Farm issues 'ignored' in run-up to election

Politicians failed to give adequate attention in the general election to the agriculture and science which underpin the economy, says AgResearch chairman Rick Christie.

Mr Christie said it was time New Zealanders woke up and realised their lifestyle was being supported on the backs of farmers.

In a speech to the annual Grasslands Conference in New Plymouth, he questioned whether voters understood the source of the nation's wealth, and said casting about for alternative sources of wealth had been a national fixation for too long.

"There's more excitement in this country about the economic potential of a new way to jump off a bridge than about a scientific advancement that has the potential to double the number of lambs we produce or wipe out possums," Mr Christie said.

A former chief executive of Trade New Zealand and chairman of the previous Government's Growth and Innovation Advisory Board, Mr Christie said the election showed how little many people knew about agriculture's economic impact.

"The material that arrived in letter boxes and featured in newspapers shows the pastoral sector was not at all present in the minds of candidates or voters," he said in notes from his speech. It was not a matter of a rural/urban political split, because agribusiness was a national industry.

Not enough people realised that the agricultural sector had been growing faster than the rest of the economy. However, agriculture depended on good science, and the Government needed to increase the money it was putting into research.

"This is the time to turn public and political minds back to what's really important in this country - its foundation and its wellbeing - the pastoral sector," he said.

The election's brochure, billboard and advertising war never went beyond taxation, education, law and order, hospital surgery and Treaty of Waitangi claims.

National had a 12-point election plan for the agricultural sector which listed some broad political positions on issues such as Kyoto policies, ACC and property rights - little of it specific to agriculture.

The 12th point was a promise to exempt farm dogs from electronic identification chips.

"National Party heads weren't entirely in the clouds," Mr Christie quipped.

Generalisations relevant to research, science and technology ranked only ninth on the list, and the "usual promises" about free trade came in just above the promise to protect dogs from microchips.

"I was disappointed and a little surprised at the lack of substance - the lack of genuine understanding of what we are on about in this sector," he said.

Labour had specific policies on primary industries - including detailed promises on sustainable farming, water allocation, restructuring, biotechnology, wood processing, organics and biosecurity - that reflected detailed knowledge of rural needs.

Mr Christie said that though the Labour agriculture policies were well down its list of priorities, they had been presented in the context of policies which would ensure the ongoing sustainability of the sector and its competitive edge.

- NZPA