You'll never see a farmer on a bike

Rising food prices would benefit rural producers, farmers and their suppliers with increased income, Eaqub said.

"But the rural economy tends to employ a fairly small proportion of New Zealand while everybody has to buy food at the supermarket.

"In the near-term the impact on discretionary spending is going to be negative, but if you're looking further out if commodity prices remain high then there is a positive to New Zealand from the higher rural incomes flowing through to the rest of the economy."

Something to bear in mind when you are struggling to feed yourself and your kinsfolk; something to tell the people queuing at the food bank: this is just a negative impact on discretionary spending - it is a positive for the economy in the long run. Meanwhile, people in other parts of the world will be starving, which will present our agricultural sector with an opportunity for higher profits.

In other news, the sale of a big house in the gazebo-infested suburb of Remuera causes the Herald's correspondent to lose all sense of decorum:

An Auckland glamour couple has paid $9 million for one of the city's flashest mansions, official property records show.

Whatever happened to the style manual? What sort of paper allows the publication of adjectives like flashest and phrases like glamour couple, while referring to a big house as a mansion? And why is this event considered to be a news story? Still, it is comforting to know that:

Parties can be held in the pool and tennis court areas simultaneously because both have gazebos with bathrooms and mini-kitchens

In another part of the forest, Mayor Brown expresses his regret that

Auckland Council has apparently not been able to find an affordable way to save three houses in St Heliers despite weeks of hard work and negotiations between the council, the developer and local residents.

Mr Mayor's skill at creating a distance between himself and his council is impressive, especially in his use of the word apparently. Of course, as the NBR shows, an awful lot could have been done but was not. But then, Auckland Council will need all the money it can get for free swimming pools.