New Zealand First – Winston Peters
&
Farmergeddon
A press release was put out on the 8th November 2016, by New Zealand First, regards the effects of PC1 (copied below).
Press Release by New Zealand First, 08 Nov 2016
NEW ZEALAND FIRST: NATIONAL PARTY GREENLIGHTS FARMERGEDDON
New Zealand First is seriously concerned at the massive cost of National’s policies on the Waikato, following a report commissioned by Federated Farmers Waikato.
“If Waikato farmers want to know the full cost of National indulging the well-heeled blue-greens of Parnell and Remuera, then this report provides it,” says New Zealand First Leader and MP for Northland Rt Hon Winston Peters.
“Farmers will be seriously dismayed that despite investing millions of dollars in effluent systems and planting hundreds of thousands of native trees, that they’re not within cooee of meeting Waikato Regional Council’s Plan Change 1.
“Alarmingly, this report had the Waikato Regional Council’s involvement so obviously that Council has failed to sanity check its own policy. Multiple Ministers need to hang their heads in shame because this stabs the Waikato in the back and they’ve done nothing.
“What is proposed is like a farming nuclear bomb and the fallout takes out large swathes of dairy, drystock and horticulture. The worst affected farmers are in fact in sheep and beef – people and families already struggling with low returns and a rising inflated Kiwi dollar.
“If this plan is implemented unchanged it will be a disaster for the Waikato and for the New Zealand economy.
“There is no way New Zealand First will stand idly by while the ‘National Party greenlights farmergeddon,’” Mr Peters said.
Since that press release was put out by NZ First, the RT Hon Winston Peters has become deputy Prime Minister in a coalition government with Labour and the Greens.
In September 2019 this government released their “New Action Plan for Healthy Rivers” and at a glance one can see that the requirements under this new action plan are much more draconian than what was being proposed by the Waikato Regional Councils PC1 in 2016.
Mr Peters stated that there was no way that NZ First would stand idly by while the National Party greenlighted “FARMERGEDDON”.
And it is now clear to all that under this coalition government he has been true to this statement. He did not stand idly by but since that time he has in fact been supporting the government in their endeavours to implement even more draconian legislation.
This “New Action Plan” is reported to result in 68% of drystock farmers and 13% of dairy farmers in the Waikato Region going out of business if the government gets its way.
So to use Mr Peter’s original words:
“What is proposed is like a farming nuclear bomb and the fallout takes out large swathes of dairy, drystock and horticulture. The worst affected farmers are in fact in sheep and beef – people and families already struggling with low returns and a rising inflated Kiwi dollar.
“If this plan is implemented unchanged it will be a disaster for the Waikato and for the New Zealand economy.
Multiple Ministers need to hang their heads in shame because this stabs the Waikato in the back and they’ve done nothing.
Not only does it stab Waikato farmers in the back but it also now stabs all New Zealand farmers in the back and will in my opinion lead to a massive recession in our country.
I believe that we will see many more rural ghost towns as a result of this New Action Plan’s requirements and New Zealand will struggle to find enough reasonably priced fresh fruit and vegetables to provide a balanced diet for the population.
This plan will result in the destruction of a large portion of our primary produce export sector and as a result a large decrease in our overseas earnings with the outcome of not being able to maintain our balance of payments for our overseas loans.
In effect what we will be doing is exporting our environmental effects to other countries that may have much lesser standards when it comes to pollution of the environment.
My question for Mr Peters and this coalition government is:
Now that you have signed off on this “farming nuclear bomb and the fallout”, what are you going to do for those farmers and rural people who are going to lose their livelihoods and their communities as a result of this plan?
Andy Loader
Co-Chairman P.L.U.G.