10th September 2026 // Rural News

Government rules out law change on pork labelling Nationwide farm plastic recycling scheme set for 2027 ACT calls for carbon price floor to be scrapped   WANT TO LISTEN TO THE SHOW LIVE (11am-1pm NZST) ON THE GO? Download CountryWide Connect mobile app to stream the show via Apple Car Play or Android Auto. Or try the voice command ‘Play CountryWide Connect’ on Amazon Alexa or Google Home.   Apple: https://apps.apple.com/nz/app/countrywide-connect/id6761033881 Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nz.co.countrywide&hl=en_NZ   Government rules out law change on pork labelling NZPork is stepping up pressure on the Government to fix pork labelling, after Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Cameron Brewer confirmed no law change is planned. Chief executive Brent Kleiss says some supermarket pork carries country-of-origin details in tiny print on the back, while being marketed as local. He says a parliamentary committee recommended clearer labelling three years ago, and farmers have had no response since. Mr Brewer says current rules already require clear origin information, and he's not aware of misleading branding happening on a scale that justifies changing the law. He's suggested NZPork raise any concerns with the Commerce Commission instead. Kleiss says farmers are unimpressed and will keep pushing for change, with animal welfare among their concerns about imported pork.   Nationwide farm plastic recycling scheme set for 2027 Farmers will soon have a simpler way to recycle plastic waste, with the Government confirming a new nationwide Rural Recycling Scheme starting the first of March, twenty twenty-seven. Minister for the Environment Nicola Grigg says the scheme replaces the current voluntary system, which collects less than half of farm plastics like bale wrap, silage sheet and agrichemical containers. A new take-back network, run by the Agrecovery Foundation, will grow from around two hundred and forty sites to cover the whole country, with free collection for remote farms. Producers will pay a small fee, typically around one percent of the sale price, to keep the service free for farmers. Forestry, tourism operators and local authorities can also take part. Voluntary schemes keep running until the new system starts.   ACT calls for carbon price floor to be scrapped ACT leader David Seymour is pushing to scrap the Government's minimum carbon price, after yesterday's auction failed to sell any units below seventy-one dollars. Mr Seymour says the same units have recently traded on the open market for around fifty dollars, and wants the floor price removed so the market can set the rate. He's also calling for the Climate Change Commission to be scrapped, with all carbon revenue returned to households through a Carbon Tax Refund. He estimates the Emissions Trading Scheme currently costs the average household about four hundred and seventy-eight dollars a year, a cost he says Labour would raise, National would hold steady, and ACT would cut. He's also campaigning to repeal the Zero Carbon Act and drop the twenty fifty net zero target, arguing New Zealand should only match its trading partners' climate costs.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.