OPINION: In 2009 former coach Sir Steve Hansen coined the infamous phrase “flush the dunny” after the All Blacks gave a poor, yet winning performance against Italy.

OPINION: Under fire Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor has now conceded in a recent media interview that, “The Government hasn’t been stellar at communicating its message to the farming sector”.

OPINION: Your canine crusader understands that late last month in Southland, Beef+Lamb NZ chair Andrew Morrison – on what was described as a thinly disguised re-electioneering round – held two separate invite-only meetings for farmers on agricultural emissions, with scientist David Frame in tow.

Apparently, the first meeting was for all the “troublemakers” who have challenged B+LNZ.

Then the second invite-only meeting was – as told to yours truly – “for the compliant farmer robots, who don’t ask questions of the messiah and his mothership”.

According to the Hound’s source, this would have worked out well for Morrison, until the ‘troublemakers’ meeting went an hour longer than planned and as they were walking out the more compliant farmers were walking in.

Awkward!

OPINION: The Hound reckons the decision by Fieldays to hold the event in summer turned out to be a bit of a fizzer.