Backing the backbone of rural New Zealand

Article supplied by Hon. Mark Patterson, Minister for Rural Communities
Associate Minister for Regional Development
Associate Minister of Agriculture

For traditional, rural businesses such as mine, access to reliable and efficient contractors is critical. As much as I’d like to claim that my wife and I ran our Lawrence sheep and beef farm on our own (pre-politics), I’d be kidding myself.

We used contractors for silage, hay, heavy cultivation, direct drilling, scanning, shearing, digger work, fertiliser spreading, tree maintenance and, of course, freight. Utilising expertise and equipment that we couldn’t possibly justify purchasing ourselves to do the big jobs frees us up to concentrate on the stock work, maintenance and business management.

The primary sector is the engine room of our economy. Food and fibre exports reached $59.9 billion in 2025, with future forecasting another positive indication for the fortunes of our primary sector.

Our farm and thousands like ours are totally reliant on rural contractors to be able to do what we do – producing high quality food and fibre and earning export dollars for New Zealand.

It is a hard business and increasingly very capital intensive. That said, I’ve watched over the years as individuals starting out small with, say, a tractor and baler, have grown into big multifaceted operations, employing a good number of people. It does seem to be a business where hard work and dedication really can pay off.

This season has been a real roller coaster. In my 40-year involvement in farming I don’t know if I’ve seen a better year for returns in pastoral agriculture, coupled with a generally good growing season.

This year has also seen a high number of adverse weather events, from multiple heavy rainfall over large swaths of the North Island, to damaging spring windstorms in Southland, Clutha and Hurunui. The arable harvest in Canterbury has once again been blighted by a damp summer.

These are all scenarios that have put pressure on farmers and growers and surely would have added a few grey hairs to our rural contractors dealing with this level of disruption.

It has now, of course, been bookended by the events in the Middle East and the price and availability of fuel, especially diesel. This has only reinforced the stark reality that the New Zealand economy runs on diesel.

You can be assured that since the fuel crisis materialised, the availability of fuel has been the Coalition Government’s number one priority. Since the shameful decision by Labour to allow the closure of the Marsden Point refinery, we as a country have been left vulnerable to this sort of geopolitical upset.

While there have been calls for rationing, we have held our nerve. We are prepared, and we do have a four-phase plan that is ready to be rolled out if required. A plan, I might add, that has been honed working alongside industry, not one concocted solely in the Beehive.

To date, careful monitoring of the situation and working assiduously with our key supply partners in Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea has been sufficient, but we are far from complacent.

The recent announcement by my colleague Shane Jones that we are investing $20 million from the Regional Infrastructure Fund (RIF) to upgrade latent capacity at Marsden Point is further insurance. This will add a strategic reserve of an extra 90 million litres of diesel, ensuring critical utilities and freight can continue operation even if the situation was to worsen.

Fertiliser supply is generally in good shape, with our two main fertiliser co-ops having good supply on hand for several months.

We know prices at the pump are causing real pain for families and businesses. Fortunately, we are heading into a quieter time in the seasonal farming cycle when diesel usage drops off somewhat, and by the time spring rolls round, let us hope that the fuel shock will be in the rearview mirror.

The challenge for us as politicians is how to mitigate being in this situation again. In the wake of the fuel crisis we have faced as a country, long-term national fuel and energy resilience is crucial. Sound economic strategy must be underpinned by good energy strategy.

That’s why the Coalition reversed the disastrous oil and gas exploration ban and allocated $200 million to encourage exploration.

The championed Fast Track legislation has enabled a boom in renewable energy generation, with investments by the RIF into next generation ‘Superhot’ geothermal energy development and the OpenStar nuclear fusion technology. Multiple hydrogen, wood pellet and biogas initiatives are in development. There is a lot happening.

Amidst the challenges our country faces, there is still much to be positive about in the primary sector, for our farmers, our contractors and our rural communities.