Rural Urban Disconnect

There seems to be an ever increasing disconnect between those who live in cities and those who live in the Country.  Many have written like I am now and tried to disseminate information about issues that generally each group takes a difference stance on,  but if they only appear in rural publications, the disconnect continues.

My daughter recently told me she was asked about who I support in Politics, to which she said I think National (“not the greens she said at least”) to which the retort was along the lines “oh he would he is a farmer”).  Again, symptomatic of the disconnect.    For the record at this point, I probably will vote national as overall, I think they are better for the country as a whole, but are they perfect, hell no!

Most who support the Greens are students (which I was one, a student that is) who haven’t lived in the real world , the majority  have yet to experience the reality of what it is like to get by:  I would never have left University if it wasn’t for being broke all the time.  The other main support is the employed affluent sector of our population, who already have the money to live in a utopian world.     It’s easy to say this and that if you can afford to, but it’s a bit different if you are struggling to make ends meet.    Many of their policies sound great in isolation, but most come at a substantial cost and make living a normal life more expensive and contrary to popular belief a lot of what they want to achieve is already being done.

For example: I am a farmer, who is required to have a many paged document known as a farm environment plan as to what and how things should happen on my farm.   Underpinning this is a document detailing best farming practices, which I am to be measured against.  I am waiting in line for the completion of my nutrients budget plan that sets guidelines as to what fertilisers, how much crop, irrigation etc. is appropriate for my property, which becomes part of my Farm environment plan.   If upon inspection, with my supporting screeds of documentation detailing what I am doing, I achieve a particular grade I am reviewed every 2 years, if not it’s at every 6 months at my expense.   There are thresholds; in terms of the amount of winter crops grown and area of irrigation which if exceeded require a consent application.  

This bureaucracy, besides creating thousands of jobs and taking so much of my time and money already, is in play on mine and many other farms now.   On top of this, which is the most important if you are farmer, it is in your interest, both short and long term, to look after your environment in every respect as you want to continue farming in years to come.  It is a lifestyle choice to farm, you never have stacks of cash, you may accumulate an asset, but in most cases this is never realised as the next generation takes it on.  Accordingly, crudely and bluntly, it doesn’t make sense to poop in your own back yard.

The forthcoming general election highlights it even more, where political parties, all of them to varying degrees announce policies (policies is a bit generous, as to date its often a statement with no explication as to how it will be implemented, in what quantum, how it will achieve the purpose,  loosely termed a policy, to obtain votes).

When you vote you have to think of the good of the country as a whole, not simply how it affects you, difficult yes, but surely this what one should do?    For example take Labour’s proposed water tax if they become the government:  Issues to consider:

Who will this be imposed on:

·      all the public, including water consumed by everyone every day (the fairest way, given so much pollution of our water is caused by urban sprawl) probably not, not many votes in that.

·   On the exported bottled water,  which I understand constitutes o.o something of a percent of total water taken in this country, that will be a massive money earner, NOT;

·      On irrigation users, is that everyone, aquifer takes or just man made irrigation schemes such as Opuha that I am a shareholder of with all my paperwork above.   Opuha dam, privately owned, cost in the vicinity of $28 million.  Stores water that, if it didn’t exist, would be all running out to sea.   It is of benefit to Fish and Game as minimum flows have to be maintained in rivers even when a drought.  Opuha is lauded as probably the biggest contributor to South Canterbury economy in the last 20 years, directly and indirectly.  Not to mention it being a significant leisure resource to the area.

·       Horticultural and fruit growers, may be able to pass on their cost to the consumer, the rest no.

What effect will it have? 

·       The areas with the most polluted waterways in this country are the areas with little or no irrigation.  Most rural readers would know this by now as it has been canvassed in rural papers, but do our urban brethren know this; Accordingly a water tax on irrigation alone that has no relevance to the highly polluted areas is probably going to achieve 5/8 of nothing, except garner votes from uninformed voters;

·      A water tax  on shareholders of Opuha for example, will simply make it harder for a farmer to make ends meet, which will in turn impact on the whole south Canterbury economy;

·       Open up a huge can of worms regarding Maori rights to water, presently no one owns it.

When considering who to vote for, we need dissect all issues like this before deciding what stance to take on it.