Health & Wellbeing Archive

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  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
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  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
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  MPs turn up the heat on cold homes - by Gareth Hughes

  
  
  
  Like most Kiwis I’ve rented many cold damp homes over the years. Come to think of it I’ve never actually lived in a warm house. Cold uninsulated homes are as Kiwi as pavlova. Many of the poorest and most vulnerable Kiwis are getting sick from their home and paying massive electricity bills to heat their [...] read more
  August 8, 2011 2:57 pm - 24 Comments
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  An end to Seed Exchanges? - by Sue Kedgley

  
  
  
  I have had many queries about the Food Bill, with some suggesting it is a ghastly plot to make seed saving and seed exchange programmes illegal, and even activities such as the Willing Workers on Organic Farm systems (WWOOFing). These concerns, unfortunately, were never raised during the submission stage of the bill, when they can [...] read more
  August 5, 2011 12:43 pm - 21 Comments
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  Misuse of parliamentary procedure to change Misuse of Drugs Act - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  Today Parliament debated a proposal from Peter Dunne to change the Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill to allow him to ban any substance that might cause harm, essentially by decree. The original bill — which went through the health select committee in November last year — was flawed to begin with. The original bill was [...] read more
  August 3, 2011 9:19 am - 10 Comments
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  What is to be Dunne? - by frog

  
  
  
  Stuff, 2 August 2011: Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne yesterday announced a 12-month ban on 43 legal highs, which will be in force by the end of the week. NZ Medical Journal, 25 November 2005: Mr Dunne has described the efforts in New Zealand to prevent the sale of tobacco to underage children as ‘fascist’, [...] read more
  August 2, 2011 10:42 am - 10 Comments
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  Why Metiria and I are sleeping rough tonight - by Gareth Hughes

  
  
  
  Tonight, Metiria Turei and I are sleeping rough in Auckland as part of the Lifewise Big Sleepout, to raise funds and awareness on homeless issues. read more
  July 7, 2011 3:08 pm - 8 Comments
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  What are the Police doing about bike safety? - by frog

  
  
  
  Many of us love to ride bikes. It’s a great way to get around, keep fit, beat the traffic, and save the planet. But it’s not as safe as it should be. Green Party Active Transport spokesperson and champion of all people who ride bikes, Kevin Hague, recently discovered that Police do very little with [...] read more
  July 4, 2011 1:14 pm - 10 Comments
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  Hunger is hurting our kids and killing some - by Metiria Turei

  
  
  
  Hunger is hurting our kids before they even had a chance. And its killing some. The idea that we could have “sponsored” children in New Zealand is unpalatable to many of us, but that is essentially what KidsCan are promoting with their new ‘In Our Own Backyard’ campaign. While I applaud the work KidsCan and others are doing, we should never have let things get this bad. But we can choose to fix it. read more
  June 13, 2011 11:18 am - 165 Comments
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  Police failing duty of care to cyclists - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  Have you ever lodged a Community Roadwatch report documenting dangerous driver behaviour on our streets only to get the feeling later on that nothing has been done about it? I have, and when I used the Official Information Act to find out if my experience as a cyclist was shared by others, the Police couldn’t [...] read more
  June 13, 2011 8:53 am - 37 Comments
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  COGS grant scheme cut - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  One of the worst aspects of the “death by a thousand cuts” Budget is the cut to the Community Organisations Grants Scheme (COGS). read more
  May 27, 2011 12:14 pm - 5 Comments
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  Parting gift from Treasury head a game changer - by Kennedy Graham

  
  
  
  The outgoing head of Treasury, John Whitehead, has left New Zealand with one of the best parting gifts ever — the groundwork for an alternative set of measures to define ‘progress’. This is one of the best news stories in my living memory. Why? Simply put, the way we define and measure progress goes to [...] read more
  May 26, 2011 1:24 pm - 8 Comments
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  Chlorpyrifos – A killer chemical? - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  Last week, there was a new twist to the tragic story of a Kiwi tourist who died mysteriously in a Thai hotel. It is still unclear, but one possibility is that she was poisoned by a chemical used to control bed bugs. Months after the incident, traces of this organo-phosphate chemical were still to be [...] read more
  May 24, 2011 4:12 pm - 4 Comments
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  Old King Coal fights back - by frog

  
  
  
  Coal Cares™ is a brand-new initiative from Chevron, one of America’s proud family of coal companies, to reach out to American youngsters with asthma and to help them keep their heads high in the face of those who would treat them with less than full dignity. For kids who have no choice but to use an inhaler, Coal Cares™ lets them inhale with pride. Puff-Puff™ inhalers are available free to any family living within 200 miles of a coal plant… read more
  May 19, 2011 8:55 am - 11 Comments
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  Could this be the beginning of the end of the failed War on Drugs? - by frog

  
  
  
  Earlier this week, the Law Commission released its final report on Controlling and Regulating Drugs.  Green Co-Leader Metiria Tūrei issued a media release supporting the Commission’s report at the time, but I thought I’d provide a bit more information about it here. The report is a weighty tome – 350 pages, including 144 recommendations, so [...] read more
  May 6, 2011 12:28 pm - 36 Comments
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  Saints or support workers? Rodney Hide on special education - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  In the middle of his other troubles, Associate Education Minister Rodney Hide spoke at our Select Committee on Wednesday about the Review of Special Education. It was apparent that his 6 month journey with this portfolio has included some transformative moments, as documented in TVNZ’s Make the Politician Work. He has been open about the [...] read more
  May 5, 2011 5:21 pm - 2 Comments
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  Family care case continues - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  In recent months, I’ve been doing what I can to call attention to the case of seven families engaged in a lengthy court battle with the Ministry of Health over their right to be paid to care for disabled family members. These seven families represent thousands of others around the country in the same position. [...] read more
  May 4, 2011 4:13 pm - 2 Comments
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  Autism awareness breakfast - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  World Autism Awareness Day falls on 2 April each year, but as that was on a weekend, we held a breakfast to acknowledge it during the week in Parliament. It was an honour to be asked by Autism New Zealand to host the event, which was well attended by MPs from across the political spectrum. [...] read more
  April 14, 2011 11:00 am - 5 Comments
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  Thoughts on Jetstar’s discrimination - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  When Jetstar refused two people the right to fly because they use wheelchairs and didn’t have two caregivers, it raised the endless and ongoing issue of discrimination against people with disabilities. The debate is not new. It has taken years for disability activists to work with the airlines to ensure access onto all kinds of [...] read more
  April 13, 2011 5:24 pm - 8 Comments
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  Peering into the Abyss: The Red Zone of Christchurch - by Kennedy Graham

  
  
  
  Yet nothing prepares you for the inner city. It is not the destruction, for not all buildings are (yet) down. It is the scene, the ambience, of pure desolation. read more
  April 8, 2011 2:59 pm - 3 Comments