Kevin Hague Archive

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  Nick Smith needs to open his ears to the deaf - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  As an MP I receive many lobbying letters.  Today one arrived that really caught my attention.  It was from the National Foundation for the Deaf, and it was about the cutbacks to ACC cover and entitlements for work-related hearing loss. Attached to the letter was a very detailed 82 page position paper.  The paper describes [...] read more
  October 22, 2010 4:45 pm - 2 Comments
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  Message to young queers: It gets better - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  Today is the day for “wearing purple to stand up against anti-gay bullying”, created in response to the recent wave of suicides by young gay people in the United States. Not to be confused with “wearing a pink shirt day, to take a stand against bullying”, which was on 28th April, as I recall. In [...] read more
  October 20, 2010 3:39 pm - 7 Comments
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  New trap promises better protection of the birds we love - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  I was able to announce some good news for our native birds and trees today. The Greens are launching a $4 million pest control package working jointly with the Government to trial a promising new trap called the Henry. The origin for this project lay in our second Green New Deal package released last year. [...] read more
  October 18, 2010 5:38 pm - 5 Comments
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  Small Green victory on Health and Disability Bill - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  Had an intersting experience today – got my first Supplementary Order Paper (amendment to a Bill) passed. The NZ Public Health and Disability Amendment Bill generally does sensible things. It establishes the framework for the Minister to require DHBs to collaborate, and it establishes the Health Quality and Safety Commission, which will oversee projects to [...] read more
  October 13, 2010 9:00 pm - 7 Comments
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  Mixed signs for rural health services - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  New developments are encouraging for the future of primary care in rural areas, but the signs for hospital-based care suggest a bleak future is in prospect. read more
  October 7, 2010 1:13 pm - 4 Comments
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  More questions than answers over ACC cost shifting - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  A couple of months ago, following ACC Minister Nick Smith’s u-turn on counselling for ACC sexual abuse claimants, I called for an independent review of the wide-ranging cutbacks to ACC imposed by the Government. I have now asked some questions about people being moved from ACC to welfare benefits. What really disturbed me about the replies is the huge increase in the number of people being shifted from weekly compensation onto welfare benefits since March 2009. read more
  October 6, 2010 4:39 pm - 8 Comments
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  Have your say on John Key’s plans to undermine ACC - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  On Friday, the Government released consultation papers on levy increases and experience ratings for ACC. They are calling for submissions by 29 October.  Let them know what you think!  Reading between the lines, the papers also make clear that there is no financial crisis in ACC. As we have pointed out all along, ACC is [...] read more
  October 4, 2010 2:53 pm - 5 Comments
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  No more deaths by prejudice - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  The recent suicide in the US of Tyler Clementi highlights the need for us to take effective action to create a more supportive world for young gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and intersex people. Despite New Zealand’s great progress, things are not yet much different for young people than they were 35 years ago. read more
  October 3, 2010 2:47 pm - 46 Comments
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  MPs get to experience horror of sow crate - by Sue Kedgley

  
  
  
  It was great to attend a fantastic rally in Parliament yesterday, organised by James Barber and some local animal welfare activists, to protest the continuing use of sow crates in New Zealand. read more
  September 23, 2010 11:24 am - 26 Comments
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  A hefty dose of Vitamin C - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  Over the last few weeks there has been considerable publicity around intravenous administration of very high doses of Vitamin C to patients with various conditions. In particular ‘60 Minutes’ has run several items (check out second half of this one) There has been quite a history of advocacy for High dose Vitamin C as a [...] read more
  September 22, 2010 5:09 pm - 14 Comments
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  Conservation week – wetlands and kokako - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  There is a perceived conflict between the environment and the economy. John Key often talks about balance but the reality as we all know is somewhat different. Personally I, like many New Zealanders am happy to protect areas like the Whangamarino wetland just because there are special. Some members of our society want to take [...] read more
  September 17, 2010 3:40 pm - 5 Comments
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  Conservation week – lords of the forest - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  Tane Mahuta, lord of the forest. A tree that is truly magnificent, along with Te Matua Ngahere, father of the forest, who is our second largest Kauri. Estimated to be over 2000 years old, this means that it is possible that it lived through the large Taupo eruption of 180CE. Both trees grow in the [...] read more
  September 16, 2010 5:17 pm - 5 Comments
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  Conservation week – under the sea - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  I live on an island close to the sea. The opening lyrics of Jess Chambers memorable song Island which featured in our 2008 election campaign will ring true with many. Our coastline features heavily in our recreational opportunities. Many of us yearn for a sunny day at the beach under a deep blue sky or [...] read more
  September 15, 2010 5:14 pm - 3 Comments
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  Saving the Mokihinui River - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  Well it’s Conservation Week and my inbox is full of email from people who saw the WhitewaterNZ film “A Tale of Two Rivers” on TVNZ 6 last night. It’s being repeated three times before the end of the week and is well worth a watch. Essentially it compares the disastrous Meridian Energy plan to build [...] read more
  September 14, 2010 5:42 pm - 7 Comments
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  Let’s Celebrate Conservation Week - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  To celebrate Conservation week we are doing a short series of blog posts about conservation in New Zealand, celebrating how lucky we are. We will cover some the current conservation issues and, since this is a political blog, highlight some of our solutions. What does conservation mean? Like sustainability the meaning often changes with context, [...] read more
  September 14, 2010 1:23 pm - 1 Comment
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  Podcast: Bird of the Year - by frog

  
  
  
  Forest and Bird are launching their Bird of the Year competition this week and Green Co-leader, Russel Norman, is officially championing the kokako. I talked to Russel about his choice of native bird and his great dream of a Giant Totara National Park that inspired it…along with a gaggle of other Green MPs on their [...] read more
  September 13, 2010 12:20 pm - 1 Comment
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  It’s dob in a bludger time - by frog

  
  
  
  Someone dropped a pen from ACC near my lilypad yesterday. Could it have been Dr Felicity Goodyear-Smith, who advised ACC to require a diagnosis of mental illness before sex abuse survivors could get counselling paid for by ACC and who thinks sexual abuse counselling is ‘a scam’? read more
  September 7, 2010 8:14 am - 29 Comments
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  Young people inspire others to believe change is possible - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  One of the events I really wanted to take part in last year was a festival called “A Day at the Beach”. It was the idea of a couple of young West Coasters, Louis Brown and Guy Ryan. Louis would walk 350km (to represent 350 ppm Carbon in the atmosphere) down the beach from Karamea [...] read more
  September 5, 2010 11:00 pm - 5 Comments
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  Taking a bet with gambling - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  It’s ironic that on a day that is supposed to be about not gambling Sky City choses to eschew all responsibility for problem gambling. Their release this morning, entitled “The issue isn’t gambling, it’s PROBLEM gambling” (note the capitalisation of PROBLEM) is a slap in the face to all the people who have gone through [...] read more
  September 1, 2010 1:57 pm - 32 Comments
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  Case for wider probe of ACC entitlement-cutting culture now even stronger - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  ACC’s use of Dr. Felicity Goodyear-Smith to advise on sexual abuse claims can only have resulted from catastrophic systems failure or a sick culture. New Zealanders need to know which, and Minister Smith must take steps to thoroughly investigate so the problems can be fixed read more
  August 30, 2010 10:58 am - 11 Comments