End of war on farming, say farmers
Federated Farmers says changes announced to the Resource Management Act today mark the end of the war on farming.
Federated Farmers continues to be snubbed in regard to the Government’s freshwater reforms.
Late last week, Environment Minister David Parker and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor – along with ministry officials – unveiled the long-awaited reforms before invited media at Parliament.
Rural News understands that Federated Farmers has been on the outer and completely frozen out of the process since May last year, when it was accused of leaking confidential briefing material about the reforms – something that the farmer lobby has fiercely denied and Ministry for the Environment (MfE) officials have never proven.
MfE blamed Feds for the leak and refused to work with or share any further information on the water reforms with the farmer lobby.
This was despite the Feds strenuous denials of any leak in a letter to Parker’s office.
“The documents were not provided to our elected water spokesman and definitely not to any farmers,” the letter said.
Editor's note; This story has been updated to clarify that Federated Farmers were not the only organisation missing from the launch. All stakeholders winessed the launch online due to Covid-19 restrictions. There were no invited guests: only journalists were present at the launch in Wellington.
Rural banker Rabobank is partnering with Food Rescue Kitchen on a new TV series which airs this weekend that aims to shine a light on the real and growing issues of food waste, food poverty and social isolation in New Zealand.
Telco infrastructure provider Chorus says that it believes all Kiwis – particularly those in the rural areas – need access to high-speed, reliable broadband.
World Veterinary Day falls on Saturday 27 April.
The Director General of MPI, Ray Smith says it's important for his department to celebrate the success of a whole range of groups and people around the country.
A small company which mobilised veterinarians around the country to deal with Mycoplasma bovis was one of the winners in this year's Biosecurity Awards, held at Parliament.
One of the country's top Māori sheep and beef farms is facing a five-year battle to get back to where it was before Cyclone Gabrielle struck just over 14 months ago.