Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Andrew Hoggard: Associate Minister for Agriculture on Southland farmers receiving an extension for their freshwater plans

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Andrew Hoggard: Associate Minister for Agriculture on Southland farmers receiving an extension for their freshwater plans · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Good news for south and farmers this morning. They've gotten
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: an extension to submit their fresh water plans. Government's given
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: them until the end of November instead of the previous deadline,
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: which was made twenty sent Andrew Hogart, Associate Minister for
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: the Environment with us this morning.
• 0:12
  Speaker 2: Minister, good morning, good morning, and no you won't replace
• 0:15
  Speaker 2: stereo farmers with a anytime soon, even.
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  Speaker 1: Though halters trying their best, doing their best.
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: Yeah, still got to swing the cups.
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: Yeah, Hey, why the extension? Well, why is this issue
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  Speaker 1: not shorted because you paused it last year? What's going on?
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: Well, actually, in pausing it, it meant that there was
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: already a role in the Southland Regional Plan that they
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  Speaker 2: all had to have farm plans and so it had
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: to be a regional plan or a national plan. So
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: if we paused the national plan for them, it meant
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: their regional plan would apply, which were even more draconian.
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: So we kind of had to turn it back on
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: for them to a degree, and that extension ran out
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: and we were not going to have the national system
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: ready until the National Environment Bill was pass this year,
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  Speaker 2: and so we just need to extend it so that
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: are they not forced to do these more sort of
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: draconian regional farm plans.
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: What will the price difference be getting a planned out
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: under the old system. This is a plan under the
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: new system that you're expecting to have in place in November.
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: Well, look for dairy farmers in particular, and other farmers
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: already have a plan through their processes. The price difference
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: is huge. You know, an old certified farm plan was
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  Speaker 2: looking at about being upwards about five grand whereas I've
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  Speaker 2: already got a plan through Fonterra. And so what we've
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  Speaker 2: done is made sure that the new system will be
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: able to recognize existing plans through your processes that are
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: already covering this and other stuff, so we don't have duplication.
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: Is there a need for a plan at all? Could
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  Speaker 1: you not just test the water around or test the
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: waterways or something and then say well, you're doing well
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: or you're not doing well, and farmers will be judged
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  Speaker 1: on the outcomes rather than how many bits of paper
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  Speaker 1: you've got going in.
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  Speaker 2: Well, so that one of the pieces of science has
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  Speaker 2: been done is it shows that where you've got farm
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  Speaker 2: plans across attachment and everyone's in that catchment's identified to
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: what their critical source areas are and decided on a
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  Speaker 2: list of mitigations to take. You actually see a step
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: change reduction and contaminants in that waterway and it holds.
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: So there is a value to them. There's what's a
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: value in knowing what your critical source areas are and
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: what are the mitigations you should be taking. And it's
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: important that we get everyone, you know, all farmers doing
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: that and because otherwise it's just a few that are
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: doing the hard work. So I do think there is
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: value in them. But so long as it's targeted and
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: it's just focused on what is that critical source area,
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: what's the mitigation? No other crap minster.
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: When we get that, when we get the detail of
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  Speaker 1: the National Plan before November.
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: Yeah yeah, yeah yeah, So it'll be when the so
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: that the final details will be reported back to the
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: House with the second reading of the National Environment Bill.
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: I appreciate your time this morning, Andrew Hoggart, who is
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: the Associate Minister for the Environment.
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: For more from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, listen live
• 3:26
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• 3:29
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