Farmers not Happy (are they ever?)
Farmers are just like University Students, never happy, but looking at this recent spat with Transpower, it looks like Farmers have a right to be pissy with the Electricity company equivalent of the Soprano family.
The gist is this – Transpower wants to upgrade their lines – Farmers want compensation (I’m guessing for damage to their property/cost to have them on their land?) and Transpower says that in terms of rights to free access, this was all settled in 1950 legislation. Which seems a little disingenuous because the 1950 legislation only guarantees access for service maintenance work, not a complete upgrading of the entire grid.
But when you are negotiating with the Sopranos, they tend to give you offers you can’t refuse – Transpower has responded by threatening legal action.
This from the Herald
More than 50 South Auckland farmers will refuse Transpower access to their properties this summer, beginning a new battle in the war between the power giant and the rural community. Transpower last night threatened legal action if it was refused access. Communications manager Chris Roberts said that, if access were refused, restoration of faulty lines would be put in jeopardy and long power cuts could be the result. But Auckland Federated Farmers say that "unless access and easement agreements with annuities" can be agreed upon with Transpower their gates will remain shut to linesmen.
posted by Bomber @ 10:21 am
10 comments
10 Comments:
I approve of your normal pro-maori, anti-racisim, anti-bigotry, anti-prejudice stances, however one of your areas need improvement - your attitude to rural people and farmers. You don't know a thing about these people. You have no experience with them. You are prejudiced towards them. This is obvious.
Perhaps bomber you have had some bad experiences with a few rural folk and it has left a lingering resentment seething within you. Fear not mate. It is unlikely to be ongoing. You don't look like a big city boy. You look very much like a back-country pig farmer. So rural people will not single you out because of your appearance. But they may well pick up on your contempt vibes, and react.
I suggest you stop trying to encourage anti-farmer and anti-rural feeling, as it is at odds with the very values you apparently stand against: fear-mongering, intollerance, ignorance, us versus themism.
Surely you don't want to become a poster boy for ordinary garden variety hipocrisy?
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Grin - Farmer Anon, you my friend are priceless and very easy to wind up, and I'm glad that the pig farmer look is in this season. I'm amazed that you feel so secure that even when 90% of the above post is actually agreeing with farmers over the conflict they are facing with Transpower, you focus on my slight nudge. I'm happy University Students have thicker skins. I didn't realise what gentle souls you Farmers are and I take back any joke made at the Farming community, the farming community is indeed without humour.
That said, I hope Transpower back off and give Farmers a fair compensation package. Because the Famers might cry.
Good I'm glad I've got through. I think you did realise what gentle souls farmers are, it is why you felt brave enough to head your post "Farmer's aren't happy (are they ever?)".
You wouldn't swap "Farmers" for, lets say, "Muslims" or "Women" for all the pork in China, would you now bomber. Are you admitting that you only risk offending people who won't bite back?
Cry? You better hope Transpower can sort it out. Imagine you Aucklanders being without power for a few hours?. Tissue makers dream about such things.
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Sensitive souls AND very sour souls it seems - (perhaps I should have written about Transpower simply crushing Farmers under their corporate boots if they are all as bitter as our anonymous country friend) - but I must be nicer than that and look beyond their hang ups towards modernity and support them regardless.
Pah ha ha corporate boots. Farmers have more money than little electrical companies. Transpower know that a group of farmers will have the resources to keep them tied up in court for years, thats why they are treading carefully with their sensitive, soft city feet.
I realise you are ignorant of farming and rural life bomber, so I will teach you a little: farmers have more space, more freedom, less stress and much more money than city folk. You don't know that because no farmer feels the need to brag. Those in life who are the real deal don't need to talk about it. I'm not a farmer, so I talk about it.
I sense your little imagination is stringing together some little purility that refers to banjos, bestiality and bumkins. Thats fine, you can't help having been bought up in a city and had your musings retarded to mere cliche.
Mate, Bomber, I worked it out.
You've managed to entangle farmers and rural folk with National Party supporters.
I'm a leftie too, I've loved the last 7 years of labour, and i'm stoked National's reptiles are still wriggling grotesquely on the sidelines.
But get with the times. Farming has changed. Farms are huge these days and the countryside is depopulating. Typically one family now will live in the space formerly occupied by three familes. Their votes are of ever decreasing significance. Even those of the slightly less than 50% who vote Labour.
Hopefully you can see now how politics has provoked this prejudice in you. Next time you think of farmers and rural folk as your political enemy, stop yourself and tell yourself youre wrong. They're not. They're too busy thinking about the weather.
Bro! forget about his title and read the post. Bomber agrees with you farming dudes...!!!
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(I know rangi - that was what I was saying, but I had no idea that these farmer types had such an inferiority complex, look at the language he uses from my heading simply saying that Farmers are never happy. Dude this is the voice of angry Farmer with chips on both shoulders, but shhhh – he’ll get all emotional and angry again and start lashing out, just tip-toe around to the next blog, this is the sort of bloke who has a cry after 2 beers)
Rangi, have a look through all the posts Bomber has done on this blog. In particular the ones that deal with New Zealand. He slips little digs in at farmers and rurals any chance he can get. Its politically motivated, and misguided too.
Bomber its too late to back-pedal. Just admit your ignorance (even just privately to yourself) and start addressing your problem. You have been trying to marginalise farmers because you assume all of them support the Nats.
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Grin - yes I have tried to 'marginalise farmers because they vote National' - lmao - I was brought up around Farms as a kid Anon, so I have plenty of reasons to poke fun at farmers that have nothing to do with who they vote for - but I love the 'marginalise Farmers bit'
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