Budget 2025: Healthcare big winner, no news for ag
Healthcare appears to be the big winner in this year's budget as agriculture and environment miss out.
The timber industry believes the government's announced boost to home construction, through a Housing Infrastructure Fund, needs to have a timber focus.
Woodco chair, Brian Stanley, says the volume of housing resulting from Prime Minister John Key's announcement during the weekend can only be achieved through giving priority to timber construction.
"If we want that many houses to be built quickly, properly, and with sustainable materials, timber is the way to go. This is even more the case with the medium rise and high density dwelling construction which will be important in Auckland," Stanley says.
"Timber generally is available, builders like it and are used to using it. It's affordable and it's light. Modern timber technology gives great thermal retention and earthquake resistant qualities.
"A not insignificant factor is that using timber for construction is environmentally beneficial, since wooden buildings continue to lock up the carbon the trees have absorbed from the atmosphere in the first place."
Stanley says the scale and speed of house construction likely to result from the government initiative means builders in the targeted centres will want to work with materials and methods which have been well tested and are known to be reliable.
"Timber ticks all the boxes and our industry is keen to talk with anyone in the construction business, architects, central and local government about how we might get on with the job."
Two butcheries have claimed victory at the 100% New Zealand Bacon & Ham Awards for 2025.
A Taupiri farming company has been convicted and fined $52,500 in the Hamilton District Court for the unlawful discharge of dairy effluent into the environment.
The Climate Change Commission’s 2025 emissions reduction monitoring report reveals steady progress on the reduction of New Zealand’s climate pollution.
Another milestone has been reached in the fight against Mycoplasma bovis with the compensation assistance service being wound up after helping more than 1300 farmers.
The Government’s directive for state farmer Landcorp Farming (trading as Pamu) to lifts its performance is yielding results.
The move to bring bovine TB testing in-house at Ospri officially started this month, as a team of 37 skilled and experienced technicians begin work with the disease eradication agency.
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