Time for action
OPINION: If David Seymour's much-trumpeted Ministry for Regulation wants a serious job they need look no further than reviewing the rules and regulations governing members of the so-called House of Representatives.
OPINION: Your old mate notes that Conservation Minister and Green MP Eugene Sage was waxing lyrically about the recent legal protection of 11,800 hectares of new conservation land in the Mackenzie Basin.
Sage dubbed it a collaborative initiative between the Crown, iwi and landholders.
However, your canine crusader notes that one of the two landowners who agreed to transfer around 5000 ha of his land to the public conservation estate is Simon’s Pass Station owner Murray Valentine.
This is the same Murray Valentine who the Greens – and other environmental fundamentalists – have lambasted, castigated and abused for converting some of his land to a dairy farm.
One wonders if Valentine did not now have his successful dairy operation, would he have been able to afford to make such a generous contribution to the national conservation estate?
The Government is set to announce two new acts to replace the contentious Resource Management Act (RMA) with the Prime Minister hinting that consents required by farmers could reduce by 46%.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says withdrawing from the Paris Agreement on climate change would be “a really dumb move”.
The University of Waikato has broken ground on its new medical school building.
Undoubtedly the doyen of rural culture, always with a wry smile, our favourite ginger ninja, Te Radar, in conjunction with his wife Ruth Spencer, has recently released an enchanting, yet educational read centred around rural New Zealand in one hundred objects.
Farmers are being urged to keep on top of measures to control Cysticerus ovis - or sheep measles - following a spike in infection rates.
The avocado industry is facing an extremely challenging season with all parts of the supply chain, especially growers, being warned to prepare for any eventuality.