Government-Rural Partnership

Well, uh, we worked very hard, but do you know April of this year, 16 years ago was the first negotiation New Zealand had with India and successive governments have had it as an ambition. Chris Luxon said before the election, we'd do a deal in our first term. He backed me to get on a plane and Jamie. I've been there eight or nine times in the two years. From start to finish, it took us nine months. I was just up in um in Europe uh last week, and I saw the European Commissioner for trade, and he was a little bit grumpy with me because I've just done a trade deal, and his question was Todd, you're only five million people. You're a little economy. Your deal in many places is better than how's how do you do it? And it comes to relationship, right? We build a strong relationship with India, the government, and actually I know the farmers do well with it. So in an uncertain world, we're not sure what America's doing, and everywhere else, we've got 1.4 billion consumers that want what we produce, and they're willing to pay for it. I think that's going to be very important for rural New Zealand. And you've done a great job there. I'm gonna give you one more, give you one more, or the government one more pat on the back, or maybe even the National Party, at the risk of sounding like a bit of a national party lackey. But you've proposed uh the policy this week, doubling funding for the Kiwi 2 National Trust. That is the best bang for buck you can get for conservation. Yeah, it really really is. Uh when when I go overseas as agricultural minister, uh I've got the easiest job in the world because our farmers are the best at what they do, and everybody wants to be like you. When I'm there as trade minister, it's a blimmin' hard job because you're too good at what you do, and they want to block you from being there. And what gets raised occasionally is what is New Zealand doing about environment. So the doubling of the Kiwi Trust fund means much more doing it. And this is just helping farmers to do what they do so very well themselves, which is to care about the land. We've got some other announcements this week as well in that space that are gonna help. Uh the PM wouldn't tease for you what he's about to announce, but let me put it this way. We've spent three years simplifying rules, making it easier for you to meet your obligations. Uh, you know, the only way we get to maximise all these trade deals, we're gonna produce more because we now there's more demand for what we're allowed to produce. How about this? If you can show the same or an improved environmental climate footprint, why shouldn't you be able to do whatever you want on your own land, you know, choosing a land use to increase productivity, except plant pine trees, because I banned that. Good on you. Okay, we're gonna we're we're he's getting a rousing reception here uh for the anti-carbon farming rhetoric. Okay, we are waiting for that announcement. It might come through at about 12.30. If it does before the end of the end of the hour, we'll let you know. Todd uh McLeo, I know you've got to go to a dinner.