Gavin Sinclair, president of the New Zealand Veterinary Association cuts through the bullsh*t piled around Environment Southland’s proposal for a new and improved ‘dairy rule’. In his ‘President’s Comment’ published in the NVDA News, Gavin says of the proposals:
“To the thinking person with even a marginal environmental sensitivity, this appears to be a good idea. However, the proposal has been met with howls of protests, and the December meeting of ES was attended en masse by farmers. Reports suggest a somewhat intimidatory approach to councilors, who, in response, deferred a decision on the matter. Clearly, good governance is difficult for an elected body. It appears that the industry would prefer to manage its effects on the environment without a regulatory approach.”
That last statement would have to be the understatement of the decade, but full marks to Gavin for recognizing the truth of the matter from afar. The NVDA chairman goes on to expose the story of the Tasman region where dairy farmers were found to have rated themselves over-generously for their environmental practices, as revealed by a MAF audit that blew their claims out of the water and cast grave doubt over the industry’s claims that they can be trusted to self-manage and self-audit.
The issue has gone into ‘lull’ mode just now, but will resurface soon. It will be very interesting to see how individual ES councilors behave when the issue is represented and the proposal ratified – whether there will be shills for industry seeking to further delay or to water down the proposals. I will keep you informed.
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