Labour Supports NZ/India FTA
National's decision to ‘dribble’ information about the NZ/India to Labour contributed to the delay in it deciding to supported the FTA.
OPINION: The Hound wonders why so much fuss was made about the PM’s recent overseas trip to Singapore and Japan.
It appears, to this old mutt, that the press pack who attended this trip, along with the PM and Trade Minister Damien O’Connor (whose sole purpose seems to have been to carry Ms Ardern’s handbag), seemed to have over-imbibed on the Government Kool-Aid after three years of closed borders and over-egged just how much of big a deal this overseas junket actually was.
The facts were that, of the 50 people on the week-long jaunt, only 12 were real business people – with three of these failing to make it to Japan due to that country’s strict Covid test regime.
The other 38 were just a bunch of politicians, bureaucrats, media and government spin doctors – making it more a glorified junket for officials and hangers-on than some earth-shattering trade delegation!
OPINION: Farmers around the country are welcoming the proposed reform of local government.
A move to boost farmer uptake of low methane emitting sheep is underway.
Silver Fern Farms has tackled the ongoing war-induced shipping challenges to mideast markets by airlifting 90 tonnes of chilled New Zealand lamb and beef to the United Arab Emirates.
The primary sector is leading New Zealand's economic recovery, according to economist and researcher Cameron Bagrie.
Dairy industry leader Jim van der Poel didn't make much of the invitation he received to the recent New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards in Rotorua.
Farmers around the country are going public big time, demanding their local district, city and regional councils come up with amalgamation plans that meet the needs of rural communities and don't allow urban councils to dominate.

OPINION: The old saying 'a new broom sweeps clean' doesn't always hold up, if you ask the Hound.
OPINION: This old mutt went to school to eat his lunch, but still knows the future of the country, and…