Taking On Winnie

OPINION: No one messes around with Winston Peters, more so in a general election year.

Full of Surprises

OPINION: Staying on Federated Farmers, this week's annual general meeting in Auckland is shaping up to be an interesting one.

Feds Mystery

OPINION: Another hot topic at Mystery Creek was the intrigue over the upcoming election for the presidency of Federated Farmers.

Great Idea!

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.

No Choice

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.

That's the Game

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.

Good Eggs

OPINION: This one will upset the identity-politics obsessed snowflakes in Wellington.

Agriculture Minister Todd McClay and MPI Director General, Ray Smith, at the SOPI report launch at Fieldays last week.

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.

Emma Jenkins MW

OPINION: People often want to know what the best part of undertaking my Master of Wine was.

Editorial: Dairy Power

DairyNZ's 20th annual survey results released last week shows that dairy remains New Zealand’s economic powerhouse.

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: 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.

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The Hound

Great Idea!

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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