He Kaiparau a Niu Tireni e Tiro ana ki nga Taonga Taaata Ma Te Tino Atarua

A $12-billion “assistance package” to American farmers sounds like a great deal, iti rawa mo nga kaiwhiwhi: he utu kotahi mo te whakangawari i nga mamae na nga pakanga hokohoko me te iti o te utu o nga taonga, mai i tetahi Whare Ma e hiahia nui ana ki te awhina.

He rereke taku tirohanga. He tangata ahu whenua i Niu Tireni i whiwhi awhina a te kawanatanga ana ka ngaro, Ka korero ahau mai i aku wheako i taku ki atu he pai ake te mahi ahuwhenua ina ka noho ke nga kawanatanga mai i ta tatou pakihi ka tuku i a tatou kai kia whakatipu kore pokanoa.

The federal assistance package is in fact a devil’s bargain: Ka puta he painga mo te wa poto engari ka raru ano mo nga kaiparau Amerika.

I taku wa i mua i te ahu whenua i nga tau 1980, I tautokohia e Niu Tireni nga mahi ahuwhenua me te ahua o te maha o nga kawanatanga. Nui atu i te tuku kia mahi tatou i tetahi maakete koreutu kore utu, na matou i utu nga putea mo a maatau hipi, huruhuru hipi, miraka, me te kau.

Katahi ka whai mana tetahi kawanatanga hou. I tirohia e te hunga mahi ahuwhenua he tino rangatira, rangatira whenua whai rawa. We didn’t know it, engari i a matou e kukume otaota ana i te mara me te horoi i nga poaka, we had become New Zealand’s landed gentry.

No reira ka tangohia e te kawanatanga a taatau taapiri. It didn’t just reduce them. It didn’t phase them out over a stretch of time. I whakangaromia katoatia i te wa kotahi. Na matou i tapahi te korukoru makariri.

I won’t pretend that it was easy. I roto i te meka, na te whakakorengia o enei tautoko ka raru to taatau paamu.

I poroteehi nga kaimahi ahuwhenua i nga taone nui me nga taone nui. Kei Te Waipounamu, kei hea o maatau paamu, ko etahi o ratou i patu hipi i nga huarahi. I puta ta raatau kaupapa whakahirahira, engari i mahi ratau i o raatau-ohanga. Ki te ngaro o nga moni tautoko, he maha nga kararehe he nui ake te mate i te ora. I te wa i tonoa ai e nga kaiparau kia mahi, they didn’t earn payments in return. Engari, i riro mai he pire ki a raatau.

It sounds perverse—and indeed it was. But that’s what happens when governments pay subsidies. They mutilate markets and build bad incentives into economic systems.

I didn’t participate in those protests. I was too busy trying to save our farm. For several years, we spent as little as possible. We made almost no capital improvements. We’ve always kept a vegetable garden, but back then it became a lifeline. The garden wasn’t a hobby, but a source of food. This was about survival.

The government that removed our subsidies had acted out of spite. It didn’t mind watching farmers fail—and many did fail, due to the loss of financial supports combined with high interest rates, low land prices, and other factors. When the government offered to pay some farmers to exit agriculture, lots agreed to go and felt relief when they did.

Ko te mea hangareka ahakoa ko te whakakorenga o nga tahua i tiimata mai he momo whiunga torangapu, ka mutu kua waiho hei manaakitanga roa mo nga kaiahuwhenua. I uaua nga wa o te whakatikatika i puta i a maatau engari i kaha ake mai i a maatau.

I arotahi taku whanau ki ta maatau paamu. I a maatau i mua i te waahanga uaua, i ohorere i a maatau ki te whakatau kaupapa i runga noa atu o te mahi ahuwhenua me te pakihi pai. I tino mahi nanakia matou, he huarahi ano tenei mo te kii kua tino pai taatau ki a taatau mahi.

I whakapai ake ano ta maatau ki te aukati i nga ture e kino ana te ahuwhenua. Ko nga putea tautoko i nga kaitorangapu, ko wai hoki ka kaha ki te whakawehi i a ia ki te whakakore i nga awhina mena ka kore e whakaae nga kaiparau ki nga momo mana whakahaere hou. Te kore tahua, he nui ake to taatau ki te whakatau i nga raru na roto i te auahatanga me nga mahi auaha kaua ki nga whakahau-a-te-whakahaere a te kawanatanga.

Ka rite ki te whenua, I whiwhi painga a Aotearoa i roto i te ohanga o te ao. Ka mahi ana maatau i nga kirimana tauhokohoko, ka kii ranei i nga keehi ki te Whakahaere Tauhokohoko o te Ao, we’re always in a strong position because our negotiators and diplomats don’t have to explain away market-distorting policies. Inaianei, he nui ake ta maatau kaweake i mua atu.

Na me whakaae e nga kaiparau Amerika nga $12 piriona tohanga? That’s for them to decide. Engari mena ka kii mai ano taku kaawana i Niu Tireni, I’d feel a flicker of temptation and then reflect upon what I’ve learned from a lifetime in agriculture and come to my senses. He ngawari taku whakautu: No mihi.