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OPINION: The Hound reckons that Rob “I’ll be chair, I don’t care where”’ Hewett will be looking forward to the Christmas break more than most – despite being named chair of the year at a recent business awards ceremony.
That’s because the two farmer co-ops Hewett chairs have both recently reported losses for the past year.
Silver Fern Farms posted a massive loss of $98 million and the struggling Farmlands a $700k loss.
For the self-confessed big ‘Jacinda fan’ and supposed top-notch businessman this is a pretty poor record.
Meanwhile, it seems the trouble at Farmlands is not just around its poor bottom-line performance but the co-op’s whole business model.
Shareholders, suppliers and customers seem very upset with the direction and ‘reconfiguring’ the business. ‘Chairman Rob’ also has the ongoing disaster that is Wool Impact, which seems to have done bugger all.
Canterbury farmer Andy Macfarlane has been appointed to the board of AgriZeroNZ, the public-private partnership designed to accelerate the development and deployment of emissions reduction tools for New Zealand farmers.
A fair question has been raised about how member-funded organisations should conduct themselves when taking a public position on any given issue.
The canine crusader always has his nose in the air for more media maleficence, so was pointing as soon as he saw the Stuff headline: ‘Wellington residents respond to PM saying he doesn’t need his job!’.
OPINION: It really is getting harder to lampoon government bureaucrats when they do such a good job of it themselves.
Anyone in the primary sector will know about the clowns covering the countryside in the red tape we all have to wade through.
Spare a thought then for media outfit Stuff who were threatened with fines up to $200,000 by a snivelling civil servant from the MoH for illustrating a quiz question with a photo of part of the cover of a 45-year-old copy Playboy.
As Stuff notes, “It wasn’t the Playboy cover which caused offence. No, it was the back page which… featured an advert for a cigarette brand”.
As Regulations Minister David Seymour notes, “The real scandal here is, well, no wonder we’ve got problems in healthcare when they’re doing the Stuff quiz during work time.”
OPINION: After all the criticism that Winston Peters leveled at the India/NZ FTA, it seemed just a trifle ironic to the Hound that the first NZ politician to visit India after Prime Minister Modi's visit was a member of the Ewe Zealand First party.
A leading British farming politician says he's impressed with the positive attitude of New Zealand farmers that he met during his recent trip here.
OPINION: With 10,500 dairy farms, New Zealand continues to punch above its weight around the world.
The Southern Dairy Hub (SDH), which runs a demonstration farm for South Island farmers, has a new general manager.
Esther Guy-Meakin has been announced as the new chief executive of the New Zealand Meat Board (NZMB).
According to a progress report on the Aotearoa Horticulture Action Plan (AHAP), New Zealand's horticulture sector is making real progress on the big issues facing growers.
A team effort that is paying dividends for the wider New Zealand economy.
A fair question has been raised about how member-funded organisations should conduct themselves when taking a public position on any…
OPINION: It really is getting harder to lampoon government bureaucrats when they do such a good job of it themselves.…
