New minister's hort focus
The new Minister of Horticulture, Nicola Grigg, says the reason that she came into Parliament was because of her interest in and commitment to agriculture.
That makes it a great time to talk to the parties and candidates, to tell them what you think, to ask them about what they are going to do … for your country, for our sector, for your local community.
So what are some of the messages you might like to convey in the lead up to the election? You can obviously talk about your business and the detailed issues you are facing – you know those better those anyone else.
You might like to talk about pride. The pride you have in your business, that all our growers and wineries have. We know our wine community is incredibly proud of what it does. Everyone works hard to apply their knowledge, their craft in the very special places they farm, from Northland to Central Otago. The result of that endeavour is that we produce, without doubt, some of the very best wine in the world.
You can talk about the contribution your business makes to your local community, and your region. From a wider New Zealand perspective you can tell candidates that the New Zealand wine community is important for our economy, for the country. We employ more than 7,000 full-time staff and a host of seasonal workers as well. In the past year our exports have jumped 25% in value to $2.4 billion; wine is this country’s 6th largest export good. We attract tourists, and we know tourists who come to New Zealand and visit wineries stay longer, visit more regions, and spend more.
You can talk about how our wines promote New Zealand overseas in a way no other product does. All our wines proudly bear the words ‘New Zealand’, along with our various regional and subregional names. What other product tells our stories the way wine does?
You can talk about sustainability and the way we care for our special wine places, our people, and for the future. That we have had an industry-wide sustainability programme in place since the mid-1990s. That many growers and wineries are organic or biodynamic. That we use water efficiently, that we use little nitrogenous fertiliser, that we are committed to protecting the places where we grow our grapes and make our wines. That we support our people through programmes like Young Winemaker, Young Viticulturist, and Women in Wine.
What about questions for the candidates? You might ask them if they are proud of our industry, and the contribution our growers and wineries make to the economy, our local communities and New Zealand as a whole. What about specific questions? We all know governments impose a host of regulations and rules on business. Are they planning new rules, are they planning to get rid of any?
How are they going to keep the cost of regulation down? A good example is that vineyard freshwater farm plan certification costs are estimated to fall between $4 million and $20m – what are they going to do to contain those costs? Will they enable us to use Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand to assist with compliance, rather than building a duplicate system with all those extra costs?
Think about Sale of Alcohol issues and the costs associated with all those impositions on our cellar doors. Are they supportive of the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme and getting vintage workers into the country each year? What’s their attitude to Fair Pay Agreements currently being imposed on parts of our industry? And don’t forget excise, of course.
Elections are a great time to ask questions. So get out there and meet the candidates standing in your electorate. Ask them what they are going to do for your country, for our sector, for your local community.
