Nestle reportedly withdraws from methane accord
The ACT Party says media reports that global dairy giant Nestle has withdrawn from the Dairy Methane Action Alliance shows why New Zealand needs to rethink its approach to climate.
Speaking from the National Fieldays, which got underway at Mystery Creek in Hamilton this morning, ACT MP Mark Cameron says when rural New Zealand is free to flourish, all New Zealanders are better off.
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."
A pillar of New Zealand's horticultural industry, Dr Stuart Davis, was farewelled at a well-attended funeral service in Tuakau, South Auckland, on December 18.
A stable but uncertain year lies ahead for New Zealand primary products, says Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) Director General, Ray Smith.
Additional tariffs introduced by the Chinese Government last month on beef imports should favour New Zealand farmers and exporters.
Primary sector leaders have praised the government and its officials for putting the Indian free trade deal together in just nine months.
Primary sector leaders have welcomed the announcement of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and New Zealand.
Dairy farmers are still in a good place despite volatile global milk prices.

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