Dead in the water
OPINION: In a victory for common sense over virtue signalling, David Parker's National Policy Statement (NPS) work on freshwater is now dead in the water.
National’s agriculture spokesperson Guy alleged in Parliament that Trade Minister Parker told the EU Agriculture Commissioner and his trade delegation that “hungry sharemilkers screw everything out of their cows and allow them to s*** in our rivers”.
Guy asked Parker at a meeting in Wellington last week whether he had said that. Parker said he had not, but Guy said his sources said that the Minister did say that.
Parker charged that Guy was “misinterpreting comments that I think he’s heard third- or fourth-hand”.
“The meeting with the European Commission included the issue of nutrient pollution,” Parker said. “Some of the farm groups at the meeting, I think, were somewhat shocked to hear the European Commission say that the commission had required the Netherlands to cull 100,000 cows because they exceeded their nutrient pollution guideline.”
