Friday, March 29, 2024

O’Connor dismisses time concerns

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Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor rejects suggestions the Government is not allowing farmers enough time to respond to planned water rules that will have a significant impact on their businesses.
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Public submissions on the Nait Amendment Bill were open for five weeks; Zero Carbon Bill submissions were open for eight weeks and Action For Healthy Waterways consultation is to run for six weeks to October 17.

O’Connor said people focused on the issues who want to make submissions get on with the job and it does not make any difference whether submissions are open for six or 16 weeks.

Six weeks is not a rushed time for farmers to prepare a submission. Industry organisations can still make long and detailed submissions while farmer submissions do not have to be lengthy and drawn out. 

It is better they take a pragmatic approach and are well thought out, he said.

Farmers’ views will be considered carefully. The quality of submissions is more important than the quantity.

Opposition agriculture spokesman Todd Muller and Federated Farmers president Katie Milne have questioned time given to freshwater consultation.

“It’s left rural New Zealand just six weeks to try and ascertain what the wide-ranging changes will mean for them at the busiest time of the year,” Muller said. 

“It reeks of a predetermined process and heaps further pressure on to our 23,000 farming families.”

Milne said it is hard on farmers to be given the range of challenges and change they have and yet not feel like they can have any input.

“Yes, we have a bunch of policy people here at Feds who can and are working through this massive process at double-quick time for our members but our farmers still need to have time to be part of this.

“This is not us stalling for time. Normally consultation on something of this significance would be given six months not six weeks.”

Feds Meat and Wool chairman Miles Anderson also asked why Nait Bill consultation fell in the middle of calving and lambing.

O’Connor said it is unfortunate the Opposition is seizing an opportunity to stir up a storm and there is no way the Government is going to park up work that is important to NZ.

It cannot be helped that the submissions periods fell in what is traditionally a busy time for farmers and there is no truth to suggestions the timing shows the Government is not really interested in farmer opinions.

The reality is there is an election next year and ministers and the Government are determined to make progress on legislation and plans before then, he said.

Changes to Nait are important to ensure proper traceability, especially to deal with M bovis, measures to deal with climate change have to be progressed as quickly as possible while the longer action to stop the degradation of waterways is delayed the harder it will be to fix.

“We need to be able to give farmers clear guidelines to get things started.”

O’Connor acknowledged that there are not many public meetings in the Environment Ministry’s healthy waterways consultation aimed at farmers but if there is demand for more meetings he will make sure they are held.

Action For Healthy Waterways is only a discussion document and there is a long way to go before legislation is implemented so there will be more opportunities for people to have their say.

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