Groundswell NZ is a farming advocacy group in New Zealand that was formed to oppose the New Zealand Government's National Policy Statement on Freshwater. The group has also sought to oppose or revise freshwater, indigenous biodiversity, climate change, pastoral land reform policies, and the Three Waters reform programme affecting farmers and rural communities On 16 July 2021, Groundswell NZ staged a nationwide Howl of a Protest campaign in between 47 and 57 cities and towns throughout New Zealand to protest what they regarded as "increasing Government interference, unworkable regulations, and unjustified costs" on the rural sector. On 21 November 2021, Groundswell NZ held a second series of nationwide protests known as the Mother of All Protests.
Goals and positions Groundswell NZ has advocated the elimination of the Labour Government's National Policy Statement on Freshwater, the National Policy Statement on Indigenous Biodiversity, the Crown Pastoral Land Reform Act, and so-called "unworkable elements" of the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme. In addition, the group called for overseas seasonal rural workers to be given priority in managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) facilities in New Zealand. Groundswell NZ has also called for the scrapping of the Government's Clean Car Package rebate scheme (the so-called "ute tax") on the grounds that there are no electric alternatives to utes, which are widely used by farmers, horticulturalists, industry support people, and tradespersons. The Government's Clean Car Package rebate scheme places a fee on higher-emission vehicles such as utes. Farmers and tradespersons regard the new rebate scheme as discriminatory. In addition, the group has called for local councils to halt Resource Management Act planning processes, claiming that significant natural areas, wetlands and landscapes were having a negative impact on people and their property values. Groundswell has also urged landowners to deny access to councils or their agents wanting to undertake mapping or information gathering of their properties.
Carbon emissions On 22 July 2022, Groundswell urged farmers and horticulturalists to boycott the Government's Agricultural Production Census until Statistics New Zealand agreed to use an emissions metric based on what the group considered "sound science" and a warming-effect approach. McKenzie claimed that the Government's current emissions metric was not suitable for the New Zealand agricultural sector. Farmers and horticulturalists who do not fill the Agricultural Production Census are liable for a maximum fine of NZ$500. Groundswell NZ has opposed the Government's He Waka Eke Noa (a common Māori whakataukī, or proverb which means ‘we are all in this together’) (HWEN), a partnership between the Government and agricultural sector to reduce carbon emissions outside of the framework of the Emissions Trading Scheme. Groundswell claimed that farmers had not been properly consulted about HWEN and called for more work and research on the partnership scheme. In addition, Groundswell alleged that other farming lobby groups including Federated Farmers and DairyNZ were "pets" of the Government. In 20 August, Groundswell issued a press release claiming that Climate Change Minister James Shaw had conceded that the HWEN scheme was flawed and had abandoned it. The following day, Shaw clarified that the Government had not abandoned its He Waka Eke Noa scheme and that the Government was considering advice from the Climate Change Commission and officials. Shaw also reiterated the Government's commitment to working with the agricultural and horticultural sector to develop a "fair, effective system" for reducing carbon emissions.
Te Tai o Poutini Plan On 25 July, Groundswell issued a letter in the West Coast Region criticising the draft Te Tai o Poutini Plan (TTPP) and calling for its withdrawal. The group claimed the provisions for "significant natural areas" and Māori sites of significance amounted to a land grab. While West Coast Regional Council chairman and TTPP member Allan Birchfield supported Groundswell's position, fellow TTPP committee member and Te Runanga o Makaawhio chairman Paul Madgwick described Groundswell's letter as "mischief-making" and argued that Māori sites of significance were an important part of the National Planning Standards.
Three Waters reforms
In November 2021, Groundswell expressed opposition to the Government's Three Waters reform programme, claiming it was "unworkable" and amounted to stealing ratepayers' assets. In December 2021, the group sponsored a petition calling for the abandonment of the Three Waters programme, which attracted 3,000 signatures by 15 December. In June 2022, Groundswell and the New Zealand Taxpayers' Union co-organised a nationwide "roadshow" to rally opposition against the Three Waters reforms. This roadshow toured 36 cities and towns including Christchurch, Alexandra, and Invercargill.
History and activities Groundswell NZ was founded by two West Otago farmers named Bryce McKenzie and Laurie Paterson, who were opposed to the Government's regulations on grazing, harvesting and freshwater use. The group first attracted media attention in October 2020 when McKenzie and Paterson organised a tractor protest in the South Island town of Gore to protest against the Labour Government's new winter grazing and freshwater regulations. This protest attracted 120 participants. Groundswell NZ subsequently became a national movement organised through the social media platform Facebook, with the number of followers growing from 900 in October 2020 to 14,000 by mid-July 2021.
Protest activities
Howl of a Protest
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