Groundswell NZ
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 facilities in New Zealand.Groundswell NZ has also called for the scrapping of the Government's Clean Car Package rebate scheme 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 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 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
On 5 July 2021, McKenzie invited farmers across New Zealand to participate in a nationwide "Howl of a Protest" campaign on 16 July to protest the Government's new and proposed freshwater regulations, winter grazing rules and indigenous biodiversity regulations. Protesters were encouraged to bring their utes, tractors and dogs into towns across New Zealand ranging from Gore in the South Island to Kerikeri in the North Island. Protests were organised in 20 towns including Alexandra, Gore, Invercargill, Mosgiel, Oamaru, Greymouth, Blenheim, Thames, Hastings, Palmerston North, and Kerikeri.On 16 July, Groundswell staged protests in 57 cities and towns across New Zealand including Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Mosgiel, Whangārei, Dargaville, Kerikeri, Kaitaia, Levin, Dannevirke, Te Awamutu, Amberley, Greymouth, Alexandra, Wānaka, Invercargill, Timaru, Gisborne, and Hastings. The only city that Groundswell left off the protest circuit was the capital Wellington, which organisers described as an intentional decision. Pukekohe to Auckland organiser Scott Bright said that 50 tractors would be escorted by police along the Southern Motorway before progressing up the city into Queen Street. Bright also confirmed that vegetable growers would be donating three tonnes of vegetables to the Auckland City Mission.
In Christchurch, a Groundswell protest was diverted from the city's Cathedral Square due to the large number of participants. In Dunedin, organisers decided not to stop in the city but to instead drive through the city's Octagon at noon before heading to a speech in Mosgiel. In Dunedin, a counter-protester holding a sign which read "No farming on a dead planet" had it ripped from her by a bystander. National Party Member of Parliament Nicola Willis attended the Wānaka protest. Timaru's streets were occupied by hundreds of utes, trucks, and tractors as South Canterbury farmers and tradespersons protested the Government's regulations.
In Gisborne, protesters travelled in 350 vehicles on Gisborne's main road. Notable participants included All Blacks veteran Ian Kirkpatrick. The Hastings protest saw 800 vehicles drive through the city with one local organiser comparing it to the 1981 Springbok Tour. Protests were also held in Nelson and Tākaka in the South Island. The Katikati protest in the North Island's Bay of Plenty region was jointly organised by Groundswell NZ and the KKCando Concerned Ratepayers.
The protests wrapped up at 5pm New Zealand time. Auckland organiser Scott Bright claimed that the thousands of protesting farmers rallying together demonstrated "the seriousness" of the impacts of regulatory costs and the emotional toll on the rural community. Other participants drew attention to the importance of the farming community to the country's food security and expressed frustration with alleged Government "bullying." Organiser McKenzie stated that the Howl of a Protest campaign went "unbelievably well" and that feedback from the general public was positive. Though the protests were largely peaceful, media company Newshub reported that several participants had carried offensive signs expressing misogynistic attacks on Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and attacking the increased use of the Māori language in New Zealand. McKenzie disavowed the offensive signs as not representative of farmers' views.
"Mother of All Protests"
In mid August, Groundswell NZ co-founder Bryce McKenzie confirmed that the group would be organising a nationwide protest campaign in November 2021 to oppose allegedly "unworkable regulations" relating to freshwater, indigenous biodiversity, and climate change. Co-founder Laurie Paterson stated that the second planned protest campaign was in response to the Government's refusal to address their concerns about freshwater and climate change mitigation policies.On 20 September, Groundswell NZ co-founder Paterson confirmed that the November protest would be known as the "Mother of All Protests" and would occur nationwide on 21 November. This protest campaign was intended to build a momentum for the "Groundswell Gathering" that would be held at the New Zealand Parliament in February 2022. After Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Minister of Agriculture Damien O'Connor declined to meet with McKenzie and Paterson, the duo confirmed that Groundswell would proceed with its "Mother of All Protests" campaign on 21 November.
On 21 November, Groundswell NZ held its "Mother of All Protests" across 70 towns and centres including Kaitaia, Whangārei, Auckland, Tauranga, New Plymouth, Taupō, Wellington, Nelson, Greymouth, Christchurch, Timaru, Temuka, Geraldine, Waimate, Fairlie, Alexandra, Balclutha, Bluff, Gore, Invercargill, Mosgiel, Oamaru, Palmerston, Queenstown, Stewart Island, Te Anau, and Wānaka. The Wairarapa protest was cancelled due to concerns that the event could be hijacked by anti-vaccination elements opposed to the Government's COVID-19 lockdown and vaccination policies. Groundswell also published a list of acceptable signage on its website to counteract the problem of racist and offensive messages during the previous "Howl of a Protest" rally.