And from now on all Government decisions, no matter what portfolios they relate to, will have to pass a rural-proofing test to assess their impact on provincial people and their communites, McAnulty, speaking of behalf of Agriculture, Biosecurity and Rural Communities Minister Damien O’Connor, said.
The Government is also reviewing the Biosecuruity Act and plans to enhance the protection of the primary sector by allocating enough resources to protect the country from future incursions.
And in response to a farmer question McAnulty promised to take back a suggesting the rural-proofing test also be applied to all decisions of regional and local councils.
“It’s a really good point. It’s probably not a bad idea,” he said.
However, rural-proofing does not mean appeasing all critics McAnulty said in response to a question asking if that means plans to include agriculture in the Emissions Trading Scheme will be dumped.
It will ensure rural areas were at the forefront of all Government decision-making but doesn’t mean producing policy that everyone likes.
How the Government defined rural-proofing and how a farmer opposed to the ETS did it might well be different, he said.
Conference chairman Steve Maharey, a former Labour cabinet minister and Massey University vice-chancellor, said everyone agreed on the need to add value and where the country should get to but not on how to get there.
He predicted a lot of heavy debate on the reset of policy and how it could be done without the Government getting in the way of innovative farmers.
McAnulty said NZ’s future depends on a strong ability to produce sustainable products from agriculture and that needs to be led by a Government supporting the primary sector.
“We are not going to leave things to chance.
“We are opposed to simply leaving things to the market.
“This Government is taking a pro-active approach to support agriculture to be resilient and well-placed to meet the challenges.”
It’s intention to show leadership and partnership is evident with new honey standards and its dairy legislation and review that would identify the opportunities.
The first year fees-free tertiary study would also support the primary sector because most people taking advantage of it would be doing trades and practical training linked to an industry like agriculture that was crying out for skilled workers.
And it was reorganising MPI and stopping overseas investors buying farmland for capital gains. To give the sector the best possible chance of success Government agencies must be fit for the purpose of supporting it.
“There will be a positive imapct on the rural sector. We want it to thrive and adapt in challenging conditions,” McAnulty said.
MPI is also working to see how exporters can access high-value markets.
Success depends on commiting absolutely to producing sustainable products to feed consumers’ growing appetite for thos products that reflect their attitudes and beliefs. They want products they can trust and value.
So though MPI is developing the assurance programme it will be led mostly by the industry.
But Maharey warned the country has a long way to go to compete with the likes of the Netherland and Singapore.
He said Singaporeans make three times more money out of New Zealand products than NZ does because, though they don’t produce any food themselves, they add value to ours. Other countries make $250 billion out of NZ food exports.
And there are no more diametrically opposed production systems than NZ and the Netherlands. The latter is going through the roof with innovation while NZ is just at the beginning when it needs to be at the forefront of the food revolution.
“We need a transformation of the whole of the country to capitalise on the world revolution to capture the value from what we do best, produce food.”
