Featured Archive

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  Europe recognises deep sea oil risk - by David Clendon

  
  
  
  When we asked the Government last year how they would cope with a catastrophic oil leak from deep sea drilling, they proudly touted 400 Maritime NZ responders (over and over). Post the Rena, it is clear that we don’t have the capacity to respond, and yet they still aren’t worried. The Prime Minister thinks a [...] read more
  October 28, 2011 11:08 am - 13 Comments
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  Pictures from Tauranga - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  Over the past week Metiria and I have been up in Tauranga. Here are some of the pictures we’ve taken. I was lucky enough to go on a helicopter flight this morning and see the Rena up close. Earlier in the week Metiria was on Motiti Island and got these pictures. read more
  October 21, 2011 11:19 am - 16 Comments
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  Kaimoana, Motiti, and the oil - by Metiria Turei

  
  
  
  Yesterday I was on Motiti Island, where the hapu have borne the brunt of the oil and debris from the grounded Rena. You can clearly see the Rena really from the coast. The hapu are extremely well organised with clean-up crews. They have all the protective gear and they are sending teams out every day. [...] read more
  October 19, 2011 1:31 pm - 14 Comments
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  Rena Oil Spill Day 12 - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  Midday at Papamoa Beach Surf Club and the free sausage sizzle is competing with the donated cakes stall. A motley group of citizens is broken up into ten people clusters and decked out in the white overalls and blue rubber gloves. With spades and rakes we are packed off down the beach to start cleaning [...] read more
  October 17, 2011 11:17 am - 8 Comments
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  Rena Oil Spill — Day Six - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  Early morning at Mount Maunganui, Mauao wrapped in sea flog. It doesn’t take long to find the stained sands and scattered particles of the oil spill black against the pale sands. People are standing and looking or scraping oil particles into buckets. The Maritime New Zealand call to register as a volunteer has been tried [...] read more
  October 12, 2011 2:27 pm - 80 Comments
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  Mental Health Awareness Week - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  This week is Mental Health Awareness week. The culture around mental health in New Zealand has come leaps and bounds from where it was even five years ago. I congratulate everyone who has helped bring about this culture change and raise awareness about mental health issues, and I thank them for doing so. However, this [...] read more
  October 12, 2011 1:44 pm - 6 Comments
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  Joyce caught lying about Rena - by Gareth Hughes

  
  
  
  Last night Steven Joyce was caught out lying about whether the Green Party had requested a briefing from him about the status of the reefed ship Rena and the environmental situation in Tauranga. On Close Up last night, Joyce vehemently denied that any opposition party had approached his office asking for a briefing. Here is [...] read more
  October 11, 2011 11:44 am - 33 Comments
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  PM averse to public service radio - by Sue Kedgley

  
  
  
  The Prime Minister is becoming increasingly picky about who he will speak to in the media. While happily fronting a weekly slot on TVNZ’s Breakfast programme, and on Radio Sports, and a one hour special on Radio Live, he has refused virtually all requests for interviews on Radio New Zealand. He has declined 174 requests [...] read more
  October 5, 2011 2:14 pm - 22 Comments
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  Paddy Gower: The Mash Up - by Gareth Hughes

  
  
  
  Yesterday we had TV3’s Patrick Gower come into our caucus meeting and sing us the star spangled banner. No offense to Paddy, but he’s not the best singer. So I thought I’d put it out to you creative geniuses out there to remix and mash up Patrick. You could animate the scene, cut in Taylor [...] read more
  October 5, 2011 9:54 am - 2 Comments
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  Motorways: the best thing to happen for biodiversity since…the time before motorways? - by Gareth Hughes

  
  
  
  I had to check it wasn’t April 1st, when I saw this press release from the New Zealand Transport Agency: ‘NZTA’s Auckland motorway network a haven for NZ’s rare plants.’ read more
  October 4, 2011 1:53 pm - 3 Comments
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  Frack No! Sign the Petition - by David Clendon

  
  
  
  A lot of New Zealanders  have not yet heard about hydraulic fracturing (fracking), but many of those who do know something about it are worried, and rightly so! The technique is used to extract ‘unconventional’ oil and gas – that’s industry speak for sources of hydrocarbons that until recently were deemed too expensive or difficult to [...] read more
  September 29, 2011 11:01 am - 16 Comments
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  Blueprint for safer queer youth - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  Last week I had the chance to participate in several of the events in the Hamilton Pride Festival for queer and transgendered people in the Waikato. I spent my secondary school years at Hamilton Boys High School, so I really valued the opportunity to launch there a landmark new report by Murray Riches entitled “How [...] read more
  September 29, 2011 8:13 am - 1 Comment
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  Youth! Y U NO ENROL? - by Gareth Hughes

  
  
  
  It is important young Kiwis are involved in the political process. They are the future and have a stake in our democracy. However, at the moment almost a third of 18–24-year-olds and a fifth of 25–29-year-olds are not enrolled to vote in the upcoming election! If you aren’t enrolled you can’t vote and have a [...] read more
  September 16, 2011 9:42 am - 59 Comments
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  “The Year of the Forests” Forum - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  It is the “International Year of Forest” and today I dedicated a forum at Parliament to Kelly Kwalik a forest defender who was murdered in West Papua in December 2009 and to Jose Ribeiro da Silva and Maria de Espirito Santa da Silva forest environmental activists murdered in Brazil May 2011. This is an international [...] read more
  September 13, 2011 6:10 pm - 2 Comments
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  Food Bill update from Sue Kedgley - by Sue Kedgley

  
  
  
  So many people have contacted us with their concerns about the Food Bill that I requested a further meeting with officials to discuss these concerns read more
  September 13, 2011 1:13 pm - 56 Comments
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  Where are you now, Mr. Key? - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  I have spent a bit of time in  Courthouses. They are typically depressing places, cold, hard, unwelcoming; the people angry, fearful, resigned. The Greymouth Courthouse is a new one. The waiting room is well lit. There are paintings on the walls, carpet on the floor. Yet those same feelings are almost palpable, along with a [...] read more
  September 9, 2011 12:37 pm - 19 Comments
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  Calls to Free West Papua at the Pacific Forum - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  Genocide is not a word to be used lightly but for the last forty years West Papua has been the dirty secret of the Melanesian Pacific. read more
  September 8, 2011 11:21 am - 6 Comments
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  How many jobs will oil and gas bring NZ? - by Kennedy Graham

  
  
  
  On Tuesday the Government released the final version of its backwards-looking energy strategy. Of passing note is the removal of any overt reference to lignite coal.  Of course bioenergy could be code for it, or ‘alternative transport fuels’ (the Energy Outlook 2010 specifically cites lignite diesel as an alternative transport fuel with potential.) But basically [...] read more
  September 1, 2011 12:30 pm - 24 Comments
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  NZ’ers want proper food labelling - by Sue Kedgley

  
  
  
  Survey results released today showing that nearly two thirds of New Zealanders can’t understand food labels and want better food labelling come as no surprise. Our food labels are pathetic and extremely poor by international standards. They are full of information we don’t need, but don’t contain information we do need –such as where food [...] read more
  September 1, 2011 10:42 am - 6 Comments
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  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