Editorial: No joking matter
OPINION: Sir Lockwood Smith has clearly and succinctly defined what academic freedom is all about, the boundaries around it and the responsibility that goes with this privilege.
OPINION: The Hound was not surprised to hear well-known end-of-the-world doom-merchant ‘Dr’ Mike Joy is still as joyless as ever about the state of NZ.
The Victoria University ‘academic’ recently published an article on the ever-so-woke Wellington-insider website Newsroom, begging the new Government to end dairy farming.
“I am convinced in the future we will look back and see dairy production in the way we do it now is the worst possible land use for this country,” Joy opined.
“As for the industry’s ‘backbone of the economy’ rhetoric, it simply does not bear scrutiny. When the externalities are included in analyses, dairy farming adds up to a negative outcome for all New Zealanders.”
It appears ‘Dr’ Joy seems to forget that the export income earned by the country’s dairy sector pays for things like schools, hospitals and, oh yes … universities!
The Government is set to announce two new acts to replace the contentious Resource Management Act (RMA) with the Prime Minister hinting that consents required by farmers could reduce by 46%.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says withdrawing from the Paris Agreement on climate change would be “a really dumb move”.
The University of Waikato has broken ground on its new medical school building.
Undoubtedly the doyen of rural culture, always with a wry smile, our favourite ginger ninja, Te Radar, in conjunction with his wife Ruth Spencer, has recently released an enchanting, yet educational read centred around rural New Zealand in one hundred objects.
Farmers are being urged to keep on top of measures to control Cysticerus ovis - or sheep measles - following a spike in infection rates.
The avocado industry is facing an extremely challenging season with all parts of the supply chain, especially growers, being warned to prepare for any eventuality.

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