July 11, 2025 • 40 mins
Jamie Mackay talks to Stuart Nash, Hugh Jackson, Cameron Bagrie, Farmer Tom Martin, and Jo Luxton.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
The best of the country with rubber Bank.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
Choose the bank with one hundred and twenty years global
acri business experience.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Grow with rubber Bank.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
What a good way to start off your Saturday. Good Morning,
New Zealand. My name is Hamus McKay and for Jamie McKay.
This is the best of the country, brought to you
every Saturday morning by Rubber Bank. We're growing a better
New Zealand together on the show this morning, the best interviews.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Of the week.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
We kick it off with Stuart Nash, the former Minister
of Forestry. The best of the country, all brought to
you by rubber Bank.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
I said, no one takes your bay, the best of
the country with Rabobank. Choose the bank with a huge
network of progressive farming clients, Ravo Bank.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
Stuart Nash, former Minister of Forestry under the Ardern government,
knows a thing or two about forestry obviously, so let's
discuss that and whether he's going to stand for New
Zealand first and the next election. Stuhell, come back to
that one. Great to have you back on the wireless.
I know you love it being on the radio. Are
you really missing Parliament?
Speaker 5 (01:28):
I'm not really I'm missing a little bit of it.
But keeping in mind, no, forest was a passion of
mine before I got into politics. I mean, I've got
a master's degree in forestry science, so I worked in
forestry in Japan, and I also worked for Fletcher challenging
Carter Holks. I was in that kind of unique position
where I came into the portfolio with already a significant
knowledge of the industry, so you know, you can really
hit the ground running, you can develop ideas, you can
(01:50):
talk to people who know the industry really well, and
you can talk to them from a position of credibility.
Am I missing politics a little bit? I mean I'm
a little bit disenfranchised, disappointed. I'll be honest with you,
with the two main parties at the moment, and I
don't think i'm you know, I'm on my own there.
If you look at polling, I think about you know,
they're combined, they get about sixty five percent, So about
(02:11):
thirty five percent the Kiwis are saying, we don't really
buy into the vision or lack thereof, of labor and
national So it's an interesting time in politics at the moment,
no doubt about that.
Speaker 4 (02:19):
We'll come back to your candidacy for New Zealand. First,
I'm flying a kite test totally. Yeah, Okay, you're in
a really good position to talk about carbon forestry. And
I think I heard you last week talking to Kerry
Wadham on News Talk ZB about this very same subject.
How badly have we got this wrong or have we
got it wrong?
Speaker 5 (02:40):
Well, we have got it wrong at the moment. Now,
now let me view one example. Okay, So we often
hear about what happened during Gabrielle, and people forget before
Cyclone Gabrielle up the East coast, there was also Cyclone Hale,
and Cyclone Hale struck in January I created a whole
lot of havoc and Gabrielle just really finished it off.
But if you drive the Naked Tapa Road, that is
(03:00):
some of the steepest stuff you know around that part
of the part of the island, and it is not
mature native but it's certainly regenerating. So you know it's
been under forest cover, let's say sixty eighty years. No
slips in there? Whatso are There was one, I think,
but very few slips in there at all during Hale Gabrielle,
(03:21):
and yet that copped some of the most serious rainforf
had in this country for a long long time. My point, mate,
is there is a way to transition uneconomic land from
beer land that was once economic under a different regime
into forestry and save a hell of a lot of
our hillsides. Now it's how you get there. And you know,
I had a plan underway, It was well underway, and
(03:44):
I think it's still very very relevant. I tried to
talk to the new Minister of Forestry, who I get
on with, but he's also the Ministry of Trade, so
he's incredibly busy at this point in time. But there
is a way to transition from uneconomic farmland into forestry
that allows people to make money, but most important it
stabilizes our hell site and won't lead to some form
of ecological disaster in eighty years time.
Speaker 4 (04:04):
So effectively, you plant some pine trees at what a
lower rate and then let the natives regenerate after that.
Speaker 5 (04:12):
You got it in one, mate. So so what you
don't do is you don't go to these steeps.
Speaker 6 (04:16):
Take a step back.
Speaker 5 (04:17):
So Ministry of Forestry figured there was about you know,
the gasmap whole countries. I figured there's about a million
hectares of land in this country that is beer and
is completely uneconomic from a farming perspective, and they reckon
there's about another million hectares of land which is highly
marginal from a farming perspective, again beer, that could be
(04:37):
planted in forestry. So you know, you know my stance
on this, Jamie. I do not believe that we should
be planting up our productive land and pine trees. Now,
I just want to I want to put that out
there because I think that's a very bad use of
our land. Now back to your point, what some of
these carbon farmers had been doing is high stock radiator
on land that will never be harvested because a it's
(05:01):
too far from a port or a processing facility, or
it's just too steep and health and safety rules mean
you're never going to get a block in a chainsaw
cutting down trees from this really really steep land, or
or you're just not going to be allowed to because
you know the expectations of our communities. You don't put
these huge, big wallers up on this very very steep land.
So what you do do is you low stock. You
(05:23):
say you can only claim carbon credits off Radiator for
let's say thirty years, and low stocking means that you'll
get natives coming through, say thirty or forty, it doesn't
really matter, but put a time frame on it. So
there's got to be a transition. You hold back some
of the money that these people would get from their
carbon credits to make sure they're doing the right thing,
(05:45):
and then what you do is you have regenerating natives
come through and you can earn carbon credits off the natives. Now,
the reason I think it's important that you can earn
carbon credits off radiator for the first thirty years is
because this, for the first time ever, provides an economic
and sin to plant up land which is just unproductive
from a farming perspective.
Speaker 4 (06:05):
It has merit yet the forestry people tell me, and
I had this debate with Peter Ware last week on
the show, former president of the forest Owners Association, they
don't want that the farmland way out the back of beyond.
They want flat to rolling stuff somewhere near report.
Speaker 5 (06:22):
No, well, I disagree with that. I mean that there's
got to be a certain percentage, right, I mean, you've
got to allow you've got to allow some of the
land which is you know which you can get harvesters
and you can get haulers and into but the bottom
line is is this wholesale planting of farmland is not
(06:43):
a good use. And actually when I was briefly the
Ministry of Land Information and that's that, that's the minister
that controls Dervis's investment office. This is during COVID when
David Clark went mountain biking and I changed the rules
because and I don't know if they were changed back.
I sort of lost interest when the portfolio was given back.
But I said, you didn't in any farm you bought
(07:06):
you could sell off.
Speaker 6 (07:07):
You could.
Speaker 5 (07:07):
You could say we're going to sell off some of
this farmland. This is farm sorry that we bought for
foresture conversion. You can sell off some of farmland. And
we wanted to see a full farm productivity report, which
the rules actually said in the past, you know you've
got a plant whole. Well, it made it very difficult
to subdivide the land, the forest, sorry, the farm once
(07:27):
you bought it. But but you know, any farmer who's
listening to this will know that on the steep land,
of course, there's going to be some some flatter land
that's just part and parcel of planting up. You know,
your gullies in your back country. But what I'm talking
about now is planting for carbon and planting for lands stabilization,
(07:51):
planting for production. Again, I just do not think it
is the best use of our precious farmland to be
planned to get trees for production.
Speaker 4 (08:01):
Stuart Nash, Just before I let you go, rumors are
circulating that you're going to throw your hat in the
ring for New Zealand First, and I think for what
it's worth, you and Shane Jones would be a great
one two punch combination.
Speaker 5 (08:14):
Well look, Shane's a really good made of mine. But
if the truth be known, and I'm being honest with
your listeners here, I haven't here to sit down with Winston.
Winston hasn't called me and said, Steward, love you on
the team. So there's been no discussions had between Winston
or any of his strategists or or other members about me.
Seems the New Zealand First. I mean, I will say
that I think at this point in time, New Zealand
(08:34):
First are coming out with a lot of with a
pragmatic approach to the issues that will be deivling this
country at the moment. As mentioned, I'm concerned about national
some of the stuff they're doing. I think Labor has
retreated and once again become an urban liberal party. There
are some very good MP's in there, but they don't
seem to stand for anything at the moment. To party
(08:56):
Mary skis the hell out of me, and I've been
open about that. I think the Greens of become the
Alliance Party and drag I've written about this as well.
But as mentioned, if you look at all the political
parties in parliment at the moment, New zeal First is
probably closest to my political alignment. But as mentioned, I've
had no conversations with Winston. Winston hasn't called me, so
(09:17):
you know, at this point in time, I'm Stuart in
air s XMP.
Speaker 4 (09:22):
Well, I'm doing a rugby club fundraiser and to Pooky
next month with Shane Jones, and I'll tap him on
the shoulder and say Stu Nash is keen to join
the team and I'll cut the ticket on a commission.
Speaker 5 (09:35):
Well, he may say, well, Sue Nash and I haven't
had that conversation and and to be honest, I catch
up with Shane every now and again, and we're dealing
on an issue that is both of our hearts at
the moment. But what the conversations do not evolve around
is hey, Stue here about you come and stand for
your zilmfare. So I haven't had that conversation with Shane.
I haven't had it with Winston. I haven't had it
with their chief of staff. But like I said, I
(09:57):
mean I got on really well with those guys. I
think they're good. The other thing also is I'm well
aware of mate that you know, the Nash family name
is heavily associated with labor. You know, I was a
cabinet minister for five and a half years. I was
in the bear pit for a long time. It can
be brutal. It is long hours, often for very little reward.
And by that I mean you know, you lose touch
(10:18):
with your friends and your family come second. So getting
back into politics certainly has its has its downside being
there done that. But as mentioned, and I'd tell you
if it was otherwise, no one from Zille and First
has approached me. And to be fair, I haven't given
wins in the call and say hey, can I come
and join you? So you know the rumors are out there.
(10:39):
Of course I've heard them, but I think it's mainly
because I have an immense amount of respect for Winston.
I think we're incredibly well served. He's our best, our
best Minister of Foreign Affairs for a long long time
and ziem First is sort of resonating with the other parties.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
Aren't watch the space, Stuart Nash, Thanks for.
Speaker 7 (10:54):
Your time, Jamie, much appreciated the best of the country
with Rubbobank the bank with local agri banking experts, passionate
about the future of rural communities.
Speaker 4 (11:06):
Rubbo Bank, the young Farmer of the Year got the
cloak and knowledge on Saturday night. Hugh Jackson, congratulations. Great
to catch up with you again after meeting you in
person at Field Days.
Speaker 8 (11:18):
Thanks Jamie, awesome to be here and yeah, thanks having
me on.
Speaker 4 (11:22):
Second time to the batter's box for you. You, I
think was at third and twenty twenty three when you
were representing Otago Southland, so it must have been sweet
to have the victory back in the province of a
region you'd represented it.
Speaker 8 (11:37):
Yeah, sure was, You're right there, Jamie year third in
twenty twenty three when Emma Paul took it out and
did a great job. It was awesome to get back
down to Southend and King qualified for Grand Final. It
was great to be amongst the hyper friends and family
down there that I've made made in twenty twenty when
(11:59):
I first went. I'm there on the grad program with
theien Z Ed and enjoyed it so much. I turned
off my tongue with sarians Ed to do a bit
of dairy farming with Salmon Jenner Hods also that dream
come true, really to get it done and get it
done in southern.
Speaker 4 (12:14):
So the reason for going dairy farming because you are
a sheep and beef farmer at Ragland or tia Cow
on the west coast of the North Island, there was
the reason just to expand your knowledge with a view
to being the young farmer of the year at some stage.
Speaker 8 (12:29):
Yeah, it was definitely to expand my knowledge. If I'm
being brutally honest, I thought I'd go real banking after UNI.
Applied for a few grad programs but couldn't make.
Speaker 6 (12:41):
The cut there.
Speaker 8 (12:42):
So the sign that I would have a crack at
the darian Z d grad program and I'm really lucky
that I managed to get into that. I said to them,
I wasn't too worried where I went, and I ended
up placing me in and Vocall I knew. I knew
Martha Broughton who was down there at Mountaininton Station the
time through university, but I didn't know anyone else in Southend.
(13:03):
So it was a real adventure going down there and
love my time. Got involved with former Young Farmer's Club,
which is right up there as far as the best
clubs in his land, I believe, and got into the
squash bab and farbargate and created a network really quickly
that I still churish today. So that's how I ended
(13:25):
up getting involved in the dairy industry for a start
and have come home since then due to the old
man needing a hand and it being time to have
a crack back here.
Speaker 4 (13:37):
Well the old man, as you put it, your father
to be more polite.
Speaker 6 (13:41):
He was.
Speaker 4 (13:42):
I think your mum and dad were both down on
him for cargo and Michelle, my producer, was down there
and she met them and said they were naturally very
very proud of what you'd achieved, yeah.
Speaker 8 (13:53):
And very fortunate to have their support, and they loved
growing up.
Speaker 6 (13:58):
Wouldn't be where I.
Speaker 8 (13:59):
Was today if it wasn't for them, So big big
thanks for them and forbacking me with a way and
being rocksided me through all the ups and downs that
life throws at.
Speaker 4 (14:08):
You talk me through Thursday, Friday and Saturday of last week.
How close did it get at the end because you
were the one winner. Gareth mccirtche another outstanding young man
he was in second place, and George Leatham he finished third.
Speaker 8 (14:26):
Yeah, so it was a big full on three days
as it always is at Grand Final. Thursday we had
our technical Day where we were challenged over four or
so challenges. We had an exam, but at the same
time as doing the exam, we would come in and
out of the room to go to three other challenges,
one woman being an interview, the other one an HR
(14:48):
challenge in force, one being a presentation. And the presentation
we had to give was on a business case sort
of business plan that we put together and the lead
up to Grand Final we had six weeks to do
a written assignment basically and then got marked on that
and then the presentation side of it. So that was
(15:10):
technical Day and then practical Day and the Friday was
at Winton. An amazing day there, sunny, beautiful, beautiful sunny day,
nice cold start. We were challenged with the rainsdown module
around winter croppings had us setting up a tent and
doing a few other things with the products. There was
a sharing module, had to share a couple of sheep
(15:31):
class and we'll win press a bail, put some du
duel tires on a track there. At the FMG module
Milwaukee had us using some of their tools, putting them together,
sitting them up and then cutting lengths of steel without
any measuring tape. So we had to do our best
by with our eye You Hunt had us boiling bailing
(15:56):
some hay and there was also a fishery fisheries module
there as well to throw a bit of a spinner
in the works.
Speaker 4 (16:02):
That must have been fun bailing a bit of hay
in Southland in early July.
Speaker 8 (16:06):
Yeah, it was.
Speaker 6 (16:08):
It was a bit of fun. Eye learns a lot
at that.
Speaker 8 (16:09):
Module because I've never done any bailing before and it
was it was a real experience. But hats off to them.
They helped step me through the bits that I wasn't
confident on. Obviously I would have taken off plenty of
marks of that, but it's all part of the competition,
been able to learn and grow your skills. So they
did a great job there. And then we're onto the
farmland as well, so we had to build it of
(16:31):
fencing and hook up a trough, put some drains in
the ground with a little bigger swing a gate obviously,
and class some riperian plants and even had to do
some butchery, cut up half of lamb and show how
we would take a bit of velvet off a stagg
as well.
Speaker 4 (16:50):
Let's just move on the final the buzz around, which
I guess decided the competition. How close was that?
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Oh?
Speaker 5 (16:57):
Very close?
Speaker 8 (16:58):
I was the most uncomfort the ball period or time
for me after that buzz around, because Gareth and George
heats off them had a great round, especially Gareth, and
he was sitting through the down the leaderboard to me
at that stage. We got given the rankings but not
the scores, so you didn't know how close it was,
and it definitely got to jump on me there, so
(17:19):
I was sitting there thinking he might have got it
at the end there, so pushed us all the way.
But Minister enough on top, so really really happy about that.
Speaker 4 (17:29):
Well, Hugh Jackson, Congratulations. I'm so pleased that you got
through us. I said it was great to meet you
at the Field Days, and no doubt our paths will
cross regularly in the coming twelve months as you serve
your tenu or your one year as the FMG Young
Farmer of the Year. Congrats you very much, Damien.
Speaker 5 (17:46):
You look forward to catch up again.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
The best of the country with Rubbo back. Choose the
bank with one hundred and twenty years global agri business experience.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
Grow with Rubboback.
Speaker 4 (17:56):
He is opening the batting on the country today. Independent
Economists Cameron Baground, I'm not sure I want to ask
him this question because I think I know his answer
and I won't like it. Ost see our announcement from
the Reserve Bank tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
Cameron.
Speaker 4 (18:09):
Surely, surely they've got to drop the economy is stagnating.
Speaker 9 (18:14):
Well, the economy is still struggling. The Reserve Bank just
put out what's called their now cast, which is a
timely measure of GDP, and it suggests the economy might
have taken a step backwards in the June quarter after
getting positive growth in the March. In December twenty twenty
four quarter so she's not plain sailing out there, and
(18:34):
those growth numbers suggest give it another tweak. But the
Rezerim Bank's got an inflation target, and headline inflation has
started to move back up. Yeah, we've still seeing disinflationary
prescious from construction. Retailing is still a pretty tough gig.
But yeah, food prices are up. You have a look
at medical charges, electricity rates. There's an underlying sticky element
(18:56):
to inflation that's moving headline inflation and core inflation musics,
I think are going to start to move back up.
So if as the Reserve Bank, I'll be pulling a
David Longer and stopping for a cup of tea and
having a bit of a weight and watch.
Speaker 6 (19:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (19:08):
But under that scenario and to my mind, economics one
oh one, Cameron, so I can speak with some authority
on this, the cures worse than the disease.
Speaker 9 (19:18):
Well, I guess if you if you go back to
the fundamental problem that we've got with the New Zealand,
if you want to grow a little bit faster and
not create inflationary pressure, then you've got to have a
productive economy. And if I go back and have a
look at productivity, growth. Ten years ago, average productivity growth
needs to be one point four percent every year. It's
now average zero point two zero point three percent or
(19:40):
so for the past decade. That's a fundamental problem where
your economy cannot grow very fast without creating inflationary pressure.
And when you see the experts as a share a
GDP tends to be the experts that tends to be
more productive part of your economy. You know when that
part is a smaller part of your overalll economy and
(20:01):
you take a bit of a productivity hit.
Speaker 6 (20:02):
But we need to.
Speaker 9 (20:03):
Get that zero point two zero point three percent number
back up to one percent otherwise, a so called economic
revival upturn it's not going to look too flash because
we're just going to create an inflation pressure on the
other side and the reserve bent.
Speaker 6 (20:15):
We're not like that.
Speaker 4 (20:17):
A lot of the money markets don't like Trump's latest
announcement on tariffs. We're a trading nation. Any imposition on
free trade around the world is not good for us.
Speaker 9 (20:28):
Put simply, no, it's not. And we're the two international
Roulet table, so we're beholding to what's going on around
the globe. We had a mighty tail at New Zealand's
back over the sort of nineteen nineties, the two thousand
era where the world played nice. It was all about globalization, outsourcing, connectivity,
(20:49):
free trade agreements, all that sort of stuff. We called
it the Great Moderation because by a large the global economy,
the citizens, the countries, we all got on reasonably well.
What we're seeing now is it a lot more self
interest as opposed to group interest, and that's an economic
model or a scenario where globalization is reversing. People are
(21:12):
starting to look a lot more about on shoring as
opposed to offshuring. Security is a big theme. Security and
food energy technology. One of those plays into UW zealand
strength in regard to the production of food. So we've
going to work out how we're going to get more
involved in this different economic environment. But power based policies,
(21:33):
anything to do with protectionism tends the favorite big countries
over small countries, and unfortunately is not a big country.
We're a small one.
Speaker 4 (21:41):
What are you hearing about the capital raise for their
aliance group?
Speaker 9 (21:46):
Oh there's rumors of yeah. People told me that apparently
there were three outlets that are looking over it. But
I guess if I sit back and you look at
the bigger picture. We saw the lifestock slaughtering numbers for
the month of May two thousand twenty five, and I
think cares cattles down ten to twenty percent on May
twenty twenty four. Sheep lambs were down thirty to forty
(22:09):
percent on May twenty four. Overall numbers with down sort
of thirty percent. The lines get through capitalized, Is it
going to do anything to sort out the overcapacity within
the sector. The answer is no, there's still a structural
problem there that needs to be addressed.
Speaker 4 (22:25):
Yeah, I see the nbr AS reporting Irish company Dawn
Meats might put in a significant investment and they'll need
one as well. So really interesting. I'm when I watch
the Space one more to quickly finish on. It's a
bit of a topic desure at the moment. I talked
to Antonio Watson on the show yesterday about this. This
is national super Do we raise the age of eligibility
(22:48):
or do we means test it or do we just
not be brave and sit where we are and go
slowly broke.
Speaker 9 (22:55):
Well, we won't go broke because at the end of
the day, we'll be able believers that we can pull,
and that's either either crunch other parts of expenditure, so education,
police defense won't be grown up as a shary GDP,
they'll be declining as a shary GDP just increasing yu
(23:16):
ZEE on superannuation sort of costs or as.
Speaker 6 (23:18):
We increase taxes.
Speaker 9 (23:20):
But there we cannot continue to pilot on the credit
card and the form of debts. At some stage you're
going to have to buy the bullet.
Speaker 6 (23:26):
Now.
Speaker 9 (23:26):
My personal view is that the retirement age needs to
get linked to life expectancy. And I also believe that
at the end of the day that the wealthy state's there
for the needing, not the greedy. You know, people don't
like that sort of phrase, but the end of the day,
you know, there's the money go around here. And at
the moment, we're pumping more money into the gray force
(23:48):
iron us on super innuation than what we are pumping
into the entire education sector acrossing is on. Now, I
challenge anybody just think whether that makes common sense, because
it makes no sense to me that we're up more
and more money into the grave force and that's coming
exped to the future weak force.
Speaker 4 (24:03):
Cameron Bankrey always good to get your opinion. I hope
you're wrong on that OCR announcement tomorrow. We will wait
and see. Thanks for your time.
Speaker 9 (24:11):
All the best, Jenny.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
The best of the Country with Rabobank. Choose the bank
with a huge network of progressive farming clients, Ravo Bank.
Speaker 3 (24:21):
You're listening to the best of the country here with
Ravo Bank on your Saturday morning.
Speaker 1 (24:39):
Well.
Speaker 3 (24:39):
During June, entries will open for the Rabobank Good Deeds Competition,
which provides rural community groups with a chance to win
to day's labor support and five thousand dollars is five
K to support a project in their area courtesy of
the teams at Rabobank and the country. More than one
hundred entries were received for the petition and the team
(25:01):
at rabo have now selected a winning project. Make sure
you tune into Thursday's show. We'll be announcing the lucky winner.
Up next on the show, Jamie has a chat to
our UK farming correspondent Tom Martin.
Speaker 2 (25:23):
The best of the Country with Rubber Bank, the bank
with local agri banking experts passionate about the future of
rural communities.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
Rubber Bank.
Speaker 4 (25:33):
He's a UK farm and correspondent Tom Martin farmer Tom Martin,
that's his moniker on social media. He is an influencer.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
Tom.
Speaker 4 (25:40):
Were you influencing at the recent Groundswell Regenerative agg festival,
which is sort of probably near your place because it's
just north of London.
Speaker 6 (25:49):
Yeah, it's about half an hour down the road. I
mean I go to Groundswell to be influenced. There's basically
everything that's going on in the world of regenerative agriculture,
mob grazing, all that kind of stuff is is happening
there and you normally graciously send a kiwi are two
over and I think you sent us a good one this,
didn't you tell us chat with a good idea?
Speaker 4 (26:07):
Yeah, while we've sent a Southlander over there, Grant Lightfoot
with his sustainable bowel net wrap. It's made from plant fibers,
so you can wrap up your hay or your bailange
and then the cattle can eat the rap as well.
I think it's a great idea and apparently Prince William
just loved it. And apparently I hear from your days
in Hollywood Tom and the previous life that you were
(26:29):
sort of mates with the like Sir Prince William and
Meghan Markle, not the there mates.
Speaker 6 (26:35):
That's that couldn't be further from the truth. My closest
brush with that kind of fame is I used to
sell DVDs of soups, which is of course what Megan
Markle appeared in before she married Harry. So I don't
think that counts as a close personal friend or even
a kind of loose acquaintance. But you know, William was
(26:55):
at the festival, spent a lot of time walking around
meeting people in here, and he his father and well
his grandparents and the whole family are very environmentally minded,
very much interested in farming, food and rural life. So
it was great to have him there. And he gave
a fifteen minute address in the Big Top, which I
didn't go to. But you work very well received and
(27:18):
good to have some royal support.
Speaker 4 (27:20):
Just on a side note, have you met any of
the rules?
Speaker 7 (27:24):
Yeah?
Speaker 6 (27:24):
I meant yeah. I met Prince Philip some years ago.
Princess Anne and I went on holiday together to Singapore.
Speaker 5 (27:36):
Who you and that's pretty.
Speaker 4 (27:38):
Much you went on holiday to Singapore with Prince saying
how come the tad lords didn't pick up on that?
Speaker 6 (27:45):
Because I was with about one hundred other people for
the Royal Agriculture Society of the Commonwealth Conference. But it
sounds better if I say I went on holiday with there.
Speaker 4 (27:53):
So this Groundswell Egg Agricultural Festival is a big deal.
And Prince William, as you say, very environment we are
like his father.
Speaker 1 (28:02):
Is he a great.
Speaker 4 (28:02):
Supporter of British agriculture. I'm assuming he is, and and
he must be. He must be at odds with the
current labor government.
Speaker 6 (28:13):
They're big supporters of of of of agriculture and you know,
Charles was way ahead of his time in terms of
the environment. I mean that the Royal family have various
different estates. I've got a friend who runs one of
the states in Norfolk. I mean they are interested, they
are progressive, they're environmentally minded, you know, they're they're they're
(28:34):
they're they're a good a good family. And of course
they've got the Dutchy Originals brand which is there, which
is their organic brand from the Duchy of Cornwall. So yeah,
they are they're very much on the money, very much
on the money.
Speaker 4 (28:47):
The drought that we've been talking about, the driest spring
on record in the UK, this drought has been broken
and on you this would happen Wimbledon comes along Bomfa.
Speaker 6 (28:56):
Well you called it, Jamie, but I mean having had gosh,
what have we had about thirty mili rain since the
first of March, and we normally expect to be five
times that amount we had. We had sixteen millimeters of
rain overnight, so half an inch in old money. I'm
not quite sure that's the drought broken because we're now
going to get back up into the low to mid
(29:19):
thirties in terms of temperature this week. But yeah, it's
going to be it's going to be a scorch of
Thursday Friday and we'll probably forget that overnight rain that
we had last night. We're just getting into harvest. We've
harvested some of our winter balley winters in Bali, so yeah,
we're getting into it and half is moving forward.
Speaker 4 (29:38):
Well, what is it Monday your time as we record
this interview, Tom, So you've still got another five or
six days or one more month, so you're not without
hope at all. When it comes to the heat wave
wave we've seen scenes of this not only in the
UK but also in Europe. Put it into some sort
of historic perspective. How hot has.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
It been.
Speaker 10 (30:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (30:00):
I mean, we haven't broken any records here in the UK,
but I see records and particularly overnight records of overnight
lows going in all around the Mediterranean. There was a
an incredibly rare event of sea surface temperatures in the Mediterranean,
which is I can't remember quite. It's not a one
in a thousand year event. It's a one in a
(30:22):
something million year event, which is which is incredible heating
of that of the sea surface temperture around the Mediterranean.
So it's been extraordinarily warm. That said, as a farmer,
I'm obviously watching that, but I'm watching the impacts of
the major grain producing regions around the world, and Russia
still seems to be doing okay, Ukraine not too bad.
(30:45):
The corn in North America is extraordinary. I was there
a couple of weeks ago and they say mee high
by the fourth of July. Well it was shoulder high
before the fourth of July. So they're really they're really
doing well over there. So it's not it doesn't give
us any good news in terms of our grain price
is here. In in fact, we're seeing some i think probably
historically low grain prices with our historically high temperatures across
(31:07):
the monitor any so it's a bit of a double
wami versus farmers. And then the backdrop of course of
our situation with taxation as you mentioned earlier.
Speaker 4 (31:16):
Yes, the inheritance tax not very popular at all. Were
so lucky in this country by comparison. Well, ut least
you've got the lines to look forward to. Farmer Tom Martin,
thanks for some of your time and I hope you
get some more rain.
Speaker 2 (31:28):
Go lions the best of the country with Rubbobak. Choose
the bank with one hundred and twenty years global agribusiness experience.
Speaker 1 (31:36):
Grow with Rubbobank.
Speaker 4 (31:38):
She is Labour's agriculture spokesperson. Her name is Joe Luxton.
We're going to talk about agg policy or the lack
of it from labor and just a tick. But Joe,
you've got an interesting background, a rural background, and part
of your rural background was setting up an early childhood
education center in Hines in mid Canterbury. Tell me this,
(31:58):
why should anyone or any household get it right? Earning
two hundred and thirty grand a year get subsidized early
childhood education. If you can't run your house on that,
you can't run.
Speaker 10 (32:10):
A bath well good a damie, Yes, well, yes, yeah.
I had an early time center and hines that I
started up as part of I recognized that lots of
people moving into the area dairy farming that didn't have
those family supports nearby that you sort of tend to
look for when you get busy during carving and you
(32:30):
got both mom and dad, you know, on the farm,
and we're in Calves. And so I opened up a
center there and I think it was two thousand and seven,
just a small rural center, but look coming to your
point around and come through sholds in subsidies for that.
You know, if you think about the free EC education
for three year olds and over, that doesn't have a
(32:53):
requirement as to how much you earn or don't earn.
So the one you're referring to, our guess, is the
one that the current government has just increased the threshold four,
which is just simply because it's been a fail policy
from the get go, and they've just something done is
to try and encourage more people to take it up.
But it's just an Edmond nightmare, and that is why
(33:13):
so many people have not bothered to take it up.
Speaker 4 (33:16):
What about your AG policy. Have you bothered to take
up that? As I said, am I going to be
an old man before you? I'm getting older by the day.
Ja Am I going to be an old man retired
from this job by the time you and Chippy come
out with some agg policy. Come on, the elect got
an election next year?
Speaker 1 (33:32):
Yeah?
Speaker 10 (33:33):
Yeah, next year, but I mean it's not for quite
some time. But to answer your question, look, we are
grafting that. I'm here in Parliament today, head down, bump up,
putting some bits and pieces together for that. But we
also have a much larger process than just spokespeople involved
in it. So you can be rest assured, Jamie, I
(33:54):
am working on it and I will let you know
as soon as we have something to say, which I
promise you will be before the end of this year
or early next year. We've got a long time before
the election.
Speaker 4 (34:05):
Is Chippy in danger of sleepwalking to victory? Or maybe
not victory. I'm not sure you guys can win, but
sleep walking to a close election because you're not actually
doing that much. You're just relying on the opposition dropping
the ball.
Speaker 10 (34:18):
No lot, there's a lot of work going on behind
the scenes, and we said really early on that we're
not just going to bark every passing to pose for
the sake of opposing, and we've been really taking time
and being considered about what it is that we do
come out and oppose. But on the other hand, we've
alsos also sort of said things along the line, well,
if the current government puts things in place that are
(34:41):
working for the constituency of New Zealand, then we will
support where support is required. So yes, they are dropping
the ball left, right and center, there's no doubt about that.
But you can be rest assured and your listeners can
actually be rest assured that we are working away on policy.
You don't show your cards too soon, do you, because
the current government and you know, if they think it's
a good idea, they might take it as well. So
(35:03):
take the idea and create it. There's a government policy,
so you know, you just can't show your cards too soon.
Speaker 4 (35:09):
I reckon ship. You must wake up on a cold
sweat at night worrying about being in coalition with Chloe
and Debbie and Raweri.
Speaker 10 (35:18):
Well, I don't know about you be sleeping habits, but
what you know, but we are focused on ourselves. We
are the labor party. We're not the Green Party and
we're not Patimari. We are a labor party and we're
focused on ourselves and developing our policies for the upcoming election.
And there's a lot of stuff to happen before the
next election. And also, you know, you're assuming that everybody
(35:40):
will still win the same seats or the same amount
of seats, and who knows what the outcome of their
election will be.
Speaker 4 (35:47):
Now talking about sleeping how did the sleepover go between
as I affectionately call it, between labor and federated farmers.
Speaker 10 (35:55):
But we had a really really great couple of days.
We had some different people in the room with us
this time. We also had representatives from hawtw Zealand Irrigation,
New Zealand Doing and ZED. It's all part of that
building a relationships that we got down into the weeds
a bit more this time and heard a bit from
the fads, particularly is to what their thoughts were around
(36:17):
current policy and the direction they wanted to see the
current government's policy going and the stance that they have
had on that. But that was really good and we
did some visits to some different farms and we had
the Paramatory Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upston, and we
also had David Frame present to us as well, so
it was really good value and I think it will
(36:38):
just go strengths to strengths every year.
Speaker 4 (36:40):
And you weren't at the Primary Industry Awards. Do you
see that I made your doppelganger, Kate Middleton? That was
That was good flattery for both of you, of course Joe.
Speaker 10 (36:51):
Could. Yes, yeah, a few people because I have done well.
Text me a screenshot of the comparison that you that
you hear going and I understand there were some quite
interesting comparisons going on, but it sounds like you did
a pretty good job overall.
Speaker 4 (37:08):
From comments well, there was less flattering comparisons. Yes, I
haven't heard from Andrew Hoggard since that event. I'm hoping
we can kiss and make up. Hey, Joe Luxton, thanks
very much for your.
Speaker 10 (37:18):
Time, pleasure, No worry.
Speaker 2 (37:21):
The Best of the Country with Rabobank. Choose the bank
with a huge network of progressive farming clients.
Speaker 1 (37:27):
Rabobank, Joe Luxton.
Speaker 3 (37:38):
They're wrapping up the Best of the Country brought to
you by a Rabobank and another footy test tonight the
All Blacks. Can I make it two in a row
against the visiting French. You can listen live on gold
Sport from six tonight. Yeah, the Jamie, the other Mackay,
the one with the long spelling of Mackay, were probably
genetically very similar, though, knowing what happened up in Scotland,
(37:58):
he's back on Monday.
Speaker 1 (37:59):
Have a great again, gaut of the old Blacks.
Speaker 11 (38:06):
You you meant me feel so happy. I'll maybe you.
You made me feel so sad. You know you're still
scared me. I shall just step chare for me? Oh,
(38:32):
nothing but a fun on the charts, big base. You
don't know nothing up the up. You gotta want it.
You can't want to get at all. Don't bother scare
(38:58):
me another first time? What do you want to be
of this? Maybe? Why? What do you want to be
(39:22):
like me? Some of them said you can't like that today?
Oh no, but of the time bands plays baboy. I
(39:42):
don't know the man, but if any do you have all?
I can't watch? Are so? Father?
Speaker 6 (40:01):
Is you
The best of the country with rubber Bank.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
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acri business experience.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Grow with rubber Bank.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
What a good way to start off your Saturday. Good Morning,
New Zealand. My name is Hamus McKay and for Jamie McKay.
This is the best of the country, brought to you
every Saturday morning by Rubber Bank. We're growing a better
New Zealand together on the show this morning, the best interviews.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Of the week.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
We kick it off with Stuart Nash, the former Minister
of Forestry. The best of the country, all brought to
you by rubber Bank.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
I said, no one takes your bay, the best of
the country with Rabobank. Choose the bank with a huge
network of progressive farming clients, Ravo Bank.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
Stuart Nash, former Minister of Forestry under the Ardern government,
knows a thing or two about forestry obviously, so let's
discuss that and whether he's going to stand for New
Zealand first and the next election. Stuhell, come back to
that one. Great to have you back on the wireless.
I know you love it being on the radio. Are
you really missing Parliament?
Speaker 5 (01:28):
I'm not really I'm missing a little bit of it.
But keeping in mind, no, forest was a passion of
mine before I got into politics. I mean, I've got
a master's degree in forestry science, so I worked in
forestry in Japan, and I also worked for Fletcher challenging
Carter Holks. I was in that kind of unique position
where I came into the portfolio with already a significant
knowledge of the industry, so you know, you can really
hit the ground running, you can develop ideas, you can
(01:50):
talk to people who know the industry really well, and
you can talk to them from a position of credibility.
Am I missing politics a little bit? I mean I'm
a little bit disenfranchised, disappointed. I'll be honest with you,
with the two main parties at the moment, and I
don't think i'm you know, I'm on my own there.
If you look at polling, I think about you know,
they're combined, they get about sixty five percent, So about
(02:11):
thirty five percent the Kiwis are saying, we don't really
buy into the vision or lack thereof, of labor and
national So it's an interesting time in politics at the moment,
no doubt about that.
Speaker 4 (02:19):
We'll come back to your candidacy for New Zealand. First,
I'm flying a kite test totally. Yeah, Okay, you're in
a really good position to talk about carbon forestry. And
I think I heard you last week talking to Kerry
Wadham on News Talk ZB about this very same subject.
How badly have we got this wrong or have we
got it wrong?
Speaker 5 (02:40):
Well, we have got it wrong at the moment. Now,
now let me view one example. Okay, So we often
hear about what happened during Gabrielle, and people forget before
Cyclone Gabrielle up the East coast, there was also Cyclone Hale,
and Cyclone Hale struck in January I created a whole
lot of havoc and Gabrielle just really finished it off.
But if you drive the Naked Tapa Road, that is
(03:00):
some of the steepest stuff you know around that part
of the part of the island, and it is not
mature native but it's certainly regenerating. So you know it's
been under forest cover, let's say sixty eighty years. No
slips in there? Whatso are There was one, I think,
but very few slips in there at all during Hale Gabrielle,
(03:21):
and yet that copped some of the most serious rainforf
had in this country for a long long time. My point, mate,
is there is a way to transition uneconomic land from
beer land that was once economic under a different regime
into forestry and save a hell of a lot of
our hillsides. Now it's how you get there. And you know,
I had a plan underway, It was well underway, and
(03:44):
I think it's still very very relevant. I tried to
talk to the new Minister of Forestry, who I get
on with, but he's also the Ministry of Trade, so
he's incredibly busy at this point in time. But there
is a way to transition from uneconomic farmland into forestry
that allows people to make money, but most important it
stabilizes our hell site and won't lead to some form
of ecological disaster in eighty years time.
Speaker 4 (04:04):
So effectively, you plant some pine trees at what a
lower rate and then let the natives regenerate after that.
Speaker 5 (04:12):
You got it in one, mate. So so what you
don't do is you don't go to these steeps.
Speaker 6 (04:16):
Take a step back.
Speaker 5 (04:17):
So Ministry of Forestry figured there was about you know,
the gasmap whole countries. I figured there's about a million
hectares of land in this country that is beer and
is completely uneconomic from a farming perspective, and they reckon
there's about another million hectares of land which is highly
marginal from a farming perspective, again beer, that could be
(04:37):
planted in forestry. So you know, you know my stance
on this, Jamie. I do not believe that we should
be planting up our productive land and pine trees. Now,
I just want to I want to put that out
there because I think that's a very bad use of
our land. Now back to your point, what some of
these carbon farmers had been doing is high stock radiator
on land that will never be harvested because a it's
(05:01):
too far from a port or a processing facility, or
it's just too steep and health and safety rules mean
you're never going to get a block in a chainsaw
cutting down trees from this really really steep land, or
or you're just not going to be allowed to because
you know the expectations of our communities. You don't put
these huge, big wallers up on this very very steep land.
So what you do do is you low stock. You
(05:23):
say you can only claim carbon credits off Radiator for
let's say thirty years, and low stocking means that you'll
get natives coming through, say thirty or forty, it doesn't
really matter, but put a time frame on it. So
there's got to be a transition. You hold back some
of the money that these people would get from their
carbon credits to make sure they're doing the right thing,
(05:45):
and then what you do is you have regenerating natives
come through and you can earn carbon credits off the natives. Now,
the reason I think it's important that you can earn
carbon credits off radiator for the first thirty years is
because this, for the first time ever, provides an economic
and sin to plant up land which is just unproductive
from a farming perspective.
Speaker 4 (06:05):
It has merit yet the forestry people tell me, and
I had this debate with Peter Ware last week on
the show, former president of the forest Owners Association, they
don't want that the farmland way out the back of beyond.
They want flat to rolling stuff somewhere near report.
Speaker 5 (06:22):
No, well, I disagree with that. I mean that there's
got to be a certain percentage, right, I mean, you've
got to allow you've got to allow some of the
land which is you know which you can get harvesters
and you can get haulers and into but the bottom
line is is this wholesale planting of farmland is not
(06:43):
a good use. And actually when I was briefly the
Ministry of Land Information and that's that, that's the minister
that controls Dervis's investment office. This is during COVID when
David Clark went mountain biking and I changed the rules
because and I don't know if they were changed back.
I sort of lost interest when the portfolio was given back.
But I said, you didn't in any farm you bought
(07:06):
you could sell off.
Speaker 6 (07:07):
You could.
Speaker 5 (07:07):
You could say we're going to sell off some of
this farmland. This is farm sorry that we bought for
foresture conversion. You can sell off some of farmland. And
we wanted to see a full farm productivity report, which
the rules actually said in the past, you know you've
got a plant whole. Well, it made it very difficult
to subdivide the land, the forest, sorry, the farm once
(07:27):
you bought it. But but you know, any farmer who's
listening to this will know that on the steep land,
of course, there's going to be some some flatter land
that's just part and parcel of planting up. You know,
your gullies in your back country. But what I'm talking
about now is planting for carbon and planting for lands stabilization,
(07:51):
planting for production. Again, I just do not think it
is the best use of our precious farmland to be
planned to get trees for production.
Speaker 4 (08:01):
Stuart Nash, Just before I let you go, rumors are
circulating that you're going to throw your hat in the
ring for New Zealand First, and I think for what
it's worth, you and Shane Jones would be a great
one two punch combination.
Speaker 5 (08:14):
Well look, Shane's a really good made of mine. But
if the truth be known, and I'm being honest with
your listeners here, I haven't here to sit down with Winston.
Winston hasn't called me and said, Steward, love you on
the team. So there's been no discussions had between Winston
or any of his strategists or or other members about me.
Seems the New Zealand First. I mean, I will say
that I think at this point in time, New Zealand
(08:34):
First are coming out with a lot of with a
pragmatic approach to the issues that will be deivling this
country at the moment. As mentioned, I'm concerned about national
some of the stuff they're doing. I think Labor has
retreated and once again become an urban liberal party. There
are some very good MP's in there, but they don't
seem to stand for anything at the moment. To party
(08:56):
Mary skis the hell out of me, and I've been
open about that. I think the Greens of become the
Alliance Party and drag I've written about this as well.
But as mentioned, if you look at all the political
parties in parliment at the moment, New zeal First is
probably closest to my political alignment. But as mentioned, I've
had no conversations with Winston. Winston hasn't called me, so
(09:17):
you know, at this point in time, I'm Stuart in
air s XMP.
Speaker 4 (09:22):
Well, I'm doing a rugby club fundraiser and to Pooky
next month with Shane Jones, and I'll tap him on
the shoulder and say Stu Nash is keen to join
the team and I'll cut the ticket on a commission.
Speaker 5 (09:35):
Well, he may say, well, Sue Nash and I haven't
had that conversation and and to be honest, I catch
up with Shane every now and again, and we're dealing
on an issue that is both of our hearts at
the moment. But what the conversations do not evolve around
is hey, Stue here about you come and stand for
your zilmfare. So I haven't had that conversation with Shane.
I haven't had it with Winston. I haven't had it
with their chief of staff. But like I said, I
(09:57):
mean I got on really well with those guys. I
think they're good. The other thing also is I'm well
aware of mate that you know, the Nash family name
is heavily associated with labor. You know, I was a
cabinet minister for five and a half years. I was
in the bear pit for a long time. It can
be brutal. It is long hours, often for very little reward.
And by that I mean you know, you lose touch
(10:18):
with your friends and your family come second. So getting
back into politics certainly has its has its downside being
there done that. But as mentioned, and I'd tell you
if it was otherwise, no one from Zille and First
has approached me. And to be fair, I haven't given
wins in the call and say hey, can I come
and join you? So you know the rumors are out there.
(10:39):
Of course I've heard them, but I think it's mainly
because I have an immense amount of respect for Winston.
I think we're incredibly well served. He's our best, our
best Minister of Foreign Affairs for a long long time
and ziem First is sort of resonating with the other parties.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
Aren't watch the space, Stuart Nash, Thanks for.
Speaker 7 (10:54):
Your time, Jamie, much appreciated the best of the country
with Rubbobank the bank with local agri banking experts, passionate
about the future of rural communities.
Speaker 4 (11:06):
Rubbo Bank, the young Farmer of the Year got the
cloak and knowledge on Saturday night. Hugh Jackson, congratulations. Great
to catch up with you again after meeting you in
person at Field Days.
Speaker 8 (11:18):
Thanks Jamie, awesome to be here and yeah, thanks having
me on.
Speaker 4 (11:22):
Second time to the batter's box for you. You, I
think was at third and twenty twenty three when you
were representing Otago Southland, so it must have been sweet
to have the victory back in the province of a
region you'd represented it.
Speaker 8 (11:37):
Yeah, sure was, You're right there, Jamie year third in
twenty twenty three when Emma Paul took it out and
did a great job. It was awesome to get back
down to Southend and King qualified for Grand Final. It
was great to be amongst the hyper friends and family
down there that I've made made in twenty twenty when
(11:59):
I first went. I'm there on the grad program with
theien Z Ed and enjoyed it so much. I turned
off my tongue with sarians Ed to do a bit
of dairy farming with Salmon Jenner Hods also that dream
come true, really to get it done and get it
done in southern.
Speaker 4 (12:14):
So the reason for going dairy farming because you are
a sheep and beef farmer at Ragland or tia Cow
on the west coast of the North Island, there was
the reason just to expand your knowledge with a view
to being the young farmer of the year at some stage.
Speaker 8 (12:29):
Yeah, it was definitely to expand my knowledge. If I'm
being brutally honest, I thought I'd go real banking after UNI.
Applied for a few grad programs but couldn't make.
Speaker 6 (12:41):
The cut there.
Speaker 8 (12:42):
So the sign that I would have a crack at
the darian Z d grad program and I'm really lucky
that I managed to get into that. I said to them,
I wasn't too worried where I went, and I ended
up placing me in and Vocall I knew. I knew
Martha Broughton who was down there at Mountaininton Station the
time through university, but I didn't know anyone else in Southend.
(13:03):
So it was a real adventure going down there and
love my time. Got involved with former Young Farmer's Club,
which is right up there as far as the best
clubs in his land, I believe, and got into the
squash bab and farbargate and created a network really quickly
that I still churish today. So that's how I ended
(13:25):
up getting involved in the dairy industry for a start
and have come home since then due to the old
man needing a hand and it being time to have
a crack back here.
Speaker 4 (13:37):
Well the old man, as you put it, your father
to be more polite.
Speaker 6 (13:41):
He was.
Speaker 4 (13:42):
I think your mum and dad were both down on
him for cargo and Michelle, my producer, was down there
and she met them and said they were naturally very
very proud of what you'd achieved, yeah.
Speaker 8 (13:53):
And very fortunate to have their support, and they loved
growing up.
Speaker 6 (13:58):
Wouldn't be where I.
Speaker 8 (13:59):
Was today if it wasn't for them, So big big
thanks for them and forbacking me with a way and
being rocksided me through all the ups and downs that
life throws at.
Speaker 4 (14:08):
You talk me through Thursday, Friday and Saturday of last week.
How close did it get at the end because you
were the one winner. Gareth mccirtche another outstanding young man
he was in second place, and George Leatham he finished third.
Speaker 8 (14:26):
Yeah, so it was a big full on three days
as it always is at Grand Final. Thursday we had
our technical Day where we were challenged over four or
so challenges. We had an exam, but at the same
time as doing the exam, we would come in and
out of the room to go to three other challenges,
one woman being an interview, the other one an HR
(14:48):
challenge in force, one being a presentation. And the presentation
we had to give was on a business case sort
of business plan that we put together and the lead
up to Grand Final we had six weeks to do
a written assignment basically and then got marked on that
and then the presentation side of it. So that was
(15:10):
technical Day and then practical Day and the Friday was
at Winton. An amazing day there, sunny, beautiful, beautiful sunny day,
nice cold start. We were challenged with the rainsdown module
around winter croppings had us setting up a tent and
doing a few other things with the products. There was
a sharing module, had to share a couple of sheep
(15:31):
class and we'll win press a bail, put some du
duel tires on a track there. At the FMG module
Milwaukee had us using some of their tools, putting them together,
sitting them up and then cutting lengths of steel without
any measuring tape. So we had to do our best
by with our eye You Hunt had us boiling bailing
(15:56):
some hay and there was also a fishery fisheries module
there as well to throw a bit of a spinner
in the works.
Speaker 4 (16:02):
That must have been fun bailing a bit of hay
in Southland in early July.
Speaker 8 (16:06):
Yeah, it was.
Speaker 6 (16:08):
It was a bit of fun. Eye learns a lot
at that.
Speaker 8 (16:09):
Module because I've never done any bailing before and it
was it was a real experience. But hats off to them.
They helped step me through the bits that I wasn't
confident on. Obviously I would have taken off plenty of
marks of that, but it's all part of the competition,
been able to learn and grow your skills. So they
did a great job there. And then we're onto the
farmland as well, so we had to build it of
(16:31):
fencing and hook up a trough, put some drains in
the ground with a little bigger swing a gate obviously,
and class some riperian plants and even had to do
some butchery, cut up half of lamb and show how
we would take a bit of velvet off a stagg
as well.
Speaker 4 (16:50):
Let's just move on the final the buzz around, which
I guess decided the competition. How close was that?
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Oh?
Speaker 5 (16:57):
Very close?
Speaker 8 (16:58):
I was the most uncomfort the ball period or time
for me after that buzz around, because Gareth and George
heats off them had a great round, especially Gareth, and
he was sitting through the down the leaderboard to me
at that stage. We got given the rankings but not
the scores, so you didn't know how close it was,
and it definitely got to jump on me there, so
(17:19):
I was sitting there thinking he might have got it
at the end there, so pushed us all the way.
But Minister enough on top, so really really happy about that.
Speaker 4 (17:29):
Well, Hugh Jackson, Congratulations. I'm so pleased that you got
through us. I said it was great to meet you
at the Field Days, and no doubt our paths will
cross regularly in the coming twelve months as you serve
your tenu or your one year as the FMG Young
Farmer of the Year. Congrats you very much, Damien.
Speaker 5 (17:46):
You look forward to catch up again.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
The best of the country with Rubbo back. Choose the
bank with one hundred and twenty years global agri business experience.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
Grow with Rubboback.
Speaker 4 (17:56):
He is opening the batting on the country today. Independent
Economists Cameron Baground, I'm not sure I want to ask
him this question because I think I know his answer
and I won't like it. Ost see our announcement from
the Reserve Bank tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
Cameron.
Speaker 4 (18:09):
Surely, surely they've got to drop the economy is stagnating.
Speaker 9 (18:14):
Well, the economy is still struggling. The Reserve Bank just
put out what's called their now cast, which is a
timely measure of GDP, and it suggests the economy might
have taken a step backwards in the June quarter after
getting positive growth in the March. In December twenty twenty
four quarter so she's not plain sailing out there, and
(18:34):
those growth numbers suggest give it another tweak. But the
Rezerim Bank's got an inflation target, and headline inflation has
started to move back up. Yeah, we've still seeing disinflationary
prescious from construction. Retailing is still a pretty tough gig.
But yeah, food prices are up. You have a look
at medical charges, electricity rates. There's an underlying sticky element
(18:56):
to inflation that's moving headline inflation and core inflation musics,
I think are going to start to move back up.
So if as the Reserve Bank, I'll be pulling a
David Longer and stopping for a cup of tea and
having a bit of a weight and watch.
Speaker 6 (19:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (19:08):
But under that scenario and to my mind, economics one
oh one, Cameron, so I can speak with some authority
on this, the cures worse than the disease.
Speaker 9 (19:18):
Well, I guess if you if you go back to
the fundamental problem that we've got with the New Zealand,
if you want to grow a little bit faster and
not create inflationary pressure, then you've got to have a
productive economy. And if I go back and have a
look at productivity, growth. Ten years ago, average productivity growth
needs to be one point four percent every year. It's
now average zero point two zero point three percent or
(19:40):
so for the past decade. That's a fundamental problem where
your economy cannot grow very fast without creating inflationary pressure.
And when you see the experts as a share a
GDP tends to be the experts that tends to be
more productive part of your economy. You know when that
part is a smaller part of your overalll economy and
(20:01):
you take a bit of a productivity hit.
Speaker 6 (20:02):
But we need to.
Speaker 9 (20:03):
Get that zero point two zero point three percent number
back up to one percent otherwise, a so called economic
revival upturn it's not going to look too flash because
we're just going to create an inflation pressure on the
other side and the reserve bent.
Speaker 6 (20:15):
We're not like that.
Speaker 4 (20:17):
A lot of the money markets don't like Trump's latest
announcement on tariffs. We're a trading nation. Any imposition on
free trade around the world is not good for us.
Speaker 9 (20:28):
Put simply, no, it's not. And we're the two international
Roulet table, so we're beholding to what's going on around
the globe. We had a mighty tail at New Zealand's
back over the sort of nineteen nineties, the two thousand
era where the world played nice. It was all about globalization, outsourcing, connectivity,
(20:49):
free trade agreements, all that sort of stuff. We called
it the Great Moderation because by a large the global economy,
the citizens, the countries, we all got on reasonably well.
What we're seeing now is it a lot more self
interest as opposed to group interest, and that's an economic
model or a scenario where globalization is reversing. People are
(21:12):
starting to look a lot more about on shoring as
opposed to offshuring. Security is a big theme. Security and
food energy technology. One of those plays into UW zealand
strength in regard to the production of food. So we've
going to work out how we're going to get more
involved in this different economic environment. But power based policies,
(21:33):
anything to do with protectionism tends the favorite big countries
over small countries, and unfortunately is not a big country.
We're a small one.
Speaker 4 (21:41):
What are you hearing about the capital raise for their
aliance group?
Speaker 9 (21:46):
Oh there's rumors of yeah. People told me that apparently
there were three outlets that are looking over it. But
I guess if I sit back and you look at
the bigger picture. We saw the lifestock slaughtering numbers for
the month of May two thousand twenty five, and I
think cares cattles down ten to twenty percent on May
twenty twenty four. Sheep lambs were down thirty to forty
(22:09):
percent on May twenty four. Overall numbers with down sort
of thirty percent. The lines get through capitalized, Is it
going to do anything to sort out the overcapacity within
the sector. The answer is no, there's still a structural
problem there that needs to be addressed.
Speaker 4 (22:25):
Yeah, I see the nbr AS reporting Irish company Dawn
Meats might put in a significant investment and they'll need
one as well. So really interesting. I'm when I watch
the Space one more to quickly finish on. It's a
bit of a topic desure at the moment. I talked
to Antonio Watson on the show yesterday about this. This
is national super Do we raise the age of eligibility
(22:48):
or do we means test it or do we just
not be brave and sit where we are and go
slowly broke.
Speaker 9 (22:55):
Well, we won't go broke because at the end of
the day, we'll be able believers that we can pull,
and that's either either crunch other parts of expenditure, so education,
police defense won't be grown up as a shary GDP,
they'll be declining as a shary GDP just increasing yu
(23:16):
ZEE on superannuation sort of costs or as.
Speaker 6 (23:18):
We increase taxes.
Speaker 9 (23:20):
But there we cannot continue to pilot on the credit
card and the form of debts. At some stage you're
going to have to buy the bullet.
Speaker 6 (23:26):
Now.
Speaker 9 (23:26):
My personal view is that the retirement age needs to
get linked to life expectancy. And I also believe that
at the end of the day that the wealthy state's there
for the needing, not the greedy. You know, people don't
like that sort of phrase, but the end of the day,
you know, there's the money go around here. And at
the moment, we're pumping more money into the gray force
(23:48):
iron us on super innuation than what we are pumping
into the entire education sector acrossing is on. Now, I
challenge anybody just think whether that makes common sense, because
it makes no sense to me that we're up more
and more money into the grave force and that's coming
exped to the future weak force.
Speaker 4 (24:03):
Cameron Bankrey always good to get your opinion. I hope
you're wrong on that OCR announcement tomorrow. We will wait
and see. Thanks for your time.
Speaker 9 (24:11):
All the best, Jenny.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
The best of the Country with Rabobank. Choose the bank
with a huge network of progressive farming clients, Ravo Bank.
Speaker 3 (24:21):
You're listening to the best of the country here with
Ravo Bank on your Saturday morning.
Speaker 1 (24:39):
Well.
Speaker 3 (24:39):
During June, entries will open for the Rabobank Good Deeds Competition,
which provides rural community groups with a chance to win
to day's labor support and five thousand dollars is five
K to support a project in their area courtesy of
the teams at Rabobank and the country. More than one
hundred entries were received for the petition and the team
(25:01):
at rabo have now selected a winning project. Make sure
you tune into Thursday's show. We'll be announcing the lucky winner.
Up next on the show, Jamie has a chat to
our UK farming correspondent Tom Martin.
Speaker 2 (25:23):
The best of the Country with Rubber Bank, the bank
with local agri banking experts passionate about the future of
rural communities.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
Rubber Bank.
Speaker 4 (25:33):
He's a UK farm and correspondent Tom Martin farmer Tom Martin,
that's his moniker on social media. He is an influencer.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
Tom.
Speaker 4 (25:40):
Were you influencing at the recent Groundswell Regenerative agg festival,
which is sort of probably near your place because it's
just north of London.
Speaker 6 (25:49):
Yeah, it's about half an hour down the road. I
mean I go to Groundswell to be influenced. There's basically
everything that's going on in the world of regenerative agriculture,
mob grazing, all that kind of stuff is is happening
there and you normally graciously send a kiwi are two
over and I think you sent us a good one this,
didn't you tell us chat with a good idea?
Speaker 4 (26:07):
Yeah, while we've sent a Southlander over there, Grant Lightfoot
with his sustainable bowel net wrap. It's made from plant fibers,
so you can wrap up your hay or your bailange
and then the cattle can eat the rap as well.
I think it's a great idea and apparently Prince William
just loved it. And apparently I hear from your days
in Hollywood Tom and the previous life that you were
(26:29):
sort of mates with the like Sir Prince William and
Meghan Markle, not the there mates.
Speaker 6 (26:35):
That's that couldn't be further from the truth. My closest
brush with that kind of fame is I used to
sell DVDs of soups, which is of course what Megan
Markle appeared in before she married Harry. So I don't
think that counts as a close personal friend or even
a kind of loose acquaintance. But you know, William was
(26:55):
at the festival, spent a lot of time walking around
meeting people in here, and he his father and well
his grandparents and the whole family are very environmentally minded,
very much interested in farming, food and rural life. So
it was great to have him there. And he gave
a fifteen minute address in the Big Top, which I
didn't go to. But you work very well received and
(27:18):
good to have some royal support.
Speaker 4 (27:20):
Just on a side note, have you met any of
the rules?
Speaker 7 (27:24):
Yeah?
Speaker 6 (27:24):
I meant yeah. I met Prince Philip some years ago.
Princess Anne and I went on holiday together to Singapore.
Speaker 5 (27:36):
Who you and that's pretty.
Speaker 4 (27:38):
Much you went on holiday to Singapore with Prince saying
how come the tad lords didn't pick up on that?
Speaker 6 (27:45):
Because I was with about one hundred other people for
the Royal Agriculture Society of the Commonwealth Conference. But it
sounds better if I say I went on holiday with there.
Speaker 4 (27:53):
So this Groundswell Egg Agricultural Festival is a big deal.
And Prince William, as you say, very environment we are
like his father.
Speaker 1 (28:02):
Is he a great.
Speaker 4 (28:02):
Supporter of British agriculture. I'm assuming he is, and and
he must be. He must be at odds with the
current labor government.
Speaker 6 (28:13):
They're big supporters of of of of agriculture and you know,
Charles was way ahead of his time in terms of
the environment. I mean that the Royal family have various
different estates. I've got a friend who runs one of
the states in Norfolk. I mean they are interested, they
are progressive, they're environmentally minded, you know, they're they're they're
(28:34):
they're they're a good a good family. And of course
they've got the Dutchy Originals brand which is there, which
is their organic brand from the Duchy of Cornwall. So yeah,
they are they're very much on the money, very much
on the money.
Speaker 4 (28:47):
The drought that we've been talking about, the driest spring
on record in the UK, this drought has been broken
and on you this would happen Wimbledon comes along Bomfa.
Speaker 6 (28:56):
Well you called it, Jamie, but I mean having had gosh,
what have we had about thirty mili rain since the
first of March, and we normally expect to be five
times that amount we had. We had sixteen millimeters of
rain overnight, so half an inch in old money. I'm
not quite sure that's the drought broken because we're now
going to get back up into the low to mid
(29:19):
thirties in terms of temperature this week. But yeah, it's
going to be it's going to be a scorch of
Thursday Friday and we'll probably forget that overnight rain that
we had last night. We're just getting into harvest. We've
harvested some of our winter balley winters in Bali, so yeah,
we're getting into it and half is moving forward.
Speaker 4 (29:38):
Well, what is it Monday your time as we record
this interview, Tom, So you've still got another five or
six days or one more month, so you're not without
hope at all. When it comes to the heat wave
wave we've seen scenes of this not only in the
UK but also in Europe. Put it into some sort
of historic perspective. How hot has.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
It been.
Speaker 10 (30:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (30:00):
I mean, we haven't broken any records here in the UK,
but I see records and particularly overnight records of overnight
lows going in all around the Mediterranean. There was a
an incredibly rare event of sea surface temperatures in the Mediterranean,
which is I can't remember quite. It's not a one
in a thousand year event. It's a one in a
(30:22):
something million year event, which is which is incredible heating
of that of the sea surface temperture around the Mediterranean.
So it's been extraordinarily warm. That said, as a farmer,
I'm obviously watching that, but I'm watching the impacts of
the major grain producing regions around the world, and Russia
still seems to be doing okay, Ukraine not too bad.
(30:45):
The corn in North America is extraordinary. I was there
a couple of weeks ago and they say mee high
by the fourth of July. Well it was shoulder high
before the fourth of July. So they're really they're really
doing well over there. So it's not it doesn't give
us any good news in terms of our grain price
is here. In in fact, we're seeing some i think probably
historically low grain prices with our historically high temperatures across
(31:07):
the monitor any so it's a bit of a double
wami versus farmers. And then the backdrop of course of
our situation with taxation as you mentioned earlier.
Speaker 4 (31:16):
Yes, the inheritance tax not very popular at all. Were
so lucky in this country by comparison. Well, ut least
you've got the lines to look forward to. Farmer Tom Martin,
thanks for some of your time and I hope you
get some more rain.
Speaker 2 (31:28):
Go lions the best of the country with Rubbobak. Choose
the bank with one hundred and twenty years global agribusiness experience.
Speaker 1 (31:36):
Grow with Rubbobank.
Speaker 4 (31:38):
She is Labour's agriculture spokesperson. Her name is Joe Luxton.
We're going to talk about agg policy or the lack
of it from labor and just a tick. But Joe,
you've got an interesting background, a rural background, and part
of your rural background was setting up an early childhood
education center in Hines in mid Canterbury. Tell me this,
(31:58):
why should anyone or any household get it right? Earning
two hundred and thirty grand a year get subsidized early
childhood education. If you can't run your house on that,
you can't run.
Speaker 10 (32:10):
A bath well good a damie, Yes, well, yes, yeah.
I had an early time center and hines that I
started up as part of I recognized that lots of
people moving into the area dairy farming that didn't have
those family supports nearby that you sort of tend to
look for when you get busy during carving and you
(32:30):
got both mom and dad, you know, on the farm,
and we're in Calves. And so I opened up a
center there and I think it was two thousand and seven,
just a small rural center, but look coming to your
point around and come through sholds in subsidies for that.
You know, if you think about the free EC education
for three year olds and over, that doesn't have a
(32:53):
requirement as to how much you earn or don't earn.
So the one you're referring to, our guess, is the
one that the current government has just increased the threshold four,
which is just simply because it's been a fail policy
from the get go, and they've just something done is
to try and encourage more people to take it up.
But it's just an Edmond nightmare, and that is why
(33:13):
so many people have not bothered to take it up.
Speaker 4 (33:16):
What about your AG policy. Have you bothered to take
up that? As I said, am I going to be
an old man before you? I'm getting older by the day.
Ja Am I going to be an old man retired
from this job by the time you and Chippy come
out with some agg policy. Come on, the elect got
an election next year?
Speaker 1 (33:32):
Yeah?
Speaker 10 (33:33):
Yeah, next year, but I mean it's not for quite
some time. But to answer your question, look, we are
grafting that. I'm here in Parliament today, head down, bump up,
putting some bits and pieces together for that. But we
also have a much larger process than just spokespeople involved
in it. So you can be rest assured, Jamie, I
(33:54):
am working on it and I will let you know
as soon as we have something to say, which I
promise you will be before the end of this year
or early next year. We've got a long time before
the election.
Speaker 4 (34:05):
Is Chippy in danger of sleepwalking to victory? Or maybe
not victory. I'm not sure you guys can win, but
sleep walking to a close election because you're not actually
doing that much. You're just relying on the opposition dropping
the ball.
Speaker 10 (34:18):
No lot, there's a lot of work going on behind
the scenes, and we said really early on that we're
not just going to bark every passing to pose for
the sake of opposing, and we've been really taking time
and being considered about what it is that we do
come out and oppose. But on the other hand, we've
alsos also sort of said things along the line, well,
if the current government puts things in place that are
(34:41):
working for the constituency of New Zealand, then we will
support where support is required. So yes, they are dropping
the ball left, right and center, there's no doubt about that.
But you can be rest assured and your listeners can
actually be rest assured that we are working away on policy.
You don't show your cards too soon, do you, because
the current government and you know, if they think it's
a good idea, they might take it as well. So
(35:03):
take the idea and create it. There's a government policy,
so you know, you just can't show your cards too soon.
Speaker 4 (35:09):
I reckon ship. You must wake up on a cold
sweat at night worrying about being in coalition with Chloe
and Debbie and Raweri.
Speaker 10 (35:18):
Well, I don't know about you be sleeping habits, but
what you know, but we are focused on ourselves. We
are the labor party. We're not the Green Party and
we're not Patimari. We are a labor party and we're
focused on ourselves and developing our policies for the upcoming election.
And there's a lot of stuff to happen before the
next election. And also, you know, you're assuming that everybody
(35:40):
will still win the same seats or the same amount
of seats, and who knows what the outcome of their
election will be.
Speaker 4 (35:47):
Now talking about sleeping how did the sleepover go between
as I affectionately call it, between labor and federated farmers.
Speaker 10 (35:55):
But we had a really really great couple of days.
We had some different people in the room with us
this time. We also had representatives from hawtw Zealand Irrigation,
New Zealand Doing and ZED. It's all part of that
building a relationships that we got down into the weeds
a bit more this time and heard a bit from
the fads, particularly is to what their thoughts were around
(36:17):
current policy and the direction they wanted to see the
current government's policy going and the stance that they have
had on that. But that was really good and we
did some visits to some different farms and we had
the Paramatory Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upston, and we
also had David Frame present to us as well, so
it was really good value and I think it will
(36:38):
just go strengths to strengths every year.
Speaker 4 (36:40):
And you weren't at the Primary Industry Awards. Do you
see that I made your doppelganger, Kate Middleton? That was
That was good flattery for both of you, of course Joe.
Speaker 10 (36:51):
Could. Yes, yeah, a few people because I have done well.
Text me a screenshot of the comparison that you that
you hear going and I understand there were some quite
interesting comparisons going on, but it sounds like you did
a pretty good job overall.
Speaker 4 (37:08):
From comments well, there was less flattering comparisons. Yes, I
haven't heard from Andrew Hoggard since that event. I'm hoping
we can kiss and make up. Hey, Joe Luxton, thanks
very much for your.
Speaker 10 (37:18):
Time, pleasure, No worry.
Speaker 2 (37:21):
The Best of the Country with Rabobank. Choose the bank
with a huge network of progressive farming clients.
Speaker 1 (37:27):
Rabobank, Joe Luxton.
Speaker 3 (37:38):
They're wrapping up the Best of the Country brought to
you by a Rabobank and another footy test tonight the
All Blacks. Can I make it two in a row
against the visiting French. You can listen live on gold
Sport from six tonight. Yeah, the Jamie, the other Mackay,
the one with the long spelling of Mackay, were probably
genetically very similar, though, knowing what happened up in Scotland,
(37:58):
he's back on Monday.
Speaker 1 (37:59):
Have a great again, gaut of the old Blacks.
Speaker 11 (38:06):
You you meant me feel so happy. I'll maybe you.
You made me feel so sad. You know you're still
scared me. I shall just step chare for me? Oh,
(38:32):
nothing but a fun on the charts, big base. You
don't know nothing up the up. You gotta want it.
You can't want to get at all. Don't bother scare
(38:58):
me another first time? What do you want to be
of this? Maybe? Why? What do you want to be
(39:22):
like me? Some of them said you can't like that today?
Oh no, but of the time bands plays baboy. I
(39:42):
don't know the man, but if any do you have all?
I can't watch? Are so? Father?
Speaker 6 (40:01):
Is you
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