Ag Minister David Carter is ranked tenth in the Cabinet, but he expects to have more influence than his predecessor, who was third. "We've got a caucus and a cabinet that have a close association with agriculture," he says. "A quarter of the caucus are actively or have been actively involved with farming or represent strong rural electorates. I don't think there's an issue where there will not be a discussion about how it will affect rural communities,"writes Business day Mr Anderton promised farmers an emissions trading scheme would not apply to them if a scientific solution to their stock methane problem could not be found. "But that's not the law he voted for," Mr Carter says. "He voted for a law that absolutely sets in concrete financial implications for agriculture." Carter says he can "absolutely" give the same assurance Mr Anderton gave. Even though the issue of how the country responds to its Kyoto Protocol commitments is to be reviewed by a select committee, he says farming's security is a bottom line that will not be changed.
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