1
00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:03,400
Speaker 1: Afternoon. There is concern being raised about another tax planned

2
00:00:03,400 --> 00:00:05,480
Speaker 1: by this government. This time it is a water tax

3
00:00:05,559 --> 00:00:08,600
Speaker 1: on farmers. Federated Farmers has spent the summer reading through

4
00:00:08,640 --> 00:00:11,280
Speaker 1: the government's planned RMA laws and has found that the

5
00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:13,920
Speaker 1: law gives ministers the power to implement this water tax.

6
00:00:13,920 --> 00:00:16,799
Speaker 1: The minister responsible for the RMA reformers, Chris Bishop.

7
00:00:16,600 --> 00:00:18,240
Speaker 2: I bish good eight. How are you?

8
00:00:18,320 --> 00:00:20,320
Speaker 1: I'm well, thank you. Are you planning to tax this

9
00:00:20,480 --> 00:00:21,880
Speaker 1: of the farmers with a water tax?

10
00:00:22,520 --> 00:00:25,360
Speaker 2: Absolutely not. I can categorically rule out for you heither

11
00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:28,280
Speaker 2: that we'll be taxing water or putting in place of

12
00:00:28,320 --> 00:00:30,560
Speaker 2: water tax for farmers or anything like that. That is

13
00:00:30,680 --> 00:00:33,839
Speaker 2: not government policy. We will not be doing that, So

14
00:00:33,880 --> 00:00:35,519
Speaker 2: I can categorically rule that out for you.

15
00:00:36,200 --> 00:00:38,600
Speaker 1: Federated Farmers says it is there in black and white

16
00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:40,600
Speaker 1: in the legislation. So if you're not planning on doing it,

17
00:00:40,640 --> 00:00:41,760
Speaker 1: why is it in the legislation.

18
00:00:42,840 --> 00:00:45,440
Speaker 2: I don't really agree with their characterization of it, but

19
00:00:45,479 --> 00:00:47,680
Speaker 2: I accept that that's their view. And look, that's why

20
00:00:47,680 --> 00:00:49,239
Speaker 2: we sent the bill to a select committee. So if

21
00:00:49,280 --> 00:00:51,360
Speaker 2: we need to change things in the select committee, we

22
00:00:51,440 --> 00:00:54,840
Speaker 2: absolutely will do that. And it's pretty clear from Federative

23
00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:56,680
Speaker 2: Farmers and a few others actually saying the same thing

24
00:00:56,680 --> 00:00:59,680
Speaker 2: as well, that the policy intense not there, so we'll

25
00:00:59,680 --> 00:01:01,080
Speaker 2: have a good look at it through the committee and

26
00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:03,760
Speaker 2: make changes. We're months away from passing the bill into law,

27
00:01:03,920 --> 00:01:06,800
Speaker 2: so but I just want to reassure your listeners tonight, Heather,

28
00:01:06,840 --> 00:01:09,520
Speaker 2: that we will not be introducing a water tax that

29
00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:10,720
Speaker 2: is not government policy.

30
00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:13,040
Speaker 1: I'm sure this is going to reassure a lot of farmers.

31
00:01:13,040 --> 00:01:14,720
Speaker 1: How did it get in there? Did this? Was this

32
00:01:14,920 --> 00:01:17,840
Speaker 1: Federated Farmers reckons? This was slipped through by the officials?

33
00:01:17,920 --> 00:01:18,600
Speaker 1: Is that what happened?

34
00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:22,679
Speaker 2: I don't think that's a fair characterization of it. I mean,

35
00:01:22,680 --> 00:01:26,520
Speaker 2: there's a there's a mechanism in the bill around you know,

36
00:01:26,560 --> 00:01:29,399
Speaker 2: how you set up local catchments for example, and you

37
00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:32,240
Speaker 2: know regional ways of managing water, which which happens now

38
00:01:32,240 --> 00:01:33,800
Speaker 2: to be honest, you know, we've got catchment groups up

39
00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:36,280
Speaker 2: and down the country, and there'll be farmers listening who

40
00:01:36,440 --> 00:01:40,000
Speaker 2: have their own kind of collaborative catchment groups which who actually, frankly,

41
00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:42,720
Speaker 2: do an amazing job of looking after our natural resources

42
00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:44,399
Speaker 2: as well. So there's a bit of stuff in there

43
00:01:44,440 --> 00:01:46,760
Speaker 2: around that. But you know, we're going to we can

44
00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:48,520
Speaker 2: get through the Select Committee and make it really clear

45
00:01:48,520 --> 00:01:50,240
Speaker 2: that we won't be putting in place a water tax.

46
00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:52,840
Speaker 1: Just explain to me though, right their interpretation of it

47
00:01:52,920 --> 00:01:55,440
Speaker 1: is that the water tax is there to be able

48
00:01:55,520 --> 00:01:57,840
Speaker 1: the trigger is able to be pulled by ministers on

49
00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:01,400
Speaker 1: farmers with an exemption for now, that seems like a

50
00:02:01,440 --> 00:02:04,720
Speaker 1: reasonably thought out plan there. So how did this come

51
00:02:04,880 --> 00:02:06,800
Speaker 1: to be in a piece of legislation that you've gone

52
00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:07,680
Speaker 1: yep thumbs up to.

53
00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:11,680
Speaker 2: Well, there's a provision in there to allow it to

54
00:02:11,720 --> 00:02:14,959
Speaker 2: be turned on into the future if the government did

55
00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:17,520
Speaker 2: policy work around that. And I can tell you that

56
00:02:17,560 --> 00:02:19,800
Speaker 2: we're not doing a policy work on our water tax

57
00:02:19,800 --> 00:02:21,600
Speaker 2: and we won't be doing it. So if we need

58
00:02:21,639 --> 00:02:22,880
Speaker 2: to take it out of it, if we need to

59
00:02:22,880 --> 00:02:24,400
Speaker 2: take it out of the bill at the Sleekt Committee,

60
00:02:24,440 --> 00:02:24,919
Speaker 2: we can do it.

61
00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:27,840
Speaker 1: You guys are a government who have campaigned on not

62
00:02:27,960 --> 00:02:30,760
Speaker 1: increasing taxes. This is your core voter base, the farmers.

63
00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:32,840
Speaker 1: But on top of that, you've also made it pretty

64
00:02:32,840 --> 00:02:35,079
Speaker 1: clear that you think everybody should be treated equally, right,

65
00:02:35,120 --> 00:02:37,760
Speaker 1: So how did you come to putting a provision in

66
00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:40,079
Speaker 1: that could potentially tax farmers in the future with an

67
00:02:40,080 --> 00:02:41,000
Speaker 1: exemption for EWI.

68
00:02:42,400 --> 00:02:44,519
Speaker 2: I don't think that's a fair characterization of what's in

69
00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:47,000
Speaker 2: the bill at the moment, but I accept Federated Farmers

70
00:02:47,080 --> 00:02:49,000
Speaker 2: have that view and lock there's a we can get

71
00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:52,320
Speaker 2: through this and absolutely we will be making clear through

72
00:02:52,320 --> 00:02:54,080
Speaker 2: the Select Committee and through the other side when we

73
00:02:54,080 --> 00:02:56,480
Speaker 2: passed the bill into law that that won't be you know,

74
00:02:56,520 --> 00:02:57,480
Speaker 2: that won't be the status quo.

75
00:02:57,680 --> 00:02:59,639
Speaker 1: Okay, bish, thank you for your time. It's Chris Bishop,

76
00:02:59,639 --> 00:03:01,800
Speaker 1: the arm reform Minister. I don't know if you realize

77
00:03:01,800 --> 00:03:04,440
Speaker 1: how quickly this has played out. That freederaate of farmers

78
00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:06,560
Speaker 1: put out this press release at three o'clock this afternoon,

79
00:03:06,639 --> 00:03:10,280
Speaker 1: was just just after three. Two hours later, government is

80
00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:12,280
Speaker 1: shutting it down on the radio. So that's that's a

81
00:03:12,280 --> 00:03:13,840
Speaker 1: pretty quick turnaround from this government.

82
00:03:14,360 --> 00:03:17,560
Speaker 2: For more from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to

83
00:03:17,639 --> 00:03:20,680
Speaker 2: news talks it'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow

84
00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:22,480
Speaker 2: the podcast on iHeartRadio.