Contribution from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment Until recently, Aotearoa New Zealand was one of the few countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) which did not have a consistent regulatory dam safety framework. In May 2022, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) announced the new Building (Dam […]
Infrastructure
High Court backs Wairoa council’s bold move on forestry rates
By Debbie Bidlake, Federated Farmers Senior Policy Advisor Wairoa has boldly gone where few councils have gone before – never mind small, resource poor ones. It has introduced a x 4 forestry differential on the general rate to fund the impacts of afforestation on the community and the roading network, rather than using a targeted […]
Andrew wraps the week
No time to watch? listen here! https://bit.ly/3N6Z5cQ Andrew wraps the week that was, #FMG Winter, powercuts, 3 Waters and of course HWEN.
Feds relieved by common sense rural water recommendations
Federated Farmers sees positives in the report released yesterday by the Rural Supplies Technical Working Group on water services, in particular rejection of inflexible ‘one size fits all’ approaches to rural supplies. “Many of the findings raised by the group look sound,” president Andrew Hoggard said. “The report appears to be a tiny sliver of […]
Connectivity register would boost progress on sluggish speeds and ‘lost 3 percent’
The Tech Users Association of New Zealand has repeated its call for a 10-year strategic, multilateral plan for improving rural connectivity in NZ. In an on-line briefing to the NZ Guild of Agricultural Journalists and Communicators, TUANZ chief executive Craig Young said the end goal should be to ensure that the rural experience is at […]
Pulling out the stops on proposed drinking water rules
By Nigel Billings, Federated Farmers Senior Policy Advisor When the Water Services Bill first appeared in early 2021 alarm bells rang loudly at Federated Farmers. The Bill proposed that all suppliers of drinking water to domestic dwellings, excepting those that just supply themselves, would in future be classified and their water supply regulated. Suppliers would […]
Plan ahead to defuse panic late at night
A farmer and his mate go out hunting out in the back blocks where there’s no cellphone reception. Time slips away and late in the day they shoot a deer down in a gully. By the time they get it out, it’s dark. Back at the farm’s homestead, the farmer’s wife is fretting. He’s not […]
Thumbs up from Feds on rural broadband capacity upgrade
The announcement of a big push to upgrade capacity on congested rural broadband networks gets a big thumbs up from Federated Farmers. “Every year Feds surveys members on broadband and cellphone coverage in rural areas, to gather data on the worst blackspots and inform our advocacy to government,” Federated Farmers NZ President and telecommunications spokesperson […]
Government has to release its grip on testing
Blog written by Nick Leggett, CEO, Ia Ara Aotearoa -Transporting New Zealand As the Omicron numbers start to move to more than 1,000 a day, the testing system in New Zealand is showing the strain. Transporting New Zealand is well aware of the frustration transport operators are feeling when it comes to accessing rapid antigen […]
West Coast and Top of South flooding, slips classified as adverse event
Rural Communities Minister Damien O’Connor has classified the severe weather that’s affected the West Coast and Top of the South as a medium-scale adverse event, unlocking Government support for farmers and growers. “We’re making $200,000 available for the local Rural Support Trusts and Mayoral Relief Funds to call on to help farmers and growers recover, with the majority on support efforts for the West Coast,” Damien said. “The Ministry for Primary Industries will work closely […]