Archive for August, 2011

  • Russel Norman

    Canterbury water management in no-mans-land - by Russel Norman



    I recently was the guest speaker at the Annual General Meeting of the Water Rights Trust (WRT) in Christchurch, where outgoing Chairman Murray Rodgers gave an impassioned speech about the poor state of water resources and water governance in Canterbury. Murray remains as a trustee of the WRT and is also a member of the [...] read more
    August 29, 2011 3:55 pm - 18 Comments
  • Gareth Hughes

    Right Wing Resistance salutes Skynet law - by Gareth Hughes



    The racist/fascist group Right Wing Resistance have thrown their support behind the copyright infringement act that fully comes into force as of tomorrow. In an email sent out to their membership list the RWR people point out that, “A new law passed by government which has been nicknamed the skynet law. Can work in our [...] read more
    August 29, 2011 3:08 pm - 36 Comments
  • frog

    General debate, August 28, 2011 - by frog



    read more
    August 28, 2011 7:59 am - 131 Comments
  • Gareth Hughes

    Nationwide protests against Skynet - by Gareth Hughes



    Tomorrow there are protests planned in our big cities against the controversial Copyright (Infringing File Sharing) Act, the so-called Skynet law that comes into force from 1 September. read more
    August 26, 2011 8:36 pm - 2 Comments
  • Gareth Hughes

    Wellington flyover submission due tomorrow - by Gareth Hughes



    Consultation on the Basin Reserve flyover, doubling the Mt Victoria tunnel and widening Ruahine St and Wellington Rd closes tomorrow. This project has huge implications for inner-city Wellington transport and it is vital the public have their say. Wellington needs urgent investment in public transport and safer cycling and walking. It certainly doesn’t need an [...] read more
    August 25, 2011 3:32 pm - 2 Comments
  • Kevin Hague

    Riding the first of the on-road Cycle Trails - by Kevin Hague



    This weekend, I got to ride big parts of the 180km route from Taumarunui to New Plymouth. The ride was a celebration of the opening of the first on-road component of Nga Haerenga, the New Zealand Cycle Trail. The weekend had a bit of everything: gorgeous scenery, local hospitality, wide-eyed children, even local political drama. [...] read more
    August 24, 2011 10:50 am - 11 Comments
  • frog

    General debate, August 24, 2011 - by frog



    read more
    August 24, 2011 8:11 am - 35 Comments
  • frog

    Organic Dairy or GE nightmare? - by frog



    Soil and Health pose an interesting argument about why Fonterra is trying to cripple the organic dairy industry. Fonterra’s Gutting Of Organic Dairying Is The Next Step To GE Farms. Fonterra has taken its next step towards genetically engineered pastures, with its announced scaling back of organic production by half, according to the Soil & [...] read more
    August 23, 2011 10:48 am - 28 Comments
  • Keith Locke

    Mayoral backing for Auckland Harbour Bridge Walkway/Cycleway - by Keith Locke



    It looks like there may be a breakthrough in the years long campaign for a bikeway/cycleway over the Auckland Harbour Bridge. Yesterday I attended the launch of the Pathway Working Group”s concept plan in the newly opened waterfront Wynyard Quarter. Auckland Mayor Len Brown spoke very positively about the plan, and it was supported by [...] read more
    August 22, 2011 10:12 am - 2 Comments
  • Russel Norman

    Greens’ clean water initiative - by Russel Norman



    Yesterday we launched the Greens’ clean water initiative. You can read all about it here. It involves setting minimum standards, for water quality and for agricultural practice; putting a price on irrigation water; and using the funds raised to provide support for the cleaning up of rivers and lakes. It has received a predictable response from the polluting [...] read more
    August 22, 2011 9:40 am - 32 Comments
  • frog

    General debate, August 21, 2011 - by frog



    read more
    August 21, 2011 7:56 am - 60 Comments
  • Gareth Hughes

    Smarter transport - by Gareth Hughes



    Over the last 2 days I’ve co-hosting the Smart Transport conference at Parliament with Labour MPs Phil Twyford and Jacinda Ardern. We’ve had some amazing speakers, especially Paul Mees who did a fantastic job opening the conference. read more
    August 20, 2011 7:53 pm - 1 Comment
  • frog

    Long overdue progress made on mine safety - by frog



    For the last month New Zealand has been reduced to just one inspector of mines person after Kevin Poynter left for Australia. After questioning from Kevin Hague yesterday it turns out there a replacement has been found. read more
    August 19, 2011 2:25 pm - 2 Comments
  • David Clendon

    Democracy, secrecy, and good process. - by David Clendon



    On Thursday, Keith Locke and I spent a good part of the day in the House going to bat against the government’s ‘secret squirrel’ bill to amend the Police Act that Frog blogged on earlier .  Our objections to the bill were matters both of process and substance.  I want to comment here just on the process, which was appalling, [...] read more
    August 19, 2011 12:24 pm - 5 Comments
  • Kevin Hague

    Exciting next phase in National Cycle Network - by Kevin Hague



    I’m writing this from the Overlander train, heading North to Taumarunui. Tomorrow morning I’m part of an event there to launch the next phase of Nga Haerenga: the New Zealand Cycle Trail Network. Nga Haerenga is a joint project of the Green and National parties – Green cycling expertise and Government money. You may remember [...] read more
    August 19, 2011 9:43 am - 2 Comments
  • Keith Locke

    MPs stunned after seeing “Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields” - by Keith Locke



    With some trepidation I helped organise a showing of “Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields” in the Beehive Theatrette last Tuesday.  It is a shocking film, mainly using cell-phone footage to show what it was like for the 300,000 civilians repeatedly bombed and shelled by the Sri Lankan military in the final weeks of the civil war. [...] read more
    August 19, 2011 8:18 am - 23 Comments
  • frog

    When is civil disobedience justified? - by frog



    Dave Kennedy is the Green Party’s candidate for the Invercargill electorate. He has worked as a primary teacher for 30 years. Dave has his own blog site, which is well worth a regular read. I’ve decided this insightful post by Dave yesterday on how we have reached the stage that at least a quarter of schools are refusing to comply with Education Minister Anne Tolley’s National Standards deserves republishing here in full: read more
    August 18, 2011 9:04 am - 36 Comments
  • frog

    General debate, August 18, 2011 - by frog



    read more
    August 18, 2011 7:53 am - 25 Comments
  • Catherine Delahunty

    National Standards rural resistance - by Catherine Delahunty



    Last week, I attended a meeting on National Standards in a small town in the Waikato. It was a cold Thursday evening but about 50 parents and teachers and the three candidates for the Coromandel electorate had a chance to hear Professor Martin Thrupp report from his current research on National Standards in schools. Martin [...] read more
    August 17, 2011 12:07 pm - 3 Comments
  • frog

    National’s secret bill - by frog



    Yesterday, Parliament went into urgency on a large number of Bills.  Under the quaint rules Parliament runs by, that means today, tomorrow, and most probably Friday will also be officially yesterday. Urgency at this stage of the electoral cycle is not all that unusual, although it is indicative of governments’ failure to adequately manage their [...] read more
    August 17, 2011 9:56 am - 9 Comments
Older entries »