This edition of NewsRoom_Digest contains seven media release snippets and four links of the day from Wednesday 1st April.
BREAKING NEWS: Mark Lundy has again been found guilty of the 2002 murders of his wife and daughter. The jury delivered the unanimous verdict at the High Court in Wellington after deliberating for 16 hours over two days.
Top stories in this news cycle currently include the Government’s housing affordability targets losing momentum as latest figures reveal nationwide property values rose 7.7 percent in the year to March, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment to take enforcement action against 19 farms for breach of employment laws, and a report in the NZ Herald that protocols are being drawn up by doctors to refer obese children to protection services should parents ignore medical advice.
Earlier today we tweeted our congratulations to Radio New Zealand on the occasion of Morning Report’s 40th anniversary – follow us on Twitter at @newsroom_nz and check out our latest posts of featured content at http://newsroomplus.com/the-journal/ – including today’s article by correspondent Richard F. Naidu: A Tale Of Two Flags.
SNIPPETS OF THE DAY
Iraq Training Prep Moves To Next Phase: New Zealand Defence Force personnel bound for deployment to train Iraqi security forces will have an Easter break with their families before the contingent heads to Australia and the next phase of preparation with the Australian Defence Force. A number of NZ Defence Force personnel have already travelled to Australia, to train with their Australian counterparts as they routinely would during preparation for a joint mission. About 50 soldiers travelled to Australia last week, with most now returned to New Zealand. A further 60 went to Australia this week, and will be back in New Zealand for Easter.
Green Party: Children Must Come First: The well-being of children must be the paramount consideration underlining the Government’s review of Child Youth and Family (CYF), the Green Party said today. “CYF has a long history of performance and organisational issues, and has been long in need of an overhaul. The Greens are giving our qualified support to the review announced by Social Development Minister Anne Tolley today,” said Jan Logie, the Green Party’s Social Development Spokesperson.
NZ First: Air NZ Snubs South Island: New Zealand First Leader Rt Hon Winston Peters is calling on the Prime Minister to use taxpayer control of Air New Zealand to stop the airline axing its Christchurch to Tokyo route in favour of Auckland. “This latest axing by Air New Zealand is a massive snub to exporters and tourism in the South Island,” Mr Peters said.
More Support For Families: Additional support for families through an extension to Paid Parental Leave and an increase to the minimum wage comes into effect today, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Woodhouse says. Paid Parental Leave will extend from 14 to 16 weeks today and by another two weeks next year, while further improvements to the scheme are also being progressed. The adult minimum wage will increase from $14.25 to $14.75 an hour from today and the starting-out and training hourly minimum wages will increase by 40 cents to $11.80 an hour.
SFF And Forestry: New Zealand’s forestry sector will benefit from five new projects in the latest round of the Sustainable Farming Fund (SFF), Associate Primary Industries Minister Jo Goodhew announced today. “Around $1.2 million has been committed over four financial years towards five new SFF projects involving the forestry sector,” Ms Goodhew says. “SFF continues to be a great example of government supporting foresters to ensure the sustainability of our primary industries.” The forestry projects are part of the 29 new SFF projects announced today—following the 2015/16 SFF funding round held last year.
Protecting NZ Wine: New Zealand’s largest wine exporter has welcomed yesterday’s announcement from Steven Joyce, the Minister of Economic Development, and NZ Winegrowers, that the government will implement legislation for approved geographical indicators to protect New Zealand’s internationally famous wine growing regions and products. Geographical indicators are considered a mark of quality due to the positive reputation of products from the area of origin and are often seen on international products – such as Champagne and Scotch whisky – to protect brands and regions.
Dairy Audit Results Reaction: Federated Farmers is disappointed in the findings released today by the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment in their compliance operation. Andrew Hoggard, Federated Farmers Dairy Chair, says “It is not a great look for our industry to have this number of dairy farmers not meeting the minimum employment requirements. This is why Federated Farmers has and will continue to focus on this area.” “MBIE inspectors targeted some of the farmers who were known to have existing employment compliance concerns, while others were random, so ratios of compliance cannot be generalised to dairy farmers at large.
LINKS OF THE DAY
TAX ON EMPLOYEE SHARE SCHEME: Revenue Minister Todd McClay has welcomed the release this week of an Inland Revenue officials’ issues paper that seeks feedback on options to simplify the way tax is collected from employees participating in employee share schemes. “The options presented in the paper represent a small but important step in Inland Revenue’s longer term Business transformation programme to modernise the way the tax system is administered and make it easier for New Zealanders to get their tax right,” Mr McClay says. The issues paper, Simplifying the collection of tax on employee share schemes,can be found at: www.taxpolicy.ird.govt.nz
COUNTERFEIT BANK NOTES: Police have received a number of reports in recent days of counterfeit bank notes being used at retailers around the North Island. The notes have been $20, $50 and $100 denominations. Typically the offenders have gone into shops and supermarkets, purchased a small item using a large denomination note and then received legitimate cash as change. You can also view this release, including any additional images, online at:http://www.police.govt.nz/news/release/counterfeit-bank-notes
ANZ BUSINESS MICRO SCOPE: Finding skilled staff remains the No 1 challenge for small firms as sentiment lifts further to near-record levels, according to ANZ’s quarterly Business Micro Scope survey of small firms. Business owners expect to further up their activity, investment and employment over the coming year, pointing to solid growth for small firms, but cite a lack of staff with the right skills as their biggest constraint. Read more here:
http://www.anz.co.nz/about-us/economic-markets-research/business-micro-scope/
BEST NEW ZEALAND POEMS: Launched today, Best New Zealand Poems, published by Victoria University of Wellington’s International Institute of Modern Letters (IIML), brings together 25 poems rich with place and locality, selected by New Zealand’s Poet Laureate Vincent O’Sullivan. The diverse collection of poems attests to the strength of voices both long established and new—featuring work by poet Kevin Ireland whose first book came out more than 50 years ago, and Victoria Master of Arts 2013 graduate Claire Orchard who is yet to publish a book. Best New Zealand Poems 2014 can be viewed at: www.victoria.ac.nz/bestnzpoems
And that’s our sampling of the day that was on Wednesday 1st April 2015.
Brought to EveningReport by Newsroom Digest.
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NewsRoom Digest: Top NZ News Items for April 1, 2015
Gareth Renowden on The Age of Sustainable Development
Hot-Topic.co.nz
The Age of Sustainable Development
IT IS PROFOUNDLY DEPRESSING to hear pundits and politicians talking about the prospects for economic growth with no reference to either equity or environmental constraints.
In the case of New Zealand a “rock star” economy can apparently develop accompanied by dismaying levels of child poverty, excited expectations of new oil and gas discoveries which spell disaster for the climate, and a burgeoning dairy industry paying scant attention to the environmental consequences of its rapid growth.
Fortunately there are more discerning economists on the world stage for whom economic growth is only welcome when it means an end to poverty and when it fully respects strict environmental limits. Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, is an outstanding example. His latest book The Age of Sustainable Development is heavily focused on the ending of poverty in parts of the world where it remains endemic and is relentless in its recognition of the severe environmental strains that economic development and soaring population growth are placing on the earth systems on which human life depends.
The book was developed as part of a global open online course of the same name offered by the Earth Institute and already taken, Sachs reports, by tens of thousands of students around the world.
The book presents a picture of rapid economic growth and population explosion since the industrial revolution got under way in Britain and spread into Europe and America. But it’s an uneven growth and many countries have barely experienced it, not least, Sachs suggests, because of western colonialism which was more interested in the exploitation of the colonies than in their participation in economic development.
Addressing this lag in development and the extreme poverty which often attends it is a primary task for development practitioners. Sachs dismisses sweeping simplistic diagnoses (corruption) or prescriptions (cut government spending) or referrals (to the IMF) and instead urges diagnoses that are accurate and effective for the conditions, history, geography, culture, and economic structure of the countries in question. Many countries are caught in poverty traps through no fault of their own and the aim is to assist them out of that and on to the first rungs of the development ladder.
Sachs is also alert to the relative poverty within developed countries, including the indigenous societies and other ethnic minority groups neglected in the economic development of the societies in which they are placed. Social justice is integral to the concept of development in his book.
Turning to the question of environmental boundaries Sachs asks whether a world that is prosperous and socially inclusive can also be environmentally sustainable. He argues that with careful and science-based attention to growing environmental threats we can harmonise growth and sustainability. That’s not the “balance” that our own government so glibly claims to be achieving between growth and environmental protection. Sachs aims at a full recognition of environmental boundaries.
His treatment of climate change is a prime example of the seriousness with which he takes the environmental challenges to development. In a packed chapter he offers a lucid explanation of the basic science and the consequences of the human-induced changes to the climate. In this he provides yet another example of the fact that there is no excuse for scientific ignorance among educated people in this issue of such moment for human life. One does not need to be a scientist to understand the basic thrust of climate science. His conclusion is entirely appropriate:
“The fact is that we should be truly scared, and not just scared, but scared into action—both to mitigate climate change by reducing GHG emissions and to adapt to climate change by raising the preparedness and resilience of our economies and societies.”Not that it’s an easy task. Sachs describes it as an economic problem beyond comparison with any other, for several reasons the toughest policy problem humanity has ever faced. Climate change is a global crisis, meaning the whole world must be mobilised. It is also an inter-generational crisis and humanity is not good at confronting longer-term challenges. It means forsaking the fossil fuels on which the success of modern economic growth has depended. The crisis is slow-moving, making it difficult to sense urgency. The solutions are operationally complex, covering a wide range of changes. Finally, the energy sector is home to the world’s most powerful companies whose lobbying clout is not directed towards climate solutions. Against this list one wonders that Sachs finds any confidence, but he works his way through the technologies which exist to enable the transition away from fossil fuels, and concludes that the world has climate solutions but that what it lacks is the time for further delay. Climate change is only one of the environmental issues he confronts. He is equally rigorous on species extinction and the loss of biodiversity, on the capacity to grow food for a still rapidly expanding population, on ocean acidification and a range of other threats. It’s a daunting picture. Sachs writes strikingly of the difficulties in addressing it:
“…it is very hard in our noisy, disparate, divided, crowded, congested, distracted, and often overwhelmed world to mobilize any consistency of effort to achieve any of our common purposes.”In this context he advances the importance of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) to be put for adoption to the UN General Assembly this year to cover the period up to 2030, taking the place of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) adopted in 2000. The MDG were mainly focused on poor countries, but the SDG will have universal application, and Sachs sees them as offering a sense of common direction to individuals, organisations, and governments all over the world. Ideas count. Sachs sees that as his most important message. If it seems a frail defence against the inequality and environmental heedlessness which characterises much of our activity it is nevertheless one he stoutly defends. Ideas can have an effect on public policy far beyond anything that can be imagined by the hard-bitten cynics, he claims. Look at the powerful and embedded economic institution of slavery eventually overcome by the ideas and morality of the anti-slavery campaigners. Consider Ghandi’s lead in helping to end colonialism. Think of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, of Martin Luther King, of women’s rights.
So there’s something of the moral idealist underneath all the marshalling of economic facts and figures and the unflinching analysis of environmental threats which Sachs’ book contains. A stance I find much preferable to the complacent acceptance of the existing order which is still all too manifest in government and business and which bodes nothing short of disaster before the century is out.
]]>Tonight on Evening Report – This Edition’s Top Analysis+Features+Reports
Evening Report.[/caption]
At 8:30pm tonight on Evening Report we cross live to Tunisia in North Africa to talk to New Zealander and foreign correspondent Yasmine Ryan about the ISIS and al Qaeda threat to the region.
Yasmine articles in the Independent (UK) suggest Muammar Gaddafi’s soldiers are back in Libya and are fighting under the ISIS flag.
And both ISIS and al Qaeda claim responsibility for the Bardo Museum massacre in Tunisia. Have the two terror organisations merged or is there more to this propaganda offensive? LIVE ON EVENINGREPORT.NZ FROM 8:30pm.
ALSO FROM 7:30pm TONIGHT Gareth Renowden writes on The Age of Sustainable Development..
IT IS PROFOUNDLY DEPRESSING to hear pundits and politicians talking about the prospects for economic growth with no reference to either equity or environmental constraints.
In the case of New Zealand a “rock star” economy can apparently develop accompanied by dismaying levels of child poverty, excited expectations of new oil and gas discoveries which spell disaster for the climate, and a burgeoning dairy industry paying scant attention to the environmental consequences of its rapid growth.
Fortunately there are more discerning economists on the world stage for whom economic growth is only welcome when it means an end to poverty and when it fully respects strict environmental limits. VISIT EVENINGREPORT.NZ FROM 7:30pm FOR GARETH’S ANALYSIS.
ALSO THIS EVENING’S BREAKING NEWS REPORTS:
ALSO: Mark Lundy’s Brother Craig Thank Police for Working Tirelessly on Mother-Daughter Murder Investigation
— MORE EVENING REPORTS:
HEADLINES
Police welcome verdict in Lundy homicide re-trial
Police Association welcomes guilty verdict in Lundy Re-Trial
Police Association president, Greg O’Connor.[/caption]
“The New Zealand Police Association welcomes the Lundy guilty verdict on behalf of the police teams involved in both the investigations and trials,” Police Association President Greg O’Connor said today.
“We hope this will be the end of the criticism of the police and prosecution teams involved, and we hope that the family and officers can now move on with their lives,” Mr O’Connor said.
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]]>Mark Lundy’s Brother Craig Thank Police for Working Tirelessly on Mother-Daughter Murder Investigation
[caption id="attachment_2826" align="alignright" width="150"]
Craig Lundy.[/caption]
“For the past few months we have had to relive the moment we were told a despicable human being took the lives of our much cherished sister-in-law Christine, and our beautiful niece, Amber.
This has been an emotional roller coaster for us and while today brings some form of closure, the loss of our loved ones will always remain with us.
We want to thank the Police, particularly those who have worked tirelessly on the investigation from the outset. The work they have done has been sterling and we are grateful for their efforts as well as the support they have given us.
The outpouring of generosity and support from our family and friends has been incredibly humbling. Thank you for being there for us through those days where it seemed like there was no hope. We cannot express enough the gratitude and admiration we have for you all.
We do not wish to comment any further and ask the media to respect our request for privacy.”
ENDS
Real changes must come from CYF review – Ardern
Labour MP, Jacinda Ardern.[/caption]
A well-overdue revamp of Child, Youth and Family cannot be just another cost cutting exercise, Labour’s Children’s spokesperson Jacinda Ardern says.
“Labour has been pushing for a review for some time. It was part of our policy at the election.
“Any number of concerns have been raised, not only about ongoing resourcing issues, but also about whether CYF is equipped and supported to do what it is tasked to do – improving the lives of vulnerable young Kiwis.
“While we support a review taking place, some of the language around the process is disturbing, particularly Social Development Minister Anne Tolley’s terminology of an ‘investment approach’.
“This is the same language that was used when Paula Bennett went on a cost cutting exercise through work and income. The wellbeing of children should come first, not ideology.
“For example, the review includes ‘consideration of the costs and benefits of increasing the age of leaving care.’
“Under current laws a 17-year-old is regarded as no longer being a child and no longer in need of care and protection. That is the youngest age of discharge from the statutory care system in the western world, and needs to change. It’s not about cost, it’s about doing the right thing and that goes for the entire review.
“While Ms Tolley seems to be focused on how to do more with less, Paula Rebstock and other panel members must ensure that, rather than just shuffling deck chairs and simply re-distributing funds, this review makes a real difference,” Jacinda Ardern says.
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Surge in New Zealand’s broadband speeds – Amy Adams
Amy Adams, Minister of Communications.[/caption]
Latest international figures on broadband speeds have reported New Zealand’s average connection speeds have increased by almost 60 per cent in the past year, said Communications Minister Amy Adams.
The Akamai State of the Internet report found that New Zealand’s average peak connection speed rose to 34.3 Mbps in the December 2014 quarter, representing a 59 per cent annual improvement – the highest increase in the Asia Pacific region.
The report also found that the average broadband connection speed rose to 7.3 Mbps (from 7.0 Mbps in the previous quarter) – representing a 39 per cent year on year increase.
“These trends are extremely encouraging and point to the Government’s rollout of Ultra-Fast Broadband as helping lift the availability and adoption of high-speed connectivity across New Zealand,” says Ms Adams.
“Better connectivity is fundamentally important if more New Zealanders are going to participate in the digital economy.
“Connectivity is vital to homes, schools and businesses around New Zealand and it’s critical that we not only increase the spread of connectivity but the speeds in which people can access and share information online,” says Ms Adams.
Full report can be found at www.akamai.com/stateoftheinternet.
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VIDEO: ‘My daughter’s education is my duty,’ says Vanuatu cyclone father
MIL OSI Analysis – Pacific Media Centre/Pacific Media Watch Ten-year-old Joana Bani tells her story at Black Sand near Vanuatu’s capital of Port Vila. Video: UNDP Pacific
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
Item: 9189
Alice Clements PORT VILA (UNDP Pacific/Pacific Media Watch): Edward Bani understands sacrifice. He supports his family in Black Sand, one of Port Vila’s poorest communities, by working as a labourer building roads on Tanna Island, a boat journey of several days from Vanuatu’s capital. He was there when Cyclone Pam, an unprecedented Category 5 tropical cyclone, hit Vanuatu, bringing absolute destruction and affecting more than half the country’s population on 22 islands. Telecommunications on Tanna Island were cut off for more than a week and he was desperate to get home to check on his family. Frantic with worry he went to Tanna airport and, after some time, managed to get a seat on a flight back to Port Vila with a NGO. He went straight to Black Sand and was reunited with his family.
“I was so relieved to see my children Susian (1), Joana (10), Fred (18) and my wife. We all cried when we were reunited. I was so relieved. But then I saw the house. There was nothing left. Our crops had gone and there was no power on, even now it’s still not on.”
“We have moved into the kitchen [a tin shed separate to the house] which we have repaired a little but we have no money to rebuild our home. The only way to get money is to leave my family again and return to Tanna to work. I don’t want to leave them at this time but it’s our only choice. Perhaps they will have to stay in our kitchen for another two months while I earn a little money”
Like most people in Vanuatu, Edward and his family depend on their fruit and vegetable gardens as their main source of food. Supermarket supplies are expensive to buy, especially so after the storm.
Money is a big problem but he’s quick to add that his daughter Joana will return to her studies as soon her badly-damaged school opens.
“I don’t know where we will find the money but it’s my duty as a father to educate her. Education is her future.”
Alice Clements is a UNDP Pacific journalist. This article was originally published on the UNDP Pacific blog.
Watch the video to hear Joana’s story
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 New Zealand Licence.
]]>WEST PAPUA: Media restrictions over simmering struggle 50 years on
MIL OSI Analysis – Pacific Media Centre/Pacific Media Watch
A rally in Jakarta for the Free Papua Movement. Image: CPJ/ReutersWednesday, April 1, 2015
Item: 9190
Bob Dietz NEW YORK (Committee to Protect Journalists/ Pacific Media Watch): One of the least covered armed conflicts in the world is the long-simmering struggle between Indonesia’s military and the independence-seeking Free Papua Movement. Under Indonesia’s seven successive post-independence governments–the early ones led by autocratic strongmen, the recent ones more or less democratically elected–the world has been deprived of details of the persistent low-intensity battle for autonomy playing out in the Papuan provinces. Without open media access in the Papua and West Papua provinces, alleged abuses by security forces operating without media scrutiny will hound any bid by President Joko Widodo to bring peace and prosperity to the resource-rich region: a promise he made on assuming office in October. Given Indonesia’s experience in Timoe-Leste, it is no wonder successive Indonesian governments have restricted media access to its Papua and West Papua provinces. Unable to completely stifle media coverage of East Timor during a bloody 27-year war for independence that ended in 2002, Indonesia’s leaders appear determined not to lose another part of its far-flung archipelago by having troublesome reporters, international or Indonesian, expose what is happening in Papua. Economic and social effects And there are discomfiting economic and social angles too: Restricted press coverage has meant little media scrutiny of Freeport-McMoRan Incorporated’s Indonesian copper mine at Grasberg, the world’s largest gold and second largest copper mine in the world. The American-owned company has long been Indonesia’s top tax payer, and its remote operations in Papua have been targeted by insurgents and environmental groups. Journalists–including a BBC team who wanted to visit the mine in 2011 when reporting on strikes–often find access is denied. Despite the wealth of its natural resources, Papua has historically fallen far behind in development compared to Indonesia’s other regions, analysts say. The region’s literacy rate is around 74 percent, Indonesia’s lowest, and Papuans find themselves under increasing demographic pressure, too. Indonesia’s in-country migration is coming close to making Papuans a minority in their traditional homeland. About 50 percent of the population in Papua and West Papua are from other parts of Indonesia, and the in-flow seems most likely to continue, analysts say. Many things seem deeply amiss in Papua, and they are going unreported. Restricted access to foreign journalists Because of the media restrictions, it is largely foreign journalists who get the international attention that comes with being detained and eventually shipped back home. An Australian academic, Ross Tapsell, in his book By-Lines, Balibo, Bali Bombings: Australian Journalists in Indonesia, published in January, has a large section on restrictions in Papua dating back to the 1960s. Indonesia continues to require international correspondents to secure special visas before entering the country. The government seldom, if ever, issues permission to investigative journalists. “Eighteen ministries and related institution are involved in the process to issue a permit,” according to the Foreign Ministry’s Director of Information and Media, Siti Sofia Sudarma. She was testifying at the October 2014 trial of the French documentary filmmakers Thomas Dandois and Valentine Bourrat, who were convicted of breaking immigration laws by trying to film in Papua. The pair had been detained for almost three months before being expelled from the country after their conviction. Their trial coincided with President Widodo’s election campaign, in which he promised to address Papua’s problems. Siti said that, according to the ministry’s data, 28 international journalists had submitted permit requests to cover news in Papua and West Papua in 2013. She said 21 had been allowed to enter the two provinces. But Andreas Harsono, a Jakarta-based researcher for Human Rights Watch, told CPJ by email that those getting the permits are tourism writers or Japanese journalists covering the search for remains of soldiers killed during World War II. And such restrictions beg the question of what is so special about Papua and why journalists are allowed to cover other areas of Indonesia with little government interference. The restrictions go against Indonesia’s 1999 Press Law, which says there should be no restrictions on journalists in Indonesia. Pressures on local journalists It is not just outsiders who have complaints about access to Papua. As we have reported over the years, Indonesian journalists are prey to a host of malevolent actors–from politicians and the military to religious hardliners and business owners. And unless they are native Papuans, Indonesia’s journalists have an almost impossible time getting in to cover the story. As far back as 1999, CPJ noted that ethnic and communal violence in many parts of the country made local reporters’ jobs increasingly dangerous. More recent assessments by groups including Human Rights Watch show the situation has deteriorated further despite pledges from successive governments to address the political confrontation. There was a sense of optimism following Widodo’s election. We called it a Window of opportunity to advance press freedom in Indonesia following a mission there in late 2014. But we noted steady pressure on media across the country. The 2008 Electronic Information and Transactions Law targets web commentators with up to six years in prison, and up to IDR 1 billion ($80,800) in fines. Criminal defamation cases carry a nine-month jail term. And a worrisome state secrets bill, viewed by critics as a threat to freedom of information, remains under discussion. Nor has there has been movement to address impunity in the cases of 10 journalists confirmed to have been killed for their work since 1992. Eight of them appear to have been murdered, according to CPJ data. In such a context, it is realistic to view the president’s pledge to allow international journalists and organisations access to Papua and West Papua with a high degree of skepticism until those restrictions are lifted, a promise that can be quickly and easily fulfilled. Bob Dietz is CPJ’s Asia programme coordinator. Journalist’s harrowing account of ‘press freedom’ in West Papua
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 New Zealand Licence. ]]>
$7.8m for new sustainable farming projects – NZ Govt
MIL OSI – Source: New Zealand Government – $7.8m for new sustainable farming projects 29 new projects have been approved for $7.8 million in new funding over four years through the Sustainable Farming Fund (SFF), Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy has announced today. “These are grass-roots projects that support farmers, growers and foresters to tackle shared problems and develop new opportunities. They will deliver real economic, environmental and social benefits. “For example, one project will develop industry tools for farmers to improve their farm practices to improve water quality and infrastructure, while reducing nutrient loss. “Other projects aim to increase the productivity of onion and potato growers, improve farmer uptake of summer forages, and help tackle the risk of rot in apples.” Co-funders will also invest $16.3 million in the 29 projects over four years. “Over the past 15 years the SFF has invested over $120 million in 948 projects benefiting New Zealand’s primary industries including, dairy, meat, arable, forestry, horticulture and aquaculture.” An evaluation of the SFF completed in early 2014 concluded that it is achieving its goals of funding projects that contribute to the economic, environmental and social well-being of New Zealand’s primary industries. The next round of funding for the SFF will open in mid 2015. For further information about the 29 new SFF projects, visit: http://www.mpi.govt.nz/funding-and-programmes/farming/sustainable-farming-fund/ About the Sustainable Farming Fund
- The SFF supports the financial, environmental and social performance of New Zealand’s productive land-based, marine and aquaculture sectors. It does this by funding projects that are:
- Based around solving problems; or taking up opportunities, related to sustainable resource use; and
- Defined and driven by a farmer, grower or forester-led “community of interest” (groups of stakeholders drawn together by common problems or opportunities).
- 61 applications requesting a total of $16.58 million were considered by the independent assessment panel for the 2015/16 funding round
- Eight million dollars (GST excl) is available as baseline funding in each financial year. The funding is contestable and applications are subjected to an assessment process with final recommendations made by an independent panel.
- The funding investment by government in each project is matched by significant cash co-funding and in-kind support by industry, community groups and individuals. The SFF can fund up to 80 percent of the projects, however on average projects leverage approximately 50 percent of cash and in-kind from other parties.
- The fund has been independently evaluated four times since its inception, with each evaluation highlighting the economic, social and environmental benefits of the investment. The most recent evaluation was completed in 2014.
MBIE enforces action on dairy farms for alleged employment law breaches
MIL OSI – Source: New Zealand Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment MBIE – MBIE takes enforcement action for dairy farm employment law breaches Enforcement action is being taken against 19 employers in the dairy industry for breaching employment law following a three month operation by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. The Ministry’s Labour Inspectorate visited 29 dairy farms in nine regions to check their compliance with employment laws. More than half were targeted due to information about likely non-compliance. “The level of non-compliance identified during this operation was extremely high and it was disappointing to find that a significant number of farmers still do not have systems in place to keep accurate time and wage records that are compliant with employment legislation,” says Natalie Gardiner, Labour Inspectorate Central Regional Manager. Mrs Gardiner says MBIE issued 15 Improvement Notices and four Enforceable Undertakings for a total of 71 minimum employment standard breaches. The majority of breaches related to poor record keeping but several farms had significant minimum wage breaches and there is estimated arrears owed – of over $120,000. Nine of the more serious cases are being considered for filing with the Employment Relations Authority. “The Ministry takes the exploitation of workers very seriously and is working proactively to crackdown on it through compliance operations targeting sectors and at risk workers across New Zealand. We are also working with the industry to help equip farmers with the skills and knowledge to be better employers by ensuring they get the basics right.” “We will not hesitate to take action for breaches of employment law. Breaches will be subject to compliance action and potential penalties of up to $10,000 for individuals and $20,000 for companies,” says Mrs Gardiner. The Ministry encourages anyone in this situation, or who knows of anyone in this situation, to call its contact centre on 0800 20 90 20 where their concerns will be handled in a safe environment. –]]>
ACT Gets Twitchy – Leader Says National looks after everyone but taxpayers
MIL OSI – Source: ACT Party – National looks after everyone but taxpayers
“National is parading its indexation of welfare payments while refusing to do the same with tax brackets,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.
“Benefits were adjusted for inflation today. What about the workers? Tax brackets should be adjusted too.
“This fiscal year, a person on the average income will pay another $378 in tax as inflation pushes them into higher brackets, even if they have no increase in real spending power. They have already paid an extra $649 since 2010.
“The average household has already paid an extra $1036 since 2010, and will pay $431 more this year.
Taxpayers are today being asked to fund:
· Government grants for first home buyers of up to $20,000;
· A two-week extension to paid parental leave;
· NZ Superannuation increases, heralded as growing at twice the rate of inflation since 2008.
“If the government wants to fund this by increasing taxes, it should do so openly and honestly, not through stealth taxation.”
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Many regions need by-election levels of support – Labour
Labour MP, David Clark.[/caption]
Northland is not the only region struggling under the National Government, but unfortunately places like Gisborne, Whanganui and Tasman do not have by-elections on the horizon, Labour’s Economic Development spokesperson David Clark says.
“A desperate National Party has thrown money at the Northland region and promises more to come. It’s good that John Key is finally looking north of Helensville after decades of neglect but many other regions must be wishing they had a by-election coming up too.
“For example, while unemployment has increased in Northland in the past six years, it has also increased in every other region.
“The median household income has increased marginally in Northland, but decreased in Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, Hawkes Bay, Manawatu, Wanganui, Tasman, Nelson, Marlborough and the West Coast.
“And as we all know, NZTA transport funding has been cut in Northland over the past six years but it has also been cut in Gisborne, Hawkes Bay, Taranaki, Manawatu, Wanganui, Tasman, Nelson, Marlborough and the West Coast.
“Sadly Northland is not the only region that has been neglected in this country. In fact other regions are doing worse in key statistics.
“If National’s regional MPs really want to make a difference to their communities, it seems the best thing they can do is resign,” David Clark said.
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Changes to provide more support for families – Woodhouse
Michael Woodhouse, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister.[/caption]
Additional support for families through an extension to Paid Parental Leave and an increase to the minimum wage comes into effect today, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Woodhouse says.
Paid Parental Leave will extend from 14 to 16 weeks today and by another two weeks next year, while further improvements to the scheme are also being progressed. The adult minimum wage will increase from $14.25 to $14.75 an hour from today and the starting-out and training hourly minimum wages will increase by 40 cents to $11.80 an hour.
“These initiatives are good news for families and deliver on the Government’s commitment to helping families, but there’s more to come,” Mr Woodhouse says.
“The Government has also confirmed a package of measures to further improve access to Paid Parental Leave.
“These measures include extending eligibility to more workers and increasing the flexibility of the scheme to better reflect the diversity of modern work and family arrangements and make it easier for parents to stay connected to the workforce.
“The Government is committed to helping children get a good start in life and that New Zealand’s parental leave framework better supports Kiwi families.”
The Paid Parental Leave changes will be reflected in a Bill to be introduced around the middle of the year. They include:
- Extending parental leave payments to non-standard workers (such as casual, seasonal, and employees with more than one employer) and those who have recently changed jobs
- Extending entitlements to ‘primary carers’ other than biological or formal adoptive parents such as permanent guardians, Home for Life carers, whāngai parents, and grandparents.
- Enabling employees to take the leave more flexibly, by mutual agreement with the employer
North Shore Police charge four people after two stolen car incidents in two hours
Auckland Council brings forward Ports study
Auckland Council deputy mayor, Penny Hulse.[/caption]
The study was to take place after the Unitary Plan became operational in the middle of next year, however the committee wanted to begin the study as soon as possible given the high level of interest in port activities.
As a result of today’s meeting, work will immediately being on designing the Port Future Study including its terms of reference and scope. These will be reported back to the council within a month.
The study itself will begin as soon as possible after that, will involve a wide range of community stakeholders and will be complete within a year.
“The people of Auckland have made it very clear they want to be involved in any discussion about the future of our port and bringing the study forward is the sensible thing to do,” said committee chair Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse.
“We must immediately set to work on the study’s terms of reference which need to be innovative and inclusive so we can hear all of the different voices.”
Ms Hulse and Mayor Len Brown expressed their concern that Ports of Auckland had not always fully engaged with Aucklanders and their desire for a culture change within the company.
The committee also discussed a letter from Auckland Council Chief Executive Stephen Town to Auckland Council Investments Limited outlining the council’s expectations of its board in relation to the Ports of Auckland.
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Asbestos needs a ban and a plan – petition presented
Sam Huggard – CTU secretary.[/caption]
Workers have today presented a petition signed by over a thousand New Zealanders calling on the Government to ban the importation of asbestos and develop a comprehensive plan for the removal of all existing asbestos in New Zealand.
“Asbestos is the biggest workplace killer in New Zealand. It kills at least 170 workers annually: more than twice as many workers as accidental deaths at work. The number of people dying from asbestos related diseases (lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis) is increasing and the Government projections are that it will peak at 300: higher than the road toll,” said CTU Secretary, Sam Huggard.
“New Zealand is out of step with other developed countries. We are still importing asbestos containing products. Australia prohibited the import of all asbestos containing products in 2003. Similar bans in the United Kingdom date to the late 1990s.”
“The CTU, on behalf of all workers, calls for the Government to implement a total ban on the importation of asbestos containing materials. This action is overdue and well behind the action which other countries have taken.”
“We are very concerned about asbestos exposure in Christchurch. Public health experts continue to raise concerns about what the impact will be for workers will be in the decades to come.”
“New regulations are proposed that will significantly assist in the management of asbestos: These should be given the highest priority.“
“However, much more action is needed. The CTU recommends a twelve-point plan to deal with asbestos.”
“Many hundreds more people will die as a result of exposure in the next 50 years. We should act now to ensure that this is the lowest number possible, and that there are no more unnecessary exposures to asbestos,” said Huggard.
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Crime falls for fifth year in a row
Headline: Crime falls for fifth year in a row
Police Minister Michael Woodhouse welcomes crime data released today showing recorded crime has dropped by more than 100,000 offences over the last five years.
The 2014 recorded crime rate dropped by 4.2 per cent per head of population, with 10,022 fewer recorded crimes compared to the year before, and 101,016 fewer offences in 2014 compared to 2009.
“The continuous drop in crime over the last five years shows the Government’s strong focus on law and order is delivering great results and preventing more New Zealanders becoming victims of crime,” Mr Woodhouse says.
“It is pleasing to see that crime fell in ten of the twelve Police districts in 2014, with the biggest drop of 9.4 per cent seen in Waikato and 7.8 per cent in Canterbury.
“While sexual violence is historically under-reported, it remains a significant concern with an increase in recorded offences by 3.5 per cent. I encourage victims of sexual assault to continue to come forward and report this crime.
“We are continuing to send the strong message that crime won’t be tolerated and the 4.2 per cent drop in the overall crime rate is the result of more frontline officers on our streets, deployed more strategically, in areas and at times when Police know there’s a greater risk of crime.”
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ACC levy cuts come into effect
On 1 April the first of a series of ACC levy cuts will kick in, returning an estimated $480 million to the New Zealand economy – and kiwis’ wallets. From 1 April 2015 the Work account levy paid by businesses will decrease by an average of 5% This levy covers workplace injuries. From 1 July 2015 the Motor Vehicle levy paid when people register or renew their rego will go down by an average of 41%. The specific amount will be determined by a new risk rating applied to different types of vehicles. The petrol levy kiwis pay at the pump will also go down by 3 cents per litre on 1 July – from 9.90 cents to 6.90 cents per litre. These levy reductions are the result of the Corporation’s strong financial management and sound investments. This has also enabled the Scheme to be fully funded, which means that we’ve collected – and saved – enough in levies to fund the lifetime cost of every current ACC claim. This is the second year in a row that ACC has been able to reduce its levies. For more information on the levy reductions visit www.acc.co.nz/levies. ACC collects different types of levies, to help pay for the cost of injuries that happen in different situations. For example:
- a work levy is paid by employers and self-employed people, to help cover the costs of work-related injuries
- an earners’ levy is paid by everyone in the paid workforce, to help cover the costs of earners’ out-of-work injuries
- motor vehicle levies are paid by vehicle owners, and a petrol levy is included in the cost of petrol bought at the pump, to help cover the costs of injuries involving a moving motor vehicle on a public road.
Why does ACC have investments?
Each year, ACC is required to collect enough funds, via levies, to meet the lifetime costs of all claims received that year. Money not needed immediately is invested, and the interest earned helps meet the future costs of existing claims.Levy rates and injury risk
Where practical, levy rates reflect the risk and cost of injury, eg:- the work levy paid by employers reflects the risk and cost of injuries associated with their particular industry – this is fairer, because those in riskier industries, which generate more claims costs, pay proportionately more than those in less risky industries
- motor vehicle levies are set at different rates for different classes of vehicle, to reflect the different injury risks/costs associated with each vehicle class
- the work levy paid by employers may also be adjusted because of ‘experience rating’ (see below).
What is experience rating, and how does it work?
- the base work levy paid by employers reflects the injury risk/costs of their particular industry, eg the construction industry pays a higher levy rate than bookbinders
- under experience rating, the claims experience of employers within a particular industry is compared, and those with a better performance (eg, fewer claims) than their industry peers may receive a levy discount, while those with a poorer performance may receive a levy loading
- the final work levy paid therefore reflects both the safety performance of your industry compared to other industries, as well as your performance compared to others in your industry.
If ACC is a ‘no fault’ Scheme, why do some people pay higher levies?
- ‘no fault’ refers to the fact that you’re covered by ACC, no matter whether it was something you did, or someone else did, that caused your injury
- the issue of ‘fault’ is different to ‘risk’ – where practical, levy rates are set so they reflect the risk and costs of injury, relevant to the individual levy payer.
ICC Cricket World Cup campaign inspires new generations of BLACKCAPS
MIL OSI – Source: New Zealand Post – ICC Cricket World Cup campaign inspires new generations of BLACKCAPS
Easter Traffic: NZ Transport advises drivers to plan now for a spot in holiday traffic
MIL OSI – Source: New Zealand Transport Agency – Start planning now to book your spot in Easter traffic Mark Owen, NZ Transport Agency Regional Performance Manager, is reminding motorists that heavy traffic is expected during peak travel times over the Easter break, and with a bit of forward planning you can avoid the worst of the traffic and have a safer, smoother and less stressful journey. “Well planned journeys tend to be safe and stress-free journeys. “The best way to travel is to start your journey online. Our online real time highway information service will tell you whether there are any travel warnings or closures ahead. You can also check out the cameras to see how traffic is moving in and out of the city. This means you can choose the best route and time of day to make your journey safely and without rushing.” Mr Owen says there are plenty of ways for the public to keep up to date with traffic conditions so they can make informed travel choices and reduce the chance of experiencing delays during high traffic flows on the highway. People can check the Transport Agency’s website for travel information before heading out, they can call 0800 4 HIGHWAYS, and can also subscribe for email updates at www.onthemove.govt.nz. People can also follow @nztawgtn for local twitter updates. Don’t miss out – how to get in on the rush If you’re travelling on the Coast Road (SH1) north of Kapiti this Easter, then the busiest times to travel will be 1pm – 7pm on Thursday and between 9am – 4pm on Good Friday. The key hotspots on SH1 on Thursday will be the merge at Pukerua Bay and between Raumati and Waikanae on both Thursday and Good Friday. Coming back into Wellington on Easter Monday, the section of SH1 north of Otaki is likely to see traffic queues between 1pm – 5pm. If you’re travelling from Wellington to the Wairarapa this Easter then the busiest time to travel is likely to be between 10am and 12noon on Good Friday. To avoid the traffic, pack your car the night before and leave home early or have lunch at home, then head over the hill in the afternoon. Time your return journey to Wellington earlier in the day on Easter Monday to avoid the busy afternoon period. Getting everyone through the turnstiles While the Transport Agency loves to see hordes of holidaymakers exploring the country, it’s only fair that we undertake crowd management to keep everyone moving – also known as traffic management. During peak travel times the Transport Agency will be closing the SH1 northbound passing lanes, north of Te Horo as well as the southbound passing lane north of Otaki. The closure of the northbound passing lanes will take effect from about 10am – 8pm on both Thursday and Good Friday. They will be monitored and lanes reopened when traffic eases. On Easter Monday, the Transport Agency will close the SH1 southbound passing lane, north of Otaki from 10am and will reopen at 8pm, depending on traffic volumes. If traffic remains heavy, passing lanes will remain closed longer until we are satisfied traffic flows have reduced. Mr Owen says the closure of the passing lanes, which is supported by Police, is done to improve safety and traffic flows during the holiday peaks. “Everyone likes passing lanes but nobody likes queue jumpers. When traffic is building up, unfortunately you can’t have one without the other. By closing the passing lanes when the highway is chocka, traffic flow improves and the risk of nose to tail crashes goes down. “Closing passing lanes during holiday peaks actually means more vehicles get through and it’s safer for everyone.” Temporary traffic management measures will be in place within the Otaki township, to improve traffic flow, including local traffic diversions to minimise the delays created by merging of traffic at the roundabout. This includes closing Mill Road and banning traffic from turning out of Mill Road onto the highway or Rahui Road. Traffic will be allowed to turn onto Mill Road from SH1 or Rahui Road. Staying safe – avoid getting trampled in the rush Mr Owen says that it’s important to remember that we all play a part in making our roads safer for everyone using them and urges motorists to share the driving if possible, avoid alcohol before driving, get plenty of rest before a big trip and stop for regular breaks. When returning to Wellington, Levin is a good spot to stop for a rest before joining the heavy traffic north of Otaki. “We all make mistakes sometimes, but mistakes on the road can have serious or even deadly consequences. Staying alert, keeping your speeds down, being courteous and driving to the conditions are all key elements of a safe journey for you and your passengers this Easter.” Plan ahead. Get your vehicle checked before you head out, plan to avoid peak traffic where you can and give yourself enough time to take plenty of rest or sightseeing breaks along the way. It’s your holiday after all, so why not make the journey an enjoyable part of it? Drive to the conditions. This isn’t just about weather conditions — it’s about the road you’re on, the traffic, your vehicle and load, your speed, and even you as a driver (for example being tired or on medication that might affect your driving). Watch out for fatigue. Long trips are tiring and fatigue can be deadly behind the wheel. Driver fatigue was a factor in 33 road deaths and 109 serious injuries in 2013. Get a good night’s sleep beforehand, and plan in advance where you’ll take breaks along the way. Keep your cool. Holiday driving can be frustrating with busy roads, stifling heat and restless kids in the car. So please, be courteous and patient while on the roads. Don’t get provoked by other drivers’ aggressive behaviour; and wait to overtake until you get to a passing lane or can see enough clear road ahead of you to do it safely. Be sure to take enough games, books and DVDs to keep the kids occupied along the way. Buckle up. Don’t let your family holiday be marred by tragedy simply because someone didn’t buckle up. If you’re the driver you are legally responsible for making sure all passengers under the age of 15 are securely restrained with either a safety belt or child restraint. Children must be properly restrained by an approved child restraint until their 7th birthday. The Transport Agency wishes everyone a safe and enjoyable Easter holiday. The NZ Transport Agency works to create transport solutions for all New Zealanders – from helping new drivers earn their licences, to leading safety campaigns to investing in public transport, state highways and local roads. –]]>
Australia’s Foreign Minister Set To Visit Tonga – Prime Minister Akilisi Pohiva
MIL OSI – Source: Tonga Government – Tonga’s Prime Minister looks forward to first visit of Australian Foreign Minister this week.
[caption id="attachment_2696" align="alignleft" width="300"]
Tongan Prime Minister, Akilisi-Pohiva. Image by Selwyn Manning.[/caption]
In a statement this morning, the Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Hon Samuela ‘Akilisi Pohiva, said he was looking forward to the first visit to Tonga of the Australian Foreign Minister, the Hon Julie Bishop.
“Australia has been a longtime, close and important partner to Tonga so I am pleased that the Hon. Julie Bishop will be undertaking her first visit to Nuku’alofa this week.
“I look forward to discussing with her areas of mutual interest at the national, regional and international level”, the Prime Minister said.The Australian Foreign Minister will arrive in Nuku’alofa on Wednesday 1st April 2015.
“During her visit she will undertake a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister followed by a meeting with key Cabinet Ministers. She will also visit various projects where Australia’s aid has taken a lead role in developing, which includes Defence, Police, Health, Fisheries and Women’s Issues.
“The Foreign Minister is also scheduled to meet with key private and agricultural sector representatives. She will depart Nuku’alofa on 2 April 2015.”
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US Dept of Defense Details Ongoing Coalition Airstrikes in Syria and Iraq
MIL OSI – Source: United States Department of Defense – US Dept of Defense Details Ongoing Coalition Airstrikes in Syria and Iraq From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve SOUTHWEST ASIA, March 31, 2015 U.S. and coalition military forces have continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today. “The strategy has not changed,” said Col. Wayne Marotto, task force public affairs officer. “The focus remains to drive ISIL out of Iraq. We have struck at ISIL’s command and control, supply lines, fighters and leaders, and military and economic infrastructure and resources. We have debilitated ISIL’s oil producing, processing and transportation infrastructure. We are seeing successes in this fight. It will take time, but we will succeed in our mission.” Officials reported details of the latest strikes, which took place between 8 a.m. yesterday and 8 a.m. today, local time, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports. Airstrikes in Syria Bomber aircraft conducted one airstrike in Syria: — Near Kobani, an airstrike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position. Airstrikes in Iraq Attack, fighter and bomber aircraft conducted seven airstrikes in Iraq, approved by the Iraqi Ministry of Defense: — Near Bayji, an airstrike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed three ISIL fighting positions. — Near Mosul, two airstrikes struck an ISIL tactical unit, one ISIL checkpoint and destroyed 31 ISIL vehicles and two ISIL anti-aircraft artillery weapons. — Near Ramadi, an airstrike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL buildings. — Near Sinjar, two airstrikes struck an ISIL tactical unit, destroyed an ISIL building and suppressed ISIL movement. — Near Tikrit, an airstrike struck multiple ISIL buildings. Part of Operation Inherent Resolve The strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to eliminate the ISIL terrorist group and the threat they pose to Iraq, Syria, the region, and the wider international community. The destruction of ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq further limits the terrorist group’s ability to project terror and conduct operations, officials said. Coalition nations conducting airstrikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations conducting airstrikes in Syria include the United States, Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. –]]>
April Fools Release: TAXPAYERS’ UNION TO PURSUE PUBLIC FUNDING
MIL OSI – Source: Taxpayers Union – Press Release/Statement Headline: MR: TAXPAYERS’ UNION TO PURSUE PUBLIC FUNDING – April Fools Day Release 1 APRIL 2015 The Taxpayers’ Union has announced its intention to pursue taxpayer-funding to support its advocacy of value for money from every tax dollar. Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director, Jordan Williams, says:
“Since its inception in October 2013, the Taxpayers’ Union has relied solely on donations and membership subscriptions to allow us to expose government waste and ensure taxpayers receive value for money for every tax dollar spent.”
“Over the past eighteen months we have come up against sophisticated taxpayer-funded lobby groups such as ASH, Fish & Game, the Health Promotion Agency, anti-sugar group FIZZ, Generation Zero and even the Council of Trade Unions and Business NZ. Combating their calls for a high-tax future for New Zealanders has in itself been taxing on our own finances.”
“It has become clear that what is needed is another taxpayer-funded lobby group to save taxpayers from the groups they are forced to fund.”
“Today we have lodged an application to receive funding from Treasury to become a taxpayer-funded lobby group to oppose the other taxpayer-funded lobby groups, who in turn lobby taxpayer-funded bureaucrats, politicians and themselves.”
Editors note: Please refer to the date of this release.
NOTES TO EDITORS: The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is an independent activist group, dedicated to being the voice for Kiwi taxpayers in the corridors of power. It’s here to fight government waste and make sure New Zealanders get value for money from their tax dollar. The Taxpayers’ Union operates a 24 hour media line for comment on taxpayer issues. Representatives are available on (04) 282 0302. High resolution images and logos are available on request or online at http://www.taxpayers.org.nz/resources –]]>WWF says on US Climate Pledge a ‘Big Deal’
MIL OSI – Source: World Wildlife Fund – WWF says on US Climate Pledge a ‘Big Deal’ World Wildlife Fund issued the following statement from Lou Leonard, Vice President, Climate Change in reaction to today’s formal submission of the US’ contribution to a global climate pact expected to be signed in Paris later this year: “Climate disruption cuts across national borders and our solutions must do the same. We can only face this threat if we act together. Today, the United States joins a growing group of countries proposing national contributions to a global climate pact. Ahead of negotiations in Paris this December, nearly every nation on Earth will be on this list, marking a major turning point on climate cooperation. “Politically, today’s announcement is a big deal. It signals that US climate policy over the next decade will begin to line up with growing majorities of Republicans, Democrats and Independents, as well as key business leaders, calling for climate action now. By developing this target based on existing authority, the United States is signaling that countries should have confidence it can deliver. To maintain that confidence, a strong final rule this summer to cut carbon pollution from new and existing power plants will be critical. “In fact the US must do more than just deliver on this pledge; the 28% domestic target can and must be a floor not a ceiling. As the largest contributor to climate impacts already here today, the United States has a responsibility to lead and do its fair share. When compared to what scientists warn us is needed to avoid the worst impacts to our cities, our food systems and water supplies, the US pledge falls short. “Although a milestone, the unprecedented collection of country pledges ahead of negotiations in Paris aren’t likely to cover the entire bill for the world’s fossil fuel feast over the past century. Rather than pretending that this first round of pledges is enough, we need to accept this gap as our common challenge. Ahead of Paris, all countries should focus on ways to ratchet up additional cooperative action and design a new international regime that collectively closes this science gap as quickly as possible. By turning the page from conflict to cooperation, the Paris agreement can begin a new chapter in the struggle against climate change. “The US should come to Paris ready to join this new era of climate cooperation by adding to its domestic contribution with an additional concrete commitment to work with other nations, businesses and civil society to take a big bite out of the gap.” –]]>
Ombudsman Releases Guide to changes to the Ombudsmen Act and official information legislation
MIL OSI – Source: New Zealand Ombudsmans Office – Guide to changes to the Ombudsmen Act and official information legislation
April 1, 2015
Some changes have been made to the Ombudsmen Act (OA) and official information legislation as part of an omnibus Statutes Amendment Act. Read our quick reference guide to the changes, which came into effect on 26 March 2015. The key change to the OA is to give the Ombudsman the ability to refuse to investigate a complaint if, after preliminary inquiries and having regard to all the circumstances of the case, they consider an investigation is unnecessary. The key changes to the official information legislation include:- Explicit recognition that requests can be made and communicated in any way, including orally.
- Clarification that agencies can ask for oral requests to be put in writing if that is reasonably necessary (if the requester declines, or is unable to do so, the agency must record its understanding of the request and provide that to the requester).
- Confirmation that partial transfers of requests can be made.
- Clarification around when an amended or revised request is a new request that replaces the original one for the purpose of calculating the maximum statutory timeframe for response.
- Confirmation that information may be released in electronic form or by electronic means (subject to the requester’s preference).
- Clarification that agencies must make reasonable efforts to locate documents before refusing a request on the basis that they do not exist or cannot be found.
- A new function under the official information legislation for the Ombudsman to investigate complaints that an agency has failed to make and communicate its decision on a request as soon as reasonably practicable.
Paid Parental leave increases – but more work needed – CTU
MIL OSI – Source: Council Of Trade Unions – Paid Parental leave increases – but more work needed Workers are pleased that, from today, paid parental leave increases from 14 to 16 weeks, but unfortunately New Zealand is still well behind the support that other countries offer to new parents, the Council of Trade Unions said. ”The OECD average is 22 weeks paid parental leave, and the amount paid to workers overseas is generally higher. In New Zealand the maximum weekly paid parental leave payment is currently $504.10 before tax, which is just 85% of the minimum wage,” said Sam Huggard, CTU Secretary. “Union members will continue campaigning for better paid parental leave – through nationwide campaigns but also through influencing workplace policy and in collective agreement negotiations.” “Paid parental leave is a big issue for families and especially for women union members who constitute 58% of union membership. More than a third of workers who are covered by a collective employment agreement have parental leave provisions that are above the legal minimum. These union members and their unions lead the way in good paid parental leave provisions.” “This is evidence of the power of workers coming together to negotiate their terms and conditions together, but we need a much more supportive state provision for all workers including those who currently don’t have access to a union,” Huggard said. “2006 was when the Government last researched New Zealanders use of paid parental leave. That was 10 years ago now and we believe that it’s time to update the research. In 2006 the evidence was that new parents were returning early to work because of financial pressures. That situation is likely to have worsened.” “Our paid parental leave provisions still remain low by international standards and though there is a shift in the right direction, it is nowhere near as good as it needs to be.” Huggard said. –]]>
Commerce Commission to review regulated broadband non-price terms
MIL OSI – Source: Commerce Commission – Commerce Commission to review regulated broadband non-price terms The Commerce Commission has today announced it will formally review the non-price terms of the Unbundled Bitstream Access (UBA) Standard Terms Determination (STD) under the Telecommunications Act. UBA is one method of supplying broadband services – allowing retail telecommunications companies to provide internet services over Chorus’ copper network without the need to physically install their own equipment. The UBA STD sets the baseline price, general terms and service description that Chorus must offer to retail companies. Telecommunications Commissioner Dr Stephen Gale said the UBA STD was first released in 2007, before Chorus existed, and the non-price terms needed to be properly reviewed to assess whether they are still fit for purpose in today’s environment. “Last year Chorus announced it intended to introduce new commercial UBA services and make changes to the delivery of regulated internet services, including withdrawing the VDSL service and making changes that may limit internet performance at peak times. Spark requested we conduct an investigation into whether Chorus’ proposal was in breach of the STD. As part of the investigation we commissioned external legal advice that expressed concerns it could,” Dr Gale said. “While the STD is workable, we recognise there is some uncertainty over its requirements and the process for launching new commercial services. With Chorus putting a hold on its proposed changes and the statutory freeze on reviewing the STD now expired, the time is right to undertake this work.” The Commission has closed its investigation into Chorus’ proposed changes to its regulated network and considers any outstanding issues identified will be dealt with in the review. The UBA STD review will run parallel but separate to the current final pricing process for Chorus’ wholesale services. At this stage the Commission expects a draft decision for this review will be released for consultation shortly after the final pricing determination is made later this year.
Background
Under the current UBA STD, Chorus is able to offer commercial UBA services and variants at different prices to the regulated UBA service. However, before doing so, Chorus must provide notice to the Commission under clause 10 of the UBA STD General Terms. On 14 May 2014, Chorus announced that it intended to introduce new commercial UBA services (Boost variants). As part of the introduction of the Boost variants, Chorus also proposed two changes to the regulated UBA service:- capping aggregate throughput at the handover point; and
- withdrawal of VDSL as a regulated UBA service.
Remuera: Two Arrested After High-Speed Eagle Pursuit
Two men have been arrested in Remuera after driving at high speed and in a dangerous manner around Eastern Auckland for about 25 minutes this evening. At about 7pm a Police motorway patrol sighted a stolen car wanted in connection with a robbery at a South Auckland Dairy travelling on the Southern motorway. The car fled from the officer and left the motorway at Mount Wellington. The pursuit was abandoned by ground units within a few minutes when the car was driven at very high speed and in an erratic and dangerous manner. The Police helicopter Eagle was able to keep the car in sight as it drove around Mount Wellington, Panmure, Glen Innes, and Remuera for about 25 minutes. The car was eventually dumped in the Remuera area and the two occupants ran away on foot. They were arrested a few minutes later by Police ground units.
Keith Rankin on Subsistence and the Benefit
Analysis by Keith Rankin – First Published on Scoop.co.nz.
[caption id="attachment_2652" align="alignleft" width="300"]
Rural Northland poverty in the spotlight. Image courtesy of Localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.co.nz.[/caption]
YESTERDAY ON RADIO NEW ZEALAND’S MORNING REPORT “Te Manu Korihi for 30 March 2015“, Mana’s Hone Harawira discussed the matter of unemployed Maori returning to their home rural villages losing their ‘job-seeker’ benefits, and how this process may be the death knell for some of those villages.
In traditional times, through much of the world, people subsisted in villages in essentially cash-free local economies. Periodically, times of optimism away from the village would create demands for hired labour; people would flow from their villages to these labour hotspots and return when those cash-earning opportunities subsided.
We should note that there is something good and natural about lives secured in villages, mixed with possibly substantially periods away from those villages working in the rhythmic cash economy. That form of living is not an anachronism; it’s just that we (especially Maori) have become used to extended almost-permanent city living while still maintaining those rural roots, and seeding cash and non-cash investment into those communities.
We do not need to worry that, one day in the future, when opportunity calls; potential workers high on the benefit will eschew that call. It just doesn’t happen like that. Traditional subsistence communities complement (and sustain) urban capitalism; they do not and will not undermine the process of labour flow.
Our Liberal forebears in the 1890s recognised the importance of income flow as a balance between land and labour (and between cash and non-cash provision), with settler workers strongly encouraged to lay down semi-rural roots through substantial plots of land on long-term lease. These lands gave them opportunities for limited subsistence in capitalist down-times. These lands gave workers some bargaining power in setting wages and conditions of employment. We still see it today – albeit upmarket – with semi-rural lifestyle properties. We wouldn’t deny the ‘job-seeker benefit’ to an unemployed worker whose address was a two-hectare property on the city outskirts.
The whole notion of public equity, and the (possibly small) unconditional benefits that follow from that concept, helps us to restore the balance. An unconditional publicly-sourced income allows us to ride out the capitalist down-times while at the same time helping to nourish our many near-subsistence communities. These communities provide social stability and individual breathing space to both our tangata whenua and to many of our people with shorter bloodlines in Aotearoa.
For city-only people, a public equity benefit allows the creation and sustenance of semi-subsistent urban communities during the capitalist down-times, and – as an unconditional safety net – helps to ensure that employment contracts are fair. People should not have to spend these downtimes in fruitless searches for employment in dire competition with other similarly placed people. Better that they use this down time as semi-subsistent urban entrepreneurs.
Public equity benefits are good for capitalism, but may not be seen as good for capitalists. (See Chris Trotter’s The Common Affairs Of The Whole: Why National is so bad for Capitalism in The Daily Blog, 28 March 2015.)
When proper jobs with proper wages appear, the history of capitalism shows that the latent workforce is responsive to employment opportunities. Indeed, by allowing people to live semi-subsistence lives (remote rural or otherwise) in their downtimes, rather than having to choose between remote full-subsistence and destructive urban dependency, the downtimes themselves become shorter. When jobless and underemployed people are still able to spend, the wheels of capitalism turn more smoothly.
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Tonight on Evening Report – March 31 2015
Tonight on Evening Report we lead with a video cross to Hanoi to gauge how delegates from South East Asia, meeting on nuclear disarmament in Vietnam, have responded to news New Zealand has been spying on its trading partners. This and more in tonight’s edition.
Keith Rankin on Subsistence and the Benefit
[caption id="attachment_2652" align="alignleft" width="150"] Rural Northland poverty in the spotlight. Image courtesy of Localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.co.nz.[/caption]
YESTERDAY ON RADIO NEW ZEALAND’S MORNING REPORT “Te Manu Korihi for 30 March 2015“, Mana’s Hone Harawira discussed the matter of unemployed Maori returning to their home rural villages losing their ‘job-seeker’ benefits, and how this process may be the death knell for some of those villages.
In traditional times, through much of the world, people subsisted in villages in essentially cash-free local economies. Periodically, times of optimism away from the village would create demands for hired labour; people would flow from their villages to these labour hotspots and return when those cash-earning opportunities subsided. FULL ARTICLE from 7:30pm.
REPORTS:
Research on the price of protest in West Papua released – PMC
MIL OSI – Source: Pacific Media Centre – Analysis published with permission of PMC Headline: The price of protest in West Papua – Research
Image: Demotix
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
NZ Government launches tax modernisation programme
MIL OSI – Source: New Zealand Government – Tax modernisation programme launched Revenue Minister Todd McClay today released the first two in a series of public consultations designed to modernise and simplify the tax system. “Taxes are an important part of a well-functioning modern economy, but it’s important that the costs imposed by taxation are kept to a minimum. The way we run the tax system must keep pace with the needs of taxpayers,” says Mr McClay. “We need to make tax simpler. That’s why today I am launching public consultation to consider ideas for a tax administration for the future.” Mr McClay launched the programme at a breakfast hosted by the Wellington Employers’ Chamber of Commerce. “We need tax administration to be simple to use and new technology can help achieve that” Mr McClay says. The first document, Making Tax Simpler – a Government green paper on tax administration aims to introduce New Zealand to the overall direction of the tax administration modernisation programme and seeks feedback on that direction. Consultation on that topic closes on 29 May 2015. “This is an opportunity to stand back, look at our tax system as a whole and make changes that will simplify the system for the benefit of all New Zealanders. At the same time, we will modernise the technology that runs the tax system.” Says Mr McClay. The second consultation document, Better Digital Services outlines proposals for greater use of electronic and online processes allowing faster, more accurate, more convenient interactions with Inland Revenue. Consultation closes on 15 May 2015. “We are already working with New Zealand software development companies on solutions to simplify and significantly reduce the amount of time businesses spend on tax compliance. A working group with 20 representatives from small, medium and large software developers has been meeting since October last year to co-design how GST and PAYE information can be transferred to IRD in the future. In tandem, IRD is working with MYOB and Xero on how we can simplify tax processes for small businesses. “The scale of the change proposed for the tax administration is unlike anything we’ve contemplated before and the proposals contained in the consultations launched today will affect us all at some level. “This is your chance to help us build a simpler tax system because a simpler system is a better system” Mr McClay says. To make a submission or to read the full details of proposals, go to www.makingtaxsimpler.ird.govt.nz – -]]>
FBI Charges Former Federal Agents with Bitcoin Money Laundering and Wire Fraud
MIL OSI – Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI – Former Federal Agents Charged with Bitcoin Money Laundering and Wire Fraud Two former federal agents have been charged with wire fraud, money laundering and related offenses for stealing digital currency during their investigation of the Silk Road, an underground black market that allowed users to conduct illegal transactions over the Internet. The charges are contained in a federal criminal complaint issued on March 25, 2015, in the Northern District of California and unsealed today. Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag of the Northern District of California, Special Agent in Charge David J. Johnson of the FBI’s San Francisco Division, Special Agent in Charge José M. Martinez of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation’s (IRS-CI) San Francisco Division, Special Agent in Charge Michael P. Tompkins of the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General Washington Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Lori Hazenstab of the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General in Washington D.C. made the announcement. Carl M. Force, 46, of Baltimore, was a Special Agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and Shaun W. Bridges, 32, of Laurel, Maryland, was a Special Agent with the U.S. Secret Service (USSS). Both were assigned to the Baltimore Silk Road Task Force, which investigated illegal activity in the Silk Road marketplace. Force served as an undercover agent and was tasked with establishing communications with a target of the investigation, Ross Ulbricht, aka “Dread Pirate Roberts.” Force is charged with wire fraud, theft of government property, money laundering and conflict of interest. Bridges is charged with wire fraud and money laundering. According to the complaint, Force was a DEA agent assigned to investigate the Silk Road marketplace. During the investigation, Force engaged in certain authorized undercover operations by, among other things, communicating online with “Dread Pirate Roberts” (Ulbricht), the target of his investigation. The complaint alleges, however, that Force then, without authority, developed additional online personas and engaged in a broad range of illegal activities calculated to bring him personal financial gain. In doing so, the complaint alleges, Force used fake online personas, and engaged in complex Bitcoin transactions to steal from the government and the targets of the investigation. Specifically, Force allegedly solicited and received digital currency as part of the investigation, but failed to report his receipt of the funds, and instead transferred the currency to his personal account. In one such transaction, Force allegedly sold information about the government’s investigation to the target of the investigation. The complaint also alleges that Force invested in and worked for a digital currency exchange company while still working for the DEA, and that he directed the company to freeze a customer’s account with no legal basis to do so, then transferred the customer’s funds to his personal account. Further, Force allegedly sent an unauthorized Justice Department subpoena to an online payment service directing that it unfreeze his personal account. Bridges allegedly diverted to his personal account over $800,000 in digital currency that he gained control of during the Silk Road investigation. The complaint alleges that Bridges placed the assets into an account at Mt. Gox, the now-defunct digital currency exchange in Japan. He then allegedly wired funds into one of his personal investment accounts in the United States mere days before he sought a $2.1 million seizure warrant for Mt. Gox’s accounts. Bridges self-surrendered today and will appear before Magistrate Judge Maria-Elena James of the Northern District of California at 9:30 a.m. PST this morning. Force was arrested on Friday, March 27, 2015, in Baltimore and will appear before Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Sullivan of the District of Maryland at 2:30 p.m. EST today. The charges contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. The case was investigated by the FBI’s San Francisco Division, the IRS-CI’s San Francisco Division, the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General and the Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General in Washington D.C. The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network also provided assistance with the investigation of this case. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathryn Haun and William Frentzen of the Northern District of California and Trial Attorney Richard B. Evans of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section. – –]]>
East Asia and the Pacific: Criminal Charges Filed against Protesters in Burma
MIL OSI – Source: United States Department of State – East Asia and the Pacific: Criminal Charges Filed against Protesters in Burma The United States State Department has issued a statement of concern after Burma authorities laid criminal charges against peaceful protesters. The US State Department “… is concerned by reports that the Government of Burma has filed criminal charges against peaceful protesters engaged in campaign activities advocating reform of the National Education Law. “We call for the immediate, unconditional release of all individuals being detained in the country as a result of exercising their right to peacefully assemble. “Transparency, accountability, and justice are vital for the Burmese Government’s expressed goals of social stability, peace, and democracy. “We strongly urge an impartial and credible investigation into the events of March 5 and 10, in cooperation with civil society, that would hold accountable all those involved in the violence, including security forces who applied excessive force. Only an impartial investigation and accounting will advance the country’s goals of mutual trust and national reconciliation and avoid deepening division.” –]]>
New steps against kauri dieback – Govt
MIL OSI – Source: New Zealand Government – New steps against kauri dieback
Conservation Minister Maggie Barry today announced the Albany Scenic Reserve in Auckland will be closed until further notice to prevent the spread of kauri dieback.
The 40 hectare Department of Conservation reserve is infested with the spores which cause dieback, a disease ravaging New Zealand’s forest giants. Several kauri trees growing next to the track through the reserve are visibly infected with it.
“Closing the reserve was not a decision I took lightly, but as we go into winter the threat posed to our majestic kauri by dieback requires decisive action,” Ms Barry says. “The risk of someone unwittingly spreading the disease from Albany to healthy trees is simply too great to be ignored.”
“I am also announcing the start of a major track upgrade programme which is aimed at keeping 400km of paths through kauri forests elsewhere open. This is the beginning of a roll-out of measures to contain the spread of the disease.”
“It may be necessary to close other kauri forests on DOC land in future and I am taking advice about where else it might be required.”
Kauri dieback, caused by the microscopic spore Phytophthora taxon Agathis (PTA), attacks the tree’s roots and destroys tissues which carry water and nutrients, gradually starving kauri to death. Nearly all infected trees die and there is currently no cure.
PTA can be spread easily through mud and water contaminating footwear, vehicle tyres and machinery without proper disinfection.
“Dieback has spread through the North Island forests and represents the single biggest threat the species has ever faced. The Government is committed to ensuring the disease is met and beaten,” Ms Barry says.
Last year’s budget gave the Department of Conservation $21.6 million towards upgrading tracks through kauri forest to prevent the spread of dieback.
$10.7 million will be spent on track improvements and another $10.9 million on operational costs over four years.
More than 100km of paths will be upgraded to remove mud from the track surface, 5km of boardwalks installed to keep feet clear of the tree’s root systems and 300 new cleaning stations set up at track entrances and exits.
Signage will also be upgraded to ensure the public are fully informed of the threat and do what they can to prevent its spread.
Meanwhile, the multi-agency Kauri Dieback Management Programme continues research into the cause of the disease, its spread and possible treatments.
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Law change proposed to ban cosmetic testing on animals
MIL OSI – Source: New Zealand Government – Headline: Law change to ban cosmetic testing on animals
The Government will introduce a change to the Animal Welfare Amendment Bill to ban the use of animals for testing finished cosmetic products and ingredients, Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy has announced today.
“To the best of our knowledge there never has been any animal testing for cosmetics in New Zealand, but this amendment will send an important message that this kind of testing is unacceptable to New Zealanders and will never happen here.”
Mr Guy has introduced a new Supplementary Order Paper (SOP) to the Bill before it is expected to be debated later today.
The new SOP bans animal testing in New Zealand for finished cosmetic products and ingredients, where those ingredients are being tested for the exclusive purpose of developing a cosmetic.
“The Government has decided to introduce an alternative to the original SOP introduced by Green MP Mojo Mathers because of concerns the wording may have been too broad. This could lead to unintended consequences such as banning testing on ingredients in medicines that New Zealanders depend on.
“I want to thank Mojo Mathers for her work on this issue. Although the Government has introduced slightly alternative wording, this amendment still captures the principle of her SOP.
“It’s important to note we already have a strong framework for any animal testing done in New Zealand. Any testing for products like medicines has to be approved by an independent ethics committee and has to show the benefits will outweigh any harm caused.”
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Woman dies after crash between vehicle and a mobility scooter in Levin
MIL OSI – Source: New Zealand Police – Woman dies after crash
A woman has died in hospital after a collision between a vehicle and a mobility scooter on Oxford Street, Levin, on Thursday 26 March, 2015.
The crash happened at approximately 4pm and emergency services attended the scene.
Preliminary indications suggest the woman, who was riding the mobility scooter, was waiting on a median strip on the road when the collision occurred.
The woman sustained serious injuries and was rushed to Palmerston North Hospital, however she passed away yesterday (30 March, 2015) in the presence of her family.
She was Marie Hall, aged 83, of Levin.
Levin Police assisted by the Serious Crash Unit are investigating and inquiries are ongoing to determine the factors behind the crash.
Officers are continuing to speak to the male driver of the vehicle who did not sustain any injuries but was left shaken from the crash.
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