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A few years ago, I decided to get some chickens to help tidy up the vege garden over winter. The last thing I wanted was for some of my former colleagues to come knocking on my door, so I spent a few hours digging through district plans knowing the rules can be very different depending on whether you’re in Christchurch, Rolleston, or Ashburton. Simplifying planning makes sense. Provided everyone follows the rules and is considerate. But there’s always that ONE person who sets

My social media is overflowing with Elf-on-the-Shelf antics, Silver Bells echoing through every mall, and the supermarket looks like Santa threw up. Christmas is definitely on its way. With the holiday season comes the annual rush: “Let’s get this done before Christmas!” and “Before you head off for the holidays, could you just… [insert task that could probably wait until January].”  Even governments aren’t immune, scrambling to release documents for public consultation befor

There’s an old saying that 80% of people think they’re in the top 20% of performers. It’s human nature. But are farmers any different? Fonterra tells us we’re the most efficient producers of dairy protein in the world. Yet recent water quality results suggest there’s still room to improve. So how efficient are we, really? The tricky thing about “data” is you can make it say what you want. Take the often-quoted link between nitrates in drinking water and bowel cancer. It’s fre