Friday, 16 July 2021 14:50

Clear message for Govt - MP

Written by  Sudesh Kissun
Protestors at the Howl of a Protest in Timaru. Protestors at the Howl of a Protest in Timaru.

MP for Southland Joseph Mooney, National, says farmers sent a clear message to the government by taking to the streets in huge numbers at Groundswell NZ protests across New Zealand today.

Mooney was in Gore with National’s agriculture spokesperson David Bennett where a big number of farmers took their tractors and utes to town to show their objection to the government’s unworkable regulatory approach in the farming sector.

“It is a sad indictment on the government that farmers felt they had to take their tractors and utes to town to be heard,” says Mooney.

Groundswell protest Auckland

Protestors in Auckland attempted to converge on the city centre.

“But with the government unwilling to listen to farmers’ concerns they’ve been left with few other options.

“The huge number of farmers that lined the streets of Gore and in centres across New Zealand sent a direct message that simply cannot be ignored.

“It was an incredible and powerful display of what the farming sector thinks of the government’s policies.

“Proposed regulations in the areas of freshwater and indigenous biodiversity and Special Natural Areas (SNAs) are completely unworkable and uneconomic.”

Groundswell protest Taupo

Tractors lined up at the protest in Taupo.

More like this

Featured

EPA Approves Beetle to Tackle Chilean Flame Creeper

Environment Southland is welcoming this week’s decision by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to approve the release of Blaptea elguetai, a leaf‑feeding beetle that will help control the highly invasive Chilean flame creeper.

Celebrating Women in NZ’s Potato Industry

This March, the potato industry is proudly celebrating International Women’s Day on 8 March alongside the International Year of the Woman Farmer, recognising the vital role women play across every part of the sector — from paddocks and packhouses to research, leadership, and innovation.

National

Remediation NZ Fined $71k Over Compost Site Odours

Remediation NZ (RNZ) has been fined more than $71,000 for discharging offensive odours described by neighbours as smelling like ‘faecal and pig effluent’ from its compositing site near Uruti in North Taranaki. 

Machinery & Products

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Penny Pinching

OPINION: A mate of yours truly reckons rural Manawatu families are the latest to suffer under what he calls the…

New Order

OPINION: If old Winston Peters thinks building trade relations with new nations, such as India, isn't a necessary investment in…

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter