February 12, 2025 • 9 mins
Labour’s trade spokesman, and former Minister of Agriculture, talks about keeping the supermarkets and banks honest, trade with India, David Seymour’s Land Rover stunt, and patsy questions in the House.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Damian O'Connor is Labour's trades spokesperson former Minister of Agriculture Damien.
I was in Wellington on Tuesday for the National Lamb
Day barbecue. Didn't get a chance to chat to you
on air, talk to Joe Luxton. It was a good
turnout from politicians. Although I noticed, Damien, the Nats were
(00:21):
their act were their labor? Was there New Zealand first?
Were there no sign of Chloe and the Greens?
Speaker 2 (00:29):
No?
Speaker 3 (00:29):
I think there was a Green MP or two. Yeah,
there was I think I think was their one. I
noticed so, but I didn't see quothing. You know that's true.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
Okay, it's a good promotion, Damian O'Connor. We just need
the supermarkets to play ball and special and I'm going
to get Michelle. I think she's gone to the websites
this morning to see if they are doing any deals
on LAMB for National Lamb Day on Saturday. But they
need to. And I say good on this government Damien
for having a crack at the supermarkets.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
But absolutely should have a go electricity companies, the banks,
the whole lot. Good. We do need to break up
those duopoly all those big big companies that are squeezing
our economy. Come back to lamb. Actually, you know, a
barbecue where we're talking to one another. A preaching to
(01:25):
the converted is not going to cut it or go
far when indeed, we need to tell the story out
to the wider world. And if you look at what
Australia is doing, it's committing real money to some smart
advertising and campaigning to get out and sell the value
of land.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
Yeah, but hang on, Damien, most of that most of
that will no, no, no, most of that campaigning and advertising
in Australia is for their domestic market. They increase lamb
consumption by something like four hundred percent for that week.
And all I'm saying is the powers that be here
in New Zealand we need to do likewise and make
(02:03):
it I agree, make it, make it affordable and market
an increase our domestic consumption.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
And who do you think should do that?
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Jamie, Who do you think should do it?
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Well, it's time.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
For the industry has to step up. And you know
a lot of the offshore is offshore marketing has been
subsidized by taxpayers as well. The industry hasn't been very
good at committing money to marketing and storytelling and that's
been a failing and I think we need to do that.
Taste pure Nature, you know, is.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
A good campaign.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
It's been around for about ten years in terms of inception,
and it needs to be revamped. It's in that trying
to market. But you know, when that money runs out,
will the industry be committed to continue that? And it's
a it's a question that a Lombarber raised in Farmers weakly,
and I think it's a fair one. There has to
be ongoing sustainable funding for marketing storyteller and because we
(03:02):
have wonderful meat with wonderful attributes, it should be marketed
to the world, but we just kind of sell it.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
Hey, storytelling seems to be the new buzzword, the new
management speak.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
Yeah, well, I guess, as you know, someone who says
behind a microphone that that should be right up your alley.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Is something happening with India today? My sources are telling
me that something's happening in Wellington.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
I think there was an indication of maybe some progress
in terms of our relationship there.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
I haven't heard directly of that, but highly lifely.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
I mean, you know, we do have to build the
relationship over time. We've always believed that going to a
free trade deal within three years, as Chris Luxen promised,
it was completely unrealistic, like many of the other promises
that they made. But building a relationship are valuable one
over time is something that I think governments, a number
of governments will have to do to hopefully get to
(03:56):
an FKA sometime in the future.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
But even if we can get a deal on say,
that would be a huge start for us, wouldn't it.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
Of course anything best part and I guess the issue
is whether you sit down and do it a bit
by bit or whether you end up with a comprehensive
trade agreement that it opens the door to opportunities that
you might not realize because it is in the area
of also the services of technology and other areas, not
just about meat, not just about dary, but they should
(04:25):
a whole range of things that we export is a nation.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
All the talk in Wellington on Tuesday was about David
Seymour's stunt on Monday. I think it was in the
land Rover. You can't get much more rural than a
Series one land Rover, the twentieth one ever made. We're
going to chat to the guy who owns it, hopefully,
Professor Julian Patton on Peyton on Tomorrow's show. But what
(04:50):
did you make of it? I mean he's just repeating history.
They did that in nineteen forty eight, didn't They drove
it up the steps? Of course we had Shane a
Dern did the same thing.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
No, in fact, there's no actual evidence that anything was
driven up.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
It might be a tall tale or true.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
Who knows. It's just stupidity and David Seemore wanting some
publicity at the expense of rules and so you know,
he's always telling people that they should have buy by
the rules. Three strikes and you're out. He's not prepared
to hit to the same standards himself. It's absolute hypocrisy.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Yeah, I see that. Shane Ardurn who did it in
two thousand and three and you were in Parliament then
the fart Tachs protests were going on. He actually got
charged with something.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
I'm not sure. I think the police didn't and they
want well.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
They charged them with something and then let them go put.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
It that way, Yes, I'm not sure the details. I
wasn't going to get distracted by them again. It was
a stunt then probably in hindsight, there'll be many pharmacists
who probably think that, actually, we should have progressed with
that proposal around some minimum carbon tax that would have
allowed us to invest back into technology. But anyway, that's
spilt milk.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
Noow, yeah, good luck with that. One day, man in
the house and we were sitting for about an hour
there during question time. Very interesting. Chloe was grand standing
on the school lunches. But I was watching you, Damien,
and you look like you were asleep.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
It's hard to be inspired by the government that we're
facing at the moment, the Coalition government and all the
things they are doing to either not deliver on their
promises or to wreck some of the good things that
have been happening across the economy.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
And I haven't had.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
One of the school lunches. They look pretty horrible to me.
And a deal done with a big multinational company instead
of supporting local people to produce local lunches for locals.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Here's a novel idea for you, Damien. Why don't we
get the parents to provide a school lunch?
Speaker 3 (06:44):
I agree with Jamie, And actually, you know, with all
the tax cuts that you'll got and money, you know,
you should be able to afford that, But there are many,
many families who are struggling to pay the power bills
because power's gone up part privatized system that John Key
gave us all the cost, you know, the cost of
living that the national doesn't seem to be talking about.
(07:04):
Now that pressure is on and for many it's a
real struggle to.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
Provide the good food that we were able to.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
Through school lunches. And you know that kids who have
something decent to eat are going.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
To I absolutely agree with you, and I've got teachers
coming out the wazoo and my family, so I get
it in the air all the time. But I just
wonder whether we should be more targeted on that dropping
lunch as will in Lilly. I'll get Paul Allison's thoughts
on this later. Into schools. I bet your half or
three quarters of the kids don't need them. Maybe we
need to be more targeted.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
You know what it is.
Speaker 3 (07:38):
But if you said to any multinational would you like
to get access to all the school kids across New
Zealand to trial some of your products, and then does
say hell, yes, let's give us a chance.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
We had the.
Speaker 3 (07:50):
Opportunity to trial some of the really good food that
we produce in our country, not the fast food and
some of the crap that does get eaten. This was
an opport to introduce our kids and it happened to
good quality food to give them a good quality life.
And it's been throwing out for some kind of you know,
fast food basis that's run by a big multinational and
(08:12):
is of lower quality. I think it's a terrible backward stud.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
Okay, all right for us, got a sort of half
pie agreeing with you. There there is an opportunity. I
suppose Fonterra did the same thing with milk and schools
just really quickly. The Patsy questions reminded me again what
a waste of everyone's time that is in Parliament. You've
been there for a long long time, you've been on
the front bench, you've had important jobs in government, but
(08:37):
it must be so destroying for a back bench MP
to ask these appalling Patsy questions. I know it's based
on the Westminster system, but it is a complete waste
of time, full stop.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
Well, you know it is. Partly, I guess it's on
the basis that you have a balance of Parliament relative
to the votes that you get sort of number of
questions that goes out there is relative to the vote
that you've got at the election, So it's an opportunity
to either ask yourself questions, but any question that goes
into the House, even if it is a patsy, does
(09:09):
open up the opportunity for the opposition to query the
governor as well. So sometimes the patsy's backfire if the
opposition's got a difficult enough question to ask the Minister
of the day.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
Okay, Damien, I kind of thank you very much for
your time.
Damian O'Connor is Labour's trades spokesperson former Minister of Agriculture Damien.
I was in Wellington on Tuesday for the National Lamb
Day barbecue. Didn't get a chance to chat to you
on air, talk to Joe Luxton. It was a good
turnout from politicians. Although I noticed, Damien, the Nats were
(00:21):
their act were their labor? Was there New Zealand first?
Were there no sign of Chloe and the Greens?
Speaker 2 (00:29):
No?
Speaker 3 (00:29):
I think there was a Green MP or two. Yeah,
there was I think I think was their one. I
noticed so, but I didn't see quothing. You know that's true.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
Okay, it's a good promotion, Damian O'Connor. We just need
the supermarkets to play ball and special and I'm going
to get Michelle. I think she's gone to the websites
this morning to see if they are doing any deals
on LAMB for National Lamb Day on Saturday. But they
need to. And I say good on this government Damien
for having a crack at the supermarkets.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
But absolutely should have a go electricity companies, the banks,
the whole lot. Good. We do need to break up
those duopoly all those big big companies that are squeezing
our economy. Come back to lamb. Actually, you know, a
barbecue where we're talking to one another. A preaching to
(01:25):
the converted is not going to cut it or go
far when indeed, we need to tell the story out
to the wider world. And if you look at what
Australia is doing, it's committing real money to some smart
advertising and campaigning to get out and sell the value
of land.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
Yeah, but hang on, Damien, most of that most of
that will no, no, no, most of that campaigning and advertising
in Australia is for their domestic market. They increase lamb
consumption by something like four hundred percent for that week.
And all I'm saying is the powers that be here
in New Zealand we need to do likewise and make
(02:03):
it I agree, make it, make it affordable and market
an increase our domestic consumption.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
And who do you think should do that?
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Jamie, Who do you think should do it?
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Well, it's time.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
For the industry has to step up. And you know
a lot of the offshore is offshore marketing has been
subsidized by taxpayers as well. The industry hasn't been very
good at committing money to marketing and storytelling and that's
been a failing and I think we need to do that.
Taste pure Nature, you know, is.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
A good campaign.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
It's been around for about ten years in terms of inception,
and it needs to be revamped. It's in that trying
to market. But you know, when that money runs out,
will the industry be committed to continue that? And it's
a it's a question that a Lombarber raised in Farmers weakly,
and I think it's a fair one. There has to
be ongoing sustainable funding for marketing storyteller and because we
(03:02):
have wonderful meat with wonderful attributes, it should be marketed
to the world, but we just kind of sell it.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
Hey, storytelling seems to be the new buzzword, the new
management speak.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
Yeah, well, I guess, as you know, someone who says
behind a microphone that that should be right up your alley.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Is something happening with India today? My sources are telling
me that something's happening in Wellington.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
I think there was an indication of maybe some progress
in terms of our relationship there.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
I haven't heard directly of that, but highly lifely.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
I mean, you know, we do have to build the
relationship over time. We've always believed that going to a
free trade deal within three years, as Chris Luxen promised,
it was completely unrealistic, like many of the other promises
that they made. But building a relationship are valuable one
over time is something that I think governments, a number
of governments will have to do to hopefully get to
(03:56):
an FKA sometime in the future.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
But even if we can get a deal on say,
that would be a huge start for us, wouldn't it.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
Of course anything best part and I guess the issue
is whether you sit down and do it a bit
by bit or whether you end up with a comprehensive
trade agreement that it opens the door to opportunities that
you might not realize because it is in the area
of also the services of technology and other areas, not
just about meat, not just about dary, but they should
(04:25):
a whole range of things that we export is a nation.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
All the talk in Wellington on Tuesday was about David
Seymour's stunt on Monday. I think it was in the
land Rover. You can't get much more rural than a
Series one land Rover, the twentieth one ever made. We're
going to chat to the guy who owns it, hopefully,
Professor Julian Patton on Peyton on Tomorrow's show. But what
(04:50):
did you make of it? I mean he's just repeating history.
They did that in nineteen forty eight, didn't They drove
it up the steps? Of course we had Shane a
Dern did the same thing.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
No, in fact, there's no actual evidence that anything was
driven up.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
It might be a tall tale or true.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
Who knows. It's just stupidity and David Seemore wanting some
publicity at the expense of rules and so you know,
he's always telling people that they should have buy by
the rules. Three strikes and you're out. He's not prepared
to hit to the same standards himself. It's absolute hypocrisy.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Yeah, I see that. Shane Ardurn who did it in
two thousand and three and you were in Parliament then
the fart Tachs protests were going on. He actually got
charged with something.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
I'm not sure. I think the police didn't and they
want well.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
They charged them with something and then let them go put.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
It that way, Yes, I'm not sure the details. I
wasn't going to get distracted by them again. It was
a stunt then probably in hindsight, there'll be many pharmacists
who probably think that, actually, we should have progressed with
that proposal around some minimum carbon tax that would have
allowed us to invest back into technology. But anyway, that's
spilt milk.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
Noow, yeah, good luck with that. One day, man in
the house and we were sitting for about an hour
there during question time. Very interesting. Chloe was grand standing
on the school lunches. But I was watching you, Damien,
and you look like you were asleep.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
It's hard to be inspired by the government that we're
facing at the moment, the Coalition government and all the
things they are doing to either not deliver on their
promises or to wreck some of the good things that
have been happening across the economy.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
And I haven't had.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
One of the school lunches. They look pretty horrible to me.
And a deal done with a big multinational company instead
of supporting local people to produce local lunches for locals.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Here's a novel idea for you, Damien. Why don't we
get the parents to provide a school lunch?
Speaker 3 (06:44):
I agree with Jamie, And actually, you know, with all
the tax cuts that you'll got and money, you know,
you should be able to afford that, But there are many,
many families who are struggling to pay the power bills
because power's gone up part privatized system that John Key
gave us all the cost, you know, the cost of
living that the national doesn't seem to be talking about.
(07:04):
Now that pressure is on and for many it's a
real struggle to.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
Provide the good food that we were able to.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
Through school lunches. And you know that kids who have
something decent to eat are going.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
To I absolutely agree with you, and I've got teachers
coming out the wazoo and my family, so I get
it in the air all the time. But I just
wonder whether we should be more targeted on that dropping
lunch as will in Lilly. I'll get Paul Allison's thoughts
on this later. Into schools. I bet your half or
three quarters of the kids don't need them. Maybe we
need to be more targeted.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
You know what it is.
Speaker 3 (07:38):
But if you said to any multinational would you like
to get access to all the school kids across New
Zealand to trial some of your products, and then does
say hell, yes, let's give us a chance.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
We had the.
Speaker 3 (07:50):
Opportunity to trial some of the really good food that
we produce in our country, not the fast food and
some of the crap that does get eaten. This was
an opport to introduce our kids and it happened to
good quality food to give them a good quality life.
And it's been throwing out for some kind of you know,
fast food basis that's run by a big multinational and
(08:12):
is of lower quality. I think it's a terrible backward stud.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
Okay, all right for us, got a sort of half
pie agreeing with you. There there is an opportunity. I
suppose Fonterra did the same thing with milk and schools
just really quickly. The Patsy questions reminded me again what
a waste of everyone's time that is in Parliament. You've
been there for a long long time, you've been on
the front bench, you've had important jobs in government, but
(08:37):
it must be so destroying for a back bench MP
to ask these appalling Patsy questions. I know it's based
on the Westminster system, but it is a complete waste
of time, full stop.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
Well, you know it is. Partly, I guess it's on
the basis that you have a balance of Parliament relative
to the votes that you get sort of number of
questions that goes out there is relative to the vote
that you've got at the election, So it's an opportunity
to either ask yourself questions, but any question that goes
into the House, even if it is a patsy, does
(09:09):
open up the opportunity for the opposition to query the
governor as well. So sometimes the patsy's backfire if the
opposition's got a difficult enough question to ask the Minister
of the day.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
Okay, Damien, I kind of thank you very much for
your time.
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