The Country 07/08/25: Jo Luxton talks to Jamie Mackay

Yet again, we ask Labour’s agriculture spokeswoman for some long-awaited ag policy and just who in the Party is going to be formulating that policy?

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
She is Labour's agriculture spokesperson. Her name is Joe Luxton.
These days Domicil and Gisbone. Joe, I want to start
with this one. Is it early spring yet in Gisbon?

Speaker 2 (00:10):
Well, Jamie, they nice to be on the show again.
It's been pretty cold, bone chilling cold and reasonably wet,
so spring has not sprung yet, which is disappointing. I
cannot wait for the back of winter and just to
feel a bit of sunshine and a bit of warmth.
You know, there's nothing like a bit of vitamin dta

(00:31):
make everyone sort of feel better, and a bit of
sunshine to make people smile.

Speaker 1 (00:35):
We all love Big Yello. Something I would love, Joe Luxton.
There's some a Labor Party agg policy. Every time I
chat to you, I say when is it coming? Because
I said to Michelle in preparation for this interview, I said,
go and look at Handsard and see what Joe's been
saying in Parliament and you're in some deathly dull debate
about resource management or something like that. What have you

(00:56):
been up to?

Speaker 2 (00:59):
I knew you would bring up the policy question, Jamie.
In like I've said to you before the election, is
twelve months away, and we have said that we will
come out with some policy before the end of this year,
and I have been working on it, I can assure you.
But I'm not going to announce any policy on the
show anyway. No disrespect to you, of course, Jamie.

Speaker 1 (01:20):
Well, why should I have you on the show if
you've got nothing to add?

Speaker 2 (01:24):
Wow, I have got things to add. You can ask
me other questions, but I'm not going to be announcing policy,
all right.

Speaker 1 (01:30):
I'll ask you this question. Who formulates the Labor Party
agg policy. I'm sure that you've got an impot and
I'm sure that Damian O'Connor has. But when I look
around the rest of your caucus, Joe Luxton, the cupboard's
pretty bare. There aren't many people with a rural or
primary sector background.

Speaker 2 (01:47):
Well, I disagree with you ectally, Jame. I think maybe
you should deal with a bit deeper into those that
are in the caucus. There are plenty that have got
a bit of rural background here.

Speaker 1 (01:54):
But well, name the ones who would impress me with
the farming or rural background, because maybe I've been remiss
on this.

Speaker 2 (02:00):
Well they haven't, you know, pet in the in the
ural sector, right now. But it's got Jenkiniki here and
her husband. They he's belong to young farmers and they
compete in young family.

Speaker 1 (02:10):
She's a school teacher, yeah, but she's.

Speaker 2 (02:12):
Also lived in rural communities. You know, you don't necess
have to have on farm knowledge to be able to
provide really good ideas for rural communities in agriculture and farmers,
to be honest with you, And the reason I say
that is because a lot of the ideas and thinking
I've been getting has been coming from the conversation I've
been having with farmers on the ground, and I actually

(02:35):
think that our best place to give us a lot
of our ideas in.

Speaker 1 (02:37):
Lie Well, what are farmers telling you, Joe.

Speaker 2 (02:40):
One of the biggest issues I hear about from our
farmers in the farming community is the issue around pests,
pest control, wilding pines, they're out of control, things like that.
That's one of the biggest things I hear about. Actually, surprisingly, are.

Speaker 1 (02:55):
We going to have some sort of bipartisan agreement between
the current government and your life over the likes of
wilding pines, Because we do need a policy to get
control of them, if not get rid of.

Speaker 2 (03:06):
Them, We absolutely do absolutely right. And I know there's
been some recent amount of three million or something, where
did they Scott that's going to do absolutely nothing. But
I'm more than happy to work in to buy a
partisan way around something like this because it is such
an issue. It's a huge issue, and we can't afford
to be political over things like that.

Speaker 1 (03:28):
Something else that's a bit of an issue politically internationally
for farming, as the Paris Agreement. I was listening to
Bryce McKenzie from Groundswell. I know where they sit on
this one. Winston wants us out of it. David Seymour,
he's sitting on the fence a we but he says
eventually the cost of getting out now will be less
than the cost of staying in. And we know that

(03:50):
the Nats and the Coalition government their policy is to
stay in, and I'm sure Labors is as well.

Speaker 2 (03:56):
You know. But we've come up publicly and said that
we would not leave the Paris Agreement for the reasons
that are probably exectly the same as the ones that
National have outlined the issue with the Coalition and in
Nelson wanting Nelson Winston wanting to perhaps leave the Paris Agreement.
There is an issue for the current coalition to work through,

(04:18):
not us. We're not in government, not yet, not yet.

Speaker 1 (04:23):
Well, we can live and hope, or can we? Joe
Lux that I'm living in hope that you can come
out on some AG policy before the election. Always good
to chat.

Speaker 2 (04:32):
Yeah, thanks, Jamie,