Federated Farmers presents own manifesto

Bruce Wills
Bruce Wills
Federated Farmers wants value for money.

Launching its own manifesto in Wellington yesterday for the general election, president Bruce Wills said government spending should not be about the "headline figure" but what it delivered economically, socially and environmentally and "less could well mean more".

The manifesto was a blueprint on which any political party could engage with the rural lobby organisation.

It was about realising the "immense opportunity" New Zealand had in a world with seven billion mouths to feed.

There was a genuine opportunity to at least double the primary sector's current $31 billion export contribution over the next 39 years.

It was also critical that farms and the country were economically and environmentally sustainable, Mr Wills said.

The key themes in the manifesto included ensuring profitable farms; maximising agriculture with water being the "leading edge" for agriculture's environmental and economic footprint; the need for research to increase on-farm productivity and the value and range of products produced, and to reduce agriculture's environmental footprint; leveraging off safer food and enhanced biosecurity; and making the most of the country's human and technological capital.

There was a big role for the Government to invest wisely with strategic infrastructure. That had been the case with broadband and Federated Farmers would continue pushing for faster speeds, he said.

Water storage represented New Zealand's "strategic ace", removing the "annual lottery" faced from La Nina, El Nino or a changing climate. It created options when combined with enhanced communication and transportation links.

New Zealand's higher global obligation was to be the most efficient producer it could be.

It was hard to get there when New Zealand was the only country looking to put the primary sector's biological emissions into the Emissions Trading Scheme, he said.

Climate change policies should be based on good science, be practical and cost-effective, and allow New Zealand farming to remain economically viable and internationally competitive.

Federated Farmers wanted policies aligned with those of New Zealand's key trading partners and competitors, changes to legislation to ensure agriculture remained out of the ETS far beyond the current entry date of 2015, until mitigation tools were available and competitors did the same, and changes to legislation to insert conditions on any decision to bring agriculture into the ETS.

 

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