One month after holding a well-attended nationwide protest, grassroots farming lobby group Groundswell NZ has announced further protest action and called for a halt to all Resource Management Act (RMA) planning processes.

Approximately 140 vehicles and hundreds of supporters turned out in Wanaka on Friday July 16 to demand a halt to the government’s environmental regulations - one of many protests organised by Groundswell around the country. The organisation promised further action if the group’s demands were not met.

Groundswell has announced it is planning another nationwide protest event later this year, and in the meantime regular protest actions will be undertaken from this Friday (August 20), as part of a campaign called ‘Can you hear us?’.

Read more: ‘Enough is enough’: protesters descend on Wanaka

In response to the July protests, prime minister Jacinda Ardern said it was important the country stuck to the commitments it had made on freshwater and climate change, which would help New Zealand maintain the value of its exports.

Lake Hāwea farmer Richard Burdon told the Wanaka App a lot of farmers didn’t like the government’s response.

“Just about everyone accepts that change is important, but it has to be achievable,” Richard said.

Farm utes parked on Helwick Street for the “bark up” last month.

“I think the farming community has about 100 different questions but there’s no one to ask. If you’re going to bring in policy it has to be well thought through and not confusing.”

Groundswell NZ spokesman Bryce McKenzie said there is widespread concern in New Zealand about the government’s direction and various regulations on its agenda, including freshwater, indigenous biodiversity and climate change.

Groundswell has added the Three Waters reform and the Water Services Bill to its list of “unworkable” regulations, saying the magnitude of change proposed with the Three Waters reform calls for referendums in each district and city.

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Bryce said the group is not against the need for regulation or the need to care for the environment, and is not calling for a halt to addressing environmental issues, but “there are much better, proven solutions to addressing environmental issues than the one-size-fits-all approach being legislated by the government”.

Richard recommended that local farmers who are feeling stressed about the various proposed legislative and regulatory changes talk to their neighbours.

“And if you can, get your whole community around the table so you can work through it together. There are a lot of urban people who would be more than happy to help,” he said, adding that local groups such as WAI Wanaka and the Guardians of Lake Hāwea and Wānaka can offer valuable information.

Groundswell has called for a two minute show of support at 12.30pm on Friday, asking people to toot the horns of their vehicles in support of the campaign, a protest which will be repeated every Friday for the following three weeks.

PHOTOS: Wanaka App