Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

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Last chance to complete your set: Woolworths announces final Disney OOSHIES™ Swap Day as stock runs out nationwide

Source: Woolworths New Zealand

21 August 2026 – Woolworths teams nationwide are handing out their final Disney OOSHIES™. To keep the magic going just a little longer and to help Kiwis finish their collections, Woolworths is hosting a second and final Swap Day this Saturday, 22 August, from 10AM to 12PM.

The final event gives collectors of all ages an opportunity to connect with fellow fans, trade duplicate figures, and find the final elusive characters to complete their 40-figure set.

Since launching on 13 July, the 10th anniversary Disney OOSHIES™ featuring beloved characters from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars, has swept across Aotearoa, bringing excitement to millions of people nationwide.

To mark the end of the campaign, Woolworths has revealed one final surprise for Kiwi collectors. From 24 to 30 August, 600 rare Platinum Buzz Lightyear OOSHIES™ will be up for grabs between both FreshChoice and Woolworths. Everyday Rewards members who Boost the offer in the app, and spend $30 or more in an eligible transaction will automatically enter the draw to win one of these limited-edition figures.

Woolworths General Manager Brand and Marketing, Abbe Hale, says the response to the Disney OOSHIES™ programme has surpassed expectations.

“The enthusiasm for the Disney OOSHIES™ has been incredible and every single OOSHIE™ has now been handed out at checkouts across the country and in online order bags.

“We want to give collectors one last chance to complete their sets. Hosting a final Swap Day across all 185 of our stores nationwide is a fun way to bring local communities together. Plus, with the exclusive Platinum Buzz Lightyear OOSHIES™ up for grabs for NZ customers through Everyday Rewards, there’s still some more magic left to discover”.

Key Event Details:

  • Event: Woolworths official Disney OOSHIES™ Swap Day
  • Date: Saturday 22 August 2026
  • Time: 10am to 12pm
  • Location: Woolworths stores nationwide
  • What to bring: Any duplicate Disney OOSHIES™ you’d like to trade with fellow collectors.

About the Campaign:

Woolworths customers received one Disney OOSHIE™ for every $30 spent in-store or online, as well as at FreshChoice and via MILKRUN, while stocks lasted.

The 2026 lineup celebrates 10 years of OOSHIES™ with 40 unique characters, including fan favorites from Disney’s Moana, Disney and Pixar’s Toy Story 5, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu.

Made from 97% recycled materials, if customers can’t make the swap day, we encourage them to drop off any unwanted OOSHIES™ into dedicated in-store recycling bins until 13 September 2026.

For more information, including store locations, and terms and conditions visit https://www.woolworths.co.nz/Disney-Ooshies.

About Woolworths New Zealand:

Woolworths New Zealand is one of New Zealand’s largest employers with 21,000 team members across over 185 supermarkets, distribution centres, processing plants and support offices. Each week we serve over three million customers and work with hundreds of food producers and suppliers throughout Aotearoa. We’re committed to delivering New Zealand’s best supermarket experiences for customers and team with more value, innovation and accelerated investment in our stores. We’re proud to give back to the communities we live and work in, and every year we donate several million dollars worth of food, funding and sponsorship to our communities.

Woolworths New Zealand is also the franchisor of more than 70 FreshChoice stores, which are locally owned and operated. Woolworths New Zealand is part of Woolworths Group.

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PSA calls on Public Service Commission to withdraw te reo Māori parade guidance

Source: Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi

The Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi is deeply concerned by guidance recently issued by the Public Service Commission that discourages public servants from attending the annual Te Wiki o te Reo Māori parade.

The union is warning that the guidance could have a chilling effect on public servants’ work to protect and promote te reo Māori.

“We are calling on Public Service Commissioner Sir Brian Roche to withdraw this flawed guidance and send a clear public message that public servants are encouraged to attend the parade,” said PSA Te Kaihautū Māori Jack McDonald.

“For a number of years many public service departments have appropriately supported their employees to participate in these parades. Departments have a duty to promote te reo Māori and support its revitalisation.

“Attending an event organised by Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori is entirely consistent with a public servant’s obligations and the policies their employers are required to operate under the Public Service Act.

“The Crown has a commitment under Te Ture mō Te Reo Māori 2016 to work in partnership with Māori to actively protect and promote te reo Māori for future generations. Attendance at the parade by public servants during work hours should therefore be expected and encouraged.

“The Commission’s guidance is also in flagrant disregard of recent findings from the Waitangi Tribunal’s report on the Te Reo in the Public Sector Urgent Inquiry, including that the Crown is required to take active steps to redress the vulnerable state of te reo Māori, and that the Crown must do more to upskill the public service in te reo Māori.

“It is very clear that the Public Service Commission should be supporting participation in events that promote and celebrate te reo Māori, not discouraging it. The Commissioner needs to urgently with the guidance to ensure that it does not have a chilling effect on the promotion of te reo Māori in the public service,” said McDonald.

The Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi is Aotearoa New Zealand's largest trade union, representing and supporting more than 95,000 workers across central government, state-owned enterprises, local councils, health boards and community groups.

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NZPFU rejects options to progress settlement of collective agreement negotiations

Source: Fire and Emergency New Zealand

Fire and Emergency is disappointed the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union (NZPFU) has rejected its request to explore arbitration as a way to bring their long-running collective agreement negotiations to a conclusion.

“We have been working in good faith, utilising all of the options available under the Employment Relations Act to try and reach a sustainable settlement with the NZPFU,” Deputy Chief Executive People Janine Hearn says.

“Most recently, we’ve been in a facilitation process through the Employment Relations Authority to try to resolve the dispute. As part of that process, the independent facilitator again asked each party to exchange its current proposal for settlement after a prior refusal by the NZPFU. Fire and Emergency agreed to do so, but the NZPFU, once again, did not.

“After a long period of bargaining, that step would have allowed both parties to put forward fair and reasonable proposals that could help settle the dispute. The NZPFU’s stance is extremely disappointing and again delays a sustainable settlement that would mean we can get on with keeping our communities safe.

“Unfortunately, a significant gap remains between us. Our most recent offer would have delivered a 2.2 percent increase from 1 December 2025 and a 2.2 percent from 1 January 2027 over a 24-month term to the end of November 2027. This was at a cost of $50 million over four years and compares favourably with other public sector settlements.

“By comparison, the NZPFU’s settlement proposal was for more than $130 million over the same period. That is not financially realistic at a time when we also have to keep investing in the trucks and equipment our people need to do their jobs safely.

“The ERA has resolved to reconvene facilitation, which we’ve agreed to and will be approaching with an open mind and in good faith to try and reach a settlement.

“The NZPFU’s continued refusal to agree to steps that could progress bargaining only serves to erode the benefits their members will receive from an eventual settlement. The Government’s Workforce Policy Statement is clear that settlements are to avoid backdating any components of adjustments to pay and conditions.

“Arbitration would have involved an independent arbitrator or arbitration panel considering the positions of both parties and making a decision on the matters referred.

“Given the significant gap between the parties, the protracted nature of negotiations, the impact on our team members and the risk to the wider community, we believe we have an obligation to explore every possible option for reaching settlement.

“We were hopeful the NZPFU would agree to discuss this process so we can continue focusing on keeping our communities safe,” Janine Hearn says.

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EMA appoints Matthew Dearing as Head of Legal

Source: Employers and Manufacturers Association (EMA)

The EMA (Employers and Manufacturers Association) has appointed experienced employment lawyer Matthew Dearing as Head of Legal and General Counsel, strengthening its specialist support for New Zealand businesses at a time of significant workplace and employment law change.

Throughout his career, Dearing has advised organisations ranging from small businesses to major multinational employers across all aspects of New Zealand employment law. He regularly supports clients through complex and sensitive matters, including personal grievances, restructures, performance management, medical incapacity issues and workplace investigations. He also represents clients in collective bargaining, Labour Inspectorate matters, mediation, the Employment Relations Authority, the Human Rights Review Tribunal and the Employment Court.

Dearing is no stranger to the EMA, having previously worked in the organisation's legal team from 2011 to 2022. From 2017 to 2022, he was Head of Legal and General Counsel, leading a team of specialist employment lawyers and supporting employers across a wide range of workplace relations matters.

EMA Chief Executive John Fraser-Mackenzie said Dearing's appointment reinforces the EMA's commitment to providing businesses with practical, commercially focused legal support.

“Matthew brings an outstanding combination of legal expertise, leadership experience and deep knowledge of the EMA and our members.

“Having previously led our legal team, he understands the challenges employers face and the importance of delivering advice that is both legally sound and commercially pragmatic.

“At a time when businesses are navigating significant workplace and employment law change, Matthew's experience will be invaluable in helping our members build productive workplaces, manage risk and respond confidently to emerging issues.

“We are delighted to welcome Matthew back to the EMA leadership team.”

Dearing holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Waikato and a Master of Laws with Merit from Victoria University of Wellington. He was admitted to the Bar in 2005 and is an AMINZ-qualified mediator. He has also been a member of The Law Association's Employment Law Committee for the past 14 years.

Dearing said he was excited to return to the EMA and reconnect with its members.

“The EMA plays a vital role in supporting New Zealand businesses, and I am looking forward to working with members and alongside the talented team at the EMA.

“The workplace landscape continues to evolve, bringing both opportunities and challenges for employers. I look forward to helping businesses find practical solutions that support their people, meet their legal obligations and achieve their business goals.”

As Head of Legal, Dearing will lead the EMA's specialist legal team, providing employment law advice, advocacy and training support to EMA members across New Zealand.

More information about the EMA’s legal services: https://ema.co.nz/services/legal/

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Fuel leads rise in imports in the year ended July 2026 – Overseas merchandise trade: July 2026 – Stats NZ news story and information release

Source: Statistics New Zealand

Fuel leads rise in imports in the year ended July 2026 – news story

21 August 2026

New Zealand’s total imports were valued at $89.8 billion in the year ended July 2026, up $9.0 billion (11 percent) compared with the year ended July 2025, according to figures released by Stats NZ today.

Petroleum and petroleum products led the rise, up $2.3 billion (23 percent) to $12.1 billion. Higher prices for diesel, petrol, and jet fuel all contributed to the increase.

“Fuel accounted for one-quarter of the increase in the total value of imports in the year ended July 2026,” international accounts spokesperson Shanna Dilworth said.

While overseas merchandise trade does not explicitly measure price changes, the rising value of fuel imports over the period was predominately driven by higher prices.

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Taranaki records largest decrease in regional greenhouse gas emissions in 2025 – Greenhouse gas emissions by region (industry and household): Year ended 2025 – Stats NZ news story and information release

Source: Statistics New Zealand

Taranaki records largest decrease in regional greenhouse gas emissions in 2025 – news story

21 August 2026

Taranaki region had the largest decrease in greenhouse gas emissions in the year ended December 2025, according to figures released by Stats NZ today.

Overall, New Zealand’s total regional greenhouse gas emissions decreased 1,921 kilotonnes to 76,202 kilotonnes in the year ended December 2025, the lowest level since the series began in 2007.

“For the second year in a row, Taranaki had the largest decrease in greenhouse gas emissions,” environment statistics spokesperson Tehseen Islam said.

Taranaki’s total emissions decreased 657 kilotonnes (12.4 percent) between 2024 and 2025. The region accounted for 34 percent of the overall reduction in regional emissions in that period.

“The 12.4 percent fall in emissions in the Taranaki region was largely driven by lower emissions in the electricity, gas, water, and waste services industry (down 279 kilotonnes) in 2025. This follows an 8.2 percent decrease in the region’s emissions the previous year,” Islam said.

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Energy Sector – Equinor and ORLEN strengthen energy partnership with crude oil agreement

Source: Equinor ASA

20 August 2026 10:00 (CEST)

Last modified 20 August 2026 10:05

Equinor has signed an agreement with Poland’s ORLEN for the sale of crude oil from the Johan Sverdrup field on the Norwegian continental shelf. The agreement will run for three years from the beginning of September.

Annual supplies under the agreement will be from 5 million tonnes to over 9 million tonnes. Further commercial terms are confidential between the parties. The agreement also allows for the possibility of supplying other crude grades produced from fields on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.

Irene Rummelhoff, executive vice president for Marketing, Midstream and Processing in Equinor.
Arne Reidar Mortensen

“This agreement is another example of how energy from the Norwegian continental shelf contributes to security of supply for Europe. We are very pleased to strengthen our relationship with ORLEN through this agreement for sales of crude to their refineries in Poland, Lithuania and the Czech Republic, says Irene Rummelhoff, executive vice president for Marketing, Midstream and Processing in Equinor.

The agreement expands the energy partnership between Equinor and ORLEN and underlines the continued importance of reliable energy supplies from Norway to Poland and Europe. Johan Sverdrup is the oil field with the highest production on the Norwegian continental shelf, making it a significant contributor to European energy supply. The field is also known for highly energy efficient production with significantly lower CO₂ emissions from production than the global average, mainly due to power from shore.

Ireneusz Fąfara, President of the Management Board of ORLEN.

“A secure future begins with decisions made in advance. That is why we are strengthening the ORLEN Group’s access to stable sources of crude oil from Norway, which may account for up to one-quarter of our annual demand. Equinor is a reliable partner, with whom we are building a relationship based on shared responsibility for the region’s energy security. This agreement is a concrete response to global market instability and demonstrates that resilience in the energy sector is built through long-term cooperation with partners that provide predictable supplies and operational reliability,” says Ireneusz Fąfara, President of the Management Board of ORLEN.

Equinor has a broad energy offering in Poland and continues to work with Polish partners across oil, natural gas and lower-carbon solutions. The crude oil agreement with ORLEN builds on this wider cooperation and reflects the role of Norway as a long-term, reliable energy partner for Poland.

In addition to supplying Poland with oil, pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG), Equinor is building a broader and growing energy position in the country. Together with Polenergia, Equinor is developing the Bałtyk offshore wind projects in the Baltic Sea. Equinor's subsidiary Wento is also expanding its onshore renewables business in Poland, with a growing portfolio of solar and onshore wind assets as well as battery storages. In addition, Wento is developing a project pipeline that includes battery storages.

Official release

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BusinessNZ – Stop the flip-flop: Energy sector ‘foundational’ to NZ economy

Source: BusinessNZ Energy Council

New Zealand cannot afford another election cycle of policy flip-flops when billions of dollars in energy investment and our economic competitiveness are at stake, the BusinessNZ Energy Council (BEC) says.

New Zealand urgently needs an enduring national energy strategy that treats energy as foundational economic infrastructure and provides the certainty to deliver affordable, secure and sustainable energy for decades to come.

The call for a national strategy is one of six priorities in BEC’s pre-election policy report, A Future Vision of New Zealand’s Energy Sector, developed through extensive consultation with stakeholders.

Together, the priorities (spanning policy certainty, reliable renewable supply, affordable electrification, investment coordination, major project decision-making and energy productivity) provide a pathway to more affordable and secure energy, stronger investment, greater productivity and lower emissions.

BusinessNZ Director of Advocacy Catherine Beard says energy policy can’t continue to change direction with each electoral cycle.

“Energy infrastructure is built over decades, not three-year political terms. Businesses making billion-dollar investment decisions need confidence that the rules of the game won’t fundamentally change every time there is a change of government.

“New Zealand has seen significant shifts in policy and political debate around oil and gas, electricity market structures and major energy infrastructure. These shifts create uncertainty.

“If investors don’t have the confidence to invest, projects are delayed or don’t happen at all. Ultimately, households and businesses pay the price through higher costs, reduced security and lost economic opportunities.”

Beard says New Zealand saw relatively low electricity prices and flat electricity demand from the early 2010s to 2018, which had helped keep electricity affordable.

Recent events, such as the fall off in gas production, the tightening of supply due to dry year (low hydro lakes) and more reliance on fossil fuels, and the need for new investment in lines (transmission costs), have all led to price increases not experienced for the previous decade.

Recent events in the Middle East and the closing of the Strait of Hormuz, has also put pressure on our fuel costs, and highlighted the need to accelerate the shift to alternative fuels and electricity.

Beard says if we are going to get on top of this and make our energy system affordable, reliable and sustainable for consumers and businesses, we need to plan for that kind of future.

“We need to stop treating energy as a political football and start treating it as critical economic infrastructure. The sector needs an enduring plan that gives investors confidence in the country’s direction, while still allowing governments to make legitimate policy choices along the way.

“For a modern economy, abundant, reliable and affordable energy is not optional. It underpins practically everything else we want to achieve. A strategy that stays the course can support more productive businesses, higher-value manufacturing, better transport and housing, and a booming digital economy.”

Beard says consumers are already feeling the pressure across the energy system.

“Households and businesses are rightly concerned about rising energy costs. At the same time, enormous investment is needed in generation and networks to maintain the system, increase capacity and support greater electrification.

“There is significant new generation being built and planned, which is exactly the kind of investment New Zealand needs. The worst thing we could do now is undermine confidence by continually shifting the policy and regulatory environment.”

Beard says recommendations in the Future Vision Report will contribute to a better energy future for New Zealand. The priority recommendations are:

  • To develop an enduring, national energy strategy that explicitly balances affordability, security and sustainability while enhancing productivity. If a comprehensive bipartisan energy strategy is not achievable look to depoliticise key energy issues through an independent entity.
  • Strengthen market and regulatory settings for firming, flexibility, demand response and long-duration storage to ensure renewable energy remains secure and affordable.
  • Review policy or market settings that may be unnecessarily increasing electricity costs or weakening the viability of electrification as a decarbonisation pathway.
  • Improve coordination across generation, transmission, distribution and major demand through forward-looking infrastructure planning, coordination mechanisms and clearer long-term signals.
  • Where government is making decisions on resource consenting, fast-track approvals or enabling infrastructure, existing assessments should appropriately consider additional energy supply, system flexibility, domestic economic benefits and the infrastructure costs associated with the project. It should complement rather than duplicate existing regulatory and cost-benefit processes for investment.
  • Help to support energy efficiency that is cost-effective, while helping to track performance and embed energy management into normal business decision-making.

“The energy decisions we make today will shape our economy for decades. It’s time we treated energy as critical infrastructure and developed a long-term plan to support it,” Beard says.

The report, A Future Vision of New Zealand’s Energy Sector (https://bec.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/A-Future-Vision-of-New-Zealands-Energy-Sector.pdf), and summary document (https://bec.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Summary-A-Future-Vision-of-New-Zealands-Energy-Sector.pdf) are available to download and read on the BEC website (https://bec.org.nz/) now.

The BusinessNZ Energy Council (BEC) is a group of leading energy-sector business, government and research organisations taking a leading role in creating a sustainable, equitable and secure energy future. BEC is a brand of BusinessNZ and represents the World Energy Council in New Zealand..

The BusinessNZ Network including BusinessNZ, EMA, Business Central and Business South, represents and provides services to thousands of businesses, small and large, throughout New Zealand.

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Business – Retail insolvencies jump 74 per cent as business distress shifts to the shop floor

Source: BWA Insolvency

August 20, 2026

The number of retail businesses entering insolvency rose sharply in Q2, even as overall business failure numbers across New Zealand remained largely unchanged.

BWA Insolvency's latest Quarterly Market Report (https://bwainsolvency.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/BWA_Insolvency-Market-Report_Q2-2026_FINAL.pdf) shows that retail insolvencies increased from 39 to 68 cases in Q2 2026, a 74 per cent increase and the largest rise recorded across the country’s major industry sectors. Total insolvency numbers remained relatively stable, rising by just five cases quarter-on-quarter to 760, and just 3 per cent higher than Q2 2025 (738).

BWA Insolvency principal Bryan Williams says the flat national figure reflects a shift in where financial distress is being felt, rather than a reduction in it.

“The headline number has hardly moved, but business stress has changed address,” says Williams. “Pressure has come off the building sites and landed on the shop floor.

“Retailers are competing for a limited pool of consumer dollars, and households remain cautious about discretionary spending. Weak sales volumes and stubborn operating costs are a difficult combination to trade through.”

Business services recorded the next-largest increase, climbing from 74 to 87 insolvencies. Accommodation, personal services, medical and care businesses also recorded increases from smaller bases. Several high-volume sectors moved in the opposite direction.

· Construction insolvencies fell from 207 to 169 cases.
· Property and real estate declined from 76 to 62.
· Transport and delivery dropped from 42 to 30.

Construction remains the largest contributor to insolvency activity overall by volume.

Williams says the volatility of recent quarters is as much about perception as it is about underlying economic conditions.

“News can change an economy overnight when it is perceived that a supply line will be strangled by events. Fortunately, things revert just as quickly,” he says. “Shortages are impactful, but the real cause of change is the perception of what the future may bring.

“Geopolitical events will continue to create turbulence in markets, but they tend to be short-term. The bigger story is the long-term change taking place beneath the headlines, driven by artificial intelligence, digital currencies and private investment. Businesses that adapt to those changes will be best placed to succeed.”

Williams expects consumer conditions to improve in the second half of the year, without resolving the problems facing companies already carrying historic debt.

“Demand should lift as spring arrives, and Christmas will change the fortunes of some,” he says. “However, once the election is done, shades of austerity are likely as the fiscal deficit is addressed.”

Williams says companies with an outstanding obligation to Inland Revenue should not rely on improving conditions alone.

“For many of these companies, the debt burden is simply too large to be overcome by trading their way through. Better sales can help, but they are not enough to resolve years of accumulated obligations. The businesses that come through are usually the ones that seek advice early, while there are still options available. Once liquidation becomes the only viable path, there is often very little left to restructure.”

The full Quarterly Market Report is available here (https://bwainsolvency.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/BWA_Insolvency-Market-Report_Q2-2026_FINAL.pdf).

Note: BWA Insolvency figures are provisional when first published and are revised as later filings are matched and records verified. Figures in this release supersede those published in earlier reports and are current as at 15th July 2026.

About BWA Insolvency
BWA Insolvency is a leading insolvency firm that supports New Zealand businesses through liquidations, receiverships and voluntary administrations (VA), specialising in VA in particular. Founder Bryan Williams has 30 years' experience in the industry and is just the second person in New Zealand, and one of 200 people worldwide, to be named a Fellow of global insolvency organisation Insol International.

About the BWA Insolvency Quarterly Market Report
BWA Insolvency has been tracking data on liquidations, receiverships and voluntary administrations since 2012. The Registrar of Companies Office records the filings of companies that have gone into a formal state of insolvency. BWA Insolvency then does a deeper investigation to show industry trends and provide a detailed snapshot of what's happening in the market for the Quarterly Market Report. https://bwainsolvency.co.nz/quarterly-reports/

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Federated Farmers applauds improved consent path for Horizons farmers

Source: Federated Farmers of New Zealand

The Government has stepped in to give a group of Manawatu and Tararua farmers stuck in consenting limbo for more than a decade a way forward.

“It’s great news that the Government has heeded calls from Federated Farmers and announced a pause on Horizons’ Plan Change 2 (PC2),” Federated Farmers Tararua president Aaron Passey says.

“It gives 167 farming families a controlled consent pathway that is much more straight forward than what they faced under an Environment Court ruling.”

Passey says they’ll have to demonstrate they have good farm practice and a nutrient management plan as they apply for a controlled activity resource consent.

“So there are still tests to meet but for farmers who have been under a cloud of uncertainty year after year, we think yesterday's announcement from the Government will be very welcome news.”

Under the Environment Court decision, the dairy farmers had just 12 months to get their consent applications in once PC2 kicked in, or their applications would be subject to a tougher discretionary consent.

Even to qualify for approval, farms would have needed to achieve either a 20% reduction in nitrogen loss from their 2012 baseline (35% for commercial vegetable growers), or reduce nitrogen loss to the 75th percentile for their catchment – whichever is lower – within two years of receiving consent.

“That was a near impossible ask,” Federated Farmers Manawatu-Rangitikei president Ian Strahan says.

“It’s not reasonable or practical to expect farmers in 2012 to have anticipated the complex chain of regulatory and technological shifts and to have known they’d need to keep a record of their N-discharge because there would be a software update three years later.

“It was that software update that made the 167 dairy farms non-compliant, leading to a new set of rules in 2026 that required farmers to produce a record of what Nitrogen loss was in 2012.”

Many of the properties affected by the 2026 rules have changed hands multiple times since 2012.

New owners do not have legal or practical access to the specific input data (fertiliser receipts, stock rates, feed use) required to construct a valid 2012 baseline, Strahan says.

In 2012, the One Plan was built around a specific version of Overseer. When the software updated its underlying scientific models in 2015, it instantly changed the calculated nitrogen output of those farms-on paper only-without any actual changes happening on the physical land.

“Expecting a business owner to maintain records for a hypothetical compliance standard that did not exist yet, using software that would later redefine the rules retrospectively, is ridiculous,” Strahan says.

“It's really good news that the Government has stepped in to end the insanity, and also to usher in new resource management rules that will cut down the unnecessary red tape that has hobbled our sector, and many others.”