M.I.A.
OPINION: The previous government spent too much during the Covid-19 pandemic, despite warnings from officials, according to a briefing released by the Treasury.
A training programme to help the kiwifruit industry provide employment opportunities for New Zealanders is receiving Government funding.
Up to $200,000 is being invested to help people into work and meet urgent seasonal demand in the sector.
“We know that people have lost their jobs because of COVID-19, and we know there is significant and urgent demand for trained workers in the horticulture sector,” says Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor.
“During lockdown the kiwifruit industry provided a lifeline for a number of displaced workers from industries such as tourism, forestry and hospitality. We want to continue to connect people with jobs in horticulture, and more broadly in the primary industries because we know these sectors will be key to our economic recovery.
O’Connor says in the immediate term, the Government is aiming to place at least 10,000 New Zealanders in primary sector jobs.
COVID-19 travel restrictions resulted in the kiwifruit sector facing labour shortages, however, indicative figures show that New Zealanders have responded to the call for workers.
Kiwifruit businesses are now employing around 70% New Zealanders, with some businesses employing up to 90%, compared to around 50% last season.
O’Connor says the figures indicate that interest from local workers is there and this should be built upon in the longer term.
“Right now the focus for kiwifruit growers is to complete pruning over winter. This is critical for next year’s production. So we’re not wasting any time, these courses will start this month.”
NZPork has appointed Auckland-based Paul Bucknell as its new chair.
The Government claims to have delivered on its election promise to protect productive farmland from emissions trading scheme (ETS) but red meat farmers aren’t happy.
Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks could have a detrimental impact on any country's rural sector, as seen in the United Kingdom's 2000 outbreak that saw the compulsory slaughter of over six million animals.
The Ministry for the Environment is joining as a national award sponsor in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEA from next year).
Kiwis are wasting less of their food than they were two years ago, and this has been enough to push New Zealand’s total household food waste bill lower, the 2025 Rabobank KiwiHarvest Food Waste survey has found.
OPINION: Sir Lockwood Smith has clearly and succinctly defined what academic freedom is all about, the boundaries around it and the responsibility that goes with this privilege.
OPINION: For years, the ironically named Dr Mike Joy has used his position at Victoria University to wage an activist-style…
OPINION: A mate of yours truly has had an absolute gutsful of the activist group SAFE.