This photograph of a bucolic scene from the Waituna catchment, is displayed on the website of New Zealand's 3rd biggest political party (perhas soon the 2nd biggest :-) The Greens.
It was taken by Green Co-leader Russel Norman on his trip to Waituna earlier this year. It's being used to illustrate the reasoning behind and the need for the Green's Clean Water Initiative.
From the website:
Yesterday we launched the Greens’ Clean Water initiative. You can read all about it here.
It involves
- setting minimum standards, for water quality and for agricultural practice;
- putting a price on irrigation water; and
- using the funds raised to provide support for the cleaning up of rivers and lakes.
John Key bizarrely responded that he doesn’t want to use price signals to improve irrigation efficiency, which is odd for someone who says that price signals matter, but he is happy to subsidise the cleaning up of rivers which are polluted by intensive dairying. So he wants to privatise the gains and socialise the losses.
Just in case you think everything is fine out there, here is a picture taken in mid-July in the catchment of the Waituna Lagoon, our internationally famous lagoon that NZ has signed a treaty to protect and which is threatened by water pollution:
Much needs to be done to protect environments like Waituna. The Greens are offering by far the best thinking on how it can be done.
23 comments:
still attacking farmers bOb .. boring. Is it because organic milk sucked a kumera bOb .. annoyed aye?
Organic milk is lovely stuff jabba. If you must drink milk, drink organic!
Had kumera for dinner tonight - organic, and it was really nice.
Annoyed?
Excited more like!
Concerned too, about our environment and doing what I can to open up the discussion and keep it real.
What do you think about Waituna?
didn't look too flash .. good for your garden, they may sell it to you if you ask nicely
Whoops! Sorry to interrupt chaps.
Rg, have you tried 'raw' milk? Helluva lot more healthy for you then even organically fed cows milk. As you probably know it is not only what the cows eat - important though that is - it is really about what "they" do to the stuff after the cow has released it and before you get to drink it.
It's not a bad idea jabba and I've thought about that too. Some of the staff at ES have talked about the value of the phosphorus-rich mud and it's use back on the land as fertilizer. I find your comments very stimulating, thought-wise.
Fred - yes, raw milk is what we've been drinking, while it was available. Raw organic, of course, it's the ultimate and what we were getting.
You're not interrupting anything really. Jabba is trying to be disruptive but I like that kind of approach - tension of the creative/challenging sort is where ideas spring from.
Do you drink 'straight from the cow'?
The picture looks like it cam straight from the Southland (scandalous) Times, I've just realized who Mr Fred (we apologise for for the mistake in the text) Tulet vote for!
I must be as bad as the Times, sorry about bur repeating and bad grammar!
Well Nicko it could be worse Tullet might instead have voted National. Thankfully as you correctly pointed out he doesn't maybe he cares for our future and our country well being more than following poster boy Keys govt Keys commonly called in the circle he previously worked as the "smiling assassin" ( he always smiled as he sacked possibly hundreds of his workers). Keys whom made his fortune by ripping of the money system and who sucks up to anything the US govt asks of him, to even allowing Israeli terrorists sneak out of our country to prevent being caught!!
Paulinem, how will you cope when he is back in power for the next three years? Off across the ditch with all the other cowards!
Nicko - call me thick but I don't know who Fred Tulett votes/voted for?
How did you work it out and who do you reckon?
Nope Niki I care way to much about my country my province my grandchildren's future
""IF"" sadly they get back in.
I will write more and more letters reminding those who voted for the mongrels and how in their vote was self interested I will remind them they showed an abysmal concern for our future, and the sacrifice and work of our descendants of the past whom gave us so much. I will remind them how they voted for a govt that was happy to sell our country's vital public assets to overseas owners.
In other words I will remind people like you they they voted for a Govt that happily mortgaged and SOLD our sovereignty. A Govt that has a policy like communist China where a selected few only benefit from their governance.
The rest of us sadly will under be a Keys govt, will become like the great mass of Chinese, slaves to a privileged few.
Paulinem, I absolutely respect your views, and I'm sure you will do the same for me, it is my belief that at least 95% of the "mongrels" who will vote for John Keys mob, including me, I admit it, will not let Waituna go to hell in a hand cart, nor let the country be poisoned by big business. Its just that I and the majority of this country am very very scared of the alternative ruling our beautiful country.
Nicko - your claim doesn't seem to make sense. The majority of people supported the Labour Party just one term ago and did so for 9 years! It's not credible to think that the numbers of people you claim to speak for, are 'very, very scared' of Labour being back in power. Just not credible.
Robert, Labour make no economic sense as to how they plan to pay for our education, our healthcare, our environment, our elderly care, without borrowing heavily, which I'm afraid it is now impossible to fund our national expenses internationally, we need to find ways of making some money to survive in NZ now and quickly, or we are going to end up like the roman empire. That is why I am so worried about any new party coming in to lead our country for the next 25 years.
Nicko - National are doing just that - borrowing, at an ever-increasing rate!
They seem to have no pro-active mechanisms in place to change that, bar their very unpopular asset-sale proposals, which seem seriously flawed, even by the reckoning of National's supporters. How they fill you with confidence I really fail to see.
Or have you simply 'given your heart to John' and will accept anything he and his National Party team say. I meet people who have done just that. It's a reliance/religious kind of thing. Authoritarians are susceptible to it.
Regardless, you haven't addressed my charge that your claim doesn't make sense, in light of the 9 years Labour was in favour with so many.
I have decided to follow the wizard and sail out over the 200 mile limit on election day and vote for no one! Perhaps every eligible voter in NZ should do the same!
Couldn't you just stay at home and not vote:-)
Following a wizard sounds like a good idea though. I already do both.
And sailing, I meant.
Been off air Rg.
Sadly I dont have a house cow. Very good reason - I never once achieved a bucket of milk without it being kicked over or shat in. Father asked me if I would take over the 'house cow'. My reply - unprintable here - left him little option but to sell the old girl - cow that is!
Rough hands Fred? Poor circulation maybe? I always stroke the cows flank before grabbing a teat, as suggested to me by the bloke who taught me to hand milk many a long year ago.
scrit, scroot, scrit scroot
(Pretty difficult to convey the sound of milk hitting the bottom of the bucket with words)
Tax and spend will always appeal to a majority of voters (recipients).
Labour only lost the 2008 Election because of the nasty personal stuff against Key by Clark, and the stupidity of Peters.
Labour could easily win the upcoming Elections with just a little smart thinking, but they are still defending their 2008 position.
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