Donald McIntyre, Taranaki Federated Farmers provincial president
Donald McIntyre, Taranaki Federated Farmers provincial president
We all like to have our good news stories told, but then we also want to read about the misfortune of other people, for example the court reports, car accidents - these things sell.
So when organisations like Federated Farmers get on the road and do what we do, whichis advocate for people in the rural sector, this is not radical enough to draw the headlines, and so many people completely miss hearing about all the work that people do behind the scenes, making submissions on district plans, pest control plans, waste minimisation plans, DIRA review, raw milk sale law reformation.
All very dull and boring to a lot of people, but to those involved getting these reforms right and workable with the outcomes suitable to all is very important.
How do we as Federated Farmers get our message out to everyone about the 'behind the scenes' work that happens on a regular basis. The bottom line is we don't.
We go backside up and just get on with it, because most volunteer work doesn't get done for the kudos. All this behind the scenes work is done because people care about their community.
What would be achieved by more publicity? It would lift the community spirit seeing they are getting an improved operating environment.
I like to think more people would want to get involved, which makes carrying the load a lot easier and attract more funding from interested parties, which opens the door to carry out more research to get better outcomes with more facts.
