Rural Contractors New Zealand is calling on the Government to overhaul the permitting system for large agricultural machines before the season starts, with some machines now very difficult or impossible to permit.

Chief executive Andrew Olsen says the country’s vehicle dimensions and mass regulations have not meaningfully shifted in 10 or 15 years, while the machines have grown larger. He says the sector raised the issue with the coalition over the past year and has now put it in front of every MP.

“For example, if I can’t put that [machine] on the road lawfully and I choose to do my job, then I’m unlawful, and that’s a real catch-22 for our members to have to deal with,” he says.

He says the change has to happen.

“Our members want to be lawful, and they want to comply, but they’ve also got to make a living, and farmers need to be serviced.

“Farmers would know really well that when our guys turn up that they might need ballast for a hill job on one occasion, and then they’d need to put a mower on for another.

“They might service three different farms during one day, so how do you get a permit that covers all of those types of different services that we’re offering if your machine’s overweight in the showroom or from the get-go?”

He says they have councils and NZTA involved in the issue.

“It’s a complete bowl of spaghetti.

“It needs to be sorted out, nationalised, and made simpler.”

Olsen says the same machines are legal in Australia, the United States and Europe under newer rules.

“They don’t need a permit, they just operate, and the road isn’t treated like a religious reliquary.

“This is a piece of regulation that needs to be unbundled and repackaged to suit today’s machines that are operating right now.”

CountryWide CONNECT with Andy Thompson & Sarah Perriam-Lampp is our daily rural show livestreamed from 11am-1pm. Visit country-wide.co.nz on how to watch/listen or download the CountryWide CONNECT mobile app, available on Apple iOS and Android.