ACT, farmers push for changes to Paris Agreement
The ACT Party's call for a better deal on the Paris Agreement on climate change is being backed by farmer organisations.
The ACT Party has introduced legislation that would allow for two hunting representatives on the Conservation Authority.
ACT Party conservation spokesperson Cameron Luxton is calling for legislation that would ensure hunters and fishers have representation on the Conservation Authority.
He says that hunters and fishers have a “deep connection" to both nature and the environment.
“We enjoy being in the great outdoors, and we’re instrumental in conservation efforts,” Luxton says.
“Every weekend this summer season, thousands of us are out in the bush, and many will contribute to conservation work that would otherwise cost the Department of Conservation and taxpayers billions,” he says.
However, Luxton says hunters lack representation on the New Zealand Conservation Authority, which currently comprises 13 members, including representatives from iwi, the Royal Society, Forest and Bird, and Federated Mountain Clubs.
“Deerstalkers Association members alone dedicate about 184,000 hours annually to conservation activities like habitat restoration, planting, pest control, organised culls, and maintaining backcountry huts and tracks. This is on top of the conservation benefits provided by recreational hunting as a method for game animal management,” he says.
Last year, Luxton lodged a bill that proposes the Minister of Conservation appoint two additional members to the board – one recommended by the New Zealand Deerstalkers Association, and a second following consultation with both Fish and Game and the Game Animal Council.
“Giving hunters a stronger voice on the Conservation Authority could foster more beneficial partnerships for both our natural environment and the taxpayer,” he says.
“I hope this bill will gain cross-party support in Parliament,” he concludes.
BNZ says it is backing aspiring dairy farmers through an innovative new initiative that helps make the first step to farm ownership or sharemilking a little easier.
LIC chief executive David Chin says meeting the revised methane reduction targets will rely on practical science, smart technology, and genuine collaboration across the sector.
Lincoln University Dairy Farm will be tweaking some management practices after an animal welfare complaint laid in mid-August, despite the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) investigation into the complaint finding no cause for action.
A large slice of the $3.2 billion proposed capital return for Fonterra farmer shareholders could end up with the banks.
Opening a new $3 million methane research barn in Waikato this month, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay called on the dairy sector to “go as fast as you can and prove the concepts”.
New Zealand’s trade with the European Union has jumped $2 billion since a free trade deal entered into force in May last year.

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