Archive for April, 2009

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  Dr Russel nominated for Mt Albert - by frog

  
  
  
  As you will have heard in this morning’s news, Green Party Co-Leader Russel Norman has been nominated as a Green Party candidate for Mt Albert. A selection meeting next Wednesday will consider his nomination. Russel has described himself as the “underdog”, and said he did not believe National could win the seat. The Herald reports: [...] read more
  April 24, 2009 9:24 am - 126 Comments
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  Bradford’s Truth – An MoU and a coup - by Sue Bradford

  
  
  
  My regular column in the New Zealand Truth appeared again today: A couple of weeks ago the Green Party signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National-led Government. Some of our supporters have been worried that perhaps we are selling our souls to the Nats in return for a few favours. However, I would like [...] read more
  April 23, 2009 12:24 pm - 43 Comments
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  Too connected to fail? - by frog

  
  
  
  Here’s a mind-boggling picture from the IMF of a financial disaster in the making-unregulated trading in credit default swaps. The chart maps how some of the major financial institutions in the USA are linked through this innovative form of debt insurance. Unlike real insurance, however, investors can trade in credit default swap instruments without actually [...] read more
  April 23, 2009 11:11 am - 16 Comments
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  The Government’s Earth Day celebration? - by frog

  
  
  
  Well, the Government really got into the spirit of Earth Day yesterday, a day to “inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth’s environment”. However, it’s focus was a bit below the layer of earth that sustains life, and was all about celebrating coal. First, the Minister of Conservation announced he’d redrawn the boundaries of Otago’s [...] read more
  April 23, 2009 8:27 am - 59 Comments
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  Earth Day Message - by frog

  
  
  
  The Parliamentary team of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand wants everybody to celebrate Earth Day, not just brood about all the things that are going wrong. Here are some personal messages from each of the MPs, talking about some of things, big and small, that are going well and that bode well for [...] read more
  April 22, 2009 11:40 am - 12 Comments
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  Bluerush – coming hydro or not - by frog

  
  
  
  Last week, Eloise Gibson in the Herald wrote about the sometimes tough choice between renewable generation and other environmental concerns; and on the same day The Press editorial made a strong call on the matter – that “Unique landscapes should always come first ahead of desires for more electricity. If we have to turn off [...] read more
  April 21, 2009 1:51 pm - 106 Comments
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  On thin ice: Documenting earth’s disappearing glaciers - by frog

  
  
  
  This past week the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) of the US ran this documentary, showing the vast destruction of human habitat that is coming in just a few short years due to global warming. No doubt the deniers who love to hang about frogblog will point out how helpless we are and how doing our [...] read more
  April 21, 2009 8:10 am - 14 Comments
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  Baybuzz blog digs slime - by frog

  
  
  
  A frog-friend from a village near the Tukituki River can remember swimming in the river regularly as a child, but he says that the last time he visited (to take his nieces and nephews for a swim) it was pretty disgusting and had obviously become a lot more polluted in the intervening years. Yesterday, Tom Belford [...] read more
  April 20, 2009 8:00 pm - 39 Comments
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  Connecting the dots - by frog

  
  
  
  In the Herald this morning Gary Taylor, the chair of the Environment Defence Society, connects the dots between the proposed Auckland Super City and the reforms of the Resource Management Act currently being considered by Parliament: [The RMA Bill] proposes to disallow appeals to the Environment Court on the content of plans unless special permission [...] read more
  April 20, 2009 11:30 am - 19 Comments
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  Govt misses big picture for the Kyoto trees - by Jeanette Fitzsimons

  
  
  
  The revised “net position” of New Zealand’s Kyoto liability shows why forest sinks should never have been tradable against emissions from burning fossil fuels. This was a central argument at Kyoto in 1997 as the world struggled to set rules for reducing emissions internationally. The EU, and environmentalists, for different reasons, argued that forest sinks [...] read more
  April 20, 2009 8:33 am - 44 Comments
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  Prague’s Franz Kafka International Airport Named World’s Most Alienating Airport - by frog

  
  
  
  Too funny: Prague’s Franz Kafka International Named World’s Most Alienating Airport read more
  April 19, 2009 2:28 pm - 8 Comments
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  The latest from Happy Valley - by frog

  
  
  
  Video of the current drilling operations in the valley… read more
  April 18, 2009 4:00 pm - 17 Comments
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  The Yes Vote – NZ Referendum on Child Discipline 2009 - by frog

  
  
  
  Here is a website, yesvote.org.nz, that spells the issue out very well, and makes a call to action that is hard to resist. I haven’t spoken to anyone in the party about it yet, and invite all frogblog readers to visit the site and express their views. The opening says it all: Aotearoa New Zealand [...] read more
  April 18, 2009 10:09 am - 89 Comments
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  Failure to Yield: Evaluating the Performance of Genetically Engineered Crops - by frog

  
  
  
  As usual, the title says it all: GE crops are no where near to delivering on their promises: Failure to Yield is the first report to closely evaluate the overall effect genetic engineering has had on crop yields in relation to other agricultural technologies. For years the biotechnology industry has trumpeted that it will feed [...] read more
  April 18, 2009 8:21 am - 8 Comments
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  Sue Kedgley debates Auckland Governance - by frog

  
  
  
  Here is Sue K’s contribution to the urgent debate on Auckland governance last week: read more
  April 17, 2009 5:09 pm - 47 Comments
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  Bouquet’s for Green Councillors and Brickbats for Basin Flyover - by frog

  
  
  
  I want to give a big green anti-histamine free bouquet to the Green Councillors on the Wellington City Council. Long serving WCC stalwart Celia Wade-Brown and relative newbie Iona Pannett got the big thumbs up for their regional representation in the Wellingtonian’s Wellington city councillors’ mid-term report. Now given the good words written about Iona [...] read more
  April 17, 2009 10:46 am - 18 Comments
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  Keep On Truckin’ - by frog

  
  
  
  From what I saw on my morning hoparound, Green MPs are absolutely gutted by news in the NZ Herald about trucking industry donations to politicians.  The Road Transport Forum spent nearly $100K greasing the wheels ahead of the election: Those who declared donations of $5000 from the Road Transport Forum were National’s Tau Henare, Eric Roy, [...] read more
  April 16, 2009 6:03 pm - 14 Comments
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  Hats off to good farming at Landcorp - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  Here’s some good news on dairy farming and a doff of the cap to the SOE Landcorp and its farm managers. We recently asked Landcorp how it was doing with compliance on effluent consents.  Their General Secretary informs us that they had one infringement notice in 2008 and two in 2007. Landcorp has 37 dairy farms, so its [...] read more
  April 16, 2009 3:06 pm - 5 Comments
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  Labour MIA at the Maori representation hui - by Metiria Turei

  
  
  
  The hui at Orakei Marae today was excellent. Ngati Whaatua put out the call for Maori in Tamaki Makaurau to gather to consider what should be done next to oppose the government’s rejection of guaranteed Maori seats on the new Auckland unitary council. They have decided to hold a hikoi on 25 May, the 31st [...] read more
  April 15, 2009 4:01 pm - 246 Comments
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  Sue’s Truth - by Sue Bradford

  
  
  
  A few weeks ago I started writing what will become a regular column in the New Zealand Truth newspaper. Now the Truth has agreed that I can republish it here once they have published. So here’s my Sue’s Truth from last week: When times are hard it’s easy to get uptight about migrant workers. People [...] read more
  April 15, 2009 3:16 pm - 53 Comments