Water resilience in an uncertain season
With spring upon us, things are set to be all go for you as our rural contractors and large-scale farmers. After a benign start, late winter has been pretty challenging around the south, where I farm. We have been crying out for some sun and drying.
The big unknown for this season is how the ‘super’ El Niño weather pattern will play out and what impact it will have across the country. Farmers and growers are already planning ahead and doing what they can to prepare, whether it be putting in extra paddocks of summer feed in the east or ordering extra supplement.
If it plays out drier in the east and north and wetter in the west and south, it will be challenging for many. While the outlook has been forecast, that doesn’t make the impacts any easier on the ground. I know farmers will be doing their best to prepare for whatever the season brings.
At least most in the primary sector are coming off a couple of decent income seasons, which should fortify their businesses somewhat.
If the forecast does play out, it is likely to put added pressure on you as contractors, with the windows for sowing, making feed and harvesting potentially becoming even more compressed. The joy of working with nature and the variables beyond our control.
It does throw a spotlight on one of the main focuses of our Regional Infrastructure Fund: investment in water storage and irrigation. Even in a dry year, large parts of New Zealand have the potential to store water in times of plenty, providing greater resilience and a reliable water supply for use when conditions dry out.
In my lifetime, Canterbury has been transformed, with around 70% of New Zealand’s irrigated land now located in the region. It was a far-sighted investment that was expensive at the time but has brought long-term dividends of seasonal resilience and land-use flexibility. The positive impacts flowing into towns like Ashburton, Rolleston and further south in Oamaru are there for all to see.
We have set about attempting to increase New Zealand’s irrigation footprint. A number of schemes in areas like Northland, Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay, Wairarapa, Hurunui and Central Otago are in various stages of planning. Existing schemes in Canterbury have received funding for increasing storage capacity.
The fast-track legislation, championed by New Zealand First at the last election, has proved to be a valuable tool to give scheme proponents a fighting chance to get their proposals to fruition.
Should we receive the mandate after this election, we want to go one step further by elevating irrigation to nationally significant infrastructure. New Zealand First wants to adopt the Tasmanian model, where its state government plays a much more hands-on role in delivering water storage schemes.
At present, schemes are largely driven by community groups that identify a potential site, convince enough landowners to invest in feasibility, engineering and design work, with the hope of securing a resource consent. They then need to raise enough capital and build the scheme. In some cases, it takes decades of work to get it over the line.
In Tasmania, the government contributes to the planning, design, consenting and building of the scheme, de-risking the investment for private landowners. The government then wins in perpetuity as the much-increased economic activity fuels economic growth, creates jobs and drives a higher tax take.
Our government, via Kānoa, the Regional Economic Development & Investment Unit, and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) through the Primary Sector Growth Fund, has invested in these projects. However, support is not yet systematic and the process can be complex for scheme proponents to navigate. New Zealand First aims to consolidate government processes and funding so we can better support these critical pieces of infrastructure and help good projects get off the ground.
We see it as being essential for fortifying New Zealand’s farming and horticultural sectors and a key component in the aim of doubling primary exports by value.
All of this is for another day as we now head out onto the hustings to see how our own harvest will go. As you go about reaping yours, please be safe. It’s a gruelling time for our contractors and large-scale farmers, but there is always another day tomorrow.