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cavanami
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On the one hand, this latest, is going to make the Farmer's life a lot worse, financially, with many having to make do with last year's Range-rover instead of getting  a new one every year, on the other hand the farmers have been getting a great deal over the centuries by dint of owning their land and controlling what goes on, on it.

I'm all for the traditional family farm, wherein the stock numbers and size of the farm are all in balance and it's a good living for a family. Chickens, sheep, cattle, geese,  no need for planes dumping nitrogen fertiliser, from the air, trout in the streams etc etc.

But since about the 1950s, there's been a trend to industrialised farming, with huge farms owned by corporates, so fertiliser and waste from dairy in particular, going on to land, that can't support it.

There are even giant American feedlot style farms in Canterbury and Otago that are on "soil" that is no more than rocks and sand, so the waste just goes to ground water and to the local streams and rivers. What used to be pristine environments are now smelly cow sewers.

If I had a farm, I would want to be in control of what I do on it, most farmers are reasonable blokes or blokesses and are quite green in the first place.

But since I was a kid, when you used to be able to get a feed of Eels, from any little stream on any Farm and they were clean because the water was clean, the water ways are now pretty much, all smelly and full of nitrogen run offs.

So Global Climate Change religious battle or no, I hope these latest measures will clean up the farmer's collective act.

_____

Tangent:

I understand that the basic tenet, behind addressing global climate change, is that we want to get a country's emissions back to where they were before...

A mere thousand-ish years ago, or thereabouts, New Zealand had no people, none.

There were numerous Moa, across the land. Moa, now extinct,  were like Ostriches, Emu, Rhea and Cassowary.

Question: do Ostriches, Emu, Rea and Cassowary fart?

If so at what rate? and if we were to apply that rate to the population of Moa that were extant pre human, how would that figure in the climate change debate?

If we want to get emissions back to the levels, they were before, surely we can offset the Moa's emissions, which were there, since forever, against the emissions of Cows and Sheep these days?

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9 hours ago, Mekong said:

New Zealand has proposed taxing the greenhouse gasses that farm animals produce from burping and urinating in a bid to tackle climate change.

The world-first scheme will see farmers paying for agricultural emissions in some form by 2025.

 

The current New Zealand government has scored own goal after own goal - but this one looks to top the lot of them. It is the most ridiculous idea. New Zealand does one thing well - and that is produce clean, very high-quality food that the world needs. Our farmers are world-class in terms of efficiency. Making life difficult for farmers is more of the woke bullshit that this current government seems so concerned about. Hey, look at us, look at how fucking woke we are. Someone really needs to put a bullet in Jacinda's head.

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Whilst I agree with Stick, my vitriol would be to, politicians general, rather than just of the Labour kind.

On one issue after another, Politicians have sold us down the river over the years.

It's the non-Popular folk, that get things done.

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  • 1 month later...
  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

New Zealand will phase in a near-total tobacco ban from next year. 

Legislation passed by parliament on Tuesday means that anyone born after 2008 will never be able to buy cigarettes or tobacco products.

It will mean the number of people able to buy tobacco will shrink each year. By 2050, for example, 40-year-olds will be too young to buy cigarettes.

Health Minister Ayesha Verrall, who introduced the bill, said it was a step "towards a smoke-free future".

"Thousands of people will live longer, healthier lives and the health system will be NZ$5 billion (US$3.2 billion) better off from not needing to treat the illnesses caused by smoking," Dr Verrall said.

New Zealand's smoking rate is already at historic lows, with just 8% of adults smoking daily according to government statistic released in November - down from 9.4% last year.

It is hoped that the Smokefree Environments Bill will reduce that number to less than 5% by 2025, with the eventual aim of eliminating the practice altogether.

The bill is also designed to limit the number of retailers able to sell smoked tobacco products to 600 nationwide - down from 6,000 currently - and reduce nicotine levels in products to make them less addictive.
 

Source

Good thing or Bad thing? No doubt the anti smoking brigade will be doing cartwheels to this news

But why pick on smoking, if they were concerned about public health they would be targeting obesity which Kills 1.5 times the number of people than smoking. Oh no, can’t upset the lard asses so pick on the smokers.

This move could be construed as racist since smoking amongst the indigenous population is far higher than amongst the invaders. Also can you imagine in 2050 a 50 year old being “Carded” to buy a pack of smokes, ridiculous situation.

What next after smokes, alcohol? Whilst Smoking has worse long term effects than alcohol, alcohol also has short term effects, I have never heard of someone overdosing on nicotine, involved in a punch up because he had had a few cigarettes or killed someone in a car due to being under the influence of smokes.

As an ex smoker and drinker I know I have screwed up my body a little, but I can take solace in the fact that I have done less harm to myself than if I was obese and have paid for my health care via duties imposed on tobacco and alcohol. 
What we need is a “Fat Tax” 

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  • 1 month later...

As is prolly known - Jacinda Ardhern has quit. There y'go Stick, ask and you shall receive. 

humour:

Stephen Colbert wants to be a flower girl at Jacinda's wedding.

“I’m saving the date, put me down for fish, because you two have found your flower girl.” 

“She’s leaving because it’s the right thing to do? She didn’t lose an election or steal classified documents or have a Boris Johnson sex party? Are you Kiwis sure you know how democracy works?”....

https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/tv-radio/131029082/stephen-colbert-wants-to-be-flower-girl-at-jacinda-arderns-wedding

 

fair comment

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