Lignitemare

Photographer Diana Zadravec.

 

That's the message!

And..this will surprise you!

Ecan in Exile

We're far enough away from Canterbury not to be worried by what happened to their Regional Council, right?

For the concerned ... this site.

Raukumara

It's beginning to look very untidy, the Government's plan to deep-sea drill the Raukumara basin.
They'll be cursing the timing of the BP Gulf of Mexico spill, coming as it did right on top of their Petrobras deal to exploratory-drill off the East Coast. In fact, the timing couldn't have been worse. Not only that, both Key and Brownlee have insulted Ngati Porou in response to them expressing their deep concern at the plans, through their bonfires on the beach, making the issue 'personal' and escalating what seemed to be a straightfoward process. It will be very interesting to watch how far this spillage from the oil deal spreads.
I've always understood that a rau kumara was a whare especially constructed to store kumara. If this is the case, the combined images of food and oil don't mix well, in my mind.
I see problems.

If you've a techno/scientific mind, this link describes the Raukumara basin and its geological qualities.

Censored!

Like to read the paper on the national standards that Anne Tolley censored?

Here it is.

Warm climate crops

You'd be surprised what grows down here in the reputedly-cold South.
This is a hop flower, one of dozens on a vine that has draped itself over one of my sheds.
Hops are grown commercially in Motueka and Riwaka where the summers are hot and long but they thrive here in Riverton where the conditions are less certain.
I've figs, feijoa and loquats as well.
Who'd have thought?

Desperate stuff

John Key said, upon being quizzed about the strong response from Kiwis to the Government's plans to mine the national parks:

"New Zealanders desperately want New Zealand to become wealthier".

Desperate indeed.

Slick (sick!)

It just gets worse and worse.

Duck Donald!

Response to Federated Farmers, Southland Times 29 June







Is local government perfect?
It’s a very naïve question that Don Nicolson asks and clearly he does so just so that he can answer no.
People don’t expect perfection in their local councils but they do expect fair representation. They want to be able to choose who represents them and they don’t expect their right to vote to be taken off them.
Mr Nicolson is supportive of the dismissal of the Canterbury council and hints that if need be he’d support the same thing happening here in Southland. I hold the opposite view. I believe that when people vote for a representative, they expect their vote to be respected.
Mr Nicolson finishes by saying that turnouts to local body elections are ‘paltry’. In that at least he may be right.
The best way to ensure that lobby groups like Federated Farmers and Governments like the one that ended democratic elections in Canterbury don’t throw their weight around, is to vote and to encourage everyone you know to vote.
The elections are fast approaching.

Parkour!

There's a parkour crew in Invercargill, it might surprise you to learn. You may have caught a glimpse of them but thought they were shadows sliding up a wall, or clouds skudding from roof-top to roof-top, across Invercargill's evening sky but had you looked closer (or had one of them slipped!) you'd have found that they were young gymnasts, using the city as their parallel bars, trampolene, climbing wall and vaulting 'horse'. Parkour is an exacting discipline and these athletic Southlanders have just that - discipline. They train and they train hard in order that they don't damage themselves as they perform their gravity-defying leaps, clambers, turns, spins and landings.
Keep an eye out for the Invers crew while you're out walking in the evening and don't listen to anyone who might try to tell you that what you saw was just a cloud of bats.
*clue - look for a car emblazoned with scenes from the world of parkour .. and follow it!
What is Parkour? Try here

National standards - Fail.

Without getting into the details of the scheme, I call the efforts by the Government, through Anne Tolley, to introduce the national standards scheme a failure, because it created resentment. A far better  result could have been achieved by developing an atmosphere of trust and confidence amongst the teachers and principals who would be most affected by the new scheme, but the Minister failed miserably to do that. The resentment that followed the mishandling by Tolley and the attacks on teacher's credibility by both her and Key have done a great deal of damage to relations between all parties involved. It could and should have been done very differently.

F for fail.

The Phantom(s)

My son Adam's the Phantom bill poster for Invercargill, pasting up posters advertising everything from Carmen to church garage sales and he's very good at his job. With an especially heavy workload just now, it was an opportunity for me to help him out, slopping the paste brush around, slapping up advertising for the Road Safety people and adding some colour to the walls and purpose-built poster-boards around the city.
Maybe the skills I gained today will come in handy in the future, who can say. For now, I am glad of the opportunity to spend some time working with my son.

Questioning the Don - letter to the Times

In his feature article in Saturday's paper titled "Don on the farm", Mark Hotton writes,
"The Government was working on curbing local government..."
I wonder whether this was something said by the subject of the article, Federated Farmers national president Don Nicolson, who is quoted elsewhere in the article, saying that he "wanted to fix local government" and that "local government has sold itself as doing a grand job.."
It sounds very much as though Nicolson would like to see a repeat of the undemocratic actions taken by the Government against the Canterbury Regional Council down here in Southland and across the rest of the country as well.
Is this the case? Do Federated Farmers oppose local government by democratically elected local people?

Robert Guyton
20 Thames Street
Riverton
032348249

Federated farmers national president Don Nicolson replied:
I think this creates an opportunity for us to get a good debate going about the future of local government.
Is local government perfection?
Very few people would say yes. The temporary governance arrangements for Environment Canterbury are a result of political dysfunction. I hope that if Environment Southland or any council was racked by political infighting , then the Government would step in. Politicians have to be accountable for their actions.
I make no apologies for the excellent work Federated Farmers does to shape local government.
We are informed by our hardworking professional staff who tell us when councils stray off the path.
We need to because in the past 13 years local government has put up rates at nearly three times the rate of inflation.
Provincial New Zealand and more specifically farmers are being farmed for their rates out of all proportion to what they consume.
Conventional wisdom has rates as being a farmer-only issue. Our Colmar Brunton poll found that urban New Zealand is equally hacked off by how much they pay.
Only when there's a clear relationship between the funding and the type, quality and quantity of service, will rational decision making come at the council table.
Then and only the, may the current paltry electoral turnouts translate into real democracy.

Flyer

Off to the printers today to have this turned into a flyer that I can hand out to shoppers.

Giving out 'mining march' flyers last week was an experience I enjoyed very much and I'm looking forward to doing more of that kind of thing over the next month or so. People were so polite and even those that weren't supportive were happy to joke about it in a good natured way.

I'll call into Eric Roy's office again as I was well received there.

*note to self - resist the temptation to try to convince those who show reluctance.

From the Southland Times today:
Photo by NICOLE GOURLEY

More than 400 Southlanders marched against plans to mine on conservation land and were united in a public protest to stand up and save "the crown jewels in our environment".

Organisers estimated the Ours Not Mines march attracted more than 400 people on Saturday.
The group was silent until arriving in Dee St, where they began chanting, urging the Government to rethink its plans for proposed mining of Schedule Four conservation land.

Earlier this year the Government announced it was also planning to investigate the potential of mining on Stewart Island and the Longwoods in Western Southland.
The protest was one of several that has been held throughout the country since March.
In Wachner Place the group heard speeches from conservationist Robert Guyton, actress Bonnie Soper, Green Party MP Kevin Hague and Labour Party stalwart Lesley Soper.
Read more

Wrecking ball? Buoyosaurus?

#3 in the Art on the Estuary Series.
As yet untitled.
And still standing.
Enjoy Wayne Hill's website.

Frosty post

The waxeyes have hollowed out the last of the apples on this tree and the frost will turn what's left to mush, once everything thaws.
If I had been quicker, I could have made cider!

Dave's Mining March photo

Lunar eclipse live broadcast

Look up, look up, it's happening right before your very eyes!
A partial eclipse of the moon by the earth's shadow.
Right now, the shadow curves from 5 o'clock to 9 o'clock and is slowly moving across the face of the moon.
The skies of Southland are clear and it's very cold out there.
I'm outside for a while then back in to up-date.
It's interesting to think that watching an eclipse first confirmed to astronomers their theory that the earth is a sphere, which has to cast a curved shadow. What excitement that must have caused!
It's not getting any warmer out there!
Sliding up, more 4:30 to 10 o'clock now and it gives the moon's face a bruised look.

From the Stardome Observatory

All parts of New Zealand will be able to see the partial lunar eclipse on the 26th of June. The full Moon will enter the outer shadow (penumbra) at 8.55pm but little change will be seen until in enters the deeper central shadow (umbra) at 10.17pm. For this eclipse, the Moon only grazes the umbral shadow and at maximum only 50% of the lunar disk will be covered. Mid eclipse occurs at 11.38pm, the Moon leaves the umbra at 1.00am and finally the penumbra at 2:21am

I'll not stay up for the whole event as the marching and speaking and mingling's made me tired!
11:22 and I'm for bed.

A TV celeb, two MPs and me.

Making a noise in Invers

That was an up-lifting experience! Southlanders, marching to show their feelings about the plan to mine the national parks. They don't like it! We don't like it!
Dave Kennedy, march organiser would have been delighted by the weather and the number of people that turned out to enjoy an afternoon in the sun, marching through the streets of Invercargill. There was not a lot of chanting and shouting but there were placards as far as the eye could see and lots of conversations as the crowd wound its way along Nith and Kelvin, down Don, up Dee and finally to rally at Wachner Place for the speechifying. Had it been a weekday, shoppers would have stopped in their purchasing tracks and marvelled, I reckon. As it was, the Saturday crowd (light, interested) seemed to enjoy the parade, even joining in and enjoying the experience of walking for something they believed in.
Kevin Hague had first go at speaking and gave a tight history of Schedule 4 land and the Greens' role in establishing that. Bonnie Soper, of Shortland Street fame, spoke in detail about the issue and showed that she has research skills to augment her acting ability. Leslie Soper flew the Red flag and put it to the National Government. I tidied up at the end and was well rewarded by the crowd, for the combined efforts of all four speakers. It was a very good and encouraging day for all of us; marchers, speakers, organisers and observers.
Ya shoulda been there!

Speech to the assembled marchers in Wachner Place

I find it astonishing that any government would ignore the well-being of it’s people in the way this government is doing right now.

I find it appalling that our so-called leaders in the National Party, the Act Party and the Maori Party would take from the people of New Zealand the precious, shared resources that are our national parks and offer them up to foreign mining companies.

It’s extraordinarily short-sighted, undemocratic behaviour from the present government that disrespects the work of previous forward-thinking governments that set aside and secured the jewels in our environmental crown, our national parks for perpetuity, for our grandchildren and for theirs.

This ‘cash it in now’, ‘take the money and run’ National government should be hanging it’s head in shame for what it is trying to do, but no! The Minister for Mining shows no contrition, declaring people like you and me ‘hysterical’ and ‘ill-informed’.

We are neither. We are ordinary New Zealanders who know that what has been declared protected, should stay protected.

A national park is not an industrial complex or an item to be traded, divvied-up, dug-up and mined.

We all know that the empty promises we hear from Mr ‘Sexy Coal’ Gerry Brownlee are not worth the post card they are written on. The mining he is planning is not surgical but terminal, not clean but mean.

A deal is a deal and governments of the past made a deal with the people of New Zealand NOT to mine the national parks.

These profit-hungry anti-environment, pull-the-wool-over-our-eyes politicians who jump to the tune of their big business buddies would break that deal as quickly as you could say ‘dig baby dig’!

The only way to stay their pick-wielding hand is to do what we’ve done today - give them the message, the thumbs down, the raised fist, the finger if need be, until they understand that New Zealanders don’t like to be conned.

We don’t want the rug pulled out from under our feet, our national parks dug up, our real, sustainable wealth sold off and the profits gathered in by the greedy and the exploitive.

It doesn’t matter how often National says ‘surgical mining’, ‘clean coal’, ‘restored landscapes’ or ‘catching up with Australia’s economy’, what they are trying to do is break a bond, renege on a promise, steal from our children.

This agreement to create and protect national parks for all was made in good faith and this government seeks to break that.

Let’s not allow them to do that.



Let’s hold them to account.



Let’s say a loud and clear NO to mining the national parks.

Rat-poison dumped onto Kakapo country

"Of all the places it could have landed, it's landed in the best place,"

Astonishing 'putting on of best face' by Department of Conservation Te Anau area manager Reg Kemper as he delivers the news that hundreds of kilograms of rat poison-laced pellets fell on a Fiordland island housing critically endangered kakapo.
The accidental drop of brodifacoum, nasty, nasty stuff that persists in the environment for a very long time has special significance to those of us who listened to DoC staff extol the virtues and safety of 1080 at the public meting at Riverton on Tuesday night. They didn't mention the possibility that 'hundreds of kilos' of the stuff could fall where it wasn't wanted, as this rat poison has done!
What an appalling thing to happen! And right in the middle of an island populated with kakapo!
Despite saying that the pod full of poison 'fell into the lake', prompting the 'best place' comment from Reg Kemper, he later adds,
"Eight conservation staff were now at the island searching for pellets. However, it was believed most of the poison had fallen into the lake." (emphasis mine).
Very, very bad occurence and not the first time brodifacoum has been spilled into the environment. Last time it was a truck-load that went over the edge of a Kaikoura road and into the ocean.
Accidental spills - big news nowadays!
More to come on this.
For now, here's the link.http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/news/3857268/Poison-pellets-fall-on-kakapo-island

White and red

Hauroko again, on roads white with frost.
I was up early to give myself time to drive at a slower pace and to read today's paper. I was looking for a photo of Phil Goff and myself taken yesterday as a lead-up to the 'stop-the-mining' march on Saturday.
I found it on page two.
Phil Goff was well informed and relaxed, once the media bunnies had left him in peace. Claims by those who don't support him, that he's 'robotic' are in my view, nonsense.

Mystery biker

Met this guy today.

He hasn't been a boy for quite some time but still exhibits a boyish enthusiasm and openness.

The bike he's on here is the same as my first Triumph.

More on the meeting tomorrow.

Policing local politics

This is odd, in a disturbing way.
Until now, the police have been unable to stand for and/or win a seat on a local body council, such as the Invercargill City Council, unless they have resigned or at least stood down from their position as police employees, the issue being the need to seperate the law enforcers from law making. The potential for abuse of the system has meant that in New Zealand, protections against the potential for such abuse of influence have been legislated into place for the benefit of democracy.
This is about to change.
The Government plans to remove the protection we as citizens enjoy from such influence and they intend to do it quickly, under urgency, without the chance for public scrutiny.
Why, you might ask yourself?
Indeed.

These commentors; No Right Turn and Tumeke! describe the situation well:

Bunui

Old whalers

TV3 News carried a poignant piece about the ex-whalers of the southern oceans, now camped in the Tory Channel in the Marlborough Sounds counting, not killing, whales.
Their view from there?
"We're conservationists now",
"Get together with Australia and the other countries that oppose whaling and pressure the Japanese to stop",
"There's no need for it."

He'll be back!

Irrepressible Riverton artist Wayne Hill says,

"Ogon is not gone. He'll rise, phoenix-like from the ashes and reclaim his rightful place in the sun".

The driftwood and iron statue, stolen and dismembered on midwinter's day by a disgruntled curmudgeon but recovered following police enquiries, is now at the home of the artist, undergoing a rebuild in preparation for a return to the estuary. Once in place, a 'fire of defiance' will be lit in his iron cape as a message to anyone else who might object to community-driven art installations and that message is that they're here to stay!

* Update  text message from the artist.

Ogon iz outof intentsive care and stabil
good sines of recovery
2 broken thums 2 decapitated arms
brokin neck brokin dreadz and a brokin he'art'

Water photography

This beautiful image is from the blog mars2earth and is one of a series taken of the surface of the water that wells up from Te Waikoropupu springs and is titled 'Taniwha scales'.

1080

Tonight

South Coast Environment Centre

Riverton


Film evening and discussion on the use of 1080 in New Zealand.
*Update - that was an interesting evening. Following the showing of an anti-1080 film by the Graf Bros. supplied by Tamsin Scott, an anti-1080 campaigner, the audience enjoyed a vigorous discussion with the two DoC staff who had turned out to represent their project to aerial drop 1080 on parts of the Waitutu forest. The film, incidentally, was sufficiently graphic in its use of footage of dogs, cows and deer dying from ingesting 1080, that one member of the audience had to leave the room. Most surprising to me was the section that showed the 'factory' where the 1080 is produced (somewhere in the United States of America), which looked like a low budget, sleazy P lab! Dodgy! If I was responsible for importing anything at all from an outfit like that I'd be recommending to my boss that we stop!
The evening ended amicably, much to the relief of the rangers but there were many unanswered questions. A further meeting is planned for the near future in Invercargill.
The fire at the Centre, btw, kept us really warm while the temperatures outside were very low and the weather ragged.

In the meantime,

HOW A 1080 POISON AERIAL DROP inspired a positive environmental change

Mining march up-date

(From organiser Dave Kennedy)


If you haven¹t already seen the advertisements the Southern Anti-Mining March is on this Saturday. We are meeting at the corner of Forth & Nith Streets (Invercargill) at 2pm. All indications so far suggest we will have several hundred attending. We have a bus load coming from Dunedin and many travelling from further a field. We hope to see you there!
If you want to be part of our placard making working bee, come to the Invercargill Environment Centre from 4pm to 6pm today. Bring some brushes and old paint (water based) if you have them.

MARCH EVENTS/COUNTDOWN:

22 June -Placard & Banner making, Invercargill Environment Centre 4-6pm

24 June-Media event with Phil Goff, Invercargill Environment Centre 3:15pm

26 June- THE MARCH, if you want to help with our Green stall at Wachner

Place let me know, otherwise see you at 2pm!

Links for more information:

G.E. or not G.E?

Why do we feel the need to mess with the genetics of this perfectly natural thing?

Emissions Trading Scheme public meetings

Tell Nick Smith what you think.

Gore
Thursday 15 July at 6.00pm
Call 03 203 3000 03 203 3000 for venue information or to RSVP

Vandal scandal!

Mean-spirited act hits solstice event





By KIMBERLY CRAYTON-BROWN

RIVERTON'S Winter Solstice celebrations were derailed yesterday after the centrepiece of the event was stolen.
The six-metre tall driftwood artwork, worth about $2000, was on loan from Riverton artist Wayne Hill and was to be set on fire as part of the inaugural event.
The figure had been designed with a corrugated iron cape , which was to act as a "fire vessel". After this had been set on fire, the main part of the sculpture would have remained intact.
Witnesses in the museum foyer said a man had cut the sculpture down with a chainsaw, then loaded it onto the back of a trailer and driven away.
Police located the person who had taken the sculpture hours after it had been stolen but it was damaged beyond repair.
Organiser Robert Guyton said the sculpture looked "quite forlorn".
"I have no idea why anybody would have been so mean-spirited" he said.
Last week another Wayne Hill sculpture "mysteriously" appeared during the night.
It was not taken by the man yesterday, but he pulled it out of the sand and "cast aside", Mr Guyton said.
"We put it back in the sand but it does look rather lonely", he said.
He had hoped both sculptures would become a semi-permanent feature in the Riverton Estuary, and said there had been a lot of positive feedback about them in the short time they had been there.
"We've had such tremendous support for it. Even in the museum itself people have commented on the structures."
Mr Guyton said he was particularly disappointed as the man's "unfriendly intentions" had ruined a community event.
"So many people were looking forward to it; it's the worst thing to happen."

16 Tuesday June 22, 2010 NEWS Southland Times.

Letter to the Southland Express

The article in last week's Southland Express warning shellfish eaters not to eat their favoured food from the Jacob's River Estuary for five days following heavy rain, a change from the previous two day ban, makes sorry reading indeed.


That we have come to the point where the stand-down times for safe shellfish gathering has more than doubled in recent times is a sad comment on the abuse our rivers are suffering. That we can't freely swim in, drink from or eat the fishes that swim in our rivers is bad enough but to hear that the situation is worsening is appalling. The culprit, according to the research described in your article? Contaminants being washed off the land into the river.

A bad situation, getting worse.

Mysterious sculptor steps out of the shadows...sort of...

In a move that seems designed to intrigue, the artist who created the two wooden water-side figures has agreed to an interview and photoshoot along with a personal appearence at tonight's midwinter event.
A man of very few words, he said,
"I'm very pleased with my Nyad and Ogon looks better than I had hoped. I'll be there tonight to light him up, even though it will mean wading out into the chilly waters. I'll be wearing a wetsuit, that's for sure!"

This photograph of the artist was taken this morning outside of his Moana Street home.

Farmageddon

Enrol now for New Zealand's first FARMAGEDDON® course in Dunedin 2010

Farmageddon will immerse you right inside the story of a simple agrarian community in heartland China.


The weekend is centred around a purpose-built boardgame within which you'll grow crops, harvest local resources and trade with neighbouring villages in order to nourish a growing family. It's no walk in the park!

Living out the development of the region you will have to work with the other 17 members of your community to confront the challenges that nature and society relentlessly present. Sooner or later external pressures will test even the healthiest village community and demand the utmost from each player.

Key aspects of agriculture are developed through short workshops, discussions and open debates which are spread over the weekend, culminating in a focused workshop looking for strategies to secure our agricultural future.

Participants gain a solid perspective on global issues relating to food production and environmental impacts of agricultural land use.

The FARMAGEDDON course is excellent preparation for students wishing to take a practical Agriculture, Horticulture or Permaculture course.

If you think that YOU are prepared for FARMAGEDDON send your name and contact details to apply@farmageddon.org, Closes July 24

Course costs $60 per person. All meals included.

School age and Students $40

Dangerous shellfish

 





Wait five days after rain to gather shellfish

"Shellfish in the Jacob's River Estuary at Riverton are unfit for human consumption for up to five days after heavy rain because of contaminants being washed off land into the river upstream, a study over last summer has found."
Environment Southland is working with Public Health South to extend the present two day 'no-take' warning as a result of work undertaken by student Bailey Lovett, who's findings showed clear links between high river fllows and shellfish flesh contamination in the estuary.
We've fallen a long way since the days when the cockle beds in the estuary were regarded s the best in the country.
It's an appalling state of affairs and it doen't seem that anything will change anytime soon. The best the 'authorities' seem to be able to do is shout warnings louder and longer.
This is, in my opinion, a disgrace.

Weather up-date - morning.

Appalling.

Ogon up close

Then there were two!

Now we have a pair of figures standing in the estuary!

This one is three times the height of the graceful nyad that appeared last weekend and stands in deeper water, cape flared out behind him (it's a he).

According to the artist, the corrugated iron cape is to serve as a vessel for fire and will burn tomorrow night as part of the solstice celebrations.

Should be quite a spectacle!

You are very welcome to come on out to Riverton and join us.

Racing this time!

We played Escalado but replaced the lead horses with steeds we made ourselves from yams and matchsticks!

Don't knock it til you've tried it!

Gold mining in Southland

Southland's real gold - food from the ground!
Someone will cleverly link carrot with carat no doubt, but will they make the same connection between mining and gardening? The first is extractive and involves a finite resource, the second sustainable and produces a never ending resource that is affordable to everyone, rich or poor.
I'm putting my support to the latter.

Fed up

Today's Southland Times carries an extensive article on Federated Farmers national president Don Nicolson in which he is quoted as saying some very, in my opinion, provocative and revealing things.

In essense, Mr Nicholson wants to 'break down who is farming the farmer', "I want that exposed", he says.

More specifically, Nicolson sees 'impediments' such as the ETS, local government rates, ACC and occupational Health and Safety compliance being 'put in farmers' way' and plans to 'retell that story'.

The article by Mark Hotton, says this as well,

"The Government was working hard to curb local government..."

and

"Reform of the Resource Management Act also remained high on his (Nicolson's) agenda.

"It's burning off farmers and burning up innovation, slowing it down.."

Oddly, the article is not online yet.
I'll link to it as soon as it appears, so that you can read it for yourself.

Hauroko Haurere

Headed for the Hauroko Valley early this morning and was treated to an extraordinary sunrise from behind the Longwoods - the sky was flaring iridescent!

The Takitimu, clothed in snow, were majestic.

But as you see I didn't have my camera with me!

Driving home later on the coastal road I could see Haurere/Solander Island clearly out in the southern ocean.

I landed on the island several years ago, thanks to a 'one out of the box' offer of a helicopter ride from Tuatapere and spent a while on a beach there with a group who had set up camp in order to photograph and study the Bullers Mollymawk, of which there were a huge number. Lots of seals too, mainly pups.

This image (posted in lieu of the sunrise) shows the view from Little Solander, looking towards the sliver of volcano that is Haurere, both wonderful places to visit on a calm, sunny day, but a very different story once the wind gets up!

Odd add

What do you make of this advertisement from Straight Furrow?

KELP

NZ Giant Kelp, fresh wild harvested. Certified organic, rich, top quality product. Very high in iodine. Dried and milled for sale. Great fertilizer/stock health food. As seen on Country Calendar. Buy direct from us.
Orders taken any size.
Ph:0800-NZ KELP, 03-322-6115 or nzkelp@farmside.co.nz

Aside from the awkward composition, there are some issues I can see with this, the most pressing being:
Is the 'harvesting' of wild kelp legal in New Zealand?
We need to be very watchful when it comes to developments like this, especially in light of recent changes to the Foreshore and Seabed Act.

Q-town water questions

The contract for United Water that manages Queenstown's supply, comes up for renewal shortly.
It will be worth watching what happens here and whether they are granted a 35 year contract, now possible under the rules brought in by the privitisation-encouraging Government.

Swallow this (if you dare!)

From "Red Alert"
10 months after Ryall put a stopper on Labour Govt funding to help small communities to improve water supplies, Brendon Burns (Labour) challenges Tony Ryall (National) to drink a glass of water from Port Robinson, small community near Cheviot and it ain’t safe to drink, despite being a reticulated supply.

Will he or won't he?

Stay tuned.

Water charges a contentious issue

"The science of monitoring and researching water in Southland is only going to increase as more water users compete for the same amount of water."

From someone very close to the heart of the issue, Juliet Larkin (studying towards a Masters in Science Communication at Otago University majoring in creative non-fiction writing).

Grab this

If you see a copy of this book, buy it!