National's Spokesperson for Agriculture, Nathan Guy. Photo / Supplied
National's Spokesperson for Agriculture, Nathan Guy. Photo / Supplied
Nathan Guy has branded Landcorp's submission to Sir Michael Cullen's Tax Working Group as a "joke."
National's Spokesperson for Agriculture told The Country's Jamie Mackay that the state-owned farmer Landcorp's (which now goes under its brand-name Pamu), actions were "bizarre".
"I just can't believe that Landcorp have bothered to submitto the Tax Working Group," says Guy.
"Here they have tax payers' money, the best tractors, the best laneways, the best of everything and they're out there saying they're holier than thou and every other farm should have a water and nitrogen tax and 'by the way bring in a capital gains tax'.
Guy goes on to suggest that Landcorp's submission suggests a sense of superiority over other Kiwi farmers.
"It's sort of like [the Government's) left hand talking to the right hand and indicating 'we're going to deal to all of these other farmers up and down the country because they're not as good as we are'."
Mackay suggests that Landcorp is becoming the "poster child" for sustainable farming which must be positive for New Zealand agriculture.
Guy disagrees, saying the state-owned enterprise has advantages that other farmers won't have access to.
"Everyone wants to be sustainable, everyone wants to value-add and do all those wonderful things but it's hard to do that ... by and large farmers are doing what they can to do the right thing."
"You've got to remember that [Landcorp's] got a sh..load of money coming from the tax payer. [Other] farmers have to go and get their money from the bank [while] Landcorp has been very slow at paying back dividends to the Crown."
"I just think it's terrible that Landcorp are out there effectively telling Sir Michael Cullen to go and inflict and impose more taxes on farmers. I just can't fathom it."
Also in today's interview: Nathan Guy chats to Jamie about the weather in Horowhenua and how Central Hawke's Bay's aquifers could benefit from irrigation.
