I had intended to use this month’s column to look back at the three years which have passed since the farmer protests in Morrinsville and determine if a Labour/New Zealand First/Greens Government was as scary as predicted.
Events overtook me and clearly, since Labour won the party vote in all but four electorates, it wasn’t that scary at all.
At the last election farming issues were front and centre in a highly divisive campaign that left farmers feeling kicked around like the proverbial political football. At the heart of this division was the proposed water levy, a proposal that didn’t even make it past coalition negotiations, which generated a lot of heat while distracting from the real message David Parker was trying to push; freshwater reform.
This election, in the wake of plummeting tax receipts and a higher than normal reliance on income from agricultural exports, every single political party was courting the farming vote. Even the Greens, whose policies make most farmers roll their eyes, were offering large amounts of money to the rural sector in order to ease the pain of adjusting to a world seen through Green eyes.
The Government didn’t get a free ride on these issues, they’ve had a very high profile in the media both nationally and locally, so how much damage did it cause them? The answer would be none.
Traditional and primarily rural National party strongholds like Canterbury, Waikato, Southland and Taranaki are no longer strongholds with Labour either winning the electorate vote or dramatically reducing National’s majority.
I and many others thought the oil and gas ban and potential loss of high paying jobs in Taranaki would translate into a loss of support for Labour, instead Labour were rewarded with both the party and electorate vote in New Plymouth.
The same can be said for the National Policy Statement on Freshwater, which contains arbitrary and in some cases unworkable rules around planting and grazing for Southland, yet that criticism had no effect and Labour also won the party vote there.
On the flipside, National’s inability to articulate a clear alternative vision combined with infighting, leaking and frequent leadership changes caused them immense damage. Todd Muller and Nikki Kaye staged a bloody coup to oust Simon Bridges, the likes of which hasn’t been seen in New Zealand politics since Jenny Shipley rolled Jim Bolger in 1997. National didn’t win the following election that time either.
Obviously not all farmers gave Labour their vote, and some who did voted in the hope Labour would be in a position to govern without the Greens, but the fact remains Labour have been given an overwhelming mandate to move forward with their key policies. Jacinda Ardern made it very clear in her speech that she will seek consensus for “the benefit of all New Zealanders” and throughout the campaign Labour have announced incredibly centrist policies.
I’ve been accused on social media of living the good life and being able to take it easy because I farm on the Canterbury Plains rather than in Southland where the perceived goal is to eradicate farming. The truth is we’ve been operating under strict rules implemented by ECan that predate the current Government; renewed consents to farm, farm environment plans, lowering nitrogen caps and increased reporting requirements all came in under a National Government. The changes that were coming to all New Zealand farmers have been well signalled.
I’ve heard farming leaders being interviewed since the election and they all seem shell-shocked, some expressing hope that Labour will govern alone and others wishing that farmers will finally be “given a break”.
The answer I want our leaders to give in these interviews is a simple and clear one; the election results are interesting but they don’t change our core goal, to work constructively with the Government of the day to the benefit of all farmers and New Zealand.
Democracy spoke, deal with it.
No comments:
Post a Comment