Editorial: Sensible move
OPINION: The Government's decision to rule out changes to Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) that would cost every farmer thousands of dollars annually, is sensible.
Labour MP Kieran McAnulty has announced he is selling his infamous ute for charity.
“The time has come to upgrade,” he said in a tweet this morning.
The red 1997 Mazda B2500 ute was a feature of McAnulty’s 2020 campaign for the Wairarapa parliamentary seat.
The ute became the subject of minor controversy after McAnulty won the Wairarapa seat, with National MP Chris Bishop calling for McAnulty to give it up after the announcement of a Climate Change Emergency in December 2020.
I am selling my ute for charity.
— Kieran McAnulty MP (@Kieran_McAnulty) September 19, 2021
The time has come to upgrade.
437,000kms. It is pretty slow these days. It hasn't had a back door for years.
All proceeds going to the Rural Support Trusts in Wairarapa, Tararua District and Central Hawke's Bay.https://t.co/Gg71Y5C0WY pic.twitter.com/uWQxQRIiY8
The ute became controversial again after the Government announced its Clean Car Discount Scheme – dubbed by many as the ‘ute tax’ – when photos of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern driving the ute during the 2020 election campaign resurfaced.
The ute is being sold on Trade Me with an opening bid of $2,000 already placed.
In his tweet, McAnulty said that all proceeds from the sale of the ute will go to Rural Support Trusts in the Wairarapa, Tararua District and Central Hawke’s Bay.
In advance of the Budget, Finance Minister Nicola Willis put a clear damper on expectations and delivered accordingly.
Farmers should be cautiously optimistic as the 2026/27 season kicks off, says DairyNZ.
RaboResearch senior analyst Emma Higgins expects the 2026/27 dairy season to be another profitable one.
The new dairy season is kicking off with plenty of risks to the forecast farmgate price, both upside and downside, says ANZ agricultural economist Matt Dilly.
A potential showdown between the top two Federated Farmers leaders looms at the farmer lobby's annual meeting later this month.
FarmIQ Systems has developed a free land management app to help remove barriers to New Zealand farmers and growers adopting digital tools.

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