The Primary Land Users Group (P.L.U.G.) has issued an open letter to the Chair and Councillors of the Waikato Regional Council calling for the proposed Lake Waikare–Whangamarino Action Plan to be rejected. The organisation argues the proposal could impose significant costs on ratepayers, farmers and the regional economy while questioning whether sufficient economic analysis has been undertaken to justify the plan.
Report by elocal
The Primary Land Users Group (P.L.U.G.) has released an open letter addressed to Waikato Regional Council Chair W. Maher, all councillors, government ministers and the news media outlining its opposition to the proposed Lake Waikare–Whangamarino Action Plan. The letter argues that the proposal is inconsistent with commitments made by the newly elected council to exercise greater control over rates while balancing environmental, economic and social priorities.
At the centre of the group's concerns is the estimated cost of implementing the action plan. P.L.U.G. states the proposal has been costed at approximately $1 billion over 25 years, with the draft plan indicating that ratepayers, landowners and government agencies would ultimately bear those costs. The organisation argues that such expenditure cannot be reconciled with the council's stated objective of limiting rates increases.
To illustrate the potential financial impact, the letter provides two cost scenarios. Based on approximately 2,800 farms within the Whangamarino catchment, the group estimates implementation could equate to around $14,285 per ratepayer per year if costs were concentrated within the catchment. If spread across an estimated 200,000 Waikato ratepayers, P.L.U.G. calculates the cost would still amount to approximately $10,000 per ratepayer over 25 years, or around $400 annually, before accounting for additional costs associated with Plan Change One (PC1).
The organisation argues the proposal has not been supported by an adequate economic assessment and warns that imposing costs of this magnitude could have significant consequences for both farming businesses and the wider Waikato economy. It contends that without detailed economic and environmental analysis demonstrating the plan is practical, affordable and capable of achieving measurable improvements in water quality, the council should reject the proposal in its entirety.
The letter also expresses concern that even if the council were to accept the action plan without immediately funding it, the document could remain on council records and be implemented by a future council. For that reason, P.L.U.G. says it opposes the proposal being formally adopted into council records in any capacity.
Attention is also directed toward Plan Change One (PC1), the long-running Waikato Regional Plan amendment dealing with freshwater management. The group argues PC1 will require many farmers to obtain resource consents or prepare farm environment plans while potentially making some farming operations economically unviable. The letter cites previous Local Government New Zealand analysis suggesting significant reductions in both dry stock and dairy farming could occur under the proposed regulatory framework.
P.L.U.G. further argues that Waikato Regional Council has focused primarily on farming as the cause of declining water quality while failing to adequately address the impact of koi carp, which it says continue to have a significant effect on freshwater quality throughout the region. According to the group, addressing environmental outcomes requires a broader assessment of all contributing factors rather than concentrating predominantly on agricultural land use.
The letter outlines what it describes as potentially substantial economic consequences if farming activity declines. It notes Waikato is New Zealand's largest dairy-producing region, accounting for more than 60 percent of regional export earnings, with dairy alone contributing billions of dollars annually to both regional GDP and export revenue. The group argues any significant reduction in dairy and dry stock production could affect employment, export income, regional economic activity and national food production.
In its concluding remarks, P.L.U.G. says councillors are ultimately accountable to ratepayers and should ensure major policy decisions are demonstrably economically viable before committing substantial public expenditure. The group maintains the council exists to serve the interests of the community and is urging elected members to reject the proposed action plan until comprehensive economic and environmental analysis has been completed.
Source: Primary Land Users Group (P.L.U.G.), "Open Letter to Waikato Regional Council – Lake Waikare–Whangamarino Action Plan," dated 17 July 2026.