Hit and run!

This afternoon, I was involved in a hit and run accident. I wasn't the hitter and or runner, you'll be pleased to know, but the rescuer! One of them anyway. Here's how it happened...
The vintage car enthusiast (I'll call him 'Ray'), driving an Austin 'Chummy' (pictured) was wending his polite and unassuming way home along a busy Invercargill street when he was cut off by a 'Give Way'- sign-jumping carload of youths and forced to swerve suddenly into a side street. Following on behind the car of yobbos, I saw the tiny vintage car flip onto its side and scrape along the tarmac, looking for all the world like a tumbling bumper-car. It came to a stop as I pulled over and jumped out to run to the aid of the driver. He was trapped in his little car and looking stunned. There was petrol dribbling out from under the bonnet and the car itself was in the centre of the lane, so I prised open the cowl and helped him to his feet and out. Others at the scene lifted the wee car back onto its wheels and pushed it to the kerb. Witnesses described the car that caused the crash and while we assessed the damage and arranged for a cup of tea for the driver, an off-duty policeman arrived back at the scene, having followed the hit-and-runners, noted their license plate number and address (they nipped home). We cheered that turn of events, waited til the uniformed police arrived (they were quick) then went to check that Ray was okay. He was, and was making plans to repair the broken windscreen, torn cowl and other broken bits and pieces.
That's it. An unexpected drama with a happy-enough ending. I'll update if there are developments.

Coexist - bumper sticker at Riverside

Images from the north

Little amanita

Stu's cacti

Hoooooeeee!

Back home, by the fire, thinking of the permaculture hui at Riverside beside the Motueka river ... seems an age away. Mostly, it was autumn. Fungi everywhere. Yellow, orange and red leaves all over the ground, the tents, the cars. It was still warm at the top of the South and plenty of moisture in the ground. The amanitas were spectacular, the boletes tempting. We even found ink caps and those were picked by a keen forager and fried up for breakfast. Fallen acorns covered the field in which the marque stood and I collected those to grow down here. They look perfect as hen and duck food, as recommended in the weighty Permaculture One.
The workshops at the hui were various and thought-provoking. Kama Burwell's 'Terraquaculture' presentation challenged the hardcore permies and promoted the work of Haikai Tane at Twizel. French-Canadian Jacque talked tools and I learned a lot from him and his mangly Franglais. The food was good and all bar the rice, grown at Riverside. Their gardens are extensive, their corn high and their pumpkins legendary. Almost as breath-taking as George's but only if you've been to his shelly orchard will you know what I mean (fruit! I'll show you fruit!).
Waterwheel Shilo and his family were the highlight for me. So peaceful they are, so very peaceful. We climbed their giant bamboo like extras from the House of Flying Daggers! I wanted to spring from the diving board onto the eel pond but had left my speedoes at home. We ate sweet chestnuts at the table (made from the trunk of a magnolia tree by father and daughter.) I'm drifting. It was like that.

Now that I'm home, I'm thanking my lucky stars that I live where I do. It may be cooler, but it's lush here. Adam and I presented our food forest to the hui and as we talked about our orchard garden I felt homesick (orchard sick?) for our wonderful tangly, wild garden and couldn't wait (though I had to cover the hundreds of kilometres to get back here) to get back under the cover of my woodland. There were so many Nick's there! I learned something from all of them, especially from Nick! He has a shaving-horse and a wickedly sharp mind. Plus he'd just returned from Wairoa and the Baxter experience. I'd like to describe my experience with Peat's poo, but it's not appropriate I suppose. Another time.

Riwaka rendezvous

I'm tucked-in now to the sweetest little house in sunny Riwaka (though it's dark outside), surrounded by the sounds of Jordan O'Jordan, lights and lamps from the thirties, china ducks up and down the walls, ukulele drapings, cowboys, kiwiana and more kiwiana (more kiwiana than you've ever seen) - it's my brother Stu's happy home and Adam and I are happy to be here. We've driven all day - by-passed Christchurch, seen a bomber flying up the river valley before the Lewis Pass, bought garden tools and beekeeping books at a second-hand shop at Murchison, photographed the hops gardens near Ngatimoti, carefully negotiated Motueka's dense traffic (what's going on there on a Thursday night?), ate fish pie (thanks Lesley!), watched The Last Airbender (!) and now it's time to retire for a night on the couch, very happy to be here.

Leavin' town

Tomorrow, I'm heading north. My son and I are going alllllllll the way up to Motueka for several reasons, the primary being to see my dear sweet sister Claire who is unwell. As well, we are going to the permaculture hui at Riverside.
Here's the permaculture logo.

Adam will be wearing a t-shirt that has this hand-painted on by his brother. I'll be wearing a 'real men' t-shirt, presently being printed by friends across the road.

If you're at the hui, you'll know us! We are presenting on our Riverton perma-bubble. Don't suppose I'll be blogging but the low number of comments I'm getting lately tells me that my sparkler might be just about fizzed out :-)

Eric's (soft) response to Waituna

Eric Roy's been caught on the hop over Waituna, through the 'letters to the editor' column of the Southland Times and around the blogs. He had nothing at all on his website from anytime during the time he's been in Government but has finally put up a post. It talks about the 'Fresh Start for Freshwater' report and that's about all. While there's some value in that, waving a report in front of the lagoon (imagine the photo opportunity there Eric!) isn't enough by any stretch of the imagination.

Leggo (of my head!)

Hand made in Riverton

Russel's Waituna report

"One of the principles that I try to follow in my job is that I don’t change the message depending on the audience; maybe change the emphasis or they way I tell it, but I aim not to change the fundamentals. With this in mind I found myself recently sitting in a small community hall in the middle of the farmland that forms the catchment of the Waituna Lagoon, to the east of Invercargill."

That's right, he tells it as he sees it. Russel's report posted on Frogblog and open for comments, is thorough and interesting. Eric. You'd benefit from having a good read of what Russel has written :-)

Trolls

Here's the best description of and discussion around trolls I've been able to find.

Words that aren't...

...in the English language.
Tangerina posted this list
of words that we don't have the use of but would like to have.
I like 'saudade' best of all. I have dreams where I experience saudade.

If you're in Dunedin...

Brad Tattersfield - Scandal-minimiser.

Like a job working for the National Government at $120 per hour, 'tidying-up messy scandals' for careless politicians?
Brad Tattersfield enjoys the work, it seems, based on comments he made on his company's website (since altered). He's done 'work' for Key and Bennett and claims proudly to have 'minimised' a government scandal.
National, it is reported, uses spin doctors like Tattersfield regularly.

"Spending watchdog and Labour MP Chris Hipkins said National was spending huge amounts of money on image-shaping. He acknowledged that Labour was criticised for the number of communications staff while it was in power but said National was spending large sums of taxpayer cash to buy experienced spin doctors.
He said the number of Beehive staff earning more than $100,000 a year had rocketed.

This Herald article looks at Tattersfield's activities.

Feminist blog - Well behaved women rarely make history

Strange territory, some of these fem-blogs.
Scuba Nurse heads hers with a meaningful quote from Hellen Keller that I find significant:

"I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble."

Scuba Nurse's blog is nicely crafted.

Stepping back in time...

This photo appeared on a traveller's website, so I grabbed it. It was taken during the celebration day for our town's 175th birthday. My family's not shy when it comes to participating in community events and we had the bicycles already so riding them up and down the main street wasn't a difficult thing to do, despite a couple of ever-softening tyres. Feels like time for another event like that. It was fun.

Celebrating diversity

In honour of my new friends :-)

My sons had their Leggo sets out today for a nostalgic play.
This sea-creature was amongst the figures.
Fish-wife or siren?

Bomber thinks...

...that Simon Power is to be installed as the new Solid Energy CEO and that Jenny Shipley is touting the sale of SE for her Chinese overlords.
Just sayin'...

Labour's new logo

I like it!

Winston's winning!

The hearts and votes of his growing band of supporters that is.
Peters is showing that he can frame an argument beautifully and deliver it with pizzaz. His new-found zing is ringing true for increasing numbers of older voters and he's on a roll. When he says things like this:
"The Government is pouring billions of dollars of good money – taxpayers' money – into failing businesses like South Canterbury Finance and AMI Insurance. It should nationalise AMI and send the people who supposedly ran the company to a tent camp in a Canterbury pine plantation for the winter." he scores a direct hit, not only with his faithful but with everyone who feels that the National Government is pandering to the rich and well-to-do.
National, it's spinners and apologists will be sh*tting themselves at the rise and rise of Winston Peters.
"The only people this Government looks after are those on the top of the pile – they are creaming it ... [while] taxpayer dollars get siphoned off in billions to save failing businesses.
"This Government gives huge tax cuts to the rich and increases taxes on food and the necessaries of life for families. The days of pensioners eating pet food will be over the day we walk back through the doors of Parliament."
That's the way you do it!
I'd never vote for the bloke, but that's the way you do it!

Stroppy!

Would you read a blog that has an image like this in their banner?

I would (and will.)

The Stroppery.

Shiitake and cider

Today's been about laying down foundations for future pleasures.
We began by felling an alder. We sawed through the trunk with our two-person saw and then cut that up into sections the length of a tennis racquet. Those will be drilled later today and have shiitake-impregnated dowels banged into them, then be set out amongst the remaining alders to do their mushroom magic and produce shiitake for us.
We also picked, sorted and washed apples for pressing and now have litres and litres of juice for more cider production as well as doing our first pasteurising-for-bottling experiment with the apple juice. That's for the evening.
Now it's quinces - we've got a huge crop of the pinapple-y scented things and we don't want to waste them. So, knife in hand, it's dicing time!

500 hats

This is the best. The 500 hats of Bartholemew Cubbins. Here's the link to the PDF if you can't find a paper copy.

Our basin (our oil)

The Raukumara Basin of the North Island's East Coast is the focus of protest over the exploration for oil by Petrobras but that's not the only 'basin' under scrutiny - there's one down here as well. I've lifted a comment by 'Kaukapakapa' (Hope you don't mind K) on Frogblog because it relates to the Great South Basin and that's our territory.

"But isn’t anyone else concerned that at least one other exploration company may be drilling in deep water within the next 18 months?
I’m referring to three exploration permits that OMV were awarded in the Great South Basin. In the next 12 weeks OMV has to make a commitment to drilling exploratory wells in all three, or surrender the permits to Crown Minerals.
First example – Permit 50120 which is an 8,352 sq km offshore block off the SE tip of New Zealand. If OMV don’t surrender the permit by 10 July 2011, they then have until July next year to drill one exploration well to an indicative minimum depth of 3,500 metres below sea level “unless geological or engineering constraints encountered whilst drilling make this unreasonable”
Then there’s Permit 50121 which is a 16,520 sq km offshore block that extends off the coast of Stewart Island. If that permit isn’t surrendered, OMV will have to drill TWO exploration wells “to an indicative minimum depth of 1,500 metres below sea level in western areas of the permit or 3,500 metres below sea level in eastern areas of the permit…”
Last example is Permit 50119 – a 23,860 sq km block stretching between Dunedin and Balclutha. The TWO exploration wells in that area are to be drilled “… to an indicative minimum depth of 2,000 metres below sea level…”
Not wanting to take anything away from what’s happening in the Raukumara Basin, but let’s also focus some attention on companies who may be drilling in deep water far sooner than Petrobras would be.

Bill's in the cactus!

"Bill English and Treasury are a disgrace, something has happened to give SCF this "golden child" status. Questions need to be asked. The white outs in these documents need to be examined. Labour's front bench need to be putting the hits in every day to Karori English, smashing him up, OIA'ing things that were not caught here."
Cactus Kate knows her stuff when it comes to business. She says this business around South Canterbury Finance stinks, English pongs and Key reeks (that's my  interpretation of her excellent and thorough blog post.)
Kate's from the 'other end of the political spectrum' to me and wouldn't thank me for my thoughts on this matter, but she's quite right here and explains in detail why.

"Why am I aggrieved? Easy to explain. I am a capitalist and a proponent of the free market.

Bailing out a failed business that was deemed "too big to fail" gives capitalism and the free market a bad name. Let it fail for heavens sake!!! The pinkos have every reason to question why when this middle and upper class white man's business failed the taxpayer bailed it out. I join them at the other end of the spectrum in asking why?"

And I'm pleased she is.

The Tui girls

These alluring Tui girls are frollicking in the clean and sparkling waters of the Mangatainoka River that flows beside the Tui brewery, right?

Yeah ... well, you know the rest!
Read the truth about the river and it's suitability for frollicking (you'd want more than a bikini to protect your interests in there!)

Fun and games (more letters re: Russel)

Some hard-bitten citified Nat flunky said this in today's Times:


Photo opportunity?

Why are we commenting on another politician who doesn't know what he's talking about; taking a 'photo-opportunity' which then gave rise to asking where Eric Roy was.
  What really matters is did Russel Norman actually come up with any solid means to combat the degradation to the Waituna Lagoon?
  Or is it just that he wanted his pikkie in the local rag, just to show us poor Southland cousins that Wellington-based Greenies do actually know where we are, and that they do recognise that there is a problem.
  They don't actually have any good ideas, but lets pontificate a bit in the public eye.
  Now let me ask all who are interested, was this just a photo-opportunity? Methinks so.

PETE SAYERS
Invercargill

Naturally, I replied:

Dr. Russel Norman of the Greens doesn't lead his party from the comfortable seat of a ministerial BMW. His great concern, and that of the Greens, is with the state of the environment in New Zealand, so he gets out onto the rivers up and down the country to see up-close what's happening to them. His day at Waituna Lagoon, which Mr Roy and his cohorts would like to paint as a photo-opportunity, was spent meeting with concerned scientists, farmers, iwi, Land Care members, councillors and Environment Southland and Department of Conservation staff, hearing their concerns and views about the lagoon. Dr. Norman has a science background and was quick to understand the challenges presented to him. He was also forthright in giving his own views on what needed to be done to stop the damage being done to Waituna. What he didn't mention was the huge contribution the Green Party has already made to wetland protection throughout New Zealand – an $8.8 million contribution in fact. The reaction from those who weren't there at the meetings and out on the lagoon, who claim that the Green leader was merely looking for a 'photo-op' looks, smells and tastes to me like sour grapes, or in the case of Waituna lagoon, sour mud.

Mataura Open Orchards

Just back now (11:00pm) from Mataura and two public meetings Robyn and I spoke at on the topic of fruit trees and open orchards for the township. There were plenty of keen people there to hear about suitable trees and ways to manage public plantings of orchards and both of us were excited by their plans to provide foragable fruit for the people of the town. We were treated to a very pleasant meal at the home of our host and some great discussions about power companies, rail, rivers, milk and lignite.
We are to return later for a pruning workshop and later still for one on grafting and it seems there will be plenty of locals waiting for us, secateurs in hand.

Farrar talks sense.

Taking a break from spreading malicious lies ('fomenting happy mischief' he calls it) about 'shooting the national dairy herd', Kiwiblog's David Farrar sees clearly over S92A and credits the Greens for their position on the Government's pushed-through-under-urgency-as-is-their-habit, bill.

"The Greens have consistently voted against termination being an appropriate punishment, and I support them on this issue. Over the years I’ve had several meetings with initially Nandor and then Gareth Hughes on this issue, and they have been excellent to deal with."

He even hat-tips Nandor and Gareth, unusually but correctly, in contrast to his usual smearing comments.

We should be thankful for small mercies.

Farrar delights in 'making merry' with the truth but fumes when commenters on his blog do the same thing.
Oh well, as he says, "It's my house. Play by my rules".

Green Kennedy responds

Front-runner for Green candidate for Invercargill Dave Kennedy was swift to respond to Eric Roy's claims about Waituna. He writes in today's 'letters' column of the Southland Times:

Once again I feel obliged to write a letter to correct misinformation from Invercargill MP, Eric Roy.

“Sitting on the sideline” has never been a Green strategy, in fact the very reason we know about the impending disaster in the Waituna Lagoon is because of the $8.8 million the Greens managed to get from the 2007 budget for protecting wetland areas. Before this money was available the science around wetlands was almost nonexistent and the current advisory group for the Waituna and the related community initiatives have been funded out of this money also.

While I don’t question Mr Roy’s personal commitment to the environment, I am aware of a good deal of frustration from many genuine Bluegreen members who see short term economic gain being favoured over the environment time and time again. As highlighted by Campbell Live the other night, the milk industry has become a powerful juggernaut that is causing real damage, both environmental and social, as it bulldozers its way to huge profits. While the income from dairy is important for our economy, the sustainability of the industry is dependent on how well we manage the resources it relies on. 40% of our total water use goes to the dairy industry and the quality and availability of that resource is being compromised in many areas around the country.

Mr Roy mentioned meeting with various groups to look at ways of stopping the degradation of the lagoon, but what he should be doing is ensuring his own government takes the necessary action (through strong fresh water management rules) to give local authorities the mandate and teeth to do their job. We already know what needs to be done and the longer we delay the less likely the Waituna Lagoon will survive an overload of polluting nutrients.

Dave Kennedy

INVERCARGILL

Eternally vigilant and reliably perceptive Invercargill blogger and political analyst Paddy Lewis has Dave already ranked in second place in the race to be MP for Invercargill. Not a bad ranking given that Dave's campaign is in its infancy. I rank his chances even better than Paddy has imagined.

Brighten up your day

Need cheering up?
This sunny image began life as a section of pine that I thought had potential as a photograph. I fiddled about with it in my image programme and up came the sun!

Don't walk

Loose unit warning!

Again from today's Southland Times.

Wake up Mr Guyton

Robert Guyton must be really affected by his life among the moles to think that Eric Roy would appear in a publicity stunt for the Green co-leader.
  The wetsuit didn't prevent Russel Norman from being wet behind the ears, however.
  Mr Guyton has obviously also not noticed that Eric Roy, along with National associates Nick Smith and Kate Wilkinson, together with Environment Southland, Southland District Council and the dairy industry, has been working methodically toward a solution to the problem.
Frankly, I place more trust on the Blue-Green approach to practical problem-solving than on the Green Party, Red-Green, headless chicken politics of panic, laced with its toxic mix of hypocritical "I'm all right Jack" self-interest, pseudo-science, hidden agendas, regressive negativity and fanatical determination to create a welter of problems for every solution.

IAN MCGREGOR
Invercargill


You go Ian, ya wee beauty!

This letter provoked this letter.

Where is Eric Roy?

I searched the photo in Monday's paper, showing Green Party co-leader Russel Norman in his kayak out on the Waituna Lagoon but couldn't find him.
  It wasn't Russel who was missing from the picture, he was there alright, in his wetsuit, but Bluegreen Eric Roy, MP for Invercargill.
  Doesn't he know there's an environmental crisis unfolding in his own electorate?
ROBERT GUYTON
Riverton

Glib photos don't solve lagoon problem

Green Party member Robert Guyton asks why I wasn't in a kayak with his party leader at the weekend at Waituna.
   The main reason is that rather than indulging in glib photo opportunities, I'm actually part of a government that is taking action about freshwater management.
  I have met with the staff of Environment Southland, Fish and game, dairy leaders and Federated Farmers' president as well as Ministry of Environment staff to look at ways of stopping the degradation of Waituna Lagoon.
  Part of the National Strategy over the past two years has been to work with all interested parties to get consensus on a national freshwater strategy.
  That was released last week, and over the next few months greater powers and guidelines will be developed to further protect our environment.
  The Greens had plenty of time to do the same while they were in government.
  But they didn't, because they prefer to sit on the sideline and criticise rather than taking action.
  This Government is getting on and actually achieving something in regard to maintaining and enhancing New Zealand's natural environment.
  Actions speak louder than someone merely interested in increasing their personal profile through political publicity stunts.
ERIC ROY
MP for Invercargill.

I think it's bloody disgusting.

Hone Harawira likens the sending of a Navy ship to intercept protesters in the Raukumara Basin to the actions of police at Bastion Point, soldiers at Parihaka and armed anti-terrorist squad members in the Urewera.
Key says in his mind, there's no difference between this deep sea protest and one on land.
Good grief!
* Up-date: Hekia Parata's attempts in the House to fudge questions from Green Party MP David Clendon's questions about Petrobras and the safety of their activities were exceptionally lame and revealed her shallowness and the lack of depth to the governments provisions around the safety of deep sea oil drilling. It was shameful.

Fruit of the hen

Key's daughter...right?

Photo credit Cactus Kate

Fence-posts Feds

Comments made by Federated Farmers' chairman Don Nicolson on CUE TV about the Waituna Lagoon reveal the serious disconnect from reality he and his federation of farmers suffer.

His denial of the obvious and refusal to accept the science around the state of the lagoon make sensible people cringe. Bluntly defending the actions of his 'team' and deflecting the blame 'somewhere else' isn't going to save the lagoon from ruination. A man in his position should show leadership other than than being the first to duck for cover.

Today's 4th post

Oram on oil

"It's no surprise the government has picked its favourite option, producing lots more oil and coal, as the number one component of its 12-part strategy.
Yet it did so knowing the risks. The strategy paper clearly states that the world's energy future will be shaped by factoring the cost of fossil fuels' greenhouse emissions into world markets; by energy-production technology and consumption changes; and by oil prices that will "rise and become more volatile".
The government argues, though, the best way to hedge these risks is to become bigger producers of the very energy sources creating the risks. If we produce and export more oil and coal we'll gain respite from global pressures.
This is a fatally flawed view"

Rod Oram's a brainy guy. He can recognise a 'fatally flawed plan' when he sees one.

It's a shame the National Government can't.

Oil no good for these waters.

Government calls in the Navy and the Airforce

"The Government is exploring legal options that may see it dispatch a navy vessel to stop Greenpeace from interfering with Petrobras' search for oil and gas."

Key, calling in the cops of the sea?
Good grief!

The protests against Petrobras, owned by the Brazillian Government, drilling for oil off the East Coast of New Zealand has been initiated by East Coast Maori, who were setting bonfires up and down the beaches a year ago to protest the proposed off-shore, deep-sea drilling they believe threatens their customary rights to the moana there. Now Key is calling in the Navy to protect the Brazillians!

"Meanwhile, an airforce Orion aircraft had also been dispatched to the area on an "observation" basis."
So the airforce is being employed also, in favour of the Brazillians.
I wonder how the New Zealanders feel, seeing their own Government deploying our forces against them?

Iwi have been active in their attempts to dissuade the oil drillers from setting up in the area.

"Meanwhile, Ani Pahuru-Huriwai, of protest group Ahi Kaa, told the Herald she had helped organise a meeting on Sunday between Petrobras executives and representatives from protest groups and iwi Te Whanau a Apanui and Ngati Porou."
"Ms Pahuru-Huriwai confirmed two of the Petrobras executives began crying during the meeting when faced with the strong opposition. She said the executives talked about their workplan, their commitment to environmental protection and financial capacity.
"We weren't interested because it's not about money, it's mana and our ability to feed our families from our traditional 'supermarket'."

The Government is acting directly against iwi here. This is a fight worth watching.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...China's largest private mining company, Qinghua Group, is negotiating to buy rights to about two billion tonnes of low-grade lignite in Otago and Southland

Wealthy Chinese Mining Giant Eyes New Zealand Lignite Reserves http://www.suite101.com/content/wealthy-chinese-mining-giant-eyes-new-zealand-lignite-reserves-a356997#ixzz1JCO3vzQl

China after the lignite, Australia after West Coast coal and Brazil after East Coast oil...

welcome to low wage resource colony New Zealand... everything is for sale... the sub Prime Minister is a money trader and salesman...

It's the little things (nice to haves).

The very expensive BMW, the one fitted with the heated seat (one seat heater - $1000 - a steal at that price!), is that really sat in Dunedin waiting for Bill English's occasional trip into the Heartland and his 'pretend' home at Dipton, as reported around the blogs?
And was the expensive bum-warming heater really installed at his request?
Bill's the man calling for fiscal restraint, right? Talking about 'nice to haves'?
The discrepancies in his message, Key's message and those of the National Government are becoming very, very apparent now.
How long before the ordinary New Zealander says 'hang on...'?
Not long, I reckon.

Petrobras drilled!

Marty Mars has the story (and the attitude) around the on-water, anti-oil protests by Greenpeace against the Brazillian drilling giant Petrobras and the 'drill'em good' National Government of New Zealand.
There's something in the air up there (and they don't want it in the water!)

Saving lagoon is up to us: Norman

 An excellent report in today's Southland Times (page  - reproduced here in full) on Russel's visit to the Waituna wetland on Saturday. The only thing the Times left out was the photo credit to Dave Kennedy.

 Saving lagoon is up to us: Norman

Green Party co-leader Russel Norman donned a wetsuit, jumped in his kayak and paddled the Waituna Lagoon at the weekend as part of his dirty-and-threatened-rivers tour.
Dr Norman had planned to visit the Oreti River but the crisis at Waituna was more important, he said.
He had visited the lagoon before, and said the changes that had occurred since were not visible to the eye.
"I think a lot of the changes that are happening require a closer look rather than a cursory once-over. It is still a beautiful place to go and hang out. It is a great asset we want to hang on to."
Dr Norman said the area was "obviously in great distress", and this was essentially because of too much nitrogen and phosphorous sediment getting into the lagoon.
"The impact of that is you are getting a buildup of algae and the die-back of fresh water plants that live on the bottom of the lagoon."
The danger was that the lagoon could "flip", becoming a muddy, non-aerated environment that would not support what lived there.
Currently the lagoon supported a lot of invertebrates, fish and birds, Dr Norman said.
"We have to dramatically cut the amount of nitrogen and phosphorous sediment and primarily that goes back to agricultural practices in the catchment where it is all coming from," he said.
Dr Norman said it was possible to turn the situation around and prevent the lagoon from flipping.
He compared it to patients in the emergency department of a hospital – they can either live or die.
"And it really depends on us which way it goes. It is in our hands to save the lagoon."
Dr Norman had met Department of Conservation and Environment Southland staff on Saturday, and had also met some of the local farmers and the landcare group.
"They feel very passionately about protecting the lagoon. There are some really tough changes that need to be made and they recognise the size of the challenge they face."
The next step was to take emergency measures during winter and get an idea of the size of the cut in nitrogen needed. He estimated about 50 per cent, and "strong rules" would be needed to achieve that.
Dr Norman said the National Policy Statement on Freshwater needed to be signed off by the Government and the rules must not be weakened.
kimberley.crayton-brown@stl.co.nz

Don has died

This is sad. I knew Don quite well and his son Dave is a friend. Don was a true 'nature guy' and destined from an early age to excel in the field of bird conservation. His work with the Chatham Island black robins is legendary , as is his kakapo work but he had other exceptional stories to tell. Dave used to talk of the time he and his mum and dad were on Mauritius, dealing to the pest mammals there. If you are reading Dave, we are thinking of you here in Riverton, your ol' 'first-year' town.

Today's botanical puzzles

What are these?

It ain't half hot Mum

What's it like where you are?
We're sweltering!
It's the perfect day for fruit picking and that's what we're doing. I started with the odd-bods: Chinese hawthorn, crab-apples, tree strawberries, blackboy peaches, nashi and japonica apples (I've never seen such a harvest of japonica! They're destined for jellying.) and now we're on mid-season apples - there are boxes and boxes of them. Luckily Joel, our Brit wine-maker turned up and helped us lug boxes of fruit up to the house.
We are doing that now, so I'd better get back to it.

Bernard Hickey says...

...on the radio this morning, that this Government has worsened New Zealand's fiscal situation over the past two years, has given tax cuts to the wealthy, who have used them to borrow and invest in property, the very thing the Government said it wanted to avoid, and that the GST switch has failed to stimulate anything at all, as ordinary people have shut their wallets in fear of the future. That's a major fail for the National Government and a serious worry for every New Zealander.
Key and English have made a hash of it.
They must be turfed out for the sake of New Zealand's future.

Top Cat

Sometimes you just feel great and when you do, jingles from your past  pop into your head and demand to be heard, over and over.

Key unlucky for NZ

New Zealand has suffered an extraordinary series of crises, collapses and disasters since John Key became Prime Minister It's been one bad luck event after another.
It's very hard not to equate those unlucky events with Key's tenure as Prime Minister and the number of New Zealanders linking Key with misfortune is fast increasing. It's an unfortunate and unavoidable trend.

Hothouse flowers

I've grown a tunnel house-full of sunflowers and while all other planted-earlier sunflowers are spent; dried and brown on their stalks, mine are blooming. The forest of flaming flowers is making grey autumn days a joy!

Tolley tonged up!

She should be dumped. She's a fool.
700 Christchurch principals have now seen through her charade and reject her precious 'national standards'.
This is the strongest rejection to date of National's bone-headed insistence on the '3 'r's' and Tolley's pet nonsense project, national standards. It's going from bad to worse for 'Chopper Tolley' and her out-of-touch National Party.
Good thing.

Is this your Leader?

Action man Green Party Co-leader Russel Norman, suited-up and not afraid of the world outside of the House. Could your MPs match his chutzpah and pizzaz?
Can you imagine Gerry Brownlee in one of these skins? (two of them maybe :-)
Russel slipped into a kayak as well and paddled out into the Waituna Lagoon today, seemingly unafraid of the choppy conditions and brisk winds. Even riskier for a Green Party MP was the meeting with all-comers he attended in the heart of Eric Roy country and his openness in discussing farming's role in the degradation of the Waituna lagoon. He was very well received because he was alert and well researched, engaging with dairy farmers and scientists alike with the same open manner and willingness to learn and state his beliefs frankly.
His visit to the lagoon has raised the Greens standing in the South by a significant degree, in my opinion. To see his Cue TV interview, and the one I did following Russel's piece, you'll need to tune in on Monday night. I'm not sure if Russel said the controversial things I did but I'll find out when it goes to air.
Dave Kennedy does a brilliant write-up of the day's events here.

Remember this loo?

That image travelled well! I took a photo of my wife's grandmother's 'little house' and posted it here a few days ago. It was spotted by a journalist and used in a feature on outdoor toilets for the Southland Times and now it's on the front page of Stuff.nz.
But even more curious is the phone call I got from a man who believed that the loo was the one at his grandmothers place, since demolished. This is noteworthy because ...his name was Lou!

Paddling with Green Russel

This morning's weather is better than it was over the past three days and that's a relief as I'm going out on the water in a kayak. Not the ocean (too choppy still) but a lagoon - Waituna, with Green leader Russel Norman and several other keen kayakers and environmentalists. The purpose of the paddle is to acquaint Russel with the pallorous state of the lagoon and see if we can provoke him into conveying the message that there's a crisis there, to levels higher than we rank and file Southland greenies can easily reach.  We'll be pulling on waders as well and gallumphing out into the rotten lagoon bed to get black with malodourous mud to really drive home the reality of the degradation to Russel, in case he didn't get it when he was safely tucked into his kayak.
Should be a good morning, though it's a bit breezy and there's no sign of the summer temperatures we enjoyed a week ago.
There'll be a meeting afterwards, in a country hall, for all parties interested in the fate of the lagoon and the future for farming in the catchment. I expect there will be a farmer or two in attendence and some farming words exchanged as the debate sharpens.
I'll have photographs to describe the day, unless the camera and I go lagoon.

EPA

Where are we at with this slippery beast - the Environmental Protection Authority?

Parliament has just heard the second reading of the bill and Nick Smith has been having his say. And here's something of what he said.


"The building of the EPA is an iterative process ... other functions an expanded EPA should undertake ... this is not the end of the journey - the EPA we are establishing today has been designed to be as flexible as possible to receive extra functions and responsibilities."

These various utterances say to me that the EPA will be a vehicle for centralizing decision making power and vesting that power in the hands of a few Government representatives. Smith cements my belief with this:
"While it is the Government's intention for the EPA's design  to be (sic) remain flexible enough to adopt new functions, it is not our intention that the new Authority should assume these by Ministerial fiat."

Oh, how I laughed merrily at that!
That Nick! What a josher!

Knights of the Silver Spade

There is other Riverton footage ... it's spoofy and silly, but good fun and on the theme of apples and orchards.
If you've got an ear for a good pun, you'll find 'The Knights of the Silver Spade' quite a challenge to watch!

A little bored?

Radar'n'Adam

You might enjoy a few minutes of Radar and his trip to Riverton, where he met the quaintest folk...

Penny-pinching Bill gives generously

That plastic waka's an embarrassment to us all!
What were those involved thinking? Could they have come up with a 'Maori artefact' more tacky than a 'tupperwaka'?
Aside from the dodgy dealings surrounding the 'gift' from John Key to Pita Sharples in the form of this plastic bead boat, Bill English's comment that the Government's penny-pinching in other areas did not extend to the Rugby World Cup point to some seriously stupid priority setting.
He waka kirihou?
He Kaawanatanga kirihou!

Gareth Hughes writes.

Young Green MP Gareth Hughes entered the Southland discussion on lignite this morning with a letter to our editor in which he outlines his objections to the proposed lignite mining by Solid Energy.

Lignite proposal has global implications

Solid Energy's lignite coal plans currently before the Gore District Council are an issue of global significance and if they go ahead, will be disastrous for the climate.
  Lignite is the lowest grade coal and will drastically increase New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions. It does matter to the climate if this coal stays safely stored or burned and the lignite is currently doing a good job propping up some gorgeous farmland.
  The proposed lignite-to-coal briquette factory south of Mataura will also have significant local impact on traffic and road wear, noise and pollution.
  Solid Energy has applied for resource consent regarding the noise impacts of this proposal. It is essential that the public make their voice heard on significant projects like this one.
  New Zealand doesn't need to exploit substandard coal and wreck our clean green brand when we have a wealth of smart green energy opportunities that will deliver real prosperity.

GARETH HUGHES MP.
Green Party of Aotearoa NZ

Coalminer to decide on Solid Energy

I've blogged on Bret Highsted before. He's a councillor on the Gore District Council. He was manager of the New Vale coalmine and was a major shareholder when it was sold to Solid Energy. Now he is one of the commissioners deciding if Solid Energy should get consent to build a factory to process lignite.
Do you smell something sulphurous in the air?
Apparently not, according to the council's legal advisors Russell McVeagh.
"While there may be perception of possible conflict of interest, it was extremely thin and unlikely to stand up if challenged, he said." (Southland Times 7/4/2011)
The decision Mr Highsted will be making?
Whether the Solid Energy application should be non-notified, publically notified or partially notified - that is, will the public be able to make submissions on it, or will it sail through unchallenged.
Wonder which way it will go?

Self portrait

Lighthouse - Caroline bay

Public broadcasting

A big day for getting the message out there. I spent one and a half hours this afternoon on Radio Southland with Bev Winiata, talking Waituna, apples, driftwood sculptures and gardening with her and her talk-back friends (though most were too shy to speak on air). Good fun. Then it was off to Bill English country (no, not Wellington) to speak to the Gore Women's Dinner Club about the life of a Green Councillor and his family. Robyn and I did a double-act, with pictures and it went, so far as I could tell, very well. I began by saying that the last time I was in that particular room, it was filled with Nats in the form of Don Brash, Bill English, Simon Power and other assorted blue tories and how much better those present looked. Despite Gore being the beating heart of Natty country, they laughed. It was, just like the earlier radio performance, good fun. Now I'm home and ready for some shut-eye.

Bomber doesn't buy it

"Brothers and sisters, when the Government weren't accidentally releasing their energy policy which is coal, more coal and even more coal, they were quietly meeting with the giant Chinese energy company Qinghua Group who is in NZ looking at several billion-dollar projects across the South Island. "

Read more.


"The Government are setting us up for a privatization of Solid Energy to the Chinese to dig up the dirtiest and most environmentally damaging coal."
 
Bomber Bradbury shouts loud and that offends some people but what's he saying?

Wonderland

As I left the house this morning, my daughter was reciting lines from the Jabberwocky. Curious enough you might think, but imagine how I felt when the car I 'pool' with to get to the Council offices stopped off to deliver quinces to a woman who lives in a house that has a huge white rabbit statue in the front garden! Given that I'm on my way into an 'around the table' meeting of council, I had to try very hard not to keep thinking 'Mad Hatter' and crew. Hope no one asks me the time :-)

Colourful start to the day

Another letter (in a Brown envelope)

(Apologies to those who don't know the ins and outs of South Coast politics, to whom this will mean little)

From today's 'letters' column:

Brown a 'misery guts'

Full marks to Kimberly Crayton-Brown for her unbiased article on that snivelling arrogant artist Nigel Brown.
  I agree with Beverly Claridge that he is entitled to his own opinions but they should reflect what Southland people want to hear.
  I mean the photo says it all - what a misery guts. Too big for his boots!
  Brown should stick to his tractor and horny cattle. I am sick of him.
  SUE MCLAUCHLAN
  Cosy Nook

Keys

That's what these are called - keys. They hang from an ash tree. I'm going to resist the obvious political analogy. You don't have to :-)
(Come on Inv2 - you can do it!)

Don't mess with Dave!

Dave lives on the farm at the top of our hill. He has a way with words. It was Dave who taught me to use the phrase 'mess of pottage' to describe all manner of untidy situations.
Dave had an unsatisfying experience with a car salesman recently and sought redress by penning them a vitriolic letter. He doesn't 'word-process', so asked me to tap it out for him so that he could be clear with his message to the hapless salesman. I asked if I might publish the letter here and he was more than happy to spread the joy!
It may be a little hard to follow, without the background story, but never-the-less, you'll probably enjoy Dave's expression of annoyance.

Your salesman informs me that as the big financial cheese of the outfit, you vetoed the allocation of a modest discount in relation to the installation of a tow bar on the above vehicle. I seem to recall you acting out of a small pantomime in the company of the 'bookie's runner' (presumably second-hand sales) when I complained about the extortionate price of this item. I was belatedly informed that I am barred from doing any towing work for the initial 1, 000 kilometres, to comply with the warranty restrictions. This begs the question of why the bloody thing was installed with such indecent haste.

I observe from Saturday's edition of the Southland Times, that in spite of your parsimony, your organization is attempting to double the trade-in price paid for the S******. No doubt this is applauded as an example of entrepreneurial flair. I call it downright avarice!

The J**** has attracted quite a bit of attention locally but my response to expressions of interest is to repeat the mantra: - 'Do not purchase a vehicle from ******** ***********  they are meaner than goat shit!'

As you sow, so shall you reap. Take good care to avoid me in the street.
Should we meet again, my actions might belie my advanced years. Were your rectum more accommodating I might be tempted to park the J**** up there.
A plague upon you and all your houses.

                              Adieu

Two letters

The first challenged Solid Energy to say something, anything, about its climate change/green house gas obligations. There was no reply.

Just this week, Dr Susan Krumdiek of Canterbury University was here in Invercargill, speaking to a meeting of councilors and mayors about issues that Southland faces.

On the topic of mining lignite at Mataura and the question of capturing the greenhouse gases that will be produced by the mining and the manufacturing of urea and diesel, Dr Krumdiek said that mining company Solid Energy’s claims about capturing and storing those gases were nonsense.

Perhaps it’s time Solid Energy came clean about its plans and explained to the people of Southland just how exactly, they plan to avoid polluting the atmosphere with greenhouse gas and  how they plan to store  it away forever once they’ve released it because the science and commonsense says, they can’t.

The second drew attention (I hope) to National's plans to go for black, with its coal and oil extraction plans. It's yet to be published.

The 'mistakenly published' energy strategy that reveals that National has not listened to New Zealanders and is pushing ahead aggressively with its mine, mine, mine plans is something that will affect Southlanders greatly.

Lignite is top of the list for exploitation and it's our lignite they've got their eyes on. The Government is showing 'more than an ardent interest' in Southland's lignite, Tuesday's Southland Times editorial says.  That's put very politely. National's Acting Energy and Resources Minister Hekia Parata says it more bluntly:

"For too long now we have not made the most of the wealth hidden in our hills, under the ground and in our oceans.”

It beggars belief that a government in this day and age would put coal and oil at the top of its energy strategy list, above the renewables like hydro, geothermal, wind and tide which other countries in the world have recognised and adopted as the only responsible way forward. Our own Government has taken the 'burn coal and oil' option and will make fools of us all on the international stage.

Triffidarium

I've always wanted one of those - a place to grow whopping great plants that are vaguely threatening and certainly worrying to the biosecurity people.
I'd have one of these in it, if I could. A banana. This is its flower. It grows near Timaru in Alvina's garden and produces little fruits. I'm sure I heard it clacking during the night and I almost came up in a welt.

Key loves lignite

Today's Southland Times editorial explores the Government's 'born too soon' energy paper and finds it soaked in oil and coal dust.

"Acting Energy and Resources Minister Hekia Parata is at pains to emphasise the energy strategy mistakenly published online is just a draft. But it would be only a slight misapplication of that word to read it as a strong indication of which way the wind is blowing. It certainly isn't a first draft"

Parata's first public task defending the indefensible is going to paint her black, despite the colour she was reportedly bringing to the coal lovin' Nats. This leak of the Government's energy strategy shows them ignoring all submissions and continuing their bulldozer-push toward digging up every resource they can get to - Southland lignite especially.

"As far as the lignite issue is concerned, Ms Parata hammers the point that "for too long now we have not made the most of the wealth hidden in our hills, under the ground and in our oceans. It is a priority of this Government to responsibly develop those resources."
Mine mine mine Ms Parata!
We had hoped you would resist the disease of greed, but seems you too have succumbed.

Goff says no sale

"State-owned power companies will be "lost forever" if they are sold to private buyers, Labour leader Phil Goff says.
Launching the party's "Say No to Asset Sales" campaign in Auckland last night, Mr Goff attacked National for the proposed part-sale of Mighty River Power, Meridian, Genesis and Solid Energy."

Labour openly opposing National's asset sale plans?

Good.

 

My wife's grandmother's outhouse (still standing!)

* Almost completely unconnected comment -

Husband: Would you like some of this yummy semolina?
Wife: No thanks. It tastes like singlet.

Singlet???

Coal lovin' Nats revealed!

"Acting Energy and Resources Minister Hekia Parata says an energy strategy mistakenly published on-line, is a draft document and is not final.
The paper shows the Government's highest priority will be expanding oil, gas and coal exports, even as it reaffirms the goal of getting 90% of New Zealand's electricity from renewable sources."

Radio New Zealand spills the beans. Briquettes. Whatever.

Shooting down the Nats

"This is a Government who are allowing Solid Energy to build a lignite production facility in Bill English's electorate to power his Brother's Federated Farmer's industry cheaply."

Ah Tumeke!
You've done it again!

Headlines - Greens to go with National!

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ah yes, oh dear!

See No Right Turn.

Water (arty-farty shot)

Festive shot

Transition at Timaru

I spent Saturday in a church. I've photos to prove it, however the discussions there were generally of a prosaic nature, rather than an ethereal one. Religion, as I recall, didn't come up. The talk was of community, communities and communication (democracy too, and money, politics and gardening, but they don't start with the letter 'c'.) The group of 'transition towners' at the hui were from all over the south - Motueka to Riverton and included reps from Christchurch and Lyttleton , bringing their first-hand  experience of towns in turmoil and stories of reconstruction of both the physical community and the well-being, mental and spiritual, of those affected by the unexpected re-alignment of their worlds. It was a very interesting weekend, based around the 'open space' process where a fluid style of group discussion allowed for some very worthwhile ideas to see the light of day and be batted back and forth like shuttlecocks. We ate well, thanks to the potluck system of meal provision :-) with the evening meal catered for us by Hari and his team of Indian cooks (well, the meal was 'indian' and plentiful to boot!). Robyn and I were billeted with two very kind folk who live on a beautiful 'farmlet/orchard' in the countryside south west of Timaru - apples, figs, quinces and walnuts everywhere, banana palms, turkeys, ducks, huge pumpkins, towering artichokes, rare potatoes - fabulous things growing like topsy. It was great. We've come home with some almost-impossible-to-find plants and new ideas galore.
We breakfasted at the Timaru Farmers' Market (blackboy peaches and yoghurt) , talked to two dynamic councillors from Timaru District Council about life inside the chamber along with a clear thinking District Health Board member whose views I'd enjoyed at the open spaces the day before and all of whom were sharp as tacks!
Beyond breakfast was the drive to Oamaru and the harvest festival there - shaving-horses, apple and pork sandwiches, fancy dress and cider by the bucket.
Then Moeraki to see a flourishing 'valley garden', up-lift a fire-brand Dunedin City Councillor after discussing dairy politics with her dad, then down to Dunners to deliver Jinty and have dinner with Adam. We reached Riverton at 12:30 am.
Here's a pic.

 
and another

and another