Rural communities and consumers struggling with the cost-of-life crisis will be outraged at yesterday’s announcement by the Minister for Agriculture Damian O’Connor, that this government will proceed with their deeply flawed farming tax.
Having lost the argument on the science, the Minister is now clutching at straws by claiming our agricultural industry risks losing market access if they don’t price their emissions. We believe this is false and deserves further scrutiny.
Groundswell NZ would like to challenge Minister Damian O’Connor to explain to kiwi farmers where these global consumers will buy their produce if not from the most emissions efficient producers in the world? Any food company wanting to lower their scope 3 emissions should be buying more New Zealand farm produce, not less.
Farmers are tired of the growing list of politicised excuses being wheeled out to justify this costly emissions pricing scheme. The Minister needs to front up to farmers and tell them the truth, He Waka Eke Noa has been created for no other reason than for the Government to meet its own arbitrary emission reduction targets that are not based on sound science.
The minister continues to mislead the public by not disclosing the fact that New Zealand farmers already pay an emissions levy and have done so since 2004 through an agreement with his own party.
With farm gate returns steadily dropping, the last thing farmers need is more of their money wasted on bureaucracy and emissions research that has yet to deliver any market-ready mitigations. Over $200 million has already been spent trying to find a silver bullet solution which has proved ineffective for our pasture-based systems.
Groundswell NZ applauds the outright rejection of this latest Government emissions pricing proposal by Federated Farmers and asks other industry groups and food processors to back their farmers by taking a similar stand.
We understand the need to remain at the forefront of emissions efficiency to ensure our products remain attractive to our consumers, but a blanket farming tax will hurt that objective.
Source: Supplied Groundswell NZ Statement