Carter: drop in rural confidence no surprise

Revelations that rural confidence has hit its lowest level in 18 months should not come as a surprise, says National's Agriculture spokesman David Carter.

He is commenting on an AC Neilson/Rabobank survey that was released on Friday and shows a sharp decline in farmer confidence.

"The Government has taken the spending power of the rural sector for granted. This sector has always bolstered the whole economy, particularly in the provinces," says Mr Carter

"However, continual imposition of Government cost and regulation is starting to bite. "Costs like ACC levies, which have doubled for farmers in the last four years, cannot be passed on by the farming sector and farmers have had enough.

"On top of this, farmers now face further uncertainty around land access as a result of the seabed and foreshore legislation.

"The Labour Government, particularly the Minister of Agriculture - 'Silent Sutton' - continue to overlook the significance of agriculture to the economy, placing the prosperity of all New Zealanders at risk," says Mr Carter.

"We cannot afford to continue down this track - when agriculture suffers, the whole economy suffers".

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>