Anna Gillespie has taken on the presidency of Federated Farmers Otago, succeeding Luke Kane.

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Local government and resource management reform will take up the bulk of her term, Gillespie says, with a three-month window for councils to develop proposals. She says some councils are well into those conversations, and others have not started.

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“Patience is the key; you’ve got to take everyone’s voice around the table.”

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The dissolution of regional councils, signalled for 2028, will be welcomed by many farmers on rates grounds alone, Gillespie says. The bigger uncertainty is what regulations remain and who enforces them once the ORC is gone, she says.

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Boundary adjustments that may come with local government reform could work well in some cases. She says Waitaki has more in common with Canterbury than Otago in many respects, and points to Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago as an area where the current divide has limited practical meaning.

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“Between Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago, there’s no real boundary.

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“It’s all just one big place.”

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Gillespie says reform gives an opportunity to group things more accordingly rather than manage land according to lines that do not reflect how farming and the environment actually work across the landscape.

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“You’ve got to be bigger picture than that.”

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Water in Otago is a scarcity issue rather than an excess one, she says, and a lack of water is the limiting factor for productive businesses in the region. Talks with the Otago Regional Council (ORC) around water stalled when the government halted the release of the ORC’s land and water plan.

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“Until we get a minimum flow on that river, there are a lot of things that stand waiting. For any productive business, it’s the lack of water.”