Tuesday, 15 August 2017 07:55

Labour's blank invoices suck – Guy

Written by  Sudesh Kissun
Nathan Guy. Nathan Guy.

The Labour Party has sent “blank invoices” to farmers around the country, says Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy.

The invoices don’t have “any details about the price,” he says.

“There is something different about this invoice compared to an invoice a hard working farmer receives after buying feed, a new tractor or repairing his irrigation system.

“The farmers have received the bill but they don’t know how much it will cost them,” he told Dairy News.

Guy says the proposal to charge a royalty for irrigated water on farms is a ludicrous policy.

He is urging farming leaders to meet Labour’s new leader Jacinda Ardern over the next two weeks and seek more detail on the proposal.

“Labour must be upfront with the farming community rather than hiding until after the election.”

Guy says Labour is also proposing large setbacks for riparian planting on farms.

Dairy farmers have already planted 27,000km of fences along waterways, fencing off 97% of them.

Guy says pushing back riparian planting would result in loss of productive land and impose further costs like mechanical cleaning of waterways with diggers, which most farmers do once a year.

“Labour wants all the posts and wires ripped out and pushed back; is it one metre or four metres further out?”

He told Parliament that Labour’s proposed water policy sucks. “It is badly thought out, badly implemented and damages the most productive sector of our economy -- the primary industries.

“Labour has slammed the door shut on the primary sector. Damian O’Connor (Labour’s rural spokesman) got smashed to pieces… he got smashed by a caucus more excited by the urban vote than the rural vote.

More like this

Help available for flood-hit farmers

The chair of the Otago Rural Support Trust, Tom Pinckney, says he believes that they will be especially busy in the coming months as the enormity of the floods hit home.

Red meat's China push

The red meat sector is launching a new campaign to lure Chinese consumers to New Zealand grass-fed beef and lamb.

Getting Onside

Time matters in a biosecurity response, says Ryan Higgs, Chief Executive of biosecurity technology company Onside.

Featured

Better animal genetic gain system

A governance group has been formed, following extensive sector consultation, to implement the recommendations from the Industry Working Group's (IWG) final report and is said to be forming a 'road map' for improving New Zealand's animal genetic gain system.

SIDE 2025's new schedule, venue

Annual farmer gathering, the South Island Dairy Event (SIDE), is set to make history as it heads to Timaru for the first time.

Taranaki piggery goes solar

Installing 400 solar panels at their Taranaki piggery and cropping operation will have significant environmental, financial and animal welfare benefits for the Stanley family.

Editorial: Keep FTAs coming

OPINION: The dairy industry will  be a major beneficiary of a new free trade deal between NZ and the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC).

National

Organic sector backtracks on GE

Organics Aotearoa New Zealand (OANZ) says the Government’s new gene editing and genetic modification reforms could leave New Zealand as…

$3b windfall?

Fonterra's proposed sale of its global consumer business could fetch over $3 billion but not all proceeds will end up…

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

Chinese strategy

OPINION: Fonterra may have sold its dairy farms in China but the appetite for collaboration with the country remains strong.

Not fair

OPINION: The Listener's latest piece on winter grazing among Southland dairy farmers leaves much to be desired.

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter