Tuesday, 29 November 2022 12:55

Feds breaks ranks with HWEN

Written by  Peter Burke
Feds president Andrew Hoggard says in the past they have agreed to words and it's all got watered down. Feds president Andrew Hoggard says in the past they have agreed to words and it's all got watered down.

Federated Farmers have refused to be a part of the industry-led He Waka Eke Noa (HWEN) submission to government on agricultural emissions.

Feds President Andrew Hoggard told Dairy News that while they agree with some of the narrative in the overall HWEN submission, they decided to go their own way for fear their message around targets might be construed as being diluted in some way.

"In the past we have agreed to words and it's all got watered down," he says.

"We wanted to make it clear that we would not agree to anything unless there was a review of the targets. Feds didn't want them to say you have agreed to this in the joint submission so we will go with that," he says.

In the past Hoggard had made it clear that Feds wanted to "go hard" in its submission, but acknowledges that some industry organisations have also gone quite hard in their individual submissions.

"At this point in time, my feeling and the feeling of others is that we needed to be crystal clear in what we are saying," he says.

It should be pointed out that DairyNZ and B+LNZ have also made separate submissions in addition to signing the HWEN submission.

In the joint submission, the remaining ten partners are calling on the Government to change key aspects of its proposal on agricultural emissions pricing.

They say they want an emissions pricing system that creates incentives and opportunities to reduce agricultural emissions, while maintaining the viability of the primary sector.

This would include changes to price setting, governance and transitional arrangements that would see decision-making on emissions pricing balance the socio-economic impacts on the primary sector and wider economy with emissions reductions.

The group says that the Government proposals as they stand are not acceptable to the partners or the farmers and growers they represent.

They say they remain committed to working in good faith with government and Māori to design a practical cost-effective, farm-level system for enabling the agricultural sector to play its part in responding to climate change.

Independent chair Sarah Paterson says partners have worked hard to develop a shared view on issues raised by the Government proposals and it is disappointing Federated Farmers has chosen not to sign the joint submission.

"The partnership came together because partners could see that by working together they could achieve a better outcome for the primary sector as a whole than they could have done separately. We are much stronger as a sector when we all work together," she says.

Paterson says the partners will continue to work constructively and collectively in the spirit of partnership to explore common ground and solutions.

More like this

Meat sector unity

Farmers are welcoming potential collaboration between the country's two major meat processors.

Southland farmers breathe a sigh of relief

Southland Farmers will be breathing a sigh of relief that central Government is stepping in to stop Environment Southland from introducing unworkable and expensive new farming rules.

Featured

New ag degrees at Massey

Changing skill demands and new job opportunities in the primary sector have prompted Massey University to create a new degree course and add a significant major into another in 2025.

The show is on!

It was bringing in a new Canterbury A&P Association (CAPA) show board, more in tune with the CAPA general committee, that has ensured that Christchurch will have a show this year, says CAPA general committee president Bryce Murray.

National

'Quite a journey'

Former Synlait chief executive Grant Watson says the past two years have been quite the journey.

DairyNZ levy to increase?

Retiring chair Jim van der Poel has used his final AGM to announce the intention to increase the DairyNZ farmer…

Former Fonterra CEO dies

Former Fonterra chief executive Theo Spierings passed away in the Netherlands over the weekend.

Machinery & Products

Milk Sustainability Centre launched

The recently announced Milk Sustainability Centre – a collaboration between global giant John Deere and milking and feed specialists De…

Data connection made easier

New Holland and Case IH are introducing new advancements in their precision technology stack to make farming easier and more…

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Feed from farmers

OPINION: The country's dairy farmers will now also have a hand in providing free lunch for schools.

Brighter future

OPINION: The abrupt departure of Synlait chief executive Grant Watson could be a sign that Chinese company Bright Dairy, the…

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter