Such a shame that the prohibitively high cost of red tape gets in the way of progress (or at least a constructive debate) yet again.

i hardly think shitting all over the MacKenzie country is progress.

what's the big fucking deal about this socalled 'progress' anyway. i mean, these fuckers are multimillionaires already, what do they need MOAR money for!? dickwads

"Progress" is a tricksy word. When we use it ordinarily we mean "movement towards the destination or desired state". When we use it in relation to a proposed activity then, it can only mean anything useful if we are all agreed on the desired state or destination. Phunk, the delightful Mr. Peacocke ("are you free Mr. McKenzie?") and Federated Farmers seem to think that factory dairy farming in the McKenzie Basin is an admirable goal. Whereas for me, while I can (just about) imagine worse activities for the place, this activity represents the reverse direction to what I would call progress.

And constructive debate? The debate that has been raging in New Zealand over this proposal has been far more constructive and substantial, involving many New Zealanders, than the kind of "behind closed doors" decision-making that normally happens for such applications. Let's bear in mind that the Waitaki District Council had already issued some of the other consents needed by these farms without even notifying (the process necessary for anyone else to even have a say).

As I understand it, the cost at which the applicants have balked (hope that's how you spell it) is the cost for proper scientific review of all the evidence about environmental effects associated with the effluent discharge process proposed. Certainly it's a lot of money, but the alternatives to this being the cost of the applicants (who, after all, are the ones who will reap the profit from using these public resources should the applications be granted) are for these costs to instead be met by you, me and other taxpayers (an unusual position for Phunk to take, I'd have thought!), or for the scientific review of the evidence to be less thorough.

Phunk's just doing his usual ACT inspired trolling
Personally, I think the loading of the "red tape" cost is justified as it should not be the taxpayer who pays for such development plans. And the cost is trivial compared with the expected annual revenue of the projects.

BrokenKonaRider wrote:Phunk's just doing his usual ACT inspired trolling

What the hell does ACT have to do with anything, those douchebags are part of the problem.

phunk wrote:those douchebags are part of the problem.

here hear,
or is that
hare hair...

Cows are tasty.