The Country 12/08/26: Jane Smith talks to Jamie Mackay

North Otago farmer and award-winning environmentalist comments on a tense leadership battle in the Beehive and in her own sheep yards. Plus, the $400 lamb, brickbats and bouquets, and who/what gets her vote this year. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome back to the country. It's Mayhem in the studio today.
First job, back on the tools, day, back on the tools,
and Duneda and so much happening out there. Will bring
it to you as soon as we can. That's not
the only tense leadership battle that's going on in the country.
To Jane Smith, never won to miss an opportunity tell

(00:21):
a good yarn says there's been a tense leadership battle
in the sheepyards this morning with Hubby Blair. Good afternoon, Jane,
Good afternoon, Jamie.

Speaker 2 (00:30):
Yes, it was really the usual power struggle at New
Haven Farms, and we did have a discussion around what
our caucus is going to look like going forward. Blair
at one point did say that the only cabinet I
should be in charge of is the kitchen cabinet. I
thought that was quite good, And you know, he did
actually give a really good argument that I do a

(00:50):
lot of talking and strategizing and bugger all work, so
I'm more likely to be this sort of the overhay cheer,
and he believes he's the overworked and undervalued CEO. So
you know, valid points. So at the end of the day,
I've just put them on another ninety day trial period
and just rolled that over for the umpteenth time. Jamie.

(01:10):
I think that's quite a good solution.

Speaker 1 (01:12):
In the end, in ninety days, Jane, we'll know who
is the new prime minister. If there is indeed a
new prime minister. It could be Chris Lux and it
could be here at Castanford. It could be Chris Bishop,
it could be Chris Hopkins.

Speaker 2 (01:24):
Yes. One of my first thought, Jamie, was my Scottish
Presbyterian genes was I hope they didn't spend too much
taxpayer money booking last minute regional flights to Wellington. But
you know, this is sort of playing out of it
like the Hunger Games, and it's unhelpful. I guess having
a media that is left leaning and really speculating and
focusing more on those personality politics, and I guess quite

(01:47):
a good distraction for the unionists and labor supporters because
they know that they're disintegrating into irrelevance. And of course
we've got those other parties on the far left serving
up another socialist Smager board Smagers board to Jamie, So
again we need to move on from personality politics and
actually just get the country moving because the end of

(02:08):
the day, this is not the captain of the All
Blacks or a host of a TV show. This is
a person that will be running a team to run
the country. So again that's really important that we actually
just knuckle down and do the work. Jamie.

Speaker 1 (02:21):
This is meat Matters week here on the country. You're
going you want to talk about the four hundred dollars
lamb Nathan Guy. I don't know whether you heard what
he said. He said, don't hold your breath.

Speaker 2 (02:31):
Well, it's really interesting, Jamie. There was actually some pricing
coming from one of the Southland sale yards. Was that
last week or the week before that has a four
hundred dollars mark on lands and I would suggest they're
probably more towards a hogit than a lamb. But the
end of the day, it wasn't that long ago we
were talking about a lofty goal of one hundred and
fifty dollars. But you know, I do agree with with

(02:53):
market commentary around. We don't want prices to get too high.
But what we do want is stability and all of
those areas you know, land beef, smart and wool dairy,
venison and hopefully for the for their arable guys as
well at some point in the future Jamie. But you know,
real positive and it's making a lot of those other
discussions in terms of cash flow in the and the

(03:15):
sheef and beef sector a lot more I guess palatable
and valid. So it's really good to boats well for
the future, Jamie.

Speaker 1 (03:24):
Rick bats and bouquets. You've got some to hand out.

Speaker 2 (03:27):
Oh well, it's really pleased to see Tama Potucker, the
Minister for Conservation, announce another million, nine million dollars for
wolding pine control. So just to just I guess to
revalidate the issue here, it's two million heaptees have already
been infestated by wilding pines and it's creeping in at
ninetieth and nine ninety thousand hitties a year of you know,

(03:51):
of land, food producing land that's been destroyed. So actually
potentially a worse problem than the than the creeping carbon
forestry prop I just hope this funding goes to the
right place, not just an Edmond trail, but really good
to up the nty on weeds and hopefully peace as well.

Speaker 1 (04:09):
Mind you, Jane, is one million dollars enough, I know
it's going for people on the grounds, maybe even the
volunteer workforce and that. But they've already announced to funding
by my reckoning the story I read yesterday of what
one hundred and nine million, So in terms of you know, proportionality,
it's not a huge additional contribution.

Speaker 2 (04:30):
No, but I think this is also targeting areas that
hadn't been I guess taken into account before. So hopefully
that means that you know that the locals and the
landowners and the and the lease hold people in those
areas will actually have more of a say in terms
of where that goes as well, Jamie. So again a
drop in the bucket, but certainly in the right direction
in terms of where we need to be heading with

(04:50):
weeds and peace and speaking a piece the brick back
that I did want to give out Jamie, or is
believe it or not to the green part it have
clearly been smoking too much Golden Bay Hay. Once again,
I see they want to give specifically give Maria's two
point four billion dollars to upgrade. Now, nothing wrong with
that in itself, but you know that they've actually said

(05:12):
that the Mariza they do all the heavy lifting and
emergency situations for our communities and you know that in
terms of their assuming that special treatment versus you know,
there's lions clubs and rugby clubs and schools and rural
halls that do plenty all times of the year, including
in emergencies, and many of our areas don't have a marias.
So we've just got to be very very careful that

(05:32):
again we're not I guess, diverging off to give special
treatment to areas. And I guess coming towards election, there
will be lots of lovely scramble handouts and over promises,
but let's just get back to the basics. You know,
the big three infrastructure, health and education, and that's who
gets my vote, Jamie, in terms of just sticking to
the basics. And ideally, imagine if we were big enough

(05:54):
to come up with a bipartisan agreement for a twenty
year plan and then they could just fight around the
fringes of everything else. But gosh, that would be a great,
great place to be in, Jamie, and much more interesting
than any sort of leadership battles out on the front.

Speaker 1 (06:08):
Jane Smith, North Otago, thanks for your time. Good luck
in the good luck in the sheep Yard's this afternoon
thanks Jamie,