Monthly Archives: Apr 2015

Six month report card (October 2014-April 2015): The Opposition

Posted on by
Reply

So, it is nearly May 2015 and time for a six monthly report card for the Opposition and the Government. In that time we have seen Labour start its third term as the major Opposition party, backed by New Zealand First and the Greens. We have seen New Zealand First pick up a 12th M.P. and for the first time in a decade hold an electorate seat and the Greens find out that Russel Norman is standing down. So, how have the Opposition parties gone in the first six months?

When Labour entered Parliament for the first time since the catastrophe that was 20 September 2014, National must have looked unassailable, even if no one wanted to admit it. The morale was rock bottom. They needed a scape goat, even though collectively and individually they were all in the wrong. Six months later, Labour have a new leader in Andrew Little, who thus far appears to have pulled most of the right strings. Jacinda Ardern continues to try to hold the Minister of Social Welfare to account. But much of their bench has been in absentia. Six months on, some progress has been made, but there is a very long way to go. C+

The Greens were a disappointment at the election. Whilst not expecting – or wanting them to take office – I had hoped that they would pick up a few more seats. Since then they have been rocked by the resignation of Russel Norman, who is stepping down from the co-leadership for personal reasons. Dr Norman, as one of the more effective Opposition M.P.’s in Parliament leaves big shoes for his successor to fill. Metiria Turei is a capable co-leader but she cannot steer the ship alone. Several Members of Parliament, notably Julie Anne Genter and Gareth Hughes have been persistently active in their transport and environment portfolio’s. However the health and education spokespeople need to step up. B-

The star of the Opposition though, despite his age as one of the oldest M.P.’s in Parliament is New Zealand First leader Winston Peters. Despite being 70, he has just taken the party he founded to its first electoral seat victory in a decade in Northland. Although holding 12 M.P.’s, which is up four from its previous eight, New Zealand First has been something of an under performer, and yet there are some bright stars in its ranks. The return of Ron Mark, an effective spokesperson on defence issues is going to cause National some headaches. His deputy Tracey Martin has etched out a niche for herself in the media as Education spokesperson. Denis O’Rourke continues to advocate for Christchurch residents at a time when Labour has no specific M.P. dedicated to Christchurch issues. Darroch Ball and Fletcher Tabuteau, despite both having only been in Parliament a few months, have submitted Bills to the House. B

All in all there are some promising signs as the first year of their third term on the Opposition benches progresses. But the enormity of the task ahead cannot be denied. Will someone grab the initiative in the Opposition? Will Andrew Little improve his support and that for Labour in the polls? How will the new Green co-leader (which has to be a male by the party Constitution)turn out? If these challenges can be beaten, Prime Minister John Key is almost certainly looking at his last term in the Prime Ministers office.

Coal down, but not out

Posted on by
1

Coal: brown or black – depending on the type – stuff from the ground that New Zealanders have a love/hate relationship with. Without it thousands of jobs would go or have to change, but is the environmental cost worth it?

The coal trains that rumble down the West Coast railway line from a host of mines on the West Coast heading for Lyttelton carry an impressive tonnage of coal. Each wagon can take 43 tons of coal, and there might be up to 50 on a single train. The yard in Lyttelton where they empty their loads for transport to China or Japan is just as impressive. But I wonder some days how well we know the cost of our coal?

I will start with the environmental cost. This might seem blatantly obvious, but it is not entirely so. We talk about the horrendous effects that open cast mining will have on the landscape and it is true there are few things more unsightly than an open cast mine. It is true it is hugely damaging for the local ecosystem, contributes to atmospheric pollution and is also blamed for a significant contribution to the green house gas emissions that are being linked to climate change. Regardless of ones opinion on climate change there are other problems arising from the obsession with coal that need urgent attention. One of these is the acidification of the ocean, which if left to continue will have profound effects across the entire marine ecosystem. This is a problem perhaps more urgent since conclusive evidence is already coming out of its occurrence.

Now, let me be clear. It would be great if we could get ourselves off coal and and we as a nation and the world at large both certainly need to reduce our emissions from carbon based fuels considerably – climate change or not. However, in New Zealand the one large coal fired power station that we have at Huntly produces about 9% of New Zealand’s total electricity generation. Its coal comes from local sources. Not far away is another power station, the mothballed Meremere power station, which also ran on coal. Aside from needing to help the town of Huntly survive – it suffered when Meremere was mothballed because of asbestos and other occupational safety and health issues – we need to be prepared to make an investment in alternative energy that as yet no New Zealand Government has been willing to.

Then there is the social cost. The loss of appetite in China for coal is biting deeply into the West Coast of New Zealand which has traditionally been a province of extraction industries such as logging and mining. The disaster at Pike River where 29 miners died when the mine exploded, combined with the slowing global economy has left a bitter taste in the mouths of Coasters. Although the Government has said it would implement most of the Pike River findings, the fact that a Mines Inspectorate has not yet been created, the fact that 29 bodies – if there was even that left behind – are still in the mine raises questions for a community that needs closure, but cannot get it until the remains of the dead come home.

Coal will be around for awhile longer yet. It is an uncomfortable fact that even if New Zealand were to go completely clear, the rapid growth in Indian and Chinese emissions would quickly erode any meaningful gains made from cleaning ourselves up. Perhaps climate change is not the appropriate approach to the conversation that needs to be had about coal. I can see a day before climate change becomes a catastrophic issue when other environmental and social considerations will take precedent.

Before then quite a few more coal trains will rumble down the railway line to Lyttelton.

Staying the course on abortion in New Zealand

Posted on by
Reply

Abortion. The very word in a medical context or a religious context is enough to provoke a very emotive, not necessarily properly informed, and sometimes deliberately misleading debate. And yet, at the same time, there is no doubt regardless of which side of the debate one is on, it cuts right to that most fundamental, most inalienable right – to that of life. I deliberately sit on the fence here. Not because I have no empathy or heart, but because to make an accurate assessment of the issue without being partial to one aspect or another, one needs to be remote.

It has been commented many times over that very often the people making the moral calls about abortion in places of authority such as Government ministries or in churches are men with no understanding of the biological changes a woman must experience in the course of pregnancy. It is possibly the most profound thing a woman will have happen to their body. They have no understanding of the medical hazards a woman who is pregnant must navigate through successfully to give birth. Or they DO have the understanding, but either their individual principles or – if they are working for a Government ministry – political ideology or other indoctrination.

In New Zealand abortion is legal in cases where the physical or mental health of the woman is in danger, or the fetus could be handicapped. Cases of sexual violation are considered, but are not grounds in themselves for abortion.

There have been some unfortunate cases where women have died in countries where abortions are totally outlawed because they could not have a procedure that would have saved their lives and perhaps allowed them to have a healthy child at a later point. Unfortunately countries such as Ireland, El Salvador, to name a couple have prohibitive laws that completely fail the women of those countries. In Ireland the procedure is illegal unless it is performed to save the life of the mother. In El Salvador it is completely illegal, despite heavy campaigning by human rights activists in 2014.

The abortion issue at large could be reduced substantially if old notions of abstinence were put aside in favour of good neutral education. As high school social studies courses examine issues such as narcotics and alcohol, and as this is the time when some students (illegally if under the age of 16)start to become sexually active, this would be an appropriate stage to introduce it. I do think that the numbers of abortions could be reduced. However making it illegal, frowning on those who need it, frowning on contraceptive measures as governments, religious institutions and – for lack of a better word – commentators are prone to doing achieves nothing other than pushing underground abortions. It would simply see back street abortions and misleading information being given out by non-qualified personnel.

In New Zealand the likelihood of abortion laws being changed to make abortion illegal as happened in El Salvador is low. So is the militancy that exists in other countries such as the United States, where abortion clinics have been bombed in an attempt to make a statement against abortion. An act of this nature is just about medical terrorism.

On the whole I see little problem with the current law, though cases of sexual violation since the woman did not ask for the sexual connection that started the pregnancy, should be grounds for abortion as well.

 

Restoring Department of Conservation to health

Posted on by
Reply

Department of Conservation is the Government (D.o.C.) agency that has the task of protecting, promoting and enhancing New Zealand’s bird, reptile, insect and marine life.

Since National took office in 2008, the department has like every other Government ministry or agency, been subject to cost cutting as the Government sought to stabilize the financial books. As a result Department of Conservation has been forced to look elsewhere for funding to carry out essential projects such as the Kiwi protection programme. Although funding from private sources is welcome, it means to a degree the Department of Conservation which is supposed to work for all New Zealanders may be asked for favours from the private sector.

If one is flexible about funding the Department, why not introduce user pays charges at National Parks – upon entry to the National Park, an entry fee of a few dollars should be paid. It could be collected by the driver of tourist buses, or paid by credit/EFTPOS/cash at a barrier arm controlled point. For somewhere such as Milford Sound where space is at a premium already and further expansion involves either prohibitive land reclamation or diverting a river off its floodplain, this would be a good way to make sure that tourism usage of the township is sustainable.

I will be fair. There is no doubt some good things have happened for New Zealand’s wildlife in that time. The endangered Katipo spider, which is famous for being the only poisonous native species in New Zealand, was granted protection by the first Minister of Conservation Kate Wilkinson in 2010. Whilst good for the Katipo it is a potentially hollow decision as its detractor, the False Katipo, which is an invasive South African spider that looks like a real Katipo but lacks the distinctive red mark, and is very widespread (check your wood pile) is well established. When Ms Wilkinson was demoted in 2011, her replacement Dr Nick Smith who has a Ph.D. in civil engineering was quick to agree to a long and often delayed Marine Sanctuary being formalized for Akaroa Harbour. Dr Smith has also declined resource consent for the Fiordland monorail to connect the Milford Sound road with Queenstown, which was a notable victory for common sense since it proposed to build a quite intrusive project that would have had significant detrimental effects to the ecosystem, have been built across known fault lines and would have had possibly prohibitive conditions attached had it been granted.

However there has also been some very negative treatment of the Conservation estate by National. Minister of Energy and Resource Simon Bridges shares none Dr Smiths pragmatism over environmental issues. Like his predecessor Gerry Brownlee, who proposed to to open National Parks to mining, Mr Bridges has dismissed on a regular basis concerns about the potential impact of drilling and exploration in the marine habitats of some of New Zealand’s most endangered creatures. The resulting outcry, mainly led by the Greens and conservation groups also has the support of New Zealand First and to a lesser extent Labour.

Due to the threat of potential further development, I believe a discussion about reclassifying land and educating the public on the process needs to be had. Few will understand the implication of Schedule 4 of the Resource Management Act, which deals with the protection of the conservation estate. Whilst reclassifying the land, it would be a good opportunity to discuss additional measures for covering D.o.C’s  costs.

Lest We Forget

Posted on by
Reply

A person walking around the former battlefield of Gallipoli will see much evidence of the campaign that started 100 years ago today, when New Zealanders and Australians landed on the beaches of Gallipoli to begin an operation to take a small narrow strip of land that overlooked the key waterway between Russia and the Mediterranean. They will see trenches and dugouts from which these troops fought their Turkish foes. They might see unexploded ordnance left behind from the battle or spent cartridges.

And they might see the bones of people or mules who were not able to be recovered and had to be left on the battlefield to die a grisly death under a blazing sun. They might see the bones of British, French, Indian, Australian and New Zealand soldiers who died in brave but often futile charges into Turkish lines defended by men who were fighting for their country. Or of some of the 250,000 Turks who gave their lives for the Ottoman Empire and ultimately the modern nation of Turkey.

And as the descendants or the tourists from these countries wander this World War One battlefield, marvelling at the terrain over which such ferocious fighting took place, they might wonder as I am sure many will about the circumstances that brought these nations face to face with Turkey on Turkish soil. They might wonder about the folly of a campaign dreamt up by Winston Churchill as a way to help the Russians fight the Germans on the eastern front. And they might as I am sure the commemorative services of the next day or so will make sure, they remember the magnificent words of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, which I have put below:

Heroes who shed their blood and lost their lives! You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours. You, the mothers, who sent their sons from far away countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well. (A tribute to thoseANZACs who died in Gallipoli.)

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

And so, when The Last Post sounds on 25 April 2015, it sounds not just for Australia and New Zealand. It sounds for Turkey as well. I just hope that if it were the other way around, we would have had the same graces as those of Turkey and Ataturk. Likewise, those famous lines from Laurence Binyon are for Turkey as well as well Australia and New Zealand:

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years contemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

Laurence Binyon

Lest we forget