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Concerns about the Government’s emissions pricing proposal will be discussed with farmers at events starting this week, DairyNZ says.
The Government’s proposal differs from the He Waka Eke Noa partnership recommendations and DairyNZ chair Jim van der Poel said the changes were unacceptable for farmers and the primary sector.
“The Government has changed the governance structure, which is quite fundamentally different,” van der Poel told The Country Sport Breakfast’s Brian Kelly.
DairyNZ was particularly concerned with shifts around governance, price-setting and sequestration, as they differed from what the sector and its farmers proposed, van der Poel said.
“The intent was we would collectively identify what an appropriate levy rate [was] ... but then also, how that money [would] be utilised and allocated.”
DairyNZ wanted to take a “balanced approach” about where the levy was set and what impact it would have on rural communities, as well as identifying what was needed to “incentivise behavioural change,” van der Poel said.
“In the long run ... our job is to find mitigations so we don’t lose production overseas as we meet our commitments to [the] Paris [Agreement].
“The Government proposal has quite a different construct to that.”
Van der Poel said the He Waka Eke Noa partnership’s proposal for on-farm sequestration was “a lot more permissible” than what the Government was promoting.
DairyNZ was also confused by the Government’s rejection of the idea that farmers could work together in a collective to reduce their total emissions, van der Poel said.
“We’re trying to understand why that wasn’t accepted.”
However, DairyNZ was busy working behind the scenes, as more information was received from the Government around its modelling, he said.
“Our teams have been flat out, as that information becomes available, to actually work through that.”
The next step was a six-week Government consultation process - which was already a week in, van der Poel said.
DairyNZ is holding webinars and meetings nationwide to help farmers with this consultation period, starting on October 20.
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At these meetings, DairyNZ would discuss the proposal, share concerns with farmers and seek feedback, van der Poel said.
“We’re now starting to hold webinars with our farmers, to go through that with them. We’ll make submissions as we understand the detail better and ... hopefully end up with something closer to what we originally proposed.”
DairyNZ was also encouraging farmers to make their own submissions, and van der Poel said it was important to attend an event to access the “right information”.
DairyNZ would advocate strongly on farmers’ behalf to make it clear the pricing proposal as it now stood must change for the better, especially around sequestration, farmer collectives and pricing, van der Poel said.
The consultation runs until November 18, with the final Government decision due in December.
DairyNZ’s events will be held nationwide as listed below and supported by online webinars.
For more information or to register visit www.dairynz.co.nz/proposal.
DairyNZ in-person events
Whangarei: Wednesday, October 26, 10 am -12 pm
Morrinsville: Thursday, October 27, 10am -12pm
Feilding: Wednesday, November 2, 10 am -12 pm
New Plymouth: Thursday, November 3, 10 am -12 pm
Ashburton: Wednesday, November 9, 10 am -12 pm
Invercargill: Thursday, November 10, 10 am -12 pm.
Also in today’s interview: Van der Poel talked about DairyNZ’s AGM, which took place in Invercargill this week. He also welcomed Chris Lewis and Tracey Brown to DairyNZ’s board.