Thursday, 11 April 2019 11:49

Not happy with Westland

Written by 

Westland Milk's decision to sell to Chinese company Yili may get the nod of farmer shareholders but politicians aren’t happy.

Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor, the West Coast-Tasman MP, says the impending sale is “personally of concern for me coming from the West Coast”.

NZ First MP Mark Patterson expresses similar sentiment: “Let’s hope Westland Milk shareholders think long and hard before selling the family silver”. 

NZ First was highly critical of the sale of agribusinesses to Chinese interests before the election. However, the party has toned down its criticism since stepping into coalition Government with Labour and the Greens.

More like this

Not popular

OPINION: This old mutt hears that his editor has copped a fair bit of flak from readers after an article on former Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor appeared in the last issue of this fine organ.

Reflecting a challenging period

Damien O'Connor admits his six years in office were incredibly challenging, with Covid, droughts, floods, storms, M. bovis and volcanic eruptions to name a few.

Back to the backbench

Former Labour agriculture and trade minister Damien O'Connor hopes the new coalition Governent will continue the direction of travel initiated by his government in terms of ensuring the high reputation of our primary exports.

Westland Milk reports positive season

"I'm more positive now than I was two or three months ago." That's the view of Richard Wyeth, chief executive of Hokitika-based Westland Milk Products (WMP).

Featured

Govt urged to reduce ETS units

The Climate Change Commission wants the new Government to reduce NZ Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction volumes as son as possible.

Dairy sheep, goat woes mount

Dairy sheep and goat farmers are being told to reduce milk supply as processors face a slump in global demand for their products.

Alliance's Pure South cuts win gold

Meat co-operative Alliance Group has bagged four gold medals at the Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards, achieving top honours for every cut entered.

Dairy demand on the rise

There is increasing evidence that dairy demand is on the upswing, according to Rabobank senior agricultural analyst Emma Higgins.

National

Waikato dryer sold

An independent milk spray dryer in Hamilton, destined for liquidation, has been bought by a South Auckland goat milk processor.

Machinery & Products

Samasz sets its sights high

Since its arrival in New Zealand, Polish mower manufacturer Samasz, currently celebrating 40 years in business, has carved a niche…

Trojan keeps on going

The DR200 Trojan farm two-wheeler motorcycle was introduced over 28 years ago, when the engineering team at Suzuki New Zealand…

Still going strong!

The saying goes ‘if it ain’t broke -don’t fix it’, so it’s no surprise to see an old favourite in…

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

'A complete dog

OPINION: It's not just a rural banking inquiry that farmers want. Freshwater farm plans are another major headache for farmers.

Action, not words

OPINION: The new Government may be farmer friendly, but it's not love, rather action that farmers want.

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter