Displaying items by tag: Labour Party

The good work farmers are already doing to minimise the environmental impact of irrigation could stop if they had to pay water royalties, says Irrigation New Zealand chair Nicky Hyslop.

Call it what you like -- water tax, royalty on water use or a water use charge -- it’s an unfair proposal, another ploy by the Government to charge its coffers at the expense of the country’s hardworking farmers.

Federated Farmers water spokesman Chris Allen says with the absence of detail on Labour’s new water tax policy, voters will be sailing blind into the election.

Labour Party leader Jacinda Ardern says after National came into power it shelved the Environment Court judge David Sheppard’s national policy statement (NPS) initiated by the last Labour government.

If elected, Labour’s charge on water for irrigation will be a “small royalty” for all “substantial takes”, says spokesman for water and the environment David Parker.

The Labour Party has sent “blank invoices” to farmers around the country, says Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy.

Your old mate was flabbergasted at the sheer political gall of Labour and the Greens in their latter-day ‘concern for farmers’ in the wake of the recent drop in dairy payout.

Feedback on the TPP from agribusinesses has been mostly positive, but the same cannot be said for most political parties. Here's an offering of what some of our political parties have to say;

Labour spokesman on primary industries, Damien O’Connor says while the dairy developments at Taupo are impressive it’s important the Crown is not exposed to major debt such as that of Solid Energy.

NZ's special agriculture trade envoy Mike Petersen has given the Labour Party and others a serve over its clearly “political” stance and “ridiculous claims” about the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade negotiations.