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.
Your old mate reckons plenty of the current crop of MPs in Parliament would struggle to read, let alone make laws for this country.
The Hound was reminded of this by a mate of his attending the recent Beef + Lamb annual meeting in Timaru, which some MPs turned up to.
Ag Minister Damien O’Connor couldn’t attend because he was under security watch due to the Christchurch shootings and was replaced by a MPI policy wonk.
However, the Nats’ climate change spokesman Todd Muller was invited to speak on his work and seemed to impress the audience.
However, the same can’t be said for NZ First list MP Mark Patterson who was not down to speak. But when given the opportunity – by all reports – he completely misread the room and went on a long, boring rant about how great the current government was.
OPINION: As negotiations advance on the India-New Zealand FTA, it’s important to remember the joint commitment made by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at the beginning of this process in March: for a balanced, ambitious, comprehensive, and mutually beneficial agreement.
Minister for Universities, Shane Reti, has opened the final new build in a ten plus year project to upgrade the veterinary facilities at Massey University.
As New Zealand experiences more frequent and severe flooding events, the Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme (IFSO Scheme) is urging consumers to be honest and accurate when making insurance claims for flood damage.
A recently held arable field day in the Manawatu brought with it a timely reminder to be on the lookout for velvetleaf incursions.
In a significant shift for employers, wage theft is no longer only a civil matter but now also a criminal one.
In partnership with Growing Future Farmers (GFF), Fonterra says it is increasing support for young people entering the dairy industry with a new two-year programme.

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