Hearing to get underway on pest plan

A hearing for the Proposal for a Southland Regional Pest Management Plan will get underway on 15 February, with further hearing dates scheduled for 18 and 19 February.

Environment Southland's director of operations Jonathan Streat said the hearing is the next stage in the plan process and provides an opportunity for those who submitted on the proposed plan to speak on their submission. The hearing is open to the public, although only those who have submitted are allowed to speak.

A hearing panel has been formed and includes Councillors Lyndal Ludow, Grant Hubber and Robert Guyton, along with Muriel Johnstone, who brings specialist iwi and tikanga knowledge to the panel. The panel will be chaired by independent chair John Simmons.

The proposed plan was released in September, with submissions closing on 23 October 2018. It includes rules for 72 specific pests, along with good neighbour rules for species such as gorse, broom, ragwort and nodding thistle. The plan sets the scene for pest management in Southland for the next 10 years and received 127 submissions covering a wide range of topics.

Once the hearing is complete, the hearing panel will then consider all submissions and recommend a final version of the plan to council for approval.

For more information on the proposal go to https://www.haveyoursay.es.govt.nz/pest-plan.