Editorial: Less red tape
OPINION: Farmers have always been wary of the Resource Management Act (RMA).
OPINION: "The treaty is our past, present and future. It has shaped the country we have become, and the obligations it imposes on both sides will always be with us. However, we must aspire to go forward not as two sides, but together as New Zealanders because there is more than unites us than divides us."
That short excerpt from Prime Minister Christopher Luxon's full speech at Waitangi last week sums up the overall theme of the speech. And it seemed in tune with the way most Kiwis chose to celebrate Waitangi Day, coming together with friends, family, fellow concert goers, to have a classic Kiwi summer day and celebrate our way to life.
Contrast this with the media coverage of the day, and of the PM's speech: 'Luxon's outrageous speech', 'The spiders are coming - Kelvin David', 'I lift my gun, I let the shots do the talking - Pene Henare'. This negativity was delivered by the media with the usual lecturing and editorialising about how the Government was somehow being 'divisive'.
The evidence for this claim is thin, but the 'divisive' accusation has become a favourite for stoking the division. It won't be lost on people that those in the media hellbent on pushing this 'divisive' line - thereby silencing efforts to debate the Treaty - are the same ones who signed up for the $55m slush fund that required them to swear fealty to a particular view of the Treaty.
Luckily, the real world rarely resembles the view projected by the mainstream media; normal New Zealanders aren't at each other's throats, we're just getting on with it, together, and working to get the country back on its feet.
The challenges we face are real and exist across all sectors, not the least in farming and hort - where, again, the media claims of 'division' don't reflect the reality - where the majority are just getting on with it. Maybe it's time to turn off the 'divisive' news and focus on that.
The real winner of this year’s FMG Young Farmer Region-off have been the regional communities.
As calving approaches, farmers need to get their teams ready for what lies ahead in the coming months.
Feeling sluggish this winter? Then try some seasonal fruit, renowned for lifting mood, energy and immunity levels just when we need it most.
The missing link in getting maximum weight gain in your calves may be as simple as keeping them warm, says the Christchurch manufacturer of a range of woollen covers for young livestock.
Rural Women New Zealand (RWNZ) and Massey University are joining forces to help raise awareness and funds to combat leptospirosis.
Auckland-based supplement and nutritional company New Image International is celebrating 40 years of business in their home country.
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