20 August 2015
Rural Infrastructure needs to be a priority
The government appears to be on the same page as Federated Farmers, with their announcement of their 30 Year
Infrastructure Plan today.
Anders Crofoot, Federated Farmers Infrastructure Spokesperson says “Rural infrastructure will need to be a priority in
looking at addressing the inefficiencies in infrastructure investment and planning.”
Federated Farmers supports the intent to better understand where the critical demands are and to make better decisions
from that knowledge, but remain wary of what that strategy means for rural communities.
“To date rural roading infrastructure has been suffering from a significant funding squeeze and it’s unclear if this
plan is going to address that. If it doesn’t, then better planning won’t be enough to offset the opportunity costs we’re
likely to face.”
Rural infrastructure, such as water, roads, fibre and broadband are vital to our rural communities and the broader
economy.
“It’s vital to keep our rural communities connected especially rural businesses to their customers. Fibre and broadband
will be the next generation’s transport, so the government’s continuation of the Rural Broadband Initiative is welcome
news.”
Chris Allen, Federated Farmers Water Spokesperson added “For thriving rural communities to meet the New Zealand
Government’s aspirations, they have patiently been awaiting new investment in water infrastructure.”
“There’s a real positive in recognising that investing in reliable water supply will maximise the value of water,
ensuring social and economic community gain from that resource while protecting the environment.”
“There are many promising elements to this Plan and the rural community is keen to see some long awaited investment come
their way.” Mr Crofoot added.
ends