NEWS
MACHINERY & PRODUCTS
Maori seek more leadership in kiwifruit sector. PAGE 10-11
New models mark seventh decade. PAGE 28
AGRIBUSINESS Young banker walks the farming talk. PAGE 17
TO ALL FARMERS, FOR ALL FARMERS MAY 4, 2021: ISSUE 725
www.ruralnews.co.nz
Strong voice needed DAVID ANDERSON
NORTH OTAGO farmer Jane Smith believes continual appeasement to government by industry-good bodies is not serving the sector well and it’s time for a mega-merger of primary sector advocacy groups. She told Rural News a ‘come to Jesus moment’ is urgently needed with DairyNZ, Beef+Lamb NZ and Federated Farmers combining into one strong, coherent farm sector group. Smith cites the recent performances of both Beef+Lamb NZ and DairyNZ over the reforms to freshwater regulations and proposed greenhouse gas rules as leaving farmer levypayers dismayed, disappointed and feeling abandoned by their representatives.
Smith acknowledges the increasingly unpalatable ‘low or no’ consultation processes in the current political environment, but sees this as a catalyst to ensure one united front for primary industry advocacy is formulated, rather than an excuse for poor outcomes. She says this has opened the door for movements like Groundswell NZ to fill the gap. She believes that movements such as Groundswell shouldn’t be seen as threatening to industry advocacy bodies, but as an opportunity for all stakeholders to air grassroots concerns and has seen first-hand opportunities presented at meetings.
That takes the cheese! Moves by the European Commission to grant exclusive use of the term ‘halloumi’ to Cyprus cheesemakers is raising concerns for New Zealand cheesemakers. Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand (DCANZ) executive director Kimberly Crewther says an EU claw back and monopolisation of generic cheese names will limit both domestic cheese production and opportunities to further grow the value of New Zealand’s $2 billion cheese exports. See full story page 4.
“I found it enlightening to see farmers, councillors, mayors, rural servicing reps, politicians and the Rural Support Trust having the opportunity to be in the one room at the same time and chew the fat on issues at a grassroots level,” Smith told Rural News. She says the ideal journey would have been to have this dialogue long before the National Policy Statements on freshwater, biodiversity and carbon were formulated. Smith cites the delay in Wintering Rules as an example of this and congratulates the working group tasked with looking at these regulations
closer. “However, if it weren’t for two farmers standing up [Federated Farmers leaders, Geoffrey Young and Bernadette Hunt] and saying ‘enough is enough’ then the working group would have never been formed. It shouldn’t take individuals to go out on a limb to get action,” says Smith. “As an industry, we need to be crystal clear on a line of sight for both the environment and the economy and the vast difference between pragmatic policy and misaligned, misinformed, mediocre outcomes”. Farmer angst – page 6
RURAL HEALTH IS SICK PETER BURKE peterb@ruralnews.co.nz
RURAL PEOPLE are underserviced by the current health model, according to Dr Fiona DoolanNoble from the Department of General Practice and Rural Health at Otago University. Doolan-Noble is a nurse with a PhD and who specialises in rural health issues says the focus of the reforms is really good for rural – given the large number of people who work outside urban areas. “Rural communities are the backbone of NZ,” she told Rural News. “More than 700,000 people live rurally so that makes rural NZ the second biggest city in the country and I hope going forward that they are not forgotten.” Doolan-Noble says the approach of the Government’s reforms is hard to argue with, but like others who have a vested interest in the reforms, she says the detail and who sits around the table in a given locality will ultimately shape the outcome for communities. She adds that one of the issues to be addressed is that of dental care. She says this is a significant problem in areas such as the West Coast of the South Island. Doolan-Noble Mental says the changes will take time and the proof will be in the detail. • See more on health reforms page 5
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