ACT will drive down costs for farmers

“ACT will drive down the costs of farming by cutting red tape, preventing new taxes and bringing discipline to government spending,” says ACT Agriculture spokesperson Andrew Hoggard.

“A strong payout is welcome, but what matters is what’s left after paying for staff, interest, fuel, fertiliser, animal health and compliance. Rising costs can swallow the rewards of a good season.

“ACT understands farming because we have farmers in our team. We know how decisions made in Wellington flow through to bills at the kitchen table.

“We’re strengthening our plan to Make Farming Fun Again with further commitments to cut costs, protect property rights and give farmers more freedom to farm.”

ACT’s additions to the plan to drive down costs for farmers include:

• ⁠Introducing at least ten new permitted activity standards covering farm plans, vegetable growing, on-farm water storage, gravel extraction, drain maintenance, effluent management, fertiliser application, farm quarries, wetland restoration, and small-and-medium-scale solar, removing resource consent costs for activities that meet those standards.
  
  

• Guaranteeing flexible land use, so changing what you farm won’t require a resource consent where it is consistent with National Standards.
  
  

• ⁠Setting water limits using science and local realities, removing spiritual concepts like Te Mana o te Wai from the methodology.
  
  

• Requiring fair compensation when councils impose overlays such as Significant Natural Areas or Outstanding Natural Landscapes on private land.
  
  

• Committing to long-term funding to eradicate wilding pines, with DOC directed to coordinate pest control across public and private land, reducing the burden on individual farmers.

This is on top of already-announced proposals to drive down costs by:

• Keeping freshwater farm plans practical and affordable, with clear rules focused on actual environmental harm and local conditions.
  
  

• Removing unnecessary restrictions on agricultural drones and other technology that can improve productivity and reduce operating costs.
  
  

• ⁠Keeping agriculture permanently out of the ETS and opposing any agricultural emissions tax or pricing scheme.
  
  

• Cutting the carbon tax that drives up the price of fuel and other farm inputs.
  
  

• Introducing a Rural Workforce Visa and maintaining employment settings that make recruiting and employing staff easier.
  
  

• Balancing the books without new taxes, returning to surplus faster and paying down debt, helping ease pressure on inflation and interest rates.
  
  

• Retaining the Reserve Bank’s focus on controlling inflation.
  
  

• Requiring permanent forest owners to carry the long-term costs and risks of their forests, including sufficient pest control.
  
  

• Removing red tape around homekill and making it easier for farmers to sell their products directly to consumers.
  
  

• ⁠Funding 100,000 additional rural Police patrol hours each year, establishing a dedicated rural crime unit, and strengthening penalties for livestock theft, poaching and repeat burglary to reduce the costs of theft and damage.
  
  

• Increasing penalties for illegal rubbish dumping to deter offending that leaves farmers facing clean-up bills.
  
  

• Allowing rural children to use spare seats on existing school buses wherever practical, reducing transport costs for families.
  
  

• Speeding up access to proven agricultural chemicals and veterinary medicines, and recognising trusted overseas approvals to reduce regulatory costs and improve access to competing products.
  
  

• Expanding healthcare through pharmacies and enabling 24-hour prescription e-lockers, reducing travel and time away from the farm.

Other additions to ACT’s rural plan include:

• Keeping Agricultural and Horticultural Science as a standalone Year 11 subject.
  
  

• Strengthening vocational pathways to support students into careers such as agriculture and horticulture.
  
  

• ⁠Reviewing the Sharemilking Agreements Act so it reflects how farming businesses operate today.

“ACT has the strongest record of any party of backing farmers, and the most comprehensive plan to continue to boost farm productivity, drive down costs, and let farmers farm.”