September 28, 2025 • 38 mins
Jamie Mackay talks to Phil Duncan, David Seymour, Shane McManaway, Blair McLean, and Jim Hopkins.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Catch all the latest from the land. It's the Country
Podcast with Jamie McKay.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Thanks to Brent.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're specialist in John Deere construction equipment.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Get a New Zealand and Welcome to the Country. It's
brought to you by Brant. I'm Jamie McKay. That's you
b forty. I don't know where Phil Duncan's got. I'm
going to take a punt and see that he's on
the other end of the line. But I'll tell you
who's on the show today. We haven't got some red
red wine for you, but we've got well some would
say even better that a Marlborough Sevenyon blanc out for
(01:00):
Blair MacLean, our viticulture correspondent. A wee bit later in
the hour, Shane mcmanaway. I don't know if he's back
in New Zealand or not he was inducted or the
Xander McDonald Awards were inducted into the Australian Stockman's Hall
of Fame. We'll catch up with him getting a bit
dry in the wire wrapper. As I understand it. Phil
Duncan will obviously cover off the weather. David Seymour, Act
(01:22):
Party Leader and Deputy Prime Minister on e Can, Paris
and Palestine. Him and Winston are agreeing on things and
Jim Hopkins, why are we so disengaged with local body
politics in terms of voting percentages when rates local body
rates are one of our biggest expenses, probably only behind
(01:45):
for a lot of households. I would imagine mortgage payments
and maybe energy bills. Okay, here's a punt in the dark,
Phil Duncan, Are you there?
Speaker 4 (01:54):
I'm here now.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
Where were you before?
Speaker 4 (01:57):
I don't know. The phone wasn't connecting properly for some.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
I was muttering nasty things about you. Phil. You're leaving
me high and dry. But you've come to the party now.
Talking about high and dry, that's a really clumsy segue
into some parts of the country, and it's a bit
worrying because we're not even into October yet. Are starting
to get away but dry?
Speaker 4 (02:21):
Yeah, they sure, I'm good to be back with you. Yes.
The warmer weather, they're certainly starting to kick in, and
obviously windy spring weather is likely to carry on. In
my video today, I talk about this sudden stratospheric warming
which has been talked about quite a bit around Antarctica
and what that means for US weatherways. Basically, what it
means in a simple way is that the storm south
(02:45):
of the country are going to be a bit more
intense this spring, and so it doesn't necessarily mean we're
going to be hit by them a lot, but it
does mean that the weather pattern will be more spring
like as we go through this season, which means we
may kind of see a spring pattern carrying on into
December this year, which is not a great thing for
those eastern areas that meet some rain. The good news
is we do have some low pressure in the mix
(03:07):
coming in this week. Won't deliver a huge amount, but
there could still be ten millimeters or so maybe a
bit more falling in some of those dry eastern areas.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
So basically, if you're looking for a I don't know,
a blueprint for the next couple of weeks, is it
just run some and repeat from the past couple.
Speaker 5 (03:22):
It sure is.
Speaker 4 (03:23):
What we're seeing though, is a bit more injection of warmth,
so it's not as cold every day. You know, we're
seeing subtropical airflows and Australian air flows coming into the mix,
Whereas across most of August and much of September we
were defined by the polar airflow that was stuck over us.
So we're getting more into a spring pattern where it's
warm one day, t shirt, where the one day put
(03:43):
on the jacket the next. No end in sight for that.
But if this is a textbook spring, then I would
expect oc Tober to have more settled in warm days.
But we were not done yet with the lows and
the severe weather events.
Speaker 3 (03:57):
Interestingly, when I look at me was soil moisture deficit
map as opposed to the drought map. And I look
at the historical long term average for September the twenty eighth,
that's only updated till then, and then I look at
the map as of September the twenty eighth, which was yesterday.
There's not a hell of a lot of difference. So
maybe it's kind of just the usual.
Speaker 5 (04:19):
Is it is?
Speaker 4 (04:20):
I mean, we're getting a few grizzles here and there now,
more than we had maybe a month ago. Around Tararanaki, Waikato,
Poldaki Plains. Farmers are telling me turn the tap off, please,
we've got enough. And then you're over in Hawk's Bay
and you're hearing people there saying we could do with
rain we would love to have a solid day of rain,
so we're not quite perfect, but yeah, there's nothing too
alarming standing out. The grizzles are really at the lower
(04:42):
end of the problematic scale. But I do think Hawks
Bay is an area to focus on because they've been
dry all year and a rainfall deficit. So even if
things are kind of roughly normal on the soil top
at the moment, generally speaking, that area is in a
bit of a rainfall deficit, so we could do with
some raindeer, but there's nothing who's been coming in just yet.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
Okay, Phil Duncan, thank you very much for your time
as always on the Country on a Monday.
Speaker 4 (05:06):
Appreciate it, Thanks mate, appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (05:08):
So there we go. He's a great weather man, A
beautiful weather man, is Trump would say, A big beautiful
weather man, as Trump would say. Twelve after twelve here
on the Country. Up next to Act Party Leader Deputy
Prime Minister David Seymour on e Can, Paris and Palestine.
Shane mcmanaway on an induction into the Australian Stockman's Hall
(05:32):
of Fame. Got some fun packs to give away from
our wine correspondent and Jim Hopkins, why aren't we getting
out and voting in our local body elections? Cold beer?
Speaker 1 (05:51):
On Friday night, a pair of jeans and figures rang
in a radio.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
David Seymour's the Act Party leaders Today. We're going to
talk about e Can, Paris and Palestine. David, let's start
with mid Canterbury. You visited there last week for reality check,
which included meeting with some frustrated farmers, including David Clark.
You were quoted as saying it seems we are in
a republic of Ecan where citizens are very much under
(06:21):
yoke and not happy.
Speaker 6 (06:24):
Well, first of it, I just say, actually it was
a good reality check. It was uplifting. We had a
great public meeting there in Ashburton and most of the
people I met were really upbeat and positive. Good prices
are helpful. The one fly in that particular appointment was
I felt there was almost a civil war going on
(06:45):
between e can and the rest of Canterbury. In fact,
even the local Ashburnen District Council was against the Canterbury
Regional Council and it spoke to the need for change,
which I believe the government is delivered with new resource
management laws. But even in the interim, the pressure people
are under is quite severe, and it seems that while
(07:09):
I understand, of course the council has to follow the
law and enforced laws that exist when it comes to prioritization,
if anything, they seem to be doing as much enforcement
as possible before the law changes, instead of dialing it
back and saying, look, the law's going to change soon anyway,
so maybe we can relax a little.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
Do you support Shane Jones's call to get rid of
regional councils?
Speaker 6 (07:33):
Well, potentially the answer in relation to he can may
well be to simply punch out the city and have
a predominantly rural voter base setting the priorities. At the moment,
the council is largely elected by christ Church, its activities
(07:53):
are largely regulating the region, and so the people who
are regulated don't actually have much of a say numerically
when it comes to vote. However, the people who are
voting and majority don't actually have the concerns of the
people being regulated. So there may be a simplest solution.
Of course, the answer. The other answer is to make
(08:14):
every council unitary, but then you do run into some
issues that sometimes water catchments and so on flow across
those boundaries, so it may not be as simple as
just getting rid of them. It may be that it's
better to get a giant whole punch and take Christch
out of the middle. If you can make similar arguments
for Parmeston, Orphan horizons, dened In Otago and so on.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
You and Winston don't agree on that much, let's be
honest about it. But it seems to me that you
agree on Paris and Palestine.
Speaker 6 (08:42):
Well, I mean, you know, we've been pretty consistent on
Paris and been pretty consistent on the zero carbon Acts,
which you know we can point to an honest record
of having a post all along. It seems that they
are on the same page as us for now, so
we'll take that. In terms of the Palestine issue, it's
(09:03):
actually our whole government has taken a view that I
think is the right one. And the thing that's really
surprised me as the breadth of feeling the number of people,
sometimes unexpected, who have not seen anything about this before,
but they've said, we're really pleased, we're proud to the
New Zealanders. I think what people thought was that because
(09:26):
there's a lot of the usual suspects jumping up and down,
making them all is virtue signaling and moralizing that the
government would just buckle. Well, actually we haven't. We've thought
for ourselves and it's a triumph of reason and logic
over emotion in the mob. And that is something I
think a lot of New Zealanders have been waiting for,
even if the particular issue doesn't have an everyday impact
(09:49):
on them.
Speaker 3 (09:49):
We live in a democracy, so you are allowed division
around the cabinet table. There are obviously while some around Palestine.
Speaker 6 (09:58):
Well I wouldn't say it's obvious, but know how the
old saying goes first r all of the fight club
as you don't talk about fight club. And it's the
same with cabinet. You know, once we make a decision,
we all hang together.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
Was Winston running the cutter on that decision?
Speaker 6 (10:14):
Well, again, I'm not going to get into what goes
on in cabinet. One of the rules of cabinet is
that we don't make that decision. I just make the
point that this is a position that the whole cabinet
has signed up to. Winston is the person who made
the announcement, but it's really a government position.
Speaker 3 (10:32):
So Winston Peters did say, and I agree with him
on this, He's not going to recognize or we aren't
going to recognize Palestine until this peace And obviously are
there are issues and fault on both sides of this argument.
But as long as Hamas is running the cutter, do
we want to recognize that?
Speaker 6 (10:51):
Yeah, well, I've said that, Chris Luckson said that, Winston
said that, So it's a government position, and I think
one of the things about this, and besides the issue itself,
which is a horrible situation, no one's denying that, but
it's shown a couple of things. One is that the
coalition can work well together and be united on an issue.
(11:12):
We've certainly shown that. And second of all, we've shown
that actually, sometimes when something's really terrible, the right thing
to do is to use reason and logic, to think
for yourself, not be ruled by emotion and the mob.
And I think there's a lot of quiet approval for
that approach. Imagine if it caught on, what else we
could achieve in the country.
Speaker 3 (11:31):
I'm looking forward to your earthquake announcement this afternoon. Will
the earth move for me? Metaphorically?
Speaker 6 (11:38):
Well, it's not my announcement. It's Chris Pence and I
think he's done good work on it. But all I'd
say is that I was the only one to oppose
these crazy earthquake rules. You look at places like oh Amuru,
the costs that have been put on the abandoned buildings
in the main streets of provincial New Zealand. It was
a crazy rule. I voted against it, one vote versus
(11:58):
one hundred and nineteen some nine years ago, and it's
taken a while, but were subsequently one another election formed
a new government and there's going to be a massive
return to sanity, as has been reported in the Post
this morning, saving billions of dollars from just having a
basic reason to logical approach. None of us is hard.
(12:20):
We're just starting to do a little bit of it
and I'll be particularly pleased for all those people. I'm
just sorry that there was only one of me and
I couldn't stop it.
Speaker 7 (12:30):
Nine years ago.
Speaker 6 (12:31):
We could have saved billions of dollars, but we got.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
There, and you and Winston Ale besties. Hey, David Seymour,
thanks for your time on the country.
Speaker 5 (12:39):
Yeah, not aware.
Speaker 6 (12:39):
You have a great day.
Speaker 3 (12:41):
And that's twenty three after twelve. Yeah, I think that
might have been slightly tongue in cheek had done after
their besties, but they do agree on Paris and Palestine.
You're with the country. I'm Jamie mckaye. The show's brought
to you by Brant Shortly, Sports News and Rural News.
If you haven't caught up on the news. Team Europe
got there in the end in the Ryder's Cup, but
(13:01):
the Yanks gave them a bit of a fright, to
be fair to say, and those American crowds were borish,
no other word for it. And how good was that
preliminary final? What do they call? It's a semi final
last night between Penrith and the Broncos. We'll update that
one as well for you before the end of the hour.
(13:21):
Jim Hopkins and Blair MacLean. Your chance to win some
fun packs from our Vita Culture correspondent. But up next,
I think he's back in the wire wrapper. I don't know.
He's been jet setting quite literally around Australia. Shane mcmanaway
inducted or the Sanda McDonald Awards, Inducted into the Australian
Stockman's Hall.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
Of fameses talked two little bit of chickens.
Speaker 3 (13:47):
He called me on Friday night, welcome back to the country,
twenty five after twelve. I wonder if they were playing
a wee bit of wagon wheel at the Australian Stockman's
(14:08):
Hall of Fame when our next guest is Awards. The
Xander McDonald Awards were inducted. Shane mcmanaway, you're in rare company.
Also inducted into the Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame. R.
M Williams and Queen Elizabeth Good afternoon.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
Yeah, good afternoon, Jamie. Yeah, they were inducted a fair
while ago, but the Xander Award now sits alongside RM
or Reach Williams, Arm Williams. You know if you and
there's only about four or five people in that part
of the Stockholm Hall of Fame. So it was a
very very special moment on Friday when it was the
trophy was inducted.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
And it's at a place called long Reach.
Speaker 5 (14:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
Longreach is about thirteen hundred cliques from Brisbane out west.
Speaker 4 (14:58):
We actually went a bit further.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
We went to Devon Concurry, which is where McDonald's farm,
one of the many many stations are stayed the night there.
That's about eighteen hundred kilometers Jamie. So as they sort
of talking thousands of kilometers over there, it takes a
farewell to get there, even in a fast plane.
Speaker 3 (15:15):
Yeah. Well, I was saying you were literally jet setting
your way around Australia, had some of the Zanda McDonald
Award winners with you as well. You sent me, well,
you actually sent me, Shane, the longest text I've ever
ever received in thirty years on this job. And I
think we even had tech's way back when I started.
This must be all of a thousand words. You didn't
write this on your phone, did.
Speaker 6 (15:37):
You, Jamie.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
I didn't. I put it together on my computer. I
cut and pasted it. I thought when I send it
that you'll either hit the lead button straight off the
bat or you might have a bit of a gout
reading it. But it was a bit of a summary
of the trip, and it's on my Shane mcmanaway Facebook page.
It sort of tells you where we went and how
it went. Jane, it was a magnificent trip.
Speaker 3 (15:57):
Well, I have a rule here at the country has
to abide by it. She's learnt the hard way. If
it's more than one page of A four. I don't
read it, so I don't think you would have. I
don't think you would have squeezed yours in. But I
wasn't thrilled by your writing. You also sent me a
lovely picture, and I hope you don't mind me repeating this.
Two of the biggest land owner owners and cattle barons
(16:19):
of Australia, Don McDonald, who's Sander's dad, right, correct, yep?
And Peter Hughes. And you write undoubtedly the two most influential,
important and wealthiest cattlemen in Australia. And you look at
the price of beef at the moment. These guys have
had and have always had tremendous wealth. But she their
(16:39):
fortune must have exploded, Jamie.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
They go pretty good, these two blokes. Don McDonald obviously
the head of MDH. They are running three point six
million hectares up in that neck of the woods, a
couple hundred probably about one hundred ninety thousand cattle. Peter
Hughes is not far from there, be only about eight
or nine hundred kilometers, but he's got heaps of stations
(17:04):
up there as well. He's running three point nine million
hectares and he's the world's largest wag You breeder and farmer. Yeah,
these guys go really really good, Jamie. They understand the bush,
they understand what makes it tick, and they are at
the top of their game and two of the finest
men you'd ever meet.
Speaker 3 (17:21):
Indeed, I've had the good pleasure of meeting Don Now.
Three point nine million hectares through the rough sums on
that that's ten million a because that is a big farm.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
Yeah, you leave, you leave the house and head out
to one of the paddocks. We went out for a
bit of a run and the paddock you drive for
about two hours and you haven't even hit you know,
you hardly got out of the house paddock, Jamie. It's
unbelievable to quite honest. But the cattle are and good
and Nick sort of. It's very very tough country compared
to what we've got you back here. It's a different
type of farming, and they know how it works. They
(17:52):
know the seasons, they know the cattle, they know when
to pull the levers, and at the moment, the prices
over there are extraordinary as they are here, and I
think everybody's going pretty well. We got into Long Long
Reach for the Hall of Fame event on the Friday
night and I think there was four PC twelve pilartises
and all of them were cattle breeders had flown in
(18:12):
for the night to come to the event.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
Entries opened for the twenty twenty sixth Xander McDonald Awards.
I got that right, didn't I on Wednesday? And they
run throughout the month of October, finishing on the thirty first.
You had some of the twenty twenty five winners with you.
Speaker 4 (18:29):
Yeah, we did.
Speaker 2 (18:29):
We had Jack O'Connor, Meghan blom Jack from Australia, Megan
from News in Now to Blendham, and also the past
winners Mitch heat and Nancy Crashaw with us, and it
was great. They'd had a fair few days before I
caught up with them on the Thursday. They'd been down
New South Wales and in fact right down into Victoria Jamie.
(18:50):
So they've had a great week before and it finished
off sort of culminated in the stockhamh Hall of Fame
event on Friday night and we all got back into
Brisbane or Archerfield Airport on yes Saturday morning and so
it was great. And look, if I encourage anybody between
twenty ages of twenty one and thirty five that are
associated with agriculture, certainly go and have a look at
(19:11):
applying and apply because look, it can be life changing.
As these the people that have gone before us will
tell you it's a magnificent award to win.
Speaker 3 (19:19):
And Mitch High it's the other half of Clear Taylor
who was on the show this week or was it
last week? The days are all merging into one. Okay,
shame before I let you go. When you're not jet
setting around Australia. You got your a reasonable size farming
operation yourself and the wider wrapper. You're getting a bit dry, Jamie.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
I got home yesterday and our manager was just getting
some cattle and to go to the works yesterday, some
big fat cattle and we one of them didn't make
it to the yards. He decided to get bloat and
unfortunately he will be getting buried this afternoon. But we've
had a bit of rain here under the hills, so yeah, no,
we're flatstick, just shifting cattle around. And also this morning
I shifted a mob of velvet stags and they are
(19:57):
only probably another two three weeks away before that I
start to dealing with them.
Speaker 3 (20:01):
Hey, Shane mcmanaway, congratulations on the Zander McDonald Awards being
inducted into the Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame. It's a
real feather in your cap. Weld done mate, Thanks very much, Jamie,
He's a great bloke. Shane mcmanaway twenty eight away from one,
No time to waste, rural news and sports news up
next to the land of the pans and coming my
(20:24):
way and if you welcome back to the country very
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Speaker 1 (21:45):
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Speaker 3 (21:54):
Yeah, good afternoon, Michelle Watt. It's not actually a very
good afternoon, and indeed and it's raining again.
Speaker 8 (22:00):
Just thinking you might need one of those stony Creek
jackets today? Are thinking to need?
Speaker 3 (22:03):
Yeah? I think you probably would. It's a great offer. Anyhow,
what do you got for us and rural news?
Speaker 8 (22:07):
Okay, so this is just out. Jamie Sinlay Milk is
selling it's North Island assets to Abbot for approximately three
hundred and seven million dollars. Global healthcare leader Abbott has
been a Sinley customer since twenty twenty. The two companies
have now negotiated the sale and purchase of Sinlay's North
Island assets. There's a Pocono manufacturing facility along with the
company's Auckland sites, so that's out now. You can find
(22:29):
more at Business Desk or on our website at the
Country dot co dot m Z.
Speaker 3 (22:32):
And you've got sports news, yes I haven't. Let's give
a pat on the back to Riley Kennedy at Business Desk.
Isn't he doing a great job?
Speaker 8 (22:39):
He is such a good There's a real lack of
agricultural journalists in New Zealand.
Speaker 3 (22:43):
I think, apart from the rural papers, they do a
good job. But he does a great job. It's worth
subscribing to Business Desks just to get Riley's excellent work.
Speaker 8 (22:52):
There you go on a note that I think it
was by Rebecca Howard's.
Speaker 3 (22:55):
Oh okay, false, I'm damning him with false praise. Anyhow,
he's doing a good job.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
Sport with AFCO. Visit them online at AFCO dot co
dot NZ.
Speaker 3 (23:05):
As his Team Europe and the Ryder Cup, so Team
Europe is reveling in back to back victories in golf's
Ryder Cup, beating Team USA fifteen points to thirteen in
hostile territory at New York's Bethpage Black Course. The crowd
was borish, no other word for it. European captain Luke
(23:26):
Donald says he's proud of his team's composure in playing
for history and reckons their feet will be talked about
for generations to come. And if you didn't catch up
with it, there was a great preliminary final last night.
That's a flash word for a semi final. And even
though Penrith lost, league star Penrith league star Nathan Cleary
has put the NRL un notice. The four time defending
(23:49):
champions may have missed out on a sixth straight Grand
Final appearance, but the Panthers will be back, stronger and
wiser in twenty twenty six. And you'd be a mug
if you ignored that. Up next, it's happy days on
the country. Your chance to win a fun pack and
tap back two of them, one for the North, one
for the South. Up next, we're going to talk wine
(24:18):
in Califol. This man is always incredibly popular on the
country and it's not necessarily because of the quality of
his contribution. He's not too bad, but he has fun
packs to give away. He is our Vita culture correspondent,
Blair Blizzard MacLean out of Marlborough and Blair people can
(24:41):
listen out and answer a simple question at the end.
And I think we have some fun packs to give away,
one to the north, one to the south. But it's
not fun in Marlborough at the moment. You've just got
too many grapes and not enough homes for them.
Speaker 7 (24:55):
He's Jamie. Yeah, it's tough times up here. Nobody would
say the bubbles burst yet, but the savon blanc sales,
it's hard work. Lots of our wine companies and wineries
are overseas knocking on doors and trying to sell our
beautiful savon blanc, which is still very good, make no
mistake about it. It's a world class savon blanc. But
(25:17):
there's probably you know, there's rumors of fifty million extra
leaders around at the moment, so it's just hard going.
Speaker 3 (25:24):
Yeah, I really feel sorry for the grape growers who
provide contract grow for the vineyards. My understanding isn't it
came from you? That is up to one thousand hec
DearS that's a lot of grapes uncontracted for this season.
Speaker 7 (25:41):
Yes, that's right. So a fuel contract is due for
a mule with a wine company. Their wine companies looking
at it pretty closely. Most wine companies have their own
grapes as well, and you know, if the tanks are
full and they have no more room for any they're
not really signing those. Some are, but the sort of
(26:02):
been left uncontracted. So yes, there will be at least
a thousand hectares in Mulbra of the thirty plus thousand
hectares we've got here that'll be uncontracted, which is really
tough times for grass. Most grays will have Jamie two
or three contracts with different wine companies. But that's tight
when you know the things that the buds are about
to burst now with they are bursting now, And yeah,
(26:24):
we need to look at probably other forms of income.
Speaker 3 (26:27):
In hindsight, did the industry get carried away with itself?
And it's very easy to be wise in hindsight, but
I look at, for instance, the Kiwi fruit industry where
with the licenses they control the growth very carefully.
Speaker 7 (26:41):
Yeah, you're right, in hindsight, that probably would have been
a good thing. Some of those ki free licenses are
over half a million dollars very hectare for the goal.
Can't see that would have happened with servy on bloc.
I mean, yeah, maybe a controlled planting might have helped.
But I mean we are still only we're under two
sense of world wine consumption of wine, so you know,
(27:05):
we're not a big big player in the whole consumption
of wine. But there is wine slowing down drinking around
the world. People are looking at other other options, ciders,
non alcoholic wine. So yeah, it's a big sort of
health thing and we're all looking at it and how
we can make things better for our grass.
Speaker 3 (27:25):
You mentioned bud burst. Of course we're in spring. Well
it must be a real worry also to the growers
at this time of the year. At the big f word.
Speaker 7 (27:33):
Yeah, so frost, that's what you're talking about. Yeah, this
next ten days look brilliant. In fact, we've had a
pretty awesome start to spring, mild temperatures. You know, we're
a nineteen to twenty odd degree day today. So yeah,
but the next time I look at the frost forecast
(27:53):
at the moment looks pretty good. We are still a
month and a half away before we're out of that zone. Yeah,
we're all worried about frost for sure.
Speaker 3 (28:01):
So here's the moment you've been waiting for, folks. We
have two fun packs, one for the North Island, one
for the South Island. I think they may include us
six items of each. And we have got some wonderful
seven Yon Blanc Marlborough Sevenyon Blanc on off of Blair.
Speaker 7 (28:17):
Yeah, Jills Taylor twenty twenty four savy very good as
all of the Savon Blanc for Marlborough. So we're going
to give a six pack to the North and a
six pack to the South. Hopefully the South there might
be a winter and beautiful Shield Country Otago. But that's
what we're going to give away today.
Speaker 3 (28:33):
Jamie, good on you. So here's what you've got to do, folks.
You've got to text us on five double oh nine
and write Jules Taylor wine and spell it correctly. Now
you're going to have to have a punt here. Are
you going to go with Taylor as in Warwick Taylor
with an O? Or are you going to go with
Taylor as in Dick Taylor with an ee? You make
(28:54):
the call. We'll only accept the correct spelling jewels, Taylor
wine to five double ow nine your name and courier
address will pick out a winner after one o'clock and
give you a call. And then, Blair, if you get
round to it, which there's no guarantee that you will,
you'll send those fun packs off right, Yep.
Speaker 7 (29:12):
We'll send them off from Sunny Mover because we've got
we've got plenty of wine here. So no problems at all.
Speaker 3 (29:17):
Okay. And there's no truth to the rumor that raz
has called you into the squad to cover for Caleb Clarke.
Speaker 8 (29:22):
No.
Speaker 7 (29:23):
I think Johnny McKinnell might have got a call up though,
but well he.
Speaker 3 (29:25):
Would have before you because you didn't get any tries
for Rocksborough. Look, I'm going over there, Blair. This is
my last day at work for a week or two,
and I'm going to take my boots because I can
cover ten and fifteen. All right, see you later, see you, Blair?
What are you shaking your head out, Michelle?
Speaker 8 (29:44):
I think I've got more of a chance of filling
it at fifteen than you.
Speaker 3 (29:48):
Oh, you probably have to be honest. Well, I'm going
to take my boots. You never know, you never know.
The small Pox may hit the squad and they're just
looking for Kiwi's who are going to be in Perth
and I'm available. You've got to along with my old
Lincoln mate Hideous Ross, so well front up we will
and Puffy Stevenson's going as well.
Speaker 8 (30:09):
That would be a team.
Speaker 3 (30:10):
Actually, Puffy would fancy himself to replace Caleb Clark, right HEO.
So five double oh nine's our text number. You need
to write Jules Taylor Wine spell Taylor correctly. I're not
giving you the answer, Go and find it and your
name and your full courier address. Will pick out some
winners and advise you after one o'clock. Jim Hopkins next,
(30:31):
last week round down in the well. Haven't caught up
with this bloke for a week while on the country.
That's because I've been flat out and he's been flat
out kissing babies on street corners. He is a candidate
for the Waitaki District Council, but because we're in the
(30:52):
election campaign, I can't shamelessly promote his candidacy. But Jim
Hopkins candidate, what I can ask you is this is
why are we as a nation so disengaged with local
body politics when it's actually very important to us, because
I'm thinking for most of us, the mortgage is the
biggest expense. Rates and power, bells and insurance coming next.
(31:16):
We've got a vested interest in getting the right people
in there.
Speaker 5 (31:19):
Well, you're absolutely right, And I mean, if you look
at the popular support for a rates cap, I think
sixty four percent in that Taxpayer Union poll and only
about twenty I think twenty eight percent were opposed to it,
it's quite clear that people. I mean, I believe that
a rates cap is a popular move but very problematic
(31:40):
for a variety of reasons. But I mean it it
does indicate that Yet, You're right, that cluster of costs
is really critical to people at the moment. And I
don't think people are disengaged. In fact, if you look
at social media, there's a huge amount of victorol and
venom directed at councils up and down the country. I mean,
(32:03):
I think they are a lightning rod for everyone's free
range frustrations and hostilities and resentments.
Speaker 3 (32:10):
But I am on Jim, that's just social media, full
stop victorol and venom, isn't it.
Speaker 5 (32:14):
Well, to some extent, you could argue yes, I mean
I always think the anonymity of what social media makes
at crowd's corner. But what I'm saying the point is,
I don't think people are disengaged, but I don't think
the voting system is helping. And when I first stood
for council, I think we had about we were getting
something numbers and the responses voting numbers up under sixty percent,
(32:39):
still lower than central government elections, but quite high. Last
election that was down to forty six percent, and it's
increasingly it's because more and more people don't have letter boxes.
And also New Zealand posts is no longer the kind
of everyday delivery system where the post boxes now you know,
(33:00):
so many of them have disappeared.
Speaker 3 (33:02):
Hey Jim, I know what you're heading to here. Online voting.
But the problem with that as well as that not well,
Vladimir Putin's going to interrupt and he wants to disrupt
the Waiteki district elections.
Speaker 5 (33:13):
No, no, you're wrong. I'm not advocating online voting because
we haven't sorted that issue out. You're absolutely one hundred
and twenty percent correct.
Speaker 6 (33:22):
What I did.
Speaker 5 (33:22):
Suggest this year, earlier this year, and what I think
other people are looking at is basically doing locally what
we do in general. Addictions have polling booths and so on.
We did look at it and the problem really from
our point of view, we could have done a polling
booth system here, and other councilors could have as well,
(33:42):
but the cost would have been I think I have
a feeling from memory there was one hundred thousand dollars
additional costs, and it now outstands to be corrected. That's
just a number that I think I recall. But it
was a very expensive alternative solution. And in the end,
I mean, you know, you go back to that matter
that people are worried about Morgage's rates insurance and power bills,
(34:06):
and you can't commit to spending that amount of additional money.
If you're also responding to people who are saying you rate,
we don't want rate increases. We'll keep them as low
as possible.
Speaker 3 (34:18):
I want to get one more past you if I can. Okay,
Guy Williams is having a crack at nitrate in water.
You want to have a crack at Guy Williams.
Speaker 5 (34:28):
I mean, look, first of all, I mean being somebody
born in mymatty because me mum was there at the time,
and having endured Wimo jokes for a good period of
time throughout my adult life. I mean the sort of sniggering, supercilious,
smirking way he's sending people up there and taking advantage
(34:49):
of their naivety, and my view is just as bideous
and it's irritating. The thing that really annoys me. It's
allegedly comedy, but he's basically buying. And in that one
Scandinavian study that suggests that the may be a link
between nitrates and cola yxtyal cancer not endorsed by the
(35:10):
World Health Organization, which has basically said that its conclusion
looking at all the studies that have been done, found
no clear association between nitrates or nitrite and drinking water
and risk of cancer and the gessta in testinal track
non Hodgkin and Foama tumors and the central retifous system
you and retract tumors thyroid cancer, breast cancer or pancreatic cancer.
(35:34):
But no, no, Mike Joyce, is that it's a problem.
It's causing tensors polluting not just the waterways in and
around my MASSI but nationwide. And Williams pedals as bollocks
without any attempt to actually produce balance, and using comedy
as an excuse for bias. He's just once resurrecting all
(35:59):
the old dirty dairy diatribes that I would have thought
the dairy industry's current international sales and success should have
long since laid to rest. I mean, for heaven's say,
where would we be as a nation if it weren't
for what Fonterra and other dairy companies were earning for
(36:22):
us around the world. I mean, we would be in a.
Speaker 3 (36:26):
Where would be up a nitrate creek without a paddle.
That's where we'd been. Jim, all right, Hundson, I'm out
of time. Good luck in the election.
Speaker 5 (36:33):
Thanks Mady, you go well.
Speaker 3 (36:36):
Thanks Jim. Well, that wraps the country almost. I think
we've Michelle set a new world record for the most
text ever for a competition, although we did have wine
and oysters one time, and I just remember that the
text machine was literally smoking. So it's your last chance.
You need to text Jules Taylor wine spell Taylor correctly.
(36:57):
A lot of you aren't, and you'll fall and your
career address and Michelle will pick out a couple of
winners sooner her than me. After one o'clock right, Okay,
so that's me. I'm off to Perth tomorrow, actually going
over with some of my old footy mates, Michelle looking
(37:18):
forward to it. As I said, I'm forever hopeful I
might take the boots.
Speaker 8 (37:22):
I hope. So, I finger's crossed for you. I've got
abandonment issues. You keep leaving me.
Speaker 3 (37:26):
Well, if I get sacked, I'll be leaving you permanently. Anyhow,
You're in the capable hands of Hamish mackay and I
wish Hamous all the absolute best, although I hope he
doesn't go too well because ninety five percent of all
jobs and radio are lost when you're on annual leave,
and normally, Michelle, they find someone younger, smarter. It won't
(37:49):
be hard to do those two and cheaper.
Speaker 8 (37:52):
Smartest standing in a swam across from you right.
Speaker 3 (37:54):
Now, well, you're definitely cheaper. Anyhow, look after my baby,
don't cock it up, Michelle. I'll see you back in
a couple of weeks.
Speaker 1 (38:03):
And the music catch all the latest from the land
It's the Country Podcast with Jamie mckaye. Thanks to Brent
Starkest of the leading agriculture brands
Catch all the latest from the land. It's the Country
Podcast with Jamie McKay.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Thanks to Brent.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're specialist in John Deere construction equipment.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Get a New Zealand and Welcome to the Country. It's
brought to you by Brant. I'm Jamie McKay. That's you
b forty. I don't know where Phil Duncan's got. I'm
going to take a punt and see that he's on
the other end of the line. But I'll tell you
who's on the show today. We haven't got some red
red wine for you, but we've got well some would
say even better that a Marlborough Sevenyon blanc out for
(01:00):
Blair MacLean, our viticulture correspondent. A wee bit later in
the hour, Shane mcmanaway. I don't know if he's back
in New Zealand or not he was inducted or the
Xander McDonald Awards were inducted into the Australian Stockman's Hall
of Fame. We'll catch up with him getting a bit
dry in the wire wrapper. As I understand it. Phil
Duncan will obviously cover off the weather. David Seymour, Act
(01:22):
Party Leader and Deputy Prime Minister on e Can, Paris
and Palestine. Him and Winston are agreeing on things and
Jim Hopkins, why are we so disengaged with local body
politics in terms of voting percentages when rates local body
rates are one of our biggest expenses, probably only behind
(01:45):
for a lot of households. I would imagine mortgage payments
and maybe energy bills. Okay, here's a punt in the dark,
Phil Duncan, Are you there?
Speaker 4 (01:54):
I'm here now.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
Where were you before?
Speaker 4 (01:57):
I don't know. The phone wasn't connecting properly for some.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
I was muttering nasty things about you. Phil. You're leaving
me high and dry. But you've come to the party now.
Talking about high and dry, that's a really clumsy segue
into some parts of the country, and it's a bit
worrying because we're not even into October yet. Are starting
to get away but dry?
Speaker 4 (02:21):
Yeah, they sure, I'm good to be back with you. Yes.
The warmer weather, they're certainly starting to kick in, and
obviously windy spring weather is likely to carry on. In
my video today, I talk about this sudden stratospheric warming
which has been talked about quite a bit around Antarctica
and what that means for US weatherways. Basically, what it
means in a simple way is that the storm south
(02:45):
of the country are going to be a bit more
intense this spring, and so it doesn't necessarily mean we're
going to be hit by them a lot, but it
does mean that the weather pattern will be more spring
like as we go through this season, which means we
may kind of see a spring pattern carrying on into
December this year, which is not a great thing for
those eastern areas that meet some rain. The good news
is we do have some low pressure in the mix
(03:07):
coming in this week. Won't deliver a huge amount, but
there could still be ten millimeters or so maybe a
bit more falling in some of those dry eastern areas.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
So basically, if you're looking for a I don't know,
a blueprint for the next couple of weeks, is it
just run some and repeat from the past couple.
Speaker 5 (03:22):
It sure is.
Speaker 4 (03:23):
What we're seeing though, is a bit more injection of warmth,
so it's not as cold every day. You know, we're
seeing subtropical airflows and Australian air flows coming into the mix,
Whereas across most of August and much of September we
were defined by the polar airflow that was stuck over us.
So we're getting more into a spring pattern where it's
warm one day, t shirt, where the one day put
(03:43):
on the jacket the next. No end in sight for that.
But if this is a textbook spring, then I would
expect oc Tober to have more settled in warm days.
But we were not done yet with the lows and
the severe weather events.
Speaker 3 (03:57):
Interestingly, when I look at me was soil moisture deficit
map as opposed to the drought map. And I look
at the historical long term average for September the twenty eighth,
that's only updated till then, and then I look at
the map as of September the twenty eighth, which was yesterday.
There's not a hell of a lot of difference. So
maybe it's kind of just the usual.
Speaker 5 (04:19):
Is it is?
Speaker 4 (04:20):
I mean, we're getting a few grizzles here and there now,
more than we had maybe a month ago. Around Tararanaki, Waikato,
Poldaki Plains. Farmers are telling me turn the tap off, please,
we've got enough. And then you're over in Hawk's Bay
and you're hearing people there saying we could do with
rain we would love to have a solid day of rain,
so we're not quite perfect, but yeah, there's nothing too
alarming standing out. The grizzles are really at the lower
(04:42):
end of the problematic scale. But I do think Hawks
Bay is an area to focus on because they've been
dry all year and a rainfall deficit. So even if
things are kind of roughly normal on the soil top
at the moment, generally speaking, that area is in a
bit of a rainfall deficit, so we could do with
some raindeer, but there's nothing who's been coming in just yet.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
Okay, Phil Duncan, thank you very much for your time
as always on the Country on a Monday.
Speaker 4 (05:06):
Appreciate it, Thanks mate, appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (05:08):
So there we go. He's a great weather man, A
beautiful weather man, is Trump would say, A big beautiful
weather man, as Trump would say. Twelve after twelve here
on the Country. Up next to Act Party Leader Deputy
Prime Minister David Seymour on e Can, Paris and Palestine.
Shane mcmanaway on an induction into the Australian Stockman's Hall
(05:32):
of Fame. Got some fun packs to give away from
our wine correspondent and Jim Hopkins, why aren't we getting
out and voting in our local body elections? Cold beer?
Speaker 1 (05:51):
On Friday night, a pair of jeans and figures rang
in a radio.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
David Seymour's the Act Party leaders Today. We're going to
talk about e Can, Paris and Palestine. David, let's start
with mid Canterbury. You visited there last week for reality check,
which included meeting with some frustrated farmers, including David Clark.
You were quoted as saying it seems we are in
a republic of Ecan where citizens are very much under
(06:21):
yoke and not happy.
Speaker 6 (06:24):
Well, first of it, I just say, actually it was
a good reality check. It was uplifting. We had a
great public meeting there in Ashburton and most of the
people I met were really upbeat and positive. Good prices
are helpful. The one fly in that particular appointment was
I felt there was almost a civil war going on
(06:45):
between e can and the rest of Canterbury. In fact,
even the local Ashburnen District Council was against the Canterbury
Regional Council and it spoke to the need for change,
which I believe the government is delivered with new resource
management laws. But even in the interim, the pressure people
are under is quite severe, and it seems that while
(07:09):
I understand, of course the council has to follow the
law and enforced laws that exist when it comes to prioritization,
if anything, they seem to be doing as much enforcement
as possible before the law changes, instead of dialing it
back and saying, look, the law's going to change soon anyway,
so maybe we can relax a little.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
Do you support Shane Jones's call to get rid of
regional councils?
Speaker 6 (07:33):
Well, potentially the answer in relation to he can may
well be to simply punch out the city and have
a predominantly rural voter base setting the priorities. At the moment,
the council is largely elected by christ Church, its activities
(07:53):
are largely regulating the region, and so the people who
are regulated don't actually have much of a say numerically
when it comes to vote. However, the people who are
voting and majority don't actually have the concerns of the
people being regulated. So there may be a simplest solution.
Of course, the answer. The other answer is to make
(08:14):
every council unitary, but then you do run into some
issues that sometimes water catchments and so on flow across
those boundaries, so it may not be as simple as
just getting rid of them. It may be that it's
better to get a giant whole punch and take Christch
out of the middle. If you can make similar arguments
for Parmeston, Orphan horizons, dened In Otago and so on.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
You and Winston don't agree on that much, let's be
honest about it. But it seems to me that you
agree on Paris and Palestine.
Speaker 6 (08:42):
Well, I mean, you know, we've been pretty consistent on
Paris and been pretty consistent on the zero carbon Acts,
which you know we can point to an honest record
of having a post all along. It seems that they
are on the same page as us for now, so
we'll take that. In terms of the Palestine issue, it's
(09:03):
actually our whole government has taken a view that I
think is the right one. And the thing that's really
surprised me as the breadth of feeling the number of people,
sometimes unexpected, who have not seen anything about this before,
but they've said, we're really pleased, we're proud to the
New Zealanders. I think what people thought was that because
(09:26):
there's a lot of the usual suspects jumping up and down,
making them all is virtue signaling and moralizing that the
government would just buckle. Well, actually we haven't. We've thought
for ourselves and it's a triumph of reason and logic
over emotion in the mob. And that is something I
think a lot of New Zealanders have been waiting for,
even if the particular issue doesn't have an everyday impact
(09:49):
on them.
Speaker 3 (09:49):
We live in a democracy, so you are allowed division
around the cabinet table. There are obviously while some around Palestine.
Speaker 6 (09:58):
Well I wouldn't say it's obvious, but know how the
old saying goes first r all of the fight club
as you don't talk about fight club. And it's the
same with cabinet. You know, once we make a decision,
we all hang together.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
Was Winston running the cutter on that decision?
Speaker 6 (10:14):
Well, again, I'm not going to get into what goes
on in cabinet. One of the rules of cabinet is
that we don't make that decision. I just make the
point that this is a position that the whole cabinet
has signed up to. Winston is the person who made
the announcement, but it's really a government position.
Speaker 3 (10:32):
So Winston Peters did say, and I agree with him
on this, He's not going to recognize or we aren't
going to recognize Palestine until this peace And obviously are
there are issues and fault on both sides of this argument.
But as long as Hamas is running the cutter, do
we want to recognize that?
Speaker 6 (10:51):
Yeah, well, I've said that, Chris Luckson said that, Winston
said that, So it's a government position, and I think
one of the things about this, and besides the issue itself,
which is a horrible situation, no one's denying that, but
it's shown a couple of things. One is that the
coalition can work well together and be united on an issue.
(11:12):
We've certainly shown that. And second of all, we've shown
that actually, sometimes when something's really terrible, the right thing
to do is to use reason and logic, to think
for yourself, not be ruled by emotion and the mob.
And I think there's a lot of quiet approval for
that approach. Imagine if it caught on, what else we
could achieve in the country.
Speaker 3 (11:31):
I'm looking forward to your earthquake announcement this afternoon. Will
the earth move for me? Metaphorically?
Speaker 6 (11:38):
Well, it's not my announcement. It's Chris Pence and I
think he's done good work on it. But all I'd
say is that I was the only one to oppose
these crazy earthquake rules. You look at places like oh Amuru,
the costs that have been put on the abandoned buildings
in the main streets of provincial New Zealand. It was
a crazy rule. I voted against it, one vote versus
(11:58):
one hundred and nineteen some nine years ago, and it's
taken a while, but were subsequently one another election formed
a new government and there's going to be a massive
return to sanity, as has been reported in the Post
this morning, saving billions of dollars from just having a
basic reason to logical approach. None of us is hard.
(12:20):
We're just starting to do a little bit of it
and I'll be particularly pleased for all those people. I'm
just sorry that there was only one of me and
I couldn't stop it.
Speaker 7 (12:30):
Nine years ago.
Speaker 6 (12:31):
We could have saved billions of dollars, but we got.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
There, and you and Winston Ale besties. Hey, David Seymour,
thanks for your time on the country.
Speaker 5 (12:39):
Yeah, not aware.
Speaker 6 (12:39):
You have a great day.
Speaker 3 (12:41):
And that's twenty three after twelve. Yeah, I think that
might have been slightly tongue in cheek had done after
their besties, but they do agree on Paris and Palestine.
You're with the country. I'm Jamie mckaye. The show's brought
to you by Brant Shortly, Sports News and Rural News.
If you haven't caught up on the news. Team Europe
got there in the end in the Ryder's Cup, but
(13:01):
the Yanks gave them a bit of a fright, to
be fair to say, and those American crowds were borish,
no other word for it. And how good was that
preliminary final? What do they call? It's a semi final
last night between Penrith and the Broncos. We'll update that
one as well for you before the end of the hour.
(13:21):
Jim Hopkins and Blair MacLean. Your chance to win some
fun packs from our Vita Culture correspondent. But up next,
I think he's back in the wire wrapper. I don't know.
He's been jet setting quite literally around Australia. Shane mcmanaway
inducted or the Sanda McDonald Awards, Inducted into the Australian
Stockman's Hall.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
Of fameses talked two little bit of chickens.
Speaker 3 (13:47):
He called me on Friday night, welcome back to the country,
twenty five after twelve. I wonder if they were playing
a wee bit of wagon wheel at the Australian Stockman's
(14:08):
Hall of Fame when our next guest is Awards. The
Xander McDonald Awards were inducted. Shane mcmanaway, you're in rare company.
Also inducted into the Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame. R.
M Williams and Queen Elizabeth Good afternoon.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
Yeah, good afternoon, Jamie. Yeah, they were inducted a fair
while ago, but the Xander Award now sits alongside RM
or Reach Williams, Arm Williams. You know if you and
there's only about four or five people in that part
of the Stockholm Hall of Fame. So it was a
very very special moment on Friday when it was the
trophy was inducted.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
And it's at a place called long Reach.
Speaker 5 (14:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
Longreach is about thirteen hundred cliques from Brisbane out west.
Speaker 4 (14:58):
We actually went a bit further.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
We went to Devon Concurry, which is where McDonald's farm,
one of the many many stations are stayed the night there.
That's about eighteen hundred kilometers Jamie. So as they sort
of talking thousands of kilometers over there, it takes a
farewell to get there, even in a fast plane.
Speaker 3 (15:15):
Yeah. Well, I was saying you were literally jet setting
your way around Australia, had some of the Zanda McDonald
Award winners with you as well. You sent me, well,
you actually sent me, Shane, the longest text I've ever
ever received in thirty years on this job. And I
think we even had tech's way back when I started.
This must be all of a thousand words. You didn't
write this on your phone, did.
Speaker 6 (15:37):
You, Jamie.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
I didn't. I put it together on my computer. I
cut and pasted it. I thought when I send it
that you'll either hit the lead button straight off the
bat or you might have a bit of a gout
reading it. But it was a bit of a summary
of the trip, and it's on my Shane mcmanaway Facebook page.
It sort of tells you where we went and how
it went. Jane, it was a magnificent trip.
Speaker 3 (15:57):
Well, I have a rule here at the country has
to abide by it. She's learnt the hard way. If
it's more than one page of A four. I don't
read it, so I don't think you would have. I
don't think you would have squeezed yours in. But I
wasn't thrilled by your writing. You also sent me a
lovely picture, and I hope you don't mind me repeating this.
Two of the biggest land owner owners and cattle barons
(16:19):
of Australia, Don McDonald, who's Sander's dad, right, correct, yep?
And Peter Hughes. And you write undoubtedly the two most influential,
important and wealthiest cattlemen in Australia. And you look at
the price of beef at the moment. These guys have
had and have always had tremendous wealth. But she their
(16:39):
fortune must have exploded, Jamie.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
They go pretty good, these two blokes. Don McDonald obviously
the head of MDH. They are running three point six
million hectares up in that neck of the woods, a
couple hundred probably about one hundred ninety thousand cattle. Peter
Hughes is not far from there, be only about eight
or nine hundred kilometers, but he's got heaps of stations
(17:04):
up there as well. He's running three point nine million
hectares and he's the world's largest wag You breeder and farmer. Yeah,
these guys go really really good, Jamie. They understand the bush,
they understand what makes it tick, and they are at
the top of their game and two of the finest
men you'd ever meet.
Speaker 3 (17:21):
Indeed, I've had the good pleasure of meeting Don Now.
Three point nine million hectares through the rough sums on
that that's ten million a because that is a big farm.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
Yeah, you leave, you leave the house and head out
to one of the paddocks. We went out for a
bit of a run and the paddock you drive for
about two hours and you haven't even hit you know,
you hardly got out of the house paddock, Jamie. It's
unbelievable to quite honest. But the cattle are and good
and Nick sort of. It's very very tough country compared
to what we've got you back here. It's a different
type of farming, and they know how it works. They
(17:52):
know the seasons, they know the cattle, they know when
to pull the levers, and at the moment, the prices
over there are extraordinary as they are here, and I
think everybody's going pretty well. We got into Long Long
Reach for the Hall of Fame event on the Friday
night and I think there was four PC twelve pilartises
and all of them were cattle breeders had flown in
(18:12):
for the night to come to the event.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
Entries opened for the twenty twenty sixth Xander McDonald Awards.
I got that right, didn't I on Wednesday? And they
run throughout the month of October, finishing on the thirty first.
You had some of the twenty twenty five winners with you.
Speaker 4 (18:29):
Yeah, we did.
Speaker 2 (18:29):
We had Jack O'Connor, Meghan blom Jack from Australia, Megan
from News in Now to Blendham, and also the past
winners Mitch heat and Nancy Crashaw with us, and it
was great. They'd had a fair few days before I
caught up with them on the Thursday. They'd been down
New South Wales and in fact right down into Victoria Jamie.
(18:50):
So they've had a great week before and it finished
off sort of culminated in the stockhamh Hall of Fame
event on Friday night and we all got back into
Brisbane or Archerfield Airport on yes Saturday morning and so
it was great. And look, if I encourage anybody between
twenty ages of twenty one and thirty five that are
associated with agriculture, certainly go and have a look at
(19:11):
applying and apply because look, it can be life changing.
As these the people that have gone before us will
tell you it's a magnificent award to win.
Speaker 3 (19:19):
And Mitch High it's the other half of Clear Taylor
who was on the show this week or was it
last week? The days are all merging into one. Okay,
shame before I let you go. When you're not jet
setting around Australia. You got your a reasonable size farming
operation yourself and the wider wrapper. You're getting a bit dry, Jamie.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
I got home yesterday and our manager was just getting
some cattle and to go to the works yesterday, some
big fat cattle and we one of them didn't make
it to the yards. He decided to get bloat and
unfortunately he will be getting buried this afternoon. But we've
had a bit of rain here under the hills, so yeah, no,
we're flatstick, just shifting cattle around. And also this morning
I shifted a mob of velvet stags and they are
(19:57):
only probably another two three weeks away before that I
start to dealing with them.
Speaker 3 (20:01):
Hey, Shane mcmanaway, congratulations on the Zander McDonald Awards being
inducted into the Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame. It's a
real feather in your cap. Weld done mate, Thanks very much, Jamie,
He's a great bloke. Shane mcmanaway twenty eight away from one,
No time to waste, rural news and sports news up
next to the land of the pans and coming my
(20:24):
way and if you welcome back to the country very
shortly the latest and rural news and sports news. But
when you're out on the land, you need a ute
that works as hard as you do. That's why smart
farmers choose Isuzu utes. Tough, reliable with genuine truck heritage.
(20:46):
The Dmax is your ultimate workhorse thanks to its three
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keeping that same tough build, same towing capacity, same reliable
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(21:09):
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and lending criteria apply. Every Isuzu comes with an extended
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the bonus for you country listeners. Buy a new Isuzu
and mention the country to your local dealer and you'll
score one of those fantastic Stonycreek jackets worth over four
(21:32):
hundred bucks. Tough uts, great finance options, and a jacket
to keep you warm. Visit Isuzu utes dot co dot
Nz or your local Isuzu dealer on the.
Speaker 1 (21:45):
Country's World news with Cob Cadet, New Zealand's leading right
on lawn Bower brand. Visit steel for dot co dot
NZ for your local stockist.
Speaker 3 (21:54):
Yeah, good afternoon, Michelle Watt. It's not actually a very
good afternoon, and indeed and it's raining again.
Speaker 8 (22:00):
Just thinking you might need one of those stony Creek
jackets today? Are thinking to need?
Speaker 3 (22:03):
Yeah? I think you probably would. It's a great offer. Anyhow,
what do you got for us and rural news?
Speaker 8 (22:07):
Okay, so this is just out. Jamie Sinlay Milk is
selling it's North Island assets to Abbot for approximately three
hundred and seven million dollars. Global healthcare leader Abbott has
been a Sinley customer since twenty twenty. The two companies
have now negotiated the sale and purchase of Sinlay's North
Island assets. There's a Pocono manufacturing facility along with the
company's Auckland sites, so that's out now. You can find
(22:29):
more at Business Desk or on our website at the
Country dot co dot m Z.
Speaker 3 (22:32):
And you've got sports news, yes I haven't. Let's give
a pat on the back to Riley Kennedy at Business Desk.
Isn't he doing a great job?
Speaker 8 (22:39):
He is such a good There's a real lack of
agricultural journalists in New Zealand.
Speaker 3 (22:43):
I think, apart from the rural papers, they do a
good job. But he does a great job. It's worth
subscribing to Business Desks just to get Riley's excellent work.
Speaker 8 (22:52):
There you go on a note that I think it
was by Rebecca Howard's.
Speaker 3 (22:55):
Oh okay, false, I'm damning him with false praise. Anyhow,
he's doing a good job.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
Sport with AFCO. Visit them online at AFCO dot co
dot NZ.
Speaker 3 (23:05):
As his Team Europe and the Ryder Cup, so Team
Europe is reveling in back to back victories in golf's
Ryder Cup, beating Team USA fifteen points to thirteen in
hostile territory at New York's Bethpage Black Course. The crowd
was borish, no other word for it. European captain Luke
(23:26):
Donald says he's proud of his team's composure in playing
for history and reckons their feet will be talked about
for generations to come. And if you didn't catch up
with it, there was a great preliminary final last night.
That's a flash word for a semi final. And even
though Penrith lost, league star Penrith league star Nathan Cleary
has put the NRL un notice. The four time defending
(23:49):
champions may have missed out on a sixth straight Grand
Final appearance, but the Panthers will be back, stronger and
wiser in twenty twenty six. And you'd be a mug
if you ignored that. Up next, it's happy days on
the country. Your chance to win a fun pack and
tap back two of them, one for the North, one
for the South. Up next, we're going to talk wine
(24:18):
in Califol. This man is always incredibly popular on the
country and it's not necessarily because of the quality of
his contribution. He's not too bad, but he has fun
packs to give away. He is our Vita culture correspondent,
Blair Blizzard MacLean out of Marlborough and Blair people can
(24:41):
listen out and answer a simple question at the end.
And I think we have some fun packs to give away,
one to the north, one to the south. But it's
not fun in Marlborough at the moment. You've just got
too many grapes and not enough homes for them.
Speaker 7 (24:55):
He's Jamie. Yeah, it's tough times up here. Nobody would
say the bubbles burst yet, but the savon blanc sales,
it's hard work. Lots of our wine companies and wineries
are overseas knocking on doors and trying to sell our
beautiful savon blanc, which is still very good, make no
mistake about it. It's a world class savon blanc. But
(25:17):
there's probably you know, there's rumors of fifty million extra
leaders around at the moment, so it's just hard going.
Speaker 3 (25:24):
Yeah, I really feel sorry for the grape growers who
provide contract grow for the vineyards. My understanding isn't it
came from you? That is up to one thousand hec
DearS that's a lot of grapes uncontracted for this season.
Speaker 7 (25:41):
Yes, that's right. So a fuel contract is due for
a mule with a wine company. Their wine companies looking
at it pretty closely. Most wine companies have their own
grapes as well, and you know, if the tanks are
full and they have no more room for any they're
not really signing those. Some are, but the sort of
(26:02):
been left uncontracted. So yes, there will be at least
a thousand hectares in Mulbra of the thirty plus thousand
hectares we've got here that'll be uncontracted, which is really
tough times for grass. Most grays will have Jamie two
or three contracts with different wine companies. But that's tight
when you know the things that the buds are about
to burst now with they are bursting now, And yeah,
(26:24):
we need to look at probably other forms of income.
Speaker 3 (26:27):
In hindsight, did the industry get carried away with itself?
And it's very easy to be wise in hindsight, but
I look at, for instance, the Kiwi fruit industry where
with the licenses they control the growth very carefully.
Speaker 7 (26:41):
Yeah, you're right, in hindsight, that probably would have been
a good thing. Some of those ki free licenses are
over half a million dollars very hectare for the goal.
Can't see that would have happened with servy on bloc.
I mean, yeah, maybe a controlled planting might have helped.
But I mean we are still only we're under two
sense of world wine consumption of wine, so you know,
(27:05):
we're not a big big player in the whole consumption
of wine. But there is wine slowing down drinking around
the world. People are looking at other other options, ciders,
non alcoholic wine. So yeah, it's a big sort of
health thing and we're all looking at it and how
we can make things better for our grass.
Speaker 3 (27:25):
You mentioned bud burst. Of course we're in spring. Well
it must be a real worry also to the growers
at this time of the year. At the big f word.
Speaker 7 (27:33):
Yeah, so frost, that's what you're talking about. Yeah, this
next ten days look brilliant. In fact, we've had a
pretty awesome start to spring, mild temperatures. You know, we're
a nineteen to twenty odd degree day today. So yeah,
but the next time I look at the frost forecast
(27:53):
at the moment looks pretty good. We are still a
month and a half away before we're out of that zone. Yeah,
we're all worried about frost for sure.
Speaker 3 (28:01):
So here's the moment you've been waiting for, folks. We
have two fun packs, one for the North Island, one
for the South Island. I think they may include us
six items of each. And we have got some wonderful
seven Yon Blanc Marlborough Sevenyon Blanc on off of Blair.
Speaker 7 (28:17):
Yeah, Jills Taylor twenty twenty four savy very good as
all of the Savon Blanc for Marlborough. So we're going
to give a six pack to the North and a
six pack to the South. Hopefully the South there might
be a winter and beautiful Shield Country Otago. But that's
what we're going to give away today.
Speaker 3 (28:33):
Jamie, good on you. So here's what you've got to do, folks.
You've got to text us on five double oh nine
and write Jules Taylor wine and spell it correctly. Now
you're going to have to have a punt here. Are
you going to go with Taylor as in Warwick Taylor
with an O? Or are you going to go with
Taylor as in Dick Taylor with an ee? You make
(28:54):
the call. We'll only accept the correct spelling jewels, Taylor
wine to five double ow nine your name and courier
address will pick out a winner after one o'clock and
give you a call. And then, Blair, if you get
round to it, which there's no guarantee that you will,
you'll send those fun packs off right, Yep.
Speaker 7 (29:12):
We'll send them off from Sunny Mover because we've got
we've got plenty of wine here. So no problems at all.
Speaker 3 (29:17):
Okay. And there's no truth to the rumor that raz
has called you into the squad to cover for Caleb Clarke.
Speaker 8 (29:22):
No.
Speaker 7 (29:23):
I think Johnny McKinnell might have got a call up though,
but well he.
Speaker 3 (29:25):
Would have before you because you didn't get any tries
for Rocksborough. Look, I'm going over there, Blair. This is
my last day at work for a week or two,
and I'm going to take my boots because I can
cover ten and fifteen. All right, see you later, see you, Blair?
What are you shaking your head out, Michelle?
Speaker 8 (29:44):
I think I've got more of a chance of filling
it at fifteen than you.
Speaker 3 (29:48):
Oh, you probably have to be honest. Well, I'm going
to take my boots. You never know, you never know.
The small Pox may hit the squad and they're just
looking for Kiwi's who are going to be in Perth
and I'm available. You've got to along with my old
Lincoln mate Hideous Ross, so well front up we will
and Puffy Stevenson's going as well.
Speaker 8 (30:09):
That would be a team.
Speaker 3 (30:10):
Actually, Puffy would fancy himself to replace Caleb Clark, right HEO.
So five double oh nine's our text number. You need
to write Jules Taylor Wine spell Taylor correctly. I're not
giving you the answer, Go and find it and your
name and your full courier address. Will pick out some
winners and advise you after one o'clock. Jim Hopkins next,
(30:31):
last week round down in the well. Haven't caught up
with this bloke for a week while on the country.
That's because I've been flat out and he's been flat
out kissing babies on street corners. He is a candidate
for the Waitaki District Council, but because we're in the
(30:52):
election campaign, I can't shamelessly promote his candidacy. But Jim
Hopkins candidate, what I can ask you is this is
why are we as a nation so disengaged with local
body politics when it's actually very important to us, because
I'm thinking for most of us, the mortgage is the
biggest expense. Rates and power, bells and insurance coming next.
(31:16):
We've got a vested interest in getting the right people
in there.
Speaker 5 (31:19):
Well, you're absolutely right, And I mean, if you look
at the popular support for a rates cap, I think
sixty four percent in that Taxpayer Union poll and only
about twenty I think twenty eight percent were opposed to it,
it's quite clear that people. I mean, I believe that
a rates cap is a popular move but very problematic
(31:40):
for a variety of reasons. But I mean it it
does indicate that Yet, You're right, that cluster of costs
is really critical to people at the moment. And I
don't think people are disengaged. In fact, if you look
at social media, there's a huge amount of victorol and
venom directed at councils up and down the country. I mean,
(32:03):
I think they are a lightning rod for everyone's free
range frustrations and hostilities and resentments.
Speaker 3 (32:10):
But I am on Jim, that's just social media, full
stop victorol and venom, isn't it.
Speaker 5 (32:14):
Well, to some extent, you could argue yes, I mean
I always think the anonymity of what social media makes
at crowd's corner. But what I'm saying the point is,
I don't think people are disengaged, but I don't think
the voting system is helping. And when I first stood
for council, I think we had about we were getting
something numbers and the responses voting numbers up under sixty percent,
(32:39):
still lower than central government elections, but quite high. Last
election that was down to forty six percent, and it's
increasingly it's because more and more people don't have letter boxes.
And also New Zealand posts is no longer the kind
of everyday delivery system where the post boxes now you know,
(33:00):
so many of them have disappeared.
Speaker 3 (33:02):
Hey Jim, I know what you're heading to here. Online voting.
But the problem with that as well as that not well,
Vladimir Putin's going to interrupt and he wants to disrupt
the Waiteki district elections.
Speaker 5 (33:13):
No, no, you're wrong. I'm not advocating online voting because
we haven't sorted that issue out. You're absolutely one hundred
and twenty percent correct.
Speaker 6 (33:22):
What I did.
Speaker 5 (33:22):
Suggest this year, earlier this year, and what I think
other people are looking at is basically doing locally what
we do in general. Addictions have polling booths and so on.
We did look at it and the problem really from
our point of view, we could have done a polling
booth system here, and other councilors could have as well,
(33:42):
but the cost would have been I think I have
a feeling from memory there was one hundred thousand dollars
additional costs, and it now outstands to be corrected. That's
just a number that I think I recall. But it
was a very expensive alternative solution. And in the end,
I mean, you know, you go back to that matter
that people are worried about Morgage's rates insurance and power bills,
(34:06):
and you can't commit to spending that amount of additional money.
If you're also responding to people who are saying you rate,
we don't want rate increases. We'll keep them as low
as possible.
Speaker 3 (34:18):
I want to get one more past you if I can. Okay,
Guy Williams is having a crack at nitrate in water.
You want to have a crack at Guy Williams.
Speaker 5 (34:28):
I mean, look, first of all, I mean being somebody
born in mymatty because me mum was there at the time,
and having endured Wimo jokes for a good period of
time throughout my adult life. I mean the sort of sniggering, supercilious,
smirking way he's sending people up there and taking advantage
(34:49):
of their naivety, and my view is just as bideous
and it's irritating. The thing that really annoys me. It's
allegedly comedy, but he's basically buying. And in that one
Scandinavian study that suggests that the may be a link
between nitrates and cola yxtyal cancer not endorsed by the
(35:10):
World Health Organization, which has basically said that its conclusion
looking at all the studies that have been done, found
no clear association between nitrates or nitrite and drinking water
and risk of cancer and the gessta in testinal track
non Hodgkin and Foama tumors and the central retifous system
you and retract tumors thyroid cancer, breast cancer or pancreatic cancer.
(35:34):
But no, no, Mike Joyce, is that it's a problem.
It's causing tensors polluting not just the waterways in and
around my MASSI but nationwide. And Williams pedals as bollocks
without any attempt to actually produce balance, and using comedy
as an excuse for bias. He's just once resurrecting all
(35:59):
the old dirty dairy diatribes that I would have thought
the dairy industry's current international sales and success should have
long since laid to rest. I mean, for heaven's say,
where would we be as a nation if it weren't
for what Fonterra and other dairy companies were earning for
(36:22):
us around the world. I mean, we would be in a.
Speaker 3 (36:26):
Where would be up a nitrate creek without a paddle.
That's where we'd been. Jim, all right, Hundson, I'm out
of time. Good luck in the election.
Speaker 5 (36:33):
Thanks Mady, you go well.
Speaker 3 (36:36):
Thanks Jim. Well, that wraps the country almost. I think
we've Michelle set a new world record for the most
text ever for a competition, although we did have wine
and oysters one time, and I just remember that the
text machine was literally smoking. So it's your last chance.
You need to text Jules Taylor wine spell Taylor correctly.
(36:57):
A lot of you aren't, and you'll fall and your
career address and Michelle will pick out a couple of
winners sooner her than me. After one o'clock right, Okay,
so that's me. I'm off to Perth tomorrow, actually going
over with some of my old footy mates, Michelle looking
(37:18):
forward to it. As I said, I'm forever hopeful I
might take the boots.
Speaker 8 (37:22):
I hope. So, I finger's crossed for you. I've got
abandonment issues. You keep leaving me.
Speaker 3 (37:26):
Well, if I get sacked, I'll be leaving you permanently. Anyhow,
You're in the capable hands of Hamish mackay and I
wish Hamous all the absolute best, although I hope he
doesn't go too well because ninety five percent of all
jobs and radio are lost when you're on annual leave,
and normally, Michelle, they find someone younger, smarter. It won't
(37:49):
be hard to do those two and cheaper.
Speaker 8 (37:52):
Smartest standing in a swam across from you right.
Speaker 3 (37:54):
Now, well, you're definitely cheaper. Anyhow, look after my baby,
don't cock it up, Michelle. I'll see you back in
a couple of weeks.
Speaker 1 (38:03):
And the music catch all the latest from the land
It's the Country Podcast with Jamie mckaye. Thanks to Brent
Starkest of the leading agriculture brands
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