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As we bind ourselves with the TPP, so other countries will fill the need

Written By: - Date published: 5:58 pm, December 4th, 2015 - 112 comments

Reeling from tough produce sanctions, Russia will pursue a strategy as the world’s largest supplier of ‘ecologically clean’ food. And where is NZ?

Why the ETS Review needs to include agriculture

Written By: - Date published: 7:10 am, November 25th, 2015 - 26 comments

John Key has stated that within three to four years New Zealand’s scientists will have a solution for agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. If this is correct why has the Government just released a discussion paper on the ETS ruling out agricultural emissions because there are no practical technologies available to reduce them?

NRT: Dictatorship in Canterbury, dictatorship in Parliament

Written By: - Date published: 9:21 am, October 14th, 2015 - 9 comments

I/S at No Right Turn writes on the continued suspension of democracy in Canterbury.

Bottom lines weaker than tissue paper

Written By: - Date published: 8:02 pm, October 13th, 2015 - 287 comments

Today, Labour showed the commercial world that its non-negotiable “bottom lines” are actually very negotiable, and even disposable.

Is this what Key meant by investing in research?

Written By: - Date published: 8:56 am, September 22nd, 2015 - 32 comments

Yesterday Key listed, among the “achievements” of his government for this term: “investing in … research and development”. Was this an example of what he had in mind?

2.1 Times More Likely to get a pay rise…

Written By: - Date published: 7:48 am, September 2nd, 2015 - 6 comments

If you still wonder WHY anyone would want to join a union, the fact that union members are 2.1 x more likely to get a pay rise might make you wade through the anti-union propaganda. Some unions escape scorn, like the Police Union which is referred to as an Association. It’s probably an oversight though, not anything deliberate…

Another farm death

Written By: - Date published: 10:01 am, August 28th, 2015 - 23 comments

Last night the Nats passed their widely ridiculed health and safety legislation. This morning a Waikato farm worker died in a workplace accident. Sincere condolences to his family and friends.

TPP – dooming our grandchildren to poverty

Written By: - Date published: 9:36 am, August 25th, 2015 - 31 comments

… up to 45% of current jobs will cease to exist.

Like Solid Energy, hubris behind Landcorp’s predicament

Written By: - Date published: 2:22 pm, August 22nd, 2015 - 55 comments

Solid Energy was this month placed in Voluntary Administration following its financial collapse. Landcorp may not be in quite the same pit as the coal miner, but negative cash-flow and rising debt likely mean it has breached banking covenants. It may be forced to sell good assets at the bottom of the market. Simon Louisson questions why?

Sheepgate inquiry

Written By: - Date published: 2:34 pm, August 18th, 2015 - 23 comments

The Auditor-General will hold an inquiry to be held into Saudi sheep deal

#Sheepgate and the war of metaphor

Written By: - Date published: 7:57 am, August 12th, 2015 - 96 comments

The war of metaphor requires the continuous repetition of a simple statement in the hope it becomes the accepted truth.  Most of the time it works.  But with #sheepgate it is starting to unravel.

John Key’s brighter future

Written By: - Date published: 3:39 pm, August 7th, 2015 - 97 comments

As milk prices plunge and Fonterra’s expected payout is cut to a level that will cause most farms to run at a loss John Key’s promised brighter future is disappearing fast.

Fonterra job losses just the beginning?

Written By: - Date published: 11:11 am, July 17th, 2015 - 40 comments

Terrible news for the 523 Fonterra workers who are losing their jobs – we wish you well.

Bill English’s groundhog decades

Written By: - Date published: 9:14 am, July 6th, 2015 - 45 comments

Bill English is a strange denizen of National’s Wellington groundhog set. He keeps repeating the wet dreams that have been tried three times now and come up as failures each time. On Q&A yesterday he played with some silly numbers about dairy, ignoring the damage that it and National’s obsessive focus on the past has done on the resilience of our  export economy.

#Sheepgate – did National ask the Saudi Sheep Farmer to sue NZ?

Written By: - Date published: 8:36 am, June 24th, 2015 - 42 comments

It seems crazy but it appears that National may have asked the Saudi sheep farmer to sue New Zealand.  And John Key seems to be relaxed about facilitation payments aka bribes.

#Sheepgate – it was the official’s fault

Written By: - Date published: 1:51 pm, June 11th, 2015 - 48 comments

National is appearing to be changing tack and trying to now blame a junior official rather than the Labour Party for the failure to complete the Gulf Free Trade Agreement.  And the promised release of the relevant cabinet papers proving it was all Labour’s fault has still not occurred.

Money for nothing and the sheep are for free

Written By: - Date published: 8:36 am, May 29th, 2015 - 38 comments

The legal suit offered as part justification for the Government paying $11 million to a Saudi businessman was apparently “off the table” at the time that Cabinet agreed to the payment.  So why was the payment made?  And why didn’t Murray McCully tell this to Cabinet or to Parliament earlier?

All our eggs in the dairy basket

Written By: - Date published: 12:27 pm, May 28th, 2015 - 157 comments

This government has been artificiality buoyed by a diary boom, now the bust leaves us highly exposed.

Sheepgate

Written By: - Date published: 8:54 am, May 28th, 2015 - 103 comments

It has emerged that the New Zealand Government has paid money to a Saudi businessman allegedly to settle a legal dispute that does not exist but more probably to persuade the Saudi Government to enter into a free trade agreement.  Update – and maybe there was a threat of legal action but because of the actions of National, not Labour.

NRT: Climate change: Good news on agriculture

Written By: - Date published: 2:05 pm, April 28th, 2015 - 18 comments

New Zealand’s policy on climate change has been one of inaction. A key plank in this is our emissions profile. Roughly 50% of our greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture. We couldn’t do anything about them. Instead farmers increase emissions and turn our lakes and streams into toxic sewers. But AgResearch scientists now have a solution for the emissions.

Dollar Parity

Written By: - Date published: 8:19 am, April 7th, 2015 - 309 comments

As New Zealand’s dollar approaches parity with Australia’s a responsible Government should be pondering the implications and acting in the country’s best interests.  No such luck in Aotearoa …

Police announcement – 1080 threat

Written By: - Date published: 3:43 pm, March 10th, 2015 - 155 comments

3 News is advertising a special announcement of “national significance” at 3:45. Will update post…

It’s a 1080 threat to the dairy industry – that has been known since last November. Look – over there!

The drought

Written By: - Date published: 7:43 am, February 13th, 2015 - 37 comments

Drought has been declared for a huge region of the South Island. Weather extremes are going to be the new normal – why aren’t we adapting?

Local Bodies: Neoliberal Economics Limits Food Choice in Southland

Written By: - Date published: 8:54 am, January 10th, 2015 - 62 comments

bsprout on the Local Bodies blog, provides a case study, specific to Southland.  At the same time, it outlines a more general pattern that can be seen in many places, each with their own local circumstances.

Written in a deep summer haze

Written By: - Date published: 8:44 am, January 5th, 2015 - 94 comments

I was astonished by an anonymous NZ Herald editorial on New Years day – “NZ economy is in a good place and thriving”. Obviously an inferior intellect was slow cooked in the warm holiday weather. It turned to mush and regurgitated one of Bill English’s wet dreams. Dairy prices are unlikely to rebound any time soon.

Jobs That Count

Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, December 17th, 2014 - 20 comments

The Meatworkers Union today launch a campaign for Jobs That Count – to try to get better conditions for these marginalised workers who face it all – seasonal work, dangerous jobs, casual and zero hours contracts and anti-union pressure.

Losing money

Written By: - Date published: 7:32 am, December 2nd, 2014 - 26 comments

exports trading partners 2012

The economic news is depressing for NZ at present. After riding a dairy commodity boom for the last few years, the payout for farmers looks like it will drop from a high of $8.50/kg last season to $4.85/kg this coming season. Meanwhile National has neglected our most sustainable resource – people. So expect a busted economy for the next few years.

New Zealand’s brighter future

Written By: - Date published: 4:00 pm, October 2nd, 2014 - 139 comments

The early election has meant that National has avoided the bad news of the collapse in international milk prices during the campaign period.  And the Reserve Bank has finally taken action to drive down the value of New Zealand’s currency.  It may be that the brighter future promised by National is not going to be so bright.

The Lochinver station

Written By: - Date published: 7:51 am, August 9th, 2014 - 132 comments

Just over six weeks to go until the next election and we have our first major campaign issue. Not what some young people said about John Key but foreign ownership of our land.

Greens: Falling milk prices highlight danger of National’s economic strategy

Written By: - Date published: 7:11 pm, August 6th, 2014 - 39 comments

This press release from the Greens pretty well sums up the situation that National have left the economy in. Once you remove the rebuild effects from the Christchurch earthquakes, our increasingly undiversified economy is looking in pretty poor shape for the decade ahead.

Dairy drops further

Written By: - Date published: 8:42 am, July 30th, 2014 - 35 comments

As expected, Fonterra has dropped the milk solid payout from $7 per kilogram to $6. New Zealand needs a different economic approach for a long term sustainable future that doesn’t rely on strip mining soil and water or other resources. National have been consistently mismanaging the NZ economy in putting far too much emphasis on resource extraction and the systematic degradation of our ability to earn our own way in the world. Time to get rid of National’s lack of imagination and long-term planning from the direction of our economy.

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