Wairoa uprising over farm emission plans

So furious were the locals that the mayor, and farmer, Craig Little hastily arranged a meeting of the local community so they could voice their concerns to Labour ministers Stuart Nash and Meka Whaitiri and representatives of MPI and Beef+Lamb NZ.

Helping him do this was Nukuhia Hadfield, a prominent, influential and award-winning local Māori farmer who also heads the committee which organises the prestigious Ahuwhenua trophy for excellence in Māori Farming.

This David and Goliath battle is one that could see other districts in heartland NZ now join the army of protest at what some commentators are saying is one of the worst decisions to be foisted on rural NZ for many decades.

Wairoa is a major rural service town whose economic activity comes mainly from the strong sheep and beef hill country. The local AFFCO freezing works is a major employer, especially for Māori, and there is some horticulture in the area as well. Like many rural towns it lives on the knife edge of the swings and roundabouts of the primary sector. If farmers don't make money, nobody does.

When approached by Nuku Hadfield and told the serious nature of the government plan, Little decided to take a stand and hold a public meeting. He says, to their credit, the MPs and officials turned up. However, they probably weren't expecting the large crowd who turned up last Monday night (Oct 31) at the town's Gaiety Theatre.

"We had 300 people there - the biggest crowd I've seen a public meeting in the town," Little told Rural News. "There were young farmers as well as old, Māori and local business people. The meeting was pretty brutal."

He says the community are unhappy with the Government's proposal and feel that as livestock farmers they are being robbed. Little reports that people at the meeting complained that the Government was moving too fast and wanted them to pause and take stock of the situation.

Little says one of the pillars of the Paris Accord is that any moves to reduce emissions should not hinder food production, but he says the Government proposal does just that. He fears the move could see the small prosperous town and its vibrant community turned in a ghost town because of the economic consequences that could see sheep and beef farm incomes cut by up to 20%.

"The community are worried if any more pine trees go into Wairoa it'll be the final nail in the coffin for the town and we are determined to stop this," Little told Rural News. "Representatives of AFFCO were at the meeting and they are worried they may have to close."

Frustration Breaks Out

Nuku Hadfield says there ws a lot of frustration expressed by people at the meeting.

She told Rural News it wasn't helped by the complex and confusing presentation by MPI.

Hadfield says, adding to this was when asked for the finer detail about the proposal, the answer was: "This still has to be worked through".

Others at the meeting told Rural News they came away with little confidence that their submissions would get a fair hearing given the timeframes of a final decision by government early in the new year.

As a result, they felt the consultation was something of a sham and the Government would steamroll its proposal through next year. There was also a feeling that Stuart Nash showed little empathy for the people of Wairoa and their genuine concerns.

"He was not a popular man on the night," said one.

Despite their misgivings about the response from Nash, Craig Little says the Wairoa District Council will make a submission to government on behalf of the local community. He says this will focus on the social and economic impacts of the government proposal on the town.

Little says it will highlight the employment that farming offers and that forestry doesn’t and emphasise that it will be brutal on jobs for Māori.

Feds Weigh In On Farmer Angst

Federated Farmers President Andrew Hoggard says the concerns raised by the Wairoa community are real.

He says if there's an average 20% reduction in sheep, the flow-on effects will be huge. Hoggard says a 20% reduction in stock numbers would surely make the local AFFCO works wonder if it would be profitable to continue their operation.

"They are the largest employer in town and if they went, all the support industries around them, such as trucking firms and other rural support service providers, would be hit. That 20% reduction could have a huge impact."

Federated Farmers national president Andrew Hoggard says the farmer lobby wants a review of the targets and says the present ones will drive some farmers bankrupt.

Hoggard also points out the meat processing plants are the single largest employer of Māori in the country.

For its part, Federated Farmers has made no secret of the fact that it will take a very strong stance against the current government proposal. Hoggard says they want a review of the targets and says the present ones will rive some farmers bankrupt.

He says Feds will make a submission and see what comes back from government and then decide whether they can live with these or look at what action might be taken.

"I am not sure with what others (partners in HWEN) are doing but as with all our submissions, we talk to industry partners and tell them what we are doing. But we definably want to go harder on the targets," he says.