Commerce Commission probes major banks' net-zero pledges, gaining farmer support
The Commerce Commission's move to investigate commitments made by major banks under the Net Zero Banking Alliance is being hailed by farming leaders.
ACT Rural Communities spokesman and farmer Mark Cameron says rural New Zealand is no longer being ignored by Wellington.
Speaking from the National Fieldays, which got underway at Mystery Creek in Hamilton this morning, Cameron says when rural New Zealand is free to flourish, all New Zealanders are better off.
“So, this week, the ACT team will be at Fieldays hearing from the growers and innovators who get up at crack of dawn each day to keep our bellies full and our economy humming.
“Like many other farmers, I’ll be looking forward to announcements from my ACT colleagues David Seymour, Brooke van Velden, Nicole McKee, and Andrew Hoggard, who are all working to wind back the rural red tape that has proliferated under successive governments.
“For six years, Wellington ignored rural New Zealand. With ACT in Government, that’s now changed.”
Cameron listed some of the legislation that are being removed or reviewed – replacement of the previous Government’s freshwater regime and the Resource Management Act with new laws centred on private property rights and making freshwater farm plans more cost-effective and pragmatic.
He says the Coalition Government is also “bringing practicality to animal welfare codes’ and removing the rule for new Significant Natural Areas and dealing to existing ones. He also listed the scrapping of ute tax and Three Waters programme.
“I’m confident that, come the end of the week, we'll have added to our list of wins for rural communities.
"Farmers don't tend to mince their words, so I'm looking forward to honest appraisals of the work we're doing to bring an authentically rural voice to Wellington."
Among the regular exhibitors at last month’s South Island Agricultural Field Days, the one that arguably takes the most intensive preparation every time is the PGG Wrightson Seeds site.
Two high producing Canterbury dairy farmers are moving to blended stockfeed supplements fed in-shed for a number of reasons, not the least of which is to boost protein levels, which they can’t achieve through pasture under the region’s nitrogen limit of 190kg/ha.
Buoyed by strong forecasts for milk prices and a renewed demand for dairy assets, the South Island rural real estate market has begun the year with positive momentum, according to Colliers.
The six young cattle breeders participating in the inaugural Holstein Friesian NZ young breeder development programme have completed their first event of the year.
New Zealand feed producers are being encouraged to boost staff training to maintain efficiency and product quality.
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