One can only surmise the Labourites are not turning up because they don’t want, can’t or are too gutless to defend the party’s reasoning in wanting to imposing a tax on irrigators. This coincides with Damien O’Connor using intemperate social media posts to express Labour’s anti-farming sentiment, to pour scorn on farmers and others concerned about the impact of the tax and to address the issue of mental health in rural NZ. Your old mate suggests none of this bodes well for how Labour would treat the rural sector should it be in government after September 23.