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Your old mate reckons plenty of the current crop of MPs in Parliament would struggle to read, let alone make laws for this country.
The Hound was reminded of this by a mate of his attending the recent Beef + Lamb annual meeting in Timaru, which some MPs turned up to.
Ag Minister Damien O’Connor couldn’t attend because he was under security watch due to the Christchurch shootings and was replaced by a MPI policy wonk.
However, the Nats’ climate change spokesman Todd Muller was invited to speak on his work and seemed to impress the audience.
However, the same can’t be said for NZ First list MP Mark Patterson who was not down to speak. But when given the opportunity – by all reports – he completely misread the room and went on a long, boring rant about how great the current government was.
With a general election under five weeks away, Rural News is asking major political parties about their policies and positions on key issues facing the primary sector. We will run their responses to each question over the next four weeks. The ACT Party and the Greens didn't respond in time.
The Minister for Rural Communities, Mark Patterson, says there's a massive infrastructure deficit in rural areas.
National’s much-touted free trade deal with India featured in the Rural Issues Debate at Mystery Creek, Hamilton on Wednesday night.
OPINION: Get offside with New Zealand First leader Winston Peters at your own peril.
OPINION: After hogging the media limelight for telling a NZ Chinese MP to "go back home", Winston Peters has decided to focus on a domestic issue - oil and gas drilling.
Farmer-owned fertiliser company, Ballance Agri Nutrients is welcoming National’s plan to negotiate security agreements with key supplier countries to protect New Zealand-bound products from export restrictions and greater supply chain certainty.
Carrfields has announced the appointment of Stu Hall to the newly created role of chief operating officer, Carrfields Ltd, reflecting the continued growth of their agribusinesses and the need to ensure the company has the leadership capacity and support in place as it pursues the emerging opportunities ahead.
New Zealand's role is not to compete with Indian growers, according to NZ Apples and Pears.
The potato industry is celebrating the success of two rising stars - James Blair, the 2026 Young Grower of the Year and runner-up and innovation award winner, Amber Davy.
Twenty-eight emerging leaders from across the horticulture sector spent two days last month learning valuable skills and connecting with industry experts.
There are five entrants in this year’s Young Horticulturist of the Year, competing in a series of technical, practical, business and leadership challenges.
