News that the government has shifted funding for local road maintenance back up a gear is heartening for rural families dismayed by potholed access and dilapidated bridges, Federated Farmers says. “What we need now is for district councils all over New Zealand to dedicate a significant portion of this increased funding to dealing with the […]
government
Suppliers need a fairer deal
With the Commerce Commission’s market study into the retail grocery sector drawing to its conclusion, Federated Farmers is calling for a fairer deal for suppliers. As a representative of food producers (and consumers), Federated Farmers is keen to ensure that the retail grocery sector is competitive. It’s concerning but perhaps not surprising that the Commission […]
She’ll be right message from Government not good enough
“She’ll be right” is the message from the Government when it comes to insurance liability of trucks during Level 4 lockdown, says Road Transport Forum (RTF) chief executive Nick Leggett. “That message was reiterated at the Transport and Infrastructure Select Committee today, but it is not good enough for operators who have trucks that could […]
Feds’ worst fears realised on drinking water reforms
Federated Farmers is profoundly disappointed to see the Water Services Bill reported back to the Parliament with the definition of a “water supplier” unchanged. “The government has now signed itself up for the enormous task of tracking down every single source of drinking water in the land and making them belong to a register if […]
Feds says we’ll need more people, more money to take on climate challenges
Federated Farmers believes the final Climate Change Commission report released today will need to be backed up with significant investment in improving access to science and technology on farm, and the people needed to operate it. Back in February Feds was relatively upbeat about the report and the challenges it posed for New Zealanders, and […]
Retention and fun two ingredients as we battle staff shortages
By Chris Lewis, Federated Farmers national board member I’ve been talking to a lot of Feds members lately about why we need migrants on our farms. It’s no different to the conversations I’ve had with builders, tilers, machinery operators … and the list could go on longer than the length of this article. With continued […]
#Bringthemhome
It’s time for a good old-fashioned letter writing campaign. I am not a psychologist or a therapist, but my skills at helping others when they are at near breaking-point have been getting a good work out lately. I take a call every day from someone who is desperately trying to figure out how they can […]
Economic Week – May 14
Budget 2021. Next Thursday Finance Minister Grant Robertson will deliver his fourth Budget, and his first unencumbered by coalition politics and horse trading. What can we expect? This will be a Labour Budget. We can expect more spending on traditional Labour priorities like health, education, and welfare. There will be a focus on things like […]
Water Services Bill puts ratepayers on the hook for failing private supplies
Media Release by LGNZ Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) has today presented to the Health Select Committee on the Water Services Bill, raising serious concerns about a flood of costs for ratepayers if councils are forced to take over failing private water supplies. Presenting to the Committee, LGNZ President Stuart Crosby said that while the […]
GDT surges, commodities up, exports down
by Nick Clark, Federated Farmers Manager General Policy GDT surges Dairy prices leapt at this week’s Global Dairy Trade auction, up a whopping 15.0% at this week’s auction. Whole milk powder, by far the biggest commodity by volume, led the way in jumping 21.0% compared to a fortnight ago. Almost all the other commodities also […]