Councils come together to tackle farming issues

It was hospitality Tarata style yesterday as mayors, councillors, and industry representatives made their way to the backblocks of Inglewood.

The destination - Federated Farmers Taranaki president Bryan Hocken's woolshed.

Visitors were treated to a farm tour before settling in for a feast of barbecued meat and salads.

Seventy people attended the gathering including the South Taranaki and Stratford mayors, the Taranaki Regional Council chairman and a large delegation of councillors and council personnel from the four Taranaki councils.

"I was delighted with the way it went. It has never been done before, having all the councils together on neutral ground," Mr Hocken said.

After the lunch, Federated Farmers senior policy adviser Nigel Billings, of Tauranga, spoke about some of the problems facing the rural sector, in particular the rating system.

He said more money needed to come from central government. One suggestion to achieve this was to take 1% GST.