The Muster- Joseph Mooney: A Busy Week Ahead

Southland MP Joseph Mooney says a busy weekend is a great thing as he gets around his big electorate.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:08):
This is the muster on Hakanui MP for Southland. Joseph
Mooney joins us this afternoon as he travels around the region.
Good afternoon, Joseph. Where do we find you this afternoon?

Speaker 2 (00:18):
Ah, good Afternony. You've got me at a perfect time.
I should have just pulled over to get a reception
at the piet where the Poney and energy power stations
in the Coveredo Gorge. And that's bang on my electrical
boundary between White Techi and Southland. So you got me
just the right spot.

Speaker 1 (00:33):
Well, that White Techy boundary is a hell of a
size electorate as well.

Speaker 2 (00:38):
Yeah, it as it's south is a little bit bigger
than Ye Techi, but you know they're both massive. And
if you put nactually White Techi, Southland and West Coast
tasmand together you'd be looking at sixty seven percent of
the southlandstography.

Speaker 1 (00:50):
Yeah, that's a hell of a stamp for it. Monday,
I'll give you that one, Joseph. The weekend's been and
gone though, a lot of events occurring, and no doubt
you're involved.

Speaker 2 (00:59):
Yeah, ye hundred ccent. I mean, Jeff, I just look
at my Saturday, for example, started the day by starting
the Queensown Marathon. Actually I did the start of Hooter
so that you know, countdown from ten, So.

Speaker 1 (01:09):
You didn't run it, you didn't start the race.

Speaker 2 (01:11):
I did not.

Speaker 1 (01:11):
I did not.

Speaker 2 (01:12):
Clarification, I just I just did the start of Hood
and then watched get underway. But it's pretty cool because
as actually as a record number over thirteen thousand people
in the race, and they had just sun a three
thousand run the actual marathon itself, and five thousand people
coming from overseas from eighty eight different countries. So so

(01:32):
it was a big event. Basically me being Bell, you know,
he he the half marathon and I saw him later
on the afternoon or evening. I'm told her that we
went to the one hundred year you know celebration for
the Total Fire Station, which is a really awesome night
actually and Chief Fire Offs and Mow and his crew
put an amazing event just celebrating many years of the

(01:56):
community you know, hub supporting and told her surrounds over
over one hundred years. And also they also generate it's
two hundred and six years of service medals just from
a few members that night alone as well.

Speaker 1 (02:10):
Now America at the USA, they've got rid of the
fifteen percent tariff on New Zealand beef. This is a
good news story over the weekend because a lot of
these terrors seem to be highly reactive by the person
implementing them.

Speaker 2 (02:23):
Oh, look, it's great to have that tariff re moved,
and it's it's something I've been I've been trying to
do my bit to raise the profile a little while
because when I was in the US last year, I
visited Washington and I visited the Secretary of Agriculture and
we're just talking about how beef is a win win
for the New Zealand and the US. So our you know,
lean beef is mixed into their fatty beef and it

(02:45):
actually raises the value of the of their beef in
the US. So it's a win win for both us.
So it's great to have seen that tariff re move,
which is going to be another boost for our primary sector.

Speaker 1 (02:57):
Well, Americans gobbled down about three burgers away week on average.
Is something ridiculous like that? How many burgers a week
would you eat?

Speaker 2 (03:03):
Joseph, Well, don't I don't need that many burgers. We
feel I'm more a pieman, but I meet pie. It's
my food of choice.

Speaker 1 (03:15):
Your body is a temple obviously. Yeah, but look, we
the widest situation though, this is crazy. So asly they
do a lot of machinery sales regarding agriculture to the
US and they're facing some crazy terroriffs, but none more
so than an Italian pasta one hundred and seven percent

(03:36):
tariff they're talking about, because this is saying that Italy
has been undercating local competitors. I mean, how do you
come up with one hundred and seven percent for Pete's sake?

Speaker 2 (03:47):
Oh, look at that's that's something I know, I completely fair,
but you know it's obviously well, we control the things
we can. You know, each country has the right to
do what they thinks from their own best interest. But
you know, we obviously as a small trading nation, it's
heavily dependent on the e sports, you know, for the
success of our own economy and everything that we need

(04:09):
to fund. You know, we need to focus on what's
good for us, and that's having a free and fear
trading environment much as that's possible, and having got access
to markets. So our primary seat has been doing them
as a job over the last couple of years, and
it's just that we'll celebrate the ones where we can
take them. It's definitely win having that terror from oprom beef.

Speaker 1 (04:29):
So how realistic that we see the same thing occurred
to Lamb.

Speaker 2 (04:33):
I'd say much lower chances. I talked about that as
well with the Secretary of Culture. I was in the
US last year and also have chets some people you
know in the sheep sector in Wyoming, Mantana, and these
are these are very passionate group of people who know
farm sheep and they are very protective of these sector.

(04:54):
So I think the votes are quite important in the
estates and they wouldn't be very happy about seeing that remote,
so I think they'd be a lot harder.

Speaker 1 (05:05):
Yeah, and you tend to forget when you live down here.
We're very insulated from the reed meat industry and America
as such and the sheer size around it.

Speaker 2 (05:15):
Yeah. No, absolutely, it's a massive sector in the US
and it's a very valuable sector for US. I think
that's the single biggest market for beef. But you know
that is a benefit and that they need our beef well,
you know, they could buy it elsewhere, but we're a
good supply for them, and so long may that continue.

Speaker 1 (05:36):
So what's on for the week Your way back out
to Wellington this afternoon or presuming on some stage.

Speaker 2 (05:40):
Yeah, exactly, yep, not flying up this afternoon and we're
going to have another flat out. We can hear us,
I believe, and we'll see if see when we get
back south, I'm hoping hoping it's before the weekend strikes.
We'll see how it goes.

Speaker 1 (05:54):
Are you doing this nice coming busy ones? Are you
doing like a sweet steaks and what to pasty Malory
is going to come up with.

Speaker 2 (06:02):
But no, we're just they'll do anything. We'll focus on
trying to get the country you know, in the right
place and do everything you can to support the economy
and make sure we can get that money going flowing
into our house. Sectory and education, sectory at roads, you know,
law enforcement, et cetera.

Speaker 1 (06:18):
Keep the economy moving and play that you played there
with a straight bat, just like Darren Mitchell yesterday. Joseph Mooney,
MP for Southland. Look, we always appreciate your time on
the Master Save travels a.

Speaker 2 (06:27):
Savey going there and I appreciate it.

Speaker 1 (06:31):
Joseph Mooney, MP for Southland. Ben Dooley Farms at wind
and we catch up next. See how things are going
on the ranch.