'Fart Tax' Consigned To The Dust Bin

Thursday 5 Feb 2004 Gerry Eckhoff Press Releases -- Rural

The Labour Government has finally admitted - after months of protest from the rural community - that its proposal to introduce a tax on livestock emissions was wrong, ACT New Zealand Rural Affairs Spokesman Gerry Eckhoff said today.

"The Government's agreement with agricultural groups, on funding research into greenhouse gas emissions, effectively retains the status quo," Mr Eckhoff said.

"Climate Control Convenor Pete Hodgson has finally acknowledged what farmers had been telling him - that the industry has been pulling its weight and spending millions on research into methane gas reductions.

"ACT and Federated Farmers' opposition to the `fart tax' was the single most effective campaign against government policy in 2003 - and we won.

"Today's announcement is a stunning victory for rural New Zealand. Labour could have saved themselves a lot of grief if they had done their homework before proposing this discriminatory tax on New Zealand's productive sector," Mr Eckhoff said

ENDS

For more information visit ACT online at http://www.act.org.nz or contact the ACT Parliamentary Office at act@parliament.govt.nz.

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