Rural Affairs Minister Calls Farmers 'Whingers And Moaners'

It is outrageous that the Minister of Rural Affairs today called farmers who rightly complained about the proposed 40% increase in ACC costs 'whingers and moaners', National's Rural Affairs spokesperson Shane Ardern said.

"To dismiss farmers in this manner is offensive and arrogant. It shows how out of touch the Minister is with the rural community."

The Minister of Rural Affairs' comments were made in Parliament today in response to a question from the Opposition about assistance for farmers to cope with the proposed massive increase in ACC costs.

"Labour will hurt New Zealand's economy by unfairly targeting farmers with its proposal to sharply increase ACC fees. The increased fees will hit the self-employed, particularly those with a high-accident risk," Mr Ardern said.

Ends

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>