Crazy
OPINION: Your canine crusader was truly impressed by the almost unanimous support given by politicians of all stripes in Parliament to the recent passing of legislation for the NZ/EU free trade deal.
National says the government has turned its back on the major agricultural training provider Taratahi.
The future of Taratahi remains in limbo after it went into interim liquidation just before Christmas at the request of its board of trustees.
MPs Paula Bennett and Nathan Guy say the government is bribing students into tertiary education through its fees-free scheme and yet is allowing this large training provider to fold.
Bennett says this will hit hard the 900 students and 250 staff who were due to start and run courses at Taratahi this summer.
“We believe Taratahi approached ministers for $4 million to keep it afloat, but this government has failed to support it. Taratahi needed just a fraction of the $2.8 billion fees-free bribe or the $3b Provincial Growth Fund and yet ministers couldn’t find the money to keep Taratahi training students while it worked through its issues,” she says.
National’s agriculture spokesperson Nathan Guy says the performance of the primary sector is critical to our economy, and that depends on having well qualified, motivated and high-quality workers.
“We hope Taratahi can be salvaged. The agricultural sector is dependent on farming graduates to serve the industry. Taratahi plays an important role in providing those graduates,” he says.
Angus Barr and Tara Dwyer of The Wandle, Lone Star Farms in Strath Taieri have been named the Regional Supreme Winners at the Otago Ballance Farm Environment Awards in Dunedin.
OPINION: The distress that the politicians and bureaucrats are causing to the people of Wairoa and the wider Tairāwhiti is unforgivable.
Dairy
Rural banker Rabobank is partnering with Food Rescue Kitchen on a new TV series which airs this weekend that aims to shine a light on the real and growing issues of food waste, food poverty and social isolation in New Zealand.
Telco infrastructure provider Chorus says that it believes all Kiwis – particularly those in the rural areas – need access to high-speed, reliable broadband.
World Veterinary Day falls on Saturday 27 April.