Is a North Otago farmer and award-winning environmentalist who comes with her own Awards for 2024 - The Smasher Smith Awards!
Jane Smith is a North Otago farmer, a former wonder of the Balance Farm Environment Awards, and she's got her own awards today. I'm calling them the Smash of Smith Awards. Jane. No time to waste, You've got five awards, rip.
Into them at Artourne Jamie and really just thought about these off the top of my head this morning when we're weaning lambs. But best moment of the year now, the best moment of the year. I think it's a three way tie, so you know, just that moment when their target regional council we're about to notify an ill conceived, expensive freshwater plant and they literally got slammed the night before by a government intervention. So thank you to Penny Simmons for that. Who saves rape payers millions more dollars being squandered and an unfit plan that would have to be rehashed again. Coming in just last week watching the bankers sweating in their suits while being hauled over the coals by Acts Mark Cameron and colleagues on the Banking Inquiry. That was a fantastic, great viewing, by the way, for their corp overreach us just bloody fantastic and also the day that South and Feeds personalize you know what Federated farmers should look like. When the day that they essentially locked fish and game out for all of the right reasons. So those were my best moments of the year, Jamie.
Biggest disappointment of the year.
Runner up for this Jamie, other district councils that have around the country that have continued on their land grab crusade by notifying district plans that aren't such human consumption, just as the way Techi District Communist Council good yesterday. But the biggest disappointment of the year was ten days ago when the methane Review Panel ignored their one job, which was actually to define their amount of warming that rumin it methane was contributed in New Zealand and to stick to the science, which they ignored, and they came out with the you know that they said they still need to be regulated, targets needed, which again I would say went completely against their better judgment. They ran us past the aggra zeros and the banks and the silt and farms of the world who said, holy shit, this is the only way we're getting any research money through me saying we need to continue. And that's pretty disappointing for a taxpayers point of view, Jamie. And I'm really pushing for a taxpay inquiry on why millions more would be sent on this, Jamie, for a country that has literally broke.
Biggest hope for twenty twenty five.
So my biggest hope is, as most people would say, is a first world healthcare system, pretty tricky with a second world economy at the moment. But also from a rural point of view, the corporate green washing to come to an end. So a lot of the bureaucrats that are like this have been voted off the island, Jamie, but we continue to get slammed by a corporate climbers. You know again, that sel fom Farms meeting the other day was more resembled more a green party conference. And you know, you see Fonterra the latest story about their wood chips that they're replacing the coal burners with. So their milk powder drying plants are now not dry enough, so they're taking them trucking them to diesel fire drying kilms to dry them before they can use them. You know, that sort of green washing, Jamie, is costing the country millions and the opportunity cost of that is massive as well, Jamie.
Your politician of the year. Now I know who it won't be. It won't be your old sparring partner Damian O'Connor. Who is it?
Well, I was going to say Winston David Seymour. There are a few of the only few politicians in the world that had the courage to say what they really think. But actually this year, Jamie's going to be Mark Cameron, Northland dairy farmer and politician. He has a very well calibrated bullshit brometer. He's had a tragic year on a personal front, losing his son, but he's fronted up held the line for Royal New Zealand and small businesses around the country. So thank you Mark. Yeah.
And he's also suffered some pretty bad health this year and he keeps battling away. Good on you, Mark Cameron. You'r ag person of the year. Drum roll.
Okay. So firstly, a group of people, and that is all of the farmers that have had the courage and tenacity to go on air and share their mental health stories. So your farm strong farmers like Mark Guest gone earlier in the week that was ebscellent, the amazing and it blows my mind that they're willing to do this anyway. Lelon let alone on here, so thank you then. But the AGG Person of the Year is Craig Wiggy Wiggins. I'm tirelessly working in mental health space and at the same time he epitomizes everything about tough rural rodeo type blokes and he does all of this without the Mike King type of funding and fancier and just does that, you know, the lean on the gates or whatever with Wiggy, replace the mates, the farm sitting service, all of those things and he just gets on and does them. So thank you Wiggy from Provincial New Zealand.
And he's a top blug to boot. Hey, Jane Smith, thanks for your contribution throughout twenty twenty four. We'll get you back next year. We never die wondering what you're thinking and that's what we love about you. Go well.
Thanks Shanne