The National Party is telling farmers they will have access to genetic technology if the party wins the October 14 election.
There would also be eased rules on water storage but more protections against the spread of forestry.
These are among a series of promises made to the rural sector by the National Party in its latest election announcement.
“National backs our farmers,” says the party leader Christopher Luxon.
“This plan puts the primary sector at the heart of New Zealand’s economic recovery. National will cut red tape and give farmers the tools they need to increase production while reducing emissions for the benefit of all of us.”
One big promise is that farmers will be able to establish water storage systems on their farms without needing to get resource consent.
National says New Zealand has abundant freshwater resources, but captures less than 10% of the water flowing across the land.
It says red tape is making water storage schemes almost impossible to build – getting resource consent can take years and cost millions of dollars – and climate change will aggravate the impact of these difficulties.
But storing water is one thing, taking it is another.
Taking water from a river or some other source would still need consent, as would schemes that affect wetlands or Significant Natural Areas (SNAs). But applications for consent here would have to be dealt with inside two years and the consents granted would last for 30 years, up from 10.
National also wants a sinking lid on regulations, so that for every one new regulation that central or local government wants to introduce on the rural sector, two existing rules would have to be abolished.
The financial costs imposed by any new rules would also have to be calculated, and there would be a ban on any new rule that duplicates existing rules.
The party also says stock exclusion regulations would be changed to make them more “practical”, and the need for resource consents for winter grazing would be deferred until freshwater farm plans are in place.
Live cattle exports back again
The party would restart the exports of live cattle but with strict controls.
The National Party would also make fruit and vegetable production a permitted activity so that growers would not need a resource consent to produce more food.
However, to protect environmental limits, growers in sub-catchments where nutrients are over-allocated for nitrogen would need a consent to expand production, though not to maintain existing production.
National would also streamline approvals under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 for pesticides, fertilisers and other chemicals which are used in horticulture. And the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) would be scrutinised to increase efficiency and to reduce approval times.
National also says it would double the number of workers allowed under the Regional Seasonal Employers (RSE) scheme to 38,000 per year over five years.
It would investigate multi-year visas for RSE workers who have worked one season prior to applying for the multi-year visa.
End to effective ban on gene editing & genetic modification
The party also wants to end the effective ban on gene editing (GE) and genetic modification (GM) in New Zealand. It also wants to create a dedicated biotech regulator in the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment to ensure safe and ethical use of gene technologies and other biotech methods.
“Gene technologies including gene editing, which allows precise changes within individual genes, and genetic modification, which adds or removes DNA from the genome, are being used around the world to help solve health, environmental and economic challenges,” National says.
“National will back the primary sector to find solutions to lower agricultural emissions by allowing researchers and farmers to access cutting edge biotechnologies.”
National says New Zealand farmers are global leaders in the production of high-quality food and fibre, and are carbon-efficient by international standards.
But to keep this advantage, they must have access to “cutting edge’ technology such as GE and GM.
National also pledged to keep farmers out of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) and to have on-farm emissions assessments in place by 2024. All on-farm sequestrations such as patches of native bush would be recognised on a robust, scientific basis.
Whole-farm conversions into forestry for entry into the ETS would be banned, as would foreign-backed conversions of farmland into carbon farming.
Other aspects of National’s rural programme have been announced already, such as pushing for better foreign trade and improving after-tax incomes.
*You can see all the major political parties' policies here.
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