“I need to know everything in the campaign and still some things are yet to be disclosed in the next three days,” Peters answered prominent Canterbury dairy farmer Ron Ferriman.
“It’s not smart or it’s not clever and it’s not democracy. I just need to know until the last deal what cards I am dealing with.
“It’s not I won’t tell you – I can’t tell you.
“When all the policy cards are on the table I will talk to my party and we, not I, will make the decision
“Only a fool would test the water with both feet,” Peters said.
Answering questions as to whether he supported any tax charges, Peters told farmers he had made his stand very clear.
“The people of this country own the water. I have not said I won’t charge a fair price on management of water.
“What I am saying is I won’t put a tax on it. My party will not be adopting any of those ideas.
“There is no part two. We are not going to tax water use in this country,” Peters said.
About 150 people turned out to the meeting in Ashburton on Wednesday to hear NZ First’s policy on water.
Smart economies treated the environment and economy equally, he said.
For them, town and country, it was not an either-or but both together.
“So let’s base policy on facts, not guesswork, innuendo or political opportunism,” Peters said.
That would start by electronically monitoring river and lake water quality in real-time to move away from models that were as unreliable as political polls, Peters said.
“It is calibrating Overseer against all soils and farm types while restricting its use as a planning tool until it is 100% reliable, which it is not now.
“It is about catchment-by-catchment management plans so that the effects of town and country are taken together in policy.”
To boost environmental sustainability on the farm NZ First would commit to 100% depreciation for farm environmental works done against a farm environment plan.
Peters said NZ First believed it could halve National’s swimability target, getting to it by 2030 instead of 2040.
“Of course, we are talking about the times of year when people actually swim, rather than in winter or during floods.”
Peters said Labour was all at sea on a water policy that appeared to have been dreamt up in response to its memorandum of understanding with the Greens.
“Aside from understating the number of irrigated farms fivefold, at two cents a cubic metre, it means a 220ha irrigated farm here in Canterbury faces up to $29,000 a year in added costs. At 10 cents this balloons to $145,000 a year.
“The stakes are high because $60 billion is tied up in agricultural debt.
“If agriculture tips over then it will take the entire economy with it.”
Peters told National supporters they needed to seriously reflect and consider NZ First.
“Because we will not support Labour’s proposals to widen taxes or increase the taxes we currently have.”
But Peters was scathing of National’s plan, suggesting it was “much worse”.
“Mr English says he wants you to cut out the middle-man. For you to choose only National or Labour, Pepsi or Coke, this Saturday.
“That’s so he can get on with introducing resource rentals and forcing yet more bureaucratic fixers down your collective throats. Mr English sees big iwi as the means to get water resource rentals into law.”
“Feeling worried?” Peters asked.
“You ought to be because what National is not telling you is just a few short months after the election there will be major water policy moving towards confirmation of iwis’ ownership of water.
“Get ready for the invoices,” Peters warned.
“Our message to National supporters is the same as it is for Labour supporters – you need someone to stop the extremists.
“You need someone to keep National or Labour honest. Only one party in Parliament can do that.
“That’s why I am asking you to party vote NZ First if you want to defend the regions and their economies and their people,” Peters said.
