Tuesday, 11 February 2025 11:25

Colonial science?

Written by The Hound

font size decrease font size increase font size
Print
Email

OPINION: Science funding for the bulwark of the nation, agriculture, is in a parlous state and less taxpayer money is shelled out for it every year.

So, imagine your old mate's surprise when he heard that instead of increasing funding for such 'colonial science', more is going to projects like 'research' into whether playing whale song to sick kauri trees can fix kauri die-back.

Sounds ridiculous, and yet the project got the green light, was managed by MBIE, and the actual payments were funneled through Landcare Research.

Officials are still refusing a line-by-line breakdown but, in total, this mātauranga Māori-based 'research' cost taxpayers $4,027,020.

Te Tira Whakamātaki Ltd did the 'work'. It's "co-founder and trustee", Melanie Mark-Shadbolt, is also the co-director of the BioHeritage Science Challenge Science - i.e. the government initiative funding the project!

More like this

True Reflection?

A fair question has been raised about how member-funded organisations should conduct themselves when taking a public position on any given issue.

Stuffed!

The canine crusader always has his nose in the air for more media maleficence, so was pointing as soon as he saw the Stuff headline: ‘Wellington residents respond to PM saying he doesn’t need his job!’.

Civil Circus!

OPINION: It really is getting harder to lampoon government bureaucrats when they do such a good job of it themselves.

Anyone in the primary sector will know about the clowns covering the countryside in the red tape we all have to wade through.

Spare a thought then for media outfit Stuff who were threatened with fines up to $200,000 by a snivelling civil servant from the MoH for illustrating a quiz question with a photo of part of the cover of a 45-year-old copy Playboy.

As Stuff notes, “It wasn’t the Playboy cover which caused offence. No, it was the back page which… featured an advert for a cigarette brand”.

As Regulations Minister David Seymour notes, “The real scandal here is, well, no wonder we’ve got problems in healthcare when they’re doing the Stuff quiz during work time.”

Ewe Zealand First

OPINION: After all the criticism that Winston Peters leveled at the India/NZ FTA, it seemed just a trifle ironic to the Hound that the first NZ politician to visit India after Prime Minister Modi's visit was a member of the Ewe Zealand First party.

Wrong focus

OPINION: Your old mate reckons townie Brooke van Velden, the Minister of Workplace (or is it Woke Place) Relations is now showing how underemployed she is as a minister by initiating an investigation into whether young children should be banned from collecting eggs on farms and feeding animals.

Featured

Andy Macfarlane Joins AgriZeroNZ Board

Canterbury farmer Andy Macfarlane has been appointed to the board of AgriZeroNZ, the public-private partnership designed to accelerate the development and deployment of emissions reduction tools for New Zealand farmers.

Apple sector veteran honoured for 'extraordinary contribution'

For over 50 years Mel Ewers has been supporting the apple sector navigate through compliance and quality assurance issues.

Minister praises apple sector’s growth story

The apple sector is enjoying a bumper harvest season.

Campaign Urges Growers to Plan Ahead on Resistance

Growers and farmers are being encouraged to have an important conversation before the coming season starts: how to prolong the effectiveness of the crop protection tools they rely on.

Ballance Launches AI Assistant for Fertiliser Ordering

A new digital assistant is now helping Ballance Agri-Nutrients farmers speed up nutrient information and ordering.

Milk Room Refrigerants: NZ Dairy's Hidden Emissions Fix

With a third of NZ dairy farmers still running outdated refrigerants, the country's largest farm refrigeration company says the opportunity for quick, meaningful emissions gains has never been clearer.