fbpx
Print this page
Tuesday, 19 September 2017 07:55

Tax not answer – English

Written by  Peter Burke
Bill English and Nathan Guy on the election campaign last week. Bill English and Nathan Guy on the election campaign last week.

Technology, not taxes, is the way to deal with water related issues.

So said Prime Minister Bill English last week at a launch of the National Party’s agriculture policy at a large horticulture property in Horowhenua.

Woodhaven, a family business for 38 years, employs 205 local people. Water is a major issue for the business, especially for cleaning vegetables ready for freighting to markets in Wellington and other regions.

The company strongly opposes Labour’s proposed water tax.

English, with local MP and Minister for Primary industry Nathan Guy, told Woodhaven staff and guests that National would rename the Sustainable Farming Fund (SFF), calling it the Future Farming Fund (FFF). He says a National government would boost funding from the present $7 million to $20m a year to grow the agritech sector.

The new fund would have a cross-sector panel of industry, science and environmental groups plus other stakeholders to assess applications for funding.

“It would be aimed at getting farmers, growers and scientists to suggest effective and practical proposals.

“The water taxes and other taxes [would] suck cash out of the productive sector send it off to bureaucracies in Wellington where they [would] try to decide what [would] work best.

“Actually it is the people in the environment making the practical day-to-day decisions about plants, animals, water and effluent who know best what will work.

“We can produce more high quality food for the world and still have high environmental standards. We believe in working with you, the people who make the decisions, the people out on the tractors or wherever on the land. We want to work with you, not punish you like the opposition parties.”

English hopes the new FFF would see new apps developed for mobile phones, new genetics and better ways of propagating plants, and tools that would help farmers and growers improve production but reduce their environmental footprint.

“It’s not a matter of more production or a better environment; we are smart enough to do both. No one would say ‘to have a better environment I need to lose my job’ or ‘to have a better environment we need to have a business that is losing money’,” English says.

“The Greens say to have a better environment you have to stop doing what you are doing and you lose your job and go home.”

English also launched a stinging attack on Labour’s proposed taxes, saying they were using rural businesses like an ATM to suck cash out of the regions by way of a whole range of taxes.

More like this

NZ honey strategy resets industry ambitions

A plan to revitalise New Zealand’s honey sector and set it on a new, more sustainable and profitable path for the long term was launched yesterday by Agriculture Minister Todd McClay.

Editorial: Great expectations

OPINION: As the new National-led coalition begins its term in office, there are high expectations that the promises and rhetoric of the election campaign will quickly be transformed into actions.

Days of over-regulation over!

The days of farmers facing an avalanche of regulations around how they farm will be a thing of the past, says National's new Northland MP Grant McCallum.

Over fat!

OPINION: The Hound suggests that the new National-led government has plenty of scope to deliver on its – and coalition partner ACT’s – election promise of trimming the fat in the public service.

Featured

Dairy sheep and goat turmoil

Dairy sheep and goat farmers are being told to reduce milk supply as processors face a slump in global demand for their products.

Hurry up and slow down!

OPINION: We have good friends from way back who had lived in one of our major cities for many years.

Editorial: Passage to India

OPINION: Even before the National-led coalition came into power, India was very much at the fore of its trade agenda.

National

Knowing bugs means fewer drugs

A mastitis management company claims to deliver the fastest and most accurate mastitis testing available at scale for New Zealand…

Machinery & Products

100 years of Farmall Tractors

Returning after an enforced break, the Wheat and Wheels Rally will take place on the Lauriston -Barhill Road, North-East of…

JD unveils its latest beast

John Deere has unveiled its most powerful tractor ever, with the launch of the all new 9RX Series Tractor line-up…

Biggest Quadtrac coming to NZ!

In the biggest announcement that Case IH Australia/New Zealand has made around its tractor range, its biggest tractor is about…

A different shade of blue for Norwood

Norwood and ARGO Tractors, the Italian manufacturer of Landini and McCormick tractors, have announced an agreement that gives Norwood exclusive…

Kubota tests diesel engines

Kubota last month used the UK LAMMA Show to test the water with its new 200hp, four-cylinder 09-series diesel engines.