Fonterra Archive

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  Frog vs Rosie in the Battle of the Waterways - by frog

  
  
  
  I’ve had a pretty good start to summer this year. We’ve had plenty of rain, the rivers and wetlands have been nice and full. In between writing blogs, I have had plenty of opportunities to frolic among the raupo as any decent self-respecting Frog should. But recently my home playground and my place as New [...] read more
  December 21, 2011 10:40 am - 2 Comments
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  Mangatainoka River – April 3, 2011 - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  The Mangatainoka River has been made famous by Tui with their beer ads – scantily dressed women supposedly frolicking in the river near the brewery. Well, it’s true that the Mangatainoka is near the brewery, but it is heavily polluted so I don’t reckon they frolicked in the river itself. As recently as January 18, [...] read more
  April 13, 2011 2:35 pm - 5 Comments
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  Milk ’Investigation’ a creamwash - by Sue Kedgley

  
  
  
  The MAF review of the domestic milk market in New Zealand is a creamwash – which is to say that if it isn’t a complete whitewash it certainly comes close. It fails to address the central issue of the lack of competition in the domestic market. In fact it admits it hasn’t even investigated this [...] read more
  March 15, 2011 12:21 pm - 25 Comments
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  Why NZ sent army engineers to Iraq in 2003 - by Keith Locke

  
  
  
  There has been outrage from Helen Clark, Phil Goff and Jim Anderton over a claim by a US Embassy official (in the Wikileaks documents) that: “Senior MOD officials (strictly protect) tell us it was not until Finance Minister Michael Cullen pointed out in a subsequent Cabinet meeting that New Zealand’s absence from Iraq might cost [...] read more
  December 22, 2010 12:01 pm - 6 Comments
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  Fonterra’s discharge into the Manawatu - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  I’ve been looking into Fonterra’s discharge of condensate into the Mangatainoka River in the Wairarapa, which leads to the Manawatu. You can read it about it here. [UPDATE - Fonterra just announced that they are reconsidering their application and "decided to look at alternatives, such as irrigating to land or diverting through the local town [...] read more
  October 29, 2010 4:21 pm - 7 Comments
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  The milk ad they don’t want you to see - by frog

  
  
  
  Warning: starts out nice, ends badly. For phil read more
  October 7, 2010 9:47 pm - 21 Comments
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  Wet bus tickets OR Clean Streams - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  The latest compliance figures on the Clean Streams Accord are due out on Thursday. Fonterra, in an attempt to front foot the issue – hinting that the Accord report will be bad news – has released a proposal to penalise non-compliant farmers a $3000 fine. It’s simply ‘a wet bus ticket’ approach to dealing with [...] read more
  March 9, 2009 11:28 am - 8 Comments
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  I’m less likely to trust them too - by frog

  
  
  
  No, not Clark and Key this time. In the Business section of the Dominion Post today: More than half of Chinese consumers say they are now less likely to trust New Zealand food products after the melamine contamination scandal, according to a just-released survey. And: Sinogie Consulting chief executive Bruce McLaughlin, who is based in [...] read more
  September 29, 2008 2:02 pm - 2 Comments
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  Fonterra and MFAT’s role as ambassadors - by frog

  
  
  
  As I’ve said before I think the Sanlu milk scandal is health story rather than a business story or a ‘Brand New Zealand- 100% Pure’ story.  Nonetheless much of the coverage here has been about what dead and ill babies in China means for Fonterra as a company. Has it hurt them/us or not? There’s [...] read more
  September 23, 2008 8:49 am - 4 Comments
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  A sahara desert’s worth of milk powder - by frog

  
  
  
  I just got sent this video of a Sanlu advertising campaign: Sanlu’s September 2008 TV commercial for Western media, with the copy “For the past 15 years we have enough sale volume covered the entire sahara desert”. The ‘volume’ refers to milk powder. Meanwhile Sue Kedgley has been asking some pertinent questions: While we welcome [...] read more
  September 22, 2008 3:50 pm - 6 Comments
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  Our company was a guest in China - by frog

  
  
  
  According to the Sunday Star Times this morning: [A] Christchurch political scientist says Fonterra’s lack of understanding of the Chinese political and business environment meant the dairy giant was out of its depth before it had even bought its 43% shareholding in China’s largest dairy company, Sanlu, in late 2005 for $US107m. That remains one [...] read more
  September 21, 2008 1:55 pm - 5 Comments
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  Fonterra’s baby milk tragedy - by frog

  
  
  
  I wonder how we would feel if a Chinese company operating in New Zealand were found to be responsible for the death one baby and made another 432 sick with kidney damage? Then the Chinese Premier steps in to defend the company, whose subsidiary had known about this for 6 months, and hopes that its [...] read more
  September 15, 2008 11:15 am - 6 Comments
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  Dirty dairying - by frog

  
  
  
  The Minister for the Environment, Trevor Mallard, was not in a very talkative mood this afternoon.   Russel asked him during question time if he was concerned that dirty dairying in New Zealand is now “gaining international notoriety�?, as stated in Rural News on 29 August; if so, does he agree with comments in Rural [...] read more
  September 11, 2008 9:36 pm - 8 Comments
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  Business Council for Sustainable Development’s internal ructions - by frog

  
  
  
  The Business Council for Sustainable Development’s report arguing that an emissions trading scheme could lead to more than $12 billion of investment over the next 10 years and create nearly 10,000 jobs has certainly thrown the cat amongst the pigeons. The interesting thing to me is not so much the validity or not of NZBCSD’s [...] read more
  June 25, 2008 9:50 am - 33 Comments
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  Stolen water - by frog

  
  
  
  Frank Brenmuhl, chairperson of the Dairy Section of Federated Farmers, has just given his AGM speech in which he bemoans that attacks that he perceives dairy farmers face from the Greens and other environmentalists.  The basis of his defence is very Rousseau-ian: The physical resources that we use, to produce food is what we have [...] read more
  June 24, 2008 1:04 pm - 4 Comments
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  Crown cows - by frog

  
  
  
  I realised yesterday that I hadn’t yet highlighted the scandalous part of Russel’s investigations into water yet, so those of you who had not seen his speech or don’t follow rural media, such as the Farmers Weekly, may not be aware that a debate has been raging about the fact that Government’s fingerprints have been [...] read more
  June 12, 2008 9:54 am - 11 Comments
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  Jeanette on Close Up - by frog

  
  
  
  Close Up also featured Jeanette last night asking Fonterra to consider making a gesture to New Zealanders who are feeling the pain of rising food prices by selling its domestic milk at a reasonable margin but not a price related to the international market price.  Fonterra termed this a  subsidy and resisted the concept but [...] read more
  June 12, 2008 9:43 am - 48 Comments
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  Greens looking forward to after the election - by frog

  
  
  
  Vernon Small, uses his column in the Dominion Post today to argue that the Greens have no where to go when they get down to negotiations after the election. He notes that the political climate while volatile, looks better for the Greens than last election. So, on balance, the Greens can look forward to a [...] read more
  June 2, 2008 5:07 pm - 78 Comments
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  A challenge to Fonterra - by frog

  
  
  
  Shortly after Jeanette gave this speech on Saturday, the Herald reported: Dairy giant Fonterra last night backed away from further price hikes after Green Party co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons challenged it to make its products affordable for New Zealanders. read more
  June 2, 2008 4:39 pm - 36 Comments
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  Launching a food revolution - by frog

  
  
  
  The Greens have put the politics of food front and centre of their election campaign yesterday with Jeanette launching a food revolution. I’m recruiting a democratic coalition of the willing for our revolution. Our revolution is not a violent one with guns and tanks. Nor is it a falsely stereotypical one of hippies and activists. [...] read more
  June 1, 2008 7:39 am - 38 Comments