Nats pledge less farm regulations

National would roll back several regulations introduced by the current Government on farming if elected, including the possible introduction of agriculture into the Emissions Trading Scheme in 2022. It also intends to introduce a fast-tracked primary sector visa for skill shortages and is keen to allow seasonal workers back into the country. The party said the changes would restore ‘‘confidence and pride’’ in the sector. Leader Judith Collins and agriculture spokesman David Bennett promised earlier in the campaign that the Government’s water quality regulations would be ‘‘gone by lunchtime’’. They later amended this position, saying the regulations would be ‘‘reviewed or repealed’’. The party is also taking aim at regulations to reduce agricultural methane emissions. The Government has passed a law that puts agricultural emissions into the ETS in 2025 if another pricing mechanism is not worked out beforehand, or at 2022 if not enough progress has been made on the alternative pricing mechanism. National would scrap that 2022 review.