Consent Rollovers and $13b Savings: What the new RMA bills could mean
There was much theatre in the Beehive before the Government's new Resource Management Act (RMA) reform bills were introduced into Parliament last week.
OPINION: Your canine crusader notes that the new parliament will have a fresh array of new MPs from farming backgrounds taking up seats in the nation's capital.
The Nats have the likes of Miles Anderson, Mike Butterick, Suze Redmayne and Grant McCullum joining their ranks.
Meanwhile, ACT sees the addition of former Feds president Andrew Hoggard to their caucus and NZ First sees the return of Mark Patterson.
Many of these MPs have close ties to Federated Farmers, including the aforementioned Hoggard, Anderson and Butterick from National and NZ First's Patterson.
That should make a nice change for the farmer lobby in having a few friends and ex-colleagues in the halls of power.
According to the latest Federated Farmers banking survey, farmers are more satisfied with their bank and less under pressure, however, the sector is well short of confidence levels seen last decade.
Farmer confidence has taken a slight dip according to the final Rabobank rural confidence survey for the year.
Former Agriculture Minister and Otaki farmer Nathan Guy has been appointed New Zealand’s Special Agricultural Trade Envoy (SATE).
Alliance Group has commissioned a new heat pump system at its Mataura processing plant in Southland.
Fonterra has slashed another 50c off its milk price forecast as global milk flows shows no sign of easing.
Meat processors are hopeful that the additional 15% tariff on lamb exports to the US will also come off.

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