Red meat sector releases political manifesto and Red Meat Report

// Industry

New Zealand’s red meat sector has launched a list of policy demands for political parties to act on as the country prepares to head into a General Election year.

image of Sam and Andrew

We know farmers are feeling overwhelmed by the wave of regulatory reform over the past 12 months. Rising input prices and softening global market conditions are compounding this challenging situation.

It’s now more important than ever that the Government ensures the right policies, regulations and rules are in place so farmers can continue to lift productivity, foster innovation and produce world-class, sustainable and premium food.

New Zealand’s red meat sector has launched a list of policy demands for political parties to act on as the country prepares to head into a General Election year.

Beef + Lamb New Zealand and the Meat Industry Association’s summary manifesto spans five key areas:

  • climate and environment policy
  • workforce and industrial relations
  • trade
  • biosecurity
  • innovation, research and development

The manifesto has been sent to every Member of Parliament and relevant officials.

The key policy demands from B+LNZ and MIA include:

  • pause the Indigenous Biodiversity National Policy Statement and RMA reforms
  • introduce urgent measures to curb the sale of sheep and beef farms into carbon farms and commit to fix this issue properly before any price on agricultural emissions is introduced
  • back a workable and equitable agricultural emissions pricing framework, which incorporates a cautious approach to pricing and ensures all genuine sequestration on farms is recognised (noting we will not accept a system which disproportionately affects sheep and beef farmers)
  • review and amend the unfairly high methane targets
  • continue support for processors to transition away from coal to renewable energy
  • replace the low slope map for stock exclusion with a more effective general rule
  • review the Fair Pay Agreement legislation
  • ensure immigration settings help address genuine industry labour shortages where they can’t be filled domestically.

B+LNZ and MIA will be using this manifesto as the basis for discussions with the current Government and opposition parties as they develop their policy positions for the next election.

A full sector manifesto will be launched next year. The summary manifesto can be viewed below.

Meanwhile, the red meat sector has also outlined key developments and achievements over the past six months in the latest edition of the Red Meat Report. The report is available to read at here.