Environment Minister Penny Simmonds faces accusations of a conflict of interest for lobbying a council to fast-track water consents for a small number of Manawatū farms.
Among them is the family farm of National MP Suze Redmayne.
On September 1, Simmonds sent a letter to the Horizons Regional Council stating that she had recently met with farmers from the Santoft area and listened to their concerns regarding delays in securing replacement consents for groundwater extraction and irrigation.
“I am now seeking to understand from Horizons Regional Council why there have been delays and what needs to be done to achieve a timely solution for the affected farmers, particularly given the Government’s commitment to helping the primary sector grow New Zealand’s economy,” the letter read.
The minister requested a written reply within a few days and met with the Horizons Regional Council the following week.
For the Green Party’s environment spokesperson, Lan Pham, it prompted serious concerns about conflict of interest for Simmonds.
Pham said Simmonds is “using her time and political influence as Minister for the Environment to go into bat for a select group of farmers and her colleague in a catchment that we know is under severe pressure.”
“I think it raises really big questions for Christopher Luxon and his government.”
“I think Kiwis would be horrified to hear that their Minister for the Environment, in an area that is under quite serious environmental pressure, was actually going in to bat and putting political pressure on regional councils whose job it is to protect the commons for everyone, not just those who are in the minister’s ear, or her colleague.”
Meanwhile, Suze Redmayne, the MP for Rangitīkei, said she has stayed uninvolved in the process because of a conflict of interest.
“I have not attended meetings with the ministers or advocated for the group of farmers beyond recommending they contact relevant ministers with their concerns when I was asked,” she said.
“Ordinarily, if a constituent approached me on an issue like this, I could advocate directly on their behalf, but in this case, I noted my conflict of interest and left them to approach the ministers themselves.”
Redmayne confirmed that her husband was one of the farmers who recently met with ministers at Parliament. She also said she did not think the farmers’ access to the ministers was due to her position as a National Party MP.
Simmonds said what she did was “wholly appropriate.”
“I asked to meet with Horizons Regional Council to discuss delayed consents after meeting with representatives from several different farms, who were concerned about the impact these delays were having on their businesses.”
“As the Minister for the Environment, it’s wholly appropriate for me to meet with stakeholders from the primary sector and to engage with local authorities to discuss their performance in relation to the Resource Management Act.”
Simmonds’ involvement is inappropriate.
Horizons Regional Councillor Sam Ferguson said he believed it was entirely inappropriate for Simmonds to become involved.
“When she chooses to spend her time in an area like this, advocating for the degradation of the environment – I don’t believe that should be her priority.”
Ferguson acknowledged the frustration of farmers in the Santoft area over the slow consent process but emphasised that further scientific research was necessary because of concerns about declining groundwater levels.
“If the water is over-extracted, then we know that saltwater will start coming in, and that leads to significant environmental issues…. When we over-extract it, we create significant issues for future generations.”