A group of farmers from the Ruapehu district is calling on the Government to intervene in the Manawatu-Whanganui region, as it has in Canterbury.
The Government has replaced Canterbury's regional councillors with commissioners in response to a review that found water was being mismanaged in the region.
The Ruapehu farmers say the Manawatu-Whanganui regional council is failing to govern its region fairly and they want the Government to set up a review as it did with Environment Canterbury.
A spokesperson, Elaine Wheeler, says a council plan for regulations for water and land protection will require a consent to farm and could force some out of business. She says farmers want proof they are polluting waterways before they have to pay the price.
But the chair of the Manawatu-Whanganui regional council, Garrick Murfitt, says most of the regulations in the plan already exist.
