“Federated Farmers sounded the alarm on the Government’s runaway spending at the Finance and Expenditure Committee this morning”, according to ACT Leader and Committee Member David Seymour.
“Submitting on the Government’s Budget Policy Statement, Federated Farmers pointed out that the Government inherited surpluses and, despite strong economic conditions to date, has turned them into deficits.
“Federated Farmers called for tax relief, so that people could keep more of their own money. It urged the Government to practice fiscal constraint and focus on the competitiveness of the economy.
“Under questioning from the Committee, Federated Farmers submitted that farmer sentiment according to its surveys, was up marginally at the beginning of this year, but would likely be down in the first six weeks of the year thanks to coronavirus and dry weather. ‘Farmers feel under the pump for a number of reasons’, said General Policy Manager Nick Clark.
“Under further questioning, Federated Farmers said that infrastructure was a priority, and the RMA was making it difficult to build infrastructure even when funding was available.
“The message from the farming community to Parliament this morning was crystal clear,” says Seymour, “before the Government talks about improving our ‘wellbeing’, it needs to stop getting in the way of people who are trying to generate the wealth necessary for wellbeing.”