Given he owns a farm in Lawrence which has a shearing shed on it, the fact he takes a close interest in the fortunes of the fleece is unsurprising, but his wowing up of wool is far from being for his own personal benefit.
As the Associate Minister of Agriculture, Patterson has a designation to keep an eye on the wool sector, something which he has adopted as something of a personal mission. The requirement to "prioritise" wool carpets when tenders are called for government building projects is one example of an early win for Patterson.
Patterson sprang to his feet to advise the House that by far the most important reports he had seen were the weekly auction results, which were giving renewed hope to "our long-suffering wool growers".
"Great news," he trumpeted, there has been a resurgence in wool prices.
"Over the last 12 months, the strong wool indicator is up 32%, mid micron up 41%, and fine wool up 35%. These are levels not seen in nine years, and much of this increase has occurred in the last few weeks."
So, what had contributed to the notable rise in strong wool prices Patterson’s colleague Jamie Arbuckle, not so breathlessly, inquired?
"Recently, I travelled to China to attend the Nanjing Wool Market Conference, as part of a New Zealand delegation," Patterson replied.
"Nanjing is a major hub for the international wool-textile trade, and China accounts for approximately 40% of New Zealand’s wool exports. It was evident there that there is a genuine shift in demand for New Zealand wool as part of a global consumer swing to natural fibres, combined with constrained supply out of New Zealand."
Now much as Patterson may wish to claim victory for himself, international commodity demand is not something he can influence from his ministerial office.
That said, he can interest other ministers — notably of Science — in the many other things you can do with wool other than wear it and walk on it.
That was one of many themes Patterson explored during the last sitting week when he took a rare General Debate slot for another chorus of the "Wool is Wonderful" song.
"We’ve invested in innovation, developing higher-value end uses," Patterson said.
"It will not only be more carpets and insulation, it’ll be air filtration; sanitary, medicinal products; breaking into component parts, pigments, particles, powders, bio agents for dyes and nutraceuticals.
"That’s transformation; that’s a $100-a-kilo opportunity. We’re not only changing the game, we’re moving on to a whole new playing field."
In fact, wool was so great Agriculture Minister Todd McClay wanted to eat it Patterson claimed, somewhat dubiously.
"It’s a miracle fibre with which synthetics can’t compete."
"It could also, on the periphery, be a boost for the wool industry," he claimed about the prospect about older jurors than legally possible at present.
"The seniors are very big knitters, and I think a bit of time in the jury box could grow some demand for wool, as well."
Astonishingly, he did not manage to get a wool reference into the question he asked about the Auckland Council (Auckland Future Fund) Bill during its committee stage — surely a missed opportunity. Sheep must graze in some council-owned field in the super city somewhere?
Another of our local MPs who got the chance to push a personal barrow the other week was Taieri Green list MP Scott Willis.
Parliament periodically holds special debates on selected issues, and for October’s special debate the topic was energy issues. Quite apart from energy being one of his portfolio areas, Willis had skin in the game.
"Prior to entering Parliament, I ran a peer-to-peer electricity network. It was a social business, and it was killed off by the power of the large electricity companies, the gentailers who control the market," he said.
"There was no level playing field. Gentailers want us to be passive observers and consumers who just accept unaffordable power bills, not active participants in the energy system."
It did not have to be that way, Willis insisted. It was time to for people to step up and take responsibility for an active role in planning our future.
"That would mean first addressing energy hardship. Over 100,000 people cannot afford to pay their bills. It’s a choice between heating and eating," he said.
"Now is the time to resource the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority and I will support any move by the minister to ensure Budget 2026 restores EECA’s budget so that Kiwi homes can be made warmer and more energy efficient."
Households should be able to benefit from being able to generate their own renewable electricity, Willis said. A fair point, although one wonders if he might have had greater uptake for his ideas from across the House if wool was as feasible an energy source as wind and solar.
