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The message for the new Prime Minister is that he needs to understand the pressures farmers are under.
Beef+Lamb NZ chair Andrew Morrison says new Prime Minister Chris Hipkins should understand the huge amount of financial pressure that dry stock farmers are facing when he and his cabinet review what projects should be scrapped or revisited.
He told Rural News the problems stem from a combination of sheepmeat and beef prices coming down while input prices have gone up significantly.
"The other issue is that farmers can't get their stock processed at the works because of staff shortages, which is impacting quite significantly on the sector. I have been speaking to some of the banks recently and they say a lot of their clients are on edge because of the state of their seasonal finances."
Morrison says this is a message the new PM needs to get.
He says the mutterings from Chris Hipkins that change has happened too fast is positive but it will be a case of waiting and seeing just what these words translate to in terms of actions. Morrison believes the He Waka Eke Noa arrangement was heading in the right direction, but he has major concerns over policy in relation to essential freshwater, indigenous biodiversity and carbon farming.
Morrison reckons farmers are particularly concerned about the prescriptive nature of the biodiversity legislation. He says farmers are not looking to escape responsibility in regard to the environmental legislation.
"But these laws are enduring and will affect generations of farmers," he told Rural News. "All we want is for government to pause and look at the implications of the legislation and take whatever time is needed to get it right the first time."
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