Rural Lobby Groups Seek Clear Election Positions On Farming And Emissions
Centre right parties are backing policy positions pushed by three farmer lobby groups ahead of the general election.
MP for Southland Joseph Mooney, National, says farmers sent a clear message to the government by taking to the streets in huge numbers at Groundswell NZ protests across New Zealand today.
Mooney was in Gore with National’s agriculture spokesperson David Bennett where a big number of farmers took their tractors and utes to town to show their objection to the government’s unworkable regulatory approach in the farming sector.
“It is a sad indictment on the government that farmers felt they had to take their tractors and utes to town to be heard,” says Mooney.
![]() |
|---|
|
Protestors in Auckland attempted to converge on the city centre. |
“But with the government unwilling to listen to farmers’ concerns they’ve been left with few other options.
“The huge number of farmers that lined the streets of Gore and in centres across New Zealand sent a direct message that simply cannot be ignored.
“It was an incredible and powerful display of what the farming sector thinks of the government’s policies.
“Proposed regulations in the areas of freshwater and indigenous biodiversity and Special Natural Areas (SNAs) are completely unworkable and uneconomic.”
![]() |
|---|
|
Tractors lined up at the protest in Taupo. |
New Zealand’s food and fibre sector is on track to deliver record export earnings, with export revenue forecast to reach $64.3 billion in the year ending 30 June 2026.
New Zealand's kiwifruit industry has welcomed Government co-investment in a new five-year programme designed to help growers produce higher yields of premium fruit, with less water, fewer nutrients and reduced environmental impact.
DairyNZ's 20th annual survey results released last week shows that dairy remains New Zealand’s economic powerhouse.
Fieldays officially opened yesterday at Mystery Creek, with thousands of visitors headed through the gates to be among the first to experience the agricultural event.
ACC says that this week's Fieldays is a great chance for farmers to pause and reflect on their processes and ensure that their life is in balance.
Bank of New Zealand (BNZ)will expand its First Farm support with a new funding boost designed to help more farmers and growers take their next step into farm ownership.

OPINION: While we're on the topic of lumberjacks, Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard has no doubt used a chainsaw hundreds of…
OPINION: To a chorus of crying greenies, and not a minute too soon, the Government has moved to put the…