TARANAKI FEDERATED FARMERS 2 July 2003
PR131/2003
Farmers will Not Pay a Flatulence Tax
Farmers have made it loud and clear that they will not pay a Kyoto tax, says Taranaki Federated Farmer's Senior Vice
President Bryan Hocken
150 farmers attend the Palmerston North consultation meeting on Greenhouse Gas Research funding today, including 70
farmers who travelled from Taranaki.
"First the Government ratifies the Kyoto Protocol ahead of our trading partners. Then they take the forest sink credits
we created from planting trees on our land, said Mr Hocken.
"Now the Government is telling us to pay for research to reduce emissions with limited likelihood of beneficial impact
and which no one else in the world is bothering with.
"If the Government goes ahead with this tax farmers will demand to know whether officials will be using agricultural
census information that we were told was confidential? The use of confidential statistics will undermine the credibility
and independence of Statistics NZ.
"It's time that the Government woke up and realised that agriculture is still the backbone of this country. Farmers are
sick and tired of being lied to."
ENDS