The Muster- Eric Roy: When Will Labour Announce Some Policy?

Eric Roy says  the lack of policy from the Labour Party has been puzzling, but when they are released just how will they view agriculture?

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:12):
This is the muster on Hockanui Selen Dion as the artist,
especially for our next guest, Eric Roy, former MP, wore
many hats over the years and continues to do so.

Speaker 2 (00:24):
Er a good afternoon, Selean Dion. I'm glad you approved.

Speaker 3 (00:28):
Well do you've picked my my favorite listen to. Whether
I'm in the tekmer, in the car or trying to
go to sleep or whatever. It is, so thank you,
so much, very special.

Speaker 2 (00:38):
As long as you don't go to sleep over the
next day or nine minutes, we're doing well.

Speaker 3 (00:42):
I'm sure you'll keep me awake. That's all good. A
bit of a winter blast come through today this morning.
It was somebod evil overnight, so I think there's something
we've got to expect at this time of the year.

Speaker 2 (00:54):
Well, it had to happen eventually, and the truth be know,
and those overnight temperatures apart from Wednesday, are still pretty good.

Speaker 3 (01:01):
Well, we haven't had a serious frost yet and you know,
within a fortnight of the solstice, that's pretty good. We've
had a great autumn and there's a lot of people
haven't really started their winter programs yet and we're one
of them. So that's very good. I'm kind of picking
we might have a late spring, So the later we

(01:21):
start on the winter program, the better we're going to
be equipped to have some feed going into the spring,
because the last couple of years that's been a real
test for us.

Speaker 2 (01:31):
Dare I say, Eric, you going into the start of
the winter grazing season with too much grass?

Speaker 3 (01:36):
No? No, no, never have too much. But our rocks
for property is just horrendously better. We're going to have
to shift some stock out of there, and that's just
run country, So that lower TV country just is the
driest part in New Zealand, I think, so we're going
to have to But good thing is that we do
have some feed at Tiani or so we'll get the

(01:59):
low end of our breeding cows down to look after
them over the winter and carve them out and then
take them back.

Speaker 2 (02:05):
Eric. The government's holding back half a billion dollars as
a so called contingency fund. Has us common practice for
a government an election?

Speaker 3 (02:13):
Yet Well yeah, Well it's a bit hard to know
exactly what's involved here. They may be just holding some
funds back to come out with a real sweetener before
the election. But I heard Nikola Weller saying they're still
doing the detailed work on it, and they weren't ready
to announce it yet. But I don't think we should
get too upset about that because we haven't had any

(02:34):
policy at all from Labor apart from the Capital Gains
tex So who knows what else are they going to
come out with, or if they're going to come out
with anything, or just rely on the polls to actually
get them there. I have a bit of a concern
about one of the coalition members lining themselves up to

(02:56):
be a coalition partner with Labor. One of the coalition
members have said they won't join with Labor while Tippy
is the leader of the party. So I think at
the end of the day, if Labor and new Zild
first have the numbers, and Winston goes and says, I
can be your leader if you want a coalition. So

(03:16):
that's also another complexity that might be approaching since we
get near the election.

Speaker 2 (03:22):
Do you honestly think that will happen.

Speaker 3 (03:24):
I think it has a potential. I don't know if
it will happen, but I'm just putting it out there
and saying, look, MMP is a strange beast. And when
Bill USh won the election. Winston won the coalition talks
last time when Jacinda got put in, So who knows
where we'll go. And he's just said no, I won't

(03:47):
be there if Kippy's the leader, but he hasn't said
I won't be there full stop. So just make your
own decisions about what that might mean.

Speaker 2 (03:56):
And interesting labor coming out of policy this week, Jerry
field Day. Although I don't think they'll be doing the
announcements of mystery. Create will be very surprised given that
they're pretty flippant about the rural vote.

Speaker 3 (04:07):
Yeah, well I think they Look, everybody just has to
notice the importance of our agriculture and primary industry in
terms of what it actually means to New Zealand. And
there's been a shift from pretty much every party actually
about that like sixty percent of our foreign earnings comes

(04:29):
from the primary industry. Well that was before this year's
left in red meats, so it's probably going to be
a bigger percentage. You might be sixty five or sixty
eight percent now. And look, the reality is if we
just want to be able to afford hospitals and education
and social welfare and age beneficiaries or whatever else, we're doing.

(04:51):
We've just got to generate money. So the reality is
this is what we do and we need to find
the best way of doing that. So there's been a
of a focus and I think Labor have lifted their
game in that regard to engaging with the sector in
a way they haven't done for quite a while.

Speaker 2 (05:09):
Are you expecting much though, when Labor does finally release policy.

Speaker 3 (05:13):
Oh no, I'm open to listening to what. I don't
think I'm going to change my vote, but funny interesting
to see that, that's for sure. But I think they're
big deficiency at the moment of Damien O'Connor's out. Who
they might get as a spokesman for primary industries, who

(05:35):
will be the Minister of Agriculture if they get near
the Treasury benches, Because that's the biggest concern I've got.
It's not much the policy, but how much lever and
can strength that person has in a future cabinet of
the left. When you consider what someone like Todd McCay
does with the amalgamation of trade and agriculture and where

(05:59):
we've gone with that, it could be a pretty sad
day if they don't have a really, really good person
to slot into that should the eventuality of them pilling
the treasure event to s occur.

Speaker 2 (06:11):
Wayne Langford on Q and A with Jack Tamy say,
talking about farm plans that Wayne lanth has been pretty
prolific in the media as of late this week as well,
mister Craig, he'll be there as we all the politicians,
as you understand. But interesting takes regarding these, isn't it?

Speaker 3 (06:27):
Well it is, And look, I I believe we've just
got to say this is way forward. We've made the
shift over the last couple of decades from being a
commodity trader to you know, being a branded process person.
And there are issues out there that could blow up
in their face and nitrate levels and a few other things,

(06:49):
animal welfare, all of those things. So if we're wanting
the top price in the market, we've got to have
a bankable system of assuring the public consumer that we've
got these things in hand. So we've got two roads
we can take. We can take let's get a consent
for every farm in the country, or let's hand us
back to the farmers and say you come up with

(07:10):
a farm plan. Now already most of us have got
at least one lot of farm plans. I've got three.
I'm going to have an assurance program on velvet, on
supply to the meat works I supply, and on a
breed thing with Angus. What I think we need to
do is sell the advantages of farm plans, and not

(07:31):
that it's a punitive thing, but this can add value
to what you're doing. One of the banks is already
saying we've got a discounted infrastrate for people who've got
bankable green environmental policy, and we just need to keep
working on that stuff. Unfortunately, if we want to be
in that top price market operation around the world, getting

(07:51):
the best price we can, we've got to have an
assurance program otherwise we risk scrutiny that will see our product.
That's my view, so I'm pleased that Wayne's come out
and said this is the alternative. We're either going to
have a consent or farm plans. We back farm plans,
which is what our regional council did, but we need

(08:12):
to sell it on the basis this is an advanced
This isn't punitive.

Speaker 2 (08:17):
But do banks have the right to come out there
and say what they want to what you're going to
have to pay in phase depending on what you're doing
on your farm regarding the environment.

Speaker 3 (08:27):
One of the banks has already done that, and they see,
as I said, their consumers will say, hey, I like
this bank. They take a bit of a view of
our environments. So they're reacting to public opinion. And I've
said a couple of times, if you want the top price,
you've got to listen to public opinion and you've got
to manage that. It's unfortunately how it is. You We

(08:49):
are price takers, we're not price makers, so we have
to do everything we possibly can to be the best
price taker that there is out there.

Speaker 2 (08:59):
And likely to wrap up, you're speaking at the VIT
conference tomorrow, not the veteran conference, but definitely regarding the
vets who do a good job around the animals.

Speaker 3 (09:07):
Yeah, that's looking forward to that because I want to
sit in and hear what they're saying and what they're
doing because they're an integral part of the of the
agricultural sector and you know, I got invited to come
along and talk, so they just more or less be
interesting and tell us about challenges. So that's a pretty
wide field, so looking forward to that.

Speaker 2 (09:30):
Eric Roy, always appreciate your time on the muster enjoyed
the VET conference tomorrow.

Speaker 3 (09:35):
Yeah, well done, Thank you.

Speaker 1 (09:39):
Eric Roy.

Speaker 2 (09:40):
We're going to catch up with Ben Dooley next. Sheep
be future farmer and is your media influencer especially in
the rural landscape. We find out next