Archive for March, 2010

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  Say no to orange roughy - by Gareth Hughes

  
  
  
  Orange Roughy must be one of my favourite fish, but now it’s not so popular for international retailers. Roughy, lives deep down in the cold ocean depths where there is no sunlight and the pressure would crush a person. Orange Roughy is caught by destructive bottom trawling, which involves dragging large nets across the ocean [...] read more
  March 31, 2010 5:54 pm - 5 Comments
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  Surprise! – Oil conglomerate behind climate change denial echo chamber - by frog

  
  
  
  This won’t come as much of a surprise to many – a report from Greenpeace shows that Koch Industries have been spending tens of millions of dollars to create an echo chamber of inaccurate and misleading information on climate change. In recent years Koch has out-spent even ExxonMobil by a ratio of 3 to 1 [...] read more
  March 31, 2010 1:00 pm - 26 Comments
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  UN Human Rights Committee picks up key issues - by Keith Locke

  
  
  
  So far, the National Government has gotten off fairly lightly following a critical report on its record by the UN Human Rights Committee released last weekend. read more
  March 31, 2010 12:10 pm - 23 Comments
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  Beside the pond – photo - by frog

  
  
  
  Do plants communicate? Certainly they do, if ‘communicate’ means share information. Using various medium, plants can spread the word that they are ripe, poisonous, ill or willing to be visited by pollinators, through the use of scent, colour and pattern. read more
  March 31, 2010 10:54 am - 5 Comments
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  Mining protest at Parliament: The first ripple - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  Yesterday I joined what will undoubtedly be the first in a series of protests against the Government’s plans for mining in Schedule 4 land. Conservative media estimates put the numbers at 500, but I reckon it was closer to 1000. Metiria’s speech was a rousing call to action, and she contrasted Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson’s [...] read more
  March 31, 2010 10:47 am - 9 Comments
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  Rodney-mandering the super city - by frog

  
  
  
  Gerrymander is an ugly, ugly word. So I won’t use it. Instead I’ve made a beautiful table for you to look at. What it shows is the names and the degree of representation each of the 13 new wards (with 20 councillors between them) created by the Local Government Commission for the Auckland Super City elections will have. read more
  March 31, 2010 9:51 am - 2 Comments
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  Health Boss Recruitment Process a Very Worrying Sign - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  The recruitment process for the new Director-General of Health suggests that the decision has already been made, on political grounds. This is bad news for the principle that the public service works for the public, and bad news for health services. read more
  March 31, 2010 9:38 am - 3 Comments
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  Save our Services. - by Gareth Hughes

  
  
  
  With the closing date for submissions on the Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Bill  (better known as the VSM Bill) tomorrow (31st March), now’s really the time to be getting your submission in. Sir Roger Douglas’ VSM Bill has the noble-sounding intention of “guarantee[ing] the right of students to the freedom of association”, but the [...] read more
  March 30, 2010 5:20 pm - 41 Comments
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  David’s Diary #5 – rubbing shoulders with Thai royalty - by David Clendon

  
  
  
  Saturday in Bangkok looked pretty much like any other day, except that the security presence was much more obvious due to nervousness that the ‘redshirts’ might target the ICU meeting given the presence of various Thai government members.  During an early morning walk it became obvious that the protestors were certainly out in some force, [...] read more
  March 30, 2010 4:00 pm - 1 Comment
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  A postcard on Eden Park - by frog

  
  
  
  Gerry Brownlee likens the Government’s Schedule 4 mining proposals to “a postcard on Eden Park”. Coromandel Watchdog sees it somewhat differently, and has produced this scale image to help us all see it their way: read more
  March 30, 2010 1:26 pm - 19 Comments
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  Podcast: A Christ’s College Bill?! - by frog

  
  
  
  Hold on to your hats because we’re looking at the Christ’s College (Canterbury) Amendment Bill (…is that stunned silence I hear?) It might be one of the most obscure pieces of legislation to hit the House this year. It’s taken up hours of our time and now it’s going to take some of yours too… [...] read more
  March 30, 2010 10:07 am - 5 Comments
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  Inequality in Aotearoa: why inequality is bad for us all - by Metiria Turei

  
  
  
  Today I’m launching a series of blogs about the issue of inequality in Aotearoa New Zealand. Throughout April and May, I’ll be blogging twice a week about this important issue. Covering a wide range of issues from community life to obesity, violence to educational achievement, teenage pregnancy to life expectancy, I want to highlight how [...] read more
  March 30, 2010 9:00 am - 71 Comments
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  Aussies decide on how our food should be labelled - by Sue Kedgley

  
  
  
  At the end of last week Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) held two meetings in New Zealand to consult with New Zealanders about how we would like our labelling laws changed. But it was something of a shock to turn up to the meeting and find that a panel of five Australians was conducting [...] read more
  March 29, 2010 4:44 pm - 12 Comments
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  Electric cars – not as awesome as people thought? - by frog

  
  
  
  Clive Matthew-Wilson yesterday released a damning report (PDF version) on electric cars and claims that they are often less efficient and more polluting than the petrol cars they are supposed to replace. There is a very interesting section on New Zealand (page 40) as one of the few places where electric cars may make sense. Local electric [...] read more
  March 29, 2010 2:11 pm - 61 Comments
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  Freda Frog meets Future Focus - by frog

  
  
  
  I have a cousin named Freda Frog. Freda is single, lives on her own, and suffers from a chronic illness, for which she gets a sickness benefit. Here’s a possible scenario she faces following Paula Bennett’s Future Focus welfare reforms: read more
  March 29, 2010 1:28 pm - 21 Comments
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  “Future Focus” welfare – dreaming of a kick in the pants - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  If you really want a “fresh look” at the system Paula, why not teach your staff how to explain what people are entitled to, rather than kicking them and their children in the pants and the pocket! read more
  March 29, 2010 11:11 am - 9 Comments
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  David’s Diary #4 – Bangkok, the post-modern world? - by David Clendon

  
  
  
  The IPU (Inter-Parliamentary Union) conference got underway yesterday, at least the preliminary meetings that dealt with mostly housekeeping and procedural stuff, and the ‘official’ opening tonight is to be presided over by no less that one of the Crown Princesses.  (The Thais take their monarchy rather more seriously than we do in NZ, so it [...] read more
  March 29, 2010 9:28 am - 1 Comment
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  General debate, March 29, 2010 - by frog

  
  
  
  Some links to start your week: From Inhabitat, Annie Leonard (The Story of Stuff), brings you The Story of Bottled Water. Check out the most polluted places in the world, courtesy of  Power and Energy. From Conservation Magazine there’s Not So Silent Spring about the effect of human noise pollution on animal evolution. And finally [...] read more
  March 29, 2010 6:39 am - 17 Comments
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  It’s earth hour tonight… - by frog

  
  
  
  … so our web sites – along with hundreds of others – will be unavailable for an hour from 8:30. By uniting the community in this action we send a clear message to the National Government and governments around the world about the need to take action. Visit www.earthhour.org for more information. read more
  March 27, 2010 12:25 pm - 39 Comments
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  Kennedy Graham on democracy under attack in Canterbury - by frog

  
  
  
  “…the Creech report is a shoddy piece of work and fails rudimentary tests of professional standards. First, the report lacks intellectual integrity. It criticises Environment Canterbury for being science-driven and not science-informed. The Creech report is politically-driven and not politically-informed.” read more
  March 27, 2010 8:31 am - 19 Comments