Thursday, 05 October 2023 12:15

Parting shot?

Written by Milking It

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OPINION: Environment Minister David Parker, likely in the final weeks of the job, remains hell-bent on burning bridges with farmers.

Parker, who has never been a favourite of the farming sector, recently labelled members of rural ginger group Groundswell NZ as “dinosaurs”.

The group was founded in 2020 by farmers Bryce McKenzie and Laurie Patterson in response to a series of regulations the group says are “unworkable”. It has built up a reputation standing up to the Government where industry-good organisations have failed.

Parker’s recent outburst is understandable. With Labour on the ropes and Groundswell urging rural voters not to vote Labour, Parker knows that rural voters who backed Jacinda Ardern in 2021 are on the move again.

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