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Speaker 1: Now the government has written to our underperforming state owned

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Speaker 1: enterprises telling them to buck up their ideas. The letters

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Speaker 1: have gone to Land Corp, New Zealand, Post Cordia and

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Speaker 1: a bunch of other soees telling them to perform at

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Speaker 1: a similar level to their competitors in the private sector.

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Speaker 1: Grant McCallum is the National MP for Northland, also a

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Speaker 1: farmer and with us now.

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Speaker 2: Haygrund, Yeah, good afternoon here. So I want to talk

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Speaker 2: to you.

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Speaker 1: About land corpor because you understand this business. Why can't

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Speaker 1: these guys turn a profit? What's going on?

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Speaker 2: They've lost their way, They've lost the focused on just

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Speaker 2: being the absolute basics of farming, which is to grow

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Speaker 2: grass efficiently, feed their animals efficiently, and focus in on that.

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Speaker 2: They've got lost in a whole lot of other ideas

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Speaker 2: I think haven't helped well. I think that they'll be

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Speaker 2: able to trying to melk deer and things like that,

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Speaker 2: which really I think most farming communities raise their eyebrows

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Speaker 2: that sort of thing. The opportunities are there, but we

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Speaker 2: look at the prices at the moment we're getting for

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Speaker 2: dairy products, for beef products, for land, the key we

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Speaker 2: fruit and so forth, they should be doing a lot

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Speaker 2: better than they are.

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Speaker 1: Well, how have they got themselves so wildly distracted?

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Speaker 2: Well, I think the previous leadership from previous from previous

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Speaker 2: boards haven't helped, and the encouragement from previous ministers to

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Speaker 2: get to go off on away from the basics of

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Speaker 2: New Zealand farming.

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Speaker 1: Inst is this not fundamentally is the problem not fundamentally

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Speaker 1: rooted in the fact that they do not have to

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Speaker 1: turn a profit. Right if you do not turn a profit,

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Speaker 1: you potentially lose your farm. If they don't turn a profit,

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Speaker 1: it's aokay.

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Speaker 2: I suspect that's been part of the issue because clearly

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Speaker 2: with the results haven't been up to spect. But now

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Speaker 2: then that's why I poured the minister. What he's saying

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Speaker 2: is they've got a focus on running this as a business.

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Speaker 2: The taxpayer deserves nothing less. They should be turning well

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Speaker 2: and excess of getting close to two billion dollars worth

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Speaker 2: of the air sets, they should be returning with an

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Speaker 2: excess of one hundred million minimum and getting up up

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Speaker 2: towards a couple of hundred million dollars over time from

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Speaker 2: some of those assets, which would be really help the

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Speaker 2: governments and help pay for other services like our health

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Speaker 2: and our social welfare and that sort of thing.

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Speaker 1: So should we sell a steak in Land Corps?

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Speaker 2: The current governments policy is that no, not this term

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Speaker 2: of governments, and that's that'll be it for a decision

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Speaker 2: to be made by the Prime Minister going forward.

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Speaker 1: Basically, what I'm hearing from you is you have some

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Speaker 1: thoughts on the matter, but because you're part of the

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Speaker 1: National Party, you cannot share them with me right now.

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Speaker 2: Fair fair to say that what we have to do

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Speaker 2: now is get the performance out of this Saturday Enterprise

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Speaker 2: and any decisions about sales will be for another day.

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Speaker 2: But we committed this term and no asset sales.

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Speaker 1: Hey, listen, what is it that you've been telling the

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Speaker 1: producers You've got a problem with my views on rugby?

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Speaker 1: What's going on?

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Speaker 2: Well, actually, I'm finally quite intrigued heither. I've bumped into

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Speaker 2: you a couple of times at Eton Park. You've been

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Speaker 2: on the raid having a crack at the game of

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Speaker 2: rugby became I love and I take sapen and the

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Speaker 2: super competition is he's been outstanding saying that you don't

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Speaker 2: watch it anymore. I did you turn up then you

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Speaker 2: turn up at Eden Park and why are you there?

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Speaker 1: Because I'm there to talk to you, Grant. I want

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Speaker 1: to be inside the corporate box talking to you, and

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Speaker 1: you're talking to me. So you're not watching the game either,

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Speaker 1: are you?

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Speaker 2: Oh yes, I'm watching the rugby and so are you

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Speaker 2: hither And I just think it's important that you that

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Speaker 2: your listeners know that you are really a rugby fan

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Speaker 2: and you're just having bit of fun.

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Speaker 1: No that, no, I will say. You've got me in

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Speaker 1: trouble now, haven't you, Grant. I'll see you at the

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Speaker 1: corporate box, mate, Bie grand Mcallum Northland Farmer. Hey listen

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Speaker 1: and MP No no, no, no, no no, let's just

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Speaker 1: get this straight, Okay. I love rugby, which is why

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Speaker 1: I winge about it because I can see it going

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Speaker 1: down the toilet and I'm not watching it. I'm standing there.

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Speaker 1: I literally I am standing there talking to Grant. And it's

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Speaker 1: because of my love of rugby that I complain about it.

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Speaker 2: You know what I mean?

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Speaker 1: You know what I mean. For more from Heather Duplessy,

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Speaker 1: Allen Drive, listen live to news Talks. It'd be from

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Speaker 1: four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio