We're asking for your support with our new campaign to tell banks to back off from enforcing emissions policies.
Banks are charging farmers extra interest, denying them credit when they’re solvent, and now banks are starting to act as de facto enforcers for the kinds of emissions policies we’ve been campaigning against.
To stop this, we’re calling on the MPs of Parliament’s Primary Production Committee to open an inquiry into rural banking, to haul the banks in and sort this out.
We’ve set up an easy-to-use tool for telling those MPs to start this inquiry at www.backoffbanks.nz.
On average, banks charge 2% higher interest rates for rural lending than for other kinds of lending and we often hear of farmers, even with high equity in their farms, being denied credit.
The banks and the Reserve Bank both blame each other and the regulations applying to them. This much already warrants an inquiry, but there are even more worrying reasons that could be pushing banks to withhold credit from farmers.
Banks are required to declare the emissions profiles of their lending and they also use outdated models for agricultural emissions that make farming look like it contributes to climate change, while up to date models indicate New Zealand farming could be at net zero already.
That could be why they’re trying to reduce the amount of lending they offer to farmers – to make their reports look better.
Banks aren’t equipped to make these decisions and shouldn’t be involved in enforcing emissions policies.
It’s time to tell them to back off.
These are tough times to be in farming. The interest rates and access to credit can be the difference between keeping the farm going or being forced to sell up. And that's especially so for many young farmers.
If we can convince MPs to hold a parliamentary inquiry, they can force the different players, like the banks and the Reserve Bank, to come and explain themselves, as well as open up for submissions from everyone affected by rural lending decisions and the intrusive requests for emissions data.
Most of all, though, an inquiry would get to the bottom of what policies, laws, and regulations could be changed to fix rural banking and get banks out of the emissions enforcement business. Reports from select committee inquiries are authoritative platforms to base campaigns on when telling MPs to change the law.
Can you take two minutes to join our campaign?
The government has changed and is starting to make changes to the rules about agricultural emissions, but the banks could be a back door for the anti-farming crowd to keep the same misguided ideology in play: punishing farmers for producing the food everyone needs.
National and ACT hold a majority on the Primary Production Committee and this is our chance to get results on this issue from the change in government. All the governing parties care about what Groundswell supporters think of them and it’s time to tell them they need to listen to you. (NZ First doesn’t have an MP on that committee, but our email tool will copy in Mark Patterson, Associate Agriculture Minister and NZ First MP).
Politics isn’t just about electing different people but keeping on at them in between elections. The anti-farming crowd are constantly in the ear of politicians and if we don’t make ourselves heard, MPs start to think the other side actually do represent the public.
Some of those groups have gotten government funding to hire permanent activists, lobbying MPs and ministers. Groundswell NZ are all volunteers, so we rely on you, the grassroots of New Zealand, to tell the politicians what needs to happen.
It’s your support that makes possible our campaigns to stand up for food producers and rural communities.
Thank you again for your support.
Kind regards,
Bryce, Laurie, Mel and the Team at Groundswell NZ
