Make it 1000%!
OPINION: The appendage swinging contest between the US and China continues, with China hitting back with a new rate of 125% on the US, up from the 84% announced earlier.
OPINION: This old mutt suggests the 'don't come Monday' (DCM) award (in other words, resign) must go to the heartless, mean-spirited minions at Hastings City Council for even proposing that the poor people whose houses were wrecked by Cyclone Gabrielle should help pay the council for the demolition of their houses.
The council is claiming that some people have already received insurance payouts to cover this.
A paper to the council says it is unfair to ask other ratepayers to pay for the houses that are no longer habitable.
House owners are rightly furiou about this idiotic proposal which only rubs salt in the wounds of people who have undergone huge suffering at the hands of Gabrielle.
To make matters worse, this proposal has come almost to the day when the cyclone struck.
A Māori-owned agribusiness helping to turn a long-standing animal welfare and waste issue into a high-value protein stream for the dairy and red meat sectors wants more industry support.
Only this season’s $10/kgMS bumper payout has saved some dairy farms along the Taranaki coast from absolute disaster due to the present drought – dubbed as one of the worst ever for some.
A survey of contract milkers in the dairy sector has revealed some shocking statistics - 43% of respondents reported abusive behaviour from a farm owner and a whopping 72% suffered a mental and/or financial setback in the role.
The 2025 game bird season is underway with Hawke’s Bay and Southland reporting the ideal weather conditions for hunters – rain and wind.
A group of meat processing companies, directors and managers have been fined a total of $1.6 million for deliberately and illegally altering exported tallow for profit.
New Zealand’s top cheeses for 2025 have been announced and family-owned, Oamaru-based Whitestone Cheese is the big winner.