12. Question No. 12—EnvironmentMARK CAMERON (ACT) to the Minister for the EnvironmentQuestion No. 12—Environment12. MARK CAMERON (ACT) to the Minister for the Environment: How many farms utilised intensive winter grazing practices in 2022 on land with a slope of over 10 degrees and what percentage of those farms if any are currently compliant with intensive winter grazing regulations?Hon DAVID PARKER (Minister for the Environment): Intensive winter grazing done poorly can result in many tonnes of sediment per hectare polluting waterways each year. An increase from a 10-degree slope to 15 degrees roughly doubles the sediment loss; an increase to 20 degrees triples it. I don't have the number or percentage of farms conducting intensive winter grazing on slopes greater than 10 degrees but I have been informed that farmers are increasingly avoiding slopes greater than 10 degrees. This has been confirmed to me by councils farmers themselves and media articles in Farmers Weekly. Regional councils are responsible for assessing compliance with the intensive winter grazing rules. I am though advised that those practices are improving as farmers change their practices to meet the permitted activity pathway. Councils and sector groups are working with farmers to continue this trend.David Seymour: Point of order Mr Speaker. This is a question on notice about some very specific information the Minister's had hours to find out. He says he doesn't have it but I think the House deserves an explanation of why the Minister was unable to get this information. He hasn't actually said that.SPEAKER: That's the purpose of supplementary questions.Mark Cameron: Can the Minister confirm that since 2021 his department has spent more than $7 million of taxpayer money to employ 12 FTEs—fulltime-equivalent employees—on freshwater farm plan regulations yet it is still not complete; if not why not?Hon DAVID PARKER: Off the cuff I can't confirm or deny the exact number. It is correct that the farming sector in order to avoid evermore prescriptive regulations controlling inappropriate practice desired the development of farm environment plans particularly freshwater farm plans. The Government has been advancing that in cooperation with regional councils and industry leader groups.Mark Cameron: What would he say to farmers who without freshwater farm plans had to fork out an estimated average cost of $3000 to obtain a resource consent in order to comply with intensive winter grazing standards during a time of near record high farm inflation?Hon DAVID PARKER: I would say that when the member asked me a question on 1 September 2022; he asked me if I was concerned that there were going to be an estimated 10000 resource consents necessary. I can advise the member that so far 311 have been applied for.Mark Cameron: After backtracking on sowing dates and pugging depth regulations will the Minister now also consider backtracking on intensive winter grazing slope requirements or is he going to continue with these requirements knowing that many farmers cannot be compliant with those?Hon DAVID PARKER: In work that was coordinated with industry groups including Beef + Lamb Federated Farmers DairyNZ plus the relevant regional councils we did change the sowing date and pugging rule so as to make it more practical. I call that progress. In respect of the limitation on slope: no. As I've said if we were to make it a permitted activity to have it at higher slopes we would be doubling or tripling the loss of sediment or could be per hectare.