Written By: - Date published: 7:35 am, November 27th, 2020 - 21 comments
I’m sure one needs a particular depth of political nerdiness to give a flying fig about such things, but since I am one of those, these are my highlights from the speech from the throne to Parliament this week.
Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, October 11th, 2020 - 56 comments
A Thames couple are showing how to make a living from small scale market gardening, and leading the way in regenerative horticulture.
Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, September 24th, 2020 - 25 comments
This is exactly the kind of approach the Green Party would like to encourage – it’s strategic, it’s intergenerational and it recognises the interconnectedness of our people, the environment and local communities.
Written By: - Date published: 9:21 am, September 15th, 2020 - 58 comments
“Wildfires are burning across the world and our rivers and lakes have been pushed to the brink. This is no time for half measures. Phasing out the use of PKE is exactly the kind of bold and transformational policy that is needed to deal with the climate and freshwater crises.”
Written By: - Date published: 11:42 am, September 13th, 2020 - 32 comments
Given the state of New Zealand land and water, changing how we do farming should be a strong political topic for the left this year. The Greens and Greenpeace are campaigning for a shift to regenerative agriculture, so it’s timely to look at what that is.
Written By: - Date published: 8:03 am, August 27th, 2020 - 40 comments
National has promised that if it gains power rules designed to improve water quality in our streams and rivers will be “gone by lunchtime.
Written By: - Date published: 11:11 am, August 6th, 2020 - 98 comments
As climate, ecological, pandemic and neoliberal pressures put our food security at risk, we can take heart from the many people who have been developing and practicing sustainable and resilient food growing.
Written By: - Date published: 7:47 am, March 9th, 2020 - 180 comments
National and NZ First are frustrating the passage of the Arms Legislation Bill by raising issues that may appeal to extremists but will not make the country a safer place after the Christchurch massacre.
Written By: - Date published: 7:10 am, March 1st, 2020 - 12 comments
The point here isn’t to go ‘boo vegans’, it’s to point starkly to the problems with the current food and environment debate, and show case the pathways beyond the meat/no meat binary.
Written By: - Date published: 9:20 am, January 19th, 2020 - 157 comments
Federated Farmers has started a petition against an educational resource that teaches about climate change and activism because it does not present their industry in a sufficiently positive way.
Written By: - Date published: 7:35 am, September 30th, 2019 - 15 comments
Last week the government launched its Economic Development Plan, arguably late but with lots of useful initiatives.
Written By: - Date published: 9:15 am, September 29th, 2019 - 24 comments
Why New Zealand – and its government – need to engage much harder about Fonterra.
Written By: - Date published: 8:47 am, September 20th, 2019 - 19 comments
“New Zealand does not face stark choices between having a dairy sector versus having clean waterways. Experience shows that, by focusing on profits, not production, farms can increase their economic returns and reduce their impact on the environment.”
Written By: - Date published: 7:38 am, August 19th, 2019 - 95 comments
Fonterra is dragging New Zealand down, faster and faster. What is this Government going to do?
Written By: - Date published: 8:57 am, August 12th, 2019 - 49 comments
“Allegations of trespassing and intimidation as Southland winter grazing protest escalates” yesterday. The reporter completely missed the most important salient point – the police don’t seem to be doing their job. Leaving a pissed lynch mob of farmers trying to force people out of their house to ‘talk’ to them is pretty clearly an act of intimidation. And that doesn’t even cover the original idiot farmer who is alleged to have rammed someone’s car.
Written By: - Date published: 9:14 am, July 18th, 2019 - 4 comments
Brian Easton has put up a interesting post at Pundit which looks at how we should measure and constrain in our methane emissions. My initial impression is that his approach defeats the purpose of trying to reduce the effects of climate change over the coming century.
Written By: - Date published: 10:41 am, May 18th, 2019 - 98 comments
Forestry is forcing an important tilting point between mitigating climate change and land use, and it’s going to affect the viability of some North Island towns.
Written By: - Date published: 8:21 am, May 9th, 2019 - 102 comments
The Zero Carbon bill is already being attacked by farming groups who are clearly concerned at the implications for their industry. And National is already showing signs that it will play politics with the issue.
Written By: - Date published: 12:08 pm, March 20th, 2019 - 30 comments
Westland Dairy has done a deal to sell out to Yili industrial Group of Mongolia. This company is the third largest dairy company in New Zealand.
Written By: - Date published: 9:58 am, January 10th, 2019 - 47 comments
In an opinion piece in Stuff National Spokesperson on climate change Todd Muller has cast doubt on National agreeing to a political consensus on climate change.
Written By: - Date published: 9:46 am, November 29th, 2018 - 23 comments
We wouldn’t tie a rope to a heavy load and then push on the rope with the expectation of achieving anything, right? So why is the Guardian’s Environment Editor entreating that we do just that? Is he merely stupid? Or is there something more cynical at play?
Written By: - Date published: 11:26 am, September 13th, 2018 - 17 comments
Why is it that all risk lies with the shareholders? Why does poor performance by a company not result in CEO and top management bonuses being clawed back?
Written By: - Date published: 9:35 am, September 13th, 2018 - 67 comments
Fonterra has just reported an after tax loss of $196 million for the 2018 year. It’s never had an annual loss in its history.
Written By: - Date published: 2:35 pm, August 17th, 2018 - 26 comments
With the change in Government and ever increasing costs of construction it appears that the Waimea dam project in Tasman District is going to be scuppered.
Written By: - Date published: 11:57 am, June 2nd, 2018 - 54 comments
Avoiding meat and dairy is ‘single biggest way’ to reduce your impact on Earth according to a Guardian headline.
Yeah. No it’s not.
Written By: - Date published: 7:42 am, May 29th, 2018 - 166 comments
Not just, ‘we’ve got to make the good outweigh the bad’. I mean: why should dairy farming exist here?
Written By: - Date published: 2:15 pm, February 11th, 2018 - 35 comments
Biofuels and fossil. The difference?
Written By: - Date published: 6:10 pm, February 9th, 2018 - 109 comments
New Zealanders 17 years ago accepted the idea of a national dairy monopoly on the condition it would deliver outstanding returns. The cost has been high — filthy and unswimmable rivers. Now it turns out the result has been a financial fiasco – the whole thing is literally bullshit, or more correctly, cowshit.
Written By: - Date published: 8:53 am, January 25th, 2018 - 137 comments
The positive aspects of the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership.
Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, November 6th, 2017 - 94 comments
In recent years Labour has allowed National to dominate rural politics. Maybe it is time for Labour to think about reaching out to rural voters and suggest to them that a progressive vote is in their interests.
Written By: - Date published: 6:28 am, October 27th, 2017 - 194 comments
Our land needs threefold protection.
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