Feds make case for rural bank lending probe
Bankers have been making record profits in the last few years, but those aren’t the only records they’ve been breaking, says Federated Farmers vice president Richard McIntyre.
Federated Farmers have announced a nine-stop rural roadshow opposing the proposed replacement for the Resource Management Act (RMA).
Federated Farmers RMA reform spokesperson Mark Hooper says the issue isn’t that the farmer organisation doesn’t want to see reform of the RMA, but that the reforms need to be done right to address issues of cost and complexity.
“The current legislation just ties farmers up in red tape, slows us down, and heaps on unnecessary costs – but the Government’s proposed reforms will only make that worse. It’s an absolute nightmare for farmers,” he says.
Hooper says Federated Farmers ‘strongly opposes’ the current reforms because they shift land use planning away from councils towards Regional Planning Committees, which he says will be at arm’s length from their local communities.
“We also have real concerns that the reforms will introduce new, vague and undefined concepts that will create huge uncertainty for landowners and likely lead to time and money wasted with legal challenges through the courts,” he says.
He says that instead of rushing to pass the legislation before the 2023 election, the Government needs to take its time.
“This is too important for them to get it wrong.”
“Any farmer worth their salt would tell them that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right. The current reforms are fatally flawed, and they need to go back to the drawing board,” Hooper says.
The roadshow will kick off in Ashburton on Tuesday 30th May before continuing on to Alexandra, Gore, Invercargill, Masterton, Palmerston North, Whanganui, New Plymouth and Te Awamutu.
South Waikato farm manager Ben Purua’s amazing transformation from gang life to milking cows was rewarded with the Ahuwhenua Young Maori Farmer award last night.
Bankers have been making record profits in the last few years, but those aren’t the only records they’ve been breaking, says Federated Farmers vice president Richard McIntyre.
The 2023-24 season has been a roller coaster ride for Waikato dairy farmers, according to Federated Farmers dairy section chair, Mathew Zonderop.
Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) director general Ray Smith says job cuts announced this morning will not impact the way the Ministry is organised or merge business units.
Scales Corporation is acquiring a number of orchard assets from Bostock Group.
Family and solidarity shone through at the 75 years of Ferdon sale in Otorohanga last month.