New towers being installed as part of the Government's rural broadband initiative may come with fish-hooks.
New towers being installed as part of the Government's rural broadband initiative may come with fish-hooks.
My first month as Northland president of Federated Farmers has been spent making submissions on four annual plans.
Of particular concern, is Whangarei District Council's proposed 21.1 per cent rates increase for farms with land values over $2 million. With an average rates rise of 3.6 per centfor all Whangarei ratepayers, why has the most vulnerable sector been singled out? This I find unacceptable when we all know dairy farmers face huge financial challenges at the moment.
With support from Debbie Bidlake, our senior policy adviser, Colin Hannah and me, we talked to our submission before council.
Super-fast broadband has reached Whangarei, and the cable has been carried along the power corridor on council-owned land. I believe this has worked out well for the community and Northpower.
We have a chance to see this rolled out into remote Northland, using the power corridor again.
But this is where the dilemma lies. The Electricity Act enables electricity companies to come on to private land to maintain the existing power network. For a fibre cable to be used in the same corridor, an easement or local bill would need to be put through Parliament.
There is a fine line here, between supporting and protecting farmers' property rights, and that of enabling farmers to explore and take advantage of opportunities such as faster and more reliable broadband access.
We have a busy time coming up with Northland Regional Council about to release several catchment plans and the new draft regional plan, with rules about how air, water and the coastal resources must be managed.
