Election 2026: Former Federated Farmers President Named National Party Candidate
Katie Milne, former Federated Farmers president, has been announced as the National Party’s candidate for the West Coast-Tasman electorate.
Balclutha-based farmer Stephen Jack will run for the Taieri seat currently held by Labour’s Ingrid Leary in the 2023 General Election.
Jack says he is “incredibly excited” to run for the seat.
The electorate, formerly known as Dunedin South, is made up of the southern suburbs of Dunedin as well as smaller towns like Balclutha, Middlemarch, and Kaitangata.
Jack has been farming his family’s Hillend sheep and beef farm since 2005. In 2000 and 2001, he was the runner up in the Young Farmer of the Year Grand Final.
He has also served on the Otago Federated Farmers and the Rural Water Scheme Advisory Group.
Jack says that as a farmer, he understands the communities within the Taieri electorate are reliant on the contributions of farmers.
“If I earn the right to represent Taieri as part of Chris Luxon’s National team, I’ll advocate for farmers to be able to get on with doing what they do best – leading the world in innovative farming practices that help take our country forward, without overbearing regulations and red tape,” he says.
He says that rural communities like Balclutha, Milton, Mosgiel and Lawrence understand the contributions farmers make.
“We must support our exporters and rebuild their confidence to a level where they can take on the world.”
“This electorate is full of hardworking Kiwis, doing their best to get ahead and provide for their families but under Labour’s cost-of-living crisis, that’s getting harder to do,” he says.
“Labour is spending $1 billion more every week than in 2017 and people in Taieri have nothing to show for it.
“Interest rates are being hiked in an attempt to put the lid on Labour’s runaway inflation and families in Taieri are dealing with the consequences by being forced to find hundreds of dollars more every week to cover the mortgage,” Jack says.
