Damien O’Connor Criticises Budget 2026 as ‘Miserable’ for Rural New Zealand
A miserable budget that didn’t deliver much for anyone.
OPINION: Remember when Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor, about a year ago, launched his new baby the Primary Sector Council (PSC) to a whole lot of fanfare and cost to the taxpayer?
At the time, O’Connor claimed the new body would “... provide independent strategic advice to the Government on issues confronting the primary industries – with an immediate focus on developing a sector-wide vision”.
Your old mate would like to know just exactly where is this ‘sector-wide vision’ and what bang for our bucks have we as taxpayers got for this glorified working group?
Fifteen months since it was set up and – according to official figures – with much more than $500,000 of taxpayer money spent on it, the PSC has come up with… zip, zero, nada, nothing, not a sausage.
Farmgate lamb prices are down by 8%, beef cattle by 4.5% and farm expenditure up by 4.2%.
Kiwifruit growers are watchful but remain optimistic as concerns around the potential effects of the El Niño weather pattern this season.
Almond hulls sourced from Australian orchards may have the potential to help New Zealand cows reduce emissions, boost milk yield and lower input costs.
Striking a balance between meeting the needs of industry to speed up approval time for products but on the other hand ensuring that risks are properly assessed.
Surprised, humbled and quite thrilled. That’s the reaction of James Allen, one of the founding partners and now chief executive of AgFirst, on being made a life member of the Institute of Rural Professionals.

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OPINION: Your old mate reckons the atrocious way farmers in the UK are treated by their lords and masters in…