Is the Government's He Waka Eke Noa agricultural emissions legislation on its last legs?
Climate Change Minister James Shaw says farmers need certainty when it comes to agricultural emissions pricing, but he hasnt provided any when asked whether the Governments He Waka Eke Noa scheme would be passed in Parliament in its current form before the election. Earlier this week farmer advocacy group Groundswell NZ claimed the controversial farming tax was on its last legs after the National Party withdrew its support of it. On Friday, Shaw said there have been calls to delay pricing, so we are talking to the sector about our options. Nothing has been ruled out and there is still the ETS backstop available to us. He said it was no time for back tracking and farmers need certainty. READ MORE: * Govt's refusal to rule out fertiliser tax met with criticism * Rumours grow after farming Minister tackles fertiliser tax * 'No Farmers, no bread and butter': Groundswell NZ launches new campaign We have said we wont walk away from emissions being priced, and I have no intention of doing so. It is the right thing to do. There is a clear public expectation for farmers to pay for their emissions and farmers want to pay for their emissions, with a variety of views within the sector about how to do this. Agriculture Minister Damien OConnor said the Government had always been clear that legislation would not be passed until after the election, and it was continuing to work with the sector on the He Waka Eke Noa proposal. A majority of farmers prefer a farm level pricing system rather than enter the ETS and we committed to work with them to establish that alternative. That work continues to progress, he said. Last week OConnor ruled out introducing a fertiliser tax in place of HWEN. Groundswell NZ leader Bryce McKenzie said the Government needed to pull the pin on the He Waka Eke Noa legislation and go back to the drawing board with farmers. As it stands at the moment He Waka Eke Noa is an absolute dogs breakfast, and it wont work, and thats the clarity they need to provide to farmers, he said. To say farmers arent paying for their emissions at the moment is totally wrong. They are paying taxes every time they fill the tank on the vehicles they need to run their farming businesses, like tractors, and because they live rurally they travel more than people in the cities. More than 100,000 people signed a Groundswell NZ petition calling on the Government to stop the emissions tax on food producers, which was presented to the Government in November. Groundswell NZ co-founder Laurie Paterson said a tax on the worlds most efficient farmers was counterproductive to food security, pricing, and would drive emissions offshore and in greater volume for no climate gain. Common sense, driven by Groundswell NZ, seems to be finally permeating the He Waka Eke Noa space. [We] welcome Nationals announcement that they are withdrawing support from it and ACTs confirmation that they too remain opposed to it. In an election year, this firmly puts the ball in Labours court to decide if they will finally listen to farmers as well or if theyll plough on ahead with unworkable regulations and taxing food producers. Labour has planned to charge farms for their greenhouse gas emissions from 2025, with the money recycled to reward agribusinesses introducing carbon-cutting tech and trees. This would take the form of levies on methane and nitrous oxide.