Latest news with #RMA
Otago Daily Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Iwi leader rebuts claims of consent power grab
Ngāti Waewae leader Francois Tumahai has rejected claims that a revamped iwi agreement with the West Coast Regional Council gives Māori too much say in planning and resource consents. The regional council has reworded more than 20 clauses in its Mana Whakahono a Rohe partnership document with Poutini Ngai Tahu, mainly to clarify how it will work in practice. Former chair Allan Birchfield, who signed the original document in 2020, has strongly criticised the new version, saying it puts iwi on the same governance level as the council. 'I am voting against (the amendments) because they will give iwi full control of the Council's consenting and compliance role under the RMA,' he told yesterday's council meeting. Mr Tumahai, one of two iwi reps on the council, says Mr Birchfield is deluded. 'He's had it explained to him, but he won't listen. Every other councillor has supported the changes but he has his world view, and he won't change it,' the Ngāti Waewae chair told Local Democracy Reporting. The agreement spells out how staff will involve manawhenua in resource consenting - a requirement under the Resource Management Act (RMA). 'The council will treat Poutini Ngāi Tahu as an affected party for all applications … where there is potential for adverse cultural effects, unless it is demonstrated otherwise,' an expanded clause says. Council staff would decide if adverse effects were likely by talking to the environmental agencies of the region's two Rūnanga, Poutini Ngai Tahu partnership manager Ashley Stuart said. A new clause in the agreement says the council will also 'strongly encourage' people applying for resource consents to talk to manawhenua themselves early on, through the iwi's environmental consultancies. Without a letter of approval from the iwi, the council will treat the consent as 'limited notified', adding potential costs and delays. Ngāti Waewae's environmental agency was already issuing at least one letter of approval a week to people checking in over resource consents, Mr Tumahai said. The council held back three of the amendments for further clarification, but endorsed the majority. Cr Birchfield was the sole objector, saying independent legal advice should been provided before these were put to council. "These are major changes … they should be deferred and the community should also be consulted,' he said. The former chair said he had signed the Mana Whakahono agreement in 2020 on the understanding it was a consultation document that would help to speed up and lower the cost of consenting, but this had turned out not to be the case. 'I did receive considerable criticism at the time and those critics have proven to be correct. This agreement is part of the reason why the council's compliance and consent function is so costly and delayed.' Mr Tumahai told LDR there were multiple factors causing the delays. 'It's convenient to blame Māori - we're kind of used to it - but I think with the changes the council is making we should see an improvement within a couple of months.' Part of the problem was overly-complex consent forms, and the council's use of North Island consultants who did not understand the West Coast context, Mr Tumahai conceded. The council had been swamped with applications for resource consents as the price of gold soared, and had to hire external planners to cope, he said. 'We had a workshop today on creating new templates with standard conditions for alluvial mining, and a schedule that walks you through how to apply - that should simplify it for everyone and speed things up.' Cr Birchfield - a veteran miner - did not attend the workshop, telling LDR later he needed to be at work to smelt some gold. Mr Tumahai said the clamour over consent delays was coming from a handful of miners who had not been successful with their applications. "They're not coming to grips with modern requirements and they are the ones making the noise.' The revamped Mana Whakahono agreement also sets out priority areas for improvement in which the council and iwi will collaborate as Treaty partners. They include planning for new sewerage infrastructure, and coastal retreat where buildings are at risk from erosion, flooding or sea level rise. District council and industry discharges into rivers or the sea are also seen as priorities for change, but over time. 'The discharge of wastewater into freshwater and coastal waters is an outdated solution from the last century which is culturally abhorrent to Poutini Ngai Tahu and is becoming unacceptable to others within communities,' the agreement declares. - By Lois Williams, Local Democracy Reporter
Scoop
2 days ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Revamped Agreement Spells Out Iwi Role In Resource Consenting
West Coast Regional Councillors are voting today on an updated version of their historic agreement with iwi to work together for the benefit of the Coast. The Mana Whakahono a Rohe document is recognised under the Resource Management Act and spells out how the council will collaborate with the region's two rūnanga, Ngati Waewae and Makaawhio on issues including wastewater, drinking water, planning and flood protection. The revised version clarifies and strengthens the role of manawhenua in resource consenting and has drawn objections from the council's former chair Cr Allan Birchfield who first signed the document in 2020. Cr Birchfield has argued that the intention was to consult the rūnanga on matters important to them, rather than require their approval for every resource consent, which he claims is happening now. The original agreement says the council will process resource consents in a way that appropriately recognises the effects of activities on Poutini Ngāi Tahu. The revised clause goes further. 'The parties agree that to ensure timely, efficient and cost-effective resource consent processing, applicants and planners must both recognise and provide for the rights, interests and values of Poutini Ngāi Tahu as manawhenua.' That is consistent with the principles of the Resource Management Act (RMA), the draft says. 'As such, the council will treat Poutini Ngāi Tahu as an affected party for all applications for resource consent where there is potential for adverse cultural effects, unless it is demonstrated otherwise.' A new clause, added to the agreement, states that the Council will strongly encourage consent applicants to consult the rūnanga early on, through their environmental entities, Poutini Environmental or Pokeka Poutini Ngāi Tahu. 'Where consultation has not occurred, and a written approval letter has not been supplied, the Council will need to consider limited notification ... to Poutini Ngāi Tahu which can result in increased processing time and costs for applicants." The draft also spells out how the Council will support monitoring by manawhenua. 'Achieving a culturally relevant monitoring programme will require dedicated and consistent resourcing for Pokeka Poutini Ngāi Tahu Limited ... a specific funding agreement dedicated to environmental cultural monitoring will be needed before this programme can commence." WCRC chief executive Darryl Lew said last month the agreement and its protocol document, Paetae Kotahitanga ki Te Tai Poutini, were still fit for purpose and needed only minor changes. Because the council had been through some turbulent times with changes of leadership, key pieces of work had not been done including its practical implementation and the five year review was the opportunity to do that, he said. Cr Birchfield has argued that the agreement effectively gives iwi a sign-off right that was not intended by the RMA and has added to the delays and costs of obtaining resource consents on the West Coast. In a supplied statement he said the changes were far from minor. 'The role of Ngāi Tahu is strengthened to having, effectively, the same functions and powers as local government in certain areas.' However, Ngāi Tahu was not accountable to West Coasters in the same way as local government was, Mr Birchfield said. A particular issue in the agreement was the use of the term, "joint planning' which elevated Ngāi Tahu to the same level as the council, Mr Birchfield said. The changed proposal moved the region towards co-governance, and if Ngāi Tahu were to have a greater role in regional government, West Coast electors should be consulted on the changes by way of a referendum, Cr Birchfield said. The Regional Council says the changed wording in the agreement confers no additional powers on Ngāi Tahu but clarifies the existing rights of manawhenua under the RMA and the Treaty of Waitangi, and operational processes for council staff. During a meeting in May, Ngāti Waewae representative Francois Tumahai defended the iwi's current role in resource consenting. Tumahai said the rūnanga were required to give feedback on consent conditions. 'The decision is still made by the consents team on council. We don't make a decision on it,' The new document with the changes outlined, is available on the WCRC website in the agenda for today's council meeting. The Council this morning agreed to hold some clauses over for further advice and clarity, and the meeting continues this afternoon.
Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Revamped deal spells out iwi role in resource consenting
The revised version clarifies and strengthens the role of manawhenua in resource consenting and has drawn objections from the council's former chair Cr Allan Birchfield who first signed the document in 2020. Cr Birchfield has argued that the intention was to consult the rūnanga on matters important to them, rather than require their approval for every resource consent, which he claims is happening now. The original agreement says the council will process resource consents in a way that appropriately recognises the effects of activities on Poutini Ngāi Tahu. The revised clause goes further. 'The parties agree that to ensure timely, efficient and cost-effective resource consent processing, applicants and planners must both recognise and provide for the rights, interests and values of Poutini Ngāi Tahu as manawhenua.' That is consistent with the principles of the Resource Management Act (RMA), the draft says. 'As such, the council will treat Poutini Ngāi Tahu as an affected party for all applications for resource consent where there is potential for adverse cultural effects, unless it is demonstrated otherwise.' A new clause, added to the agreement, states that the Council will strongly encourage consent applicants to consult the rūnanga early on, through their environmental entities, Poutini Environmental or Pokeka Poutini Ngāi Tahu. 'Where consultation has not occurred, and a written approval letter has not been supplied, the Council will need to consider limited notification ... to Poutini Ngāi Tahu which can result in increased processing time and costs for applicants." The draft also spells out how the Council will support monitoring by manawhenua. 'Achieving a culturally relevant monitoring programme will require dedicated and consistent resourcing for Pokeka Poutini Ngāi Tahu Limited ... a specific funding agreement dedicated to environmental cultural monitoring will be needed before this programme can commence." WCRC chief executive Darryl Lew said last month the agreement and its protocol document, Paetae Kotahitanga ki Te Tai Poutini, were still fit for purpose and needed only minor changes. Because the council had been through some turbulent times with changes of leadership, key pieces of work had not been done including its practical implementation and the five year review was the opportunity to do that, he said. Cr Birchfield has argued that the agreement effectively gives iwi a sign-off right that was not intended by the RMA and has added to the delays and costs of obtaining resource consents on the West Coast. In a supplied statement he said the changes were far from minor. 'The role of Ngāi Tahu is strengthened to having, effectively, the same functions and powers as local government in certain areas.' However, Ngāi Tahu was not accountable to West Coasters in the same way as local government was, Mr Birchfield said. A particular issue in the agreement was the use of the term, "joint planning' which elevated Ngāi Tahu to the same level as the council, Mr Birchfield said. The changed proposal moved the region towards co-governance, and if Ngāi Tahu were to have a greater role in regional government, West Coast electors should be consulted on the changes by way of a referendum, Cr Birchfield said. The Regional Council says the changed wording in the agreement confers no additional powers on Ngāi Tahu but clarifies the existing rights of manawhenua under the RMA and the Treaty of Waitangi, and operational processes for council staff. During a meeting in May, Ngāti Waewae representative Francois Tumahai defended the iwi's current role in resource consenting. [ Tumahai said the rūnanga were required to give feedback on consent conditions. 'The decision is still made by the consents team on council. We don't make a decision on it,' The new document with the changes outlined, is available on the WCRC website in the agenda for today's council meeting. The Council this morning agreed to hold some clauses over for further advice and clarity, and the meeting continues this afternoon. - By Lois Williams, Local Democracy Reporter
Scoop
3 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
Tasman Resource Management Plan Is Now Online
After 27 years in paper form, Resource Management Plan (TRMP) is now online. Whether at home, in the office, or out in the field, you can now access the plan anytime from anywhere. The move to publish the TRMP online is timely recognition of the plan's successful evolution and its mission to respond to environmental challenges and legislative mandates. Because Tasman is a unitary authority, the TRMP effectively replaces what would elsewhere be multiple separate plans—a district plan and a suite of regional plans—providing a unified framework for resource management and land use planning in the district. Transformation Integration of the district and regional plans was a key outcome from the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) which combined and updated the existing County and District Schemes (land use and subdivision), the Regional Coastal Plan (coastal marine area management) and Catchment Board plans into a single integrated document to streamline resource management. The unified planning framework that emerged from the 1991 RMA reforms has provided the foundation for managing one of New Zealand's most dynamic regional economies, where strategic resource management directly enables sustainable development. Since its establishment post-1991 RMA enactment the TRMP has matured into a sophisticated and integrated planning instrument that uniquely combines district and regional governance functions. Work is now underway that will replace the RMA with two new acts focused on property rights, development, and environmental protection, with legislation expected before the 2026 election. Beyond the election the TRMP is likely to remain as the operative planning document for the district for several years, during which a new national system will be developed and implemented. TRMP Integrated Planning Framework This infographic illustrates how Tasman's unitary authority status enables a more comprehensive approach to resource management than typical territorial authorities. Unlike separate district and regional plans, the TRMP consolidates these functions into a single integrated framework. Aspect District Planning (Typical Functions) Tasman Resource Management Plan (TRMP) Governing Body City or District Council (territorial authority) Tasman District Council (unitary authority) Scope Land use, subdivision, local infrastructure, bylaws Integrated district and regional resource management Coverage Local land use and development Local land use and development, Land, water, air, soil, coastal marine area Plan Documents District Plan Single combined plan (TRMP) Regulatory Focus Zoning, building consents, local services Sustainable management of natural and physical resources Integration Separate from regional council plans Combines district and regional functions Examples of Functions Urban growth, local roads, parks, community facilities Urban growth, local roads, parks, community facilities, Water quality, air quality, coastal management, hazards Economic Development The TRMP is Tasman's roadmap for managing our unique environment and enabler of sustainable economic growth. Tasman has a GDP of $3.06 billion and, according to recent census data, was one of the fastest growing regions in New Zealand, with a population and dwelling growth of 10.3% and 11% respectively between 2018 and 2023. Richmond, as an example of our growth dynamics, has a population projected to increase from about 17,400 in 2024 to 23,270 by 2054. This growth reflects a strong recent annual rate of around 3.3%, making Richmond the fastest-growing urban area in the region. Housing demand is expected to require 1,152 new dwellings between 2024 and 2034, and an additional 2,156 dwellings from 2034 to 2054. Our regional economic strategy, including the Nelson Tasman Future Development Strategy, which the TRMP supports through land use and infrastructure planning, aims to accommodate significant housing growth and infrastructure investment to sustain this economic expansion. The TRMP is a strategic approach to sustainable resource management, systematically addressing the district's complex environmental challenges through regular updates that encompass urban development pressures, natural hazard mitigation, freshwater ecosystem protection. Current updates will include further freshwater protections, landscape conservation, and coastal zone management. Effective Regional Coordination Regional councils play a vital role in managing environmental resources, natural hazards, and infrastructure that support community wellbeing and economic growth. The coordination that unitary councils provide for land and water management, hazard mitigation, and infrastructure resilience results in streamlined and coherent management of land use, water, coastal areas, and environmental protection. All of which supports community wellbeing and economic growth. The TRMP story fits squarely within this work and proves how regional-scale planning and policy development enable coordinated growth, hazard resilience, and resource protection, aligning local actions with national infrastructure priorities.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Rubber Processing Chemicals Market to Surpass USD 8.89 billion by 2032
Surging demand for high-performance and eco-friendly rubber products in the automotive and construction sectors is fueling growth in the rubber processing chemicals market. Austin, June 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Rubber Processing Chemicals Market Size was valued at USD 6.14 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach USD 8.89 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 4.72% over the forecast period of 2025-2032. Growing demand for sustainable and high-performance solutions drives the adoption of advanced rubber processing chemicals across key industries The rubber processing chemicals market is gaining momentum due to rising industrialization, automotive output, and sustainability-focused innovations. Regulatory bodies like the U.S. EPA and organizations such as the RMA and CSB are encouraging safer chemical usage and highlighting rising tire production. Companies like Lanxess and Lubrizol are introducing advanced anti-degradants and accelerators to meet evolving performance and compliance standards. The expanding use of flame retardants and processing aids in automotive, industrial, and consumer goods segments is further supporting long-term market growth and PDF Sample of Rubber Processing Chemicals Market @ The U.S. Rubber Processing Chemicals market is valued at USD 0.845 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach a value of USD 1.35 billion with a CAGR of 6.10% during the forecast period of 2025-2032. The U.S. Rubber Processing Chemicals Market is expanding due to increased automotive production, rising demand for industrial rubber goods, and EPA-driven environmental regulations. Continuous innovation by companies like Eastman Chemical and a steady rise in tire manufacturing, as reported by the Rubber Manufacturers Association, further support market growth and product development. Key Players: Lanxess AG Eastman Chemical Company Solvay S.A. Arkema S.A. BASF SE Akzo Nobel N.V. China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. Emerald Performance Materials LLC Behn Meyer Group Rubber Processing Chemicals Market Report Scope: Report Attributes Details Market Size in 2024 USD 6.14 Billion Market Size by 2032 USD 8.89 Billion CAGR CAGR of 4.72% From 2025 to 2032 Base Year 2024 Forecast Period 2025-2032 Historical Data 2021-2023 Report Scope & Coverage Market Size, Segments Analysis, Competitive Landscape, Regional Analysis, DROC & SWOT Analysis, Forecast Outlook Key Drivers • Growing Demand for High-Performance and Specialty Rubber drives the Market Growth. If You Need Any Customization on Rubber Processing Chemicals Market Report, Inquire Now @ By Product, the Anti-degradants dominated the Rubber Processing Chemicals Market in 2024 with a 48% Market Share. The dominance is due to the essential role of accelerators in enhancing vulcanization speed and improving rubber product durability. Rising demand from automotive and industrial applications has prompted major producers like Lanxess and Lubrizol to expand eco-friendly product lines. Their focus on regulatory compliance and high-performance formulations, such as Lubrizol's 2023 thiuram launch, supports broader adoption. Additionally, their use in conveyor belts and hoses adds further momentum, making accelerators a preferred choice across global manufacturing environments. By Application, the Tire dominated the Rubber Processing Chemicals Market in 2024 with a 56% Market Share. The dominance is due to the high consumption of rubber processing chemicals in tire manufacturing, fueled by increased automotive production and replacement cycles. Tire makers like Bridgestone and Michelin are pushing innovation by incorporating bio-based and custom chemical solutions to meet sustainability goals. Rubber chemicals like anti-degradants and flame retardants play a key role in extending tire life and performance. The tire segment remains the most critical consumer due to its scale, frequency of replacement, and regulatory requirements. By Region, Asia Pacific dominated the Rubber Processing Chemicals Market in 2024, Holding a 52% Market Share. The dominance is due to Asia Pacific's position as a manufacturing hub for both automotive and rubber goods, especially in China, India, and Southeast Asia. A 9% rise in China's tire production in 2023, as reported by its Ministry of Industry and IT, has propelled chemical demand. Expanding infrastructure and construction activities further boost the consumption of non-tire rubber products. Additionally, stricter eco-regulations in Japan and South Korea have led to increased use of safer, compliant rubber processing additives across the region. Recent Developments • In January 2025, MIT CSAIL unveiled 'Thermochromorph,' a printing method using thermochromic inks to create temperature-responsive visuals for adaptive design and artistic applications. • In February 2025, OliKrom introduced thermochromic labels for pharma use, changing color upon oxidation to indicate vaccine spoilage, improving safety, and reducing medical Full Research Report on Rubber Processing Chemicals Market 2025-2032 @ About Us: SNS Insider is one of the leading market research and consulting agencies that dominates the market research industry globally. Our company's aim is to give clients the knowledge they require in order to function in changing circumstances. In order to give you current, accurate market data, consumer insights, and opinions so that you can make decisions with confidence, we employ a variety of techniques, including surveys, video talks, and focus groups around the world. CONTACT: Jagney Dave - Vice President of Client Engagement Phone: +1-315 636 4242 (US) | +44- 20 3290 5010 (UK)Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
