Archive for January, 2010

  • Russel Norman

    Hawkes Bay in the shit again - by Russel Norman



    It’s summer. Which means it’s time for the Hawkes Bay DHB to make itself unpopular, at least with those in the Bay who want to put the shit in the water under the carpet, by issuing this release: Recent heavy rain has caused pollution to contaminate many Hawke’s Bay waterways, says Hawke’s Bay District Health [...] read more
    January 20, 2010 9:39 pm - 9 Comments
  • frog

    General debate, 20 January, 2010 - by frog



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    January 20, 2010 7:35 am - 192 Comments
  • Catherine Delahunty

    Message to mining companies - by Catherine Delahunty



    On Sunday the Newmont Waihi Gold company held an open day for the public. It was an opportunity to see what an open cast mine does to a place, in this case, a place once known as the sacred hill Pukewa. It was a chance to see very big trucks and diggers and drilling rigs. [...] read more
    January 19, 2010 4:58 pm - 64 Comments
  • frog

    The minimum wage - by frog



    The Government has announced a paltry increase in the minimum wage to $12.75 an hour – barely keeping up with inflation. Wouldn’t it be great if the minimum wage were indexed to the average wage, rather than subject to the political whim of the government of the day and the respective lobbying influences of the protagonists in the debate? That would give low income workers security they would at least maintain relativity with those who earn more. read more
    January 18, 2010 1:48 pm - 174 Comments
  • Kevin Hague

    Proposed West Coast Gold mine on Toxic Site - by Kevin Hague



    Seen the movie ‘Erin Brokovich’? I was reminded of it this week when I went to visit local residents in the small village of Ruatapu, about 10km south of Hokitika. They had asked for my help to stop a Gold mine proceeding in the village. Much of the coastal land in that area has only [...] read more
    January 16, 2010 7:45 pm - 23 Comments
  • Keith Locke

    Sleepwalking into a surveillance society: the New Zealand guinea pigs - by Keith Locke



    Up to 265 Government agencies and 48,000 private businesses in the UK will be able to access the register for which Kiwis are among the guinea pigs. read more
    January 16, 2010 9:00 am - 62 Comments
  • frog

    Ask Nick Smith to call in factory farm consents - by frog



    Now you can tell Nick Smith directly to make the right call and call in the Mackenzie country factory farm consents. read more
    January 15, 2010 5:10 pm - 7 Comments
  • frog

    General debate, 15 January, 2010 - by frog



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    January 15, 2010 6:52 am - 56 Comments
  • Russel Norman

    PCE wades into Mackenzie debate - by Russel Norman



    The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment has called for the Minister for the Environment to call in the applications for dairy farm conversions in the Mackenzie country. She argues that the applications have national significance and hence central govt should step in. She’s right. Whether you look at it from the perspective of the water [...] read more
    January 14, 2010 1:25 pm - 4 Comments
  • David Clendon

    Party Central or Local Democracy – which matters more? - by David Clendon



    There has been a lot of chest beating this week about the pros and cons of development on Queens Wharf.  Mayor Banks has been particularly vocal about the issue, insisting that “he was not going to be told by Wellington what could be built at the bottom of Queen St in Auckland”. It is a [...] read more
    January 14, 2010 12:16 pm - 17 Comments
  • Keith Locke

    An open letter to Hillary Clinton - by Keith Locke



    Dear Secretary Clinton, The Green Party welcomes you to New Zealand. We are pleased that your administration is engaging with world problems in a more consultative and multilateral way than was the case with the previous Bush administration. We welcome the new direction President Obama has taken on nuclear disarmament, recognising that we need a [...] read more
    January 14, 2010 11:21 am - 25 Comments
  • frog

    New Supreme Court – love it, hate it? - by frog



    The abstracted pohutukawa/rata metalwork on the facade of the new Supreme Court in Wellington has also been likened to prison bars. read more
    January 14, 2010 11:17 am - 25 Comments
  • Keith Locke

    Google pulls out of China due to human rights violations - by Keith Locke



    In breaking news Google has just announced on their blog that they may very soon close down their operations in China. Why? Because a few months ago they discovered that an attack from a location in China had been launched against their corporate infrastructure. The aim of the attack was to pull information about the [...] read more
    January 13, 2010 6:47 pm - 13 Comments
  • Russel Norman

    Avatar 3D - by Russel Norman



    I really enjoyed this movie. The story is compelling, the effects are astonishing and the 3D really worked. I can see why the anti-green anti-people brigade are hysterically upset about this movie. It is an overtly pro-environmental movie. It is an overtly anti-colonial movie. It is harshly anti-military and anti-private military contractors. And it suggests that resistance [...] read more
    January 12, 2010 5:37 pm - 46 Comments
  • Catherine Delahunty

    The Hauraki/Coromandel – love it or lose It - by Catherine Delahunty



    In the first two weeks of the holidays it felt like most of the population of Auckland crossed the Kopu Bridge to bask in the stunning sunlight at the Coromandel beaches. I spent some hours over several days standing at the traffic lights on the Kopu Bridge handing out leaflets about the gold mining threat [...] read more
    January 12, 2010 2:07 pm - 62 Comments
  • frog

    Building motorways – does it really stimulate economic growth? - by frog



    It’s a truism in NZ that building motorways stimulates economic growth. Joyce and Key say it every time they commit billions to a new motorway project, like Waterview or Transmission Gully. In a sense, they’re right because all big infrastructure projects employ people and so create economic growth. But on that basis we could justify [...] read more
    January 12, 2010 12:20 pm - 126 Comments
  • frog

    Raising the driving age? - by frog



    A Herald survey of 2,300 people has shown that 80% favour raising the driving age to 18. It’s hard to work out how representative that survey truly is but 80% seems unbelievably high. Raising the age to 18 would be a huge step up from the current age of 15. It’s more likely the government [...] read more
    January 11, 2010 9:58 am - 34 Comments
  • frog

    General debate, 11 January, 2010 - by frog



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    January 11, 2010 6:45 am - 79 Comments
  • frog

    A lag for a stoner, a gong for an über-dealer - by frog



    Isn’t it time our drugs policy focused on harm minimisation? Instead, we imprison Lionel Paul Joseph Taumata for possessing one drug for his own personal use, while rewarding Arthur Douglas Myers for selling vast quantities of another drug, which is arguably more harmful, with one of New Zealand’s highest honours. read more
    January 10, 2010 11:01 am - 22 Comments
  • frog

    Why are Kiwis allowed to work for whalers? - by frog



    The government’s response to the sinking of the Ady Gil, just the latest chapter in the seemingly never ending saga of Japanese south seas whaling, has been the usual waffle. Minister McCully urges restraint, but says New Zealand’s influence is too small to do more. This is disappointing to say the least, given the strong [...] read more
    January 9, 2010 10:20 pm - 59 Comments
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