August 6, 2025 • 37 mins
Jamie Mackay talks to Jane Smith, Blair "Blizzard" McLean, Jo Luxton, and Chris Russell.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Catch all the latest from the land. It's the Country
Podcast with Jamie McKay thanks to Brent starkest of the
leading agriculture brands.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Game. Good afternoon, New Zealand. Welcome to the Country. I'm
Jamie mackay. Kicking it off with a bit of Britney
(00:37):
twenty five years old today the song not Britney. Is
she the rural equivalent of Britney Spears? Probably won't like
that comparison. Jane Smith's going to kick off the show now,
she's not the equivalent of Brittany because she's just got
off the end of a handpiece. She's been crutching Ram
hoggots this morning. What a woman to kick off the show.
(00:58):
Former winner of The Balanced Farm and Iriman towards Blair Blizzard.
MacLean is our viticulture correspondent. Trouble at mill in that industry.
Wine industries facing the Trump tariffs, a worldwide grape glut
and falling consumption, and we know that the fifteen percent
tariff is adding something like one dollar per bottle. Thirty
(01:21):
five percent of our wine exports go to the US,
so that's a huge hit for the wine industry. Hundreds
of thousands of tons of fruit left on the vines
this year will crunch the numbers. With Blair MacLean, Joe Luxton,
Labour's AG spokesperson, she's not speaking much at the moment.
When are they going to come out with some agg policy?
(01:43):
We'll ask her And Chris Russell's our Assie correspondent. You'll
be interested in this story. There's a breakthrough a new
vaccine for foot and mouth disease. Heaven help us if
that ever made it to God's own So we've got
all that to do on the show today. Michelle will
be here to update the latest and rural news and
(02:03):
we'll have a look at sports news for you. And
I just heard at the top of the hour. Isn't
it good? Isn't it good that we've got a duffy,
a good Southland lad making his test debut tonight in
Zimbabwe in the cricket Up next Jane Smith opening the
(02:37):
batting on the country today is North Otago farmer and sharer.
Can I call her that? Jane Smith, former winner of
the Balanced Farm Environment Awards. And Jane, you've taken time
out from the woolshed where you've been on the end
of the handpiece crutching the ram Hoggots.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
Good afternoon, Jamie. Yeah, I certainly wouldn't describe myself as
a share I can't share it, and I'm a very
broken down crutcher. Had a crutch when I worked for
Landcork many years ago out in China Basin, and I've
never got any better since. So yeah, not tidy and
not fast, but luckily no one's paying me to do it, Jamie.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
So let's move on to the topics of the day.
You want to talk about counsel's coal and climate change
hysteria just before we get onto your subjects. She did
send me a text the other day after my chat
with doctor Jaqueline Rowath on snowflakes and the education system.
Did you buy into what she's saying?
Speaker 3 (03:29):
Oh, it was fascinating, Jamie. And I just wish that
interview had gone on for longer. And I said that
to Jack Celine, I really found that really fascinating to see,
and I mean she sees it with a different tranches
of students coming through. You know, you've readed sort of
half a generation and I found that really fascinating. So
it'd be really good to delve into that a bit
more Jamie, and what I totally agreed with everything that
Jacqueline said and not making out that the current generation
(03:52):
is snowflakes. Gosh, we've got some really great young people
around us, but there's just different expectations out there and
different sectors of the young people. And I think, you know,
actually did just go back to some of those old
school you know, actually just get on with the job
and work your butt off to get somewhere.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Jamie absolutely counsels call climate change. Where do you want
to start?
Speaker 3 (04:12):
Well, it's been really interesting, Jamie to see the nominees
coming through for the local body elections. So you know,
it's particularly fascinated with Dneedian's nominee list that may have
taken the diversity theory a bridge too far. And I
see on our front page of their target out at
times today there's a vampire self obtain vampire running running
for the mir of Dunedin born in then eighteen hundreds,
(04:34):
he said, and he occasionally turns into a vet and
only drinks blood from people with their consent. So you know,
really is a bit concerning. There should be a sort
of a some sort of way to make sure that
that you know, functioning human beings, and I'm sure he's
a lovely guy, but functioning human beings that are capable
of being around the table, you know, only the ones
(04:58):
you've been putting their names for. And again, we want diversity,
but I guess it's a bigger picture. And we've heard
this from Shane Jones and we've heard it from Alan
Emerson actually this week when he said we need to
put regional councils out of their misery, and that wasn't
so much the people that are standing. He was talking
about the cost of these large juggernauts as really as
(05:18):
very costly in terms of the opportunity costs if they're
not getting things done. And you know, this can be
some really good people around the table, but they're often
often overshadowed by headline seeking hijackers. And we've seen that
that it's all around the country, including my own y
Techi District Communists Council. Sorry, we we've had senior staff
and outside consultants actually running the show. And when the
(05:41):
rider becomes heavier than the horse, Jamie, it's not good,
not good for anybody. Cole.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
I assume you're talking about the Indonesian Cole were importing.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
Yeah, it's really really interesting, isn't it to say, see
that those four you know that cartowl of power companies
are now bringing in that cole and that was always anyway,
but you know they're obviously stopped piling it. But that
the point of this isn't so much what they're doing,
it's expect that it's a wake up call. So so
many New Zealanders wake up every morning thinking that their
electricity magically appears from out of space, and that the
(06:14):
more electricity they use versus fossil fuels are somehow saving
the planet, when actually the reality is that alternate alternative energy.
So because I'd rather called it that theyan renewable or
green energy, because to me, the only really renewable energy
is the water based energy that's coming from the dams
up our local Whitechi Valley. But it is unreliable renewable energy,
(06:37):
unpredictive in terms of being able to know when you're
going to get peaks and troughs, and expensive Jamie, and
we see the holier than now companies like Fontira at
the moment, I'll see they've apported one hundred thousand tons
of wood palettes from Vietnam so one could assume that
it's probably from rainforests to run their Canterbury milk plants.
Now they were in the paper, you know, as headlines
(06:59):
saying well, isn't it great that they got rid of
their call five furnaces? So I'm not sure that you
know that this solution is any better. And then they
sit on the holy pulpit with Messle giving a sermon
on how farmers should drop their natural biogenic emissions. I
mean that it just seems to be a lack of
insight and fullesight and transparency on this shaming.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
So you'll be voting in New Zealand first. And Shane
Jones drill, Baby, drill.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
I'm not sure about whether I'll go the whole hole
with New Zealand first, Jamie, but I'm certainly you know
again they've got that, I cause, the ability to just
be upfront and actually say this is what the country needs,
or we pay the price in terms of the cost
of living. And it's not going to be the wealthy
amongst New Zealanders that are going to pay the price.
It's going to be again, our poorest communities that hit
(07:46):
the hardest amy energy, food, fuel costs are going to
go through the roof. So absolutely we need to bring
in house some of these energy solutions, which is actually
going back to the picture and that's what we used
to do and actually just thinks sufficient as much as
we can.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
Jamie, you talked about climate change hysteria. Well, I think
the biggest beatup of recent times has been the price
of butter. People are getting exercised over that. Mikey Sherman
door stopping poor old Miles Hurrell when he was going
to Parliament to explain to Nicola about the price of butter,
which was a complete sham. She's got a big background
(08:21):
in Fonterra. She knew the answers anyhow Yet we don't
seem to get as exercised over like you mentioned, electricity costs,
our rates are eraught and not to mention our insurance.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
Exactly Jamie, and just saying that the number of costs
that are just just meaningless exercises. You look at this
to talk to a farmer last night that went to
the Watchi Wakato Regional Council new palatial palace. So that's
a forty three million dollar building with a eight point
nine million dollar fit out. So get this they've got
(08:54):
relaxation rooms, they've got a table tennis room, and even
better than that, they've got a machine that rise your
umbrella when you walk in. I mean, that is just
opulence beyond belief and it actually makes our O Targa
Regional Council building not seem so bad. But again the
reality is we actually need to have a a real
come to Jesus around this and actually sit down and
(09:15):
work out our unitary authority is the best way forward,
what's the best way for our electricity, what's the best
way to protect our food producing areas, because again the
loss of by biodiversity the land usee change is huge
and so I guess this climate change hysteria continues to
kill off genuine environmental and economic initiatives, Jamie. So I'll
(09:36):
be talking to the Green Party and actually meeting with
him in the next couple of weeks about that that actually,
this unhinged obsession with the missions is going to cost
us all and our environment in the long term.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Now I had Damien O'Connor's coming to visit you on
your North Otago farm. I'd love to be a fly
on the wall while you and Damien are having a
cup of tea.
Speaker 3 (09:55):
Well at I'm looking forward to it, Jamie. I don't
think it will be a disagreement session. It's not going
to be like one of the Monty Python skits. I'm
really looking forward to it. And actually what I've found
is politicians are quite often that they're most useful when
they are in opposition. So I'm looking forward to it.
Discussion with Jamien. Hopefully we can put under water under
the bridge and I won't certainly won't be calling them
(10:16):
the woomy weather like I have have been known Tom
in the past. But yeah, let's be constructive and the
same thing with I won't apologize for any conversations I'm
having with the Green Party that it's really good for
them to understand, you know, where we're going with food
production in this country. And I actually do think for
those of the Green Party they're actually left that are
still there, I think they will understand that, particularly if
(10:37):
I'm a chef and beef six the point of view
by a diversity point of view and land us change
point of view, Jamie, So yeah, bring it on.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Well, good luck meeting with the Greens. I think I'd
soon have a couple with Damien any day. Jane Smith,
thank you very much for your time from your North Otago.
Get back on the handpiece and finish crutching the ram
Hoggitts the Zavo. Thanks dammy, thank you, Jane, eighteen after twelve. Yeah,
that's a hard day's yaka. I can tell you that
(11:03):
from experience. Right up next the wine industry Viticulture correspondent
Blair Blizzard MacLean, some really bad numbers coming out for
the wine industry. Is the light at the end of
the tunnel or is it just a train coming towards
us with the headlights on? Joe Luxton, has labor actually
got any egg policy at all? And Chris Russell a
(11:24):
new vaccine could be a lifesaver for foot and mouth disease.
Heaven help us, as I said earlier, if that were
to ever land on our shores. It's all on the country.
It's all brought to you by Brandt my problem songs
(12:02):
from twenty five years ago. But on Josie, I wonder
what our next guest was doing twenty five years ago.
Today his name is beer Bear Bear because he's a
wine guy. His name is Blair McLean for the Culture
correspondent based out of Blenham. Bliss it. Twenty five years
(12:22):
ago you would have just about been playing on the
wing for Roxburgh and scoring no tries in your three
seasons of senior rugby.
Speaker 4 (12:29):
So we're going to not talk about that anymore. No,
twenty five years ago, I was working for Applefield. Actually no,
it wasn't ati. I was working for PGG Wrights and
so I've done twenty nine years. So he was up
here on Blenham. So yep, that's what I was doing.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
I'll tell you what, Blair Applefields. There's a blast from
the past.
Speaker 4 (12:47):
Yeah, yeah, great company. I mean geez, I want to
have seventeen orchards in the Canterbury area growing some of
some absolute stunning apples in Canterbury. And of course there's
quite a bit of development in Canterbury now on South
Canabury anyway. Ok, Apple's another two fifty odd hectory is
going on down there. So yeah, maybe we need to
plant more apples up here, Jamie and blend them.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
Wow, you've got you know, you're famous for growing the grapes,
but can we find a home for them. Some of
these numbers around the wine industry are a bit frightening,
like with Trump's tariffs, and that's where thirty five percent
of our wine exports go. This fifteen percent tariff is
actually going to add a dollar per bottle. And I'm
not quite sure, Blair, whether our wine's the same as
(13:29):
our beef. The Americans literally at this stage anyhow, I
can't afford to go without our beef, but they can
possibly afford to use the substitute product if our wine's
too expensive.
Speaker 4 (13:40):
Yeah, Look, the Americans have been drinking a lot of
our Servan blanc. They love it over there. I was
over there in early June and there was lots of
our labels and lots of bottle stores and all over
the place. But you know, if their economy is task,
they'll go for something a bit cheaper, and another dollar
US or bottle of wine for them might changed their mind,
(14:01):
and it definitely will have an impact on sales. Talking
to a lot of the wineries around here, you know
they've been sending a lot of wine out. You know,
our wine sales are actually going very very well. We've
just come off a record vintage. So you know, the
savone blanc is fear flowing out of the country, probably
not as much. Margin is't it, but fifteen percent Jamie
(14:21):
tariff will be tough and we'll certainly have an impact
on growers here and wine companies right throughout New Zealand.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
Unfortunately, I quoted some numbers that you gave me earlier
this morning, something like one hundred to one hundred and
fifty thousand tons of fruit of grapes left on the vines.
Speaker 4 (14:40):
Yeah, yeah, so those numbers are real. We went through,
as we did for the cherry season, actually a really
good flowering and really good fruit set, so we had
a massive, massive crops and so for being able to
pick to cap ie making sure we only harvest a
certain amount of tonnage per heck here getting the quality right.
(15:02):
The rest of it was left on vine and either
shaken off onto the ground for fertilizer or just left
there to sort of fall off eventually. So yeah, so,
I mean we had it was just an amazing, amazing season,
but that wine probably would have been in superior anyway.
So we do need to concentrate on having our good
(15:22):
quality here in Milber anyway, savvy on blanc out the door.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
I guess it's one thing having a vineyard, another thing
having a winery. Those who are just growing grapes for
contract to supply to the vineyards or wineries that they
must be having an incredibly tough time of it.
Speaker 4 (15:40):
Yeah, if you've got a contract with a wine company here. Actually,
it's funny enough, the same thing that's happening in Washington
State when we're over there, to get a contract with
a wine company and it's due for renewal. As in
some of these contracts Jamie will go four or five years,
some of them are three, some of them are one.
It's very unlikely that that will be renewed at the stage.
(16:01):
So that means that you do not have a contract
for your wine to go. So you're left with the
option of either hibernating it, just doing a real maintenance
program on it and waiting for the glott to get over,
or you know, as you said, as they like at
the end of the tunnel. It probably is for us,
but it's probably a little torch a long way off
(16:23):
at the moment. That's how we sort of see it.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
What about the falling consumption of wine worldwide? What's behind that?
Speaker 4 (16:31):
Yeah, I guess we've got to talk about this a
bit before. But health reasons, you know, the low alcohol
low carb wines are selling very well. People are more
you know, looking at other things to drink. You know,
they're ready to drink drinks. The ciders, I mean, craft
beer is probably struggling a lieb bit as well, but
just a general habit. I know that that new gin
(16:53):
coming up. They look at my daughters, so you know
they don't drink a lot of wine. I know. It's
just a change and habits. So what we've got to
produce is is something good, low out, good, good for
the body and tasted.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
Last time we chatted to you, I think was about
the end of June, if my records are correct, and
that was when you were having that first sort of
tranch of flooding in Marlborough and you dodged a bollat
or the Tasman Nelson regent did I think last week?
But how have you gone with the flood recovery? And
I know you weren't as badly affected in Marlborough as
(17:29):
they are over the hill.
Speaker 4 (17:31):
Yeah, very were here four hundred and twenty nine miles.
We've had in forty nine days since this sort of
seeing forty nine days, I guess, so another thirty due tomorrow.
Marlburn does not need any more rain and croaking. Probably
in about three months time will be asking where as
it'll rain, But yeah, nowhere where and we're nowhere near
(17:52):
as bad as our counterparts over in the over in
the Tasman area where we are dry. But there has
been some vineyards that have lost areas anything by rivers.
There's certainly been some damage. But yeah, we're just sort
of looking for a dry spell not to have left
coming though.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
Jane, Hey Blair, thanks as always for your time. I
know you're flat out there with fruit fed supplies and Blenham.
Enjoy the rest of your day.
Speaker 4 (18:16):
Thanks Jamie.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
Here we go. Leah Blizzard McLean out of Blenham twenty
eight after twelve songs from twenty five years ago. Hard
to believe, isn't it. Next Michelle's going to wander in.
I think she's a bit worried about getting germs from me.
Not a bit of a man flew going at the moment,
(18:38):
so she's keeping a distance fair enough before the end
of the hour. Joe Luxton, egg spokesperson for Labor, have
they got any egg policy? I might be an old
man by the time I hear some who knows some
people would say I'm an old man now and Chris
Russell OROSSI correspondent, fascinating breakthrough on a vaccine for foot
(18:59):
and mouth disease. I think Michelle Watson enjoying this music
from twenty five years ago when asker a lady her age.
(19:22):
But you would have been a big Justin Timberlake fan,
were you, Michelle?
Speaker 5 (19:27):
I think I was more of a five fan issue
than a sick fan at that age. Huge fan of Fight,
remember the band Fight, Yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah yeah, thank
And I was a bit of a Britney fan. But
I was also a bit of a grunge kid with
a Nairvana and all that as well.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
So the old Bell Cluther bargain. Let's see what you've
got in Rural News, the.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
Country's world news with Cob Canet, New Zealand's leading right
on lawn Bower brand visit steel Ford dot co dot
INSI for your local Stoggist and.
Speaker 5 (19:57):
Two government ministers and kit tired Today it's part of
a nationwide rural health road show. Associate Minister Health Minister
Matt Doucy and Minister for Rural Communities Mark Patterson are
meeting locals and frontline health workers to hear firsthand about
healthcare challenges and successes. The road show, which began in Levin,
has already visited towns including Wanaka, Gore and Tourrangi. It
(20:18):
supports the government's Rural Health Strategy and one hundred and
sixty four million dollar budget commitment to improve urgent and
after hours here. And we might have to catch up
with Mark Patterson at some point. I was thinking when
I read that Jamie MIT's talked him for a.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
While, Yeah, I need tokay. He's a good bloke, Mark Patterson.
He's doing a good. Look, there's some good We were
discussing this this morning and I think it might come
up in conversation with Joe Luxton. So we'll keep our
power to dry on that. But we really do have
some good rural farming MPs in Parliament. Good on them.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
Sport with Avco Kiwi to the bone since nineteen oh.
Speaker 2 (20:53):
Four, Radio Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy says the Storm aren't
taking any chances with Kiwi. Ra the league winger well
War bricks ongoing health and well being. The former All
Black seven star has been sidelined since Round four in
late March struggling to overcome ongoing concussion symptoms and stand in.
(21:14):
Black Caps Test captain Mitchell Santner is endorsing Jacob Duffy's
ability to deliver after his made an elevation to the
red ball side for the second and final cricket Test
against Zimbabwe. And as I said a bit earlier, from
a good Southland family with good rural connections as well.
So Jacob Duffy, good luck tonight. In is it Bulawayo?
(21:36):
Is that where it is?
Speaker 5 (21:37):
I think so?
Speaker 4 (21:37):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (21:38):
Bull a way, I think it is okay. Up next
to have the Labour Party got any agg policy at all?
Will ask Joe Luxton. She is Labour's agriculture spokesperson. Her
name is Joe Luxton. These days domiciled and Gisbon, Joe,
I want to start with this one. Is it early
(21:58):
spring yet in Gisbee?
Speaker 6 (22:01):
Well, Jamie Gay, nice to be on the show again.
It's been pretty cold, bone chilling cold and reasonably wet,
so spring has not sprung yet, which is disappointing. I
cannot wait for the back of winter and just to
feel a bit of sunshine and a bit of warmth.
You know, there's nothing like a bit of vitamin dta
(22:22):
make everyone sort of feel better, and a bit of
sunshine to make people smile.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
We all love Biguello. Something I would love Joe Luxton.
There's some a Labor Party egg policy. Every time I
chat to you, I say when is it coming? Because
I said to Michelle in preparation for this interview, I said,
go and look at Hansard and see what Joe's been
saying in Parliament. And you're in some deathly dull debate
about resource management or something like that. What have you
(22:47):
been up to?
Speaker 6 (22:50):
I knew you would bring up the policy question, Jamie.
In like I've said to you before, the election is
twelve months away, and we have said that we will
come out with some policy before the end of this year,
and I have been working on it. I can assure you,
but I'm not going to announce any policy on the
show anyway. No disrespect to you, of course, Jamie.
Speaker 2 (23:11):
Well why should I have you on the show if
you've got nothing to add?
Speaker 6 (23:14):
Well, I have got things to add. You can ask
me other questions, but I'm not going to be announcing policy,
all right.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
I'll ask you this question. Who formulates the Labor Party
AGG policy? I'm sure that you've got an impot and
I'm sure that Damian O'Connor has. But when I look
around the rest of your caucus, Joe lust and the
cupboard's pretty bare. There aren't many people with a rural
or primary sector background.
Speaker 6 (23:38):
Well, I disagree with extra, Jame. I think maybe you
should deal with a bit deeper into those that are
in the caucus. There are plenty that have got a
bit of rural background there.
Speaker 2 (23:45):
But well, name the ones who would impress me with
the farming or rural background, because maybe I've been remiss
on this.
Speaker 6 (23:51):
Well they haven't, you know, in the rural sector right now.
But it's got Jene Tanezi, who and your husband may've
slung to young farmers and they can pete and young family.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
She's a school teacher, yeah, but she's.
Speaker 6 (24:03):
Also lived in rural communities. You know, you don't have
to have on farm knowledge to be able to provide
really good ideas for rural communities in agriculture and farmers,
to be honest with you. And the reason I say
that is because a lot of the ideas and thinking
I've been getting has been coming from the conversation I've
been having with farmers on the ground, and I actually
(24:25):
think that's our best place to give us a lot
of our ideas in life.
Speaker 2 (24:28):
Well, what are the farmers telling you, Joe.
Speaker 6 (24:31):
One of the biggest issues I hear about from our
farmers in the farming community is the issue around pests,
pest control, wilding pines, they're out of control, things like that.
That's one of the biggest things I hear about. Actually, surprisingly, are.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
We going to have some sort of bipartisan agreement between
the current government and your lot over the likes of
wilding pines, because we do need a policy to get
control of them, if not get rid of them.
Speaker 6 (24:58):
We absolutely do. You're absolutely right, And I know there's
been some recent amount of three million or something where
did they Scott. That's going to do absolutely nothing. But
I'm more than happy to we're going to buy a
partisan way around something like this because it is such
an issue, it's a huge issue. We can't afford to
be political over things like that.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
Something else that's a bit of an issue politically internationally
for farming is the Paris Agreement. I was listening to
Bryce McKenzie from Groundswell. I know where they sit on
this one. Winston wants us out of it. David Seymour,
He's sitting on the fence, are we? But he says
eventually the cost of getting out now will be less
than the cost of staying in. And we know that
(25:41):
the Nats and the coalition government their policy is to
stay in, and I'm sure Labors is as well.
Speaker 6 (25:46):
Yeah, but we've come up publicly and said that we
would not leave the Paris Agreement for the reasons that
are probably executed the same as the ones that National
have outlined. The issue was a coalition in Nelson wanting
Winston wanting to perhaps leave the Paris Agement. There is
an issue for the current coalition to work through, not us.
(26:09):
We're not in government, not yet, not yet.
Speaker 2 (26:13):
Well, we can live in hope, or can we? Joelucks
that I'm living and hope that you can come out
with some ag policy before the election. Always good to chat.
Speaker 6 (26:23):
Yeah, thanks Jamie, Thank you.
Speaker 2 (26:26):
Joe twenty away from one here. I don't buy Joe's
argument that jan Toinetti's a rural MP or got a
farming background. Michelle. Earlier you mentioned Mark Patterson South Otago farmer.
We did, and on the back of an envelope as
they say. Grant mcnational. Of course, Grant McCollum and Andrew
(26:47):
Hoggard on the show earlier today, both practicing dairy farmers.
Mark Cameron Sue's redmain from a big farming operation in
the Manuwatu region. Dana Killpatrick up in gisbin Aia. Penny
SI's my old schoolmate, raised on a farm, lived on
a farm. Husband's a farmer, Nicola Griggs from a good
farming family. But I don't find many from a labor
(27:10):
green or Tapati Maori representatives or who are farmers. Anyhow,
we'll ponder that. Keep your feedback coming in on five
double nine. Up next to our Ossie correspondent, Chris Russell.
He's our guy across the Tasman Chris Russell, Ossie correspondent
(27:32):
based out of Sydney. We're going to talk about Trump's
tariffs and a tick. All the teas in a row there, Chris.
But an Australian breakthrough around a vaccine for foot and
mouth disease. Tell me about that.
Speaker 7 (27:44):
Yeah, this is an amazing technology change. Of course, everyone's
heard of mRNA vaccines now. The difference between an m
R and a vaccine an ordinary vaccine. Of course, the
way viruses operate is they don't just divide their cells
like a bacterial infection does, where it just splits a
(28:04):
cell in half. It makes two cells, and that makes
four and so on. A virus injects with little skewers,
injects it's DNA into a host cell and makes that
host cell produce more virus cells. So it's like a
parasite really, And one of the ways it does that
is using this messenger RNA. Now everyone's heard of DNA.
(28:25):
We all. mRNA is like a template. It's a bit
like a shape if you like, you might use in
woodwork or something, so you could copy of shape to
another shape. Well, mRNA is exactly the same. It transfers
the template or the design of the DNA of that
particular virus in this case, or any cell, so that
(28:46):
another cell can copy. So that's how you do it,
and it makes the cell the same so by disrupting
that mRNA, and you only do it for one little
part of the virus. In the case of COVID, it
was the horns that stick out of the side, which
are there sort of high epidermic needles where they inject
the DNA into the other cell. Well, they found that
those horns were made of a particular protein, so they
(29:07):
are able to change the mr ANDA which caused the
host cells to make that protein so that it made
faulty protein, so that the little horns didn't work, or
it was like an impotent virus. Really it could try
sticking his little horn into the whost cell, but didn't work.
And that's the way they are able to interrupt the
infection process. And that same technology is now available for
(29:29):
use with all sorts of other viruses. And the most
significant for us in terms of biosecurity is foot in
mouth disease. Now that we don't allow in vaccination against
foot in mouth disease here because of the fact, once
you've vaccinated an animal with an attenuated live vaccine or
live virus of foot and mouth disease, you can't if
(29:51):
you test that animal, you don't know whether it's actually
got the disease or it's just been immunized against the disease.
And so when you in actually we vaccinate an animal
with this new mRNA virus, you actually can tell later
on when you test it that the animal hasn't got
foot in Mouth. It's only been vaccinated and that makes
(30:11):
that particular type of immunization a It will be done
in Australia and that is a world break through.
Speaker 4 (30:17):
Now.
Speaker 7 (30:17):
It was developed here in Australia, the Elizabeth MacArthur Institute
here in Sydney. They weren't allowed to test it here
because we don't allow the import of FMD viruses under
any circumstances. So it's had to send it to Germany.
And I was talking to one of the scientists who
was involved in arranging all that they've done the tests
in Germany. It's amazingly successful and that is definitely going
(30:38):
to be a breakthrough for us in assuring that we
don't lose eighty billion dollars worth of business if we
ever get FMD into Australia.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
Jamie, Yeah, well, it would give us some peace of
mind as well. Mind you, the Americans Trump and his
anti vax us health boss rfk Junior aren't having a
bar of this. They've announced a crackdown on mRNA vaccine technology.
Speaker 7 (31:01):
Yeah. Well, I'm afraid I think that Kennedy Junior is
a nutjob. You know, when you look at what the
mRNA vaccines saved in terms of human life during COVID,
the cure was definitely nowhere near as risky as the disease.
But of course one of the concerns of these people
(31:22):
is how quickly they introduced these vaccines. But you know,
having spoken to one of the involved person people involved
in developing that vaccine in England was doctor Alexander Spencer,
and I went to a talk by her the other day.
She was saying that they were actually working on the
concept trials, the actual trials, and the big trials at
(31:43):
the same time, in addition to the fact they were
already building the factory before the trials were finished. That's
how urgent the world was to get this vaccine out.
Now that's disturbed people saying, oh, we didn't do enough research,
we didn't do enough trial work. I think it's probably
the most studied technology now in the world. When you
look at the millions and millions of people that have
been vaccinated. I don't think there's very few any of
(32:06):
anything medicines or vaccines that have seen as much use
and therefore have data on them as mr Anda vaccine.
So I think people do understand the risk with them.
I think that the risk is as I say, is
far less than the diseases they save. And to be honest, Jamie,
I'm afraid I just think this guy's a nutjob and
(32:26):
a dangerous nut job because he has the ear of
the US government.
Speaker 2 (32:30):
Yeah, okay, well, let's go from RFK Junior to the Boss,
the Trumpster. You guys dodged a bit of a bullet.
You stayed at ten percent. We obviously went to fifteen.
And I think this is all off the back of
the fact that you guys run a trade deficit with
the US, so you're seen as a better customer than US.
Speaker 7 (32:49):
Well, I think there's a few things. I think there's
also we have in the middle of Australia a place
called Pine Gap, which provides most of the satellite community
cation with their World Defense Forces. We have Northwest Cape,
which is involved with communicating with most of their submarines. Yes,
we actually buy more stuff from America than we sell
(33:10):
to them, and that's one of the few countries.
Speaker 4 (33:12):
That does that.
Speaker 7 (33:13):
And we also have orchards, so I think there's a
lot of pressures in there. But having said that, you know,
Trump is a populace without any doubt, so he's been
talking big and when he said they weren't allowed to
bring their beef into Australia, that hasn't that wasn't even true.
But in fact we've relaxed that because we're not so
worried about mad cow disease anymore. So that's been relaxed
(33:34):
for him.
Speaker 2 (33:35):
Now there is a call for the appointment of a
chief farmer to advise government alongside the chief scientist. Not
a bad idea.
Speaker 7 (33:45):
A chief scientist. For a long time in Australia, about
nineteen eighty nine that concept was introduced and he sits
there or she in the case of Professor Meghan Clark,
was one that I was particularly familiar with and may
sit there as an advisor of the government on scientific matters.
A great idea. Well, now they're thinking that the break
(34:06):
between the actual farmer in the field and the government
is too big because we're such an urbanized country, and
so there's been a call from the farmers to create
a position of chief farmer who can actually bring the
urban based governments when particularly the Labor government, which don't
have a component from like the Coalition does with the
(34:28):
National Country Party, closer to the needs and wishes and
desires of the farmer. Now, in many ways it's a
token thing, because of course they've got lots of advisors.
But I think the concept of making the farmers feel
like they're or listen to is probably one that they
might be useful. I don't think it's probably going to
(34:49):
happen in the near future, but nonetheless I thought the
concept was good and certainly the farmers are agitating for it.
Speaker 2 (34:55):
Okay, let's just finish on the forty. Since we last chanted,
you had the final Lines taste, I've got to say
it's game on for the Bledisloe Cup. If the Aussies
bring that sort of heat to the Bletterslow.
Speaker 7 (35:05):
Well, it's been a great training run for the Bleedersloe
Jovi for sure, and Joe Schmidt. Everyone's patting him on
the back. He's done a fantastic job. I mean, in
our kind of egotistical way, we're really saying we really
won that series. I think the Lines deserve to win
the series. They are a fantastic side. Having said that,
we were definitely robbed of that second test, and if
(35:26):
the rules had been followed and that try hadn't been awarded,
we would have won that and then won this one
and we would have won the series. So it was
a fantastic result for Australia. That last game was a
terrific game. We played really well. There's some really good players,
as you know. One of my players I've been following
very closely is Tom Liiner. I think he's had a
fantastic series and so you know, it is game on
(35:49):
for Bleedtersloe Cup and I think my bottle of wine
is definitely going to be sitting upside alongside yours up
there waiting to see who's going to take that prize.
Speaker 2 (35:57):
All the best for a bonus point, Chris Russell, your time,
no worry, Okay. Wrapping the country with some of your feedback.
Apologies to Mike Butterick. Why are Rapper Miles Anderson away?
TACKI good blokes and Danna Kirkpatrick. How could I mist
get that wrong? Kirk's niece up there in Gisbone. Interesting
(36:21):
feedback on Jan Tinetti. She was the principal at Drummond
School in Central South and didn't know that her father
in law, Don Merton, was responsible for the carcapo recovery
and breeding program. Hardly rural farming though, Yeah, I agree
with your Texter. But that's an interesting story, isn't it right.
That's us done and Dustin for today. We'll catch you
(36:43):
back tomorrow. I'll leave you with the weebit of Brittany.
Speaker 1 (36:52):
Catch all the latest from the land. It's the Country
Podcast with Jamie McGue. Thanks to Fred, You're specialist in
john Der construction equipment.
Catch all the latest from the land. It's the Country
Podcast with Jamie McKay thanks to Brent starkest of the
leading agriculture brands.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Game. Good afternoon, New Zealand. Welcome to the Country. I'm
Jamie mackay. Kicking it off with a bit of Britney
(00:37):
twenty five years old today the song not Britney. Is
she the rural equivalent of Britney Spears? Probably won't like
that comparison. Jane Smith's going to kick off the show now,
she's not the equivalent of Brittany because she's just got
off the end of a handpiece. She's been crutching Ram
hoggots this morning. What a woman to kick off the show.
(00:58):
Former winner of The Balanced Farm and Iriman towards Blair Blizzard.
MacLean is our viticulture correspondent. Trouble at mill in that industry.
Wine industries facing the Trump tariffs, a worldwide grape glut
and falling consumption, and we know that the fifteen percent
tariff is adding something like one dollar per bottle. Thirty
(01:21):
five percent of our wine exports go to the US,
so that's a huge hit for the wine industry. Hundreds
of thousands of tons of fruit left on the vines
this year will crunch the numbers. With Blair MacLean, Joe Luxton,
Labour's AG spokesperson, she's not speaking much at the moment.
When are they going to come out with some agg policy?
(01:43):
We'll ask her And Chris Russell's our Assie correspondent. You'll
be interested in this story. There's a breakthrough a new
vaccine for foot and mouth disease. Heaven help us if
that ever made it to God's own So we've got
all that to do on the show today. Michelle will
be here to update the latest and rural news and
(02:03):
we'll have a look at sports news for you. And
I just heard at the top of the hour. Isn't
it good? Isn't it good that we've got a duffy,
a good Southland lad making his test debut tonight in
Zimbabwe in the cricket Up next Jane Smith opening the
(02:37):
batting on the country today is North Otago farmer and sharer.
Can I call her that? Jane Smith, former winner of
the Balanced Farm Environment Awards. And Jane, you've taken time
out from the woolshed where you've been on the end
of the handpiece crutching the ram Hoggots.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
Good afternoon, Jamie. Yeah, I certainly wouldn't describe myself as
a share I can't share it, and I'm a very
broken down crutcher. Had a crutch when I worked for
Landcork many years ago out in China Basin, and I've
never got any better since. So yeah, not tidy and
not fast, but luckily no one's paying me to do it, Jamie.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
So let's move on to the topics of the day.
You want to talk about counsel's coal and climate change
hysteria just before we get onto your subjects. She did
send me a text the other day after my chat
with doctor Jaqueline Rowath on snowflakes and the education system.
Did you buy into what she's saying?
Speaker 3 (03:29):
Oh, it was fascinating, Jamie. And I just wish that
interview had gone on for longer. And I said that
to Jack Celine, I really found that really fascinating to see,
and I mean she sees it with a different tranches
of students coming through. You know, you've readed sort of
half a generation and I found that really fascinating. So
it'd be really good to delve into that a bit
more Jamie, and what I totally agreed with everything that
Jacqueline said and not making out that the current generation
(03:52):
is snowflakes. Gosh, we've got some really great young people
around us, but there's just different expectations out there and
different sectors of the young people. And I think, you know,
actually did just go back to some of those old
school you know, actually just get on with the job
and work your butt off to get somewhere.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Jamie absolutely counsels call climate change. Where do you want
to start?
Speaker 3 (04:12):
Well, it's been really interesting, Jamie to see the nominees
coming through for the local body elections. So you know,
it's particularly fascinated with Dneedian's nominee list that may have
taken the diversity theory a bridge too far. And I
see on our front page of their target out at
times today there's a vampire self obtain vampire running running
for the mir of Dunedin born in then eighteen hundreds,
(04:34):
he said, and he occasionally turns into a vet and
only drinks blood from people with their consent. So you know,
really is a bit concerning. There should be a sort
of a some sort of way to make sure that
that you know, functioning human beings, and I'm sure he's
a lovely guy, but functioning human beings that are capable
of being around the table, you know, only the ones
(04:58):
you've been putting their names for. And again, we want diversity,
but I guess it's a bigger picture. And we've heard
this from Shane Jones and we've heard it from Alan
Emerson actually this week when he said we need to
put regional councils out of their misery, and that wasn't
so much the people that are standing. He was talking
about the cost of these large juggernauts as really as
(05:18):
very costly in terms of the opportunity costs if they're
not getting things done. And you know, this can be
some really good people around the table, but they're often
often overshadowed by headline seeking hijackers. And we've seen that
that it's all around the country, including my own y
Techi District Communists Council. Sorry, we we've had senior staff
and outside consultants actually running the show. And when the
(05:41):
rider becomes heavier than the horse, Jamie, it's not good,
not good for anybody. Cole.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
I assume you're talking about the Indonesian Cole were importing.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
Yeah, it's really really interesting, isn't it to say, see
that those four you know that cartowl of power companies
are now bringing in that cole and that was always anyway,
but you know they're obviously stopped piling it. But that
the point of this isn't so much what they're doing,
it's expect that it's a wake up call. So so
many New Zealanders wake up every morning thinking that their
electricity magically appears from out of space, and that the
(06:14):
more electricity they use versus fossil fuels are somehow saving
the planet, when actually the reality is that alternate alternative energy.
So because I'd rather called it that theyan renewable or
green energy, because to me, the only really renewable energy
is the water based energy that's coming from the dams
up our local Whitechi Valley. But it is unreliable renewable energy,
(06:37):
unpredictive in terms of being able to know when you're
going to get peaks and troughs, and expensive Jamie, and
we see the holier than now companies like Fontira at
the moment, I'll see they've apported one hundred thousand tons
of wood palettes from Vietnam so one could assume that
it's probably from rainforests to run their Canterbury milk plants.
Now they were in the paper, you know, as headlines
(06:59):
saying well, isn't it great that they got rid of
their call five furnaces? So I'm not sure that you
know that this solution is any better. And then they
sit on the holy pulpit with Messle giving a sermon
on how farmers should drop their natural biogenic emissions. I
mean that it just seems to be a lack of
insight and fullesight and transparency on this shaming.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
So you'll be voting in New Zealand first. And Shane
Jones drill, Baby, drill.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
I'm not sure about whether I'll go the whole hole
with New Zealand first, Jamie, but I'm certainly you know
again they've got that, I cause, the ability to just
be upfront and actually say this is what the country needs,
or we pay the price in terms of the cost
of living. And it's not going to be the wealthy
amongst New Zealanders that are going to pay the price.
It's going to be again, our poorest communities that hit
(07:46):
the hardest amy energy, food, fuel costs are going to
go through the roof. So absolutely we need to bring
in house some of these energy solutions, which is actually
going back to the picture and that's what we used
to do and actually just thinks sufficient as much as
we can.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
Jamie, you talked about climate change hysteria. Well, I think
the biggest beatup of recent times has been the price
of butter. People are getting exercised over that. Mikey Sherman
door stopping poor old Miles Hurrell when he was going
to Parliament to explain to Nicola about the price of butter,
which was a complete sham. She's got a big background
(08:21):
in Fonterra. She knew the answers anyhow Yet we don't
seem to get as exercised over like you mentioned, electricity costs,
our rates are eraught and not to mention our insurance.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
Exactly Jamie, and just saying that the number of costs
that are just just meaningless exercises. You look at this
to talk to a farmer last night that went to
the Watchi Wakato Regional Council new palatial palace. So that's
a forty three million dollar building with a eight point
nine million dollar fit out. So get this they've got
(08:54):
relaxation rooms, they've got a table tennis room, and even
better than that, they've got a machine that rise your
umbrella when you walk in. I mean, that is just
opulence beyond belief and it actually makes our O Targa
Regional Council building not seem so bad. But again the
reality is we actually need to have a a real
come to Jesus around this and actually sit down and
(09:15):
work out our unitary authority is the best way forward,
what's the best way for our electricity, what's the best
way to protect our food producing areas, because again the
loss of by biodiversity the land usee change is huge
and so I guess this climate change hysteria continues to
kill off genuine environmental and economic initiatives, Jamie. So I'll
(09:36):
be talking to the Green Party and actually meeting with
him in the next couple of weeks about that that actually,
this unhinged obsession with the missions is going to cost
us all and our environment in the long term.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Now I had Damien O'Connor's coming to visit you on
your North Otago farm. I'd love to be a fly
on the wall while you and Damien are having a
cup of tea.
Speaker 3 (09:55):
Well at I'm looking forward to it, Jamie. I don't
think it will be a disagreement session. It's not going
to be like one of the Monty Python skits. I'm
really looking forward to it. And actually what I've found
is politicians are quite often that they're most useful when
they are in opposition. So I'm looking forward to it.
Discussion with Jamien. Hopefully we can put under water under
the bridge and I won't certainly won't be calling them
(10:16):
the woomy weather like I have have been known Tom
in the past. But yeah, let's be constructive and the
same thing with I won't apologize for any conversations I'm
having with the Green Party that it's really good for
them to understand, you know, where we're going with food
production in this country. And I actually do think for
those of the Green Party they're actually left that are
still there, I think they will understand that, particularly if
(10:37):
I'm a chef and beef six the point of view
by a diversity point of view and land us change
point of view, Jamie, So yeah, bring it on.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Well, good luck meeting with the Greens. I think I'd
soon have a couple with Damien any day. Jane Smith,
thank you very much for your time from your North Otago.
Get back on the handpiece and finish crutching the ram
Hoggitts the Zavo. Thanks dammy, thank you, Jane, eighteen after twelve. Yeah,
that's a hard day's yaka. I can tell you that
(11:03):
from experience. Right up next the wine industry Viticulture correspondent
Blair Blizzard MacLean, some really bad numbers coming out for
the wine industry. Is the light at the end of
the tunnel or is it just a train coming towards
us with the headlights on? Joe Luxton, has labor actually
got any egg policy at all? And Chris Russell a
(11:24):
new vaccine could be a lifesaver for foot and mouth disease.
Heaven help us, as I said earlier, if that were
to ever land on our shores. It's all on the country.
It's all brought to you by Brandt my problem songs
(12:02):
from twenty five years ago. But on Josie, I wonder
what our next guest was doing twenty five years ago.
Today his name is beer Bear Bear because he's a
wine guy. His name is Blair McLean for the Culture
correspondent based out of Blenham. Bliss it. Twenty five years
(12:22):
ago you would have just about been playing on the
wing for Roxburgh and scoring no tries in your three
seasons of senior rugby.
Speaker 4 (12:29):
So we're going to not talk about that anymore. No,
twenty five years ago, I was working for Applefield. Actually no,
it wasn't ati. I was working for PGG Wrights and
so I've done twenty nine years. So he was up
here on Blenham. So yep, that's what I was doing.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
I'll tell you what, Blair Applefields. There's a blast from
the past.
Speaker 4 (12:47):
Yeah, yeah, great company. I mean geez, I want to
have seventeen orchards in the Canterbury area growing some of
some absolute stunning apples in Canterbury. And of course there's
quite a bit of development in Canterbury now on South
Canabury anyway. Ok, Apple's another two fifty odd hectory is
going on down there. So yeah, maybe we need to
plant more apples up here, Jamie and blend them.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
Wow, you've got you know, you're famous for growing the grapes,
but can we find a home for them. Some of
these numbers around the wine industry are a bit frightening,
like with Trump's tariffs, and that's where thirty five percent
of our wine exports go. This fifteen percent tariff is
actually going to add a dollar per bottle. And I'm
not quite sure, Blair, whether our wine's the same as
(13:29):
our beef. The Americans literally at this stage anyhow, I
can't afford to go without our beef, but they can
possibly afford to use the substitute product if our wine's
too expensive.
Speaker 4 (13:40):
Yeah, Look, the Americans have been drinking a lot of
our Servan blanc. They love it over there. I was
over there in early June and there was lots of
our labels and lots of bottle stores and all over
the place. But you know, if their economy is task,
they'll go for something a bit cheaper, and another dollar
US or bottle of wine for them might changed their mind,
(14:01):
and it definitely will have an impact on sales. Talking
to a lot of the wineries around here, you know
they've been sending a lot of wine out. You know,
our wine sales are actually going very very well. We've
just come off a record vintage. So you know, the
savone blanc is fear flowing out of the country, probably
not as much. Margin is't it, but fifteen percent Jamie
(14:21):
tariff will be tough and we'll certainly have an impact
on growers here and wine companies right throughout New Zealand.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
Unfortunately, I quoted some numbers that you gave me earlier
this morning, something like one hundred to one hundred and
fifty thousand tons of fruit of grapes left on the vines.
Speaker 4 (14:40):
Yeah, yeah, so those numbers are real. We went through,
as we did for the cherry season, actually a really
good flowering and really good fruit set, so we had
a massive, massive crops and so for being able to
pick to cap ie making sure we only harvest a
certain amount of tonnage per heck here getting the quality right.
(15:02):
The rest of it was left on vine and either
shaken off onto the ground for fertilizer or just left
there to sort of fall off eventually. So yeah, so,
I mean we had it was just an amazing, amazing season,
but that wine probably would have been in superior anyway.
So we do need to concentrate on having our good
(15:22):
quality here in Milber anyway, savvy on blanc out the door.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
I guess it's one thing having a vineyard, another thing
having a winery. Those who are just growing grapes for
contract to supply to the vineyards or wineries that they
must be having an incredibly tough time of it.
Speaker 4 (15:40):
Yeah, if you've got a contract with a wine company here. Actually,
it's funny enough, the same thing that's happening in Washington
State when we're over there, to get a contract with
a wine company and it's due for renewal. As in
some of these contracts Jamie will go four or five years,
some of them are three, some of them are one.
It's very unlikely that that will be renewed at the stage.
(16:01):
So that means that you do not have a contract
for your wine to go. So you're left with the
option of either hibernating it, just doing a real maintenance
program on it and waiting for the glott to get over,
or you know, as you said, as they like at
the end of the tunnel. It probably is for us,
but it's probably a little torch a long way off
(16:23):
at the moment. That's how we sort of see it.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
What about the falling consumption of wine worldwide? What's behind that?
Speaker 4 (16:31):
Yeah, I guess we've got to talk about this a
bit before. But health reasons, you know, the low alcohol
low carb wines are selling very well. People are more
you know, looking at other things to drink. You know,
they're ready to drink drinks. The ciders, I mean, craft
beer is probably struggling a lieb bit as well, but
just a general habit. I know that that new gin
(16:53):
coming up. They look at my daughters, so you know
they don't drink a lot of wine. I know. It's
just a change and habits. So what we've got to
produce is is something good, low out, good, good for
the body and tasted.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
Last time we chatted to you, I think was about
the end of June, if my records are correct, and
that was when you were having that first sort of
tranch of flooding in Marlborough and you dodged a bollat
or the Tasman Nelson regent did I think last week?
But how have you gone with the flood recovery? And
I know you weren't as badly affected in Marlborough as
(17:29):
they are over the hill.
Speaker 4 (17:31):
Yeah, very were here four hundred and twenty nine miles.
We've had in forty nine days since this sort of
seeing forty nine days, I guess, so another thirty due tomorrow.
Marlburn does not need any more rain and croaking. Probably
in about three months time will be asking where as
it'll rain, But yeah, nowhere where and we're nowhere near
(17:52):
as bad as our counterparts over in the over in
the Tasman area where we are dry. But there has
been some vineyards that have lost areas anything by rivers.
There's certainly been some damage. But yeah, we're just sort
of looking for a dry spell not to have left
coming though.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
Jane, Hey Blair, thanks as always for your time. I
know you're flat out there with fruit fed supplies and Blenham.
Enjoy the rest of your day.
Speaker 4 (18:16):
Thanks Jamie.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
Here we go. Leah Blizzard McLean out of Blenham twenty
eight after twelve songs from twenty five years ago. Hard
to believe, isn't it. Next Michelle's going to wander in.
I think she's a bit worried about getting germs from me.
Not a bit of a man flew going at the moment,
(18:38):
so she's keeping a distance fair enough before the end
of the hour. Joe Luxton, egg spokesperson for Labor, have
they got any egg policy? I might be an old
man by the time I hear some who knows some
people would say I'm an old man now and Chris
Russell OROSSI correspondent, fascinating breakthrough on a vaccine for foot
(18:59):
and mouth disease. I think Michelle Watson enjoying this music
from twenty five years ago when asker a lady her age.
(19:22):
But you would have been a big Justin Timberlake fan,
were you, Michelle?
Speaker 5 (19:27):
I think I was more of a five fan issue
than a sick fan at that age. Huge fan of Fight,
remember the band Fight, Yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah yeah, thank
And I was a bit of a Britney fan. But
I was also a bit of a grunge kid with
a Nairvana and all that as well.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
So the old Bell Cluther bargain. Let's see what you've
got in Rural News, the.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
Country's world news with Cob Canet, New Zealand's leading right
on lawn Bower brand visit steel Ford dot co dot
INSI for your local Stoggist and.
Speaker 5 (19:57):
Two government ministers and kit tired Today it's part of
a nationwide rural health road show. Associate Minister Health Minister
Matt Doucy and Minister for Rural Communities Mark Patterson are
meeting locals and frontline health workers to hear firsthand about
healthcare challenges and successes. The road show, which began in Levin,
has already visited towns including Wanaka, Gore and Tourrangi. It
(20:18):
supports the government's Rural Health Strategy and one hundred and
sixty four million dollar budget commitment to improve urgent and
after hours here. And we might have to catch up
with Mark Patterson at some point. I was thinking when
I read that Jamie MIT's talked him for a.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
While, Yeah, I need tokay. He's a good bloke, Mark Patterson.
He's doing a good. Look, there's some good We were
discussing this this morning and I think it might come
up in conversation with Joe Luxton. So we'll keep our
power to dry on that. But we really do have
some good rural farming MPs in Parliament. Good on them.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
Sport with Avco Kiwi to the bone since nineteen oh.
Speaker 2 (20:53):
Four, Radio Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy says the Storm aren't
taking any chances with Kiwi. Ra the league winger well
War bricks ongoing health and well being. The former All
Black seven star has been sidelined since Round four in
late March struggling to overcome ongoing concussion symptoms and stand in.
(21:14):
Black Caps Test captain Mitchell Santner is endorsing Jacob Duffy's
ability to deliver after his made an elevation to the
red ball side for the second and final cricket Test
against Zimbabwe. And as I said a bit earlier, from
a good Southland family with good rural connections as well.
So Jacob Duffy, good luck tonight. In is it Bulawayo?
(21:36):
Is that where it is?
Speaker 5 (21:37):
I think so?
Speaker 4 (21:37):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (21:38):
Bull a way, I think it is okay. Up next
to have the Labour Party got any agg policy at all?
Will ask Joe Luxton. She is Labour's agriculture spokesperson. Her
name is Joe Luxton. These days domiciled and Gisbon, Joe,
I want to start with this one. Is it early
(21:58):
spring yet in Gisbee?
Speaker 6 (22:01):
Well, Jamie Gay, nice to be on the show again.
It's been pretty cold, bone chilling cold and reasonably wet,
so spring has not sprung yet, which is disappointing. I
cannot wait for the back of winter and just to
feel a bit of sunshine and a bit of warmth.
You know, there's nothing like a bit of vitamin dta
(22:22):
make everyone sort of feel better, and a bit of
sunshine to make people smile.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
We all love Biguello. Something I would love Joe Luxton.
There's some a Labor Party egg policy. Every time I
chat to you, I say when is it coming? Because
I said to Michelle in preparation for this interview, I said,
go and look at Hansard and see what Joe's been
saying in Parliament. And you're in some deathly dull debate
about resource management or something like that. What have you
(22:47):
been up to?
Speaker 6 (22:50):
I knew you would bring up the policy question, Jamie.
In like I've said to you before, the election is
twelve months away, and we have said that we will
come out with some policy before the end of this year,
and I have been working on it. I can assure you,
but I'm not going to announce any policy on the
show anyway. No disrespect to you, of course, Jamie.
Speaker 2 (23:11):
Well why should I have you on the show if
you've got nothing to add?
Speaker 6 (23:14):
Well, I have got things to add. You can ask
me other questions, but I'm not going to be announcing policy,
all right.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
I'll ask you this question. Who formulates the Labor Party
AGG policy? I'm sure that you've got an impot and
I'm sure that Damian O'Connor has. But when I look
around the rest of your caucus, Joe lust and the
cupboard's pretty bare. There aren't many people with a rural
or primary sector background.
Speaker 6 (23:38):
Well, I disagree with extra, Jame. I think maybe you
should deal with a bit deeper into those that are
in the caucus. There are plenty that have got a
bit of rural background there.
Speaker 2 (23:45):
But well, name the ones who would impress me with
the farming or rural background, because maybe I've been remiss
on this.
Speaker 6 (23:51):
Well they haven't, you know, in the rural sector right now.
But it's got Jene Tanezi, who and your husband may've
slung to young farmers and they can pete and young family.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
She's a school teacher, yeah, but she's.
Speaker 6 (24:03):
Also lived in rural communities. You know, you don't have
to have on farm knowledge to be able to provide
really good ideas for rural communities in agriculture and farmers,
to be honest with you. And the reason I say
that is because a lot of the ideas and thinking
I've been getting has been coming from the conversation I've
been having with farmers on the ground, and I actually
(24:25):
think that's our best place to give us a lot
of our ideas in life.
Speaker 2 (24:28):
Well, what are the farmers telling you, Joe.
Speaker 6 (24:31):
One of the biggest issues I hear about from our
farmers in the farming community is the issue around pests,
pest control, wilding pines, they're out of control, things like that.
That's one of the biggest things I hear about. Actually, surprisingly, are.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
We going to have some sort of bipartisan agreement between
the current government and your lot over the likes of
wilding pines, because we do need a policy to get
control of them, if not get rid of them.
Speaker 6 (24:58):
We absolutely do. You're absolutely right, And I know there's
been some recent amount of three million or something where
did they Scott. That's going to do absolutely nothing. But
I'm more than happy to we're going to buy a
partisan way around something like this because it is such
an issue, it's a huge issue. We can't afford to
be political over things like that.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
Something else that's a bit of an issue politically internationally
for farming is the Paris Agreement. I was listening to
Bryce McKenzie from Groundswell. I know where they sit on
this one. Winston wants us out of it. David Seymour,
He's sitting on the fence, are we? But he says
eventually the cost of getting out now will be less
than the cost of staying in. And we know that
(25:41):
the Nats and the coalition government their policy is to
stay in, and I'm sure Labors is as well.
Speaker 6 (25:46):
Yeah, but we've come up publicly and said that we
would not leave the Paris Agreement for the reasons that
are probably executed the same as the ones that National
have outlined. The issue was a coalition in Nelson wanting
Winston wanting to perhaps leave the Paris Agement. There is
an issue for the current coalition to work through, not us.
(26:09):
We're not in government, not yet, not yet.
Speaker 2 (26:13):
Well, we can live in hope, or can we? Joelucks
that I'm living and hope that you can come out
with some ag policy before the election. Always good to chat.
Speaker 6 (26:23):
Yeah, thanks Jamie, Thank you.
Speaker 2 (26:26):
Joe twenty away from one here. I don't buy Joe's
argument that jan Toinetti's a rural MP or got a
farming background. Michelle. Earlier you mentioned Mark Patterson South Otago farmer.
We did, and on the back of an envelope as
they say. Grant mcnational. Of course, Grant McCollum and Andrew
(26:47):
Hoggard on the show earlier today, both practicing dairy farmers.
Mark Cameron Sue's redmain from a big farming operation in
the Manuwatu region. Dana Killpatrick up in gisbin Aia. Penny
SI's my old schoolmate, raised on a farm, lived on
a farm. Husband's a farmer, Nicola Griggs from a good
farming family. But I don't find many from a labor
(27:10):
green or Tapati Maori representatives or who are farmers. Anyhow,
we'll ponder that. Keep your feedback coming in on five
double nine. Up next to our Ossie correspondent, Chris Russell.
He's our guy across the Tasman Chris Russell, Ossie correspondent
(27:32):
based out of Sydney. We're going to talk about Trump's
tariffs and a tick. All the teas in a row there, Chris.
But an Australian breakthrough around a vaccine for foot and
mouth disease. Tell me about that.
Speaker 7 (27:44):
Yeah, this is an amazing technology change. Of course, everyone's
heard of mRNA vaccines now. The difference between an m
R and a vaccine an ordinary vaccine. Of course, the
way viruses operate is they don't just divide their cells
like a bacterial infection does, where it just splits a
(28:04):
cell in half. It makes two cells, and that makes
four and so on. A virus injects with little skewers,
injects it's DNA into a host cell and makes that
host cell produce more virus cells. So it's like a
parasite really, And one of the ways it does that
is using this messenger RNA. Now everyone's heard of DNA.
(28:25):
We all. mRNA is like a template. It's a bit
like a shape if you like, you might use in
woodwork or something, so you could copy of shape to
another shape. Well, mRNA is exactly the same. It transfers
the template or the design of the DNA of that
particular virus in this case, or any cell, so that
(28:46):
another cell can copy. So that's how you do it,
and it makes the cell the same so by disrupting
that mRNA, and you only do it for one little
part of the virus. In the case of COVID, it
was the horns that stick out of the side, which
are there sort of high epidermic needles where they inject
the DNA into the other cell. Well, they found that
those horns were made of a particular protein, so they
(29:07):
are able to change the mr ANDA which caused the
host cells to make that protein so that it made
faulty protein, so that the little horns didn't work, or
it was like an impotent virus. Really it could try
sticking his little horn into the whost cell, but didn't work.
And that's the way they are able to interrupt the
infection process. And that same technology is now available for
(29:29):
use with all sorts of other viruses. And the most
significant for us in terms of biosecurity is foot in
mouth disease. Now that we don't allow in vaccination against
foot in mouth disease here because of the fact, once
you've vaccinated an animal with an attenuated live vaccine or
live virus of foot and mouth disease, you can't if
(29:51):
you test that animal, you don't know whether it's actually
got the disease or it's just been immunized against the disease.
And so when you in actually we vaccinate an animal
with this new mRNA virus, you actually can tell later
on when you test it that the animal hasn't got
foot in Mouth. It's only been vaccinated and that makes
(30:11):
that particular type of immunization a It will be done
in Australia and that is a world break through.
Speaker 4 (30:17):
Now.
Speaker 7 (30:17):
It was developed here in Australia, the Elizabeth MacArthur Institute
here in Sydney. They weren't allowed to test it here
because we don't allow the import of FMD viruses under
any circumstances. So it's had to send it to Germany.
And I was talking to one of the scientists who
was involved in arranging all that they've done the tests
in Germany. It's amazingly successful and that is definitely going
(30:38):
to be a breakthrough for us in assuring that we
don't lose eighty billion dollars worth of business if we
ever get FMD into Australia.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
Jamie, Yeah, well, it would give us some peace of
mind as well. Mind you, the Americans Trump and his
anti vax us health boss rfk Junior aren't having a
bar of this. They've announced a crackdown on mRNA vaccine technology.
Speaker 7 (31:01):
Yeah. Well, I'm afraid I think that Kennedy Junior is
a nutjob. You know, when you look at what the
mRNA vaccines saved in terms of human life during COVID,
the cure was definitely nowhere near as risky as the disease.
But of course one of the concerns of these people
(31:22):
is how quickly they introduced these vaccines. But you know,
having spoken to one of the involved person people involved
in developing that vaccine in England was doctor Alexander Spencer,
and I went to a talk by her the other day.
She was saying that they were actually working on the
concept trials, the actual trials, and the big trials at
(31:43):
the same time, in addition to the fact they were
already building the factory before the trials were finished. That's
how urgent the world was to get this vaccine out.
Now that's disturbed people saying, oh, we didn't do enough research,
we didn't do enough trial work. I think it's probably
the most studied technology now in the world. When you
look at the millions and millions of people that have
been vaccinated. I don't think there's very few any of
(32:06):
anything medicines or vaccines that have seen as much use
and therefore have data on them as mr Anda vaccine.
So I think people do understand the risk with them.
I think that the risk is as I say, is
far less than the diseases they save. And to be honest, Jamie,
I'm afraid I just think this guy's a nutjob and
(32:26):
a dangerous nut job because he has the ear of
the US government.
Speaker 2 (32:30):
Yeah, okay, well, let's go from RFK Junior to the Boss,
the Trumpster. You guys dodged a bit of a bullet.
You stayed at ten percent. We obviously went to fifteen.
And I think this is all off the back of
the fact that you guys run a trade deficit with
the US, so you're seen as a better customer than US.
Speaker 7 (32:49):
Well, I think there's a few things. I think there's
also we have in the middle of Australia a place
called Pine Gap, which provides most of the satellite community
cation with their World Defense Forces. We have Northwest Cape,
which is involved with communicating with most of their submarines. Yes,
we actually buy more stuff from America than we sell
(33:10):
to them, and that's one of the few countries.
Speaker 4 (33:12):
That does that.
Speaker 7 (33:13):
And we also have orchards, so I think there's a
lot of pressures in there. But having said that, you know,
Trump is a populace without any doubt, so he's been
talking big and when he said they weren't allowed to
bring their beef into Australia, that hasn't that wasn't even true.
But in fact we've relaxed that because we're not so
worried about mad cow disease anymore. So that's been relaxed
(33:34):
for him.
Speaker 2 (33:35):
Now there is a call for the appointment of a
chief farmer to advise government alongside the chief scientist. Not
a bad idea.
Speaker 7 (33:45):
A chief scientist. For a long time in Australia, about
nineteen eighty nine that concept was introduced and he sits
there or she in the case of Professor Meghan Clark,
was one that I was particularly familiar with and may
sit there as an advisor of the government on scientific matters.
A great idea. Well, now they're thinking that the break
(34:06):
between the actual farmer in the field and the government
is too big because we're such an urbanized country, and
so there's been a call from the farmers to create
a position of chief farmer who can actually bring the
urban based governments when particularly the Labor government, which don't
have a component from like the Coalition does with the
(34:28):
National Country Party, closer to the needs and wishes and
desires of the farmer. Now, in many ways it's a
token thing, because of course they've got lots of advisors.
But I think the concept of making the farmers feel
like they're or listen to is probably one that they
might be useful. I don't think it's probably going to
(34:49):
happen in the near future, but nonetheless I thought the
concept was good and certainly the farmers are agitating for it.
Speaker 2 (34:55):
Okay, let's just finish on the forty. Since we last chanted,
you had the final Lines taste, I've got to say
it's game on for the Bledisloe Cup. If the Aussies
bring that sort of heat to the Bletterslow.
Speaker 7 (35:05):
Well, it's been a great training run for the Bleedersloe
Jovi for sure, and Joe Schmidt. Everyone's patting him on
the back. He's done a fantastic job. I mean, in
our kind of egotistical way, we're really saying we really
won that series. I think the Lines deserve to win
the series. They are a fantastic side. Having said that,
we were definitely robbed of that second test, and if
(35:26):
the rules had been followed and that try hadn't been awarded,
we would have won that and then won this one
and we would have won the series. So it was
a fantastic result for Australia. That last game was a
terrific game. We played really well. There's some really good players,
as you know. One of my players I've been following
very closely is Tom Liiner. I think he's had a
fantastic series and so you know, it is game on
(35:49):
for Bleedtersloe Cup and I think my bottle of wine
is definitely going to be sitting upside alongside yours up
there waiting to see who's going to take that prize.
Speaker 2 (35:57):
All the best for a bonus point, Chris Russell, your time,
no worry, Okay. Wrapping the country with some of your feedback.
Apologies to Mike Butterick. Why are Rapper Miles Anderson away?
TACKI good blokes and Danna Kirkpatrick. How could I mist
get that wrong? Kirk's niece up there in Gisbone. Interesting
(36:21):
feedback on Jan Tinetti. She was the principal at Drummond
School in Central South and didn't know that her father
in law, Don Merton, was responsible for the carcapo recovery
and breeding program. Hardly rural farming though, Yeah, I agree
with your Texter. But that's an interesting story, isn't it right.
That's us done and Dustin for today. We'll catch you
(36:43):
back tomorrow. I'll leave you with the weebit of Brittany.
Speaker 1 (36:52):
Catch all the latest from the land. It's the Country
Podcast with Jamie McGue. Thanks to Fred, You're specialist in
john Der construction equipment.
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