Federated Farmers vows to hold banks accountable after complaint dismissed
Federated Farmers is vowing to keep the big banks accountable for their actions and to continue pushing for meaningful change in the rural lending sector.
Federated Farmers welcomes the launch of Local Government New Zealand's Excellence Programme.
The programme details a new independent standards system to measure the performance of local authorities.
Federated Farmers spokesperson for local government Katie Milne says it's crucial for farmers, rural communities, and for New Zealand that local government provides value for money.
"Overall Federated Farmers believes this initiative should be very helpful and over time improvements can be made to the programme to enhance performance," says Milne.
"We think further improvements can be made by including more 'outcome' related indicators as opposed to process indicators, a beefing up of the indicators for service delivery, and the inclusion of measures on rates and spending from a ratepayer perspective.
"The Excellence Programme is a great start as it will encourage councils to be more efficient and effective and to adopt best practices."
Under the programme, ratepayers and communities will now have the ability to assess how their councils are doing, including comparing them.
"Federated Farmers challenge all councils to get on board," says Milne.
"We're always keen to engage with councils and will shortly be putting out our own guide for best practice: our three-yearly Local Elections Manifesto."
New Zealand milk production is off to a strong start, with the first month of the 2025/26 dairy season recording a whopping 17.8% jump in milk production, compared to the previous season.
With adverse weather set to rain down on the Top of the South, the Bay of Plenty and parts of Northland, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says farmers, foresters, and growers need to prepare for possible challenges.
Keep up with innovation and e-commerce in China or risk losing market share. That was the message delivered at the China Business Summit in Auckland this month.
Meat Industry Association (MIA) independent chair Nathan Guy says getting meat processors involved has been a shot in the arm for the sector's key marketing initiative into China, Taste Pure Nature.
Listed carpet manufacturer, Bremworth is undertaking a $6 million expansion at its Napier plant more than two years after the site was heavily damaged by Cyclone Gabrielle.
Federated Farmers is vowing to keep the big banks accountable for their actions and to continue pushing for meaningful change in the rural lending sector.
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