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Groundswell: Is protest suffering poor timing?

As demonstrations across the country grow more and more angry, does the agricultural protest group have a dilemma? Kevin Norquay investigates.

AFTER the success of the cleverly named Howl of a Protest in July, Groundswell is back today with its sequel, A Mother of

All Protests, coming to a town near you.

A convoy of farmers on tractors and utes is due to roll through towns and cities from Kaitaia to Invercargill, from Gisborne in the east to Fox Glacier on the West Coast.

The message they most want to push is ‘‘enough is enough’’ when it comes to the central Government imposing unworkable regulations and unjustified costs on farmers.

As is the case with books, films and successful music releases, the sequel is beset with expectation and concerns that it won’t match the success of the first. ‘‘A Mother’’ is that difficult second protest, and there are headwinds.

Government ministers consistently refuse to meet Groundswell. Stuart Nash has demeaned it in Parliament as anti-vax and racist, and agriculture sector powerbrokers Federated Farmers, Dairy NZ and Beef+Lamb have told the Sunday News they support the message, not the method.

As well, there has been the prospect of the protest being hijacked by protestors with little interest in the core issues – so much so that Wairarapa withdrew, fearing fringe elements distracting from the core issues and a loss of focus.

Groundswell organisers Bryce McKenzie and Laurie Patterson have anticipated that threat, issuing a list of ‘‘approved messages’’. None of them include ‘‘Freedom’’, ‘‘Keep America Great’’ or ‘‘Media Treason’’, all evident in the recent march on Parliament. ‘‘Enough is Enough’’ is allowable on a list of 15 possible placard slogans, as are ‘‘No Farmers, No Food’’, and ‘‘No 3 Waters’’. A Howl of Protest did not stick to those. It may have been about environmental policy and anti-red tape protests, but there were off-message signs about communism, Jacinda Ardern, Labour ‘‘lies’’ and anti-semitism.

With signs that anger and frustration is growing, do Groundswell organisers have any ability to stop the-virus-isa-hoax signage, and Covid mask haters?

Federated Farmers president Andrew Hoggard, a Manawatu¯ dairy farmer, said the sector faced massive problems with freshwater and labour shortages, yet there was less broad support for a second protest.

‘‘We are really feeling it at the moment. We don’t disagree with Groundswell on that, it’s just the method we differ on,’’ he said. ‘‘A lot of our people were very supportive of the previous protest, and thought it was run really well. This time the timing is not so great, with Covid around and everyone at war with each other.

‘‘At a time when a lot of businesses in Auckland are on the edge of losing everything, and myself and other farmers are in a fairly OK situation comparatively, it doesn’t feel quite right that we should be protesting where we are at just right now.’’

Hoggard was frustrated a racist and sexist social media post this week by Tatua Dairy director Ross Townshend had been linked to Groundswell, for which Townshend was the Hamilton organiser.

‘‘What gets me is everyone is playing the man, not the ball – the bulk of farmers who support Groundswell are not a bunch of racists and sexist, they are simply concerned around the direction of government policy. Trying to make them out to be that just goes and alienates people and drives positions further apart.

‘‘There’s definitely that risk [that antivaxxers will hijack the protests] but the comments by Stuart Nash were quite silly.’’

He had talked to Groundswell organiser McKenzie about whether it was wise to hold a nationwide protest during the pandemic.

‘‘Bryce said, ‘the Government are still ramming through their agenda, despite Covid, so why should we hold off ours?’ I have some sympathy for that point of view.

‘‘The Government needs to concentrate on getting things right. It keeps chopping and changing, and people are getting stressed out. Take a breath, slow it down, work through it properly.’’

DairyNZ did not support Groundswell, chair Jim van der Poel said.

‘‘Groundswell are raising a lot of issues that many farmers are concerned about and the impact it is having on the wellbeing of rural communities,’’ he said.

‘‘While we share some of their concerns, we do not believe protesting is the way to achieve the positive change we need to see.

‘‘Our approach is to carry out professional advocacy on behalf of dairy farmers that is underpinned by sound advice from our policy, economics, science and advocacy teams.

‘‘We prefer working constructively with the Government to help them

understand the pressures dairy farmers and rural communities are feeling, and finding solutions that are practical, pragmatic and deliver results.’’

Beef + Lamb chairman Andrew Morrison said it agreed with Groundswell over the scale and pace of regulatory change, particularly relating to the environment.

Some of the reforms that have been coming out have also been impractical, he said.

‘‘We don’t necessarily agree with all of Groundswell’s specific policy positions on the environment. Where we also differ is how we go about achieving outcomes for farmers in getting these concerns addressed,’’ he said.

‘‘We believe having a seat at the table and conveying our feedback respectfully yet strongly directly to the Government and officials is the way to get results. We believe that’s the approach the majority of our farmers want us to take.

‘‘We can’t say ‘no’ to everything as we then risk having impractical, unworkable policies simply foisted upon us and that’s definitely something farmers don’t want. It’s important we all find common ground, as creating or emphasising division within the sector isn’t going to help anyone.’’

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2021-11-21T08:00:00.0000000Z

2021-11-21T08:00:00.0000000Z

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