XR protestors have stopped operations at a Southland coal mine
Go you beautiful people!
fonterra
New Zealand’s Perverse Economy
At a forecast farm gate milk price of between NZ$7.25 and NZ$8.75 per kilo of milk solid, Fonterra is going to fill up its milk tankers, drive back to their suppliers with cash and pump it straight back into the farmhouse like we haven’t seen in a decade.
Fonterra failure and Government failure
Fonterra is dragging New Zealand down, faster and faster. What is this Government going to do?
What does it take for bosses not to get their bonus?
Why is it that all risk lies with the shareholders? Why does poor performance by a company not result in CEO and top management bonuses being clawed back?
Fonterra’s loss
Fonterra has just reported an after tax loss of $196 million for the 2018 year. It’s never had an annual loss in its history.
Fonterra’s High Court injunction against Newsroom
Current affairs site Newsroom has been served an injunction until a further hearing on March 26.
Fonterra a failure in concept and in practice
New Zealanders 17 years ago accepted the idea of a national dairy monopoly on the condition it would deliver outstanding returns. The cost has been high — filthy and unswimmable rivers. Now it turns out the result has been a financial fiasco – the whole thing is literally bullshit, or more correctly, cowshit.
Fonterra and Fletcher Building
New Zealand only has two businesses of world-competitive scale that are also majority owned by New Zealanders: Fonterra, and Fletcher Building. And they appear to have lost their way and put much of their value and our wellbeing at risk.
Clean Green New Zealand – 100% Pure Bullshit
For some years now campaign groups such as Greenpeace have been ringing alarm bells about the deteriorating quality – and curiously diminishing volume – of New Zealand’s fresh water.
More bold intervention needed
National Labour and the Greens are all proposing to intervene in the market to do something about the housing crisis. What other policy areas are there where the parties can agree on active state intervention?
It’s time to reform Fonterra
Fonterra was formed to give New Zealand an economic advantage. Instead it is looking like the country’s biggest achilles heel. Time to reform?
Fonterra faces liquidity issues as rivers of “white oil” dry up
Pundits, most residing in the National Party, just three years ago predicted the economy would surf high on “rivers of white oil” flowing from the dairy industry, but they now have cow pats splattered on their faces as Fonterra today announced another payout downgrade and signalled liquidity pressures.
Is RBNZ ignoring deflation bogey?
Is Reserve Bank Governor Graeme Wheeler so concerned about the bogey of Auckland’s housing bubble that he is underestimating an equally nasty bogey – deflation? Deflation will certainly cure the problem of the property bubble, but that cure will be at a terrible cost.
Milk and media moron Mike
Media moron Mike Hosking blathering on about how self-interested “experts” are always right. He calls these “Facts”. I don’t think that he would know what a fact is if he tripped over a spreadsheet. Meanwhile announcing a reduction in supply has produced the expected increase in prices in the GlobalDairyTrade auction last night.
Fonterra job losses just the beginning?
Terrible news for the 523 Fonterra workers who are losing their jobs – we wish you well.
Dirty Politics: The Brestapo
I have foolishly never taken Cameron Slater very seriously except when his attacks have been obviously for the benefit of the National Party. I actually believed that the misinformed and bigoted viewpoints that prevail in his posts were his genuine opinions. It fits his character to drone on about “The Breastapo” “Sucking on the Taxpayers’ Tit”. To discover that such posts were actually written and paid for on behalf of Fonterra actually shocked me.
Muddying the Waters
Dave Hansford contrasts the way that France handles its usage of waterways by farmers with the unsustainable degradation of NZ farmers. For that matter with the way that farming in the France is targeted at high value rather than commodity factory farming. Let’s have the really tough conversation: is a low-value, mass-market business model really the best we can do? Are cheap, anonymous, industrial commodities our finest work? And are they worth the hidden cost to farmers, taxpayers and the environment?
It wasn’t a dirty pipe
It wasn’t a dirty pipe. That is the claim made by veterinarian and farm performance consultant Frank Rowson, as reported by Stuff yesterday. Rowson says “This disease originates in contaminated feed and animal manure”. Let the enquiries begin – we need to be honest about the problem and fix it.
Key needs to get real on Fonterra crisis
The Fonterra fiasco is turning into a genuine crisis and a huge risk to our economy. John Key needs to stop playing politics and get real. It’s urgent.
Hands-on National
It doesn’t suit the Labour Party narrative – and indeed it’s not their espoused philosophy – but every now and then National can’t help but be “hands on”. We’ve had the South Canterbury Finances in the past (won’t somebody think of the shareholders!), but this week was a real doozy for it, between Fonterra, Tiwai Point and Chorus.
Fonterra scandal and deregulation
Stuff’s Pattrick Smellie makes the case that the Fonterra scandal is a product of deregulation. The lesson here is that Mike Joy and other scientists are right. To protect its environment, its brand, its exports and its economy, NZ needs to strengthen regulatory protections and clean up its act.
Botulism scare products
The information on which products are at risk from the Fonterra botulism scare has taken far too long to come out. Thanks 3 News for this list.
Cunliffe on DIRA
Against the will of the Fonterra farmer Shareholder’s Association, National is trying to destroy Fonterra’s cooperative model on vague grounds about access to capital. The end result will be the one world-leading, world-scale company we have, which brings in 20% of our export earnings, will start sending it profits offshore. David Cunliffe makes the case passionately and eloquently.
Chart o’ the day: got milked?
Can’t help but notice the international price peaked just when Fonterra put on their ‘generous price-cap’tm.
Milked
Our wages are so low that we can’t keep paying “international prices” for basic necessities. GST off food is just tinkering at the edges. We need more radical action.
Blood for milk? Pull the other one
It’s surreal to see people who cried that not going into Iraq has cost us a trade deal with the US, now saying that the Reconstruction Team Labour sent was to get access for our milk exports. The claim’s based on a US Embassy cable but that doesn’t make it gospel. In reality, the Right wanted us to fight in Iraq to get an FTA with the US.
Fonterra – killing Orangutans.
There has been an interesting ad from Greenpeace running around the site today. It is obviously intended to go viral before the lawyers […]
Greens challenge Fonterra
Good to see the Greens coming out with a relevant, populist message at the weekend’s conference by tackling the issue of food affordability. […]