Russel Norman Archive

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  Member’s Bills drawn - by frog

  
  
  
  Today, there was a ballot at Parliament for two Member’s Bills – they get drawn by a Lotto-style “numbers in a bucket” system as there are always many more MPs outside the Cabinet wanting to progress legislation than there is time in Parliament to deal with their Bills. I had high hopes for a Green [...] read more
  February 7, 2012 8:54 pm - 6 Comments
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  Dairy compliance message is failing - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  Bay of Plenty Regional Council recently expressed their concern that some dairy operators are still not getting the message that it’s not okay to pollute NZ’s waterways with effluent. There have been eight prosecutions in the past year in the Bay of Plenty regarding breaches of dairy effluent disposal rules and conditions. This is eight [...] read more
  November 14, 2011 1:10 pm - 40 Comments
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  Open letter to Auckland councillors over the development of Te Arai beach - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  Posted below is an letter to the mayor and councillors of Auckland from concerned Aucklander John Shaw. John is a surfer who’s passionate about the stunning beauty of Te Arai beach north of Auckland and doesn’t want to see its natural character destroyed by development  like so many of our other pristine beaches.   Dear [...] read more
  October 21, 2011 5:01 pm - 2 Comments
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  Bay of Plenty Regional Council ready to ask the hard questions - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  I am encouraged to read today the Bay of Plenty regional council’s policy position on management and land use change in the Lake Rotorua catchment, which includes the recognition that land management changes alone will not be enough to achieve water quality targets. Lake Rotorua is seriously degraded and a huge reduction in the amount [...] read more
  October 21, 2011 4:14 pm - No Comments
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  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
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  John Key scared to debate - by frog

  
  
  
  Russel questions John Key on why he will go on lightweight shows like the Letterman show and the Tony Veitch show,  but refuses to go on Morning Report , Campbell Live or particpate in an all-party leaders debate where he could face tough questions.  read more
  August 3, 2011 5:06 pm - 14 Comments
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  Water pollution and debunking the Yale study - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  The Government is once again under attack for its lack of effective action to clean up waterways. The Cawthron Institute released a report stating that the Government’s National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management combined with the subsidies for new irrigation, and hence new cows and pollution, will mean our rivers won’t be cleaned up in the [...] read more
  August 2, 2011 10:31 pm - 42 Comments
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  Australia gets real on carbon emissions - by frog

  
  
  
  Big congratulations go out to our Aussie Green cousins for their very successful negotiations with the Gillard govt to introduce a price on carbon! read more
  July 11, 2011 6:02 am - 125 Comments
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  Scientists respond to Feds’ claim that trout are cause of water decline - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  Invasive trout blamed for poor water quality — are farmers off the hook? Press Release by Science Media Centre at  6:49 am, 05 Jul 2011 Scientists are questioning claims by a prominent dairy industry representative, suggesting trout are a ‘disastrous species’ — no better than ‘freshwater stoats’ — and that farmers have been unfairly blamed [...] read more
  July 5, 2011 6:45 pm - 10 Comments
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  Thompson makes case for Equal Pay amendment - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  OK, this video of Alasdair Thompson being interviewed by Mihingarangi Forbes is astounding. Watch it from about 22 mins in. His behaviour is evidence enough of why we need stronger laws around equal pay. 1. Thompson stands by the claim that women should be paid less than men because they take off more time because of [...] read more
  June 24, 2011 12:12 pm - 38 Comments
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  Privatising public energy companies in Wonderland - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  Tony Ryall, Minister of State Owned Enterprises, turned up to the Finance and Expenditure Committee today to justify their plans to partially privatise the state owned energy companies. With a little bit of creative licence, the exchange went something like this: Tony: We need to partially privatise them so that Government can raise capital to [...] read more
  June 22, 2011 4:46 pm - 14 Comments
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  Many questions, but no answers on Telecommunications bill - by frog

  
  
  
  Green MP Gareth Hughes had some questions for Communications Minister Steven Joyce in Parliament yesterday: Here was Steven Joyce’s reply: Nothing to say here. Nothing to say here. Nothing to say here. Nothing to say here. So Gareth tried again: Steven Joyce still wouldn’t take a call to respond. As Toad, one of our regular [...] read more
  June 17, 2011 6:46 pm - 10 Comments
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  Outdoor industrial dairy factories in the Maketu swamp - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  On May 27th I visited the Lower Kaituna River and the Ongatoro/Maketu Estuary, just to the east of Tauranga. I met up with Ray Bushell and Maria Horne from Te Arawa, and Julian Fitter, a local conservationist. They are trying to save the Maketu Estuary and the Kaituna River, which are highly degraded ecosystems. The Kaituna River flowed through the Maketu Estuary [...] read more
  June 14, 2011 10:43 pm - 20 Comments
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  Russel Norman’s Budget speech - by frog

  
  
  
  Go Russel! I make no pretense of being unbiased, but I think Russel nailed the real economic issues facing New Zealand very well: Bill English didn’t. read more
  May 19, 2011 10:20 pm - 34 Comments
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  Trustpower and the Govt plan to mine this national park – Rakaia River - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  Last Saturday I went to pay my respects to one of the grand old men who built the Canterbury Plains, the Rakaia River. The Rakaia River is the greatest of the remaining untamed braided rivers. Starting in the Southern Alps it reaches the ocean south of Lake Ellesmere/Te Waihora. It is one of the rivers that [...] read more
  May 9, 2011 6:13 pm - 4 Comments
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  Aucklanders, you know you’re drinking the Waikato River - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  One in three New Zealanders (Auckland, Hamilton et al) have a very direct interest in the quality of the water coming down the Waikato River because their drinking water is extracted from that catchment. The more polluted that water is, the more expensive and difficult it is to treat it. So how bad is the water at the end of the Waikato river? read more
  April 29, 2011 5:05 pm - 18 Comments
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  Podcast: Russel’s Dirty Rivers Wrap-up - by frog

  
  
  
  Russel is about to wrap his second annual Dirty Rivers Rafting Tour. Russel has been visiting rivers that are either dangerously polluted, or threatened due to large dam and irrigation projects, and rafting or kayaking them with local environmentalists, whitewater enthusiasts, iwi, farmers, and media. The purpose of the tour is to highlight the threats [...] read more
  April 29, 2011 3:47 pm - No Comments
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  Greens’ concern over Parliamentary urgency gains widespread support - by frog

  
  
  
  Last year, around the time the shameful Hobbit Bill was being rammed through Parliament in two days and without Select Committee scrutiny, Russel Norman posted here and here about his increasing concern over the National-led Government’s use of Parliamentary urgency to bypass normal Parliamentary process: The problem with urgency is that it often means that laws [...] read more
  April 20, 2011 9:07 am - 16 Comments
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  Mangatainoka River – April 3, 2011 - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  The Mangatainoka River has been made famous by Tui with their beer ads – scantily dressed women supposedly frolicking in the river near the brewery. Well, it’s true that the Mangatainoka is near the brewery, but it is heavily polluted so I don’t reckon they frolicked in the river itself. As recently as January 18, [...] read more
  April 13, 2011 2:35 pm - 5 Comments
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  National is failing the people of Christchurch, and everyone else for that matter - by frog

  
  
  
  This is really sad.  I would have thought that the National Party would care about rebuilding Christchurch following the devastation of their earthquakes.  And I would have thought that a compassionate, albeit conservative, major Government party would have agreed that a temporary levy on higher earning taxpayers living outside Christchurch is a good idea.  After [...] read more
  April 5, 2011 7:57 pm - 26 Comments