National pledges 19 farm standards to cut red tape if re-elected

What happened

The National Party has released plans for 19 new national standards to standardise farm rules if re-elected. The standards would cover vegetable growing, on-farm water storage, gravel extraction, drain maintenance, fertiliser application, farm quarries, micro-hydro generation, and energy storage. Agriculture spokesman Todd McClay said the standards would slash red tape and in many cases remove the need for consents entirely, making the consents process faster and cheaper when required. He said National had already replaced the Resource Management Act, scrapped the ute tax, and ensured farming is not in the Emissions Trading Scheme. McClay also noted that food and fibre exports have reached a record $65.2 billion, with the primary sector $4 billion ahead of schedule toward National's 2023 goal to double export value in 10 years.

Key facts

• 19 new national standards announced
• Food and fibre exports reached $65.2 billion
• Primary sector $4 billion ahead of schedule on export doubling goal
• Standards would cover gravel extraction, vegetable growing, water storage, micro-hydro, energy storage, fertiliser and drain maintenance

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