Farewell to New Zealand's clean and green image - very likely "green activists" claim...
A cash starved National Government considers allowing mining in Department of Conservation Estates in both North and South Island national parks. Will it be farewell to New Zealand's clean and green image? Opponents claim it could; the Green Party has actually produced a list of likely sites for potential exploitation. Mining and conservation are not great bedmates. Read further:
Green campaigners are not buying the Government line that there is nothing to fear in mining Department of Conservation (DOC) land.
The Green Party has produced a list of sites at threat of possible exploitation, while Greenpeace says the countryside is under attack, and it too is preparing for battle.
The Waituna Lagoon in Southland, the Aspiring National Park and Paparoa National Park on the West Coast, Kahurangi National Park at the top of the South Island and the whole of the Coromandel are all under threat.
Geoff Keey from Greenpeace is not buying the claim high value conservation land is not at risk - saying the country is under attack.
Greenpeace is concerned the DOC estate will be stripped.
"The very things we use to promote our clean green image - our national parks, our wildlife refuges, all the really important things, are under attack,” Mr Keey says.
But Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee has scotched such suggestions.
“No one would want to see those ripped up in anyway whatsoever,” he says.
Industry experts like Eddie Davis from Minerals West Coast say there is a middle ground for both mining and conservation.
“I think everybody in our industry is for that type of thing but we just need trade-offs. Don't stop one for the sake of the other,” Mr Davis says.
“What I really want to do is get DOC and Crown Minerals talking to each other rather than over top of each other,” says Mr Brownlee.
Pike River mine in Greymouth is being held up as a shining example of sustainability in action.
When the coal is exhausted in a few decades time, the entire operation will be dismantled and the site returned to the forest.
Mr Brownlee says the recently created Oteaki Park in Southland is another indication of what is possible.
"We kept out of that park 200h because there might at some point some mineral value that could be readily accessed on that little bit of it,” he says.
However, Greens co-leader Russel Norman is not convinced.
“National parks are national treasures, and any government that threatens to destroy those national treasures by mining is betraying future generations,” he says.
"Mining is not compatible with conservation...it doesn't work together,” adds Mr Keey.
Greenpeace are demanding answers from the mining industry about the proposed mining in national parks.
Raping the environment, Key and National! Stand down and resign now! Get out of politics!
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Key Government a one term government...
The John Key led National government is a one term government if there was ever one, but is Phil Goff the answer to a Labour led government? Is he pressing the right buttons and getting onside with voters?
Apolgising for the alleged sins of the last Labour Government isn't something i would be doing if I was Phil Goff, a man who was incidently a delegate to labour party conferences I attended nearly thirty years ago.
Remenber this Phil, you will never be fit or good enough to lace up Helen Clark's shoes now or in the future,
Are you a future prime minister?
Apolgising for the alleged sins of the last Labour Government isn't something i would be doing if I was Phil Goff, a man who was incidently a delegate to labour party conferences I attended nearly thirty years ago.
Remenber this Phil, you will never be fit or good enough to lace up Helen Clark's shoes now or in the future,
Are you a future prime minister?
Saturday, August 29, 2009
NZ mortgagee sales hit record high -
NZ mortgagee sales hit record high - life in "the brave new world" of a John key government...
Terralink International says mortgagee sales in New Zealand have hit an all time high for the month of june, 298 and rising
Mortgagee sales have hit an historic high, with numbers almost tripling since the same time last year.
Terralink International has released figures for registered mortgagee sales in June. It says there were 289 of them - against 98 registered sales in June 2008.
Managing Director Mike Donald says Queenstown, Hawkes Bay, Manawatu, Taranaki and Northland have been hardest hit. He says it is probably due to the recession starting to bite, with job losses and small businesses not generating enough for the owner to pay their mortgage.
Mike Donald expects mortgagee sales will continue to rise.
© 2009 NZCity, NewsTalkZB
Terralink International says mortgagee sales in New Zealand have hit an all time high for the month of june, 298 and rising
Mortgagee sales have hit an historic high, with numbers almost tripling since the same time last year.
Terralink International has released figures for registered mortgagee sales in June. It says there were 289 of them - against 98 registered sales in June 2008.
Managing Director Mike Donald says Queenstown, Hawkes Bay, Manawatu, Taranaki and Northland have been hardest hit. He says it is probably due to the recession starting to bite, with job losses and small businesses not generating enough for the owner to pay their mortgage.
Mike Donald expects mortgagee sales will continue to rise.
© 2009 NZCity, NewsTalkZB
Kiwi woman sacked for sending 'confrontational' emails...
Woman sacked for sending 'confrontational' emails - life in the "brave new world" of a John Key government?
Vicki Walker is calling for greater protection for white-collar workers after she was sacked because of 'confrontational' emails she had sent
An Auckland accountant was sacked for sending "confrontational" emails with words in red, in bold and in capital letters.
Vicki Walker, who was a financial controller with ProCare Health, has been awarded $17,000 for unfair dismissal, and plans to lodge an appeal for further compensation.
She is now speaking out, calling for greater protection for white-collar workers from the financial, emotional and mental stresses involved in a dispute with a big corporate employer.
"I am a single woman with a mortgage, and I had to re-mortgage my home and borrow money from my sister to make it through," she said. "They nearly ruined my life."
The Employment Relations Authority ruled that Walker was not fairly terminated from her position after sending the emails to co-workers.
ProCare told the authority Walker - who was fired in December 2007 after two years of employment - had caused disharmony in the workplace by using block capitals, bold typeface and red text in her emails.
She had also acted provocatively in seeking to view complaints laid against her by colleagues.
But Walker said they talked about a number of emails she had sent, yet used only one in evidence. The email, which advises her team how to fill out staff claim forms, specifies a time and date highlighted in bold red, and a sentence written in capitals and highlighted in bold blue. It reads: "To ensure your staff claim is processed and paid, please do follow the below checklist."
As part of her compensation, Walker was awarded nearly $6000 in lost wages for the 13 weeks between leaving ProCare and finding a new job, but she says she didn't find fulltime work until October 2008.
Walker was also awarded $11,500 for any harm caused through her dismissal.
"To say that [email] is confrontational is ridiculous," says Walker. "I have spent thousands defending myself and there are so many issues that are unresolved that I want to take them up on."
Authority member Alastair Dumbleton said Ms Walker received no warnings, and while she had contributed to disharmony in the workplace it was not to the extent that dismissal was fair or reasonable.
She had been a capable and competent employee, he said. ProCare did not have a style or etiquette guide for employees using email, so it was not clear what was regarded as unacceptable communication.
ProCare did not respond to a request for comment on the compensation.
Another example of life in the "brave new world" of a John key government?
Vicki Walker is calling for greater protection for white-collar workers after she was sacked because of 'confrontational' emails she had sent
An Auckland accountant was sacked for sending "confrontational" emails with words in red, in bold and in capital letters.
Vicki Walker, who was a financial controller with ProCare Health, has been awarded $17,000 for unfair dismissal, and plans to lodge an appeal for further compensation.
She is now speaking out, calling for greater protection for white-collar workers from the financial, emotional and mental stresses involved in a dispute with a big corporate employer.
"I am a single woman with a mortgage, and I had to re-mortgage my home and borrow money from my sister to make it through," she said. "They nearly ruined my life."
The Employment Relations Authority ruled that Walker was not fairly terminated from her position after sending the emails to co-workers.
ProCare told the authority Walker - who was fired in December 2007 after two years of employment - had caused disharmony in the workplace by using block capitals, bold typeface and red text in her emails.
She had also acted provocatively in seeking to view complaints laid against her by colleagues.
But Walker said they talked about a number of emails she had sent, yet used only one in evidence. The email, which advises her team how to fill out staff claim forms, specifies a time and date highlighted in bold red, and a sentence written in capitals and highlighted in bold blue. It reads: "To ensure your staff claim is processed and paid, please do follow the below checklist."
As part of her compensation, Walker was awarded nearly $6000 in lost wages for the 13 weeks between leaving ProCare and finding a new job, but she says she didn't find fulltime work until October 2008.
Walker was also awarded $11,500 for any harm caused through her dismissal.
"To say that [email] is confrontational is ridiculous," says Walker. "I have spent thousands defending myself and there are so many issues that are unresolved that I want to take them up on."
Authority member Alastair Dumbleton said Ms Walker received no warnings, and while she had contributed to disharmony in the workplace it was not to the extent that dismissal was fair or reasonable.
She had been a capable and competent employee, he said. ProCare did not have a style or etiquette guide for employees using email, so it was not clear what was regarded as unacceptable communication.
ProCare did not respond to a request for comment on the compensation.
Another example of life in the "brave new world" of a John key government?
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Political firestorm - implicating national MP in possible immigration scam...
Political firestorm set to explode;
Labour will today release information from an informant which implicates a National MP in a possible immigration scam
Immigration New Zealand has asked police to look into the activities of an immigration consultant with connections to National MP Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi.
The department says it received information last month concerning Mr Singh Bakshi and interviewed an informant. As a result it decided to refer the case to police.
It is understood the case centres on allegations false job offers have been used to secure visas and permits for immigrants.
Police confirm they are investigating an immigration consultant, but say the man has now left the country. They are not commenting further, nor making any statement about Mr Singh Bakshi's connection.
Mr Singh Bakshi is unavailable for comment, but he has previously denied he has broken any rules in relation to immigration matters. He is currently six weeks into an eight week absence from Parliament, as he recovers from heart bypass surgery.
The Labour Party will be gunning for the National MP in Parliament this afternoon. Labour MP Pete Hodgson says he will go public with a statement from an informant. His comments will be protected by Parliamentary privilege.
Acknowledgements: NZCity, NewsTalkZB
Labour will today release information from an informant which implicates a National MP in a possible immigration scam
Immigration New Zealand has asked police to look into the activities of an immigration consultant with connections to National MP Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi.
The department says it received information last month concerning Mr Singh Bakshi and interviewed an informant. As a result it decided to refer the case to police.
It is understood the case centres on allegations false job offers have been used to secure visas and permits for immigrants.
Police confirm they are investigating an immigration consultant, but say the man has now left the country. They are not commenting further, nor making any statement about Mr Singh Bakshi's connection.
Mr Singh Bakshi is unavailable for comment, but he has previously denied he has broken any rules in relation to immigration matters. He is currently six weeks into an eight week absence from Parliament, as he recovers from heart bypass surgery.
The Labour Party will be gunning for the National MP in Parliament this afternoon. Labour MP Pete Hodgson says he will go public with a statement from an informant. His comments will be protected by Parliamentary privilege.
Acknowledgements: NZCity, NewsTalkZB
Monday, August 10, 2009
Paula Bennet being investigated by the Privacy Commission
Bennett investigated by Privacy watchdog...
Privacy Commission is investigating the Social Development Ministry and Paula Bennett over release of info about beneficiaries
The Privacy Commissioner has confirmed her office is investigating Paula Bennett and the Social Development Ministry.
Marie Shroff recently received a complaint about both, after the Social Development Minister revealed the welfare payments being received by two solo mothers.
The women had publicly complained about the Government's decision to scrap the Training Incentive Allowance.
Ms Shroff says the Privacy Act requires her office to conduct investigations in a confidential manner.
Acknowledgements: 2009 NZCity, NewsTalkZB
Privacy Commission is investigating the Social Development Ministry and Paula Bennett over release of info about beneficiaries
The Privacy Commissioner has confirmed her office is investigating Paula Bennett and the Social Development Ministry.
Marie Shroff recently received a complaint about both, after the Social Development Minister revealed the welfare payments being received by two solo mothers.
The women had publicly complained about the Government's decision to scrap the Training Incentive Allowance.
Ms Shroff says the Privacy Act requires her office to conduct investigations in a confidential manner.
Acknowledgements: 2009 NZCity, NewsTalkZB
Friday, July 31, 2009
Madam, your blue slip is showing...
Madam, your slip is showing. Remember that saying? What it means here is the National Party is clearly showing its philosophy and its short and medium term intentions. It has no policies to enact just yet. Its conference will deal with what it will enact in its second term.
A nationwide cycleway? Jesus Christ would have a fit laughing over that one. 300 potential jobs when 50,000 have been lost and another 40,000 by the end of next year.
John Key is actually quite a nice and affable bloke. His role is to lull Kiwis into false sense of security. He doesn't need the prime minister's salary and expense account - as Michael Cullen said, he's a rich prick!!!
It is a pretty good bet that Happy Johny is keeping Billy the Kid English's prime ministerial seat warm intil he is ready. John will attempt to win National a second term amd stand down. He will then be given an overseas posting within the next year.
Bill English and a second generation of New Right privateers will sell the remaining New Zealand family jewels to the highest bidder! Sir John and Sir Bill? yeah right!
A nationwide cycleway? Jesus Christ would have a fit laughing over that one. 300 potential jobs when 50,000 have been lost and another 40,000 by the end of next year.
John Key is actually quite a nice and affable bloke. His role is to lull Kiwis into false sense of security. He doesn't need the prime minister's salary and expense account - as Michael Cullen said, he's a rich prick!!!
It is a pretty good bet that Happy Johny is keeping Billy the Kid English's prime ministerial seat warm intil he is ready. John will attempt to win National a second term amd stand down. He will then be given an overseas posting within the next year.
Bill English and a second generation of New Right privateers will sell the remaining New Zealand family jewels to the highest bidder! Sir John and Sir Bill? yeah right!
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