Damien O’Connor: NZ united on global trade
When it comes to international trade, politicians from all sides of the aisle are united, says Labour's trade spokesman Damien O'Connor.
He told delegates at the recent Red Meat Sector Conference in Rotorua that New Zealand "just has to keep moving on in that direction."
He claims the idea that we can keep on doing what we are doing is completely naive and will lead NZ up the wrong path.
O'Connor claims that the Government has been listening to critics of the freshwater reforms and has made changes.
"We have slowed down on the likes of the freshwater stuff.
"We took on board the signals that this was just dumb and that it hadn't been worked through in a practical sense," he says.
"We are listening, are trying to bring the people on the land with us, but we have to get the people on the land to understand that we are producing protein for some of the world's most discerning customers."
O'Connor claims these people want to know where our products come from and that we have looked after that production.
He says it doesn't help NZ's cause when farmers make mistakes with animal welfare or allow animals to be hock deep in muddy paddocks.
He adds that images and messages of these incidents are quickly picked up in the high value markets NZ wants to sell into.
In that respect, O'Connor says in his recent travels to the UK and Europe he was reminded once again of the market opportunities that await NZ because of our pasture-based system and general farm management systems.
He reckons these put us in the right spot for consumers who are interested in how we treat our animals, how we preserve our biodiversity and our commitment to research on issues such as climate change. He says little things like the bees that pollinate our pastures often get overlooked back in NZ but are often top of mind for overseas consumers.
O'Connor also gave a brief outline of his talks in Brussels and London.
"The UK is looking very positive and the EU says it plans to come back with an offer after their summer break," he told the conference.
"I would say the signals are positive as they want to connect with us because we share many of their core values.
