Canterbury Police are appealing for witnesses to a sexual assault and theft which is reported to have occurred around 3am on Easter Sunday (5 April 2015) near the intersection of Ferry Road and Nursery Road.
Police appeal for public’s help following sexual assault
A lone female is understood to have been walking along Ferry Road towards the intersection with Nursery Road when she was accosted by an unknown man walking behind her and pulled into a nearby driveway. The man is described as Caucasian with short dark hair, approx 30-40 years of age, above average height wearing jeans and a dark hoodie. The man didn’t have any discernible accent.
The man followed the victim as she fled along Ferry Road towards the Embankment Tavern and snatched her brown/black handbag.
Canterbury Police are appealing to anyone who may have seen the man approach or follow the victim along Ferry Road or witnessed the incident near the intersection of Ferry Road and Nursery Road to contact.
Anyone with any information is asked to contact Canterbury Police by calling 03 363 7400.
Information can also be provided anonymously by calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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One man in custody following serious assault
Police have arrested a man following an incident which resulted in a crash in Papatoetoe just off the Southern Motorway.
At around 1:30pm Police were called to a domestic incident in Paerata where two women received serious injuries, allegedly inflicted with a sword.
A 19 year old man fled the scene in a vehicle and was located soon after, entering the motorway north at Papakura. Multiple Police units pursued the vehicle until Te Irirangi Drive where the man took the offramp, drove over the grass median strip and crashed.
He was promptly arrested by armed officers and taken into custody without further issue.
Police are aware that a number of members of the public witnessed the arrest on Te Irirangi Drive and thank them for their patience.
The 19 year old man will appear in court tomorrow facing various charges relating to the assault and driving.
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NewsRoom Digest: Top NZ News Items for April 10, 2015
This edition of NewsRoom_Digest contains six media release snippets and six links of the day from Friday 10th April.
Top stories in the current news cycle include the Government’s books slip into a quarter-billion-dollar deficit, criticism over job cuts at the Corrections Department in favour of privately run prisons, and MediaWorks putting current affairs programme Campbell Live under review sparks public outrage.
SNIPPETS OF THE DAY
NZ Govt Records $269 Deficit: The New Zealand government turned to a deficit in the first eight months of the financial year, although the shortfall was smaller than forecast as the Crown took in more tax and costs came in below its estimate. The operating balance before gains and losses (Obegal) was a deficit of $269 million in the eight months ended Feb. 28, compared to a forecast deficit of $612 million, the Treasury said in a statement. That was due to a bigger than expected tax-take of $42.4 billion in the period, some $162 million ahead of forecast, while core Crown expenses were $312 million below forecast at $47.2 billion, which was spread across a number of government departments.
Labour: English Breaking Promise: Bill English is set to break his promise to get the books back in the black this year and lose the trust of Kiwis who have had to do it too hard for too long, says Labour’s Finance spokesperson Grant Robertson. “John Key has spent seven years and two election campaigns telling New Zealanders to trust him, be patient and that he will deliver a surplus this year. But eight months into the financial year the books are over $260 million still in the red. That’s not good enough,” added Mr Robertson.
Green Party: Prison Closure Could Become Community Problem: Closing provincial prisons is counterproductive to rehabilitating prisoners and integrating them back into the community said the Green Party today.The Government yesterday announced that they will be closing units in three provincial prisons around the North Island. It is estimated that the closure will result in over 260 job losses.“The Government is failing prisoners and compromising the safety of communities by closing provincial prisons,” said Green Party corrections spokesperson David Clendon. “Research shows that inmates who maintain families and other relationships while in prison are more likely to be successfully rehabilitated, so moving inmates to Auckland away from their support networks is counterproductive.”
PSA Slams CYF Review: The Public Service Association (PSA) says the recently announced review of Child, Youth and Family (CYF) is putting the wrong people in charge of looking at the wrong things, and won’t provide the improvements to CYF services that it claims to seek.Erin Polaczuk, PSA national secretary, said “A genuine modernisation project for CYF would be driven from the ground up – by CYF staff, their union and the users of their services. This review looks like manufacturing an excuse for outsourcing rather than seeking a genuine improvement of public services.”
Tim Murphy Steps Down As NZ Herald’s Editor In Chief: Tim Murphy has stepped down as editor-in-chief of the New Zealand Herald in favour of the Herald’s current editor, Shayne Currie, who will move into an expanded editorial role. Murphy took on the editorship of the Herald in 2001 at the age of 37, making him at the time the youngest editor ever appointed to the publication. He was appointed editor-in-chief three years ago and oversaw the Herald’s change from broadsheet to a tabloid format.
EPA Chief Executive Resigns: The Environmental Protection Authority’s Chief Executive, Rob Forlong has announced his resignation. Mr Forlong has been the Chief Executive of the EPA since its inception nearly four years ago, and prior to that, was the Chief Executive of the Environmental Risk Management Authority for six years. The EPA Board’s Chair, Kerry Prendergast, said Mr Forlong had made a significant contribution to the EPA, and the Board and staff are very grateful for his leadership. “Rob has led the organisation through the crucial set-up period since the EPA’s creation in 2011.
LINKS OF THE DAY
GOVT FINANCIAL STATEMENTS: The Financial Statements of the Government of New Zealand for the eight months ended 28 February 2015 were released by the Treasury today. The statements are compared against forecasts based on the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) released on 16 December 2014. More details available here:
http://www.treasury.govt.nz/publications/media-speeches/media/10apr15
PETITION TO SAVE CAMPBELL LIVE: More than 20,000 New Zealanders have signed a petition overnight calling on MediaWorks to save Campbell Live. Grass-roots campaign group ActionStation launched their petition within hours of the announcement yesterday that TV3 is considering replacing the current affairs show with a daily version of the Jono and Ben entertainment show. Link to the petition:http://www.actionstation.org.nz/savecampbelllive
GREENHOUSE INVENTORY REPORT: Minister for Climate Change Issues Tim Groser welcomes the release of the latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory report by the Ministry for the Environment. The report covers the period since 1990 and provides details about emissions and removals for the 2013 year. In 2013 New Zealand’s total gross greenhouse gas emissions were 81 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, a decrease of 1.4 per cent over the previous year. New Zealand is committed to doing its fair share to reduce harmful emissions and has made an unconditional commitment to reduce emissions to five per cent below 1990 levels by 2020. The report is available at:http://www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/climate-change/new-zealands-greenhouse-gas-inventory-1990%E2%80%932013
GUEST NIGHTS RISE: National guest nights for February 2015 were 5.4 percent higher than in February 2014, Statistics New Zealand said today. This is the 11th consecutive month of rises. “Most of the increase in February was from international guest nights,” business indicators manager Neil Kelly said. “Visitor numbers to New Zealand were boosted by the Chinese New Year and Cricket World Cup.” For more information about these statistics:
http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/industry_sectors/accommodation/AccommodationSurvey_HOTPFeb15.aspx
NZ/CHINA SCHOOL RELATIONS STRENGTHEN: Twenty schools across New Zealand have received NZ$50,000 in total to strengthen their Chinese sister school relationships, Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Steven Joyce announced today. Mr Joyce is in Shanghai to foster ties between the two countries’ marine, education and technology sectors. The New Zealand-China Sister Schools Fund was announced during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to New Zealand in November 2014. The fund is administered by Education New Zealand and schools applied for grants to develop new and existing relationships. The list of funding recipients of the New Zealand-China Sister Schools Fund is available at http://enz.govt.nz/our-services/business-development/tools-for-schools/new-zealand-china-sister-schools-fund
REVIVING POETRY AWARD: Victoria University of Wellington’s International Institute of Modern Letters (IIML) is aiming to revive New Zealand’s only national poetry competition for high school students through crowdfunding. The National Schools Poetry Award was established by former IIML director Emeritus Professor Bill Manhire in 2003 and over 300 young poets from across the country entered the competition each year until it was cancelled in 2014. That decision resulted from a lack of funding to run the competition. The IIML wants to revive the award and has established a fundraising campaign which has already attracted support from Creative New Zealand. To donate to the Boosted fund for the National Schools Poetry Award, visit:
https://www.boosted.org.nz/projects/national-schools-poetry-award
And that’s our sampling of the day that was on Friday 10th April 2015.
Brought to EveningReport by Newsroom Digest.
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Democratic process goes deeper than ratings: saving Campbell Live
Campbell, highlights the current state of public interest broadcasting, and the need for it to be strengthened in NZ. Yesterday John Drinnan reported on the possibility of Campbell Live being axed:
That is one of the options in a “consultative document” handed out yesterday, which left Campbell Live staff shell-shocked.John Drinnan has pointed out allegations of political bias and interference from some of the top brass at TV3
Some Campbell Live staff believe that is because the show’s liberal focus – and Campbell’s heroic status among some on the left – clashes with its bosses’ political outlook.In support of such a view, Rex Widerstrom outlines the long connections between Mark Weldon, the CEO of the company that owns TV3, Mediaworks, and John Key. Widerstrom also associates Weldon with a strong right wing agenda. The focus in much of the news coverage has been on ratings. However, that focus in itself, shows a bias towards commercial imperatives, inevitably leading to infotainment. Guyon Espiner asked if audience numbers didn’t amount to a democratic vote. That is a very superficial understanding of democratic processes. A strong democracy requires and informed and critically engaged general population. And that requires the media to play a role in informing, educating and encouraging critical debate. Further more, the encouragement of such debate does not require a huge daily audience for a public interest programme. Such programmes as Campbell Live, and many on Radio New Zealand, put various ideas and information into circulation that can spread well beyond the initial audience. And that process of wider circulation can get a very strong boost from social media these days. On the ratings issue, Gordon Campbell has pointed out that the state of Campbell Live’s ratings relies to some extent on the audience delivered to it by the preceding 6pm TV3 News:
Few people are looking at whether TV3’s news hour is doing a good job of delivering Campbell Live enough viewers, come 7pm. It shouldn’t all be blamed on Campbell himself.He also points to the influential role played by Julie Christie, who is believed to have been gunning for Campbell live for a while:
The key decision- makers in TV3’s decisions over Campbell Live seem to be its new CEO (and former Stock Exchange head) Mark Weldon, and TV3 director Julie Christie, the queen of reality television. […] Her career as a producer began with Mud and Glory : Great Rugby Stories, and with Rachel Hunter: Cover Girl and it has been more of the same ever since.Gordon Campbell points to the demise of informative and critical public interest broadcasting:
Wow. The person who made television stars out of Matthew Ridge, Marc Ellis and April Ieremia. No wonder John Campbell is doomed. And no wonder we have a system of television where the notion of broadcasting as a public service is increasingly, a relic of the past.Russell Brown makes some similar arguments:
While there have been some flat spells in its [Campbell Live’s] 10 years on screen, it has also reeled off a series of important, influential and long-running stories, and tugged its readers’ heartstrings the way TV current affairs should. By contrast to Seven Sharp, it holds on to most of its lead-in news viewers and occasionally does better.Brown quotes from an NBR article of April 2:
NBR understands last year Ms Christie made it known Campbell Live’s days were numbered. [..] She went around saying, ‘He’s over, he’s finished’,” the insider claims.Brown is highly critical of Christie:
For someone in governance to behave as Christie is said to have done – when her target was coming up for a contract renewal – is not so much unwise as insanely irresponsible. If Grant is right, she’s cost the company a lot of money. She might have been able to get away with this kind of thing as CEO of her own companies, but as a board member helicoptered in to an invented management position it’s frankly inept.Brown goes on to say:
As I write, the #SaveCampbellLive hashtag is trending number one on New Zealand Twitter – ironically achieving the all-important engagement numbers TV3 didn’t get this week with the Paul Henry launch. There’s also a petition calling on potential major advertisers to get in behind the show and another directed at Mediaworks management. That may not be enough to actually save Campbell Live.Brown suggests maybe a new and better home could be found for Campbell Live. The only such possibility on a Freeview channel, would likely be Maori TV. However, he does also suggest part of the problem is the decline in viewers of free-to-air TV. I think he is being overly pessimistic. Critical, educational and informative public interest content has declined over the last 7 years (as Peter Thompson mentioned on RNZ this morning) But it is not inevitable that will continue. Furthermore, the future of TV is likely to include a greater convergence with online and ondemand content. And it is not necessary for that will all to be subscriber based. –]]>
Radio: New Zealand Report – Int Criminal Court To Lobby NZ at UN Security Council
In this week’s New Zealand Report: The International Criminal Court is lobbying for the UN Security Council to authorise it to investigate ISIS crimes against humanity. Also, Apple’s Siri is catching on to the Kiwi lingo. Recorded live on 10/04/15 Correspondent: Selwyn Manning Hosts: Mark Aiston and Jane Reilly. ITEM ONE: (ref. EveningReport.nz) The New Zealand Government has an opportunity to demonstrate it maintains an independent foreign policy after the International Criminal Court yesterday began lobbying UN-based diplomats to support an investigation into ISIS crimes against humanity. The president of the International Criminal Court and its chief prosecutor are currently in New York to highlight how they cannot investigate ISIS’ crimes committed in Iraq and Syria because both countries do not recognise the ICC and refuse to sign up to its statute. But if the UN Security Council authorises the ICC to investigate the crimes, it is then legally able to do so. New Zealand was voted onto the UN Security Council after campaigning on an independence and human rights ticket. However, since it assumed its seat on the Security Council, New Zealand has kept quiet on matters of global importance. The question remains open as to whether New Zealand will rise to the occasion. [… In May, NZ’s ambassador to the UN will change from a National Party appointee (former deputy leader of the Nationals, Jim McLay) to a career diplomat, Gerard van Bohemen). This new appointment will be significant. The career diplos are in their ascendency over the politicians…] ITEM TWO: Here’s a little tech-trivial nonsense… (ref. Stuff.co.nz) After more than three years of the iPhone misunderstanding the Kiwi accent, Apple has programmed Siri (its voice activated personal assistant) to understand Kiwi vowel sounds! Apparently, the big test was the sentence “Can I get some fish and chips for six tonight?” And Siri passed the test, even though it speaks back to Kiwis with an Australian twang. According to a Fairfax report, iPhone’s Siri failed when attempting to understand when asked for help at ‘fixing a deck’. The report states New Zealand Maori is not yet supported. New Zealand Report broadcasts live on FiveAA.com.au and webcasts on EveningReport.nz.]]>
NewsRoom Digest: Top NZ News Items for April 9, 2015
This edition of NewsRoom_Digest contains five media release snippets and six links of the day from Thursday 9th April.
Top stories in the current news cycle include the parent company of several fast food chains, bows to union pressure and moves to scrap zero hour contracts, police searching for a missing Southland boy say evidence points towards a murder suicide, and people in rural West Auckland ask why no air quality research is being conducted there, despite plans by a factory that emits dangerous dust particles to double in size.
SNIPPETS OF THE DAY
Zero Hour Contracts Scrapped: Union members have won the removal of zero hour contacts in negotiations with fast food giant Restaurant Brands (owner of KFC, Pizza Hut, Carl’s Jr and Starbucks).
“Members of Unite Union have campaigned successfully – they’ve highlighted what the reality of zero hour contacts mean and how impossible it is to pay bills and make plans when you have no security of income,” CTU Secretary, Sam Huggard said. “This is a win against a one of the world’s fast food giants and a real example of how powerful workers can be when they stick together.”
Labour To Resubmit Paid Parental Leave Bill: John Key’s insistence on using a financial veto to stop Labour from working with other parties to deliver 26 weeks paid parental leave for families smacks of arrogance and double standards, says Labour’s Women’s Affairs spokesperson Sue Moroney. “National has lost a lot of credibility on financial responsibility after its failed attempt to bribe Northland voters with $70m of new unplanned bridges. My Bill to extend paid parental leave to 26 weeks was defeated 60-60 just four weeks prior to National losing the Northland by-election. I will now submit an updated version of the Bill into the next Member’s Bill ballot” said Ms Moroney.
Prison Restructure Proposal: Department of Corrections Chief Executive Ray Smith has today proposed that over the next year parts of three prisons will close. “While overall the number of beds for prisoners will increase by 433 this year, they’ll be modern, safe and focused on rehabilitation, unlike the units in Waikeria, Tongariro/Rangipo and Rimutaka Prisons that are proposed for closure. Over the next year we expect around 260 Corrections staff will be affected and Corrections will help them move to other prisons if they wish.
Fruit Flies Could’ve Been Avoided: New Zealand First is concerned the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) have admitted they are in for the long haul with their fight against the Queensland Fruit Fly. “Our concern is based on the fact that this could’ve been avoided and this surely should be a huge learning opportunity for the government,” says Richard Prosser, Primary Industries Spokesperson. “Something like nine million people have come through the Green Lane without any kind of inspection since 2012.
NZ Firms Open Marketing Office In China: Primary Collaboration New Zealand, a group of New Zealand primary sector firms, has opened a joint marketing office in Shanghai, completing a three-year gestation to make life easier in breaking into the world’s second biggest economy. PCNZ’s members include fishing group Sealord, meat processor Silver Fern Farms, dairy firm Synlait Milk, vintner Villa Maria Estate, seafood company Kono and horticulture collaboration Pacific Pace.
LINKS OF THE DAY
CROWN MANAGER REPORT: Local Government Minister Paula Bennett and Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith today welcomed the publication of the final report of the Crown Manager for Christchurch City Council’s building consenting functions. “Substantial progress has been made during Doug Martin’s tenure, with the Council now processing consents on time and to a high quality standard, leading to their reinstatement by International Accreditation New Zealand as a Building Consent Authority in December,” says Mrs Bennett. Link to report: www.dia.govt.nz/diawebsite.nsf/wpg_URL/Resource-material-Our-Policy-Advice-Areas-Local-Government-Policy?OpenDocument#crownmanagerECONOMIC ACTIVITY MEASURED: The ANZ Truckometer is a measure of economic activity using real-time traffic data. It is timely and contains hard activity data as opposed to measuring sentiment. The ANZ Heavy Traffic Index fell 0.4% in the month of March, but is up 0.8% in the first quarter of the year (seasonally adjusted). The ANZ Light Traffic Index leads GDP by six months. It was flat in March, though is up 1.6% in Q1 (sa). See the attached report for full analysis: http://www.anz.co.nz/about-us/economic-markets-research/truckometer/
STEWARDSHIP LAND REVIEW: Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Dr Jan Wright, has called for the Department of Conservation to pick up the pace in reviewing stewardship land. Today Dr Wright released an update to her 2013 report Investigating the future of conservation: The case of stewardship land. About one third of the conservation estate is categorised as ‘stewardship land’. The Commissioner said she was pleased that the Minister of Conservation has accepted her recommendations regarding stewardship land and has moved to implement them. Find the update report here: http://www.pce.parliament.nz/assets/Uploads/Update-report-Investigating-the-future-of-conservation-Web.pdf
NUTRIENT LOSS REDUCTION COSTS: Case studies of dairy support farms in the Upper Waikato River catchment indicate that the effect on profits of reducing their nutrient losses to water is as variable as the systems themselves and could potentially be minimal. Improvements in productivity and efficiency could hold the key to minimising any negative financial impact from reducing such losses, the studies found. The information will be made available to farmers to help improve their business efficiency and reduce the environmental impact of their operations, as well as to other interested parties. A full copy of the dairy support case studies report is available at: http://www.waikatoregion.govt.nz/tr201514
NZ RANKED 5TH FOR SOCIAL PROGRESS: New Zealand is the world’s 5th most socially advanced nation according to the Social Progress Index 2015 published today by US-based nonprofit,the Social Progress Imperative, and released at the 2015 Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship. The full, interactive dataset from the Index can be found here: http://www.socialprogressimperative.org/system/resources/W1siZiIsIjIwMTUvMDQvMDgvMTUvMjkvNTQvNTkyL1NQSV8yMDE1X0VYRUNfU1VNTUFSWS5wZGYiXV0/SPI%202015%20EXEC%20SUMMARY.pdf
SAFETY ON QUADS: Farmers are being urged to take special care on quad-bikes after two fatalities this week. A farmer died on his Wairarapa farm on Tuesday, while a 17-year-old died today on a farm in Kaikohe. “These two tragic events are a reminder to the farming community that while quad-bikes are a useful tool on the farm, they need to be used safely,” says Francois Barton, Manager of National Programmes at WorkSafe New Zealand. For more information on staying safe on farms, go to: www.saferfarms.org.nz
And that’s our sampling of the day that was on Thursday 9th April 2015.
Brought to EveningReport by Newsroom Digest. –]]>Moment To Shine – Security Council Urged To Authorise Investigation Into ISIS Crimes
Editorial By Selwyn Manning. The Issue: ISIS Crimes Outside International Criminal Court Jurisdiction – Unless UN Security Council Orders Inquiry
TODAY IN NEW YORK the chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court began lobbying diplomats based at the United Nations to agree to lobby for it to investigate crimes against humanity – crimes committed on a grand scale by ISIS within Iraq and Syria – within territory which the ICC has no jurisdiction.
The International Criminal Court (ICC)’s chief prosecutor Judge Fatou Bensouda’s plea lays bare how member states of the UN Security Council have to permit the international body to begin an investigation into crimes, it describes as “of unspeakable cruelty”. (ref. ForeignAffairs.co.nz)
ALSO TODAY, the newly elected President of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Judge Silvia Fernández de Gurmendi, met with the United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon.
The ICC president stressed the need for the ICC and the UN “to explore opportunities for working together to ensure accountability for serious crimes, to contribute to the prevention of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, as well as to provide redress to the victims of such atrocities”. (ref. ForeignAffairs.co.nz)
Over the next few days, the ICC president and its chief prosecutor will meet with ambassadors and permanent representatives of countries that are signatories to the ICC and its statute – New Zealand, as a member of the UN Security Council, is significant among these nations.
New Zealand’s representatives will be confronted by the ICC chief prosecutor’s fact-check, that: Crimes of unspeakable cruelty have been reported, such as mass executions, sexual slavery, rape and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence, torture, mutilation, enlistment and forced recruitment of children and the persecution of ethnic and religious minorities, not to mention the wanton destruction of cultural property. The commission of the crime of genocide has also been alleged,” Judge Fatou Bensouda said.
For those unsure of what the ICC is about, the International Criminal Court conducts independent and impartial investigations and prosecution of the crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
It is the global body that was created to investigate and bring to justice those who commit crimes on a massive scale – often criminals who believe their offending is beyond the reach of law and consequence.
In an ideal world, the ICC would already be investigating, identifying, documenting ISIS crimes, and crimes committed by militia and other forces in the region. But because Iraq and Syria do not recognise the jurisdiction of the ICC, an investigation can only occur should the UN Security Council request it to do so. Specifically, the statute reads as follows:
The (International Criminal) Court may only exercise jurisdiction over international crimes if (I) its jurisdiction has been accepted by the State on the territory of which the crime was committed, (ii) its jurisdiction has been accepted by the State of which the person accused is a national, or (iii) the situation is referred to the Prosecutor by the Security Council acting under Chapter VII of the UN Charter.
That’s where New Zealand can play a progressive part. As a member of the UN Security Council New Zealand has the power to argue for the Security Council to refer these crimes to the ICC so it can begin a large-scale investigation into these (and the crimes of others inside Iraq and Syria).
New Zealand was appointed to the UN Security Council on the basis of its advocacy for human rights and justice. One cannot imagine a more grave issue developing that advocates a large-scale and coordinated international policing and judicial response.
New Zealand Government ought to be mindful, that victims of these crimes may not be exclusive to citizens of other countries, that New Zealander/s too could be shown to have fallen to the perpetrators of these crimes. It isn’t as if the International Criminal Court is shying away from doing what it was set up to do.
The ICC’s chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, said today: “As Prosecutor of the ICC, I stand ready to play my part, in an independent and impartial manner, in accordance with the legal framework of the Rome statute.”
Taking this on board, surely the ISIS crimes, and those of other militia in this retched theatre, ought to compel the New Zealand Government to make use of its proud history of advocacy for human rights and justice.
As such, New Zealand ought to bare a burden here and speak to the world’s powers via its membership of the UN Security Council and argue that in times of war, victims – whether in memory or in fact, whether in person or on their behalf – especially deserve recourse to international courts of justice. The New Zealand Government has an opportunity to mean something here. If it chooses to, it can:
- Stand up as a newly appointed member of the UN Security Council
- Declare the actions of ISIS as gross crimes against humanity
- Speak to the ideals of recourse, investigation, identification, and conviction
- Demand that the UN Security Council refer the matter to the International Criminal Court prosecutor so that an international judicial response be initiated.
New Zealand would not be alone on this matter. Already France and Switzerland have lobbied for the UNSC to authorise an ICC response. (ref. See today’s New York Times) It is an absurdity that the New Zealand Government has not done this already. It is after all a signatory to the ICC Rome Statute, and part of the very body that can order judicial process to progress. If the New Zealand Government refuses to do so, the question remains as to why it was appointed to the UN Security Council in the first place.
FOOTNOTE:
The ICC has opened investigations in:
- Uganda; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Darfur, Sudan; Central African Republic; Kenya; Libya; Côte d’Ivoire and Mali. The Office is also conducting preliminary examinations relating to the situations in Afghanistan, Colombia, Georgia, Guinea, Honduras, Iraq (alleged abuses by UK forces), Nigeria, Palestine and Ukraine.
David Robie on New Dawn FM and the Bougainville mining lobby machine
By David Robie – Café Pacific
[caption id="attachment_3185" align="alignleft" width="300"]
PNG: Panguna Mine.[/caption]
PACIFIC MEDIA WATCH’S Alistar Kata has just filed an interesting report about the virtual “shut out” of no-mining critics in Bougainville in the lead-up to the elections next month. The report was about a head-to-head interview with the Bougainville Freedom Movement’s long-time campaigner Vikki John and New Dawn FM broadcaster Aloysius Laukai, both past award winners for their contrasting roles.
John claimed the “ownership” of news websites was hampering opposition news, saying this was another form of “brainwashing” by the company that is angling for resumption of copper mining at Panguna, the mine which triggered the 10-year Bougainville civil war. However, Luakai was at great pains to reject any alleged links to the powerful Bougainville Copper Limited mining lobby.
Last month’s new mining law passed by the Autonomous Bougainville Government’s legislature last month has paved the way to make reopening of the mine possible.
“No, we have no links and that’s why we have put up heaps of stories and cover events such as the mining forums,” Laukai told Kata. “There must be some confusion with us and another Bougainville news website.”
He was probably referring to Bougainville24 news website, which is produced by Bougainville Copper Ltd. But that isn’t the end of the story.
According to the European Shareholders of BCL, they have been backing New Dawn FM and have promoted an appeal to channel funds to the community broadcaster, founded in 2008.
A link to this was revealed in a posting on the Pacific Media Centre website today, which referred to ABG and Bougainville Copper Foundation funding for New Dawn. The European Shareholders webpage goes like this:
Late last year, the BCL mining website announced that New Dawn FM had turned to modern mobile phone apps and social media to cover news in remote parts of Bougainville region. “Station manager Aloysius Laukai now has 15 staff members working under him as the team seek to build awareness on the biggest issues affecting Bougainville,” reported the BCL website. “Laukai and his reporters use WhatsApp and Viber, cross-platform mobile apps, to exchange information and file stories.” It was also reported that a radio infrastructure upgrade was being funded to enable FM coverage across the whole region. Who was paying the bills? “Jointly funded by the Autonomous Bougainville Government and the Bougainville Copper Foundation,” said the BCL website. Bougainville’s two-week regional elections next month begin on May 11. –]]>RADIO NEW DAWN NEEDS YOU! Radio New Dawn on Bougainville has been founded a couple of years ago. It is the first free network made by Bougainvilleans for Bougainvilleans. At the present, the radio station is in threat of shutting down.Small revenues from local businesses and the Autonomous Bougainville Government cannot guarantee its existence. Bankruptcy would be fatal. Radio New Dawn is the only genuine voice of Bougainville compared to all other media who report from PNG’s capital Port Moresby – some 1000 kilometres away. Aloysius Laukai, manager and chief editor, [has] been honored for his work in the past. But honors alone cannot assure the broadcaster’s survival. The ESBC appreciate a lot [of] the crew’s information work. After years of uncertainty during the Bougainville crisis, Radio New Dawn created a new public awareness and self-confidence on the island. Therefore, the European Shareholders of Bougainville Copper (ESBC) are proud of supporting this shining project. This is in the interest of locals and all those from abroad who benefit from Radio New Dawn’s internet blog that updates information on the positive development in Bougainville. Financial funding will be highly welcome. We strongly hope that our initiative will be successful and help to maintain Radio New Dawn’s services in future. Please find our account information here! You also can send funds directly to Radio New Dawn on Bougainville.
Catriona MacLennan on Mobile truck shops
By Catriona MacLennan – lawyer and women’s rights advocate.
DRIVE AWAY from Mangere Town Centre in South Auckland into the streets fanning out from the suburban hub and it takes only 5 minutes to spot a mobile truck shop.
The trucks are large and their paint jobs in bright blocks of colours – yellow, red and navy – make them highly visible. The vehicles trawl the streets in low income areas, selling clothes, bedding, furniture and electronic goods and more recently food.
The companies running the trucks have been operating for many years in South Auckland and Porirua but have started in other centres including East Cape, Napier, Rotorua, Whangarei and Whakatane. The prices of the goods they sell are much higher than in shops.
[caption id="attachment_3194" align="alignleft" width="300"]
Vai Harris, Vaiola P. I. Budgeting Service.[/caption]
Vai Harris, service manager at Vaiola P. I. Budgeting Service, pithily sums up the crucial reason for the vehicles’ success: cash is not required. The companies all offer credit, meaning people can obtain food immediately even if they don’t have ready money.
Ms Harris says the other attractions of the trucks are they don’t do credit checks and they come to people’s homes. Families may not have a car, or it may be unreliable, or there may be no money for petrol, making going to the shops difficult.
Payment trap
Both the companies and the customers focus on weekly repayments required when goods are bought, rather than on the total amount to be repaid. Purchasers may not be aware of how much they will pay altogether: their emphasis is on the fact they believe they can meet the $20 or $30 a week payments.
This explains why people sign agreements to pay inflated prices for items they could buy far more cheaply in shops. Ms Harris has seen contracts charging $20 for a can of corned beef, $35 for a packet of noodles and $66 for powdered milk.
A 2014 Lync (NZ) Co Ltd contract obtained by Nga Tangata Microfinance Trust budgeter Linda McCallum lists prices ranging from $23.99 for a packet of biscuits to $49.99 for 1 packet of rubbish bags (see “Overpriced”). A Shoppers Stop Lifestyle Ltd document records the prices of shoes as $100 and 3 pairs of socks at $30.
Mangere MP Su’a William Sio says there are cultural imperatives at play. “The biggest thing in most of our communities is the cultural aspect of not wanting to say no. It’s being hospitable to people who come up to the doorstep. As a result of that, these salespeople take advantage of that. It’s often worse when it’s somebody [the customer] knows because they feel an obligation and because there’s a sense I should trust this person because he is one of ours.”
Mr Sio says trucks selling food has a lot to do with poverty, inequality and families not having regular work hours. They might receive a week’s pay one week, but only a day’s pay the following week.
Ms Harris says prices charged for non-food items are also high. She had one Mangere client charged $990 for a 32-inch television when a 45-inch television could be bought in Manukau for $620. Another client bought 2 mobile phones for a total of $4500. When Ms Harris told her the items could be bought much more cheaply in a shop, the client replied she had no cash. A mother signed up to buy a bed for her daughter for $990, more than twice the price at a retailer. Ms Harris says that woman’s mortgage payment is the same amount as her income.
The documents often state the item won’t be delivered until after the purchaser has made 10 or 12 payments. Budgeters say sometimes items are never delivered. Free gifts promised may also fail to materialise. One of Ms Harris’ clients had paid $770 towards a TV but hadn’t received it. When Ms Harris spoke to the company, she was told the television was still on order.
Kevin Main of Budget Advisory Service (Whakatane) has recently dealt with cases in which the original documents have differed from the carbon copies. He says between $200 and $400 has been added to the debts owed for goods the customer didn’t purchase.
Mr Main’s budget service tries to cancel transactions and asks banks to place a note on accounts stating direct debits are not to be re-activated but he says banks are reluctant to do this.
Banking Ombudsman Deborah Battell says she’s been informed by Auckland-based budgeting services about companies getting people to sign multiple direct debits and has spoken to banks and officials about the problem. “The customer’s own bank will not know that multiple direct debits have been signed … it’s clear the public needs continued warnings about the practice.”
Industry compliance
The Commerce Commission says there are 40 companies operating mobile trucks.
Home Direct Ltd is the most established. It’s been operating since 1973 and has 150 staff and 72 trucks. Some companies are owner-operated businesses, operating under just-in-time principles so they only buy goods once a customer has committed to a purchase.
It’s not always clear what legal transaction the deal actually is. Some documents describe the transaction as a “rent to own agreement”. There is no such legal entity. Other transactions have characteristics of a layby sale, a consumer credit contract or a consumer lease but do not appear to fully comprise any one of these.
Consumer credit laws were tightened by the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003. The Act aimed to provide better protection to consumers after the Credit Contracts Act 1981 proved ineffective.
However, the 2003 law is also wanting and the government has had another go at reform. Part of the new law came into force in June last year and the rest – including a new responsible lending code – will take effect in June this year.
Recent law changes also introduced rules about door-to-door sales. However, the Commerce Commission’s opinion is these rules don’t apply if a mobile truck drives into a street and waits for people to come out to the truck, rather than the sales rep knocking on people’s doors. This is a significant loophole.
Commission investigation
The Commission began a 12-month project focusing on mobile trucks last year. Commission manager, competition, John Lyall, says the project aims to find out what’s happening in the mobile truck industry. A report is due in June.
Mr Lyall and senior investigator Jo Tilley say checks carried out during visits to traders indicate issues of non-compliance with the law. Some are minor but other traders are under investigation where breaches are likely to lead to enforcement action.
Ms Tilley says key issues are highly inflated prices and the quality is not what would be expected. It can also be difficult for consumers to find out total prices. She says the trucks target lower socio-economic areas. Companies get customers to complete multiple direct debit forms so if one is cancelled, another can be activated.
Other issues identified by the commission are high fees, ambiguous payment plans that do not include end dates and difficulties for purchasers in contacting the companies. The fee to get out of a $1300 deal can be as much as $600.
Ms Tilley says since the new laws took effect, the commission has been contacting mobile trucks to educate them about the provisions and check they’re complying.
Mobile trucks are also on the radar of some politicians. Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Paul Goldsmith visited the East Tamaki premises of a mobile truck company last December after hearing of widespread concerns about practices in the industry. A spokesperson for the minister says one of the problem areas in the money lending sector is irresponsible lenders offering loans to people who clearly cannot afford to repay. “That puts people and their families into impossible situations. The government is determined to crack down on unscrupulous lenders who take advantage of vulnerable borrowers and leave families in positions of incredible hardship.”
The spokesperson says it’s impossible to state with certainty whether all mobile trucks are compliant with the law, how many are not, or what breaches – if any – there are. He says the government has no plans to shut down mobile trucks. “It has, however, taken a number of actions recently to better regulate the activities of lenders, including door-to-door salespeople and mobile trucks.”
East Coast MP Anne Tolley says the issue is important to her as a local MP but believes it’s a problem for local government.
“[We] know of the long-term debt many of our vulnerable families on the East Coast incur as a result of mobile vendors. I believe local councils are best placed to deal with these trucks. I have written to the mayors in the Eastern Bay of Plenty part of my electorate and I am looking forward to working together on measures to curb the negative effects in the region, particularly in the suburban areas,” Ms Tolley says.
Exactly what role local councils could play to regulate these companies remains unclear.
Education efforts
Budgeters are divided on the efficacy of education about mobile trucks and financial literacy in preventing people from signing up to expensive deals.
Murupara Budget Advisory Service Trust manager Carolyn Meihana says educating the community is key. She advises clients to tell salespeople they need to speak to their budgeter before committing to buying. “Nine times out of 10, they leave then.”
She dealt with a case in which a small tablet computer was going to cost a total of $2500. When Ms Meihana queried the deal, the salesperson told her to beat it. “My client said ‘She’s my budgeter. You beat it.’ And she did.”
The service’s slogan is “Before you sign on the dotted line, think twice. Get budget advice”. Staff working in the centre have T-shirts with the slogan emblazoned on them.
However, Ms Harris and Mr Sua are less optimistic about the role of education. They say, as long as incomes are low and rents are high, desperate people will continue to sign up to expensive deals.
Consumer.org.nz says:
- Companies operating mobile shopping trucks are targeting some of the most vulnerable consumers.
- The Commerce Commission should take enforcement action against these companies where there’s a clear breach of the law.
- Door-to-door sales rules need to be strengthened so they cover trucks which drive into streets and wait for customers to come to them.
Keith Rankin on Nuanced Economic Growth
By Keith Rankin – first published today on Scoop.co.nz.
ON TUESDAY I listened to Eric Crampton (of the New Zealand Initiative) discussing on Radio New Zealand the virtues of economic growth. It was a good discussion, and Crampton’s view was much more nuanced than those of many growth advocates.
Some points though. Crampton, like many economists emphasises average growth of new output per capita, not outright growth of new output. Thus, if population is falling, we could have economic growth without having more aggregate output.
More importantly, the underlying concept enunciated is the growth of average living standards, not the growth of output. It’s just that Crampton defends the use of GDP (gross domestic product) per person as a good proxy for average living standards. Others don’t. And of course others note that, due to high wealth and income inequality, average living standards are not the same thing as typical living standards.
It’s also true that, while income inequality may be increasing within countries, it is decreasing on average between countries. Global growth has certainly decreased material poverty in China, though the pollution there has substantially offset increases in the material living standards of many Chinese. Crampton places excessive faith in the continuance of the historic ‘Kuznets Curve’, whereby addressing and mitigating issues such as pollution became part of the growth process. Essentially he said that with growth we become better equipped to deal with any adverse consequences of growth.
In this view, modern economic growth essentially becomes a process of sustainable technological innovation. Thus there is no necessary endpoint, especially if declining population also becomes a part of the long-run per capita growth process. Crampton clearly sees both sustaining technological innovation (beginning with the industrial revolution) and fertility decline as essential features of modern growth.
Important issues arise from what Crampton did not say. The industrial revolution in Britain 200 years ago was itself an outcome of a sustainability crisis, especially a crisis of deforestation and therefore shortage of traditional fuels. The turning to coal as a substitute for wood (and later oil and gas as other fossil fuels), combined with the huge extension of lands opened to western capitalism enabled and initiated modern economic growth. We have long hit the limits to land expansionism through invasion (though other forms of imperialism, mainly private land imperialism, continue), and we are now hitting the limits to the fossil fuel economy. We cannot extrapolate the future of growth from its 200-year recent past.
The key concepts we must focus on are inputs (rather than outputs) and productivity (ratio of outputs to inputs). In Crampton’s benign economist version of growth, we economise on inputs, especially land (natural resource) and labour (declining fertility). Established capitalists and policymakers see growth differently.
We need to be much more explicit about inputs rather than outputs in our 21st century discussion on growth. The concern is that both the political process and the business worldview sees all output growth as good, whether that output growth arises from productivity growth or from increased use (‘dis-economising’) of inputs.
Indeed macroeconomic policy is all about increasing the exploitation of inputs: expanding labour supply by making welfare benefits more conditional and by pressuring people to retire at older ages; increasing natural resource exploitation by searching for evermore fossil fuels; and austerity policies, meaning (somehow) rapidly growing our capital resource base (built environment and machinery) while barely increasing our consumption of (private and collective) goods and services.
If we are to raise productivity and to expand the supplies of labour, land and capital inputs, then we are pursuing a future of accelerated unnuanced growth. This is not the benign growth that Eric Crampton sees.
In our critique of economic growth, first we must focus on raising productivity while economising on input use; economising on the use of traditional labour and non-renewable land inputs, economising on the use of inputs that pollute, economising on the use of capital inputs by increasing the productivity of capital inputs (such as factories) rather than increasing their sheer physical presence. Second, we need to remind ourselves that living standards are based more on the life-enhancing stocks that we have access to (including intangible stocks of family capital, of knowledge, of ideas and of culture) than on the flows of new goods and services.
Economic growth, in itself, is neither bad nor good. The particular growth policies that governments around the world are pursuing are, however, very bad. Governments and their business allies are relentlessly pursuing input-driven unsustainable growth. The only good news is that such input-expansionist policies, based on principles of austerity and labour-land exploitation, can only fail. Austerity only equated to ‘more factories’ in Stalinist Russia and Maoist China.
Good things that do happen in the next few years – and there will be many of them – will be despite these input-expansionist macroeconomic policies, not because of them.
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]]>iPredict: Groser Set For Washington as Hopes for TPP Fade
New Zealand Weekly Economic and Political Update
GROSER SET FOR WASHINGTON AS HOPES FOR TPP FADE
Trade Minister Tim Groser is set to become New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States as hopes of a successful outcome to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations fade, according to the combined wisdom of the 8000+ registered traders on New Zealand’s predictions market, iPredict. There is now only a 35% probability New Zealand will sign the TPP in 2015 and just a 29% probability it will be ratified by the US Congress before 1 July 2017. NZ First is expected to hold the balance of power after the next New Zealand general election and allow a National-led government to be formed. However, John Key is not expected to remain prime minister through to the end of 2017 with Paula Bennett favoured to replace him, well ahead of Steven Joyce and Simon Bridges. Expectations for the Official Cash Rate and the Fonterra’s next two payouts have eased. In the United Kingdom, the UK Independence Party is no longer expected to hold a significant number of seats in the House of Commons after next month’s general election, at which the Conservatives’ David Cameron is expected to win a second term.
New Zealand Politics:
· John Key is expected to remain National leader until at least the end of 2016 (85% probability, up from 79% last week) but has just a 25% probability of remaining National leader until at least the end of 2017 (up from 23% last week). Mr Key has a 73% probability of being National leader on Nomination Day before the next General Election (steady compared with last week)
· Andrew Little is expected to remain Labour leader until at least the end of 2016 (95% probability, steady compared with last week) and has a 68% probability of remaining Labour leader until the end of 2017 (steady). Mr Little has a 90% probability of being Labour leader on Nomination Day before the next General Election (up from 90% last week)
· Paula Bennett remains the clear favourite to become National Party leader if a vacancy arises (37%, up from 35% last week), followed by Steven Joyce (10%, down from 13%) and Simon Bridges (10%, up from 6%)
· Stocks on who is favoured to become Labour Party leader if a vacancy arises will be launched in the near future
· Kevin Hague remains strongly expected to be the next co-leader of the Green Party (80% probability, down from 82% last week), followed by James Shaw on 18% (up from 14%)
· Judith Collins is not expected to be appointed to Cabinet before next election (only 49% probability she will be, down from 55% last week)
· Tim Groser is expected to be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States (85% probability) and Maureen Pugh is expected to become eligible to be a list MP before the next election (73% probability)
· Next election expected in 2017 (92% probability, steady compared with last week) with a turnout of 75%
· Forecast party vote shares at next election:
o National 43.7% (down from 44.2% last week)
o Labour 33.1% (up from 32.8%)
o Greens 10.9% (down from 11.0%)
o NZ First 7.3% (up from 7.2%)
o Others 5.1% (up from 4.8%)
· NZ First has a 68% probability of holding the balance of power after the next election. If NZ First does hold the balance of power, there is a 49% probability it will back National on confidence and supply and a 32% probability it will back Labour on confidence and supply (new stocks)
· National narrowly expected to form a government after 2017 General Election (54% probability, up from 53% last week)
· Almost no chance Wellington councils will be amalgamated by end of 2015 (only 5% probability they will be, down from 7% last week)
New Zealand Economics:
· Fruit-fly outbreak expected to be contained with fewer than 20 Queensland fruit-flies expected to be found in New Zealand as part of current outbreak (85% probability, up from 82% last week)
· New Zealand dollar expected to reach parity with Australian dollar by the end of 2015 (73% probability, up from 55% last week), with a 62% probability if will do so before July 2015 (up from 20% probability last week)
· Quarterly GDP growth expected to be:
o 0.75% in the March quarter (steady compared with last week)
o 1.10% in the June quarter (steady)
o 1.10% in the September quarter (steady)
o 1.10% in the December quarter (steady)
· Annual growth expected to be 4.12% in the 2015 calendar year (steady compared with last week)
· Unemployment expected to be:
o 5.41% in the March quarter (steady compared with last week)
o 5.29% in the June quarter (steady)
o 5.25% in the September quarter (steady)
o 5.30% in the December quarter (steady)
· Current account deficit expected to be:
o 3.61% of GDP in the March quarter (steady compared with last week)
o 3.56% in the June quarter (steady)
o 3.39% in the September quarter (steady)
o 3.49% in the December quarter (new stocks)
· Annual inflation expected to be:
o 0.24% to end of March 2015 quarter (down from 0.30% last week)
o 0.40% to end of June 2015 quarter (steady)
o 0.59% to end of September 2015 quarter (steady)
o 1.05% to end of December 2015 quarter (steady)
· Official Cash Rate priced to be:
o 3.480% on 30 April (down from 3.488% last week)
o 3.452% on 11 June (down from 4.75% last week)
o 3.427% on 23 July (down from 3.458%)
o 3.377% on 10 September (down from 3.424%)
o 3.358% on 29 October (down from 3.405%)
o 3.329% on 10 December (down from 3.387%)
o 3.319% on 28 January 2016 (down from 3.377%)
o 3.316% on 10 March 2016 (down from 3.374%)
o 3.306% on 28 April 2016 (down from 3.364%)
o 3.296% on 9 June 2016 (down from 3.354%)
· This implies the OCR is more likely than not to be cut on 29 October 2015 to 3.25% (compared with 28 January 2016 last week) and to remain at that rate until at least 9 June 2016 (steady)
· 23% probability of a fiscal surplus in 2014/15 (down from 28% last week)
· Fiscal balance expected to be:
o -0.19% of GDP in 2014/15 (down from -0.14% last week)
o 0.80% of GDP in 2015/16 (steady)
o 1.98% of GDP in 2016/17 (steady)
o 2.32% of GDP in 2017/18 (down from 2.43%)
· Fonterra’s final payout (before retentions) expected to be:
o $4.71 in 2014/15 (down from $4.79 last week)
o $5.62 in 2015/16 (down from $5.86)
o $6.43 in 2016/17 (steady)
· Stocks on tourism arrivals and gender and ethnic pay gaps have been launched this week.
Foreign Affairs/Constitution:
· Next UK Parliament expected to consist of:
o Conservatives 43.2% of seats in the House of Commons (up from 37.9% last week)
o Labour 40.2% of seats (up from 35.3%)
o Nationalist parties 7.5% of seats (up from 7.1%)
o Liberal Democrats 4.1% of seats (down from 5.2%)
o UKIP and similar 1.0% of seats (down from 6.0%)
o Unionist parties 1.0% of seats (down from 2.2%)
o Green and similar 1.0% of seats (down from 2.1%)
o Independents and Speaker 1.0% of seats (down from 2.1%)
o All others 1.0% of seats (down from 2.2%)
· David Cameron expected to be prime minister after next UK election (57% probability, down from 58% last week)
· Boris Johnson expected to be elected to UK House of Commons this year (99% probability, up from 91% last week)
· Socialist Workers’ Party expected to defeat People’s Party in next Spanish election (73% probability, down from 75% last week)
· All Eurozone countries, including Greece, expected to remain in Euro in 2015 (20% probability of an announcement of a departure this year, down from 21% last week)
· Tony Abbott expected to remain leader of the Australian Liberal Party until 1 July 2015 (only 18% probability of departing before then, down from 23% last week) but be replaced as leader of the Australian Liberal Party by nomination day (50% probability Malcolm Turnbull will be leader on that day, down from 53% last week)
· Bill Shorten expected to be Labor leader at next Australian Federal election (86% probability, steady compared with last week)
· Liberals marginally ahead of Labor for next Australian Federal election in 2016 (53% probability of Liberal win, steady compared with last week)
· Hillary Clinton is favoured to be the Democratic Party’s nominee for US president in 2016 and to be elected to that office (50% probability, up from 49% last week). Jeb Bush has a 39% probability of being the Republican nominee down from 45% last week) followed by Scott Walker (21% probability, up from 20%) and Rand Paul (18% probability)
· There is a 38% probability New Zealand will sign the Trans-Pacific Partnership this year (down from 48% last week), but the Trans-Pacific Partnership is not expected to be ratified by the US Congress before 1 July 2017 (only 29% probability it will be, down from 33% last week)
· Helen Clark’s prospects of being the next UN Secretary General are 26% (up from 25% last week)
· There is a 10% probability New Zealand will become a republic by 2020 (steady compared with last week)
· Ireland to vote in favour of same-sex marriage before July 2015 (95% probability, steady compared with last week)
· There is a 17% probability Kim Jong-Un will cease being leader of North Korea before 2017 (down from 18% with last week)
Notes:
· iPredict Ltd is owned by Victoria University of Wellington. Details on the company and its stocks can be found at www.ipredict.co.nz.
· The weekly economic and political update is prepared by Exceltium Ltd on a pro bono basis and is based on a snapshot taken at a random time each week. This week’s was taken at 2.02 pm today.
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]]>President Zuma rolls out red carpet for Mugabe
MIL OSI Analysis – Source: South Africa News Agency – Report:
Headline: President Zuma rolls out red carpet for Mugabe
[caption id="attachment_3218" align="alignleft" width="257"]
Robert Mugabe.[/caption]
Pretoria – Despite the dreary weather on Wednesday morning, visiting Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has been given the royal treatment at the Union Buildings.
The red carpet was rolled out and President Jacob Zuma and his wife Thobeka Zuma were on hand to receive their visitors.
Access around the Union Buildings is strictly controlled with police patrolling the area.
The motorcade carrying Mugabe and his wife Grace arrived at the Union Buildings shortly after 9:30am at the west wing of the buildings. The two had had touched down in Pretoria at the Waterkloof Air Force Base on Tuesday evening for the two-day state visit.
But due to the weather, the other parts of the welcoming ceremony – including the national ceremonial guard of honour by members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) – were moved indoors.
To welcome the Mugabes, the SANDF band played the anthems of Zimbabwe and South Africa, and the two Presidents took the salute from the national ceremonial guard, which was marked by a 21–gun salute.
President Zuma then proceeded to introduce President Mugabe — who is also the current chair of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and African Union (AU) — to a number of his Cabinet Ministers and deputies at the Union Buildings, which is framed by the national flags of both countries.
President Zuma also shook hands with senior officials from the Mugabe administration. He then ushered his counterpart away from the red-carpeted and flower-bedecked amphitheatre for bilateral talks.
The two Presidents are expected to discuss issues around strengthening economic relations and matters of mutual interest, among others. Stability in the region and the continent, industrialisation and economic development of the SADC region are also expected to feature in talks.
According to the official programme, President Zuma and President Mugabe will address the media just after 12pm on the outcomes of their talks.
They will also witness the signing of several agreements including the Bi-National Commission (BNC) Agreement, whose objective is to elevate the bilateral relations between the two countries.
Others include the Memorandum of Understanding on Diplomatic Consultations, the agreement regarding mutual assistance between the customs administrations of the two countries as well as an agreement on water resource management and the establishment and functioning of the Joint Water Commission. The agreements will be signed by relevant ministers from both countries.
South Africa and Zimbabwe already share common historical and cultural bonds anchored on Zimbabwe’s support for South Africa’s liberation struggle.
Economic cooperation between the two countries has grown well over the past decade as evidenced by the presence of a large number of South African companies in Zimbabwe as well as the increasing trade volumes.
In 2014, South Africa’s exports to Zimbabwe amounted to R24.8 billion, while Zimbabwe’s exports to South Africa reached R2 billion.
After the media briefing, President Mugabe will receive a courtesy call from Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa at his hotel before being treated to a state banquet at the Sefako Makgatho Presidential Guesthouse.
On Thursday, a South Africa-Zimbabwe Business Forum will be held at the Sheraton Hotel. The forum will highlight trade and investment opportunities. – SAnews.gov.za
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White Poppies for Peace Appeal, order soon! – GPJA
MIL OSI – Source: Global Peace and Justice Auckland – Press Release/Statement
Headline: White Poppies for Peace Appeal, order soon!
Please forward on through your networks, thank you. Apologies for cross posting
2015 White Poppies for Peace Appeal, order soon!
A reminder that the White Poppies for Peace appeal ( www.whitepoppies.org.nz ) – the main fundraiser for the White Poppy Peace Scholarships ( www.peacescholar.org.nz) – is held annually from 17 to 24 April. This message has information about how you can support the Appeal and how you can order poppies.
a) Helping with a street collection in Wellington, the Kapiti Coast and Dunedin: the street collections in Wellington and Dunedin this year are on Wednesday, 22 April, and will be held on the Kapiti Coast during the appeal week.
If you can help with a street collection, please email whitepoppies as soon as possible and let us know what time/s you are available on 22 April if you are in Wellington or Dunedin, or what days and times you are available if you are on the Kapiti Coast, and include your phone number in your message, thank you. Please note: contact details for collectors in Dunedin and the Kapiti Coast will be passed on to the local collection coordinator.
b) White poppies collection boxes: You could:
i) have a white poppies collection box: at your work, school, church or other community place during the Appeal week (this will be delivered to you in the week before the Annual Appeal if you are within the Wellington area, or posted to you if you are elsewhere); or
ii) organise a special or one-off collection: ask your church or other place of worship if they would consider having a white poppy collection during the Appeal week, or arrange a collection at any scheduled community group meeting around the time of the Appeal.
If you would like to be sent a white poppies collection box, please email whitepoppies as soon as possible and let us know: how many collection boxes you require; the approximate number of white poppies you would like; and your name and postal address – please also let us know if we can put a note on your parcel saying it is to be left in your mailbox / on the porch (or wherever is a safe place for it to be left) if no-one is home when it is delivered.
Each collection box contains white poppies and white poppy information cards, as well as guidelines for collectors, a parcel post SAE to return the box, and a standard SAE to return the money collected (account details are included if you would prefer to do a bank transfer). Please note: the deadline for ordering a collection box is Monday, 13 April.
c) Ordering white poppies: white poppies are available for a donation to the White Poppy Peace Scholarships – if you would like to order white poppies for yourself or your group, please email whitepoppies for details or use the form available at www.converge.org.nz/pma/poppiesform.pdf
d) How you can support the White Poppy Peace Scholarships: You can support the Peace Scholarships by making a donation during the Annual Appeal or at any time during the year – your generosity will help to promote peace by directly supporting research into the impacts of militarism, militarisation and warfare; alternatives to militarism, militarisation and warfare; or media coverage of militarism, militarisation, military deployment and / or armed conflict. To make a donation by cheque, please use the form available at whitepoppies for the details – a tax credit receipt is sent for all donations. Thank you.
White Poppies for Peace, c/o Peace Movement Aotearoa, PO Box 9314, Wellington 6141; tel whitepoppies – http://www.whitepoppies.org.nz
Related
<!– –> –]]>Kelvin Davis says Gutting of prison jobs a gift to private prison provider
Today’s announcement that sections of three prisons are to be closed is the thin end of the wedge for the privatisation of the country’s prison service, says Labour’s Corrections spokesperson Kelvin Davis.
It’s estimated that 260 prison officers will lose their jobs and these are officers that have been trained at the taxpayer’s expense.
“What makes it worse is that these closures are to justify the existence of the new private prison at Wiri.
“Serco the owners of Wiri will now be laughing all the way to the bank. They will now be able to hire the officers that will be laid off.
“This means that 20 per cent of our prison population will now be housed in private facilities.
“I suspect this makes the goal of getting a 25 per cent reduction in reoffending even more difficult .
“The proposed changes are simply a gift to a private prison,” says Kelvin Davis.
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Waihi paua poacher tries to hide behind customary permit
A Waihi man who obtained a customary permit to try and justify his paua poaching near Whangamata pleaded guilty to fishery offences in the Waihi District Court yesterday (8 April).
Thor Rubena, an executive, received a fine totalling $1500, plus court costs of $260, for possession of excess paua and for obstructing a fishery officer by providing false information about a customary permit.
Rubena had been gathering paua by a nearby Island on 7 December. He was stopped at a carpark and found in possession of 24 shucked paua. The daily limit is 10.
The defendant later forwarded MPI a copy of a customary authorisation. Inquiries revealed Rubena had misled the authorised issuer, says Brendon Mikkelsen, MPI Compliance Manager for the Waikato and Bay of Plenty District.
“Mr Rubena seemed to believe he had a right to exploit local paua resources. MPI takes a low tolerance of any illegal paua extraction and will continue to target poachers like Thor Rubena,” he says.
“The judge noted that Rubena was lucky not to be facing more serious charges for obtaining the permit.”
MPI urges anyone who sees unlawful fishing activity (including suspected poaching and/or offering seafood for sale on the black-market) to phone the Ministry’s 0800 4 POACHER (0800 476224) in confidence.
“Reporting of suspicious or illegal activity by the public to fishery officers is a key element in protecting the fishery and ensuring its sustainability for future generations,” says Mr Mikkelson.
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Police seek public’s help in locating fleeing driver
Waikato Police seeking a fleeing driver who fled at speed along the wrong side of the road are seeking the public’s help in locating him and removing a risk from the roads.
Acting District Road Policing manager, Inspector Dana McDonald, said the black 2002 Subaru legacy saloon, registration number EPR775, was detected travelling on SH1 south of Hamilton at a speed of 119km/h in an 80km/h speed zone about 9.55pm yesterday.
“Attempting to get the driver to pull over our, the officer activated his lights and sirens but the driver fled off at speed and a pursuit was initiated under the management of the Police Northern Communications Centre.
“The pursuit was abandoned a short time later after the driver turned on to Airport Rd after taking the Tamahere off-ramp and then did a U-turn, driving south in the northbound lane of the Tamahere Expressway.”
Mr McDonald said given the reckless nature of the fleeing driver’s behaviour, immediately abandoning the pursuit was the right option course of action.
“The Subaru was last seen heading towards Duncan Rd in Tamahere and has not been seen since.
“The car is not believed to have been stolen as we have identified the registered owner who on-sold the vehicle to a young man in Auckland three weeks ago. The car has also been seen driving in the North Hamilton and Ngaruawahia areas. ”
Mr McDonald said Police are seeking the public’s help in locating the car and driver to remove a risk posed to all road users using the Waikato roading network.
“We’re asking that anyone who see the car or knows who the identity of the driver makes contact with Constable Will Hamilton of the Waikato Highway Patrol on 07 858 6200. At the same time we would encourage the driver of the car to consider his current position and make contact with Police.”
Alternatively, Mr McDonald said information can be left anonymously with the independent Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.
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Canterbury farmer pleads guilty to ill treatment of dairy cows
Leeston dairy farmer Clyde McIntosh today pleaded guilty to three charges brought under the Animal Welfare Act by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) in the Christchurch District Court.
The farm company McIntosh is a Director of, Riverbrae Dairy Farm Ltd, pleaded guilty to four charges including recklessly ill‑treating dairy cows.
The charges arose after a member of the public reported seeing severely lame dairy cows to MPI in May last year. Animal Welfare Inspectors visited the Leeston farm concerned, and another block of land in Miners Road leased by the defendant, and found severely lame dairy cows.
MPI District Compliance Manager Peter Hyde says the pain in the hooves of some of the cows was so severe they would not stand or walk to water troughs.
“In one cow maggots were found in an infected hoof. A veterinary inspection determined the affected cows were suffering from laminitis with secondary infections. Sixteen cows were assessed as being unrecoverable and were humanely euthanised. A further 122 mixed age dairy cows were found to be suffering various degrees of lameness requiring veterinary treatment.”
Mr Hyde says the defendant fully cooperated and engaged his veterinarian to provide the required treatment.
When spoken to by Animal Welfare inspectors, Mr McIntosh said he had been walking the cows from the grazing paddocks to the milking shed twice a day. This could have been a distance of up to 12 kilometres. He also said that the farm had received a large amount of rain in April 2014 causing flooding in the paddocks and races. The defendant believed the significant walking distance and the wet paddocks was the likely cause of the lameness.
MPI’s Animal Welfare Inspectors continued to make regular inspections of the farm until the condition of the cows improved.
Peter Hyde says dairy farmers are encouraged to manage and minimise the incidence of lameness as soon as possible to prevent unnecessary pain and distress in dairy cows.
“Those responsible for the health and welfare dairy cows must be competent in recognising lameness and take remedial action. Professional and veterinary advice must be sought when the lameness persists.”
Clyde McIntosh and Riverbrae Dairy Farm Ltd will be sentenced on 11 June 2015.
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Secure Working Hours – Unite Union.[/caption]
The Tsar Bomb of October 30, 1961 test remains the most powerful artificial explosion in human history, created by the Soviet Union it was measured as the equal of 50 megatons of TNT.[/caption]
MPs Phil Goff, Shane Reti and Marama Fox are due to meet with diplomats from the United Kingdom, Russia, the United States, China and France tomorrow to hand deliver a letter calling for their countries to disarm their nuclear weapons.
The letter, with more than 60 signatures attached, is signed by MPs from every political party in Parliament.
Chair of the New Zealand Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Phil Goff said the letter was directed at the five official nuclear states who signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1970.
“Forty five years ago, in recognition of the destructive power of nuclear weapons, which have the potential to destroy civilisation, a grand bargain was struck between the then five states with nuclear weapons and other nations.
“The non-weapon states agreed not to seek to acquire nuclear weapons while nuclear states agreed as a quid pro quo to implement disarmament.
“By and large non-proliferation has been successful, although India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea have since acquired nuclear weapons
“Despite repeating an unequivocal undertaking to disarm, the nuclear states have failed to fulfil their side of the bargain, and there are now 17,000 nuclear war heads in existence – far more than is needed as a deterrent and enough to destroy the world many times over.
“Later this month the Non-Proliferation Review Conference will see all the signatory states meeting in New York to review progress and set plans for the future.
“Our letter bluntly calls on the nuclear states to fulfil their promise and begin the process of nuclear disarmament now or risk the breakdown of the NPT process.
“In delivering the message directly to the representatives of those states we will leave them in no doubt as to the strong views held by the New Zealand Parliament and this country, and our expectations of them at the forthcoming conference,” Phil Goff said.
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Bill English.[/caption]
Comments from the State Housing Action Network that the Government is abdicating its responsibility to social housing tenants are completely incorrect, Finance Minister Bill English says.
“Our social housing reforms will provide more social housing for New Zealanders in need, and we will grow the community housing sector while maintaining Housing New Zealand as by far the largest provider of social housing,” Mr English says.
Community housing providers already own or manage around 5,000 properties around New Zealand, and have a proven track record of delivering services for their tenants. Their core business is providing safe, affordable social housing for New Zealanders in need, which is why we want to work with them to provide more quality social housing.
“Resolving some of New Zealand’s longstanding social challenges requires the Government to be open to working with community groups, non-government agencies and the private sector,” Mr English says. “We don’t have a monopoly on good ideas.”
“The Government has set bottom-line commitments about the social housing changes which will help ensure there is greater support for tenants, including:
Youth Affairs Minister Nikki Kaye.[/caption]
Youth Minister Nikki Kaye was pleased to address the opening of the four-day UN Youth Declaration in Auckland today.
“This is a great opportunity for young people to have a say on matters that are important to them, and for their voice to be heard,” says Ms Kaye.
Over the four days, participants take part in workshops and debates covering a range of public policy areas, from education and the environment to foreign affairs, law and order and social development.
“The recommendations that flow out of these workshops and debates are compiled into a declaration that is presented to various stakeholders.
“I told the young people this morning that their recommendations will be taken seriously by the government.
“For example, issues raised in the 2013 declaration included bullying, pressures on young people, youth suicide and mental health.
“Since then various actions have been taken to address these issues, and the declaration has at times reinforced the importance of policies in these key areas.
“Some initiatives that have happened include a bullying prevention guide for schools, a youth crime action plan, a self-help, e-therapy tool to help young people combat depression and anxiety, and cross-agency work to address family and sexual violence.
“I’ve committed to sharing this year’s declaration with my colleagues and making sure it’s passed on to officials within our ministries.
“Events such as the declaration are an important way to help develop tomorrow’s leaders, and enable the views of young people to be reflected in policy-making.
“This year is particularly notable, as it sees the 20th anniversary of the United Nations World Programme of Action for Youth.
“The occasion is being marked by a #YouthNow campaign, and I encourage young people to be part of this by joining or leading online conversations, writing blogs, hosting events and raising awareness of youth issues on social media.”
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After climbing 16 cents per litre during February, petrol prices continued to rise during March before falling later in the month. They initially rose 4 cents per litre before falling 4 cents to end the month on $1.92 per litre for 91 octane at most outlets. Diesel prices fell 2 cents in March to $1.20 per litre in the main centres.
“Despite the increases of the last few months, retail prices are still the lowest in over four years,” says AA PetrolWatch spokesperson Mark Stockdale.
“Since mid-January, the commodity price for petrol has risen nearly 30 per cent, or US$16 a barrel, while the New Zealand dollar has fallen nearly 4 cents against the US dollar. At the same time, the commodity price for diesel has risen US$9 a barrel. In that time, petrol pump prices have increased 20 cents a litre, with diesel up 13 cents per litre,” Mr Stockdale added.
Shop around for lower prices. The AA advises motorists to be on the lookout for lower fuel prices, with many service stations in parts of the North Island discounting prices. In some cases, 91 octane petrol is being retailed for $1.60 per litre, more than 30 cents below average.
“New Zealand does not have a single national fuel price, and with most service stations being independently owned, the owners can set their own price. Even company owned stations will adjust prices locally to match competition,” AA PetrolWatch spokesperson Mark Stockdale says.
“The AA’s advice to motorists is to keep an eye out on the price boards and shop around for the lowest prices. Don’t assume that all service stations in a region will be charging the same price.
“If you use premium grade petrol, check the price on the pump – even if the price of petrol is being discounted, it often only applies to 91 octane and not premium grades.”
The AA says if service stations displayed the price of premium fuels on their price boards, it would improve premium petrol price competition and consumer choice. The AA wants the government to make it mandatory for service stations to display the price of all fuels on the price boards.
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Waikato District Health Board Chief executive Dr Nigel Murray.[/caption]
Waikato District Health Board chief executive Dr Nigel Murray has thanked the NZ Police for their work in apprehending the two patients who escaped from Henry Rongomau Bennett Centre in Hamilton earlier this week (see earlier release below and police release today).
“We are looking forward to getting them back so that we can continue their rehabilitative care,” he said.
“In the interim, I am thinking very carefully about the terms of reference for the external review I signalled I would undertake on our mental health services.”
This independent review will look at clinical practice, systems and processes and if there are any physical issues with the Centre itself. It will also consider any similarities between recent incidents in which patients have left the Centre.
“With regard to Nicholas Stevens’ tragic death, I again extend my deepest condolences to his family. I want to be totally transparent. I will be meeting with Nicholas’ family when I have the information I need. The meeting will occur as soon as practicable.
“I can confirm we have included in the review of Nicholas’ death an independent psychiatrist and mental health nursing leader. The review will be conducted under standard Health and Quality Safety Commission guidelines. The matter has also been referred to the Coroner.”
ends
