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Page 1 of 5 The Centre’s ‘Warning for the Week’ The notion that all farmers should require a licence to farm is spreading through the country, region by region and district by district. The first signs are that farming as a general activity is removed from the list of permitted activities and instead any activities in the rural zone are made subject to rules, thresholds and assessment criteria. The apparently innocuous term “protecting rural character” gives the regulators many opportunities to get their feet in every door. For example, I have just heard of a case where a sheepfarmer found the going too tough and decided to go into avocado orchards instead. He was told that because he was changing the land use he would need a resource consent. When he revealed his intention to mulch the orchard with pine chips and peelings he was told he would need a resource consent for that too. The Centre shall be watching these developments and reporting further as more facts (as opposed to stories) come to hand. Given our closer trading relationships with our Asian and Pacific Rim neighbours we should be making it as easy as possible for our farmers to change their crops and practices – not put unnecessary obstacles in their way. It would not be so bad if Councils and their consultants took some interest in how the rural economy actually works. Sadly, like the Urban Smart Growth planners, their main concern is with how their countryside “looks”, or “should look”, to maintain their romantic ideals of rural landscape and form. The end result is Councils have “visions” and their ratepayers have nightmares.
Preparing for the Great Day Out We now have people coming from Australia, the US, Canada and the UK. It will be quite an international affair. The artist and wine maker, Dick Frizzell, is our latest sponsor, supplying a selection of his wines to accompany the Lanvin Champagne and the Hallertau Beer. No one should go thirsty! Enjoy his label art by visiting the sponsors’ page at: http://www.rmastudies.org.nz/big-farm-day-out/sponsors.html The Webb’s gallery of catalogues (use the link) completes the artistic theme and remind us that the Alan Gibbs Farm does not exist in a vacuum. And remember our Pre-Christmas special offer still stands. As you know, all those who make donations to support the Centre's work during 2010 will receive an invitation to attend the Great Day Out at the Alan Gibbs Farm on February 28th. The Standard Donation to secure the invitation is $250 or more. But donations of $1,000 or more also secure: · a ride in the Aquada Car, or · the Guided Art Tour, or · a Helicopter ride over the Farm. However, as a Christmas special, anyone who puts together a team of ten people making the Standard Donation will also receive a free invitation to one of the special rides. So the total donation for the "team of ten" will be $2,500 or more but the "team host" will also receive an invitation to take the ride of their choice as a special $1,000 bonus. Or they can gift it to one of the team. The donations are tax deductible – unlike a ticket to the tennis or whatever. Each "team of ten" gets a bonus ride. So a team of twenty gets two free rides and a team of fifty gets five free rides. Many of you will have your own email lists. Please forward the invitation to them. We want a diverse group on the day and naturally hope they will join the Centre’s list and become ongoing supporters and contributors. Preparing for International Conferences We have been asked to present papers at three international conferences this year – our standing invitation to the American Dream Coalition Conference, (this year in Orlando), a conference at the Mahatma Gandhi University in Kerala, India, and the FIG International Conference in Sydney, Australia. The invitation from FIG (The international Federation of Surveyors based in Copenhagen) was particularly gratifying. The acceptance of the paper came with this letter: Dear Owen McShane, It is our great pleasure to invite you to the XXIV FIG International Congress Facing the Challenges – Building the Capacity, in Sydney, Australia 11–16 April, 2010. The technical programme of the congress will be the biggest in the FIG history. The organisers have received almost 900 proposals for presentations from more than 80 countries. The FIG congress will also be the largest surveying Congress in Australia and the Pacific region in 2010 and will therefore be a major attraction for both international as well as Australian and regional visitors. This congress is hosted jointly by the International Federation of Surveyors, FIG and the Surveying and Spatial Sciences Institute, SSSI. We are happy to confirm that your paper:
Why Urban Planners Love Global Warming: Why We Must Challenge the Theories of the Urban Central Planners (4624) has been accepted for oral presentation We shall certainly attend the Sydney Conference and shall try to make it to India and the US later in the year. We get considerable satisfaction from this international recognition. Needless to say we just don’t cut it with our Northland Councils. The Depressing News – Deferred The Centre is heavily involved in RMA reforms, our local Proposed District Plan and the Auckland Governance Bill, and a host of RMA related matters. However, the Centre does not want to be the Grinch that spoils your Christmas by spreading too much depressing news so we shall wait until the sun is shining in the New Year to report further on these matters. Funding Your support is always welcome, and we certainly depend on your contributions to see us through the Christmas quiet period. Every dollar helps. Use the Donate PayPal button on the left margin of our webpage, or the form attached to the email message.
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