Prime minister Jacinda Ardern is due to meetdue to meet the leaders of last year’s Groundswell protests, who argue that environmental regulation and the “ute tax” have hurt parts of the primary sector and, by extension, the rest of the country. But economic data tell a different story than the farmers claim.
The financial contribution the agriculture sector makes to society by way of tax paid is dwarfed by the financial benefit that the sector receives by way of subsidies, concessions and other forms of assistance.
