17 April 2025
Regional and unitary councils appreciated today’s announcement by Agriculture Minister Todd McClay and Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard outlining the next steps for improving the Freshwater Farm Plan (FWFP) system prior to rolling it out in 2026.
Chris McLay, Te Uru Kahika FWFP Programme Sponsor and Chief Executive of Waikato Regional Council, said councils are looking forward to helping to deliver a system that is practical on farm and good for communities from next year.
“Regional and unitary councils back certified freshwater farm plans as the right tool for managing freshwater on farm to improve catchment freshwater outcomes.
“The regional sector has been working in partnership on processes for implementing FWFPs since 2022 and have advocated for a risk-based approach, where the level of effort reflects the scale of risk to freshwater outcomes, and is workable for those on the land. We’re pleased to see progress announced by the Government today in that direction,” said Mr McLay.
Mr McLay advised the importance of maintaining rigour in the FWFP system to ensure it can be effective in achieving outcomes and demonstrating New Zealand’s environmental credentials.
“As the detail is worked through over the coming months, we are keen to see both land management science and local knowledge used to assess and manage risk.
“Like central government, the regional sector sees the potential for FWFPs to streamline and tailor how freshwater rules are managed on farm,” said Mr McLay.
Last year, the government paused the national FWFP rollout to review the system and identify improvements. This gave farmers, growers, and councils greater certainty around timeframes and allowed space to plan changes. Today’s announcement sets out the scope of those changes which will now be worked through ahead of legislative amendments.
“FWFPs are about enabling farmers and growers to do what they do best, apply practical solutions on farm that suit their local context and business.
“There’s a lot of progress already happening on farm and within catchment groups. While the FWFP system goes through the process to be improved, our message to farm operators is let’s keep up the good work. The more that’s done now, the easier it will be to develop a farm plan later,” said Mr McLay.
With the change process now underway, the regional sector’s focus is on providing useful advice to refine the FWFP system and getting implementation-ready alongside government, mana whenua, and industry.