Tuesday, 24 May 2022 14:27

Joined at hip?

Written by The Hound

font size decrease font size increase font size

OPINION: The Hound suggests if there was any doubt that our so-called farmer industry bodies are little more than a bunch of quislings who are fully in the Government's pocket, then a recent publicity stunt will have quelled that doubt.

Earlier this month, PM Jacinda Ardern - joined by her chief handbag carrier Agriculture Minister Damien O'Connor - was in the Waikato for a pre-Budget publicity photo shoot.

This stunt wasn't held on just any old Waikato farm, but on the property of current DairyNZ chair Jim van der Poel.

When most farmers wouldn't want to be seen dead in the company of possibly the most anti-farming Government in NZ's history, van der Poel couldn't have seemed happier.

Makes it hard to argue that the lack of fight and push back from DairyNZ at the avalanche of govt regulations on farming doesn't come right from the top!

More like this

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.

Wrong focus

OPINION: Your old mate reckons townie Brooke van Velden, the Minister of Workplace (or is it Woke Place) Relations is now showing how underemployed she is as a minister by initiating an investigation into whether young children should be banned from collecting eggs on farms and feeding animals.

Burn the village

OPINION: There's an infamous term coined by a US general during the Vietnam war, specifically in reference to the battle of Ben Tre: "We had to burn the village to save it."

Purist problem

OPINION: The sudden departure of Jim Ward, manager of Molesworth Station for 24 years, highlighted some major dysfunction in the way conservation estate is managed in this country - the biggest problem, as the Hound sees it, being idealogues who harp on about "taonga" and use all means possible to block sensible commercial operations on conservation land.

Drill baby, drill!

OPINION: While the destruction of NZ's oil and gas industry by Jacinda Ardern's band of merry vandals was virtue signalling on a heroic scale - producing no environmental benefit whatsoever - the politician vowing to make that industry whole again, Shane Jones, is not above a bit of virtue signalling of his own.