'Lag-effect' politics and the politicisation of New Zealand farmers: Where to from here?

Abstract

Responding to diffuse agricultural pollution is plagued by the considerable period of time it can take before ecological thresholds are breached and the impacts of actions on land become evident in water. Reflecting on the recent election campaign and the findings of research conducted in 2013 to understand farmers’ perspectives on media claims that agriculture is diminishing New Zealand’s ‘100% Pure’ brand, this paper examines the social and political dimensions of this lag-effect and argues that the politicisation of New Zealand farmers has gone too far. The paper examines the implications of lag-effect politics for farmers and the new government that has inherited an already fraught implementation phase of the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management.