A Federated Farmers-organised protest against "continued attacks" on rural New Zealand will be held in Jacinda Ardern's hometown in the final week of the election campaign. Morrinsville farmer and former president of Waikato Federated Farmers, Lloyd Downing, said the protest would be held in Morrinsville next Monday. Mr Downing said blame for polluted waterways was being laid solely on farmers, despite many farmers spending tens of thousands of dollars on reducing their environmental impact. Federated Farmers Waikato president Andrew McGiven said a proposed royalty on water would reduce the amount farmers can spend on improving water quality. Labour expects to raise $100 million a year through the water royalty, which would be spent in the area the revenue was generated to improve water quality in rivers, lakes and streams.

Source: Otago Daily Times September 12, 2017 01:41 UTC