ALLIANCE WANTS TO NATIONALISE FARMER'S PRODUCER BOARDS SAYS LUXTON

"Producer Board evolution is about building a profitable future from the current base, not destroying the Boards, or nationalising them as the Alliance want to," Hon John Luxton, Minister for Food, Fibre, Biosecurity and Border Control said today in response to a release from Mr Anderton.

"Farmers and growers have had some tough years under the current over politicised systems. But the Alliance want more politics and less commercial common sense. The last thing farmers need is more politics, or a Minister of Producer Boards.

"Mr Anderton should take time away from backroom talks with Labour on how to dramatically increase taxes on rural people, to read what the Government has actually said about producer board evolution. Our goal is to carefully and sensibly build a profitable future from the current base - not rush things or destroy what's good.

"But the ideological driven Alliance party appears to want to nationalise the Boards. As well as Treasurer, Mr Anderton wants to be Minister of Producer Boards. He doesn't want farmers making their own decisions about their own assets, or having choices. He doesn't trust farmers to make up their own minds. He would rather nationalise the assets that farmers have built up and take control away from them.

"The Government is not anti producer Board. It is pro increasing farmers and growers' incomes and wealth. I know that the Alliance is opposed to that because they want to tax hard working rural people as much as they can. But despite what some people in the cities think, when farmers are doing well, the people in the towns do well.

"New Zealand exports around $20 billion. However for $4.9 billion of that, new ideas, new investment and new trade contacts are outlawed by central government politicians. The other $15 billion of exporters just get on with it, without having to worry about politicians like Mr Anderton who just want more politics and less commercial common sense. He wants politics rather than innovation. Next he will want more political rather than commercial structures for the forestry, fish and wine industries.

"As ENZA CEO, Gary Smith says in the 1997 Annual Report (page 7), "It's a hugely competitive market and international pressures are giving us two choices: we stay where we are - where the situation can only get worse - or we change, and change immediately"

"But the Government has no intention of rushing into any changes. On November 15 nothing will change. We will then carefully and sensibly work with each board through their initial proposals. We are only interested in solutions that work for farmers and New Zealand." Mr Luxton concluded.