The Country 03/12/25: Jane Smith talks to Jamie Mackay

North Otago farmer and award-winning environmentalist, who today we find in the Parliamentary Lobby, on Groundswell’s annual lobbying trip.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
She's a north Otago farmer, former winner of the Balance
Farm Environment Awards, regular hair on the Country, but she's
not on the farm today. She's left the poor old
Herby Blair to do the hard yards in north Otago
because she's in Wellington. The corridors of power, standing in
the Parliament lobby with the Groundswell team, Bryce McKenzie, Lourie Patterson,

(00:21):
Jamie McFadden and you, Jane Smith. What are you there
for to lower the average age of the delegation?

Speaker 2 (00:28):
Are you good? Ayson? Jamie? Just to bring a bit
of class to the scrutiny in Parliament this week. So
I don't know whether I'm the heating dog or the
hunt away. I'm probably more the heating dog, just rounding
them up, Jamie. So for like a sort of a
bunch of mixed age Romney rams met loose in the
streets of Wellington. So yeah, I try to join them
on their annual advocacy trip to the Beehive. And I've

(00:51):
obviously got at a list of things that I want
to achieve today, and we've had some really good meetings already,
and yeah, and to speak collectively, I guess on a
number of fishes.

Speaker 1 (01:01):
Jamie, So, Jane, I guess being called Romney rams better
than a wormy weather like you called your old mate
Damien O'Connor. So the groundswell posts for those who haven't
seen it, fresh off the paddock and first through the
drafting gate, and Laurie looks like he's straight off the paddock.
But those blokes are true grassroots farmers. Are you getting
any cut through at Parliament? I know you had a meeting,

(01:23):
for instance, early this morning with the Prince of the
Province's Martua Shane Jones.

Speaker 2 (01:28):
Yeah, and that was really productive Jamie, and I guess
he was saying, you know, we need to continue as advocates,
including the Groundsig guys and myself, to be a clear
voice for the productive center. And you know, Shame was
very clear to point out we need confidence with his
certainty and when he practical results deliver out there for
all businesses, not just farmers as well. So and you know,

(01:52):
again our productivity is one of the lowest in the OECD,
so we need to be really driving that ford Jamie
and I guess we're fortunate and all four of us
do a lot of OIA. So a special information requesse
during the year, and we've got a lot of information.
I guess that we need to be plenty forwards, you know,
around the amount of TAXPAN money that's going into things
like the whole methane mitigations of BARKLL. I think shame

(02:14):
is a bit taken aback about how much money is
going and TEXTPAN money is going into that, where the
gmover is going, the RMA and local body reform though
that's vaccinating given the given the announcement last week. So
looking forward to catching out with Chris Bishop and Simon
Watt's about that later on this afternoon. And I guess
the big questions around that in terms of used to have

(02:35):
taken a ministerial sneege hammer to councils, but what does
good luck look like going forward? And we all know
how inflationary our rates have been over the past few years.
And it's interesting, Jamie, I was just thinking this morning.
You often talk about capital gains text we already have
one of those. It's called being a ratepayer and essentially
what are we getting for those services? And you know

(02:56):
these used to be catchment boards and basic district councils
and have just become as I've said before, Jamie, the
rider has become heavier than the horse, and and you know,
the bureaucratic burden is just collapsing around them. So things
are to throw, you know, through the throw the baby
out with the bathwater. So we've got to be really
careful about what what what is the bathwater and what
is the baby in regards to that, Jamie, and protecting

(03:19):
property rights at the same time.

Speaker 1 (03:20):
Just before I let you go, how are things in
North Otago? Are you getting dry? How's your season going?

Speaker 2 (03:26):
Yeah, well, we certainly were, Jamie. And since you throw
in the many a toto on the weekend, throw a
cricket tournament and gosh, they were you know, only the
other side of the caeculary range fromers and they look
texted through there. We were getting driver. Fortunately, I don't
feel too guilty and away from home today because we've
had sort of fifteen to twenty miles of the last
day or so. So steady as she goes. Good things

(03:47):
take time, and I think this will be a real
game changer and really pop up the lamb and the
beef market as well. Jamie.

Speaker 1 (03:54):
Good things take time. Laurie and Bryce, look that looked
like in the picture they could front of Mainland cheese
ad but they're.

Speaker 2 (04:00):
Stingy coad Jamie and look, I don't want to put
a catamount of pigeons and be speaking out of turn here,
but I was concerned when I walked to their hotels
this morning to pick them up, and there's actually only
one one hotel room used for Laurie and Bryce. Jamie
was in his own one, and it's yeah, I don't
want to sugguce that they've been sharing a bit, but
Laurie assures me it's she and Sheep's farmer austerity measure

(04:23):
sharing a room. So but you know, we're in Wellington
next celebrate diversity.

Speaker 1 (04:30):
That's how rumors start anyhow. Thank you very much for
your time from Wellington. Good luck in the corridors of
power this afternoon.

Speaker 2 (04:38):
Thanks Jamie,