National want to double RSE workers and add residency pathways, Canterbury feral cat hunt called off after backlash and Kiwis spending $1,700 more on travel over the past year in the latest New Zealand Herald headlines. Video / NZ Herald
The National Party wants to double the number of Recognised Seasonal Employer workers coming into the country and provide them with pathways to residency.
It also wants to ban foreign investment in farms to convert them to forestry for carbon farming - a controversial practice that has dramatically increased the amount of such land converted in recent years, despite tighter controls.
National will today launch a package of 19 farming-focused policies, including one that will try to reduce regulations on the sector, which last year provided 63 per cent of the country’s exports, worth $41 billion.
The party says since Labour came into Government in 2017 there have been 20 new laws and regulations.
One of National’s new policies will be to introduce a rule meaning for any new piece of agriculture-related regulation two must be removed.
It also says it will double the RSE worker cap from 19,000 to 38,000 and create a path to residency through the Accredited Employer Work Visa.
This year the Australian Government introduced a green card-style system to bring 3000 Pacific workers into the country every year and offer them a pathway to citizenship.
New Zealand’s RSE scheme has increased from 5000 workers in 2007 to 19,000 workers this year from nine Pacific nations to work in the horticulture and viticulture industries.
There are currently no pathways to residency for those workers and Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni previously confirmed to the Herald it had no current plans to change the policy.
Official advice provided to Sepuloni in February by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) stated addressing Pacific labour mobility was a “key issue”.
It said the landscape had evolved significantly over the last few years, mainly due to a “massive uptick in recruitment under Australia’s scheme”.
The Pacific-wide Pacer Plus free trade agreement had also increased focus alongside geopolitical developments, while Covid-19 had disrupted various schemes.
MFAT officials said some Pacific countries were cautious of a “brain drain” and their own labour shortages while others “have expressed a desire for more opportunities”.
MBIE was reviewing RSE policy to ensure it meets a “gold standard” and to improve pastoral care, accommodation and worker benefits.
Another of National’s new policies will ban foreign investment in farms to convert them to forestry for carbon farming.
The party says it will help protect productive land for future farming.
Under the Overseas Investment Act 2005, farmland converted to forestry must meet a range of strict criteria and be used for producing timber, a process that includes planting, maintaining and harvesting trees within set timeframes.
Concerns have been raised about the conversion of sheep and beef farms to forestry. Photo / Gerard O'Brien
According to Land Information New Zealand, 31 applications were approved last year, covering more than 26,000 hectares - a dramatic increase in recent years.
The Government changed the rules for overseas investments in forestry last year, with a stricter “benefit to New Zealand test” meaning benefits must be “significantly higher than the current state”.
While they can earn carbon credits, investments are also measured against factors such as how it benefits the economy and natural environment, plus gives decision-makers discretion to consider factors including the land’s environmental features and how productive it is.
