Wednesday, 06 July 2022 13:30

Time's up?

Written by The Hound

font size decrease font size increase font size
Print
Email

OPINION: The Hound's reckons something has seriously gone wrong with the 'luck of the Irish' with news that Trevor Mallard is retiring from Parliament and will become New Zealand's Ambassador in Ireland.

He reckons Jacinda Ardern's move to duck shove Mallard out of his current role as Speaker of the House and retire him off to the Emerald Isle is an insult to all - especially the Irish.

Meanwhile, your old mate wonders when Agriculture Minister Damien O'Connor - who would have been a far better fit as Irish Ambassador - will be put out to pasture.

He's been an MP since 1993 and will have been in Parliament for 30 years by next election.

Surely the clock is ticking for his time in politics to be over?

Mind you, the voters of the West Coast may do the job themselves and save Ardern the bother of that 'awkward' conversation with O'Connor!

More like this

Diplomatic Incident

OPINION: Your old mate hears an international incident is threatening to blow up the long-standing Anzac alliance as Kiwis and Aussies argue over who wants new Australian resident and former NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

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.

Burn the village

OPINION: There's an infamous term coined by a US general during the Vietnam war, specifically in reference to the battle of Ben Tre: "We had to burn the village to save it."

Purist problem

OPINION: The sudden departure of Jim Ward, manager of Molesworth Station for 24 years, highlighted some major dysfunction in the way conservation estate is managed in this country - the biggest problem, as the Hound sees it, being idealogues who harp on about "taonga" and use all means possible to block sensible commercial operations on conservation land.

Drill baby, drill!

OPINION: While the destruction of NZ's oil and gas industry by Jacinda Ardern's band of merry vandals was virtue signalling on a heroic scale - producing no environmental benefit whatsoever - the politician vowing to make that industry whole again, Shane Jones, is not above a bit of virtue signalling of his own.

Featured

Fieldays 2026: ACC Highlights Farm Injury Prevention

ACC says that this week's Fieldays is a great chance for farmers to pause and reflect on their processes and ensure that their life is in balance.

BNZ Launches First Farm Funding Boost Scheme

Bank of New Zealand (BNZ)will expand its First Farm support with a new funding boost designed to help more farmers and growers take their next step into farm ownership.

Westmorland Estate Celebrates Team Success in Dairy

Westmorland Estate Ltd, a Waikato company running three dairy farms, runs on the philosophy that 'you are only as good as your team'.

AgriZeroNZ Launches $51m Emissions Accelerator

AgriZeroNZ is ramping up efforts to accelerate the uptake of emissions reduction tools on farm with a new initiative to help more farmers put proven tools into practice.

Federated Farmers Release 2026 Election Platform

With the general election just molnths away, farmers have launched a five-point plan for the next government.

Government Invests in Rural Community Resilience

The Government is investing in a range of initiatives designed to strengthen the resilience of rural communities and improve preparedness for future adverse events.