News and views

A North Island egg farmer’s free range egg scam has been well and truly cracked by authorities in a case that serves as a stiff warning to all traders that flouting consumer laws is a risky business indeed. Around 200,000 customers and 38 retailers were duped in the rort, in which the farmer labelled more than 206,000 dozen cage eggs as free range, and, by Commerce Commission estimates, pocketed an extra $375,000 for his deception.

On an almost daily basis we read about employment issues that have ended up in litigation, costing those concerned huge sums of money, not to mention ill-feeling and stress. If you’re an employer, it pays to know about your obligations when it comes to hiring, firing and employee relations.

Of the hundreds of rural folk I’ve worked with over the years, many speak of guardianship, rather than ownership, of the land.