OPINION: With the winter months officially here, I trust all is well at your place.
OPINION: Central Hawke's Bay farmer Mark Warren recently told the Hawke's Bay Times it's time for a conversation about allowing skilled and properly equipped locals to help councils clear debris and reopen roads after severe weather events.
OPINION: A nation that relies as heavily as NZ does on functional global shipping lanes will have to do its bit on the international security front, hence the additional $1.58b in military spend over 4 years that Dame Lynda Topp thought should have been spent on sheet music.
OPINION: Well-known and politically very neutral RNZ DJ John Campbell may be having politically neutral kittens about the news that Fonterra lobbied the PM's office over climate change laws, but John and his definitely-not-lefty mates are really pretending that political lobbying isn't the second oldest profession and that all political parties are donkey deep in it.
OPINION: The latest update from the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) on the state of NZ's primary sector paints a positive picturee about its performance over the past 12 months.
OPINION: People often want to know what the best part of undertaking my Master of Wine was.
DairyNZ's 20th annual survey results released last week shows that dairy remains New Zealand’s economic powerhouse.
OPINION: Farmer confidence can feel a bit distant until a decision made at board level lands right back at the farm gate.
OPINION: Humans are resilient. We are part of nature and have evolved for survival.
OPINION: While we're on the topic of lumberjacks, Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard has no doubt used a chainsaw hundreds of times, but your old mate reckons he would’ve still been sweating on getting it right when cutting down a pine in front of the cameras, as he did above Queenstown during a recent pre-Budget announcement around extra funding for wilding pine control efforts.
OPINION: To a chorus of crying greenies, and not a minute too soon, the Government has moved to put the courts back in their place through proposed amendments to the Climate Change Response Act 2002, intending to limit climate litigation claims such as Smith v Fonterra, in the interests of providing greater certainty for vital industry.
OPINION: On the same day that pigs were reportedly seen airborne over the capital, a political journalist gave the PSA union a chip for being biased towards Labour – not the revelation of the year if you ask the Canine Crusader, but very rare to hear coming from a member of the press gallery.
OPINION: The coalition Government’s plan to make about 9000 public servants redundant looms as a major election issue
OPINION: New Zealand's dairy sector has been a mainstay of this country's prosperity for generations.
OPINION: This is my last article as Chief Executive, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to talk about three recurring issues which I have seen over the years, and which are almost certain to be issues in the future.
OPINION: Growing great grapes takes hard work and heavy investment, with a post-harvest marathon of pruning and maintenance, frost defence and yield management, and the relentless spraying, mowing and trimming of the growing season, before vintage lands again.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon recently addressed the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. He spoke about what this week’s Budget will look like. Here’s some of the key points.
OPINION: While some international systems reward milk volume and encourage breeding for larger-framed, high-output cows, New Zealand farmers operate under a very different set of incentives.
OPINION: For thousands of Southland farmers, this week would have tipped them into the non-compliant category when it comes to following regional freshwater plan rules. But the Government has stepped in to give them the clarity they deserve.
OPINION: New economic modelling confirms what many of us in Hawke's Bay have long understood - getting water security right for this region is one of the most important decisions we face as a community. Not just for farmers, but for everyone who lives, works and builds a future here.
OPINION: Should I ever be asked to nominate someone I consider a true-blue, uniquely Kiwi icon entertainer from yesteryear, I would have a couple of names immediately come to mind. Yes, I would have to go for Fred Dagg and Billy T James.
OPINION: The old saying 'a new broom sweeps clean' doesn't always hold up, if you ask the Hound.
OPINION: This old mutt went to school to eat his lunch, but still knows the future of the country, and the primary sector, depends on a conveyor belt of well-educated youth coming through the system.
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OPINION: Central Hawke's Bay farmer Mark Warren recently told the Hawke's Bay Times it's time for a conversation about allowing…
No Choice
OPINION: A nation that relies as heavily as NZ does on functional global shipping lanes will have to do its…
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