Winston Peters has floored the public with his latest pronouncement. As everyone waits to see which party he will support into a ruling coalition, he is instead laying down some pronouncements on… carpets? He wants to rip up the carpets in Parliament House and replace them with wool. The reason: wool is on the nose, with demand for wool carpet dramatically falling from around 80 per cent a decade ago, to just 15 per cent today.

Hate to pull the rug out from under Mr Peters' feet, but this carpet is not flying. New carpet in the ministerial offices was only laid last year, and ripping it up now is an extremely fiscally inefficient way to prop up a dying industry. He would be better off asking why the public has so decisively turned against wool. After years of having the wool pulled over their eyes, people have seen the abuse that goes on in shearing sheds all over the world, including a case in Canterbury where four men filmed themselves drunkenly shearing a sheep, resulting in deep cuts and blood dripping down her legs.

No amount of fluff can hide the fact that buying wool supports a cruel and bloody industry. There are plenty of durable, stylish carpets available that don't originate in the follicles of tortured animals.

A Fruno, Associate Director, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Australia