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National spokesperson for Rural Communities, Barbara Kuriger, has joined a call for protecting Productive Farmland after Federated Farmers made a call yesterday.

A call was made to challenge the Government in delivering ‘its election promise’ to protect the Farmland for the future to come.

“The Feds want a full review of government policies which are leading to the loss of productive farms, export income, employment and the undermining of rural communities,” spokesperson Kuriger said.

“Labour pledged that if re-elected, it would take less than six months to stop the rampant spread of large-scale exotic tree planting across the country.”

Source: CC/ SUPPLIED

Federated Farmers President Andrew Hoggard says Labour claimed that it would take less than six months to protect productive farmland from the spread of large-scale exotic tree planting around the country.

There was thought to be a revision of the National Environmental Standards Plantation Forestry, but it did not seemingly happen.

“We were told they would revise the National Environmental Standards for Plantation Forestry to require forestry blocks intended to be larger than 50 hectares on elite soils, that means Land Use Capability Classes 1-5, to have to get a resource consent,” Mr Hoggard said.

“This hasn’t happened yet. In fact, there are no signs at all that they are seriously moving forward on this.”

“It was a sign the government finally acknowledged there was an issue with large-scale exotic tree planting, and the damage the free-for-all to plant pines was doing to rural communities.”

He says that short term thinking by the Government is creating permanent damage to rural communities.

“What farmers need to see from the government is a widespread review of the full range of policies that are leading to the loss of productive farms, export income, employment and the undermining of rural communities,” Mr Hoggard said.

“The Minister has said he’ll keep moving on this. We’d like to see him and his colleagues move a little faster.”

Image: CC/Facebook

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