farmer said roads around the Tararua District were not like main highways and urban centres.
“We’re rural New Zealand and we work here, we live here, we breathe the air in this atmosphere, and frankly we know the risks and the dangers.”
He said farmers knew how to mitigate those risks on-farm.
What had also raised his ire was that he felt the draft bylaws being reviewed were “convoluted” and he’d spent a good evening, into the early hours of the morning trying to understand everything through the council’s eyes.
“It’s very much up to the council employees’ discretion about how these crossings should be done.
“And actually that doesn’t give us any certainty as farmers moving forward.”
Read said farmers needed clear guidelines on the bylaws and they shouldn’t be over-reaching.
He said it was not just livestock at risk from drivers using those rural roads - it could also be children cycling along the road from the dairy shed to the woolshed, or it could be people riding horses.
“The reality is we want safe roads and we want safe communities where we live, but we don’t want to be over-burdened by over-regulation.”
Read said the cost of compliance was something farmers couldn’t afford as with payouts being low and not much investment in the area, “we’ve sort of got a perfect storm in the economic side of things and there is not a lot of money to be spent outside farms”.
He said some farmers were struggling to put food on the table for their families.
“There [are] some hard decisions that are having to be made and when we’re being forced to make decisions like installing stock crossing signs and seeking out permits, we’ve got to make a decision - do we want to forego that or be in breach of some of our conditions.”
However, that could put their businesses at risk.
“We’re already abreast of what needs to happen regarding health and safety when it comes to stock crossings. So why do we need to be putting extra plans and extra costs behind it all just to do what we’re already doing?”
The traffic and road use bylaw was currently out for consultation and Thomas was planning to raise his concerns about stock crossing and movement along rural roads through his submission.
However, a council spokesman said the council had not changed anything in relation to stock crossings in the draft bylaw from the 2018 one.
“The previous bylaw has been in place for six years and Council is now legally required to renew it.
“The exact same clause about stock crossings has been carried over into the new proposed bylaw.”
The council clarified that the draft bylaw required there be enough lighting for traffic safety and a Traffic Management Plan was required for stock crossings during the hours of darkness.
For regular stock movements in daylight, the council required a permit but not necessarily a traffic management plan and there was no fee charged for a permit application.
“When determining safety requirements for a permit application, Council may ask for a Traffic Management Plan, but it’s not required for every application,” the spokesperson says.
“Traffic Management Plan requirements are established by NZTA, not Council. If NZTA requires one, council must follow their rules.”
A new dedicated stock control bylaw was set to be proposed next year.
The council spokesman said they welcomed feedback on any proposed bylaw as changes could only be considered through the submission process.
Rua Pani, regional manager of maintenance for NZTA Waka Kotahi, said the first priority when moving stock on any road between farms or paddocks was the safety of all involved.
“Stock movement, like any other activity on the road that impacts traffic, needs a control of some sort to manage the risk to the stock and road users.”
Road controlling authorities such as NZTA followed the NZ guide to Temporary Traffic Management.
Pani said these were NZTA documents and considered best practice and it was at the discretion of local councils how best they manage stock movements on their local roads.
“NZTA does not need to see, review or approve a council TMP unless there is an impact on and/or signs put out on the highway.”
