Opinion
20 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 24, 2020
EDITORIAL
Councils in dark on water rules
D
O IT once, do it properly and make sure everyone is wellinformed and, as much as possible, on the same page. That might sound like common sense when it comes to making change but it has to be questioned whether the implementation of the Government’s freshwater reforms, which became law earlier this month, is meeting those goals. No one is questioning the need and desire to improve freshwater quality but it’s becoming increasingly difficult to maintain faith in parts of the process. For something so important, should it not be a priority to make sure everyone involved is, where possible, kept in the loop every step of the way? It seems that’s not the case. Although the law changes have been driven by the central government, it’s going to fall to local governments to enforce them. With that in mind you would have thought that by now those councils would have received some clear guidelines from the government department responsible, the Ministry for the Environment, on interpretation and implementation of the regulations, so at the very least they are applied consistently across the country. Instead, every council approached by Farmers Weekly has said they are still trying to get their heads around the new regulations and how they will be enforced in their region. I’m not blaming the councils for any confusion on their part, in fact, I feel for them. Not only are they trying to understand the new regulations without any guidance from those who helped put them together, they will also have to somehow find enough skilled staff – and the money to pay them – to make sure the regulations are enforced fairly and consistently. Good luck with that. In the meantime, farmer groups are also in the dark over aspects of the new regulations. Surely, it would have made sense for them to also be better informed by this stage so they can play their part in not only informing their members but also ensuring anyone who is not convinced of the need to improve water quality that they have to play their part.
Colin Williscroft
LETTERS
Wool insulation a mission to find MY HUSBAND and I are sheep and beef farmers and the main part of our home was built in the 1880s. It had no insulation and when the time had come to insulate, I decided that we needed to buy wool insulation, and what a mission that is. I googled “wool insulation” and a company in Hamilton came up with a loose product that has to be blown into the ceiling/wall cavities. Terra Lana also came up, but for installation and delivery in Canterbury. Bunnings and Mitre 10 don’t stock it and it wasn’t on their systems at all (but apparently Terra Lana was a year or two back at Bunnings). I contacted Bunnings in Palmerston North after being unable to find it and asked if they could help. One of the girls there mentioned that they used to stock Terra Lana and offered
to do some research for me. She emailed back saying they could get the wool insulation from Terra Lana for me. Why is wool insulation not on the shelves in trade stores? You would think that with all the push to get rid of plastic, using a natural fibre in a mostly natural product would be at the fore. Wool is the way to go. Denise Gavin Pahiatua
Never-ending wool woes WHAT went wrong? Firstly, we need to look closer home. How can we sell our wool globally? Sustainability with such a versatile product that this country has failed to unleash its full potential. And, with the impact of covid-19, you would have thought that it would be more
important than ever to do so now. How many New Zealand farmers have 100% pure wool carpet or even woollen wallpaper in their houses? We as farmers need to lead by example. Some of us may have found a niche market to promote their wool, which is a credit to them, but others who haven’t will need help. Secondly, we have lost the unique quality of our wool due to the lack of consistency. It would have been far better to find other uses like woollen covers for new lamb and insulation, just to name a few. Once we developed this product called The Golden Fleece – a yarn that was so strong that it could be used in the manufacturing of bulletproof vests. I wonder what other products this yarn could have been used for.
What happened to the Golden Fleece? Has it been sold to foreign market or is it abandoned in a dark corner collecting dust? You would question how many more products developed – plus opportunities – have been lost this way. Our Government needs to step in and subsidise the price of pure wool carpets and make it cheaper than synthetics and more affordable to national consumers. Finally, we could promote all our fibres under one simple brand – Natural Fibres NZ. That brand will include wool, cashmere, mohair, alpaca and possum. Hence we will bring together our farmers from all genres to share their ideas, experiences, knowledge and also keep their common passion alive. Owen Gibson Southland
Letterof theWeek EDITOR Bryan Gibson 06 323 1519 bryan.gibson@globalhq.co.nz EDITORIAL Carmelita Mentor-Fredericks 06 323 0769 editorial@globalhq.co.nz Neal Wallace 03 474 9240 neal.wallace@globalhq.co.nz Colin Williscroft 027 298 6127 colin.williscroft@globalhq.co.nz Annette Scott 021 908 400 annette.scott@globalhq.co.nz Hugh Stringleman 09 432 8594 hugh.stringleman@globalhq.co.nz Gerald Piddock 027 486 8346 gerald.piddock@globalhq.co.nz Richard Rennie 07 552 6176 richard.rennie@globalhq.co.nz Nigel Stirling 021 136 5570 nigel.g.stirling@gmail.com Riley Kennedy 027 518 2508 Cadet journalist riley.kennedy@globalhq.co.nz
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