New Zealand agriculture will pay
David Carter - National Agriculture Spokesperson
The Government is ignoring the country’s key agriculture sector groups in its blind rush to ratify the Kyoto Protocol,
says National’s Agriculture spokesman, David Carter.
“Not one of the six submitters to the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade select committee today showed support for the
Climate Change Response Bill.
“Federated Farmers and Meat New Zealand, among others, all argued that ratification would compromise the competitiveness
of New Zealand agriculture. We cannot afford to hand a competitive advantage to non-ratifying countries, especially our
main agricultural rivals.
“We know that the United States and Australia are refusing to ratify Kyoto. We know that New Zealand farmers’ costs will
rise because of Kyoto. And we know that we must compete vigorously with the U.S. and Australia for many of our export
markets.
“All submitters today acknowledged the need for a global solution to atmospheric warming. But until such an agreement is
in place, it’s foolish to put New Zealand agriculture in jeopardy.
“Our agriculture sector is sending a clear message to the Government that Kyoto ratification will put our agricultural
export revenue at risk. I urge it to listen,” says Mr Carter.