Feds support live animal exports
Federated Farmers have reiterated their support for the coalition Government to abolish the present ban on the live export of animals.
Outgoing Agriculture and Trade Minister Damien O’Connor has lost his West Coast-Tasman seat in a shock result.
According to the Electoral Commission, with 100% of the votes counted for the seat, National’s Maureen Pugh was leading with 11.637 votes while Labour’s O’Connor was second with 10,722 votes – a margin of 915 votes.
However, O’Connor is 10th on Labour’s list and could be back in Parliament as a list MP.
O’Connor was first elected to Parliament in 1993 and has served as a Minister in both the fifth and sixth Labour Governments, and spokesperson in Opposition for a variety of roles, including Agriculture, Biosecurity, Food Safety, Tourism, Immigration and Health.
Pugh’s profile says she’s a born and bred ‘Coaster’ with a family history on the Coast going back over 150 years.
Based in Kumara, between Greymouth and Hokitika, Pugh was National’s candidate for the West Coast – Tasman electorate in the 2014 general election and is now a National List MP.
She was first elected to the Westland District Council in 1998, serving two terms before becoming the first woman elected as mayor on the West Coast. She served in that role for 9 years before standing down at the 2013 local body elections.
Recent rain has offered respite for some from the ongoing drought.
New Zealand's TBfree programme has made great progress in reducing the impact of the disease on livestock herds, but there’s still a long way to go, according to Beef+Lamb NZ.
With much of the North Island experiencing drought this summer and climate change projected to bring drier and hotter conditions, securing New Zealand’s freshwater resilience is vital, according to state-owned GNS Science.
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