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Dick of the Week – Damian Christie
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19

Sucking on the Taxpayers’ Tit, Ctd

by Whaleoil on August 23, 2012

And just while I’m nursing an interest in these troughers and their ideas, all this talk against plain packaging from big tobacco reminded me that these troughers also want plain packaging on infant formula.

Seeing New Zealand’s biggest company Fonterra is proudly selling its Anmum product in countries like Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, China, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand and Vietnam earning NZ much needed export dollars, I thought I’d scare the horses by showing how their loopy ideas like plain packaging would look for infant formula.

These troughers don’t want anything on the product that seems or may send a positive message to mums. So those happy smiling mum/baby pics would be replaced with an image of a mother that looks depressed and all Aunty Mingy-like, a baby that looks unhappy, a big warning label (now required in the Philippines) and let’s not forget take away the colour is another seducing factor. Whammo

I’m no fan of Fonterra, but the problem I have is that large corporates sit there all high and mighty thinking that loopy ideas that impact on one industry won’t happen to them. Well plain packaging is stalking Fonterra now as it is stalking the booze companies. It is the thin end of a very large wedge.

Meanwhile the troughers who are bitterly against various causes, i.e. the troughers that think infant formula manufacturers are evil, keep pushing their ideas through their government providers. Before you know it, their ideas are written up in reports and presented to government as ideas that have the endorsement of “stakeholders”.

All this talk makes you wonder whether the Government has looked at its values recently…

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  • Farmgate

    Lol the Nats actually following their values of “individual freedom and choice” and “personal responsibility”. What a bunch of fucking hypocrites they are.

  • H Green

    Would like to see how our trade minister Tim Groser answers questions from his WTO friends about what his government is doing to the country’s largest company and one of the country’s largest exporters.

    Trying to dismiss this as “look, that’s not going to happen to infant formula” when his government is actually paying groups to come up with these sorts of ideas, demonstrates how out of touch the actually guy is.

    Typical second term government, thinking they know best. How forgetful they are that this is exactly what started happening to Helen Clark’s government.

    • le sphincter

      Read it more closely , nothing of the sort is happening with our biggest company ( but smallest taxpayer)

      • farmboy

        what is your problem with fonterra whaleoil is it jealously that 90% of farmers have banded together to form new zealands biggist company and the fact we have got so big from hard work and retentions of payout to expand into the worlds biggist exporter of milk products without the help of the sharemartet or much help from any1 for that matter aside from the fact that we had to change regulation to become so big and where is your proof of that le sphincter do u no how much fonterra pays in tax my tax bill is massive and im only haff way through paying off herd of 430

        • johnopkb

          Mate, I wouldn’t mind so much if you hadn’t thoroughly fucked so many recreational fishing and swimming waters on the way to international success. As soon as Fonterra establishes a fund big enough to repair all of the damage done, I will cheer along with you. Until then, hang your head in shame

        • Jimbo

          Calm down the issue Whale is highlighting is that there are troughers shit deep in the govt trough who spend all day coming up with ideas that could impact on NZ’s global reputation. These troughers are being paid by some govt department who obviously now have a report that they can use saying there are people keen on these sorts of ideas.

          While the tobacco industry is getting slammed, these troughers get ideas used against smoking (excise increases, ad bans, restrictions on who can purchase, labelling requirements) and think why not use them against a product/company they don’t like.

          Farmers should be worried that their company may get shat on by these troughers who couldn’t care less about some farmer somewhere out in the countryside.

      • In Vino Veritas

        Schpink, learn to read a set of financial statements and you will actually find out why Fonterra’s tax expense does not equal 28c exactly. You really are a financial illiterate and should steer clear of discussing taxation.

      • Farewell Geneva Tim

        That’s the typical line from a politician trying to stick their finger in a dyke. Groser doesn’t want anything to unhinge his attempt to get to the top of the WTO, but it’s these little bug-bears that tend to upset the apply cart.

        Fonterra should have a chat with Ryall, who in turn should send a please explain note down to Goodhew to shut this talk down. But $1.7m of public cash has to come up with something, and these people don’t give a hoot about Groser’s grand visions of WTO leadership.

        • Gazzaw

          FGT, as an obvious labour supporter I would tend to choose my words more carefully. I refer to your first sentence.

          • Farewell Geneva Tim

            Wasn’t meaning to slip one up, more to demonstrate that Tim doesn’t have a hope in hell of becoming the next WTO head honcho when his piss ant little country doesn’t respect IP rights – regardless of whether its big tobacco or someone else. It’s also not a threat, just the simple commercial reality of the world we live in.

          • Gazzaw

            Point taken FGT!

      • Callum

        You do a very good job of displaying how much of an idiot you are.

  • insider

    That plain pack is way too exciting. Expect no mother and no baby. More like the budget brands you get at Foodstuffs stores.

    • baw

      exactly, it is just not plain packaging.

  • baw

    I don’t get your plain packing of milk powder. Would it not be an olive green tin with the word – Fonteria Anmum (and some instructions) with no other detail?

  • cows4me

    National are losing the plot, was not the protection of property rights one of their election platforms. Reading posts like this are rather depressing, you can see what will befall the country if crap like this is aloud to continue. Get your shit together National, is it any wonder thousands continue to leave every year. This is just another small cut but the ultimate result will be death by a thousand cuts.

  • ploughboy

    just to clear up a couple of points
    fonterra is not a corprate its a cooperative it is owned by its suppliers.
    most of its tax is paid by it shareholders {suppliers} not fonterra.tax can only be paid once.

  • Mr_Blobby

    I seem to have missed something, is the plan to completely root NZ Inc.
    Who would want to buy our power companies and other crown jewels, if there is nobody left to pay for the power etc? Imagine the outcry, hui and protest marches from those who are left. When there is nobody left to pay there benifits.

  • http://profiles.google.com/cantiloper Michael McFadden

    Hmm… that’s certainly not tobacco style plain packaging. The name “Anmum” would have to be in the same small print as Lacta, and the only pictures allowed would be of things like baby corpses and suchlike. Although the pics could be in color. btw, are you familiar with the idea of baby formula being kept behind lock and key in the hospitals so that new mothers won’t be able to get it without the proper head nurse being notified and marching in to tell the mums how they’re poisoning their babies?

    Michael J. McFadden
    Author of “Dissecting Antismokers’ Brains”

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