O'Connor defends red tape

That was the message from Agriculture Minister Damien O'Connor, speaking at the recent Federated Farmers annual conference. He warned farmers to beware what other political parties and ginger groups have been saying on environmental regulations.

O'Connor claimed it would be irresponsible for any leader - be they farmer or political - to give confused signals or not help farmers to get the right information in a political debate.

He added that some farmers were confused about the message they were getting and noted that understanding the 'why' was very important. O'Connor told the conference that if he was faced with a situation where he didn't understand the reason for change, he'd be reluctant to change.

He conceded that farmers are stressed, having to deal with climate change, geopolitical disruption, rising on-farm costs and a host of other challenges.

"Customer and consumer expectations are changing," O'Connor claimed. "All our major customers - such as Nestle, McDonalds, Tesco and Waitrose - have corporate targets of reducing their global emissions and they are looking to their suppliers, such as us, to do our bit."

O'Connor says regulations are backstops and the vast majority of people are ahead of the game and doing the right thing.

Turning to trade, O'Connor says successful trade agreements are not just about trade. He says NZ brings to trade not just value but also values, and this approach has been behind the success of FTAs with China, the UK and soon the EU.