Archive for May, 2008

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  Sue Kedgley on Peak Food - by frog

  
  
  
  Sue Kedgley spoke at the Farmers Market Biennial Conference yesterday on Peak Food: We are in danger of becoming a cash crop nation –producing dairy and to a lesser extent meat for export –while other sectors are being eroded by cheap imports. We import 2.8 million tonnes of food each year — bananas from Equador, [...] read more
  May 31, 2008 7:38 am - 39 Comments
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  Hoodie Day - by frog

  
  
  
  The National Party might be complaining that Labour hijacked Hoodie Day but the photo in the Herald is all of Green MPs.  Ha ha. Photo Credit: New Zealand Herald read more
  May 30, 2008 4:10 pm - 45 Comments
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  Herald Digipoll - by frog

  
  
  
  Three quick things worth mentioning about the Herald Digipoll this morning: One – there’s a large 13.8 per cent of voters who aren’t committing to any party yet. That suggests to me that the messages from the two largest parties who dominate the media discourse in note resonating yet with many voters. It also implies [...] read more
  May 30, 2008 1:37 pm - 75 Comments
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  Carbon fin prints - by frog

  
  
  
  Jeanette’s question this afternoon on the Government’s claim to be the first carbon neutral country in the world resulted in the usual banter with the Michael Cullen, who was answering on behalf of the Prime Minister. Even National’s Nick Smith got in on the game, asking much the same as what many Green supporters have [...] read more
  May 29, 2008 9:15 pm - 17 Comments
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  When I grow up I want to be a Wolverine Frog - by frog

  
  
  
  Harvard University Scientists have discovered a group of African Wolverine frogs with retractable claws: The frogs defend themselves with sharp bone claws on their hind feet but to do so, the animals have to drive the claws through their own skin. It’s an extreme defence that is completely unique in the animal world. The clawed [...] read more
  May 29, 2008 4:05 pm - 1 Comment
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  Green Party Annual Conference - by frog

  
  
  
  I’m off to Auckland tomorrow for the Green Party’s annual meeting at Waipapa Marae.  So you probably won’t hear much from me tomorrow.  But hopefully I’ll find a computer from which I can report on the three major Conference speeches over the weekend (Nandor on Friday night, Jeanette on Saturday morning and Russel on Sunday [...] read more
  May 29, 2008 2:18 pm - 14 Comments
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  Two questions in Parliament from Jeanette today - by frog

  
  
  
  It’s not often the Greens get allotted two questions in one day at Parliamentary question time. (I think today’s double dose might have come about due to some horse trading with the Maori Party?)  Anyway, they’re both good ones: Question 1 – Jeanette Fitzsimons to the Prime Minister Does she still aspire for New Zealand [...] read more
  May 29, 2008 11:27 am - 24 Comments
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  Orangutan Island - by frog

  
  
  
  The Indonesian Embassy and documentary producers Natural History New Zealand hosted Russel and Jeanette along with some 180 other people at Peter Jackson’s studios – Park Road Post Production – last night for the launch of the nature documentary series Orangutan Island. Jeanette also spoke briefly to the gathering. Orangutan Island is a 13 part [...] read more
  May 29, 2008 11:07 am - 2 Comments
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  Russian milk, Kiwi cows - by frog

  
  
  
  Yesterday New Zealand First’s Doug Woolerton took an opportunity to ask the Minister of Finance about Russian company Nutritek being allowed to create New Zealand’s first totally foreign-owned dairy producer and whether the Overseas Investment Act should have stepped in to do something about this takeover.  Foreign investment generally and the Overseas Investment Act in [...] read more
  May 29, 2008 9:58 am - 11 Comments
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  Saying sorry - by frog

  
  
  
  A few days ago I asked Catherine Delahunty and some of the other Green candidates to send in an occasional post to Frogblog.  I haven’t managed to set up a login for her yet, but she has promptly sent in this post on the Government’s Vietnam veteran apology this afternoon, which I’ll post for her: [...] read more
  May 28, 2008 4:01 pm - 27 Comments
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  Should the Emissions Trading Scheme fail? - by frog

  
  
  
  After reading this Dominion Post story the Standard is bombastically telling the Greens that they “must” not let the Emissions Trading Scheme fail.  The Standard’s ‘first past the post’ thinking goes like this: that any emissions trading scheme is better than no emissions trading scheme and the Greens’ choice is either yes or no, Labour [...] read more
  May 28, 2008 3:39 pm - 82 Comments
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  Land transport funding - by frog

  
  
  
  Earlier this week Russel noted that the government spends 6 or 7 dollars on roads for every 1 dollar on public transport.  Subsequently there was some debate about where Dr Cullen’s buy back of the Rail network fits in this calculation, so I thought it would be useful to go to the Green’s parliamentary advisory [...] read more
  May 28, 2008 2:49 pm - 3 Comments
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  More on the Swindle - by frog

  
  
  
  Frogblog commenters have had some good debate about the merits or otherwise of screening the climate change denying ‘documentary’ (*cough*) The Great Global Warming Swindle this Sunday night.  The debate centres around the question of whether Prime Television should, in the interests of free speech, knowingly broadcast a programme that is quantifiably misleading and inaccurate.  [...] read more
  May 28, 2008 1:16 pm - 21 Comments
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  Treasury’s Oil BEFU - by frog

  
  
  
  I promised to follow up on last week’s Budget Economic Forecast Update, (BEFU), in order to compare it to my own predictions of what Treasury would predict. If you look at the chart from my post before Budget day, you will see that I predicted that Treasury would be lazy and just cut and paste [...] read more
  May 28, 2008 9:36 am - 26 Comments
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  Apology to Vets is decades too late - by frog

  
  
  
  Helen Clark will formally apologise to our Viet Nam veterans today in the house. “The apology will recognise that Viet Nam veterans were not treated fairly on their return to New Zealand after the war”, Helen Clark said. “Those who served in Viet Nam, like other New Zealand soldiers before and after them, undertook their [...] read more
  May 28, 2008 8:57 am - 56 Comments
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  Peak oil - by frog

  
  
  
  Joe Bennett receives a lesson in the economics of oil this morning in the Dominion Post. Tell me, I shouted above the din of hooves, why the price of petrol is soaring like the lark. Why, every time I stop at the pumps, someone is up a ladder changing the price. It’s killing me, Mr [...] read more
  May 28, 2008 8:57 am - 14 Comments
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  Fonterra has more money for industrial dairy - by frog

  
  
  
  Was it really only one month ago that we were falling off our chairs over the fact that Fonterra was forecast to pay dairy farmers $7.30 for a kilo of milk solids?  That gave the average farm $850,000 of income.  Well, records are made to be broken, so today Fonterra is hinting the payment could [...] read more
  May 27, 2008 3:27 pm - 12 Comments
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  Sunday night viewing - by frog

  
  
  
  If you’re on the couch this Sunday evening you’ve got a great television choice; TV2′s The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe or Prime’s The Great Global Warming Swindle. In other words we have a choice between two fictional fantasy myths with thinly hidden conservative agendas.  You can read more at MediaLens about the Great [...] read more
  May 27, 2008 2:27 pm - 206 Comments
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  On top of Tibet - by frog

  
  
  
  An American friend of one of our Green Party parliamentary staffers just sent in this photo from the top of Mt Everest: read more
  May 27, 2008 1:57 pm - 3 Comments
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  Sorry to Colin James - by frog

  
  
  
  I’ve just received an email from Colin James critiquing my interpretation of his article.  So, apologies to Colin: I misinterpreted the comments he made about John Key and probably placed undue emphasis on the implication in his story that the Greens are no longer young and fresh. I actually thought his comments about the upcoming [...] read more
  May 27, 2008 12:27 pm - 2 Comments