Crazy
OPINION: Your canine crusader was truly impressed by the almost unanimous support given by politicians of all stripes in Parliament to the recent passing of legislation for the NZ/EU free trade deal.
National's climate change spokesman Todd Muller has described as “absolute nonsense” the Government’s plan to make farmers start paying for agricultural emissions.
“To simply take the New Zealand agriculture sector, which is the world’s most emissions efficient food producing sector, and say that the future for that sector is to tax it, before there’s an opportunity to apply technology that hasn’t appeared yet, I think is nonsense,” Muller told TVNZ’s Q+A programme.
Muller says agriculture should not be included in the ETS. “That particular proposal looks to sheet that cost back to the sector at a manufacturing level,” he explained.
“The Interim Climate Committee itself said that if you actually wanted to drive change in an agricultural context you’d price emissions on farm, but that can’t be done at the moment.”
Muller says farmers don’t have the tools to be able to effectively measure their on farm emissions, and don’t have any tools to mitigate or reduce those on farm emissions.
He has “total confidence” that technology will be developed to mitigate the effects of climate change in the agricultural sector.
“You first of all measure, then you can manage. You apply innovation then you can change. I have total confidence that this technology will appear.”
The country’s 4200 commercial fruit and vegetable growers will vote from May 14 on a new HortNZ levy.
Meat processor Alliance Group is asking farmer shareholders to inject more capital in order to remain a 100% co-operative.
A vet is calling for all animals to be vaccinated against a new strain of leptospirosis (lepto) discovered on New Zealand dairy farms in recent years.
Dairy
Rural banker Rabobank is partnering with Food Rescue Kitchen on a new TV series which airs this weekend that aims to shine a light on the real and growing issues of food waste, food poverty and social isolation in New Zealand.
Telco infrastructure provider Chorus says that it believes all Kiwis – particularly those in the rural areas – need access to high-speed, reliable broadband.