This episode features Graeme 'Sportsfreak' Beasley & Brian "Gash" Ashby discussing the biggest sporting stories of the week and previewing all the key action across the weekend.

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• Colin Hurst elected Federated Farmers president after Auckland AGM

• Government drops conservation land sale provisions from bill

• Game animal law change gives hunters formal voice in conservation

Rural News is in partnership with Farmlands as part of CountryWide CONNECT with Andy Thompson & Sarah Perriam-Lampp - our daily rural show livestreamed from 11am-1pm. Visit country-wide.co.nz on how to watch / listen.

Colin Hurst elected Federated Farmers president after Auckland AGM

South Canterbury arable and dairy farmer Colin Hurst has been voted in as the new Federated Farmers president, capping a dramatic annual general meeting that saw sitting president Wayne Langford's fourth-term bid ruled out before voting began.

Hurst brings nearly forty years of farming experience, three years as vice president and a track record as the organisation's spokesperson on freshwater, biodiversity and emergency issues. His message to farmers is clear — their voices will be front and centre in every decision that affects them.

Gisborne farmer Sandra Faulkner joins him as vice president, saying the next term will be defined by legislative reform — warning the new RMA and local government changes will shape how future generations farm.

Hurst acknowledged Langford had been a phenomenal leader who genuinely transformed the organisation.

Government drops conservation land sale provisions from bill

The Government has backed down on the most controversial aspects of its Conservation Amendment Bill, announcing it will remove provisions allowing for the disposal or exchange of conservation land.

Conservation Minister Tama Potaka says the Government did not communicate clearly enough how the bill would improve conservation outcomes, and has acted on the public concerns that followed.

Potaka met with the Environmental Defence Society and Forest and Bird, and agreed the disposal and exchange provisions would be stripped from the bill. He has also committed to working with those groups, other stakeholders and iwi on the remaining economic development aspects to ensure they deliver strong conservation outcomes.

The bill — described as the most significant reform of conservation legislation in nearly forty years — remains before a parliamentary select committee and will continue to progress without the land disposal provisions.

Game animal law change gives hunters formal voice in conservation

Legislation giving hunters a formal role in game animal management has passed into law, with ACT conservation spokesperson Cameron Luxton welcoming it as a long-overdue recognition of the conservation work hunters do in the field.

The Game Animal Council Herds of Special Interest Amendment Bill puts game animal management on a proper statutory footing, giving the hunting community a genuine voice in how populations are managed on public land.

Luxton says hunters — deerstalkers, tahr hunters and duck shooters — are doing real conservation work every weekend and this legislation finally acknowledges that contribution.

He pushed for changes at select committee and says he has received assurances from Minister for Hunting and Fishing James Meager that the concerns he raised won't be a problem in practice.

ACT says it will be watching closely to ensure the legislation delivers for the hunting community.

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This episode features Mike Casey, CEO, Rewiring Aotearoa discussing National's proposal to offer low-cost loans for homeowners installing solar power, and what it could mean for rural New Zealand and on-farm energy resilience.

WANT TO LISTEN TO THE SHOW LIVE (11am-1pm NZST) ON THE GO? Download CountryWide Connect mobile app to stream the show via Apple Car Play or Android Auto. Or try the voice command ‘Play CountryWide Connect’ on Amazon Alexa or Google Home.

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