Action alert- submissions needed to Kaipara District Council Proposed District Plan

Submission are needed in response to the Kaipara District Council Proposed District Plan out for public consultation, urging KDC to reinstate the valuable precautionary and prohibitive GE/GMO provisions, policies, rules (that were previously in the KDC draft District Plan and which received overwhelming support from submittors two years ago). Deadline for submissions: next Monday, 5pm, 30 June 2025
Key points below for easy submission writing (you need to provide your full contact details, that you are submitting to the KDC Proposed District Plan, and whether you wish to be heard or not). BASIC INFO: the KDC email address to use for lodging submissions to the KDC Proposed District Plan is: districtplanreview@kaipara.govt.nz.

Email: districtplanreview@kaipara.govt.nz

Online: (if you make a submission online, please keep a copy of your submission!)

https://www.kaipara.govt.nz/kaipara-district-plan-review/make-a-submisson

By Hand: to either the Kaipara District Council office Dargaville (32 Hokianga Road) or the KDC Mangawhai Office (9 Molesworth Drive)

Submission to: Kaipara District Council Proposed District Plan
KDC

Name of submittor:

Contact details:

I/we wish /do not wish to be heard

Key points you may like to make in your submission:

-KDC should ensure that the precautionary and prohibitive GE/GMO provisions, policies, and rules (in alignment with what WDC, NRC, FNDC and Auckland Council have already achieved in their operative Plans) that were previously in the KDC draft District Plan (ie. the same wording) are reinstated in the Proposed District Plan

-KDC should act on its obligations as a formative member of the Northland/ Auckland "Inter Council Working Party on GMO Risk Evaluation & Management Options" irrespective of any controversial proposals for legislative change (that may or may not occur).

-KDC should ensure that the Proposed District Plan has precautionary and prohibitive GE/GMO provisions, policies and rules (the same wording as what was in the KDC draft District Plan) in order to protect the District (and wider Regions) biosecurity, wider environment, economy, valuable "Northland, naturally" brand, existing GM Free farmers/ primary producers, our food sovereignty, and the ability of Kaipara residents to grow and eat clean and safe, nourishing, GM free food.

-KDC should act in keeping with case law, the findings of the Northland/ Auckland ICWP on GMOs (of which KDC was a formative member), the wishes of local ratepayers and residents who do not want to have risky outdoor GE/GMO experiments, field trials, or releases in the Kaipara. It is not enough for council to rely on a national regulator- council should ensure that local protections against the risks of outdoor GE/GMOs are in place, including the requirement for bonds/ strict liability to ensure that polluters are accountable for unintended/unforseen adverse impacts of EPA approved outdoor GE/GMO experiments or field trials.

-Outdoor GE/GMOs do not respect boundaries- GE contamination spreads through all the known vectors of pollen, seeds, wind, soils, waterways, machinery, animals, insects, extreme weather events (including but not limited to floods), and human error. Farmers /landowners and their valuable enterprises need protection.

-KDC should respect and support the precautionary and prohibitive GE/GMO policies of various Tai Tokerau Iwi for their respective rohe

Relief sought: Include/ reinstate the precautionary and prohibitive GE/GMO provisions into the Kaipara Proposed District plan consistent with the wording contained in the KDC draft District Plan (September 2022 Exposure Draft document), the findings of the Northland/ Auckland ICWP on GMOs, and the Northland Regional Policy Statement (RPS) direction on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs).

Given the direction in the Northland Regional Policy Statement (RPS), concerns of tangata whenua, existing case law, and consistency with adjoining district plans it is considered appropriate to reference and control these matters in the Kaipara District plan (as it already is in the operative Whangarei District Plan and operative Far North District Plan).

Please ask to be heard (even if you decide not to later) as it gives your submission even more weight. Please note if you were an original submittor to the KDC draft District Plan previously supporting the precautionary and prohibitive GE/GMO provisions, policies and rules written and supported by KDC.

Thank you!

If you require assistance:

Please ring Martin Robinson, Kerikeri farmer, NRC councillor and spokesperson GE Free Northland if you have any further questions or need help.
Marty mobile: 027 347 8048 09 407 8650
Relief sought: Include precautionary and prohibitive GE/GMO provisions in the Kaipara District plan consistent with the wording contained in the KDC draft District Plan (September 2022 document), the findings of the Northland/ Auckland ICWP on GMOs, and the Northland Regional Policy Statement (RPS) direction on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs).