An "Unaffordable Luxury"

It's getting increasingly lonely out here in the rural sector. Almost daily we can read about more money for Auckland, more motorways for the cities, more money for city broadband users but, correspondingly, no money or recognition for farming.

It gets worse with our key to the future, the Fast Forward Fund being wound up, no doubt to pay for Auckland motorways or Wellington broadband.

The forgotten electorate that got the current government onto the benches.

Dairying alone earns $10.4 billion and, according to the MAF website, meat, dairy, wool, horticulture and forestry earn $23.5 billion and that's in hard, audited dollars, not "contribution to the economy". For all that tourism gets a government subsidy, farming gets nothing.

Of further interest is that with last year classified as a recession year agricultural production actually increased from $21.7 billion to $23.5, not an insignificant feat albeit unheralded and unrecognised.

As if rural NZ does not pull its weight.

Research and development tax cuts get wiped as an "unaffordable luxury"

Lots of soothing words from the government about saving "iconic" companies

There are votes to be captured in super cities and tourists.

As Mr Emerson rightly suggests,

Someone should tell the clowns in Wellington that people will eat long before they travel or buy new dishwashers.