Podsnappery – an attitude toward life marked by complacency and a refusal to recognise unpleasant facts; wilful determination to ignore the objectionable or inconvenient while assuming airs of superior virtue and noble resignation.
Rural round-up
30/05/2017Engaging Farmers in Fresh Water Management:
Speech to Local Government New Zealand Fresh Water Forum
Dr William Rolleston, President, Federated Farmers of New Zealand
Mayor Lawrence Yule, LGNZ President, Mayors, distinguished guests Ladies and Gentlemen
Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today.
Less than 3% of the water on this planet is fresh water and of that only 1/3 is directly available for human use. – . .
Synlait Forecast Milk Price $6.50 kgMS Next Season:
Synlait Milk’s forecast milk price for the 2017 / 2018 season is $6.50 kgMS, in response to increasing confidence that dairy commodity prices are stabilising.
Managing Director and CEO, John Penno, says Synlait is feeling positive about the current market, and the forecast milk price reflects that.
“We start the season with some confidence that supply and demand are more balanced, and this forecast reflects an expectation of dairy prices remaining at current levels,” says Dr. Penno. . .
Synlait Purchases the New Zealand Dairy Company:
Synlait Milk has today announced it has purchased 100% of the shares of The New Zealand Dairy Company (NZDC).
NZDC is based in Auckland, and is currently constructing a blending and canning operation at a site in Mangere. This site will now be owned by Synlait.
The facility will be infant formula capable, and will enable Synlait to substantially lift its blending and canning capacity. The acquisition will also provide Synlait with a high specification sachet packaging line suitable for infant formula and milk powders. . .
Synlait purchases strategic blending and canning assets:
Synlait’s announcement today of the purchase of apparently distressed assets from the New Zealand Dairy Company puts another peg in the board strengthening Synlait’s pathway towards an integrated dairy value-chain. The purchase has relevance both to Synlait and its strategic partner The a2 Milk Company (ATM in New Zealand; A2M in Australia). The unstated key driver is exponential growth of demand for ‘a2 Platinum’ infant formula.
The purchase cost of the assets is $33.2 million with additional expected costs of $23.3 million to make the plant operational by October 2017.
There should be no surprise that Synlait has purchased blending and canning assets to complement its existing similar assets at Dunsandel in Canterbury. . .
The manuka honey fight is one we have to have – William van Caenegem:
The current row about the certification of Manuka honey, and whether it is a distinctly New Zealand product, is just the latest dispute involving Geographical Indications (GIs). These are markers that products have special qualities due to their origins in a specific region, like Champagne.
There is a debate as to whether a registered GI system for food should be adopted in Australia. It might be good for our farmers – to more effectively protect King Island Beef, Bangalow pork or Tasmanian lobster against low quality imitations. But would it be in the best interest of Australian producers and consumers to simply capitulate to demands about New Zealand Manuka, or about GIs in general?
Why GIS?
Registering a GI can stop imitators riding on the coattails of local producers who have worked hard to build the reputation of their typical local product, be it cheese, processed meat or quality fruit. . .
The horrible truth behind marshmallow ranches. Now that they are fat from grazing all summer, they will be slaughtered to make smaller ones, bagged and sold in stores. Some are cut up and held over a fire while still alive! Stop the Madness! remember that golden brown is the only humane way. – Proud to Be A Farmer
When you’re lying you’re losing
30/05/2017Labour was blindsided by the support other Opposition Parties – the Greens and New Zealand First – have given to national’s Budget.
That is no excuse for lying about the details Andrew Little said:
“National’s Single Child Tax will see a family with one child lose as much as $830 a year in Working For Families payments.
“Whenever you’re putting these packages together, there’s always a complexity about it. But I’d be surprised if they understood there’s 20,000 odd single-child families that will now be worse off – but that’s the reality. ”
No it’s not.
Getting something more, even if it is less than someone else is not losing.
[Finance Minister Steven] Joyce said those families still saw an overall gain, and Labour was failing to see the bigger picture.
“The abatement changes mean they don’t get as much from the Working for Families part of the package, but they gain more from other parts of the package, in particular the tax changes. They may also in some cases gain from the Accommodation Supplement Changes.
“It’s important to note that these people are already receiving Working for Families so currently get more than couples with no children who don’t get anything from Working for Families. They continue to get more until the Working For Families is fully abated,” he said.
“One of the aims of the Family Incomes package is to focus Working for Families on lower income families and that middle income families are less dependent on Working for Families and keep more of what they earn through the tax system. This is an example of that occurring.” . .
It is better and more efficient to allow people to keep more of what they earn than take more in tax, churn it through a bureaucracy and give some back.
Over at Kiwiblog, David Farrar points out that Labour is also lying about health expenditure:
. . . Now let’s look at what at what Vote Health has done between 2008 and Budget 2017.
- Nominal Vote Health – increased by $4.85 billion a year from $11.92 billion to $16.77 billion – a 40.7% increase
- Real Vote Health – increased by $3.00 billion a year from $13.77 billion to $16.77 billion – a 21.8% increase
- Real Vote Health per capita – increased by $341 a year from $3,233 to $3,574 – a 10.5% increase
You can claim it is not enough. You can claim more is needed. You can claim growing elderly population needs more funding. But you cannot claim it has been cut. That is a lie. . .
When you’re lying, you’re losing and Labour is.
If it can’t convince other Opposition parties to stay with it against the government, how will it convince voters to let it run the country?
Quote of the day
30/05/2017You don’t go into space just for the science. Economically, it is not worth it. I think the reason we should be in space is for the exploration; it’s the human endeavour. – Helen Sharman who celebrates her 54th birthday today.