I was most impressed to read in Farmers Weekly about Federated Farmers hosting a group of Labour politicians for two days in Hamilton. They reported that the meeting was “worthwhile”, which it certainly will be. That Labour’s primary industries spokesperson, Jo Luxton, went on social media in support of the Feds initiative proved how worthwhile it was.
It was a big call from Federated Farmers as I can remember a previous Labour minister of agriculture, Jim Sutton, labelling the organisation “the National Party in gumboots”. At the time it was an apt description.
That the levy organisations, Groundswell, Rural Women and others were involved is also positive.
In the last government the Labour MPs I was aware of with a detailed knowledge of the intricacies of the primary sector were Damien O’Connor, obviously, and Luxton and Kieran McAnulty. That was a small voice in a large caucus.
Now, thanks to the Feds, there will be many more Labour MPs understanding our challenges. As importantly, the MPs will know who to go to for honest opinions of rural issues.
We had a pile of ill-thought-out legislation and regulation from the previous government that foisted massive costs on the primary sector for little practical benefit.
My view is that happened as the result of a caucus largely ignorant of the intricacies of farming combined with an over-zealous and blissfully ignorant bureaucracy, certainly as far as the Ministry for the Environment was concerned.
In future, thanks to Federated Farmers, hopefully that won’t happen.
I was also pleased to receive a statement from Climate Change Minister Simon Watts, who is forming a cross-party committee to develop an “enduring framework” for climate change adaptation.
I certainly support his cross-party inquiry. Climate change is here and we’re going to have to adapt. Having all political parties agreeing on one direction means that the job will be done properly. There is unlikely to be political posturing and any change in government should not affect the plan.
It will be the powerful Finance and Expenditure Committee that will be tasked with developing recommendations, which is appropriate in my view. It has good representation from all parties.
We should get a definitive, costed strategy from the committee.
The time frame is tight with the committee required to provide recommendations in September for incorporation into legislation that can hopefully be introduced early next year.
Watts made the point that damaging weather events will only become more severe and frequent over time and that an “enduring and long-term approach” is needed to provide people with certainty.
I agree.
The previous climate change minister, James Shaw, announced an Environment Committee inquiry some months before the election but nothing had been reported back. The committee did receive 150 submissions that Watts said would be considered. In addition he intends to call for further submissions from the public.
The risks associated with climate change are clear and present for rural New Zealand.
For example, the increased risk of drought in both the northern and eastern parts of both islands will not only limit farming as we know it but increase the risk of fires.
It will also increase the demand for fresh water.
The change to our coast will create further problems. For a start there will be many coastal areas that are uninhabitable and the residents will have to move elsewhere. I read that the previous one-in-100-year climate event on the coast could occur every year.
Internationally, climate change will also have a major effect on NZ.
The Royal Society tells me that all aspects of food security are potentially affected by climate change including food access, utilisation and price stability.
Long haul tourism is expected to decline.
Commodity prices are predicted to increase.
The key findings of the Royal Society study into climate change are that we’ll have more frequent hot extremes coupled with less frequent cold. There will also be increased extreme rainfall resulting in floods.
So we have a problem and we’re going to try to solve it in a non-partisan way, which, in my opinion, is the only enduring solution.
The Green Party is supporting the government’s move, which is positive.
Greens co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick commended Watts for progressing climate adaptation work in “a cross-party manner”.
“It is imperative we build enduring and long-lasting policies that outlast any one government,” she said.
Climate change is and will be a major issue for NZ both now and far into the future. It has been estimated that 440,000 sheds and dwellings are in flood risk areas with a replacement value of $218 billion.
The issue must be addressed and developing a cross-party solution is, in my view, by far the best way of moving forward.
Watts is to be commended for his initiative, which I only hope can move into other areas that are important for our future.
