Simon Upton urges cross-party consensus on New Zealand environmental goals
Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton is calling for cross-party consensus on the country's overarching environmental goals.
OPINION: This month, the government announced a pause to the rollout of the national farm plan system.
However, Environment Southland’s message to farmers is: start pulling together the information for farm plans now.
So, what should farmers do? Stop work on their respective farm plans or carry on as urged by ES?
This confusion isn’t helping the farming sector. The Government must move quickly with changes to the Resource Management Act that will put a stop to councils like ES working on freshwater farm plans, already a requirement in the Southland Water and Land Plan.
Everyone agrees that we need a farm plan system that is practical and cost-effective and based on specific farm conditions. So, why the confusion?
New Zealand needs a new healthcare model to address rising rates of obesity in rural communities, with the current system leaving many patients unable to access effective treatment or long-term support, warn GPs.
Southland farmers are being urged to put safety first, following a spike in tip offs about risky handling of wind-damaged trees
Third-generation Ashburton dairy farmers TJ and Mark Stewart are no strangers to adapting and evolving.
When American retail giant Cosco came to audit Open Country Dairy’s new butter plant at the Waharoa site and give the green light to supply their American stores, they allowed themselves a week for the exercise.
Fonterra chair Peter McBride says the divestment of Mainland Group is their last significant asset sale and signals the end of structural changes.
Thirty years ago, as a young sharemilker, former Waikato farmer Snow Chubb realised he was bucking a trend when he started planting trees to provide shade for his cows, but he knew the animals would appreciate what he was doing.