Archive for January, 2008

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  Save Happy Valley

  
  
  
  I’ve been sent emails all week by people asking ‘are you going to write about the walk the walk crew who are walking all the way from Auckland to Happy Valley on the West Coast of the South Island, near Westport?’ It’s been a busy week, what with Helen Clark and John Key both [...] read more
  January 31, 2008 9:19 pm - 31 Comments
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  Romantic advice

  
  
  
  I’ve got a confession to make. There is someone really quite hot working around the parliamentary press gallery, and I want to, well, get to know them better, so to speak. After the Madeleine Setchell kerfuffle there has been a fair amount of discussion around Parliament about what is an appropriate relationship for people working in [...] read more
  January 31, 2008 8:16 pm - 12 Comments
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  Russel’s reponse to the State of the Environment Report

  
  
  
  From his media release this afternoon: “Not only [has the Government] failed to solve the problems threatening New Zealand’s biodiversity which were the key problems identified in the 1997 report, we now have the addition of major problems of environmental degradation caused by land use intensification and increased roading transport, which are also driving water quality [...] read more
  January 31, 2008 5:04 pm - 3 Comments
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  Exporting climate change

  
  
  
  Statistics New Zealand’s release today of Overseas Merchandise Trade for the month of December 2007 reveals the incredible statistic that dairy exports (milk powder, butter and cheese) rose 76.9% from the previous December to exceed $1 billion for a single month, for the first time ever. Our third biggest export for the month of December (after [...] read more
  January 31, 2008 12:30 pm - 6 Comments
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  Growing populations and growing economies

  
  
  
  Population is always a troubling issue for green thinkers.  Just as any ecology can become plagued by unsustainable growth of one species, too many humans appearing too fast could threaten the sustainability of our planet. So it was thought provoking to read George Monbiot’s latest article on the environmental impact of population growth: If we accept [...] read more
  January 31, 2008 9:13 am - 62 Comments
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  Cornering dairy

  
  
  
  The news this morning is full of stories about the 3rd major political event for the week – a State of the Environment report to be released at lunchtime today is likely to be highly critical of the impact of our dairy industry on the environment.  Radio New Zealand currently has a Morning Report debate [...] read more
  January 31, 2008 8:46 am - 31 Comments
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  Food sovereignty

  
  
  
  The future of New Zealand’s grocery market continues to wind its way through the courts. Last year the High Court overruled the Commerce Commission’s decision to prevent either Foodstuffs or Woolworths from buying the Warehouse. The Commerce Commission is now appealing that decision and a result is expected from Justice Mallon shortly. [...] read more
  January 30, 2008 4:51 pm - 13 Comments
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  Russel’s response to Helen Clark

  
  
  
  Here’s Russel again, this time responding to the Prime Minister’s speech this morning. And Frog’s got a few questions for the Prime Minister: If the problem is the poverty caused by the 1991 Mother of All Budget cuts, why is the solution keeping young people in schools (or other forms of education) and a $9 million programme [...] read more
  January 30, 2008 2:53 pm - 17 Comments
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  Military style boot camps for young people

  
  
  
  Hmm, I guess John Key was a fan of what was allegedly going on in the Ureweras after all. [edit] Oh, and take the chance while it’s still on the website to listen to Radio NZ’s Morning Report interview with the Lieutenant Colonel Phil McKee of the Limited Service Volunteer scheme out of Burnham Military Camp. [...] read more
  January 30, 2008 8:02 am - 24 Comments
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  Russel’s response to John Key

  
  
  
  It’s interesting that John Key’s ‘Youth Guarantee’ scheme talks about providing free tertiary education for 16-17 year old students who leave school but nothing for those students who stay at school and then try to follow their dream through tertiary education. Instead it appears to put funding for our world class public secondary school [...] read more
  January 29, 2008 4:17 pm - 12 Comments