Labour's spokesperson for agriculture, Jo Luxton. Photo / RNZ, Samuel Rillstone
By Sally Murphy of RNZ
Labour politicians are dusting off their gumboots and heading to the farm for their annual meeting with Federated Farmers today.
Federated Farmers started the get-together three years ago to better the relationship with the party.
President Wayne Langford said there was a gap in the relationship and a gap in knowledge of how farmers and the industry worked.
There would be a closed-door chat followed by a farm tour around Ashburton tomorrow.
Langford said that decisions politicians made had a huge impact on-farm, so it was vital Federated Farmers had a relationship with the major parties.
“I think that what we’ve seen over the last decade would show that it’s a massive impact and can drastically change the way that farms operate.
“So the better the relationship, the better the understanding from MPs and ministers around what’s going on the farm, the better the results that we can get for farmers and ultimately the whole country as well.”
Langford said Labour had not signalled any policy yet, so the group was excited to get round the table and have a chat.
It was no secret that under the previous Labour Government, farmers felt bogged down with policy and new regulations.
Langford was hopeful that if elected, Labour would have a better acknowledgment of what farmers did and the contribution they made to the country.
“If I use emissions and water as an example, you know, what are we actually doing there?
“What effect are we having, and what do the results look like over time?
“You know, under the last Labour Government, a lot of farmers almost felt like they were screaming against the wall and just not being heard.”
Langford said there had been a turnaround with Jo Luxton becoming Labour’s spokesperson for agriculture.
“I think it was time for a fresh voice and Jo Luxton certainly brought a sense of calmness to the situation where there was a little bit of heat in the conversation when Damien [O’Connor] finished up.”
He said Labour leader Chris Hipkins had also put in the hard work.
“We’ve gone from Chris Hipkins showing up at our conference three years ago, not knowing a whole lot about agriculture, to now being able to stand in front of my national council for 45 minutes without assistance, speaking about our sector and answering questions.
“We see that as a real success of what we’re doing here when we’ve got the leader of the opposition that can do that freely and speak frankly to farmers.
“That’s a good place for us to be.”
Luxton, said she was looking forward to chatting with farmers but said it was too early to mention any policies the party was working on.
“After the last election, it’d be fair to say that things weren’t in the best space with the agricultural sector, so it’s ... important to me to improve that relationship.
“One of the things farmers have said to us loud and clearly is that there was too much too fast, some things felt unachievable, so now we’re moving forward and making sure we really listen and understand what the issues are and the best way to address them.”
When asked about the current Government’s handling of farming policy, Luxton said Labour had concerns about how the environmental side of things seemed to have slid.
“I’ve also heard from some in the agricultural sector that they are also concerned about that, there’s been comments made to me that the Government talks up a big game, but they’re actually not seeing any real benefit on-farm.
“But then you also hear the other side of the coin too, where, you know, that things are going well, there is a lot of positivity out there among the agricultural sector.”
- RNZ