Enter Sandman

Written By: - Date published: 6:57 pm, June 18th, 2015 - 52 comments
Categories: same old national, you couldn't make this shit up - Tags: , ,

You really can’t make this stuff up! According to Nathan Guy, the 70% mortality rate for new born lambs in the Kiwi taxpayer funded farm in Saudi Arabia could be due to sand storms. No, really. Personally, I think it was Tusken Raiders.

National blew about $1.5 million in taxpayer money airfreighting 900 pregnant ewes to Hamood Al Ali Khalaf’s private farm. According to Guy, who actually is a farmer in real life, that’s life.

“I am disappointed that, if these numbers of livestock have died, that that occurred. But…from time to time, livestock do die.”

The sheep  were under some shelter, not out on pasture. Asked how so many lambs could die if there was shelter, Mr Guy said there “was a lot of sand in the desert”.

“There is a lot of sand and the wind can get up and that caused, as I understand it, some mortality.”

Yeah, right. Alternatively, maybe the idea of trying to breed sheep in the desert as a sop to a foreign businessman who posed no actual legal threat to the taxpayer was a fucken stoopid idea in the first place. I guess we’ll never know, eh?

The sad thing is Guy isn’t even the worst Minister in this Government. He’s just pretty average. As Labour’s David Parker notes Ministers are now trying escape being caught up in the scandal caused by Murray McCully. And Murray’s keeping his head down and leaving it up to the likes of the dull witted Guy to try and pull the wool over our eyes about sheepgate. Baa humbug!

Exit, light
Enter, night
Take my hand
We’re off to never-never land …

 

52 comments on “Enter Sandman ”

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  1. CnrJoe 1
    18 June 2015 at 7:03 pm

    So….no more sheep to this show farm because of the killer sand….nothing The National Govt can do to stop the killer sand.

  2. mickysavage 2
    18 June 2015 at 7:11 pm

    The very first thought I had when I saw the aerial photograph of the farm was “you have to be joking”.

    The nats have known about this since December although it looks like they omitted to tell Nathan Guy about it. I bet there are a few terse words being spoken tonite …

  3. Ad 3
    18 June 2015 at 7:13 pm

    A nice slow Ministerial lamb roast.

    Backbenchers will be waiting for the crackling.
    And inevitable demotion, so they can replace them in Cabinet’s ranks.

    Please don’t let it stop.

  4. Charles 4
    18 June 2015 at 7:35 pm

    “… Ministers are now trying escape being caught up in the scandal caused by Murray McCully…”

    Natpeople are easily startled, but will soon be back, and in greater numbers….

  5. stever 5
    18 June 2015 at 7:36 pm

    Ok, so he’s “disappointed”.

    But this attitude really does sum up National’s view on everything except their own money and those of their supporters. Pretended or un-empathetic responses to others…but total connection and a can-do attitude where their money is concerned.

    No plan beyond power and money…a really sad bunch of humans.

  6. Lanthanide 6
    18 June 2015 at 7:53 pm

    From ScottGN in the partial list of current scandals thread:

    Bridges can add himself to the ‘naughty list’ of ministers. This time with out-and-out corruption: http://publicaddress.net/speaker/bridges-swims-in-troubled-waters/

    I’m sure the MSM will be calling for him to resign…. never.

  7. weka 7
    18 June 2015 at 7:57 pm

    What a bunch of fucking numpties.

  8. peterlepaysan 8
    18 June 2015 at 8:17 pm

    N Guy is related to a farming family. He is not a farmer.
    He,apparently, can tell the difference between pasture and sand.
    What NZ bred sheep reared in NZ ( a temperate climate country) are doing in Saudi Arabia is not a question he would like to address. It might embarrass his colleague McCully and his boss, Key.

    • te reo putake 8.1
      18 June 2015 at 8:34 pm

      Nathan Guy did study farming at Massey and lists two farms as assets on the MP’s pecuniary register. He also claimed to be a farmer on RNZ yesterday. That all makes it worse, of course.

      He knows that a 70% plus mortality rate is utterly appalling. Farmers have a really low opinion of other farmers who harm their stock through incompetence or laziness. If Nathan Guy is any kind of farmer, he absolutely knows that these deaths are inexcusable.

      • peterh 8.1.1
        19 June 2015 at 8:38 am

        Its way past 70%mortality . the ave lambing percentage is about 120% some farms up to160%

      • Tracey 8.1.2
        19 June 2015 at 9:56 am

        Yes, he is a farmer, just like Bill English is a farmer

        🙄

        “Assaf says mortality rates on ships – “0.02 per cent” – are lower than rates on the average New Zealand farm, which Beef+Lamb NZ estimate at 5.2 per cent.”

        So, that means 70% dying on land at destination suggests they should be keeping them on the boats!

        http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/sheep/69447755/saudi-company-would-pay-over-200-per-live-export-sheep

        • b waghorn 8.1.2.1
          19 June 2015 at 11:58 am

          Mr Assad being a bit creative as I’m sure if the sheep where on the ship for 365 days the death rate would be above 0.02%

          • Tracey 8.1.2.1.1
            19 June 2015 at 12:04 pm

            sure but NZ farmer, Guy, would know the mortality rate in NZ is 5% nothing like the 70% he heard about here?

      • David H 8.1.3
        19 June 2015 at 10:29 am

        Nathan Guy is supposed to be the MP for Otaki but I don’t know when he was last in his electorate office in Levin. it seems to have no one going in and the little old Lady just sits there and answers the phone , easy job.

        He must be too busy trying to cover up all the screw ups that He and his mates Grosser, McCully, Joyce, English, and the chief megalomaniac Key have pushed onto NZ.

        The rest of the world must be waiting for NZ to go Broke then the thieves can come in, and asset strip the country and do a Greece on us

    • Lloyd 8.2
      18 June 2015 at 9:44 pm

      Isn’t Mexico a little warm for NZ bred sheep too?

    • dukeofurl 8.3
      18 June 2015 at 10:36 pm

      Remember they are the natural breed for the Middle East desert – Awassi.

  9. Psycho Milt 9
    18 June 2015 at 9:05 pm

    Having lived in that part of the world, I can tell you that sand storms are well capable of killing you unless the “some shelter” you’re under shelters your lungs from extremely fine sand in high concentration and under significant pressure. Houses and cars there are never sand-free, and the sand is often so fine it’s indistinguishable from dust. Temperatures hitting 50 degrees celsius are more likely to be the killer than sandstorms though, because they’re more common. It’s not exactly ideal sheep country. That said, Kuwait (where I lived) had dairy farms – just not the kind where the cows eat grass.

    • vto 9.1
      18 June 2015 at 9:14 pm

      sounds horrible

      • Psycho Milt 9.1.1
        18 June 2015 at 9:37 pm

        The phrase “green and pleasant land” never once comes to mind, but you develop a lot of respect for the people who lived there before there was concrete, air conditioning and supermarkets.

    • RedLogix 9.2
      18 June 2015 at 10:28 pm

      Can’t help but agree with you there PM. I’ve some colleagues working there at the moment – and yes the dust storms are a very real hazard.

    • dukeofurl 9.3
      18 June 2015 at 10:34 pm

      “It’s not exactly ideal sheep country. ”

      Youre wrong. The Awassi breed originated in the Syro_Arabian desert, so is well suited to the heat and dust. It can handle poor pasture as well.

      It can be either nomadic flocks relying on natural pasture for producing lamb or intensive dairy flocks for milk and lamb as well.

      In Syria alone they had 15 mill sheep, mostly Awassi, the war has probably affected these numbers

      Im wondering if the high mortality of the lambs, has something to do with being delicious tucker.
      The shepherds would be poor immigrants so they have to do what they have to do.

    • Tracey 9.4
      19 June 2015 at 10:02 am

      But a business person would take this into account before deciding to “grow” sheep there, right?

      Unless you have actually slaughtered them (as you always wanted) and are using the sand as a convenient excuse which a country like NZ (and its leadership) will happily swallow

  10. sckiwireddevil 10
    18 June 2015 at 9:39 pm

    If all, or any of this shit, ie; Oravida, Saudi sheep, kauri logs sell-off, Bridge bribe, Housing fiasco, Spying, Sexual assault(s), Chinese developer acquitted of a self admitted assault, etc, etc, etc, happened at least 20yrs ago, the streets would be filled with protest. This corrupt, fascist government has been testing the waters with the public of New Zealand far too long now, they are starting to drown, but only with our help will this happen. Unfortunately, we have become too passive in our protest of government wrongdoing, and they know it. We ALL have to wake up and take our blinkers off. This government have to see and hear our disgust with them, or they will continue down this same path of deception and bring this great country to its ruin…….time to dust-off that ’81 crash helmet?

    • Tracey 10.1
      19 June 2015 at 10:04 am

      they have systematically and deliberately done the opposite of Key’s promise to raise standards of behaviour. IMO, to make the kind of behaviour you have listed seem perfectly normal (and therefore excusable).

      • sckiwireddevil 10.1.1
        19 June 2015 at 11:25 am

        What needs to be done to stop all this Govt deception/corruption?
        Do we have to wait until the next election? Will that be too late?
        How much more can this Govt deceive? Signing petition forms is laughable to them. At the very least, we must give them a message when the flag referendum is due, just as Northland did. I believe we need to get off our arse and show them we are sick of all of this shit they are pouring on us. We have done it before, we can do it again. Cmon NZ, stand strong, walk strong, shout strong. Let them REALLY know we are pissed off.
        They think we are all stupid, well i’m not.
        They try and act opaque, but they are so transparent.
        They will not deceive me. I can see right through them. Criminals all.

    • sckiwireddevil 10.2
      19 June 2015 at 12:53 pm

      ……and no, i’m not a radical, just a concerned kiwi with a love for this great country. Where are we heading? Or have we already arrived? Sad times are approaching I fear.

  11. miravox 11
    19 June 2015 at 2:10 am

    “But…from time to time, livestock do die.” – Nathan Guy

    “People dying in winter of pneumonia and other illnesses is not new.” – Nick Smith

    Those phrases are so similar and lacking concern, one might think they’re from the same playbook.

    • Tracey 11.1
      19 June 2015 at 10:05 am

      That Guy thinks 70% mortality rates happen from time to time proves he is no farmer

      • miravox 11.1.1
        20 June 2015 at 9:37 pm

        True. That excess mortality provoked such responses proves both are nasty shits and are in the wrong jobs.

  12. b waghorn 12
    19 June 2015 at 6:13 am

    I think the new Zealand government should immediately send $4 million dollars to the owners so they can put walls on the shed.

  13. vto 13
    19 June 2015 at 6:29 am

    The Saudis have waaaayyy too much money and power to be trusted…

    why even bother doing business with them? Can only ever end in tears

  14. keith ross 14
    19 June 2015 at 6:35 am

    About sheep in Mexico, there are many areas that have quite cold conditions due to altitude. Not all of the country is tropical. this is in high plateaus as well, not just peaks. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Mexico

  15. saveNZ 15
    19 June 2015 at 8:38 am

    Perhaps Murray and John Key can put up their own 1.5m to prop up some dodgy deal and leave the tax payers out of it.

    Where is the serious fraud office in this? Surely this is the type of misappropriation that is considered ‘serious fraud’. ‘Donations’ to Saudi business people, taxpayer money buying his lambs from his private farm instead of on the open market, bypassing the legislation that bans live sheep exports etc etc and surprise surprise, all ends in a mass slaughter.

    I hate to think what NZ’s reputation is becoming internationally with Pony Gate, Sheep Gate and Mass surveillance gate, Carbon and Environmental gate, Ideological TPP gate etc

  16. Sable 16
    19 June 2015 at 8:49 am

    Errr, OK. I would have thought opening a farm in a desert was never a good idea to start with.

    The Nats are sounding desperate but I’m sure the MSM will make appear the very embodiment of reasonableness (as always).

    • Tracey 16.1
      19 June 2015 at 10:07 am

      They can protect people and their pets from the sand and the heat, so the only reason I can see why they wouldn’t protect the sheep is;

      1. bigger profit, although dead sheep eviscerated by sand would be unmarketable??

      2. you never wanted them all alive, you wanted them for slaughter and the “sand storms” has given you (and our Cabinet) the perfect excuse

  17. Mark Sindone 17
    3 July 2015 at 3:26 pm

    What kind of sandstorms are you having that lambs are dying from it!!! Well, seems to be that you should be implementing good indoor housing solutions for the poor babies so that they’re sheltered from those crazy sand blasts. A shed or barn unit would be sufficient, and you’ll have the benefit of all the extra storage space when you don’t have livestock occupying the area.