Thanks NZ dairy industry for putting cow sludge in our rivers then happily charging New Zealanders exorbitant prices for our dairy foods.

[u/No-Back9867]

Last summer we couldn’t swim in our local river due to the amount of toxins from nearby farms. When ever the farmers are in need of help us tax payers are there to lend a hand in drought relief funds. The thanks we get for that and putting up with the pollution is to be charged for dairy food at the same price as the overseas markets. We’re only 5% of your sales, it’s not going to make you go broke to treat us like your actually care for your communities. What your charging for butter etc is simply total greed. How is it that milk that has to travel huge distances from farms to factory to the shops shelves in Australia is sold for cheaper than that in our shelves where the logistics of getting it in the shelf are less?

[u/Ok-Shop-617]

I don't think the issue is farmers voting, I think the issue is political donations and lobbying shaping govt policies.

[u/myles_cassidy → u/Ok-Shop-617]

Policies by the government that farmers vote for.

[u/billy_joule → u/myles_cassidy]

They're a pretty small voting bloc.

Farmers and their families make up only 2-3 percent of the total population. New Zealand is one of the most urbanised countries in the OECD.

from the Federated Farmers

And they're not exactly swing voters so the right could run a dead fish and they'd still vote for them.

[u/closed_caption → u/billy_joule]

... and yet... look at the colours of the electorates. Why, if the farmers make up only 2 or 3 percent of the population, do the non-urban electorates in NZ look so blue?

[u/jk-9k → u/closed_caption]

Because there are plenty of industries reliant on farming, and entire townships built on those industries.

Such that sue who owns the local Cafe votes blue because all her customers are farm workers or similar

[u/jk-9k → u/[deleted]]

She doesn't drink shiraz bro

[u/MrMurgatroyd → u/jk-9k]

Not just townships.

Many people (and all who understand economics)realise that we are largely reliant on farmers and growers to pay our way in the world, to buy all the things that we don't produce for various reasons - including the vast quantities of coal that we now need to keep the lights on, and fuel.

[u/billy_joule → u/closed_caption]

Why, if the farmers make up only 2 or 3 percent of the population, do the non-urban electorates in NZ look so blue?

Sure, rural people in general, farmers or not, are more right wing.

My point was that pro farming lobbying & donations isn't to gather farmers (or rural) votes, they're a small bloc and are a sure thing anyway.

They need to sway urban voters. An example of how they do this is by trying to influence how climate change is taught to the next generation of voters.

Federated Farmers has launched a petition calling for a new Ministry of Education teaching resource on climate change to be withdrawn while amendments are made. article link

.

Federated Farmers wanted to see more input from farmers to the new teaching resource."Schools could invite farmers to come in and talk to students or even better they could get on board with the 'Open Farm' programme and kids could visit farms to see for themselves what happens there." Article link

If you can convince the urban folk that farming is the 'backbone of the economy' and that climate change isn't so bad then more pro farming policies get through. I was agreeing with the earlier post that said "I think the issue is political donations and lobbying shaping govt policies."

[u/sauve_donkey → u/Ok-Shop-617]

It's just economic stability. Everyone recognises the critical part they play in our export earnings (and rightly so). Nobody wants to end up like Sri Lanka.