Feds Back National’s 19 Farming National Standards
National’s pledge to introduce 19 new national standards shows the party is serious about getting Wellington out of farming, Federated Farmers says.
B+LNZ chair Kate Acland said continuing resource management reform must remain a priority.
“Resource management reform is the single biggest policy area we need to get right because it shapes nearly all regulation affecting farmers,” Acland said.
“Replacing the RMA is only part of the job. It is critical the ongoing reforms support the sector to grow.”
She said B+LNZ supported the proposed National Standards as enabling rules that provide streamlined, practical and outcomes-based pathways as an alternative to consents.
On freshwater, Acland said the regime needed to be informed by science and be practical, workable and achievable on the ground. It also needed to recognise natural variation between catchments and deliver positive environmental outcomes.
“A workable national approach to farm plans and simpler rules for well-built, low-risk on-farm water storage will support productivity and resilience with less unnecessary red tape,” she said.
Emissions Pricing
B+LNZ also welcomed National’s recommitment to not pricing agricultural emissions.
“This is also a Labour Party policy and is in line with what we are seeing globally. We call on all political parties to take this approach,” Acland said.
Carbon Farming
Acland said the Government needed to further tighten the rules on carbon farming.
“The changes are welcome, but they do not go far enough to protect food production and stop the wholesale conversion of sheep and beef farmland into carbon farms,” she said.
