OPINION: If the hand-wringing, cravat and bow-tie wearing commentariat of a left-leaning persuasion had any influence on global markets, we'd be in a full-blown crash by now, what with the pessimistic wailing about the recent political 'reshuffle' in Venezuela - orchestrated by the US Administration Arm and executed, quite efficiently,…
OPINION: With Winston Peters playing politics with the PM's Indian FTA, all eyes will be on Labour who have the casting vote.
OPINION: When he promised an Indian FTA in his first term, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon was really putting it all on red for the win. Against the odds (and with help from Todd McClay and others), he has thumbed his nose at the many doubters by closing just such a…
OPINION: MPI's response to the yellow-legged hornet has received a mixed report card from New Zealand Beekeeping Inc (NZBI), with praise for the Ministry's expansion of response funding and front-line efforts in Auckland, but a sting in the tail - criticising MPI for not focusing enough on regions outside the…
OPINION: The release of the Natural Environment Bill and Planning Bill to replace the Resource Management Act is a red-letter day for the agricultural sector, kicking to touch the single biggest handbrake on agricultural productivity and rural economies – the much-hated RMA.
OPINION: Federated Farmers has launched a new campaign, swapping ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ for ‘The Twelve Pests of Christmas’ to highlight the most troublesome farm pests – a serious issue that needs some urgent attention from the Beehive.
OPINION: It used to be that the National Fieldays attracted brickbats for being officious clipboard carriers, while the regional, farmer-run field days enjoyed the bouquets for being easier to deal with.
OPINION: Your old mate welcomes the proposed changes to local government but notes it drew responses that ranged from the reasonable to the ridiculous, depending on what axe people had to grind.
OPINION: A press release from the oxygen thieves running the hot air symposium on climate change, known as COP30, grabbed your old mate’s attention.
OPINION: This old mutt thinks New Zealand should take a bow after winning the ‘Fossil of the Day’ award at COP30 in Brazil over recent improvements to our methane targets.
OPINION: The Hound reckons the argument run by the ‘agribusiness elite’ that the market will punish our exports if we don’t fall into line with spurious targets like the Paris Accord doesn’t pass the sniff test.
OPINION: Winston Peters has described the decision to sell its brand to Lactalis and disperse the profit to its farmer shareholders as a 'short sighted sugar hit'.
OPINION: The Hound reckons a big problem with focusing too much on the wrong goal - reducing livestock emissions at the expanse of food production, in this case - is that the Government starts throwing taxpayer coin at increasingly ridiculous ideas.
OPINION: In a memo, rich guy Bill Gates didn't become a climate change denier, but he did give the world a dose of common sense, saying we should redirect efforts away from the campaign to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and instead focus on other ways to improve human lives and…
OPINION: Did the Prime Minister hint last week that the sale of Landcorp assets could be part of the manifesto for the next election?
OPINION: Every time politicians come up with an investment scheme where they're going to have a crack at 'picking winners' with our money, the Hound cringes.
OPINION: What are the unions for these days?
OPINION: Your old mate hears some of the farmers involved in the Meat Industry Excellence (MIE) group ten years ago think the Alliance deal with Irish company Dawn Meats is “an absolute disaster” – and is the kind of outcome they predicted back then if nothing changed.
OPINION: The Hound reckons the recent stoush about the old Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) expanding its brief – with no real mandate – from traditional broadcasting to internet platforms is a case of ‘be careful what you wish for’
OPINION: The Greens have taken the high moral ground on the Palestine issue and been leading political agitators in related protests – and that is to be expected, but the diplomatic efforts and wisdom of Winston Peters in this area should not be overlooked or ignored.
One of the most galling aspects of the tariffs whacked on our farm exports to the US is the fact that, now more than ever, US farmers are being propped up by government welfare – a direct result of Trump’s hardline on its trading partners.
OPINION: Media luvvies at Stuff, the Spinoff and the Granny Herald are spending more time than ever navel-gazing about why the peasants outside of their cosy little bubble no longer trust them.
OPINION: Why does it take Treasury so long to turn around its figures on how the economy is tracking?
OPINION: Ageing lefty Chris Trotter reckons that the decision to delay recognition of Palestinian statehood is more than just a fit of pique by Foreign Minister Winston Peters.
OPINION: If the hand-wringing, cravat and bow-tie wearing commentariat of a left-leaning persuasion had any influence on global markets, we'd…
OPINION: With Winston Peters playing politics with the PM's Indian FTA, all eyes will be on Labour who have the…
