Posts by Mojo Mathers

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  Countering the arguments against palm oil labelling - by Mojo Mathers

  
  
  
  Last weekend I spoke to a group of committed young people attending a workshop on palm oil hosted by the organisers of the Unmask Palm Oil campaign in Orana Wildlife Park. As highlighted in my previous blog post, palm oil has major environmental and social impacts. This heart wrenching photo of an orang-utan clinging to [...] read more
  May 22, 2013 12:24 pm - 8 Comments
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  Open letter to McDonald’s - by Mojo Mathers

  
  
  
  Last week McDonalds United Kingdom announced they are going to source 100 percent of their pork products from Freedom Food’s producers certified by the RSPCA, so I sent this letter to the Managing Director of McDonald’s New Zealand today. We are looking forward to McDonald’s New Zealand making similar commitment here and will keep you [...] read more
  April 23, 2013 9:58 am - 13 Comments
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  Full story on food - by Mojo Mathers

  
  
  
  Yesterday’s Herald editorial implied that former Green MP Sue Kedgley would be completely happy with new labelling laws and that I should be uncritically supporting them. This totally flies in the face of all that Sue worked for as an MP, which I am continuing to work on, to achieve the food labelling that people [...] read more
  April 10, 2013 9:37 am - 14 Comments
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  Palm oil on the label - by Mojo Mathers

  
  
  
  The number of words that you will find on products at the supermarket instead of ‘palm oil’ is astounding. Anything containing the words “Palmitate” or “Palmate” Elaeis guineensis Hydrated Palm Glycerides Hexadecanoic or Palmitic Acid Vegetable oil “stearate, stearyl” Anything containing the words “cetyl, cetearyl” Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (SLS) Sodium Laureth Sulphate Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate [...] read more
  March 27, 2013 11:10 am - 38 Comments
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  Looking forward to passage of the Natural Health Products Bill - by Mojo Mathers

  
  
  
  Today the Natural Health Products bill passed it second reading in the house so I thought it would be a great opportunity to reflect on what we have managed to achieve, and what the bill does and doesn’t cover. One of the best outcomes of this bill is that it ensures that New Zealand retains [...] read more
  March 21, 2013 5:35 pm - 4 Comments
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  Putting animal testing out of its misery - by Mojo Mathers

  
  
  
  I thought it might be time for a bit of an update on the party pill animal testing issue. Late last year we highlighted the issue of party pills potentially being tested for safety on dogs. This came as part of the Government’s process to regulate party pills, legislation for which has just been introduced [...] read more
  March 15, 2013 9:11 am - 4 Comments
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  The real price of fish - by Mojo Mathers

  
  
  
  Last Sunday’s TV 3 story on Sealord’s yellowfin tuna is a perfect example of why the Greens spend a lot of time talking about labelling. The ITM fishing show host Matt Watson spoke out about his concern for yellowfin tuna stocks saying that Sealord is being irresponsible by marketing and selling this fish which is [...] read more
  March 14, 2013 10:33 am - 2 Comments
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  DeafView3, WFD and Deaf rights - by Mojo Mathers

  
  
  
  Over the weekend I attended the DeafView3 conference in Wellington. This proved to be both interesting and challenging with a wide range of topics covered, ranging from the changing nature of Deaf culture  though to  Māori deaf and  indigenous Deaf  issues. There were a number of speakers from overseas, including an excellent keynote speech by [...] read more
  March 13, 2013 7:12 pm - No Comments
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  Removing discrimination: one small step at a time - by Mojo Mathers

  
  
  
  One of the biggest challenges that many disabled people face is negative attitudes towards them, and assumptions made by others that their lives are not worth living, which can lead to systematic discrimination. Antenatal screening programmes, such as the national screening programme for Down syndrome are controversial, because if they are not carried out appropriately, [...] read more
  February 21, 2013 7:00 pm - 5 Comments
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  First blind Scottish MP visits NZ - by Mojo Mathers

  
  
  
  I had the privilege of meeting with Dennis Robertson,  a Member of the Scottish Parliament who  made waves by being the first blind person elected to that office. In common with myself and other elected representatives around the world with a significant sensory impairment, he needs appropriate support to be able to carry out his [...] read more
  February 20, 2013 4:18 pm - 1 Comment
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  Cochlear implant funding should be based on need - by Mojo Mathers

  
  
  
  It didn’t get much media coverage, but the recent announcement by the Government that they are increasing funding for cochlear implants for one year is a welcome one. Last year I tabled a petition in parliament from Lyn Polwort calling for more funding for adult cochlear implants to enable parity with other disabled NZ. I sat on [...] read more
  January 31, 2013 12:46 pm - 5 Comments
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  Working across the House for strong consumer protections - by Mojo Mathers

  
  
  
  I was very pleased to be able to support the Consumer Law Reform Bill when it came up for its second reading last week. I know that many others are interested in the changes that the bill will make so I have posted the speech I gave in the house below. The main win for [...] read more
  December 18, 2012 9:26 am - 3 Comments
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  Government panders to food industry - by Mojo Mathers

  
  
  
  The Minister of Food Safety has just released her Advisory Group on front of pack labelling’s final report. The report is disappointing and its proposed labelling scheme will do little or nothing to improve our high rates of diet related diseases, which are highest in disadvantaged groups. There is plenty of research which shows that [...] read more
  December 17, 2012 10:01 am - 3 Comments
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  Win for best practice on animal testing - by Mojo Mathers

  
  
  
  It has been a busy few days. We broke a story that made it to the front page of the Sunday Star Times about party pills being tested for safety on dogs.  In response to the resulting public reaction, Peter Dunne put out a statement ruling out the LD50 test which is illegal in the UK [...] read more
  December 5, 2012 10:44 am - 4 Comments
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  Natural Health Bill back from select committee - by Mojo Mathers

  
  
  
  We are happy to see the Natural Health and Supplementary Products bill has passed its next hurdle with the select committee reporting back yesterday, and now will be returning to the house. Some might remember Sue Kedgley supporting industry objections to Labour’s proposal to hand over our regulator powers on Natural Health to Australia. Sue [...] read more
  November 1, 2012 11:16 am - 11 Comments
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  Greenwash and the Consumer Law Reform Bill - by Mojo Mathers

  
  
  
  I sit on the Commerce Select Committee and we have been covering the Consumer Law Reform Bill which has just been reported back to the house. This Bill, which proposes the most significant changes to consumer laws in more than 20 years, is a substantive and complex piece of legislation which updates a number of [...] read more
  October 19, 2012 9:27 am - 5 Comments
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  What’s an ‘ethical’ banana? - by Mojo Mathers

  
  
  
  Yesterday was International World Food Day. The theme for this year is Agricultural cooperatives. The cooperative model brings people together to achieve common needs and aspirations in a democratic way. It’s a fundamental part of the fair trade movement and choosing fair trade products is a good way to support cooperatives and help ensure better [...] read more
  October 17, 2012 11:32 am - 2 Comments
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  AMP Do Your Thing Scholarship voting coming to a close! - by Mojo Mathers

  
  
  
  The AMP Do Your Thing Scholarship is all about helping Kiwis ‘do great things’ from rocket-building to opera singing. Over the past 14 years, their scholarships have helped aspiring Kiwis achieve outstanding things across a number of fields. As  NZ’s first deaf MP I am thrilled to see the number of people entered this year [...] read more
  September 26, 2012 9:12 am - 1 Comment
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  Eating for the world - by Mojo Mathers

  
  
  
  “If you eat a little less meat and a little less dairy you’ll dramatically reduce the impact of your diet on the environment. Just think: one 1lb (or 500g) of ground beef for your family uses over 28,000 cups (or 6,810 litres) of water to produce – that’s enough to fill 20 bathtubs to the [...] read more
  August 10, 2012 9:35 am - 6 Comments
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  Green policies translated into NZ Sign Language - by Mojo Mathers

  
  
  
  In what is a first for a political party in New Zealand and possibly the world, I am thrilled that the Green Party has  marked New Zealand Sign Language week by getting parts of our website translated into New Zealand Sign Language ( NZSL). This step means Deaf New Zealanders can now learn more about [...] read more
  May 4, 2012 9:16 am - 6 Comments
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  Food industry free to feed us what they like - by Mojo Mathers

  
  
  
  My concern about this recent study is not so much that our fast food has more salt than other countries, but that our food industry has such unconstrained power to influence our diets. The Food Industry Group’s position to maintain a self regulatory approach to levels of salt, sugar and fat in our food is [...] read more
  April 20, 2012 3:30 pm - 22 Comments
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  Mojo and Steffan lead Green response to Food Bill - by Mojo Mathers

  
  
  
  In the new Parliament I will be stepping into the size 12 gumboots of Sue Kedgley and working hard on the food portfolio. In the last Parliament Sue Kedgley met with the Minister of Food Safety Kate Wilkinson and sought to exempt small growers, people who sell food directly to consumers, and those who barter [...] read more
  December 21, 2011 11:11 am - 53 Comments