Wednesday, 19 October 2022 09:00

Out of touch

Written by Milking It

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OPINION: If the recent bloodbath the left suffered in the local election lurch to the right wasn't a clear enough sign that Labour are out of touch with the electorate, then the Government's farm emissions policy announcement is surely the final proof.

Determined to hobble the one industry that propped the economy up during recent trying times, Jacinda Ardern and James Shaw ignored the farm-level option put to them by industry representatives (in the form of the tepid He Waka Eke Noa proposal). What they've come up with looks like a virtue signalling exercise, designed to make the PM look good on the world stage, while throwing farmers under the bus.

The Feds aren't happy, and even the 'we must be at the table' mob at DairyNZ and Beef+Lamb expressed concerns at what the Government has settled on.

Farmers will be hit hard by this, and must now be wondering if their representatives got it wrong in the negotiation: is there any point being at the table, playing nice, if the other party isn't listening?

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