Wednesday, 21 August 2024 13:25

Out of touch

Written by Milking It

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OPINION: Last week's announcement by the Government to remove a decades-long ban on genetically engineered crops was generally well-received by farming and science communities.

Even the Greens and Labour are not ruling out supporting the legislation when it’s likely to be tabled in Parliament sometime next year.

But there’s one organisation, that’s still not budging – Greenpeace. The environment lobby claims that unproven genetically engineered methane inhibitors will not solve New Zealand dairy’s climate pollution problem.

NZ farmers are always looking for new technologies to help them improve their production, increase their profit, or reduce their environmental footprint, including emissions – ‘the climate crisis’. Removing the ban will help them immensely. Sadly, Greenpeace continues to see red over gene technology.

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Dreams aren't plans

OPINION: Milking It reckons if you're National, looking at recent polls, the dream scenario is that the elusive economic recovery finally roars to life.

If voters see some growth and wages rising faster than prices, the government could say they've "fixed" things as they ride into the next election.

Back here on Earth though, the economy they inherited is a basket case, and the long-term headwinds are fierce.

Political commentator Liam Hehir says, "dreams are not plans" and if the turnaround doesn't come in time, National may have no choice but to go negative.

"Everybody wants to fight on the economy if they can. But when neither side has a compelling story, the contest shifts to other issues. That's not new. In fact, it's the stuff of politics everywhere, always."