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Friday 26 November 2021
Rural rally rolls into town
The Groundswell protesters make their way along Tākaka’s Commercial Street on Sunday afternoon. Photo: Jo Richards. JO RICHARDS
Sunday’s vehicular rally through Tākaka, the second such protest in the last few months, failed to live up to its pre-event billing. The rally was one of dozens taking place at the same time in towns and cities across New Zealand – a coordinated day of action Groundswell dubbed the “Mother of All Protests”. Groundswell, a national campaign group, was formed earlier this year to provide a collective voice to the rural sector on issues including regulation of the rural sector, Significant Natural Areas, the ute tax and Three Waters Reform. Prior to Sunday’s event, organisers had been concerned about the protest being infiltrated by fringe elements wanting to draw attention to a variety of unrelated grievances. As it turned out, although a handful of vehicles displayed Groundswell-approved signs, the vast majority gave no indication of a connection to any
cause. At the head of the convoy of tractors, utes, trucks and assorted passenger vehicles, a red ute sported the official Groundswell banner emblazoned with the message “No farms, no food”. Immediately behind the lead ute, an SUV displayed small sign “Stop Three waters” followed closely by a tractor bearing two large banners that read “NZ farmers feed the world’ and “Hands off our land, water, utes”. Unlike July’s well-attended rally, the ranks of “unmarked” private cars heavily outnumbered the tractors, large trucks and other farm machines, and to the casual bystander, it was probably unclear as to why they were participating, if indeed they were. As the weather continued to rain on the parade, a small group gathered outside the Village Theatre where they waved and added percussion to the vehicles’ tooting horn section
by beating a knife on a metal saucepan. Further along the street a few people sheltering from the heavy rain at the entrance to Wholemeal Café gave the thumbs up to drivers. Within a few minutes, the line of vehicles which had emerged from a paddock just beyond Mohua Motels had trundled the full length of Commercial Street and headed out of town before reassembling at the River Inn. Speaking on Monday, organiser of the Takaka rally Averill Grant acknowledged the relatively low turnout. “It was a bit quiet, but that was to be expected, as it was held on a weekday last time.” She said the protest needed to “get serious” and this would start with next week’s scheduled meeting between Groundswell representatives and the Prime Minister. The campaign plans to take its message to the Beehive en masse next February when a protest rally is due to be held in Wellington.
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Inside: Fermented foods Gardening tips Rural Views GB campgrounds THE GB WEEKLY, FRIDAY 26 NOVEMBER 2021
Covid traffic lights JO RICHARDS
The surprise announcement that the Government’s “traffic lights” Covid-19 Protection Framework is being introduced has created anxiety about how the new rules will affect life in Golden Bay. A t M o n d a y a f t e r n o o n’s m e d i a conference, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern explained that Auckland, along with the rest of New Zealand, would transfer to the new framework with effect from Friday 3 December. With the exception of Auckland, however, the colour of the traffic light assigned to each region – or subregion – will remain unknown until next Monday. The three levels are, in order of increasing restrictions, Green, Orange and Red. While it is unlikely that any region will start at Green, those currently at Alert Level 2, and with a minimum 90 per cent vaccination rate are expected to move to Orange, but that could leave several areas seeing Red, according to Ms Ardern. Last week, in a key address, the Prime Minister stressed that protection was the overriding objective of the framework. “With safety and minimising the spread of the virus in mind, I can also confirm that cabinet will look to move those areas with lower vaccination levels into the traffic light system at Red.” Chair of Golden Bay Promotion Association (GBPA), Marg Braggins, says the uncertainty is causing widespread concern amongst her members. “This is an unsettled and stressful time for many business owners and employees in the Bay.” Given its low vaccination rate (76 per cent first dose), Marg believes that Golden Bay is a prime candidate for the highest level designation. “On Monday, Auckland is expected to be in level Red along with regions that have lower vaccination rates – and the reality is that Golden Bay may be classified as Red too. If that’s the case, there will be a lot of restrictions and extra work for businesses, and that will be really tough for some.” At the Red setting, events are limited to 100 people, seated with social distancing. Hospitality venues, public facilities and close contact businesses – such as hairdressers – can only open if they implement the vaccine certificate system. For individuals without an official vaccine certificate, aka My Vaccine Pass, everything except essential services, retail and contactless operations will be out of bounds. Consequently Marg predicts... Continued on page 2
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