Oamaru

The government came out and said, "Well, we're gonna break up Pak'nSave, New World, uh, Foodstuffs cooperative, and, um, divest out of that, and that's going to help solve the problems about high food prices." But, um, it seems it's interesting when we jumped into this a bit further and talked to some in the indus- the food growing and producing industry, it's kind of a case of, might be a case of careful what you wish for.

I had a good conversation with Simon Berry from Whitestone Cheese down in Oamaru there, home of some great cheeses.

He did sort of raise that slightly, and I think we all probably get it a little bit, a little bit of an icky feeling about breaking up a business that's been maybe built up by a family who started with a small grocery, maybe a Four Square grocery store, and built it up, and ended up with a Pak'nSave that they worked their way through to own.

And I, I think we all do value that cooperative system, which Foodstuffs is, and it's kind of breaking up a cooperative, as, as Simon said, it does sort of feel a little bit...

But as, as he said, there's, there's an invisible but really critical infrastructure sitting behind all that cooperative.

This is, uh, the controlled atmosphere trucks that deliver produce, the chilled trucks that deliver specific chilled produce, the chilled storage, the whole supply chain network that runs to get goods.

As he said, I can get cheeses out of Oamaru and into shelf in Auckland within three days, and you've gotta think that's along the length of a long, skinny country subject to ferry, ferry delays, bad weather, earthquakes, road closures, you name it.

He said the system actually works very well for the nature of the country we've got, with a big lump of people at one end of the island and not so many down the other end.

The ZN Podcast Network.

Given that New Zealand Monopoly's launched and one of these places that's in the Lonely Planet, very close to one of the new New Zealand Monopoly spots, the Moreki Boulders, I'm pleased to announce Dunedin and Oamaru.

are on the Lonely Planet guide.

They're recognised in Lonely Planet's 2027 Our Destination of the Years list.

first time, was it?

So, yeah, they're on the list of things to do.

Steampunk, of course, massive in Oamaru, but for me it's the Meatworks.

Shout out, I know some people who listen.

Not a great road trip.

LAUGHTER I am biased against Oamaru because I'm from the next town over, and this is a part of New Zealand that runs deep, is you hate the next town over, and they hate you.

And I know that my entire life I've slagged off Oamaru, but I know that when I do it on the radio, there's a perception that it's a Jaffa slagging off Oamaru.

I want you to know that it's not.

I hate Oamaru from the pit of my soul.

Well, you were embroiled in the Battle of the Mardos.

So, you know, it's Maru versus Maru, and you're in the Tim camp.

I'm

Congratulations, because South Canterbury have been trouncing teams this year.

But isn't that just the beauty of the Heartland Championship? Oamaru's still by far the worst town in the country.

Second is Ashburton.

Actually, now that I look at you, Tony, Blenheim can go fuck itself all right.