Friday, 21 August 2015 10:11

Rural infrastructure must be a priority

Written by 

Federated Farmers is happy with the Government's 30 Year Infrastructure Plan announced yesterday.

Anders Crofoot, Federated Farmers infrastructure spokesperson, says the Government and Feds seem to be on the same page on the issue.

"Rural infrastructure will need to be a priority in looking at addressing the inefficiencies in infrastructure investment and planning."

Federated Farmers supports the intent to better understand where the critical demands are and to make better decisions from that knowledge, but remain wary of what that strategy means for rural communities.

"To date rural roading infrastructure has been suffering from a significant funding squeeze and it's unclear if this plan is going to address that. If it doesn't, then better planning won't be enough to offset the opportunity costs we're likely to face."

Rural infrastructure, such as water, roads, fibre and broadband are vital to our rural communities and the broader economy.

"It's vital to keep our rural communities connected especially rural businesses to their customers. Fibre and broadband will be the next generation's transport, so the government's continuation of the Rural Broadband Initiative is welcome news."

Chris Allen, Federated Farmers water spokesperson added "For thriving rural communities to meet the New Zealand Government's aspirations, they have patiently been awaiting new investment in water infrastructure."

"There's a real positive in recognising that investing in reliable water supply will maximise the value of water, ensuring social and economic community gain from that resource while protecting the environment."

"There are many promising elements to this Plan and the rural community is keen to see some long awaited investment come their way," Crofoot added.

More like this

Featured

National

Machinery & Products

Calf feeding boost

Advantage Plastics says it is revolutionising calf meal storage and handling, making farm life easier, safer, and more efficient this…

JD's precision essentials

Farmers across New Zealand are renowned for their productivity and efficiency, always wanting to do more with less, while getting…

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Overbearing?

OPINION: Dust ups between rural media and PR types aren't unheard of but also aren't common, given part of the…

Foot-in-mouth

OPINION: The Hound hears from his canine pals in Southland that an individual's derogatory remarks on social media have left…

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter