Change in the law on redundancies

Posted on 10th Jun 2013 10:24 | By Anonymous Author

Wendy MacphailEmployment Law Services Three recent cases from the Employment Court are indicating a change in the way the court is viewing redundancies.  The impact of these cases is such that employers are wise to seek professional advice before undertaking any consultation that may result in redundancies.Of interest, is the emphasis the...

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Planning essential

Posted on 10th Jun 2013 10:21 | By Anonymous Author

Brent TrailManaging DirectorSurveying Services Ltd The subdivision rules of many district plans in the region are currently under appeal, following council decisions to reduce subdivision and development in a major way. In my view, this is only the start, regardless of the Government reviewing the Resource Management Act. Land development is...

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Rural finance – The Good the Bad and the Ugly

Posted on 10th Jun 2013 10:16 | By Anonymous Author

Financewith Don Fraser Fraser Farm Finance Rural finance is a hot topic and not for the faint hearted. Banks have done a great job in putting their funds with farmers’ cash and helping them buy farms. Many farmers have done extremely well, re-paid or managed bank debt to their own advantage and come out very wealthy. However, a minority...

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National Psa-V pest management plan now in force

Posted on 7th Jun 2013 16:11 | By Anonymous Author

Mike ChapmanNZKGI Chief Executive At last, we have a National Psa-V Pest Management Plan (Psa-V Plan) in place for the kiwifruit industry. It came into force on Friday, May 17, after being formally approved by the Ministry for Primary Industries.   This means the kiwifruit industry can now effectively deal with the disease Psa-V. The plan...

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Survey gets a fix on dairy water use

Posted on 10th May 2013 09:07 | By Anonymous Author

It’s been called our “competitive advantage” or “blue gold”. By any name, freshwater is the basis of our agricultural production. But it’s under increasing pressure. Summer droughts, seasonal water shortages and competing demand for the resource mean efficient water-use is more important than ever. DairyNZ, for...

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Risk assessed interest rates a good thing

Posted on 10th May 2013 09:02 | By Anonymous Author

Financewith Don Fraser Fraser Farm Finance On the farm interest rates are now linked to your balance sheet results. It has become clear that banks are now completing a risk assessment on every farming business. I have identified the following four points as being key issues the banks consider:1. Analysis of your annual accounts profit and loss...

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Where are our young leaders?

Posted on 10th May 2013 08:51 | By Anonymous Author

Mike ChapmanNZKGI Chief Executive Every industry needs to identify and nurture its future leaders. Most industries do very little to make this happen. Horticulture is fortunate that HortNZ, our industry organisation, runs and supports many leadership development programmes. For kiwifruit to do its part, New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Incorporated...

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Rural subdivision gets harder still

Posted on 10th May 2013 08:49 | By Anonymous Author

Brent TrailManaging DirectorSurveying Services Ltd When proposed changes to rural subdivision rules were announced more than two years ago I was not surprised at the tightening of the rules in an attempt to slow down the number of lifestyle blocks. Council had been challenged by the sheer number of blocks being cut off the frontages of larger...

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Get Brain Smart - Get Change Smart

Posted on 10th May 2013 08:47 | By Anonymous Author

Wendy MacphailEmployment Law Services Change is hard. Our brain resists change. Understanding how our brain reacts to change is helpful not only in our work environment, but also in our personal lives. When anything tries to change us we push back and try to maintain our current way of doing things. Even when our livelihood is at risk, change...

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Three days between peace and revolution?

Posted on 12th Sep 2012 11:27 | By Anonymous Author

Financewith Don Fraser Fraser Farm Finance On the back of rising food demand and falling or stagnant food supply, prices of food are rising to record levels. If you look at Egypt, Libya, Iran, Syria, the uprisings there were in part, caused by soaring food prices and a lack of food security. Governments are now realising that food security and...

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