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Andrew John Hoggard (born 1974 or 1975) is a New Zealand dairy farmer and farming leader, and served as president of Federated Farmers between 2020 and 2023. He was elected as a list MP for ACT New Zealand at the 2023 general election.

Early life

Hoggard was born in 1974 or 1975,[1] the eldest son of Mike and Lynette Hoggard.[2] He was educated at Heretaunga College in Upper Hutt,[3] and went on to study at Massey University, graduating with a Bachelor of Agricultural Economics degree in 1996.[4]

Farming career

The Hoggards moved from Upper Hutt to a 186-hectare (460-acre) farm at Kiwitea in Manawatū in 1998, with Andrew 50% sharemilking 440 Holstein Friesian cows on the farm owned by his parents.[2][5]

In 2001, Hoggard competed in the Taranaki–Manawatū regional final of the Young Farmer of the Year contest.[5] The following year, he was again a regional finalist in the event, placing third,[6] and in 2003 he won the Taranaki–Manawatū Young Farmer of the Year title.[7] He went on to compete in the 2003 national final,[1] but finished outside the top four.[8] In 2004, Hoggard finished third in the Taranaki–Manawatū regional final.[9]

Hoggard served as chair of the Federated Farmers Dairy Industry Group from 2014 to 2017, and was Federated Farmers vice-president from 2017 to 2020.[3] On 26 June 2020, he succeeded Katie Milne as president of the organisation.[10] He was elected to the board of the International Dairy Federation in November 2020.[11] Hoggard resigned as Federated Farmers president on 8 May 2023, two months before his term of office was due to end.[12]

In October 2022 Hoggard, as Federated Farmers national president, criticised the Labour Government's plans to tax the emissions produced by farm animals by 2025. Agricultural emissions by farm animals including burping and urination account for about half of New Zealand's emissions. Hoggard claimed that the tax would hurt the farming sector by discouraging farmers from making a living.[13][14]

Political career

New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate List Party
2023–present 54th List 5 ACT

Hoggard became a member of ACT New Zealand in 2019. On 9 May 2023, one day after stepping down as president of Federated Farmers, he was named as the ACT candidate in the Rangitīkei electorate for the 2023 New Zealand general election.[15] Hoggard was subsequently ranked fifth on ACT's party list for the election.[16]

During the 2023 election, Hoggard came third place in the Rangitīkei electorate, which was won by National Party candidate Suze Redmayne.[17] He was however elected to Parliament on the ACT party list.[18]

Following the formation of the National-led coalition government, Hoggard became Minister for Biosecurity, Minister for Food Safety, and Associate Minister of Agriculture (Animal welfare, skills), and Associate Minister of the Environment in late November 2023.[19]

On 14 March 2024 Hoggard, as Associate Environment Minister, announced that the Government would suspend the obligation for councils to impose Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) under the previous Sixth Labour Government's National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while the Resource Management Act 1991 is being replaced. Significant Natural Areas are places in New Zealand where rare or threatened plants or animals are found. Their protection was previously required under the Resource Management Act.[20] On 15 March he released a statement saying his 14 March comment had been misunderstood: "To be clear, there has been no change to statutory and regulatory obligations on councils at this point. If my statement has been read in a way that suggested that the change had already come into effect, this was not the intention". University of Otago law Professor Andrew Geddis said the statement was "misleading at best, and borderline unlawful at worst. No minister can by mere announcement remove an existing legal obligation imposed by a parliamentary enactment," he said.[21]

References

  1. ^ a b Smale, Aaron (4 July 2003). "Dairy farmer wary of sheep". Evening Standard. p. 3.
  2. ^ a b "Region's farmers compete for title". Evening Standard. 6 March 2001. p. 9.
  3. ^ a b "Next luncheon guest speaker Andrew Hoggard". Bulletin. Rotary Club of Wellington North. 29 October 2020. p. 2. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  4. ^ Graduation programme: 28–31 May 1996. Massey University. 1996. p. 47. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Sponsors renew contest support". Daily News. 5 April 2001. p. 20.
  6. ^ Tacon, Terry (22 April 2002). "Taranaki farmer takes fourth place". Daily News. p. 4.
  7. ^ Tacon, Terry (31 March 2003). "Hoggard heads for final". Daily News. p. 4.
  8. ^ Morris, William (7 July 2003). "Southlander wins top farming prize". Southland Times. p. 3.
  9. ^ Tacon, Terry (5 April 2004). "Woodville sharemilker through to finals". Daily News. p. 4.
  10. ^ Fyfe, James (26 June 2020). "'Big gumboots to fill': Federated Farmers elect new president and board members". Newshub. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  11. ^ Kilmister, Sam (18 December 2020). "Manawatū dairy farmer Andrew Hoggard elected to International Dairy Federation board". Stuff. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  12. ^ Whyte, Anna (8 May 2023). "Andrew Hoggard steps down early as Federated Farmers president". Stuff. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  13. ^ "New Zealand proposes taxing cow burps to reduce emissions". BBC News. 11 October 2022. Archived from the original on 12 October 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  14. ^ "Farmers, environmentalists weigh in on farm-level pricing plan". Radio New Zealand. 11 October 2022. Archived from the original on 12 October 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  15. ^ "Ex-Federated Farmers boss Hoggard stands as ACT candidate". RNZ News. 9 May 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  16. ^ Palmer, Scott (16 July 2023). "Election 2023: ACT Party reveals its list of candidates for general election". Newshub. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  17. ^ "Rangitīkei - Official Result". Electoral Commission. 3 November 2023. Archived from the original on 23 November 2023. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  18. ^ "2023 General Election - Successful Candidates". Electoral Commission. 3 November 2023. Archived from the original on 22 November 2023. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  19. ^ "Cabinet lineup for new government unveiled - who gets what?". Radio New Zealand. 24 November 2023. Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  20. ^ "Government drops need for councils to comply with Significant Natural Areas provisions". RNZ. 14 March 2024. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  21. ^ "Andrew Hoggard walks back environment announcement after experts call it unlawful". Newshub. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Hoggard