Bridging the gap with rural New Zealand
OPINION: One thing I keep hearing from rural New Zealanders is the importance of relationships. Strong relationships don’t just happen - they take trust, consistency, and time.
Details of the meetings were unveiled by Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford in the farmer lobby’s weekly email newsletter to members.
Labour MPs met representatives of DairyNZ, Beef + Lamb, Groundswell, Rural Women, and other farming organisations over two days and did farm visits, according to Langford.
He says this was about building on that “Team Ag approach” and pulling together a united voice sharing the same message to improve outcomes for farmers.
“I know this might sound like a strange thing for us to be doing given Labour are currently in opposition, so I wanted to take this opportunity to explain what we have been trying to achieve.
“Most farmers will agree that the last few years under a Labour Government were incredibly challenging for our rural communities.
“We faced a long list of regulations that we didn’t feel were practical, fair or affordable — and as a result farmer confidence hit record lows.
“I don’t think any of us want to find ourselves in that position ever again, and that really got me reflecting on how we came to be in that position in the first place.”
Langford points out that part of the problem was that Feds didn’t have strong relationships between Labour and farmers, “and there wasn’t a lot of trust or understanding”.
“That’s why we’ve really invested some time this week trying to establish relationships, grow their understanding of farming, and hopefully build some trust.”
So, how did the meetings go?
Langford says they didn’t agree on every issue.
“Was it all sunshine and rainbows? Definitely not. But was the time spent together worthwhile? Absolutely.
“We were never going to resolve all our issues overnight, but it feels like we made some really good progress.”
