Latest news with #FederatedFarmersFederatedFarmers
Scoop
a day ago
- Business
- Scoop
Federated Farmers Launches KiwiSaver Petition
Press Release – Federated Farmers Federated Farmers has launched this petition: to hold the Government accountable and send a clear message that its time to follow through on their promise. Federated Farmers has launched a nationwide petition calling on the Government to urgently change the KiwiSaver rules to help young farmers get their foot on the ladder. 'Accessing your KiwiSaver to buy your first farm, flock, herd or home has been an incredibly hot topic for farmers,' Federated Farmers dairy chair Richard McIntyre says. 'On the campaign trail of the 2023 election, Todd McClay stood up in front of young farmers in Morrinsville and made a promise that he would make it happen. 'I'm sure he had the best of intentions, but unfortunately farmers have been bitterly disappointed by the lack of action from the Government on the issue to date. 'That's why Federated Farmers has launched this petition: to hold the Government accountable and send a clear message that it's time to follow through on their promise.' The petition's launch has been timed to coincide with the National Fieldays, where thousands of farmers, industry leaders and politicians will gather at Mystery Creek. 'Politicians are always out in force at Fieldays, rubbing shoulders with farmers, and we really wanted to make sure KiwiSaver issues were a topic of conversation,' McIntyre says. 'Allowing young farmers to access their KiwiSaver to buy their first herd, home, farm or flock is the number one thing the Government could do to help our next generation of farmers. 'It would shave years of hard work and saving off their progression through the industry, and really turbocharge their farming careers. 'Why is the Government okay with that money being managed by stockbrokers and invested in Fortune 500 companies, but not by a farmer buying a herd to go sharemilking?' McIntyre says he can't see any reason the Government wouldn't throw their full support behind making this policy change happen. 'A lot of young urban people enter KiwiSaver because it's a good way to build a deposit for their first house. They're saving for a home early on – not for their retirement. 'We're asking for young farmers to have the same opportunity – a one-off withdrawal early in their careers to help them get ahead by purchasing their first home, farm, herd, or flock.' New Zealanders are encouraged to sign the petition online at or at Federated Farmers' Fieldays site D70.
Scoop
6 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
Save Our Sheep Billboards Hit Wellington
Wednesday, 4 June 2025, 1:43 pm Press Release: Federated Farmers Federated Farmers have taken the fight for the future of New Zealand sheep farming to the streets of Wellington, with bold digital billboards visible directly from Ministers' Beehive offices. The message to politicians is clear and concise: sheep are not the problem - stop planting productive farmland in pine trees for carbon credits. Save our sheep billboard (Photo/Supplied) "We wanted this campaign to be bold and directly in politicians' faces. That's the only way we're going to get their attention," Federated Farmers meat & wool chair Toby Williams says. "Sheep farming is in crisis. We need the Government to urgently wake up to the impact poor policy is having on our farming families and rural communities. "Each year we're losing tens of thousands of hectares of productive farmland. "Where sheep and lambs once grazed there's now nothing but pine trees as far as the eye can see." Between 2017 and 2024, more than 260,000 hectares of productive sheep farming land were plastered in pine trees - never to return to pasture. In just one generation New Zealand has lost over two-thirds of our national flock, reducing from over 70 million sheep in 1982 to fewer than 25 million sheep today. "Our national flock is declining by almost a million sheep every year and the number one driver is carbon forestry," Williams says. "Farms are being converted to forestry because Government policy is screwing the scrum and making it more profitable to plant pine trees than to farm sheep. "The Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is effectively subsidising pine trees to offset fossil fuel emissions, and that's pushing farming families off the land and destroying rural communities." New Zealand is the only country in the world that allows 100% carbon offsetting through forestry, with other countries recognising the risk and putting restrictions in place. Federated Farmers is now calling on the Government to urgently review the ETS and fix the rules to either limit or stop the offsetting of fossil fuel emissions with forestry. You can sign the petition at © Scoop Media
Scoop
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Federated Farmers Welcomes Freshwater Regulations Review
Press Release – Federated Farmers Federated Farmers will be reading through the detail of todays announcement and going back to the Government with our position, on behalf of our members, in the next few weeks. Federated Farmers applauds the Government's announcements today on a comprehensive review of freshwater regulations. 'We're pleased to see all options are on the table and that consultation will be open until 27 July,' Federated Farmers freshwater spokesperson Colin Hurst says. 'The previous Government's freshwater rules were completely unworkable for farmers. In some cases, even if you converted a whole catchment to native forest, you still wouldn't have achieved the bottom lines. 'The current Government simply had to push pause on these rules – and now we're seeing steps towards more sensible national direction to local authorities.' Hurst says it's particularly welcome that the Government wants a more balanced approach to Te Mana o Te Wai. 'That concept, as pursued by the previous Government, has been unworkable and highly problematic. 'It was unclear how councils should interpret and apply what was a vague concept of protecting the mana and mauri of water under Labour's rules, and what that might mean for our farms and rural communities.' Under Te Mana o te Wai, the health and wellbeing of water is put ahead of all other considerations, including human health, and social, cultural and economic wellbeing. 'That seems wildly imbalanced. The Government's announcements today recognise such a strict hierarchy is flawed.' The consultation document says: 'Multiple objectives require councils to provide for multiple outcomes and can better reflect the interests of all water users.' 'Federated Farmers absolutely agrees with this. In fact, we believe it's worth considering whether Te Mano o te Wai is a concept that should be scrapped altogether, which is one of the options now on the table,' Hurst says. Another big question is whether it's worth making these freshwater changes right now under the current Resource Management Act (RMA), or if this should wait until the Government has reformed the RMA, with the freshwater changes to follow. 'Federated Farmers will be reading through the detail of today's announcement and going back to the Government with our position, on behalf of our members, in the next few weeks.'
