Message clear: listen to us

By Glenys Christian

Scene one: 13 woolgrowers huddled in an upstairs bar at a Warkworth motel. Scene two: around 150 colourfully dressed protesters marching up Queen St, Auckland.

The two events would seem to represent opposite ends of the political spectrum, but both are concerned about the same issue - accountability and the right to have their say.

The woolgrowers, tired after a hard day's work on their farms, heard from the Wool Board's chief executive, Jeff Jackson, how the Government's producer board reform project team has drafted legislation to change the way in which its levies are collected from them.

He believes this will give Government, not farmers, the final say on what is in their best interests.

Instead of the present 5 per cent levy which the board collects compulsorily under its act on all wool exports, there would be a much more rigorous process to go through before it received one cent of farmers' money.

That process would be more demanding than the Commodities Levies Act, with a number of hoops to jump through, including a cost-benefit analysis, the canvassing of other options and the Commerce Commission's agreement that the activities to be funded were in fact for the industry's good.

A higher threshold of farmer support would be required than under the act and the emphasis would be very much on accountability to the levypayers, to ensure that the funds were used specifically on functions for which they were collected.

That's fine, but farmers who have been sceptical about what the non-trading producer boards do on their behalf would have even greater reservations about bureaucrats making those decisions.

As Kaiwaka farmer Jim Moffat asked rhetorically: "This is Government out of our face?"

A further concern is the project team's rush to introduce the legislation into Parliament next month.

The Meat and Wool boards will have no time to consult their levypayers fully as their present legislation requires them to do.

So the final shape of the bill will be in very few hands - those of board directors, Federated Farmers and ultimately the Minister of Food, Fibre, Biosecurity and Border Control.

The next day in central Auckland, opponents of genetically modified food had the opportunity to get their message across to a supportive lunchtime crowd.

Three Bay of Islands women began a convoy to Wellington at the start of the week on what one of them, Shelley Rademacher, described as "a call of the heart."

They believe the Government must listen to people's fears that there are too many uncertainties about such altered foodstuffs to allow them on to supermarkets shelves.

They do not buy Mr Luxton's argument that labelling such foods could cause problems with our trading partners.

A couple of noisy hecklers were also quick to remind Auckland mayor Christine Fletcher of her vote against Phillida Bunkle's bill on the issue last year, causing her to abbreviate her address about her council's support for a royal commission.

The woolgrowers and the protesters want exactly the same thing - that those most affected by Government decisions are asked their opinion and the response is listened to.

Country and city find themselves as one and the warning is clear - they may well end up ticking the same box on their election papers this year.

* Glenys Christian can be contacted on email at glenys@farmindex.co.nz