17 May 2018

Hastily-drafted farm debt bill passes first reading

From Morning Report, 8:40 am on 17 May 2018

A hastily drafted Member's Bill to help farmers struggling with mounting debt has passed its first reading at Parliament, with unanimous support. It was a last-minute addition to the order paper, and only came about following what appeared to be an off-the-cuff comment by the New Zealand First leader Winston Peters last week, during debate on the outbreak of the Mycoplasma Bovis cattle disease. It would mean two things - compulsory mediation for those farmers facing receivership, and the removal of the current cap on compensation under the Banking Ombudsman Scheme. Our political reporter Gia Garrick explains.