Federated Farmers water team ‘Reclaiming choice’

15 June 2015

Federated Farmers water team ‘Reclaiming choice’

Federated Farmers has launched its very own ‘Water Team’ in response to the growing challenges farmers face in securing a profitable and sustainable future. The Federation hopes to empower the provinces to negotiate their need for the natural resource which is threatened by the lack of choices and missed opportunities through ‘false dichotomies’.

Dr William Rolleston, Federated Farmers President, says “When we deny ourselves choices of how much risk we want to take we are limiting ourselves and our ability to move forward. Our challenge is to ensure regulators, politicians and the judiciary make decisions which are in line with the science, which reflect the uncertainty of the time but are not paralysed by it.

“That’s why Federated Farmers has been developing its very own specialist water team as well as science and innovation teams to help develop our policies and inform public debate.”

“Science and technology gives us the freedom that fear and misinformation don’t. Something Treasury Secretary, Gabriel Makhlouf, aptly pointed out in his speech at Fieldays, that when it comes to decisions about our natural resources New Zealand has been denied choices by the systems we have created; choices that with more informed public debate could deliver us a better system that enables our country to thrive and prosper for generations to come.”

“We wholeheartedly agree and that’s why we have created our specialist teams to provide robust and fit for purpose information for our farmers to not only be involved in the public debate but be effective in the decision making process.”

“We all share that responsibility of basing decisions off quality information and science. Without it fear about food and environmental safety can be whipped up limiting our social licence to operate and the choices we have to take genuinely beneficial action. The risk with fear is that it morphs into ethics and we are left with a religious view where the science of safety no longer matters.”

“Mr Makhlouf gave a prime example of this when he said, its nonsense to believe there is a supposed ‘choice’ between sustainability and prosperity. We don’t have to pick one or the other.”

“ln fact Mr Makhlouf’s comments paralleled many of my comments I made in my speech at Fieldays, that if we get this wrong then the outrage factor will trump science and translate into regulation, even legislation – the formal curtailment of our social licence to operate. Productivity and sustainability are not mutually exclusive”

“You just have to look at the way productivity and sustainability are converging in ways not seen before, especially when it comes to water.” Mr Makhlouf said.

Shining examples of this were highlighted by Mr Makhlouf as irrigation infrastructure, which is helping to alleviate further pressure on struggling river and stream ecosystems. Such as the Opuha Dam, Eiffelton Scheme, and eventually the Central Plains Water scheme which will be able to do the same, relieving climatic and allocation pressures on groundwater and lowland streams.

Dr Rolleston added “Mr Makhlouf also points out that biotechnology, including genetic modification have the potential to improve productivity and sustainability, such as the high yielding GM eucalyptus trees, which have just been approved in Brazil.”

“Mr Makhlouf’s comments on genetic modification reiterate that it is time we had an open and science based debate on this issue. Our laws in this area, which discriminate on technology rather than on risk are no longer fit for purpose and are denying New Zealand farmers the choice they would otherwise have.”

“Fundamentally, it’s about ensuring our system gives us the freedom to make the choices we actually want.”

“New Zealand could learn a lot from Norway, which has managed to prosper from its natural resources in a sustainable way by simplifying their regulatory procedures and unburdening their population of administrative procedures and blanket enforcement.”

“When it comes to the public debate we all need to understand that the environmental effects of the last hundred years cannot simply be reversed in half a generation. We need to empower our country to face the future with the information and science to make informed decisions and provide us with choices rather than being constrained by fear.”

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