25-07-2025, 03:49 PM
And then there's this...'farm lobbyists'
https://newsroom.co.nz/2025/07/25/who-be...-part-two/
"On November 28, 2023, the day after he was sworn in as Associate Minister of Agriculture, Andrew Hoggard received a text message.
ÔÇ£Congrats for yesterday Andrew, what a massive honour!!ÔÇØ wrote Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford. ÔÇ£Will see you Wednesday night.ÔÇØ
ItÔÇÖs no surprise the men are friendly. When Hoggard was the lobby groupÔÇÖs president, Langford was his vice president. That is until May 2023, when Hoggard announced he was leaving to stand in the general election as an Act Party candidate ÔÇô something he called ÔÇ£rural politicsÔÇÖ worst-kept secretÔÇØ.
Their relationship raises questions about influence. Not everyone has access to a minister ÔÇô let alone their phone number, or a pre-planned meeting with them a few days later.
But thereÔÇÖs also a level of familiarity not common to all ministerial relationships.
ÔÇ£Hey,ÔÇØ Langford writes in an undated text message, ÔÇ£we are just drawing up the industry agreed position on farm plans, we have a national council meeting on Monday where [we] will present it, does that work for us to get it to you after that?ÔÇØ
Within a minute, Hoggard replies: ÔÇ£Yep really good timing.ÔÇØ
https://newsroom.co.nz/2025/07/25/who-be...-part-two/
"On November 28, 2023, the day after he was sworn in as Associate Minister of Agriculture, Andrew Hoggard received a text message.
ÔÇ£Congrats for yesterday Andrew, what a massive honour!!ÔÇØ wrote Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford. ÔÇ£Will see you Wednesday night.ÔÇØ
ItÔÇÖs no surprise the men are friendly. When Hoggard was the lobby groupÔÇÖs president, Langford was his vice president. That is until May 2023, when Hoggard announced he was leaving to stand in the general election as an Act Party candidate ÔÇô something he called ÔÇ£rural politicsÔÇÖ worst-kept secretÔÇØ.
Their relationship raises questions about influence. Not everyone has access to a minister ÔÇô let alone their phone number, or a pre-planned meeting with them a few days later.
But thereÔÇÖs also a level of familiarity not common to all ministerial relationships.
ÔÇ£Hey,ÔÇØ Langford writes in an undated text message, ÔÇ£we are just drawing up the industry agreed position on farm plans, we have a national council meeting on Monday where [we] will present it, does that work for us to get it to you after that?ÔÇØ
Within a minute, Hoggard replies: ÔÇ£Yep really good timing.ÔÇØ
in order to be old & wise, you must first be young & stupid. (I'm still working on that.)