Rural people the best environmentalists
I was lucky enough, until my last year of intermediate school, to grow up in rural and regional Southland.
My dad was a primary school teacher and went on to be the principal of a few schools.
To advance in his career it often meant moving the family to a new place, a couple of which were in rural Southland communities of Mimihau and Isla Bank.
Our family was warmly welcomed into these communities and we made lifelong friends. It also gave me the opportunity to spend time, which I very much enjoyed, on the farms of our friends, experiencing firsthand some of what goes into a making a living off the land.
And now in my role as an MP, I’ve been privileged to tour rural enterprises in Southland and neighbouring regions. I’m also lucky to have two ACT caucus colleagues who are farmers, Andrew Hoggard and Mark Cameron.
So, while I'm not a farmer, I've seen the hard work, commitment, and sacrifice it takes to be one.
I’m especially struck by rural people’s love of the land.
They know their property better than any bureaucrat or politician in Wellington ever will. When a farmer fences off a waterway, or plants a riparian zone, or makes way for an emergent stand of native bush, they see and hear the birdlife respond.
Farmers’ hard work, when combined with a sense of ownership of the land, can translate to a deep pride in their roles as protectors and custodians.
But when farmers’ property rights are eroded, that sense of ownership is threatened – along with the incentive to proactively pursue environmental goals.
So ACT, as part of the Government, is doing a few things to restore property rights to rural New Zealand and reduce compliance costs on farmers so they can focus on their important work.
As associate environment minister, Andrew Hoggard is ceasing the rollout of Labour’s Significant Natural Areas regime, which effectively confiscates the right of farmers to use large tracts of their own land. He’s also improving Farm Environment Plans so they are more costeffective and pragmatic for farmers.
And in the longer term, ACT MP Simon Court is working with the minister for Resource Management Act reform to replace the act entirely with new environmental laws centred around property rights.
Court has also championed allowing farmers to offset sequestration against their on-farm emissions, ensuring they are properly credited for work like treeplanting. This initiative is now enshrined in ACT’s coalition agreement with National.
We also secured a commitment for an independent review of methane targets and the associated science to ensure farmers aren’t ever unfairly taxed for their on-farm emissions.
And we are replacing the 2020 National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management, with all its complex rules that failed to reflect the diverse topographies and climate of New Zealand farms.
We’re also liberalising genetic engineering laws to better facilitate scientific innovation, and we’re reversing the ban on live animal exports while ensuring the highest standards of animal welfare.
Farming is tough enough as it is, with its incredible responsibilities and seasonal stressors, even before taking into account the attitude, laws, and regulations of the last Labour government.
Farms may be out of sight from the big cities where our media and bureaucracies are based, but I’m proud to say ACT recognises rural New Zealand as the backbone of our economy.