July 15, 2025 • 6 mins
Following on from the PM’s comments, the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry announces a $600,000 support package for flood-affected farmers, growers and foresters in the Tasman/Nelson region.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
We're heading to Nelson or the Nelson Tasman region. He's
on the ground there, the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry,
Todd McLay and Todd, you were probably a child of
the eighties. Do you remember Blue Monday by New Order?
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Jamie? How I do you remember that as a child
of the eighties who probably used to listen to that
song in a pub long before he was allowed to.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Yeah, well, I was a child of the seventies, Todd,
and we are. Actually, I'm sure I think when we
was drinking age was twenty when I went to university,
so I was illegally drinking for the first year.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Anyhow that I think the point I was making is
a drinking age is twenty when I was at high school.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
All right, at high school. Right, Let's move on to
six hundred thousand dollars all up in support package announced
today for flood affected farmers, growers and foresters.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Yeah, well, Jamie, I'm here on the ground, as you said,
in the Nowson Townsmend area, having a look at what
can only really be described as devastation from the big
weather and window over the last couple of weeks. You know,
this is a fact area where the farmers have been hard.
You know that's today, week after a week and it's
dragging on. So with industry bodies are going to make
(01:13):
an account of six hundred thousand dollars of support that
a guard to help.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
Hop swhere if you're gone, Todd, Hello Todd? Do we
have comms with Todd McLay? Have we got you? You
need to stand on top of one of those hills
in the Tasman region.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Can you hear me? Jamis you?
Speaker 1 (01:32):
I've got you now?
Speaker 2 (01:33):
So yeah, where you go pull over here? Stop anyway?
Sorry about that. I'm saying to six hundred thousand dollars
that will help on the ground. You know, right now
we've got a lot of officials and others here that
are working out where the damages and what support is needed.
But look, the indications are there's going to be more
events in the coming weeks. So the message really is
(01:55):
to farmers and forest says to be very careful about
what you're doing. You know, en up rubbish to get
out of the way. But we're going to be prepared
for more bad weather.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
As you know. I've spoken to the Prime Minister earlier
this morning. We've already played that interview, but he did
make the point of saying yesterday that we can't bail
out our homeowners, business owners, farmers, foresters, growers forever because
we're just going to run out.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Of money, that's right. So the funding that we've announced
is not to go in and help each of them
are directly, but certainly there's going to be some work
that's needed straight away. We've had about two hundred landowners
of farmers reach out to us. At the moment, we
know there's many, many more out there that we need assistance.
(02:41):
Some of those are some of those areas the farm's
probably not usable anymore. There'll be differing amounts of damage.
But ultimately we put some money into the Mayor's Relief
Fund and we're partnering with Federated Farmers and also hought
News Inaler's also put some money up to get into
some of the most affected people and get them support
and a bit of help they need. In some cases
(03:03):
it'll be it'll be diggers and bulldozers going and to
help clean up really really quickly, and you know there's
going to be a lot of work to do around here.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Jamie yep So of the six hundred thousand, half a
million's come from the government, fifty from feeds and fifty
k from horticulture in New Zealand. And it would appear
on the face of it for those of us who
haven't been there like you are today, that perhaps horticulture
has been the hardest hut.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Yeah, that's right. I've just been how long. I had
a look at our hops orchard where, although it's the
off season, what was you know, probably described as a
large stream has moved two or three hundred meters and
more across into the land in the middle of where
they're grown their hops and it's a great, big, raging,
bloody river now. And so you are right, Hawt's been
(03:47):
hit pretty heavily. I tell you what, though, I had
a chance to jumping a helicopter to have a look
at the area. Our foreste's probably lost four to five
thousand hectares. And this is wind damage where trees have
been uprooted and lying there spread right across the region
at quite a cost to them. And so I'm going
to say the forestry sector of pitching in there are
(04:08):
many landowners as they have problems, have lost their own
trees or silt and so on. As they're cleaning up
for themselves, are going and helping others. It really is
the community, the wider community pitching in together.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
Yeah, four or five thousand hectares a forestry loss. That's
a huge number. And that all I think happened in
the second event when the wind got up.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Yeah, that's right. I tell you that. The thing that
is so pleasingly surprisingly surprising though, is that there isn't
a lot of damage from that where trees have come out,
our whole trees, often with the roots are still on them.
There's not a lot of evidence of slash or other
type of material coming down. And look, I put that
down to a couple of things. The forestry practice here,
(04:49):
along with the rules of the councilor set. The countis
will been really smart about this, working with a set
they haven't we good rules to stop sort of damage,
but not just put cost upon them. But there's also
examples where farmers have had small blocks of trees that
have been devastated. They won't have the ability or money
to get those trees off the land and get anything
from them. Because you know there's going to be you know,
(05:10):
every classy conference is going to be working with the
big guys the forestry sector today, the big the big
companies gave me a commitment today that where farmers need help,
don't actually send their workers into help clean the trees
up and you know, work through that so they're not
sitting there wondering about what they're going to with their
farms where they've got but he would sitting on the
ground as well.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
I just got a text and from Laurie Patterson, who
you know well from Groundswell, always a practical man. He said,
tell Todd to hire a couple of de six bulldozers
and start bulldozing the gravel out of the rivers. And
we talked to Damian O'Connor about this one on yesterday's
show and it would appear to me that would be
a good start to help farmers and growers and foresters.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
I don't agree with everything Laurie says, as you'll know,
but actually I think he's right in this area. There
is a bit of work that we have underway for
the last period of time having a little look at
the rim and how it doesn't allow us to do
things around waterways. Now I'm not the RMA minister, but
look it's as straightforward as this. If you are not
(06:12):
allowed to build you know, stock banks or clean up waterways,
you're going to have more events like this and years
ago farmers who were responsible. He's about to take your aggregate,
you know, out of out of the rivers, and the
rivers are throwing clearly, they flow clearly, you know, and
build stock banks. You can't anymore. It's no wonder we're
having such devastation. So Christus is having a really good
(06:35):
look at this. It's not so straightforward to say do
what you want, but we shouldn't be saying you can't
do anything at all.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
Okay, Todd maclay, thanks for some of your time on
the ground in the Tasman Nelson region and thanks for
tipping in between you FEDS and Houghton, New Zealand six
hundred grand to help with the cleanup.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Thanks Amie
We're heading to Nelson or the Nelson Tasman region. He's
on the ground there, the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry,
Todd McLay and Todd, you were probably a child of
the eighties. Do you remember Blue Monday by New Order?
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Jamie? How I do you remember that as a child
of the eighties who probably used to listen to that
song in a pub long before he was allowed to.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Yeah, well, I was a child of the seventies, Todd,
and we are. Actually, I'm sure I think when we
was drinking age was twenty when I went to university,
so I was illegally drinking for the first year.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Anyhow that I think the point I was making is
a drinking age is twenty when I was at high school.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
All right, at high school. Right, Let's move on to
six hundred thousand dollars all up in support package announced
today for flood affected farmers, growers and foresters.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Yeah, well, Jamie, I'm here on the ground, as you said,
in the Nowson Townsmend area, having a look at what
can only really be described as devastation from the big
weather and window over the last couple of weeks. You know,
this is a fact area where the farmers have been hard.
You know that's today, week after a week and it's
dragging on. So with industry bodies are going to make
(01:13):
an account of six hundred thousand dollars of support that
a guard to help.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
Hop swhere if you're gone, Todd, Hello Todd? Do we
have comms with Todd McLay? Have we got you? You
need to stand on top of one of those hills
in the Tasman region.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Can you hear me? Jamis you?
Speaker 1 (01:32):
I've got you now?
Speaker 2 (01:33):
So yeah, where you go pull over here? Stop anyway?
Sorry about that. I'm saying to six hundred thousand dollars
that will help on the ground. You know, right now
we've got a lot of officials and others here that
are working out where the damages and what support is needed.
But look, the indications are there's going to be more
events in the coming weeks. So the message really is
(01:55):
to farmers and forest says to be very careful about
what you're doing. You know, en up rubbish to get
out of the way. But we're going to be prepared
for more bad weather.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
As you know. I've spoken to the Prime Minister earlier
this morning. We've already played that interview, but he did
make the point of saying yesterday that we can't bail
out our homeowners, business owners, farmers, foresters, growers forever because
we're just going to run out.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Of money, that's right. So the funding that we've announced
is not to go in and help each of them
are directly, but certainly there's going to be some work
that's needed straight away. We've had about two hundred landowners
of farmers reach out to us. At the moment, we
know there's many, many more out there that we need assistance.
(02:41):
Some of those are some of those areas the farm's
probably not usable anymore. There'll be differing amounts of damage.
But ultimately we put some money into the Mayor's Relief
Fund and we're partnering with Federated Farmers and also hought
News Inaler's also put some money up to get into
some of the most affected people and get them support
and a bit of help they need. In some cases
(03:03):
it'll be it'll be diggers and bulldozers going and to
help clean up really really quickly, and you know there's
going to be a lot of work to do around here.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Jamie yep So of the six hundred thousand, half a
million's come from the government, fifty from feeds and fifty
k from horticulture in New Zealand. And it would appear
on the face of it for those of us who
haven't been there like you are today, that perhaps horticulture
has been the hardest hut.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Yeah, that's right. I've just been how long. I had
a look at our hops orchard where, although it's the
off season, what was you know, probably described as a
large stream has moved two or three hundred meters and
more across into the land in the middle of where
they're grown their hops and it's a great, big, raging,
bloody river now. And so you are right, Hawt's been
(03:47):
hit pretty heavily. I tell you what, though, I had
a chance to jumping a helicopter to have a look
at the area. Our foreste's probably lost four to five
thousand hectares. And this is wind damage where trees have
been uprooted and lying there spread right across the region
at quite a cost to them. And so I'm going
to say the forestry sector of pitching in there are
(04:08):
many landowners as they have problems, have lost their own
trees or silt and so on. As they're cleaning up
for themselves, are going and helping others. It really is
the community, the wider community pitching in together.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
Yeah, four or five thousand hectares a forestry loss. That's
a huge number. And that all I think happened in
the second event when the wind got up.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Yeah, that's right. I tell you that. The thing that
is so pleasingly surprisingly surprising though, is that there isn't
a lot of damage from that where trees have come out,
our whole trees, often with the roots are still on them.
There's not a lot of evidence of slash or other
type of material coming down. And look, I put that
down to a couple of things. The forestry practice here,
(04:49):
along with the rules of the councilor set. The countis
will been really smart about this, working with a set
they haven't we good rules to stop sort of damage,
but not just put cost upon them. But there's also
examples where farmers have had small blocks of trees that
have been devastated. They won't have the ability or money
to get those trees off the land and get anything
from them. Because you know there's going to be you know,
(05:10):
every classy conference is going to be working with the
big guys the forestry sector today, the big the big
companies gave me a commitment today that where farmers need help,
don't actually send their workers into help clean the trees
up and you know, work through that so they're not
sitting there wondering about what they're going to with their
farms where they've got but he would sitting on the
ground as well.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
I just got a text and from Laurie Patterson, who
you know well from Groundswell, always a practical man. He said,
tell Todd to hire a couple of de six bulldozers
and start bulldozing the gravel out of the rivers. And
we talked to Damian O'Connor about this one on yesterday's
show and it would appear to me that would be
a good start to help farmers and growers and foresters.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
I don't agree with everything Laurie says, as you'll know,
but actually I think he's right in this area. There
is a bit of work that we have underway for
the last period of time having a little look at
the rim and how it doesn't allow us to do
things around waterways. Now I'm not the RMA minister, but
look it's as straightforward as this. If you are not
(06:12):
allowed to build you know, stock banks or clean up waterways,
you're going to have more events like this and years
ago farmers who were responsible. He's about to take your aggregate,
you know, out of out of the rivers, and the
rivers are throwing clearly, they flow clearly, you know, and
build stock banks. You can't anymore. It's no wonder we're
having such devastation. So Christus is having a really good
(06:35):
look at this. It's not so straightforward to say do
what you want, but we shouldn't be saying you can't
do anything at all.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
Okay, Todd maclay, thanks for some of your time on
the ground in the Tasman Nelson region and thanks for
tipping in between you FEDS and Houghton, New Zealand six
hundred grand to help with the cleanup.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Thanks Amie
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