Damien O’Connor: NZ united on global trade
When it comes to international trade, politicians from all sides of the aisle are united, says Labour's trade spokesman Damien O'Connor.
A mate of the Hound’s wonders just how Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor is getting along with his 2IC in the agriculture portfolio Meka Whaitiri.
Remembering O’Connor’s infamous comment about the Labour Party list selection process, a few years back, in which the West Coast MP described it as controlled by ‘’self-serving unionists and a gaggle of gays’’, the Hound’s mate suggests it could make for an ‘interesting’ working relationship between O’Connor and Whaitiri.
That’s because the associate ag minister’s whanau are “staunch union members’’ and she is also a proud member of the Labour Party’s rainbow caucus.
Mind you, your old mate suggests if O’Connor does get out of line, Whaitiri should avoid giving him a bit of a slap – like she was accused of in her first term as a minister and subsequently lost her job!
DairyNZ Chair Tracy Brown has seen a lot of change since she first started out in the dairy sector, with around one-third of dairy farmers now women.
Castle Ridge Station has been named the Regional Supreme Winner at the Canterbury Ballance Farm Environment Awards.
The South Island Dairy Event has announced Jessica Findlay as the recipient of the BrightSIDE Scholarship Programme, recognising her commitment to furthering her education and future career in the New Zealand dairy industry.
New Zealand and Chile have signed a new arrangement designed to boost agricultural cooperation and drive sector success.
New DairyNZ research will help farmers mitigate the impacts of heat stress on herds in high-risk regions of the country.
Budou are being picked now in Bridge Pā, the most intense and exciting time of the year for the Greencollar team – and the harvest of the finest eating grapes is weeks earlier than expected.

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