Rural New Zealand is struggling with falling commodity prices and rising costs on the farm and in the processing industry. Many districts are fighting to retain essential services. Red tape and bureaucracy is strangling the productive sector. Rural families feel they have been taken for granted by the main political parties for too long. The whole industry needs a new vision and an injection of enthusiasm and commitment from government. ACT recognises and supports those who produce the nation's wealth and shares the down-to-earth principles of rewarding hard work, enterprise and thrift.

ACT's goals

· To restore the profitability of rural New Zealand and to strengthen the viability of rural communities and businesses by pursuing policies which support economic growth and minimise waste and unnecessary expense

· To improve the economic climate for rural businesses by reducing compliance costs, red tape and bureaucracy and improving the quality of state expenditure

· To lower the costs of complying with the Resource Management Act and other regulatory regimes

ACT believes

· People within rural communities can make better decisions about their lives than politicians and bureaucrats

· We must complete the move to free trade because our future is as a trading nation

· The Resource Management Act is proving unwieldy and costly to implement. Compliance with the RMA has become a bureaucratic nightmare and the process is too costly and uncertain

· In its pursuit of the "knowledge economy" government should not forget that the rural sector plays a significant role in our economy

· Governments should protect property rights, not destroy them

ACT will

· Reform the Resource Management Act and review the regulations that Federated Farmers estimate cost each farmer thousands of dollars a year

· Introduce a Regulatory Responsibility Act, to address the issue of compensation when property rights are eroded by regulations

· Provide farmers with choice by eliminating the monopoly status of the producer boards

· Reduce the rates burden on rural residents by making certain that councils are much more focused on their core functions

ENDS

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