Avian flu poses top biosecurity threat to NZ, says Hoggard
Avian flu getting into New Zealand's poultry industry is the biosecurity threat that is most worrying for Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard.
Rural contractors deserve to be listened to on safety issues created by new roading developments which don’t allow motorists to pass slow-moving vehicles, says Associate Agriculture Minister Andrew Hoggard.
Opening the Rural Contractors NZ conference in Masterton recently, Hoggard says he sees the issues when he drives to Parliament from his Manawatū home.
There were median barriers preventing overtaking between Levin and Otaki as well as no shoulder space to allow vehicles such as tractors to pull over.
“There’s a lot of tractors trying to get in and out of paddocks,” he told the conference. Motorists were getting angry as a result.
“There’s lots of screaming, fingers out the windows and potentially stupid decisions being made.”
Roading developments needed to allow traffic to get past slow-moving machinery.
He promised to take up the issue of providing for slow-moving machinery with Transport Minister Simeon Brown.
Rural Contractors NZ chief executive Andrew Olsen says the issue is not limited to Horowhenua.
“Rural contractors in Waikato and other parts of the country are facing similar anger from motorists because of median barriers and no pull over space.”
Near where he lives south of Masterton, there are several kilometres of median barriers on SH2, accompanied by poor capacity for agricultural machinery to pull over safely.
“We support reducing the road toll but giving rural contractors no capacity to pull over for kilometres at a time is actually adding to the risk of fatalities. We want Minister Brown to act,’’ says Olsen.
Triple messages on the risks posed by to rural contactors by fatigue and accidents were also given at the annual RCNZ conference.
Safer Farms chair Lindy Nelson said these are part of a problem rural New Zealand can no longer ignore.
“The agriculture sector is one of the most important primary industries contributing to New Zealand’s economy, yet it is one of the most dangerous places to work.”
There had been a dozen farm bike fatalities alone reported to Work- Safe since last November. “Unfortunately, I think this is going to be our worst year yet for farm bike fatalities.”
Nelson says farmers could not work without rural contractors but sometimes put them under a lot of pressure and the risk of accidents caused by fatigue.
“Be brave and talk to one another about what that looks like.”
Her comments were echoed the following day of the conference by Wairarapa psychologist and regional Rural Support Trust area coordinator Sarah Donaldson.
She’d had a call the previous morning from someone in the industry who was under stress. The call was one of many she received from farmers and rural contractors.
“The vast majority of people I see are staunch blokes,” says Donaldson.
Fatigue was the biggest issue. “Crash and burn – that’s about 75% of what I see in the rural sector,” she adds.
Donaldson reminded rural contractors that their body and brain needed recovery time from work – and work included being on phones and laptops as well as machinery.
Good sleep was a key to recovery but people under stress often had difficulty finding their ‘off’ button.
Pre-season conversations with farmers were important to try and set up things well.
WorkSafe’s Paula MacKenzie says farmers were often just as stressed as rural contractors and they needed to know the risks for them and others increased if too much pressure to do a job was applied.
She outlined 15 factors contributing to fatigue including long hours, uncertain work times and operating machinery.
Rural contractors at the conference confirmed they faced most of the 15 factors in their work.
Waikato’s Helen Slattery, who has been RCNZ president for three years, stood down to be replaced by Wairarapa’s Clinton Carroll. South Waikato’s Gordy Brown, Taranaki contractor Alistair Kalin and Canterbury spray contractor David Molloy join the RCNZ board.
New Zealand's TBfree programme has made great progress in reducing the impact of the disease on livestock herds, but there’s still a long way to go, according to Beef+Lamb NZ.
With much of the North Island experiencing drought this summer and climate change projected to bring drier and hotter conditions, securing New Zealand’s freshwater resilience is vital, according to state-owned GNS Science.
OPINION: Otago farmer and NZ First MP Mark Patterson is humble about the role that he’s played in mandating government agencies to use wool wherever possible in new and refurbished buildings.
For Wonky Box co-founder Angus Simms, the decision to open the service to those in rural areas is a personal one.
The golden age of orcharding in West Auckland was recently celebrated at the launch of a book which tells the story of its rise, then retreat in the face of industry change and urban expansion.
Everyone from experienced veterinarians and young professionals to the Wormwise programme and outstanding clinics have been recognised in this year’s New Zealand Veterinary Association (NZVA) awards. As part of a series looking at this year’s rural winners, Leo Argent talked with Ginny Dodunski, winner of the Veterinary Impact Award for raising the profile of the Wormwise programme.
OPINION: The appendage swinging contest between the US and China continues, with China hitting back with a new rate of…
OPINION: The irony of President Trump’s tariff obsession is that the worst damage may be done to his own people.