Fed up farmers holding Howl of a Protest in Dannevirke

Farmers, tradespeople contractors and industry support people will be driving their vehicles in a convoy through town on Friday to protest government regulations.

Fed-up farmers, tradesmen, contractors and industry support people are gearing up for a nationwide demonstration this Friday.

A "Howl of a Protest" is being organised by grassroots rural movement Groundswell NZ.

Dannevirke business owner Craig Lancaster is one of those participating in the protest with a parade along High St around 12.15pm.

The parade of tractors, trucks, vehicles and people walking will start from the old Farmers Transport south of town and the Mangatera Hotel north of town.

Vehicles will parade along both lanes of the street.

Lancaster said members of the public were more than welcome to walk with the parade.

"It's not a protest of annoyance to the public," he said.

"Yes, it's going to be a little bit annoying in some aspects because if you're sitting at an intersection trying to get your car across, you're going to have to wait a couple of minutes.

"It's not stopping or anything like that, it's just a long convoy through town."

Lancaster said those participating in the demonstration were all fed up with what was going on.

"We want the Government to sit back on the regulations a little bit.

"No farmer wants to wreck his land or wreck the waterways because that costs him at the end of the day."

He said this was not just about the ute tax which taxes owners of non-electric utes.

The farmers, contractors, builders and those who use utes in a work capacity would find electric vehicles impractical.

"We can't run electric vehicles," Lancaster said.

"I can't put a three-tonne trailer behind an electric ute and ask it to go to Pongaroa and back.

"It'll get halfway there and I'll have flat batteries.

"The whole infrastructure's not set up and it just seems really unfair to tax that."

The tax is not the only burden on farmers and business owners like Lancaster, who owns Lancaster Tractor Services in Dannevirke.

"The regulations are just getting too tough."

He said dealing with Covid made the world a very tough place to try to do business.

"Everybody's struggling."

Parts and services that were once easily available are now very difficult to get hold of.

"Everybody's tightening up.

"There's not the spending happening, becuase we physically can't get the parts for things."

Lancaster said there was a lot of strong feeling out there about the issue.

"I think this is just the start of it.

"People have had enough and have just decided to do something about it."