The Country
  • The Country home
  • Latest news
  • Audio & podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life
  • Listen on iHeart radio

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Coast & Country News
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Horticulture
  • Animal health
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life

Media

  • Podcasts
  • Video

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whāngarei
  • Dargaville
  • Auckland
  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Hamilton
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Te Kuiti
  • Taumurunui
  • Taupō
  • Gisborne
  • New Plymouth
  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Whanganui
  • Palmerston North
  • Levin
  • Paraparaumu
  • Masterton
  • Wellington
  • Motueka
  • Nelson
  • Blenheim
  • Westport
  • Reefton
  • Kaikōura
  • Greymouth
  • Hokitika
  • Christchurch
  • Ashburton
  • Timaru
  • Wānaka
  • Oamaru
  • Queenstown
  • Dunedin
  • Gore
  • Invercargill

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / The Country

Act's Mark Cameron on moving from the farm to the Beehive

The Country
29 Oct, 2020 12:25 AM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Act Party agriculture spokesman Mark Cameron. Photo / Supplied

Act Party agriculture spokesman Mark Cameron. Photo / Supplied

Moving from the farm to the Beehive has been a culture shock for Act agriculture spokesman Mark Cameron.

Currently dairy farming in Ruawai, Cameron has lived and farmed around the Northland region for 30 years.

Swapping his gumboots for a suit was "a funny old time," he told The Country's Jamie Mackay.

"The cuffs were too long and the sleeves were too short ... but the greatest oddity for me is I'm not in Red Bands - which I'm deeply aggrieved about."

Cameron was also unhappy with the current Government's freshwater reforms.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Most of this policy is not tenable and we at the Act party are acutely aware of it," he said.

Specifically, rules which required all paddocks in Otago and Southland to be resown by November 1, were "idiotic," Cameron said.

"They cannot be implemented."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Listen below:

In a recently released statement Cameron said, "local issues must have local solutions, not a one-size-fits-all approach from Wellington".

Cameron told Mackay he also questioned how local councils would be able to police any infringements of the new rules.

"The central Government has an overarching proposal that even Environment Southland - as an example - cannot make sense of, and then you've got the enforcement reality between themselves and their farmers."

Discover more

Why National's caucus needs to better reflect NZ - Steve Maharey

19 Oct 12:45 AM

Act Party will stop Govt doing 'more dumb stuff to farmers'

14 Oct 02:30 AM

'View from the Cowshed 2.0': Politicians debate issues affecting rural NZ

13 Oct 04:00 AM

The Country - Water edition

29 Oct 12:00 AM

"Environment Southland is more than happy to work with farmers and vice versa, but these ... arbitrary rules have left the total networking between Environment Southland and the farmers up in the sky."

Meanwhile, Cameron said he was looking forward to his role as backbench MP, admitting he thought his chance of getting in was "50/50" being number eight on the Act Party candidate list.

"What a privilege, as a dairy farmer for 30 years, finally, I think we can bring - as the Act Party - some real solutions to difficult problems."

Although his new role would "throw a few pennies into the kitty," Cameron said getting in to Parliament was "never about the money".

"It's about fixing a lot of the rot that I saw unfortunately metastasising in rural New Zealand."

Also in today's interview: Cameron gave an update on the dry conditions at his Northland dairy farm.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from The Country

Premium
The Country

'They just keep coming': Illegal hunting causes frustration and fear on East Coast

The Country

Watch: CCTV shows moment drug-driver caused tractor to crash into homes

The Country

Te Puke incident: Person airlifted after serious injury


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from The Country

Premium
Premium
'They just keep coming': Illegal hunting causes frustration and fear on East Coast
The Country

'They just keep coming': Illegal hunting causes frustration and fear on East Coast

East Coast MP Dana Kirkpatrick highlights rising poaching concerns.

17 Jul 06:00 AM
Watch: CCTV shows moment drug-driver caused tractor to crash into homes
The Country

Watch: CCTV shows moment drug-driver caused tractor to crash into homes

17 Jul 03:49 AM
Te Puke incident: Person airlifted after serious injury
The Country

Te Puke incident: Person airlifted after serious injury

17 Jul 02:26 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP