Rural Parents Blindsided By Bus Route Changes
OPINION: Rural school buses is a topic I have had a great deal of correspondence on over the last couple of months.
OPINION: A mate of yours truly reckons rural Manawatu families are the latest to suffer under what he calls the Government's "performative restraint" - penny pinching on needed community stuff while the bureaucrat head count and wasteful spending in Wellington charges on undiminished.
He says the disruptions "have been as massive as the savings have been minimal".
He says, over the past year, the Ministry of Education has been reviewing school bus routes, quietly tightening eligibility rules that determine who qualifies for state-funded transport.
Students are increasingly required to attend their "nearest" school to qualify for a Ministry bus.
Routes that once served rural communities feeding into a range of secondary schools are being cancelled, merged, or redesigned.
Hundreds of families have apparently been affected.
The Government has announced changes to stock exclusion regulations which it claims will cut unnecessary costs and inflexible rules while maintaining environmental protections.
Technology and the use of artificial intelligence are increasingly part of life, both on the farm and off it.
Ashleigh Gordon and Leilani Lobb have been named as the two finalists for Dairy Women's Network's (DWN) 2026 Regional Leader of the Year Award.
Animal and Plant Health New Zealand (APHANZ) says the approval of a new fungicide seed treatment is a positive, however growers will be hoping the final approval is completed ahead of the spring season.
North Canterbury farmer Adam Williamson has been appointed DairyNZ's associate director for 2026-27.
Fonterra farmers are set for a multi-billion-dollar payout this week.