The Government has announced the worst assault on New Zealand’s farmers and rural communities in a generation

Laurie, Melanie, and I have spent the day working through the details with our expert advisers. I wish I could tell you it’s not as bad as we’d feared, but as we get to grips with the details, I’m sad to say it is a disaster. There is no option but to fight the Government. I’m asking all of our supporters to step up now so we can mount the campaign that is needed to stop them.

In short, the Government wants to introduce an emissions tax that will, on the Government’s own numbers, rip out 20% of the Sheep & Beef sector’s production alone, along with immense harm elsewhere.

To be clear, this is really, really bad
We had heard the Government was preparing to reject the He Waka Eke Noa (HWEN) proposal for another emissions pricing scheme and now they’ve finally come out with their plan to see farms across the country covered in pine trees.

Ardern, Shaw and O’Connor have shown they are more interested in being moral crusaders on the international stage. They think making New Zealand the first country in the world to tax farmers for methane is good “optics” and that is more important than cost-effective solutions. The Government is creating a huge, totally unnecessary bureaucracy, putting farmers under even more regulatory and time wasting pressure and stress, to achieve very little.

Remember, New Zealand agriculture contributes less than ¼ of 1 percent of global emissions. And this whole scheme will only reduce total emissions by about 1 megatonne of carbon – when China emitted over 11,000 megatonnes in 2020 alone – at the cost of our livelihoods, communities, and mental health.

And will export our agriculture to far less efficient producers overseas
The Government’s own document acknowledges that taxing our farmers will mean a reduction in food production (page 65) which will be picked up by overseas countries with less sustainable farm systems than New Zealand, leading to emissions leakage and an increase in Global Warming (page 62). How is that good for Climate Change?!

The document also states that taxing our farmers will reduce New Zealand’s export income (page 59), reduce farmers income (page 60), and negatively impact on rural support industries and rural communities (page 66).

In short, they know their proposal will drive farmers out of business and off the land. But they want to do it anyway.

Not to mention the increase in the cost of food we will all face (page 65).

It’s time for action, we have passed the point of wasting more precious time on submissions or chit chat!

Groundswell NZ is gearing up for the fight of our lives against a Farming Tax that would see our communities ripped apart. But we can only stop the Government if we have your support.

Unlike Beef+Lamb, Dairy NZ, and the groups who joined arms with James Shaw to try to bring in the HWEN Farming Tax, we don’t take a cent from the Government or enjoy guaranteed income through compulsory levies. We are 100% relying on your support.