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Jacinda Ardern's message for farmers upset by viral video

Author
The Country,
Publish Date
Thu, 7 Nov 2019, 2:52PM
Jacinda Ardern has responded to criticism from farmers. (Photo / NZ Herald)

Jacinda Ardern's message for farmers upset by viral video

Author
The Country,
Publish Date
Thu, 7 Nov 2019, 2:52PM

The Prime Minister has responded to accusations that she was diminishing the work farmers have done to clean up the country's rivers. 

Jacinda Ardern had a viral hit over the weekend with a video outlining the Government's achievements over the last year in just two minutes.

One achievement she listed was around the cleanup of the rivers. She said that the Government has "started the job of cleaning up our rivers, lakes through planting trees and fencing waterways".

Speaking to The Country's Andy Thompson, Ardern was challenged on the fact that farmers began cleaning up the rivers in 2003 with the Clean Streams Accord.

She clarified that she was referring to what the Government had specifically done in the last years.

"Of course that is not to diminish what has been done much more broadly than that. I made that point when we launched the funding available up in Kaipara to do remedial work. That was on top of what had already been occurring."

Ardern says that if the video had been longer then two minutes, they would be a disclaimer of work that was already under way.

"Really it was talking about the contribution that we were starting to make as opposed to the work that has been going on for some time which I am always quick to acknowledge when I am out and about."

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