The Green Party says the approval of an application to clear native bush in South Taranaki proves the Resource Management Act is too weak, not too overbearing as its critics claim.
The party says the South Taranaki District Council rubber stamped the clearance of bush by a farmer despite its own council officers recommending against it.
Greens co leader Russel Norman says leaked material shows forest and wetlands were approved for transformation into dairy farming in a region where nearly all native bush has already been cleared and replaced with grass.
South Taranaki mayor Ross Dunlop agrees the council decision went against recommendations of its officers, but says it reached a decision to allow some bush to be to be cleared and other bush to be preserved.
Mr Dunlop says the bush to be preserved will be better protected than it is now, with cows wandering freely through it.
The decision is open to appeal.
