The Hound

Times have changed

OPINION: Back in the 1960s and '70s, and even into the '80s, successive National government Agriculture Ministers and Trade Ministers were at the top of the cabinet rankings.

Hallelujah moment

OPINION: The new Public Service Commissioner Sir Brian Roche has just had the hallelujah moment of the 21st century in his candid review of the NZ public service.

OPINION: Media luvvies have pigeon-holed the Taxpayers Union (TPU) as some right-wing lobby, but as far as this old mutt can tell, the TPU focuses on shaming poor behaviour and wasteful spending by those that govern us, no matter who's in power.

Tariff risk

OPINION: Some commentators across the ditch reckon the second Trump administration's anticipated trade protectionism, coupled with China's economic fragility, poses a significant risk for Australia's agricultural export industries.

Drunk on power!

OPINION: The end-of-year booze-up at the posh Northern Club in Auckland must have been a beauty, as the legal 'elite' let their hair down and showed us how entitled and political some in the judiciary really are.

Time has come?

OPINION: It divides opinion, but the House has passed the first reading of the Gene Technology Bill.

Cut the fat!

OPINION: Finance Minister Nicola Willis has targeted cuts in the public service to balance the books, particularly the spend on consultants, drawing trenchant criticism from... consultants.

'Economic morons'

OPINION: The death of Dame Tariana Turia is a loss for the country and a reminder of how far the quality of politician has fallen in the party she founded.

Dark ages

OPINION: Before we all let The Green Party have at it with their 'bold' emissions reduction plan, the Hound thought it wise to run the numbers through the old Casio.

Rhymes with?

OPINION: The Feds' latest banking survey shows that bankers are even less popular with farmers than they used to be, despite falling interest rates, and the report still paints a damning picture of rural lending.

Waste not

OPINION: Judith Collins, Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology, has upset the more woke members of the science community by announcing a regulation change to narrow the scope of the $83.5 million/year Marsden Fund.

Middle finger

OPINION: Kainga Ora's decision to categorically rule out use of woollen carpets in social housing is a total slap in the face for struggling Kiwi sheep farmers.

Loud noises!

OPINION: One of the strongest arguments for Act’s Treaty Principles Bill is probably its opponents’ total inability to raise a calm, cogent retort to it, other than intimidation and shouting the other side into silence.

Barks like a dog

OPINION: Landcorp is putting a brave face on its latest result, highlighting its progress on KPIs like climate change and gender pay gaps.

Chasing rainbows

OPINION: The Hound awaits with baited breath Nicola Shadbolt's Methane Review Panel's findings this month on whether farmers will continue to be marched to the gallows by legislated methane reduction targets.

No comment!

OPINION: The Hound hears that a slickly choreographed Silver Fern Farms roadshow went astray recently when faced with fired up farmer feedback in Kurow.

Review SOEs!

OPINION: NIWA has long weathered complaints about alleged stifling of competition in forecasting, and more recently, claims of lack of transparency by the Crown-owned entity - spurred by its refusal to release information under the OIA about its conduct around Cyclone Gabrielle and the Hawke's Bay flooding.

Bank reset

OPINION: Adding to calls to get banks to 'back off', NZ Agri Brokers director Andrew Laming has revealed that the banking structure massively favours lending to housing, at the expense of the productive sectors, particularly agribusiness.

Smugness

OPINION: Just as they did in 2016 when Trump beat Clinton, liberals in the media are crying "how did this happen?"

Snail mail

OPINION: About as productive as a politician's taxpayer-funded trip to Hawaii, as cost-effective as an OSPRI IT project, and as smart as the power-company pylon worker, the Hound gives you the NZ Post business strategy:

Leaky waka

OPINION: Was the ASB Economic Weekly throwing shade on Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr when reporting on his speech in Washington recently?

Know-it-alls

OPINION: A reader recently had a shot at the various armchair critics that she judged to be more than a bit preachy, telling sheep farmers how they "must learn" and "embrace change" and various other platitudes that armchair critics bandy about on LinkedIn and on the speaker circuit in 'NZ…

Mixed legacy

OPINION: You're never as good as when you're dead, and with due respect to Theo Spierings' family, the Hound can't let the death of the former Fonterra CEO pass without mentioning the parlous state he left Fonterra in when he exited in 2018 - having pocketed well north of $30…

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.