- By Christopher Luxon, Leader of the Opposition and MP for Botany
Last week, I was fortunate enough to visit Donald’s Farm, a well-run farm based out in Whitford.
It was there I announced the first part of National’s Agriculture policy, Getting back to Farming.
Farming is the backbone of New Zealand’s economy and I am proud that our farmers are the best in the world.
Last year, New Zealand’s agriculture exports totalled $41 billion, or 63 per cent of our goods exports.
When farmers succeed, New Zealand succeeds. However, since Labour became the Government almost six years ago, it has waged war on farmers by burying them under a mountain of red tape.
Labour has introduced or changed more than 20 regulations that directly affect the ability of businesses in the agricultural sector to operate.
For example, wetlands are so poorly defined that farmers are having to go to court to determine whether land is a paddock that can be farmed, or a protected wetland that can’t.
Because farmers end up spending more of their time and money grappling with Labour’s new rules, they have less to invest in their farms, risking lower productivity.
Costs then get passed on to consumers, so we all end up paying for Labour’s over-regulation.
Labour does not understand the rural sector. It has overridden local communities and imposed one-size-fits-all rules with massive compliance costs for farmers, often for limited or no environmental gain.
Labour has used rules and regulation to try to run farms from Wellington. That ends under National.
National’s Getting back to Farming package will cut the mountain of red tape to help farmers get on with earning the income on which their livelihoods, New Zealand’s economy and Kiwis’ of living, depend.
National will ensure farming regulations are fit for purpose, that they actually protect our environment, as domestic and overseas consumers expect.
National will return the management of local issues to local councils. And we’ll ensure rural communities have the tools they need to continue to provide New Zealand, and the world, with high-quality, low-carbon food and fibre.
In contrast to Labour’s heavy-handed centralisation, National supports practical environmentalism.
We are committed to a carefully balanced approach, integrating both environmental and economic goals.
National will deliver a professional, competent regulatory system that targets environmental outcomes without telling farmers how to run their businesses, and while imposing the minimum compliance costs on them.
National is committed to New Zealand meeting its climate change goals, but we understand that shutting down some of the world’s most carbon-efficient farmers only sends production to less efficient farms overseas and could raise global emissions.
We can protect the environment and allow farmers to get on with business by reining in the bureaucracy and using clear, well-targeted rules instead. That’s what National’s Getting back to Farming package will do.
This is only the start. This country does not need more rules.
It needs better regulation. National will be announcing more policy on agriculture – and many other things – in the coming weeks and months.
And in government, National will deliver results so that all New Zealanders get ahead.
