Federated Farmers targets bureaucracy, local govt and RMA reforms in pre-election wishlist

Federated Farmers national president Wayne Langford, at the Primary Industries New Zealand Summit in Christchurch.

Photo: Neil Mackenzie

Buoyed by the success of its 2023 policy wishlist with the coalition government, Federated Farmers is now planting the seed for policies it wants the next government to enact following the general election.

The farmer advocacy group released its Backing Kiwi Farmers election priorities on Monday, in time for the Southern Hemisphere's largest agricultural event the National Fieldays in Waikato starting Wednesday, and attended by politicians from all parties, ahead of November's upcoming election.

Fieldays includes an Advocacy Hub for farmers to discuss rural issues. According to organisers, a fifth of Parliament's MPs spoke from the podium, or attended to discuss issues, including seven Cabinet ministers, last year. .

Cutting farming costs, empowering community conservation and fixing local government were features of its five-point plan for whichever political parties formed the next government.

The group representing 12,000 farmer members said the 12 policy changes in its last 2023 election roadmap were either achieved or in progress under the current administration over the past three years.

These included reviewing methane emissions targets, changing freshwater management rules and RMA reform.

President and Golden Bay dairy farmer Wayne Langford said this next term's priorities were designed to continue the momentum for food and fibre producers, and unlock the full potential of rural New Zealand.

"Farmers are problem-solvers by nature. Give us the tools, get out of the way, and we will deliver a stronger, more productive New Zealand for future generations," he said.

Some of its wishes were already underway or at least signalled by the current government, including supporting vocational training, stopping full farm to forest conversions, and using the International Visitor Levy to fund conservation and tourism programmes.

Cows at a dairy farm in Waikato.

Photo: RNZ / Sally Round

Other regulatory hopes included provincial areas being separated from the major cities and a single layer of local government be created, while the Government carried out an overhaul to local government systems.

It also believed agricultural and horticultural science should feature in the science curriculum for pupils from year 0 to 10.

Ditch resource consents for farm plans

Changes to consenting hence compliance systems were notable features of the plan, amid an overhaul to the Resource Management Act.

Langford, "in the thick of RMA discussions" said reform was moving quickly and will bring through significant changes with time.

But he said there were a number of farm activities it believed should not require a consent, as long as farm plans were in place, and could be covered by national standards.

"So whether that's through farm plans, you know, the ability for vegetable growing, on-farm water storage, gravel extraction, drain maintenance, effluent management, fertiliser application, wetland restoration and even the likes of medium and small-scale solar generation.

"These should be permitted activities that farmers can just crack on with without, needing specific consents; costly consents."

Langford said farmers should not be audited on the certified farm plans they developed with regulators, unless there were other compliance issues.

When asked if these consenting changes may create a high trust model, expecting all farmers to comply, Langford said letting farmers manage their activities themselves would be a "fantastic" way to go.

"There's no doubt that we are leaning towards a higher trust model, but we're doing that for really good reason," he said.

"If we consider our consents as similar to farm plans, then if we've got a significantly high proportion of farmers that are passing their contents, that are living up to their expectations, then why would it not be a high trusted model?

"And if they get audited and found out and it's wrong, they get slapped with a big stick.

"But if it's not, they get left to their own devices and away they can go."

Langford said councils will always have to address "mistakes" and issues, but compliant farmers should not have to face more bureaucracy due to the minority few that breached their requirements.

Five-point plan

To cut the costs of farming, it wanted the government to introduce new permitted activity standards, guarantee flexible land use, stop farm conversion incentives, and introduce no new taxes for farmers.

Towards empowering community conservation, it wanted the entire International Visitor Levy revenue to fund conservation and tourism projects, to create a decade-long wilding pine control scheme, double the funding for the QEII National Trust, and restore grazing to Department of Conservation land (500,000ha).

In supporting young farmers, it wanted vocational education pathways to be built, for rural schools to be empowered to teach agriculture and a review of the Sharemilking Agreements Act.

It wanted the government to enable technology and infrastructure by streamlining access to new technologies and provide seed funding for new water storage projects.

Towards "fixing local government", it also wanted the need for cultural impact assessments to be removed.

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