Farming leader through turbulent 80s
Tfarming leader b April 18, 1940 d March 26, 2022
he recent death of Rob McLagan, aged 81, marks the passing of one of the greatest contributors to the agriculture sector in this country’s history. He was at the forefront of the controversial changes to strip subsidies out of farming and manufacturing sectors in the 1980s and to have an economy that bore some vague resemblance to market realities.
McLagan grew up in Hastings and was something of a star at Hastings Boys’ High School, being head prefect, vice-captain of the first XV, amember of the first cricket XI and a very good scholar.
He attributed much of his success in later life to his mother, Jean, a real dynamo of a woman who ran a catering business in Hastings for many years.
After finishing school, he went to the University of Canterbury and did teacher training, which iswhere he met his future wife, Julie Lloyd. ‘‘It took a while to attract his attention,’’ Julie says, laughing. As a young man away from home for the first time, he was relishing being in a flat with a group of guys and doing his sport.
Still, adroitly sitting next to him at English lectures, and volunteering to take the train to the West Coast to sell capping magazines because she knew he was on board, managed to persuade him there were more things to life than cricket.
Theyweremarried in 1964 and formed a successful lifelong partnership, supporting each other in theirmany endeavours and having three children, Jann, Anthony (Andy) and Nicki.
McLagan taught for a couple of years but then got into Federated Farmers and was to spend 30 years in its service.
He was appointed general secretary (later chief executive) in 1978, at just 38, young for such a staid organisation. But they were tumultuous times.
‘‘It was a government-controlled economy with fixed interest and exchange rates, inflation was rampant and, coupled with an unrealistically high exchange rate, farmers’ returns were such that farming was becoming unprofitable,’’ says former staffer Owen Symmans.
The government’s responsewas to try to subsidise its way out of trouble, and it got to the stagewhere 50% of sheep and beef farmers’ income was coming from the public purse.
‘‘That was clearly unsustainable and farmers hated it. Led by Rob, the federation put together a comprehensive economic package which targeted inflation as the No 1 enemy,’’ Symmans recalls.
‘‘If there was to be a vibrant primary sector, the economy had to be reformed. The catch was that agriculture support, along with tariffs and other anti-market mechanisms, had to be reformed.’’
The federation got the first part of its wish, and agriculture subsidies disappeared quickly. But the larger task of reforming the economy seemed to stall, leading to the famous ‘‘Roar from the Hills’’ protest, when the rural sector came en masse to Wellington.
There was McLagan, without a protesting gene in his body, in the front row in suit and tie, along with the federation leadership. Ameeting with the prime minister resulted, the farmers let off a lot of steam and most of the economic package was eventually adopted.
McLaganwas a superb manager and made the job look so simple. While the issues of the day were complex, his style was very straightforward. He had an innate integrity that never wavered.
He had great judgment, was calm and good-tempered, loved a laugh and really wanted staff to do well, not just for the sake of the organisation but for their own development. He was a strategic thinker in the days when most people struggled to spell the word, and was never autocratic.
‘‘All the staff appreciated Rob’s leadership, intelligence and inclusiveness and just wanted to work with a great guy, and you always workedwith Rob rather than for him,’’ recalls Symmans.
McLagan was equally at home and respected in the corridors of power inWellington and in addressing angry farmers in some cold draughty hall in the back of beyond at a time when inflation and interest rates were soaring towards 20% and farmers seemed to be the only ones being stripped of their subsidies.
He had a remarkable talent for never making enemies and, when people criticised his policies, it never became personal, perhaps because he was so likeable and respectful.
He also made his mark on the international stage. Former federation president Owen Jennings recalls attending the Gatt Uruguay round of trade talks in Brussels in 1990, when the issue of farming subsidieswas critical.
‘‘There were 3000 international journalists present and for several days there was nothing to report as the talks were held in secret. Rob saw an opportunity to make an impression – he arranged within a few hours for a video to be made, showing how farmers and the rural community had benefited after subsidieswere removed. The videowas flown to Brussels and shown to groups of more than 1000 journalists.
‘‘Wewere crowded with demands for interviews from many countries. The main advantage was the rural journalistswere equipped to ask the right questions of their leaders and knew the old excuses no longer held water.’’
McLagan left the federation in 1993 and went on to the top positions in the International Business Council and the Forest Owners Association.
On retirement, he supported Julie’s successful venture in turning their new home at Pāuatahanui Inlet, near Porirua, into awedding and hospitality venue.
He had become an accomplished photographer, which came in handy when pictureswere called for, and he cheerfully labelled himself Julie’s executive assistant.
Son Andy remembers him as a practical man, and that ‘‘to call him handywith a hammerwas an understatement’’.
When they moved to their lifestyle block at Pāuatahanui, McLagan enjoyed a mini construction boom as there was limitless scope for his talents. Especially when they got into goats. He builtmilking sheds, shearing sheds, tack rooms and stables for the horses, rock walls, and always had a project on the go. He was also a keen fencer. It was no reflection on his fencing prowesswhen a goat escaped and ended up dead in the water well. It was not discovered until a few weeks later.
‘‘Wewere coming out of the shower smelling considerably worse thanwhen we went in, brushing your teeth added to the furry feeling and was not for the fainthearted, and we had awhole lot more syrup in our Sodastream,’’ recalls Andy.
Granddaughter Emma, speaking on behalf of the six granddaughters at the funeral, recalls howMcLagan discovered TikTok and really got into dancing in his 60-second music video.
‘‘We loved the way Poppa was happy to be goofy with us. He would clown around and pull the wool over our eyes and happily be the butt of our jokes.’’
Symmans sums up his contribution succinctly. ‘‘Rob was an unsung hero and made a far greater contribution than anyone appreciated at the time. He provided the vision and the glue, and he left agriculture and Federated Farmers in amuch stronger place than when he first came into the job in 1978.’’