Tuesday, March 19, 2024

PULPIT: Environment moves must be fair

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The past few weeks have served to remind New Zealanders about the importance of the country’s primary sector. Food has become big news. 
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Every day the media brings us stories of supermarket queues, panic buying and supermarket workers going the extra mile to try to keep shelves stocked against a rising tide of worried consumers.

As farmers we are fortunate to be able to continue producing nutrient-rich food for our nation and our export markets. 

Agriculture is one of the few industries generating export income and we are privileged in the extent we can continue to operate, even though it might not always feel that way.

This virus is indiscriminate and we all need to take steps to prevent its spread among farmers, rural communities and our processing sector. 

Many farmers are sole operators, which puts their businesses at particular risk if they fall ill. 

Processors face disruption if there is transmission among people in their plants. We cannot take our eye of the ball when it comes to following strict health and safety protocols.

Covid-19 will have a significant impact on many aspects of our society and has led to a rethink around the importance of farming and food production to our society and our economy. It has also shown the vulnerabilities of industries such as tourism, international education and forestry.

Recent surveys have shown a renewed awareness and appreciation of farmers by the wider public and this is extremely gratifying.

As NZ charts its way to economic recovery it is critical our sector provides jobs and export revenue and invests where it will drive returns for the country.

In this regard the Government needs to take a more considered and collaborative approach to environmental policies to deliver the environmental outcomes we all want while not restricting the export revenue, employment and wellbeing so desperately needed by New Zealanders. 

For example, the essential freshwater proposals threaten to do the opposite.

We’ve committed as a sector to keep playing our part in protecting the environment. That’s not in question. What we are saying is the Government needs to take time to reflect and ensure the alignment and fairness of policies. It’s vital it also understands the scale of impact and focuses on quality and long-term outcomes.

For sheep and beef farmer the proposed regulatory burden from water, climate change and biodiversity far outweighs their environmental impact and the planned reforms in these areas are unacceptable.

We need to protect our planet and natural resources but in doing so we need any policies to be proportionate to their impact on the environment. 

Beef + Lamb welcomed the Waikato Plan Change One decision last month where independent commissioners recommended a more flexible management framework for farms with a light environmental footprint and rejected the original grandparenting proposal, a mechanism that effectively rewards high emitting land uses.

The Government needs to use the Waikato Plan Change One decision as an important precedent when considering its Essential Freshwater policies.

The Climate Change Commission has urged the Government to continue with its reform of the Emissions Trading Scheme. We support efforts to improve the ETS so it achieves actual reductions of greenhouse gas from fossil fuel emitters. 

However, in its current form, the proposal simply incentivises fossil fuel emitters to offset their emissions by planting exotic trees on farmlan rather than reducing those emissions. 

This will be exacerbated as the carbon price rises as the cap will be lifted through the proposed reforms. 

Without limits on the volume of greenhouse gases that can be offset we can expect an acceleration of sheep and beef farms being converted to pines. 

The Climate Change Commission told the Environment Select Committee the lack of limitations is a gap in the proposed legislation that could lead to severe consequences for our sector and communities. 

It is vital the Government ensures there is a mechanism to limit offsetting by fossil fuel emitters in this reform.

I want to stress that agriculture is not using the devastation wrought by covid-19 to wriggle out of taking responsibility for its environmental impact. We cannot and will not do that.

But it is more important than ever the Government ensures its policies take a holistic approach and consider exports, employment and the environment so NZ can get back on its feet as quickly as possible in a sustainable way.

We strongly encourage the Government to follow the co-design partnership approach taken with climate change and the establishment of He Waka Eke Noa across other policy areas.

Covid-19 has shown us as a society we can all pull together when we need to. We have seen bipartisan leadership and we have all been prepared to make sacrifices to protect our communities. Let us carry that spirit on. 

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