Tuesday, 17 November 2015 09:47

Captain Oates?

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Your old mate wonders if the recent sudden and under-the-radar departure of Fonterra's top communications man Kerry Underhill may be linked to the board's recent re-think on the co-op's communications strategy.

It is as though Underhill has done a Captain Oates and gone out for a walk – leaving after only two years on the job and with no official word from the co-op; he no longer appears as a co-op management teams or on the website. This is a mystery and ironically another communications gaff by the giant dairy co-op that leaves a great many questions to be asked about Fonterra's old head-in-the-sand, 'nothing to see here' comms approach that has so far been an unmitigated disaster.

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Cynical politics

OPINION: There is zero chance that someone who joined Fonterra as a lobbyist, then served as a general manager of Fonterra's nutrient management programme, and sat on the board of Export NZ, a division of lobbyist group Business New Zealand, doesn't understand that local butter (and milk and cheese) prices are set by the international commodity price.

Why is butter so expensive in New Zealand? Fonterra explains

Kiwis love their butter, and that's great because New Zealand produces some of the best butter in the world. But when the price of butter goes up, it's tough for some, particularly when many other grocery staples have also gone up and the heat goes on co-operative Fonterra, the country's main butter maker. Here the co-op explains why butter prices are so high right now.

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