/on-air/the-country/audio/rss ¾ÅÒ»ÐÇ¿ÕÎÞÏÞ Wed, 03 Dec 2025 17:05:30 Z en /on-air/the-country/audio/miles-hurrell-fonterra-ceo-on-whether-dairy-farmers-will-break-even-this-season/ /on-air/the-country/audio/miles-hurrell-fonterra-ceo-on-whether-dairy-farmers-will-break-even-this-season/ Fonterra still expects most dairy farmers to break even this season. It's lowered the forecast farmgate milk payout midpoint for this season, from $10 to $9.50. It follows a sharp drop in global dairy prices, sparked by a big lift in global supply. Fonterra boss Miles Hurrell says while the forecast is well below last season's $10.16 payout, farmers should still be pretty happy. LISTEN ABOVE Tue, 25 Nov 2025 03:25:35 Z /on-air/the-country/audio/winston-peters-foreign-minister-outlines-future-plans-for-nz-first/ /on-air/the-country/audio/winston-peters-foreign-minister-outlines-future-plans-for-nz-first/ Winston Peters is eyeing-up his next term in politics. The seasoned politician doesn't look to be slowing down New Zealand First's campaign machine any time soon. Peters indicated to The Country's Jamie Mackay that they're already a double-digit party, by some counts. LISTEN ABOVE Thu, 06 Nov 2025 03:09:18 Z /on-air/the-country/audio/miles-hurrell-fonterra-ceo-on-the-companys-sale-of-key-consumer-brands/ /on-air/the-country/audio/miles-hurrell-fonterra-ceo-on-the-companys-sale-of-key-consumer-brands/ Fonterra's sale of brands like Mainland and Anchor is expected to have ripple effects across the economy. Farmer-shareholders have voted overwhelmingly to sell off the dairy co-op's consumer arm to French dairy giant Lactalis for $4.2 billion dollars. It's expected to unlock billions of dollars of additional spending into the economy.  Chief executive Miles Hurrell says says Fonterra hopes to return about $3.2 billion to shareholders - equivalent to about 0.7 percent of GDP. LISTEN ABOVE Thu, 30 Oct 2025 02:28:43 Z /on-air/the-country/audio/chris-luxon-prime-minister-talks-recent-energy-sector-announcement/ /on-air/the-country/audio/chris-luxon-prime-minister-talks-recent-energy-sector-announcement/ The Government's maintaining the status quo - of its controlling interests in Mercury, Meridian and Genesis. Calls for change had included the CTU wanting full nationalisation, and Act pushing for privatisation.  Prime Minister Chris Luxon says instead, the Government will offer more active funding support to the gentailers.  "We are going to maintain our shareholding in these gentailer companies, but if you want to raise more money to make those investments in that capital, we will support you." Other tweaks include speeding up consents for renewable energy projects and establishing a backstop LNG import facility. LISTEN ABOVE Wed, 01 Oct 2025 02:49:34 Z /on-air/the-country/audio/shane-jones-fisheries-minister-stands-by-belief-that-mauis-dolphins-arent-real/ /on-air/the-country/audio/shane-jones-fisheries-minister-stands-by-belief-that-mauis-dolphins-arent-real/ The Fisheries Minister is again claiming Maui's dolphins are not real. Shane Jones has made the claim numerous times, including in 2020, where he claimed they were all Hector's dolphins.  Jones reiterated the controversial claim to The Country's Jamie Mackay - and he says there is no such thing as a Maui's dolphin. LISTEN ABOVE Thu, 18 Sept 2025 03:15:23 Z /on-air/the-country/audio/chris-luxon-prime-minister-on-the-governments-u-turn-on-scrapping-agricultural-courses/ /on-air/the-country/audio/chris-luxon-prime-minister-on-the-governments-u-turn-on-scrapping-agricultural-courses/ The Ministry of Education has u-turned on plans to scrap agriculture-related school subjects from 2028 after industry pushback. The Government recently announced a planned shake-up for the secondary school curriculum, which added several new subjects - but shifted agriculture, horticulture and agribusiness to vocational courses. Prime Minister Chris Luxon joined The Country's Jamie Mackay to explain what inspired this change. LISTEN ABOVE Wed, 17 Sept 2025 01:46:37 Z /on-air/the-country/audio/winston-peters-foreign-minister-on-the-death-of-charlie-kirk/ /on-air/the-country/audio/winston-peters-foreign-minister-on-the-death-of-charlie-kirk/ A controversial US figure - credited with galvanising young support for President Donald Trump - has died after a shooting at a Utah university.  Witnesses say Charlie Kirk was answering questions when he was shot in the neck, causing the crowd to scramble. Foreign Minister Winston Peters joined The Country to discuss the 'tragedy'. LISTEN ABOVE Thu, 11 Sept 2025 04:08:34 Z /on-air/the-country/audio/stuart-nash-former-labour-mp-on-his-move-to-nz-first/ /on-air/the-country/audio/stuart-nash-former-labour-mp-on-his-move-to-nz-first/ Former Labour Cabinet Minister Stuart Nash has officially switched his political allegiance - and criticised his former party. Nash spoke to supporters at the New Zealand First conference in Palmerston North over the weekend. Also in attendance was ex-National MP Harete Hipango. Nash says whether he speaks from the sidelines or as an MP remains to be seen. LISTEN ABOVE Mon, 08 Sept 2025 03:24:03 Z