imnofox visited a huge protest in Masterton in response to the Liberal-National government’s slashing of farming investment by the local Liberal candidate for Wairarapa, Kingethan15

“Good people of Masterton, you are right to be angry against this destructive government that has cast the agricultural industry to the wayside in its pursuit of austerity. This is a government that has done absolutely nothing to help the farmers of New Zealand, and has only slashed programs introduced to support farmers and their efforts. When it comes to supporting some of the hardest workers in the country with one of the toughest and most unpredictable jobs, this government has been all talk- and their promises of regional investment should be seen just the same way.”

“We all remember how at the start of the last term, the Minister for Primary Industries, none other than your local Liberal candidate /u/Kingethan15, slashed our funding and investment in sustainable farming and agriculture. That was $621 million of investment and support snatched from the pockets of our country’s farmers to spend on a couple of new planes. Now that’s funding to support farmers in what is no doubt a momentous transition towards more sustainable farming. And that’s something we have to do, and every farmer here knows it. Because we all know that the agricultural industry will be hit harder than any other by climate change, save for the snowboarding industry perhaps. More droughts, more floods, more fires, more debt, and less yields and less income. That is the reality faced by this country and this industry, and it’s a reality we can see for ourselves already.”

“We’ve all seen how a poor season in this competitive global market can have a big impact on sheep and beef farmers, and we’ve seen the consequences of a bad drought. We’ve seen the effects on the land and the effects on our stock. IPCC reports show we're looking at the drought frequency in the east and north double or even triple by just 2040. That will be devastating for this industry. In just the period of 2007 to 2009, New Zealand experiences a $3.6 billion loss from droughts. And while the Liberals and Nats, including the former Primary Industries Minister, touts their increased penalties for livestock theft, the costs of a drought are just 7% of livestock rustling every year. That’s before the frequency of droughts is even doubled or tripled.”

“It is absolutely shameful that this government would slash this funding to invest in sustainable agriculture. Farmers and everyone acknowledge that agriculture contributes a large proportion of our emissions- and that’s just the nature of the important job. And we know this important industry will be hit harder than everyone else, so it’s government’s job to support farmers in any way possible through the upcoming decades of uncertainty.”

“The worst part of this government’s anti-farmer agenda is that while they slashed the investments in sustainable farming introduced under the Labour-Greens government, they’ve still kept the nitrate pollution levy that paid for all of it. So while farmers lose out on all this investment in transitioning to sustainable farming, this government decides instead of using these pollution taxes, they’ll use it to pay for new aircraft, or new prisoner programs. Why should the agricultural industry support a Liberal-National coalition that thinks it should tax them while cutting their support? That is not a government that cares about the industry, that’s a government that throws farmers to the curb to buy some new toys for the military.”

the crowd of farmers jeers in agreement

“The government has cut investment, levied taxes farmers won’t see the benefit of, and left the agricultural industry to fend for themselves as climate change ravages the industry. Farmers are already a demographic of concern for suicide and mental health, and I fear that’ll only get worse as this government pulls the rug out from under the feet of farmers.”

“This government has done nothing for the industry but cause hardship and pain. It’s time for a government that actually cares about the livelihood of one of New Zealand’s key industries. It’s time for a new Minister for Primary Industries who understands the challenges agriculturalists face, including the mycoplasma bovis outbreak that this government has done nothing about.”

“It’s time to vote out the Liberals, vote out the Nats, and most importantly, vote out the former Minister for Primary Industries who inflicted all this pain, your local candidate for Wairarapa /u/kingethan15. It’s time for farmers to rise up, be strong, and elect a new government that actually cares!”

the farmers erupt in cheer and applause. they start chanting ‘imnofox! imnofox! down with ACT! down with ACT!

A roaming journalist photographed many of the protesting farmers