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.
Northland National MP Matt King says he has never seen farmer morale so low.
“Depressed, under pressure, made to feel ashamed of their profession -- you name it,” he told Rural News.
This follows a recent farmer protest at Ruawai, whose organiser Mark Cameron hopes will go nationwide.
One farming consultant King spoke to says she is dealing with clients every day who are depressed and unhappy over what is happening and the portrayal of farmers in the media.
“Some people are saying it is like never before, like an unprecedented attack on rural New Zealand.”
One older farmer told him it was worse than when farm subsidies were withdrawn in the 1980s.
“The Paris Agreement has a clause that exempts food production. No other country is even talking about putting agriculture into their emissions trading schemes,” King told Rural News.
“We are the only one. That will put us at a massive disadvantage if none of our trading partners are doing the same.
“In fact many of our trading partners subsidise their farming industry, but we don’t. Not only will we be being taxed an additional tax, we also will be competing against others who are subsidised.”
King also believes the proposed water reforms don’t need to be rushed through.
“There needs to be more time, more consultation and a whole range of meetings all over the country in smaller towns,” he said.
“The minister needs to front up to these meetings, telling people exactly what they are proposing to do because there is a lot of misinformation and a lot of people don’t understand what is going on -- what is proposed.”
King says only one meeting on water had been scheduled for Northland -- in Whangarei.
“What is written into some of those discussion documents is pretty scary stuff. The Zero Carbon Bill, for instance, has limits which no farmer will ever be able to meet, with no tools to allow them to do it. The only way they can do it is cut production. That makes no sense,” he claimed.
“We are the most efficient low emissions profile producers of animal protein in the world. If we cut our production a less efficient producer will take up the slack. And therefore overall global emissions will go up. That is an undeniable logical fact. I don’t know how they can counter that.
“We want some balanced conversation, we want urban people to understand what is coming at them. It is not only rural people who will be hit by this water thing. The zero carbon thing will hit us more than anyone else. But the water proposal is massive for the whole country.
“A lot of people think ‘oh the farmers can pay’ but in fact some of the city areas are way worse and will be hit to the tune of billions of dollars.”
The Director General of MPI, Ray Smith says it's important for his department to celebrate the success of a whole range of groups and people around the country.
A small company which mobilised veterinarians around the country to deal with Mycoplasma bovis was one of the winners in this year's Biosecurity Awards, held at Parliament.
One of the country's top Māori sheep and beef farms is facing a five-year battle to get back to where it was before Cyclone Gabrielle struck just over 14 months ago.
Graham Brown, the executive chef for Deer Industry New Zealand (DINZ), is excited about Korea.
One of the country's leading experts on China has praised the NZ Government for its handling of the recent incident with China over that country's cyber attack on two of our parliamentary institutions in 2021.
The world’s largest wool processing facility, badly damaged by Cyclone Gabrielle over one year ago, has re-opened following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project.
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