Thursday 2nd of April 2026 07:29:33 PM
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New dwelling consents decreased in February

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MIL OSI – Source: Statistics New Zealand – New dwelling consents decreased in February The number of new dwellings consented was 0.6 percent lower in February 2015 than in February 2014, Statistics New Zealand said today. “The trend for new dwellings has more than doubled since March 2011,” business indicators manager Neil Kelly said. “But it is now showing signs of decreasing after generally increasing for almost four years.” The seasonally adjusted number of new dwellings consented decreased 6.3 percent in February 2015. Excluding apartments, this number fell 1.4 percent. A total of 1,758 new dwellings were consented in February 2015 (including 160 apartments). The regions that consented the most new dwellings were:

  • Auckland – 528 (including 98 apartments)
  • Canterbury – 517 (including 62 apartments)
  • Waikato – 195.
The unadjusted value of consents for February 2015, compared with February 2014, was:
  • all buildings – up $136 million (12 percent) to $1.2 billion
  • residential work – up $43 million (5.9 percent) to $769 million
  • non-residential work – up $93 million (25 percent) to $469 million.
Data for building consents is obtained from all territorial authorities. We are changing what building consents statistics we publish. See Changes to our time series and classifications in the Data quality section of the information release. – -]]>

Homicide investigation launched following assault at Christchurch Men’s Prison

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MIL OSI – Source: New Zealand Police – Homicide investigation launched following assault at Christchurch Men’s Prison

Canterbury Police can confirm that the investigation into a serious assault of a sentenced prisoner at Christchurch Men’s Prison on Wednesday (25 March 2015) morning has been elevated into a homicide investigation.
The victim can now be named as 44 year old Benton Marni Parata from Rangiora. “Benton sustained serious injuries and has remained on life support in the Intensive Care Unit at Christchurch Hospital since the incident.  Life support was turned off on Sunday afternoon (29 March 2015) and he died in the early hours of this morning (31 March 2015).  We have officers supporting Benton’s family and the services of Victim Support have been offered to them” explained  Detective Senior Sergeant Mark Worner. A spokesperson from Benton’s family has provided the following statement and two photographs for media “Sadly we have lost our dear big brother Benton Marni Parata.  He was dearly loved by his family and friends and leaves a huge hole that can’t be filled. All that knew him, knew that he lived life by the drop. A true free spirit and a man with a huge heart who would give his last dollar if you needed it or the shirt of his back. To be cruelly and cowardly taken from us is very hard to accept.  He was very popular and seemed to be able to charm his way through most things. He was a very talented sportsman: Basketball,  Rugby League, Softball and any other sport that he put his hand to. Unfortunately not fulfilling his true potential.  A Champion for the oppressed and our kai ti aki he was a dearly cherished and beloved Son, Father, Uncle, Great uncle, Nephew, Cousin and friend.  We love you forever.  Rest in peace.” Detective Senior Sergeant Worner said “The full results for the post mortem, which is scheduled to occur this morning  (31 March 2015), will not be available for some time.  A scene examination at the Prison was completed on Saturday morning (28 March 2015) and inquiries into the incident are continuing” As the Police homicide investigation remains at a relatively early stage Canterbury Police will not be releasing any further details at this time or commenting on the post mortem. Media note:  We have a short window this afternoon for Detective Senior Sergeant Worner to verbalise this release and the family have nominated a spokesperson who can talk to media. Please text the Canterbury Police District Communications Manager on 021 942 404 with the reporters contact details if you wish to either have the release verbalised by Detective Senior Sergeant Worner this afternoon or talk to the family spokesperson. —
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New Zealand can hold its head high, sports professor says

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MIL OSI – New Zealand can hold its head high, sports professor says New Zealand can hold its head high, sports professor says

New Zealand can hold its head high in the cricketing world, University of Canterbury sports coaching professor Richard Light says.

The efforts and spirit of the team captivated the nation and took New Zealanders on an exciting ride to the pinnacle of one day cricket, the head of the university’s School of Sport and Physical Education says.

“The Black Caps played the Cricket World Cup in a way that represented the spirit of New Zealand, making a very positive statement to the world about New Zealand.

“They played with confidence, aggression, belief in themselves and the team and were a joy to watch. They were fearless, and as one of Australia’ most combative captains, Steve Waugh, asked his teams to do, left nothing on the field. Any team that does that can never have any regrets.

“The final was probably a little disappointing but the team’s performance at the tournament is beyond criticism. The team played the same way in the final that had taken them unbeaten through the rest of the tournament but on this occasion their lack of experience at this level was probably a disadvantage.

“Playing in front of 93,000 spectators in one of the greatest sport stadiums in the world with the weight of a nation on their shoulders is a tough ask, and particularly against a team like Australia that is so intensely competitive. Nobody choked – they did not quite play their best.

“New Zealand had been at the top their game for the entire tournament but it was widely assumed that if Australia were able to be at the top of their game in the final they would triumph.

“We should not let one game, even though it was the final, detract from the amazing achievement of the Black Caps and what they have done for New Zealand cricket.

“We should celebrate their fabulous achievement and look forward to the future. New Zealand has now emerged as a major player in world cricket and we should be ensuring that we build on this success.

“Prime Minister John Key said before the final that he expected huge growth in cricket among New Zealand girls and boys and this needs to be the focus of well thought out plans to grow the game. This is not only to boost the numbers playing cricket but also to follow the wonderful example set for the whole country by the Black Caps that goes beyond merely winning.

“The success of the Black Caps rested on a team-first ethos, belief in each other and the team as a collective, confidence and freedom of spirit that not only won games but won many fans in New Zealand and elsewhere. Above all, the spirit of sportsmanship and fair play demonstrated by the Black Caps set them apart from many other teams including Australia.

“The Black Caps provided a much-needed example of how teams can win without compromising the values and ethics of sport that are so often threatened. In this regard, New Zealand was the winner on Sunday night,” Professor Light says.

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‘Remarkable’ professor retires after 45 years – Massey University

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MIL OSI – Source: Massey University – ‘Remarkable’ professor retires after 45 years

Massey University’s longest serving academic, Professor of Animal Physiology Heather Simpson, has retired after 45 years on staff and more than 50 years at the university.

Professor Simpson started her PhD in 1965 when she also began demonstrating part-time. Her teaching roles have involved educating virtually every vet to have graduated from New Zealand since the course was first offered.

After completing her PhD, Professor Simpson continued to demonstrate part-time while also raising her two children. She then became a part-time lecturer in 1976, then a full-time senior lecturer in 1994, an associate professor in 2000 and was promoted to professorin 2007.

She has seen the veterinary degree grow over this time and says interests have changed.

“We started with about 30 students and now we are at over 100. People used to come in and say ‘I’m doing vet because I come from a sheep farm’ now they’re saying ‘I want to be a vet because of my love of my pony or cat’.”

She says her fondest memories are of meeting and getting to know students “especially in the smaller practical classes. Those classes were a lot of fun.” She has developed relationships with students from all over the world.

Professor Simpson has also served on numerous committees, including the University Research Committee and chaired the Palmerston North Research Committee. She was patron of the Veterinary Students Association, supervised 16 doctoral and 5 doctoral students and has more than 60 publications.

Her research has focussed on the biology of parasites found in the gut of sheep, an area she says is both an important health problem and interesting because it requires and understanding of “the relationship between two organisms and the struggle between them”.

Head of the Institute of Animal, Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences Professor Paul Kenyon says Professor Simpson has had a highly successful teaching and research career. “She has taught pretty much every Bachelor of Veterinary Science class since we started offering the degree. She is such an integral part of our team.”

Her husband, Dr Bruce Simpson, says he is extraordinarily proud of what his wife has achieved. “Biased as I might be, she is a remarkable women. Not only was did she love to mix with students, she worked with scientists across many disciplines.”

The previous longest-serving academic staff member was chemist Professor Sylvia Rumball, who had completed 42 years when she retired in 2009. College of Sciences Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Robert Anderson also retired this week after 44 years with Massey.

Professor Simpson will continue to help her current PhD students and has an honorary position with AgResearch. However now she also has more time for her other interests: tending to her orchids, stamp and shell collections, and getting to the golf course more often.

“I have plenty of things to keep me occupied.”

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New air services agreements strengthen global links – NZ Govt

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MIL OSI – Source: National Party – New agreements strengthen global links The approval of 10 new and amended air services agreements, or arrangements, will strengthen global links for Kiwi travellers and businesses, Transport Minister Simon Bridges says. Cabinet has approved new air services agreements with Bahrain, Colombia, Egypt, Greece, Oman, Serbia and the Seychelles that will give greater options for New Zealanders travelling to those countries. It has also confirmed arrangements reached with the Czech Republic and Curaçao to provide opportunities for airlines to offer code-share services, where two or more airlines share the same flight. “The new arrangements mean that airlines from these countries will have the opportunity to offer services to New Zealand if they see commercial opportunities – unhindered by the regulatory barriers that characterise much of international aviation. “Similarly, New Zealand airlines now have the opportunity to offer services in these markets”, Mr Bridges says. An amendment to an agreement with China announced in November last year, has been confirmed, doubling the number of services airlines that can operate between both countries. “The amendment provides immediate opportunities for continued growth in air services between New Zealand and China following an increase in weekly services from three to 21 in the last four years,” Mr Bridges says. The agreements with Bahrain and Oman mean that New Zealand now has air services agreements with all members of the Gulf Cooperation Council. “These agreements remove the barriers for Gulf carriers seeking to fly to New Zealand and will pave the way for stronger links with the Middle East, further underpinning the Government’s Gulf Trade Strategy,” Mr Bridges says. All 10 agreements or arrangements were negotiated by Ministry of Transport officials at the International Civil Aviation Negotiation Conference held in Indonesia in November 2014. Since the Government launched its International Air Transport Policy in August 2012, over 40 new or amended agreements have been negotiated. “The government will continue to seek opportunities to open and expand new and existing air links with other countries,” Mr Bridges says. More information about New Zealand’s international air services agreements is available on the Ministry of Transport’s website www.transport.govt.nz/air/internationalairservices Background information: International air services are highly regulated. Under a global system dating back to the 1940’s, airlines are only able to operate services between two countries where the governments involved have entered into a treaty-level arrangement referred to as an air services agreement. Air services agreements set the conditions under which international air services may be operated. There are several thousand bilateral air services agreements in-force globally, resulting in a complex web of regulation. –]]>

Turkey: Draconian reforms give police wide-ranging powers to repress dissent

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MIL OSI – Source: Amnesty International NZ – Turkey: Draconian reforms give police wide-ranging powers to repress dissent

Gezi Park resistance people continue to keep guard at Taksim Square and Gezi Park while the clash between the Turkish riot police and the protestors continue around Taksim. © Mehmet Kacmaz / NarPhotos
clashes between the Turkish riot police and the protestors around Taksim. June 2013 © Mehmet Kacmaz / NarPhotos
A range of security reforms in a bill passed by Turkey’s Parliament will give the country’s police forces broad and dangerous new powers to detain people and use firearms to quell dissent, Amnesty International said. The organization said the bill facilitates the already widespread practice of arbitrary detentions during protests and paves the way for further human rights violations including politically motivated criminal investigations and violations of the right to life. “Today’s vote to pass this draconian new law confirms our fears – Turkey’s Parliament has taken some of the worst abuses from the country’s appalling track record on policing and effectively endorsed them in law,” said Andrew Gardner, Researcher on Turkey at Amnesty International. The articles passed – which amend 14 different laws or decrees – have been hotly debated. The timing is seen as especially contentious given parliamentary elections in June. The “Law amending the Law on powers and duties of the police, other laws and decrees” – widely referred to simply as the “domestic security package” – has been the subject of intense debate in Parliament since 17 February. Amnesty International said the bill’s provisions on the use of police force contradict international human rights standards. Under the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, the use of lethal weapons should only be justified to protect people against imminent threats to life or serious injury and only when other less lethal means have failed. “Authorizing the police to use firearms to protect property where there is no imminent threat to life flies in the face of international standards on policing and is likely to lead to further violations of the right to life,” said Andrew Gardner. The bill also contains vaguely worded provisions giving powers to the police to detain individuals without a prosecutor’s order. The provisions allow for such detentions of up to 24 hours in individual crimes and up to 48 hours for crimes committed in the context of violent incidents at protests. The application of these provisions are very likely to result in further arbitrary detentions. Other provisions erode the independence of prosecutors and the obligation to ensure that they can carry out their work without undue interference. Regional governors are granted the power to issue direct orders to police in the investigation of crimes. Turkey already has a record of denying the right to peaceful protest, police use of excessive force – including with firearms – and politically motivated prosecutions. “Despite widespread opposition from political parties, human rights organizations, lawyers’ associations and other civil society groups, the government has done all it can to railroad this legislation through,” said Andrew Gardner. “The timing of the bill, so close to key parliamentary elections, provides the authorities with new powers to suppress dissent. Signing this bill into law will give a green light to widespread abuses against those who exercise their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.” Passing the bill now allows it to come into law before the planned closure of Parliament on 5 April ahead of parliamentary elections on 7 June. It will enter into force after the President signs it into law – a mere formality that is expected to take place soon. Opposition members have vowed they will call on Turkey’s Constitutional Court to overturn the bill. Background The Turkish government has sought to justify the bill on the basis of violent demonstrations that took place in south-eastern Turkey during October 2014 in which up to 50 people died, hundreds were injured and major damage was caused to public and private property. Turkey has a record of abuses of the rights of peaceful protesters, who will likely also be the targets of these vague and wide-ranging new security measures. Between 28 May and mid July 2013, demonstrations known as the Gezi Park protests took place in all but two of Turkey’s 81 provinces, ranging between crowds of a few hundred to tens of thousands. Security forces across Turkey repeatedly used abusive and arbitrary force against peaceful protesters, sometimes with fatal consequences. At least four protesters died as a direct result of police use of excessive force, including 15-year-old Berkin Elvan and 22-year-old Abdullah Cömert, who were hit in the head by tear gas canisters fired at close range. More than 8,000 people were injured, some very seriously, during the wave of protests. In 2014, police used excessive force against peaceful May Day demonstrators near Istanbul’s central Taksim Square. A standoff is expected again on May Day this year, with demonstrators demanding to march on Taksim Square and the authorities maintaining that central Istanbul is off-limits. On multiple occasions, Amnesty International has documented how Turkish police and security forces used tear gas and water cannon in excessive, unwarranted and arbitrary ways to disperse protesters, and fired at unarmed protesters using rubber bullets and plastic bullets, killing and seriously wounding some. Thousands more have been beaten by police and security forces. Protesters, human rights activists and journalists have been arrested and detained. The adoption of the bill is the latest in a series of measures to repress dissent in Turkey. In December 2014 Amnesty International expressed concern about the Turkish authorities’ purchase of large amounts of tear gas and other chemical riot control agents from a South Korean company. –]]>

Survey shows complex views about New Zealand’s relationship with Asia

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MIL OSI – Source: Asia New Zealand Foundation – Survey shows complex views about New Zealand’s relationship with Asia

New Zealanders feel more connected with and positive toward people from Asia, but less positive about the economic benefits of New Zealand’s relationship with the region, a new survey has found. 

Respondents in the Asia New Zealand Foundation’s annual survey, New Zealanders’ Perceptions of Asia and Asian Peoples 2014, reported a higher level of involvement with Asian people and cultures and an increased sense of integration between Asian and non-Asian New Zealanders. 

Contributors to the report commented that Asian people had become more visible in their own lives. They had Asian neighbours, colleagues and healthcare professionals. These personal connections had become more common and everyday, so they felt that Asians were ‘one of them’ in the community. 

The survey also finds high levels of support for language learning in schools, with Chinese viewed as the most valuable foreign language to learn. 

But survey respondents were less positive about the benefits of the New Zealand’s economic relationship with Asia, particularly when it came to investment. The survey found fewer people agreed with a survey statement that investment from Asia would have positive impacts on New Zealand’s economy (from 74 percent in 2013 down to 64 percent in 2014); and more people agreed with a survey statement that New Zealand was allowing too much investment from Asia (up from 36 to 41 percent). 

Although still a minority, an increased number of people agreed with the statement that Asian people were responsible for rising house prices (up from 33 to 39 percent). This view was most likely to be held by Auckland residents (54 percent) but the survey also found greater numbers of Wellington residents shared this view than they did in 2013.  

Asia New Zealand Foundation chairman John Luxton said the Foundation had been tracking New Zealanders’ opinions of Asia and its peoples since 1997. “The latest survey is nuanced and complex. It shows a growing acceptance of Asian people as part of the fabric of New Zealand life, and an increased understanding of the need for our education system to reflect the significance of Asia to New Zealand.  

“The survey also shows some concerns about investment from Asia and the perceived impact of Asian buyers on the housing market, which perhaps isn’t surprising given the prominence of those issues in the media. Overseas investment from non-Asian countries and housing purchases by non-Asian buyers simply do not attract the same level of attention.

“However, the survey also shows that the majority of New Zealanders view the Asian region as important to New Zealand’s future, second only to Australia. In particular, they recognise the importance of exports to Asia and tourism from the region.” 

Dr Andrew Robertson of Colmar Brunton, which carried out the survey for the Asia New Zealand Foundation, said it conveyed a sense that: “New Zealanders differentiate between individuals and corporations. They stand up for the individual and for small businesses. They are a bit more skeptical about companies coming to New Zealand and investing in New Zealand, and what they think that means for New Zealand jobs.”

The survey also found that eight out of 10 New Zealanders (83 percent) thought that school children should learn a language other than English. Chinese was most commonly named as the language school children should learn, but nearly five times as many secondary school students learn French as Chinese. 

Mr Luxton says the Foundation has been working with partners on a range of initiatives to help boost the numbers of school students learning Asian languages. “This doesn’t mean that every New Zealand child should be compelled to learn Chinese but access to Asian languages needs to be equitable. Asian languages shouldn’t – and needn’t – come at the expense of te reo Māori. Children learning te reo will be better placed to pick up other languages.” 

Asia New Zealand Foundation is a non-profit, non-partisan organisation dedicated to building New Zealand’s links with Asia through a range of programmes, including business, culture, education, media, research and a leadership network.

About the survey 

New Zealanders’ Perceptions of Asia and Asian Peoples in 2014 was prepared for the Asia New Zealand Foundation by Colmar Brunton. The results are based on 1,000 telephone interviews carried out between 6 October and 9 November 2014, and a follow-up online forum. The results have a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percent at the 95 percent confidence level. 

In an accompanying podcast, Asia New Zealand Foundation director of research Dr Andrew Butcher discusses the survey findings with media specialist and Asia New Zealand Foundation trustee Trish Carter; New Zealand Institute of Economic Research principal economist Shamubeel Eaqub; and Victoria University of Wellington’s BNZ Chair in Business in Asia, Professor Siah Hwee Ang. Listen to the podcast

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Bystanders jump into the water to rescue male in trouble

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MIL OSI – Source: New Zealand Police – Bystanders jump into the water to rescue male in trouble

At approximately 10.35pm on Monday 30th March 2013 Wellington Police received a report of a male person in the water, near Burdons Gate in Eastbourne.

The male was yelling for help.

The following units responded

·         Hutt Police

·         Wellington Maritime Police

·         Westpac Rescue Helicopter

·         Ambulance Service, along with Eastbourne Volunteers and Seaview Fire Service

In the meantime persons on shore were trying to locate the location of the person in the water and once they located him with a torch, they saw he was in difficulty and his head went under water, at this stage he was more than 50 metres from shore.

Two members of the public, a male and a female entered the water and swam out to the male who had become unconsicous and managed to bring the male into shore, where they commenced CPR. Police staff along with Fire Service arrived a short time later and continued CPR and the male was taken to Hospital in a serious condition.

The identity of the male is not known at this stage:

He is described as a male Indian approximately mid twenties to mid thirties. He was wearing a Maroon colour short sleeved poloi shirt and a pair of black light weight trousers. He was not carrying any form of ID on him.

Police would like to hear from anyone who knows the identity of this male and they should contact the Lower Hutt Police on: (04) 560-2600

Senior Sergeant Andre Kowalczyk said that the actions of the two members of the public who entered the water is to be applauded, they did an excellent job in very difficult circumstances and their efforts to enter the water to save this mans life were exceptional. The two rescuers are both young people and their actions were extremly brave.

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Litigious Approach to School Discipline Worrying Trend

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MIL OSI – Source: Family First – Litigious Approach to School Discipline Worrying Trend

courtMedia Release 30 March 2015
Family First is warning that a litigious approach to school disciplinary decisions will undermine the authority and special character of individual schools and has the potential to send some schools bankrupt. The comments come in response to two recent cases where parents have gone to court to challenge school rulings, including the St Bede’s rowers and the haircut ruling at Hasting’s St John’s College last year.

“Schools are working hard to instill values, discipline and respect in their students and they should be allowed to develop policies and rules to the benefit of the whole school community – not just the rights and demands of individual students and their parents,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ

“Parents rushing to courts and the decisions in these two most recent cases smack of politically correct human rights nonsense – especially ‘children’s rights’ – and shows a lack of respect to the role of authority and values of a particular school,” says Mr McCoskrie.

“The actions of the schools were reasonable and were not disproportionate, and were respected by the overwhelming majority of the wider school community. If parents don’t like the values of the school, they should challenge the rules through the Board of Trustees which is a representative group of parents anyway, or go elsewhere.”

“If every parent went to the court every time they disagreed with a decision, schools would quickly go bankrupt on legal fees,” says Mr McCoskrie.

“Where does this all stop? Can pupils now challenge for the right to have piercings all over their face, or to wear mufti rather than uniform, or to play in school sports teams despite wagging class throughout the term, or refusing to wear the required team uniform or attend practices?”

Family First has previously criticised a court ruling that overturned a St John’s College school decision to set a hair standard.

“We would encourage the Minister of Education to determine how to protect schools from expensive and inappropriate legal action, on behalf of many other schools who call for adherence to school rules, discipline, tidiness, and standards in their schools.” –]]>

Children Concerned About Sex, Violence in Media – Study

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MIL OSI – Source: Family First – Children Concerned About Sex, Violence in Media – Study

tv objectionableMedia Release 30 Mar 2015
Family First NZ says that the Children’s Media Use Study by NZ on Air and the BSA is sounding alarm bells about the levels of violence and sexual content being viewed by children 9-14 years old, and the concerns of the children themselves and also their parents.

The study shows that parents’ main concerns with television include children being exposed to violence (71%), sexual content (61%), adult programmes (40%), and bad language (39%). Online, it is children being exposed to sexual material (72%), violence (46%), unintentional access to inappropriate sites (44%), or adult sites (36%).

Three in five children said they have been exposed to some content on TV or online that they didn’t like, or that bothered or upset them. Exposure to aspects of violence, sex, pornography and inappropriate advertising has increased since 2007. Foul language is the most common type of challenging content heard on radio.

“The good news is that parents are being far more active in monitoring their children’s use – but why are children being exposed to this material in the first place. Our first concern should be the protection and welfare of children,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ.

“The Broadcasting Standards Authority which ironically commissioned the research have tried to argue that their standards are reflecting community standards and that there is a ‘softening’ of attitudes. However, it is quite clear that as they allow broadcasters to push the boundaries, the standards are lowered, offensive material becomes more mainstream, and is then used far more in the media. Families are now telling us that they think it is pointless complaining, yet they are more and more concerned about declining standards.”

“Also of concern is that only one in three parents have software on devices to prevent access to certain objectionable or inappropriate online sites,” says Mr McCoskrie.

In 2013 the BSA released a survey which shows that their own standards are out of sync with the views of the public. The survey, What not to Swear: The acceptability of words in Broadcasting, reveals that highly offensive words – deemed unacceptable by half of the respondents in their survey – can still be heard anytime from 8.30pm onwards on television in NZ, and often during so-called family movies.

“Parents are sick and tired of lunging for the remote to protect children from offensive and inappropriate content – including promos for upcoming adult-rated programmes during the early evening, and even during news programmes which children may be watching for educational purposes,” says Mr McCoskrie.

Family First continues to call for the development and enforcing of higher standards for TV, film, radio and advertising content including stronger censorship of violence, sexual content and objectionable language, and a complete overhaul of the BSA, ASA and Censorship Board with greater community and family representation. Family First has already called on the government to join the UK in having pornography blocked by their internet provider unless they specifically choose to receive it.
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NZDF Hard at Work in Vanuatu

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MIL OSI – Source: New Zealand Defence Force – NZDF Hard at Work in Vanuatu

The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) sealift vessel HMNZS Canterbury has begun unloading vital stores and equipment to assist Vanuatu in the wake of Tropical Cyclone Pam.

Fourteen NZDF personnel and three New Zealand Fire Service staff landed at Rovo Bay on Epi Island yesterday to start repairs at the Vailame Medical Centre. Work is also scheduled for this weekend at the local school in the hope that the buildings can be ready for classes tomorrow.

The tasks have been prioritised in consultation with Vanuatu Government representatives who are on site with the aid teams.

The Commanding Officer of HMNZS Canterbury, Commander (CDR) Simon Rooke, said that it was very satisfying to be getting the much-needed aid to Epi and the outlying islands.

“Everyone is really happy that we are here and are moving stores and personnel ashore. On Saturday a landing craft took 15 tonnes of Red Cross stores to a neighbouring island, then took the NZDF engineering teams ashore, and the helicopter was also busy moving people to where they needed to be.

“The beauty of this ship is that we have a platform that can put a very capable force to work, but we don’t put any additional demands on the island,” CDR Rooke said.

“Having combined reconnaissance teams of NZDF, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Vanuatu Government personnel going ahead of us sets up access for us, allowing us to prioritise work and decide what to put where and when.

“It has been a really well co-ordinated activity. Everyone here has the same sense of purpose and vision, and we are all determined to provide maximum effect to improve the situation of the people on these islands as soon as possible.

“We are all focused on the same thing so that makes it really easy to work together,” he said.

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Evening Report Video Cross To Hanoi – NZ’s Reputation in South East Asia

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Evening Report: We Cross To Hanoi To Talk With Matt Robson on NZ’s Reputation in South East Asia After The Snowden GCSB Revelations Evening Report: We Cross To Hanoi To Talk With Matt Robson on NZ’s Reputation in South East Asia after revelations that the New Zealand Government’s GCSB has been spying on ASEAN member states and officials. Interviewer: Selwyn Manning (in Auckland). Here in New Zealand the issue of the John Key Government’s credibility has arisen, especially since New Zealand First leader Winston Peters achieved a huge win against the National Party machine in the Northland by-election. But what is the mood in South East Asia after it was revealed the New Zealand Government, via the GCSB, had been spying on our friends and significant trading partners in that region? We cross live to Hanoi, Vietnam, to talk to former Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs, Matt Robson. MIL Video: This video is copyright to Evening Report and Multimedia Investments Ltd (MIL).]]>

Gareth Renowden on Totten hots up, ice shelves melting: it’s grim down south

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Hot-Topic.co.nz Totten hots up, ice shelves melting: it’s grim down south AntarcticaCryosat2Much news in recent weeks from Antarctica, and none of it good. An Argentinian base on the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula recently reported a new high temperature record for the continent — 17.5ºC. A team of scientists has discovered that East Antarctica’s Totten Glacier — which drains a catchment that contains enough ice to raise sea levels by 3.5 metres — is vulnerable to melting caused by warm ocean water lapping underneath the ice and reaching inland1. Another group has stitched together satellite data on ice shelf thickness gathered from 1994 to 2012 and found that the ice shelves — mostly stable at the beginning of the period, are now losing mass fast2. From the abstract:

Overall, average ice-shelf volume change accelerated from negligible loss at 25 ± 64 km3 per year for 1994-2003 to rapid loss of 310 ± 74 km3 per year for 2003-2012. West Antarctic losses increased by 70% in the last decade, and earlier volume gain by East Antarctic ice shelves ceased. In the Amundsen and Bellingshausen regions, some ice shelves have lost up to 18% of their thickness in less than two decades.
The Amundsen region is home to the Pine Island Glacier, notorious for its current rapid loss of mass, and probably already past the point of no return for long term total melt. The map below shows the big picture: large red dots are ice shelves losing mass. Blue dots are shelves gaining mass. Antarcticiceshelves Ice shelves are important features of the Antarctic cryosphere. They buttress the ice piled up on the land, slowing down the flow of ice into the ocean. As the shelves lose mass, the flow of ice from the centre of the continent can speed up, adding to sea level rise. There’s a very good overview of the process — and the findings of the Paulo et al paper — in this excellent Carbon Brief analysis. The study of the Totten Glacier — one of the fastest thinning glaciers in East Antarctica — is the first to look at the detail of the sea floor and ice thickness in the area. The study finds that there are “tunnels” under the ice leading into a deep trough inland that cold convey warm water inland — the same process that has destabilised the Pine Island Glacier in West Antarctica. As the authors suggest, rather drily, “coastal processes in this area could have global consequences”. These signs of rapid changes around the coasts of Antarctica, together with hints that large parts of the huge East Antarctic ice sheet are at risk of following West Antarctica into the sea, suggest that even if sea levels only rise by a metre by the end of this century as the IPCC projected last year, the longer term picture will be a great deal wetter than that. After all, there is the equivalent of 60 metres of sea level rise locked up in East Antarctica. For a very good overview of the state of our understanding of what’s going on in Antarctica, I recommend a listen to VUW’s Professor Tim Naish being interviewed by Radio New Zealand National’s Kim Hill last Saturday. Naish even covers what’s happening to the sea ice down there, but a longer term study of the sea ice is getting under way, led by another VUW prof — Jim Renwick.
  1. Greenbaum JS et al, (2015), Ocean access to a cavity beneath Totten Glacier in East Antarctica, Nature Geoscience, doi:10.1038/ngeo2388 [↩]
  2. Paolo, F.S. et al, (2015), Volume loss from Antarctic ice shelves is accelerating, Science, doi/10.1126/science.aaa0940

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Keith Rankin Reflecting on the Northland By-election

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Analysis by Keith Rankin – First Published on Scoop.co.nz. [caption id="attachment_2497" align="alignleft" width="300"]National Hoardings - Northland. Image: Courtesy of Twitter.com/stevenljoyce. National Hoardings – Northland. Image: Courtesy of Twitter.com/stevenljoyce.[/caption] NATIONAL’S VULNERABILITY in Northland should have taken nobody by surprise. Winston Peters is a very natural fit in his turangawaeawe. National, on 49% in Northland at the general election did not even have a majority of party votes. Patrick Gower finally noted this in The Nation this weekend, but was completely unaware of its significance; a majority of votes in 2014 were cast for other parties. Instead Gower told us that Northland had been a safe National seat since its inception in 1966! (When will the media stop calling the winning margin in an FPP election a ‘majority’?) Who does Gower’s research? The Northland seat has existed of course since New Zealand became a self-governing colony (long before 1966); albeit under different names. In 1966, under the name of Hobson, Northland was won by the Social Credit leader Vernon Cracknell. Of all the ‘expert’ commentators, the only one I ever heard mention this was Don McKinnon on Q+A yesterday. In character, Northland may be closer to Westland (now West Coast – Tasman), a conservative electorate that is quite different to more typical farming regions such as those in Waikato, Taranaki and Southland. Northland has always been fertile territory for a party like New Zealand First, when the moment was propitious. The most significant presence in Russell on Saturday night may have been Shane Jones, another Maori blokey populist from the North. I can certainly see Jones coming back to Parliament in 2017 on the New Zealand First list, and becoming NZ First leader and Northland candidate in 2020. Now that New Zealand First have this electorate, it has become New Zealand First’s ‘home’ electorate. I cannot see National coming up with a man or woman of the north who could win this seat from a Winston Peters or a Shane Jones. Another significance of Northland is that even the mainstream media is just about getting to understand both FPP and MMP voting. Electorate contests are FPP, a system that only works in a head-to-head contest (and then only at the local level; watch out for lottery-like happenings in the upcoming United Kingdom election). Andrew Little figured this out quick enough. In an FPP contest, the only reason to vote for an ‘also-ran’ electorate candidate is if you are completely indifferent about who actually wins, or if the contest appears to be ‘no contest’ (such as Selwyn or Waikato). What the media present to their consumers as scandalous ‘deals’ (eg around Willow-Jean Prime this time) are now seen as what they always have been; common-sense politics. In general elections, it is the party vote, not the electorate vote that National and Labour need from Northland. At a national level, these head-to-head FPP electorate contests mainly give local colour and ensure a semblance of geographical balance. They also give smaller parties a home base, an opportunity to maintain their proportionality in the party vote without having to meet a 5% threshold. Because in MMP elections (not FPP by-elections) the actual election is the Party Vote, tribal voters do not have to vote for their party’s candidate when they can actually vote for their party (unlike in the UK). It frees them to vote in their electorate for someone who can win, and who they believe will represent them better than the other man or woman who could win. The mainstream media are on the verge of getting this. Almost everyone else got it long ago. The outrage about electorate ‘deals’ has always a mainstream media beat-up. –]]>

WEST PAPUA: Leaders meet solidarity groups in Brisbane

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MIL OSI Analysis – Pacific Media Centre/Pacific Media Watch

ULMWP spokesman Benny Wenda … at the solidarity meeting in Australia. Image: Free West Papua

Monday, March 30, 2015

Item: 9187

BRISBANE (Free West Papua Campaign/Pacific Media Watch): West Papuan leaders of the newly formed United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), including Benny Wenda, Octovianus Mote and Rex Rumakiek, met in Brisbane over the weekend with Australian and some Aotearoa/New Zealand solidarity groups. As their campaign for full membership for West Papua to the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) gains momentum, the ULMWP met to strengthen campaign support for the July MSG meeting in Honiara, where the application for West Papuan membership will be considered. The newly formed ULMWP is the coordinating body representing all organisations in the struggle for West Papuan self-determination as a unified front. West Papua solidarity campaigners at a rally in Brisbane at the weekend. Image: Free West Papua CampaignMore than 40 delegates representing 13 West Papuan solidarity groups from across Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand, met in Woollangabba, Brisbane, with theULMWP to network, hear stories and develop resources for the campaign to gain full membership of the MSG for West Papua. Benny Wenda, spokesperson for the ULMWP, said: “This gathering is very significant because this is where the people who have been behind us from the beginning of the campaign until today contribute their ideas. “We cannot do this on our own, we need everyone to come together to bring West Papua back to the family of Melanesian countries in the Pacific”. The solidarity groups meeting agreed on pursuing a coordinated strategy of activism with Pacific Island communities, Indigenous and church communities in the lead up to the July MSG meeting. ‘One family’ Mary Joku-Ponifasio, a West Papuan member of the New Zealand-based group Oceania Interrupted, said: “I encourage Pacific Island women to speak out for the women who are suffering in West Papua and be their voice. We Melanesian women are one family.” “Australians and New Zealanders can play a vital role in supporting the Melanesian nations in standing up to the regional powers and moving to end the illegal occupation of West Papua.” Peter Arndt, meeting co-organiser and representative of the West Papua Solidarity Group Brisbane, said: “There is growing support for West Papua in our region, and it is vital for all the solidarity groups to work together to support the ULMWP’s efforts to achieve this important step towards freedom for West Papua.” “There is now an opportunity to turn this support into concrete, effective action, by getting the MSG leaders to grant West Papua a voice at the table.”

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Peters Winning Speech: We Asked You To Send A Message And You Have

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MIL OSI – Source: New Zealand First – Speech – We Asked You To Send A Message And You Have New Zealand First Leader and Northland by-election candidate, Rt HonWinston Peters Speech at Duke of Marlborough Hotel Russell 28th March,2015 WE ASKED YOU TO SEND A MESSAGE AND YOU HAVE [caption id="attachment_2529" align="alignleft" width="300"]New Zealand First leader Winston Peters. New Zealand First leader Winston Peters.[/caption]We must thank the people of Northland who put aside their party preferences and came out to vote for Northland. We must thank all of those people within our party, and so many who are not members but who nevertheless have done all they possibly could to bring us home in front tonight. To all those people who gave us financial support to fund this campaign our sincere gratitude. To all those people who helped the campaign along the way with kindness and encouragement, thank you indeed. May I say to my opponents in this campaign you have not to despair you have our understanding and sympathy and no one should hold you accountable for past neglect and political abandonment. If they do, then they will show they have no understanding of the economic and social conditions of this electorate called Northland. We went along hundreds of country roads and to many hamlets to speak to those New Zealanders.whether on farms, in  small factories or in shops, to share their anxiety at the lack of sympathy there is in the corridors of power for their persona; and family situations. Whether it be a young Northlander looking for a job with decent wages or a farmer in a critical industry yet struggling to survive with high interest rates and a deeply damaging currency. In the Northland by-election New Zealand First took “the road less travelled”, or never travelled at all. We went to thousands of forgotten people and they have responded and that has made all the difference. What this means is that New Zealand First has put the voters of Northland first. In a real campaign devoid of stage managed spin laden platitudes this by-election was about what really maters to the voters of Northland. So we campaigned on the real state of jobs, poverty, education, housing, roads and infrastructure, businesses and primary product enterprises in Northland. We in Northland know we are not alone and there are many regions suffering from years of neglect and a lack of a genuine regional development policy. They have seen their regions being hollowed out while resources are poured in elsewhere. No one should underestimate how difficult this campaign was from the outside. Just four weeks ago when we knew we were ready we launched our campaign, 17,412 votes behind. We have to put aside our political differences up here if we are going to restore this province and this electorate to its rightful position in New Zealand That’s why we are here in Russell tonight, symbolic of where the power once lay in this country, with the full intention that hereafter, it will be restored. We made a commitment to you in this campaign that if you voted for us then there  would never be a future important economic and social issue in the corridors of power without they first turned and asked, “but what does Northland think?” We asked you to to send them a message, and you have – so resounding that they must now respond. –]]>

NZ ICT sector thanked for work on IRD transformation

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Headline: NZ ICT sector thanked for work on IRD transformation

Revenue Minister Todd McClay has thanked the New Zealand ICT sector for their collaboration with Inland Revenue on the modernisation and simplification of New Zealand’s tax system.

“Tomorrow we will launch two discussion documents that will outline the overall direction of the modernisation and ask for feedback. I would like to acknowledge the hard work already put in by the ICT sector,” says Mr McClay.

In October 2014 a working group with 20 representatives from small, medium and large software developers was established to co-design how GST and PAYE information could be transferred to Inland Revenue in the future.

“This group is helping Inland Revenue design smart ways to file returns electronically from within software packages. For example, businesses will be able to submit their GST and payroll information directly to IRD with the press of a button,” says Mr McClay.

In parallel, Inland Revenue is working with major software developers, MYOB and Xero.

“We are using their extensive knowledge to learn how we can simplify processes for small businesses.

“The Government is making a major investment in simplifying the tax system for New Zealand taxpayers, so we want to make sure it delivers significant improvements for third parties and New Zealand as a whole, not just Inland Revenue,” says Mr McClay.

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John Key now admits no broad support for RMA changes – Labour

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MIL OSI – Source: Labour Party – John Key now admits no broad support for RMA changes John Key has now been forced to admit that he never had the broad political support to gut the Resource Management Act, says Labour’s Environment spokesperson Megan Woods. “Cornerstone legislation such as the RMA should never be changed without genuine consultation with all the parties in Parliament. “Now that National has lost Northland John Key is suddenly talking of ripping up the changes. It shows that the Government only ever had a knife-edge majority for any change. “This is the second time National has had to abandon their attempts to change the RMA. Last term they could not get the numbers, even from their own support partners, after Minister Amy Adam tried to gut it. “The fact is that the Government has not revealed any detail of what changes they are proposing for the RMA. All we have ever had is an over-cooked speech from Nick Smith in January. “A bottom line for Labour is that we will not support the gutting of the fundamental principles of the RMA – this is the tool for protecting ordinary people’s enjoyment of their property and their environment. “Labour is happy, and has always been happy, to look at any sensible changes that do not water down our environmental protections,” says Megan Woods. –]]>

New Zealand’s dark history and violent present revealed in award-winning plays.

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MIL OSI – Source: Creative New Zealand – New Zealand’s dark history and violent present revealed in award-winning plays. PLAYMARKET is pleased to announce the ADAM NZ PLAY AWARD winners for 2015: Anders Falstie-Jensen for Centrepoint and Hone Kouka for Bless the Child. The Adam NZ Play Award recognises and celebrates the best in new writing for the theatre. Director of Playmarket Murray Lynch announced the win at Circa Theatre on 28 March 2015 alongside four other special award winners. Based on meticulous research and interviews Centrepoint is a fictional take on the story of New Zealand’s most notorious community. In order to save their marriage, Kate and Neil decide that a change is needed. Inspired by the vision of Bert Potter, they sell everything they own and, with their two young children, move to Centrepoint. As they embrace the community’s radical lifestyle their family is changed in ways that they could never have imagined. Anders Falstie-Jensen was born in Denmark and has lived in Aotearoa since 2001. He is one of the founding members of The Rebel Alliance Theatre Company. He has worked as a director, writer, producer and in many other roles in the theatre. His writing credits include A Night of French Mayhem (2007), The Bomb (2008) and Standstill (2012). Bless the Child eloquently and passionately highlights the tragic issue of violence against children. Another Maori child has died and hotshot lawyer Khan Te Ahi Richards is reluctantly dragged in to the case to defend the mother as the whanau close ranks. Shardae, mother to the deceased child, is demonised and guilty until proven innocent. Who killed baby and will they be found out?  Affecting all is Ruaumoko, god of earthquakes and unborn children. Hone Kouka (Ngati Porou, Ngati Raukawa, Ngati Kahungunu) is an acclaimed Maori writer, winner of the Bruce Mason Award (1992) and multiple Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards. His plays, which have been produced throughout Aotearoa and around the world, include Waiora, Nga Tangata Toa, The Prophet, Tu and the solo show I, George Nepia. Hone has published five books and co-founded theatre production house Tawata Productions with Miria George. Tawata produces the works of emerging and established Maori, Pasifika and tauiwi playwrights and the Matariki Development Festival. Hone became a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Contemporary Maori Theatre in June 2009. Dean Parker was named Runner Up for his play Polo, an hilarious evisceration of class and politics set amongst the Auckland glitterati and full of sparkling dialogue and despicable characters. Highly Commended was awarded to Tom McCrory for his play Significance in which an ageing Shakespeare muses on the death of his son. The Adam NZ Play Award, now in its eighth year, is the only one of its kind for new writing. Playmarket’s only entrance requirements are that the playwright be a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident and that the play has not yet had a production. The award is generously funded by the Adam Foundation. Playmarket is also very grateful for the support of Circa Theatre, and major funders: ASB Community Trust and Creative New Zealand. ADAM AWARD WINNERS 2015 Anders Falstie-Jensen for Centrepoint and Hone Kouka for Bless the Child Runner-up: Dean Parker for Polo Best Play by a Woman Playwright: Michelanne Forster for The Gift of Tongues Best Play by a Maori Playwright: Hone Kouka for Bless the Child Best Play by a Pasifika Playwright: David Mamea for Kingswood Highly Commended: Tom McCrory for Significance Finalists: Aroha Awarau for Officer 27 Sam Brooks for Spitting it Out Kip Chapman for Hudson and Halls Live! Denis Edwards for Service to Love Pip Hall for Squeak Squeak – Tales of the White Mouse Nathan Joe for Who is Sada Abe? Part One: Bullfight of Love Riwia Mackenzie-Brown for The Violet and the Huia Feather Ken Mizusawa for Why We Do What We Do? James Nokise for The Last Part Gavin McGibbon for Congregation Robyn Patterson for The World’s First Fight April Phillips for Charlotte Badger – Miscreant, Mother, Mutineer! John Smythe for Where there’s a Will Aroha White for 2080 –]]>

National’s changes leave student bodies in chaos – Cunliffe

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MIL OSI – Source: Labour Party – National’s changes leave student bodies in chaos The chaos created by National’s scrapping of compulsory student association membership may force the 86-year old Union of Students Association to fold, Labour’s Tertiary Education spokesperson David Cunliffe says. “National’s 2011 Voluntary Student Membership Act has left student associations with no minimum funding. “While some are well set up, many are underfunded and hamstrung by their universities. This law change means these vital independent student bodies depend on the decisions of institutions for their funding. “Student associations are such a mess that the Union of Student Associations has just 10 members left after major institutions such as Canterbury and Waikato universities pulled out several years ago and now Victoria and Otago are leaving. “Despite representing 400,000 tertiary students, the union established in 1929 may have to fold. “Tertiary education has never been more important to driving our dynamic economy and building a strong and vibrant New Zealand. But student life has never been less affordable and too many young New Zealanders are being locked out. “Having a strong voice for students is critical for them and for New Zealand,” David Cunliffe says. –]]>

More parents resolving disputes outside court

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MIL OSI – Source: New Zealand Government – More parents resolving disputes outside court Almost 70 per cent of family disputes referred to mediation involving children are being settled out of court a year on from the Government’s family justice reforms says Justice Minister Amy Adams. The reforms, which have been in effect for a year tomorrow, place out-of-court community-based resolution services at the heart of the system to resolve family disputes about the care of children. Ms Adams says the reforms have delivered a modern, accessible family justice system that encourages parents to reach out-of-court agreements about arrangements for the care of their children. The suite of reforms was the biggest overhaul since the Family Court was established in 1981. “The new system is reducing the stress experienced by families and children, by avoiding the delays, conflict and expense that court proceedings entail through greater use of out-of-court mediation,” says Ms Adams. The centrepiece of the reforms is the new Family Dispute Resolution (FDR) service where, working with mediators, parents sort out disputes about the care of their children. “FDR is proving highly successful, of the 905 disputes referred to FDR in the last year, 68 per cent of mediations resolved all matters, and a further 18 per cent resolved some matters. “Almost seven out of ten disputes referred to mediation are being resolved without having to go to court which is reducing the inevitable stress children and families face when their parents separate.  It also means the Family Court can now focus on the most difficult cases, especially those involving family violence, that require judicial expertise,” says Ms Adams. Ms Adams said there was a strong focus on family violence. “With these reforms bedding in, family violence remains a priority area. The reforms have refocused the system and mean we’re now able to concentrate on the more difficult matters,” says Ms Adams. The reforms relate to Care of Children Act matters, which account for about 40 per cent of Family Court applications. While most cases are now initially referred to FDR, urgent matters (e.g., disputes that involve domestic violence or abuse) continue to go straight to the Family Court, where all parties are entitled to legal representation and, if eligible, to legal aid. Fewer applications are being filed in the court since the reforms were implemented. The number of active applications on hand at 31 January 2015 since 31 March 2014 has reduced by 12 per cent. Background A Ministry of Justice review of family justice in 2011 found court processes were complex, uncertain and too slow.  There was a lack of focus on children and vulnerable people, and not enough support to assist parties to resolve parenting and relationship issues out-of-court. For those participants who are eligible for government funding (an estimated 60 per cent of participants) their share of Family Dispute Resolution is fully funded by the government. Those participants who are not eligible for full funding can access the Family Dispute Resolution service for no more than $897 (including GST) from government providers. Key statistics:

  • In the year 31 March 2014 to 2 March 2015;
  • 2348 assessments were completed. Of these, 1278 were suitable for Family Dispute Resolution.
  • There were 793 exemptions.
  • 905 mediations were held with 68 per cent resolving all matters. A further 18 per cent resolved some matters.
  • Only 14 per cent had no issues resolved.
  • 5,199 people have completed Parenting through Separation courses
  • 4,033 people have accessed the new Family Legal Advice Service;
  • There have been almost 4 million page views on the Family Justice website (www.justice.govt.nz/family-justice)
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National environmental report topics announced – Statistics NZ

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MIL OSI – Source: Statistics New Zealand – National environmental report topics announced Secretary for the Environment Dr Paul Reynolds and Government Statistician Liz MacPherson today announced the topics that will be the focus of the Environment Aotearoa 2015 and Environmental indicators Te taiao Aotearoa reports. The national environment reports are being compiled by the Ministry for the Environment and Statistics New Zealand, and will be released in the middle of this year. The broad range of topics includes river quality, native plants and animals, ocean acidity and impacts on human health. Dr Reynolds said the report was the start of a journey to give New Zealanders a comprehensive overview of the environment. “The reports will contain high-quality data on five key environmental domains – air, climate and atmosphere, land, fresh water and marine,” he said. “They will assess the environmental health of each domain with data from key topics.” The Ministry for the Environment and Statistics NZ spent months assessing existing data available from a list of potential topics to include in the reports. Experts from many sectors provided advice. The Ministers of Statistics and the Environment approved the topics, but the public will be consulted about topics for future reports. Ms MacPherson said the assessment used Statistics NZ’s rigorous criteria. “This means New Zealanders can have confidence in the information we will publish about why, where and how New Zealand’s environment is changing, as well as what impact this is having on our lifestyle, standard of living, and well-being.” Data to measure the topics come from existing datasets so councils and ratepayers will not face additional costs. For some topics, data of sufficient quality are not yet available. The list of measures, or statistics released today are provisional at this stage as the assessment process has not been completed and the full set of national indicators, case studies, and supplementary information has not been signed off by the Government Statistician. Central and local government are working together to improve the representativeness, consistency and quality of future environmental data and reporting. Dr Reynolds said Environment Aotearoa 2015 and Environmental indicators Te taiao Aotearoa were developed in parallel with legislation to make future environmental reporting more regular, more independent, and more useful. The Environmental Reporting Bill is before Parliament and is expected to be passed in the next couple of months. “Once the legislation is passed, the Government will consult with the public on which environmental topics will be reported on under each domain,” he said. Read the topics: New Zealand’s Environmental Reporting Series: 2015 topics and provisional statistics. –]]>

Fight against weeds goes hi-tech

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MIL OSI – Source: University of Otago – Fight against weeds goes hi-tech: WWF-New Zealand partners with University of Otago to develop iPhone app Monday, 30 March 2015 3:27pm With Flora Finder – WEED mobile app, users will soon be able to instantly identify problem weed species just by taking photographs using the camera on their smart phones and devices. With weeds in New Zealand costing billions to control and often causing irreversible damage to ecosystems, the University of Otago is bringing the war on weeds into the hi-tech space with help from a Conservation Innovation $5,000 grant from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Using the leaf shape recognition technology in the Flora Finder mobile application, users will soon be able to instantly identify problem weed species just by taking photographs using the camera on their smart phones and devices. Up to 80 of the most common weed species will be included in the app. “We are always looking for new ways to make conservation easier for everyone to participate in. This app caught our attention because it will provide instant ID of our worst weeds and encourage action before they get out of control,” said Michele Frank, Community Conservation Coordinator for WWF. Targeted at identifying weeds earlier, Flora Finder – WEED solves the problem of users not knowing which weedy plant they are looking at and how to deal with it. “Even if the app can’t identify the weed, Flora Finder – WEED aims to have the capacity for users to attach unidentified photographs of weeds to an email which could be sent to local experts for identification. In essence Flora Finder – WEED becomes a citizen science application” said Graham Strong, commercialisation manager with Otago Innovation Limited. With $5,000 in support from the WWF combined with the technical expertise of the Flora Finder partners (Otago Innovation Ltd, the University of Otago Botany Department, and MEA mobile), Flora Finder – WEED is expected to be available to the public by October 2015. Graham StrongOtago Innovation LimitedEmail: graham.strong@otagoinnovation.com Rosa Argent WWF-New ZealandMob: 027 212 3103 About Otago Innovation Limited Otago Innovation Limited is the technology transfer office of the University of Otago, Dunedin, NZ. They help University of Otago Research Researchers get their big ideas out there. The team has over 56 years of combined experience, is stable, highly experienced and has a strong reputation and track record for delivering outcomes. They look at all sorts of ideas – products, services, mobile apps, medical devices, novel therapies, ebooks and diagnostics just to name a few. About WWF WWF is one of the world’s largest and most respected independent conservation organizations, with over 5 million supporters and a global network active in over 100 countries. WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the earth’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world’s biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption. About Botany Department University of Otago The Department of Botany at the University of Otago, Dunedin, NZ is the oldest and only Botany Department in a university in NZ. And over the last 90 years has produced famous NZ Botanists like Professor Geoff Baylis and Sir Professor Alan Mark. Of special note, is renowned 19th century artist Mr John Buchanan. A naturalist botanist, Mr Buchanan was also from the Otago Region and one of the plants in Flora Finder is named after him. About MEA MEA Mobile has been building apps since before there was even an app store, creating mobile solutions which are beautifully designed, tested and developed to work seamlessly in your life. MEA has developed and released over 200 apps with millions of downloads and is local, with offices in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington and New Haven, Connecticut. They are a full service digital agency with specialists in branding, marketing, video and digital services. A list of Otago experts available for media comment is available elsewhere on this website. Electronic addresses (including email accounts, instant messaging services, or telephone accounts) published on this page are for the sole purpose of contact with the individuals concerned, in their capacity as officers, employees or students of the University of Otago, or their respective organisation. Publication of any such electronic address is not to be taken as consent to receive unsolicited commercial electronic messages by the address holder. –]]>

New website showcases World War I footage – NZ Government

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MIL OSI – Source: New Zealand Government – New website showcases World War I footage Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry says a new website featuring previously unavailable film from World War I is an engrossing historical resource. Anzac: Sights & Sounds, from Ngā Taonga Sound and Vision, gives an evocative, insightful and compelling view of the conflict, using archival film footage gathered from across the world, recorded interviews, songs and photographs. “The films and audio recordings on the website are an extraordinary record of a tragic and painful time in New Zealand’s history,” Ms Barry says. “Sounds and images give an emotional, personal connection to the past. Watching the footage, you can picture yourself saying goodbye to your loved ones, knowing it might be for the last time.” “Having this footage publicly available at no cost makes the site an important part of our ongoing World War I commemorations. It will also be a valuable education tool.” The focus of the launch is on the Gallipoli campaign in 1915 as well as the home front, with more footage from later in the war to be added as other anniversaries approach. Highlights include a recording of the Otago Regiment leaving Dunedin in 1914 as well as the soldier’s recollections of life in the trenches of the Dardanelles. “You get a real sense of what their lives were like in the appalling conditions at Gallipoli. You can feel the camaraderie, the experiences and also the sense of humour that bound them all together in the horrific battles they had to endure.” www.anzacsightsound.org –]]>

Without Consent reveals the truth of Australia’s past

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MIL OSI – Source: National Archives of Australia – Without Consent reveals the truth of Australia’s past A new exhibition Without Consent: Australia’s past adoption practices, at the National Archives of Australia, brings to light the previously hidden adoption practices of Australia’s past. It has offered those affected by forced adoptions the opportunity to share their experiences – some for the first time ever. The exhibition was today opened by former Prime Minister Julia Gillard who, in 2013, offered a National Apology to the many thousands affected by forced adoption. It is estimated that 250,000 adoptions took place; a significant number were forced adoptions. The mothers who had their babies taken were unmarried and often forced to live a lie for decades. For some, it was a secret they took to their graves.’ We are very proud that, following the Senate enquiry into forced adoptions, the National Archives was given the responsibility to develop this national touring exhibition– and the website we launched last year on the first anniversary of the National Apology,’ said Director-General of the National Archives, David Fricker, at the launch.’ The practice of forced adoption was and is illegal. People suffered physical coercion and emotional manipulation. Informed consent was not given by mothers and fathers; these adoptions were without consent.’ I believe this exhibition is a tribute to the courage and generosity of those who volunteered to share their experiences and, in doing so, exposed this previously unknown aspect of Australia’s history.’ Without the voices of those affected, our nation’s history would rely totally on institutional records that show nothing of the human anguish such practices caused.’ Mr Fricker said he hoped the exhibition would show the truth – that the babies taken for adoption were dearly loved and wanted by their parents. One letter in the exhibition, from a mother to her son, read ‘I loved you so much it hurt, and I loved you much more than I loved myself; that was why I was prepared to sacrifice my happiness for yours’. The exhibition opening at the National Archives of Australia in Canberra was live streamed to Archives offices around the country and shared with stakeholders marking the occasion in other capital cities. Without Consent is on at the National Archives in Canberra until 19 July 2015.NOTE TO ED: High-res images can be downloaded from http://www.naa.gov.au/about-us/media/images/without-consent/index.aspx Facebook: facebook.com/naagovau Twitter: naagovau –  ]]>

KPMG responds to release of Tax Discussion paper

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MIL OSI – Source: KPMG – KPMG responds to release of Tax Discussion paper We welcome the paper‘s clear conclusion that company tax is too high and bracket creep a real issue. It is too often unappreciated that bracket creep is inherently regressive – it is not a problem just for middle to high earners. Similarly, we are glad to see the paper acknowledge that high company tax rates damage the interests of workers in the long run – there is considerable evidence to suggest that in a medium-sized open economy like Australia’s, a lower corporate tax rate would actually help workers by generating increased capital intensity, greater technology transfer, and R&D per employee. This  would lead to greater productivity and hence higher wages. The government’s decision to require unanimous support of states and territories for changes on GST effectively consigns that to the medium future – but as the paper says, GST is an efficient tax and we look forward to the time, which must come, when the federal government does not feel so constrained. The paper notes the growing importance of spending on items not subject to the GST such as goods below $1000 and services sold online.  This is a difficult issue and the Government is looking for solutions that do not carry a substantial compliance burden. On negative gearing, which so many people point to, once again the paper has taken a measured approach and pointed out that the problem lies in the CGT discount, not the interest deduction. It would seem unlikely the Government will seek to deny the ability to offset excess interest expenses related to rental income against salary income. The paper recognises the huge complexity for small business, in part created by concessions and different legal structures.  We welcome moves to reduce administrative burdens on this sector. On a related matter, the Bank Deposit Levy, the Tax Discussion Paper correctly points out that bank accounts are already the highest taxed form of savings. The distortionary effects of the taxation of bank accounts was discussed in the Murray Report and it concluded that a more consistent basis of taxation of all savings would likely increase productivity. KPMG believes that any increased taxation burden on bank accounts in an environment where the ongoing consultation is canvassing a reduction would be premature and prejudge the tax discussion that today’s paper is intended to create. –  ]]>

Welcoming peaceful Nigerian elections, Ban encourages patience as polls wrap up

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MIL OSI – Source: United Nations – Welcoming peaceful Nigerian elections, Ban encourages patience as polls wrap up United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has congratulated the people and Government of Nigeria on the largely peaceful and orderly conduct of yesterday’s presidential and parliamentary elections. In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Mr. Ban condemnedthe attacks reportedly carried out by Boko Haram and others who attempted to disrupt the polling. “He is encouraged by the determination and resilience shown by the Nigerian people in pressing forward and exercising their civic duties in the face of unjustifiable violence.” The Secretary-General’s statement goes on to encourages all Nigerians to continue to maintain a peaceful atmosphere and to exercise patience throughout the ongoing voting process and the announcement of the final results. “He calls on all actors to channel any complaints that might arise through the established dispute resolution mechanisms,” the statement says, adding that the UN chief believes that the successful conclusion of the electoral process will mark an important step forward in further consolidating democracy and the rule of law in Nigeria. –]]>

Russian and Ukrainian parliamentarians discuss conflict resolution at OSCE PA-German Bundestag retreat

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MIL OSI – Source: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe – OSCE – Russian and Ukrainian parliamentarians discuss conflict resolution at OSCE PA-German Bundestag retreat LEINSWEILER, Germany – The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the German Bundestag hosted a retreat and seminar in Leinsweiler, Rhineland-Pfalz, Germany on 28 and 29 March to discuss conflict resolution strategies and hear from experts on German-French rapprochement and post-conflict border issues. The seminar facilitated one of the few direct meetings between Russian and Ukrainian parliamentarians since the crisis in and around Ukraine began. “A few weeks before the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II and in this 40th anniversary year of the Helsinki Final Act, we need to draw lessons from examples of reconciliation and post-conflict rehabilitation between neighbors,” said OSCE PA President Ilkka Kanerva (MP, Finland). “Despite the differences between the conflicts, the German-French example shows that conflicts can be resolved when there is political will and incentives to do so. I hope that my Russian and Ukrainian parliamentary colleagues can take lessons learned from history, and from this seminar, back to their capitals and be inspired to work hard for peace,” Kanerva added. The seminar was addressed by history experts and officials including the former Prime Minister of the state of Rheinland-Pfalz, Kurt Beck; the Head of the Taskforce for the 2016 German OSCE Chairmanship, Ambassador Antje Leendertse; County Chief Executive Theresia Riedmaier; and the Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), former German Foreign Office State Minister Michael Georg Link. On behalf of German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Ambassador Leendertse welcomed the efforts undertaken by the OSCE PA, which she described as a parliamentary parallel to the meetings of governments in the so-called “Normandy format” on the conflict in and around Ukraine. “In any conflict, both sides will be losers,” said former PA President and President of the Parliament of Montenegro Ranko Krivokapic. “In the present conflict in and around Ukraine, it is a particular tragedy that – in contrast to the historical German-French conflict – the peoples of Ukraine and Russia have been living peacefully side by side,” he added. The history experts noted that the German-French example demonstrates the strong desire of citizens affected by conflicts to preserve their cultural identity, their economic livelihoods and their personal freedoms, and that viewing conflicts primarily through military strategy has always led to crisis and even catastrophe. OSCE PA Vice-President Doris Barnett of Germany, who hosted the seminar, and fellow OSCE PA Vice-President Alain Neri of France concluded, “This is why we should not focus on the history of the conflict only, but rather, on possibilities for reconciliation and co-operation in the interest of all affected human beings.” The participants, including the members of the Russian and Ukrainian Delegations to the OSCE PA, welcomed the opportunity for an exchange of views on issues vital to the people affected by the current crisis and agreed to continue talks in support of full compliance with the Minsk Agreements and to help facilitate the resolution of the crisis in and around Ukraine. All participants insisted that local elections in the eastern part of Ukraine, as called for in the Minsk Agreements, must be held in line with OSCE commitments and monitored by election observers, with security guarantees for those observers. Participants also discussed the need to observe developments along the Russian-Ukrainian border in order to receive as much objective information as possible. The Leinsweiler retreat and seminar is part of the “Vienna Process,” which then-OSCE PA President Krivokapic launched in April 2014, following a proposal by Vice-President Barnett. At the 2014 OSCE PA Annual Session in July, OSCE PA President Kanerva also began work on the formation of a high-level Interparliamentary Liaison Group on Ukraine which aims to contribute to confidence-building and conflict resolution. “The Vienna Process aims to the create space for inter-parliamentary dialogue in an intimate setting. Such opportunities are badly needed for any attempt to address the current conflict in and around Ukraine and to achieve what is needed most – namely, to stop human suffering,” said Vice-President Barnett. Participants generally welcomed a suggestion by German OSCE parliamentarian Franz Thonnes, the Deputy Chair of the Bundestag’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, to have a follow-up meeting take place in the north of Germany with a focus on the protection of national minorities, looking at the German-Danish example. OSCE PA participants in the retreat and seminar included: Leadership President Ilkka Kanerva (Finland) President Emeritus Ranko Krivokapic (Montenegro) Vice-President and Head of the German Delegation Doris Barnett Vice-President and First Deputy Head of the French Delegation Alain Neri Russian Delegation  Nikolay Kovalev Oganes Oganyan Ukrainian Delegation Nataliia Ahafonova Olha Belkova Sergey Vysotskyi Other parliamentarians Franz Thonnes (Germany) Josip Juratovic (Germany) Deputy Head of the Swiss Delegation Filippo Lombardi – –  ]]>

iPredict: New Zealand Weekly Economic & Political Update

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IPREDICT LTD: NEW ZEALAND WEEKLY ECONOMIC & POLITICAL UPDATE

www.ipredict.co.nz

BENNETT NOW CLEAR FAVOURITE TO SUCCEED KEY

iPredictPaula Bennett is now the clear favourite to succeed John Key as leader of the National Party after Steven Joyce’s prospects plunged to just 13%, only one point ahead of Jonathan Coleman, according to the combined wisdom of the 8000+ registered traders on New Zealand’s predictions market, iPredict.  Mr Key’s medium-term hold on the leadership remains strong however, with only a 27% probability he will step down before the next General Election – although there is now a 77% chance he will be gone by the end of 2017.  There is nearly a 50% probability New Zealand will sign the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership in 2015 but just a 33% chance it will be ratified by the US Congress before mid-2017.

New Zealand Politics:

·       John Key expected to remain National leader until at least the end of 2016 (79% probability, down from 88% last week) but has just a 23% probability of remaining National leader until at least the end of 2017 (down from 32% last week).  Mr Key has a 73% probability of being National leader on Nomination Day before the next General Election (new stock)

·       Andrew Little expected to remain Labour leader until at least the end of 2016 (95% probability, down from 97% last week) and has a 68% probability of remaining Labour leader until the end of 2017 (down from 72% last week).  Mr Little has a 90% probability of being Labour leader on Nomination Day before the next General Election (new stock)

·       Paula Bennett is the clear favourite to become National Party leader if a vacancy arises (35%, up from 33% last week), followed by Steven Joyce (13%, down from 26%) and Jonathan Coleman (12%)

·       Stocks on who is favoured to become Labour Party leader if a vacancy arises will be launched in the near future

·       Kevin Hague is strongly expected to be the next co-leader of the Green Party (82% probability, up from 62% last week), followed by James Shaw on 14%

·       Judith Collins expected to be appointed to Cabinet before next election (55% probability, steady compared with last week)

·       Next election expected in 2017 (92% probability, steady compared with last week)

·       Forecast party vote shares at next election:

o   National                             44.2% (down from 45.1% last week)

o   Labour                               32.8% (up from 32.6%)

o   Greens                               11.0% (steady)

o   NZ First                               7.2% (up from 6.9%)

o   Others                                 4.8% (up from 4.4%)

·       National narrowly expected to win 2017 General Election (53% probability, down from 55% last week)

·       Almost no chance Wellington councils will be amalgamated by end of 2015 (only 7% probability they will be, up from 6% 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 (82% probability, up from 79% last week)

·       New Zealand dollar expected to reach parity with Australian dollar by the end of 2015 (55% probability, down from 57% last week) but not before July 2015 (20% probability, down from 23%)

·       Quarterly GDP growth expected to be:

o   0.8% in the March quarter (steady compared with last week)

o   1.1% in the June quarter (steady)

o   1.1% in the September quarter (steady)

o   1.1% in the December quarter (steady)

·       Annual growth expected to be 4.1% in the 2015 calendar year (steady compared with last week)

·       Unemployment expected to be:

o   5.4% in the March quarter (steady compared with last week)

o   5.3% in the June quarter (steady)

o   5.2% in the September quarter (steady)

o   5.3% in the December quarter (steady)

·       Current account deficit expected to be:

o   3.6% of GDP in the March quarter (steady compared with last week)

o   3.5% in the June quarter (steady)

o   3.4% in the September quarter (steady)

o   3.5% in the December quarter (new stocks)

·       Annual inflation expected to be:

o   0.3% to end of March 2015 quarter (up from 0.2% last week)

o   0.4% to end of June 2015 quarter (steady)

o   0.6% to end of September 2015 quarter (steady)

o   1.0% to end of December 2015 quarter (steady)

·       Official Cash Rate priced to be:

o   3.488% on 30 April (steady compared with last week)

o   3.475% on 11 June (steady)

o   3.458% on 23 July (up from 3.455%)

o   3.424% on 10 September (up from 3.417%)

o   3.405% on 29 October (up from 3.395%)

o   3.387% on 10 December (up from 3.377%)

o   3.377% on 28 January 2016 (up from 3.367%)

o   3.374% on 10 March 2016 (up from 3.364%)

o   3.364% on 28 April 2016 (up from 3.354%)

o   3.354% on 9 June 2016 (up from 3.344%)

·       This implies the OCR is more likely than not to be cut on 28 January 2016  to 3.25% (steady compared with last week) and to remain at that rate until at least 9 June 2016 (steady)

·       28% probability of a fiscal surplus in 2014/15 (steady compared with last week)

·       Fiscal balance expected to be:

o   -0.14% of GDP in 2014/15 (up from -0.16% 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   $4.79 in 2014/15 (down from $4.82 last week)

o   $5.86 in 2015/16 (down from $6.10)

o   $6.43 in 2016/17 (down from $6.49)

Foreign Affairs/Constitution:

·       Next UK Parliament expected to consist of:

o   Conservatives                               37.9% of seats in the House of Commons (steady compared with last week)

o   Labour                                          35.3% of seats (steady)

o   Nationalist parties                           7.1% of seats (steady)

o   UKIP and similar                             6.0% of seats (steady)

o   Liberal Democrats                           5.2% of seats (down from 5.3%)

o   Unionist parties                               2.2% of seats (steady)

o   Green and similar                            2.1% of seats (steady)

o   Independents and Speaker               2.1% of seats (steady)

o   All others                                        2.2% of seats (steady)

·       David Cameron expected to be prime minister after next UK election (58% probability, down from 63% last week)

·       Boris Johnson expected to be elected to UK House of Commons this year (91% probability, steady)

·       Socialist Workers’ Party expected to defeat People’s Party in next Spanish election (75% probability, up from 71% last week)

·       All Eurozone countries, including Greece, expected to remain in Euro in 2015 (21% probability of an announcement of a departure this year, down from 23% last week)

·       Tony Abbott is expected to remain leader of the Australian Liberal Party until 1 July 2015 (only 23% probability of departing before then, steady compared with last week) but be replaced as leader of the Australian Liberal Party by nomination day (53% probability Malcolm Turnbull will be leader on that day, up from 50% last week)

·       Bill Shorten expected to be Labor leader at next Australian Federal election (86% probability, down from 88% 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 (49% probability, up from 47% last week).  Jeb Bush has a 45% probability of being the Republican nominee (steady compared with last week) followed by Scott Walker (20% probability, up from 19%)

·       There is a 48% probability New Zealand will sign the Trans-Pacific Partnership this year (up from 17% last week), but the Trans-Pacific Partnership is not expected to be ratified by the US Congress before 1 July 2017 (only 33% probability it will be, up from 31% last week)

·       Helen Clark’s prospects of being the next UN Secretary General are 25% (steady compared with 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 8.13 am today. 

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Keith Rankin on Games of Dominos: Selection, Rejection and Belief

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Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin.[/caption]

ON Q+A LAST WEEKEND I heard Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee say “Terrorist organizations will sprout up all over the place, but this one needs to be seriously nipped in the bud”. And then I heard the New York Times‘ Marsha Gessen say “It is impossible to underestimate how much of a threat Putin is to the western world”. The first implies that a really heavy-handed military response to IS will somehow make us safer. And the second verges on implying something similar may be soon required to suppress Russian ambition.

The problem underlined by the quotes above is that the beliefs that underpin these statements may lead us into actions that substantially aggravate the problems such actions would be purportedly addressing.

It got me thinking about how we decide on a course of action, and about the principles of selection more generally. Essentially, I conclude, Darwinian natural selection, the scientific method, market forces and wilful blindness represent different aspects of the same mechanism. Essentially it’s a rejection mechanism.

In Darwinian natural rejection, the course of the future is moulded by death and a lack of sex. Your genes are not passed on if you die young, or if you die in circumstances that compromise the life chances of your descendants. And your genes are not passed on if you or your kin reproduce less sustainably than others with other genes. Which genes prove more successful varies in different environments.

Group selection/rejection also applies; groups made up of too many selfish individuals perish on account of their collectively unsustainable behaviour. Groups pursuing unsustainable strategies are less likely to survive than groups behaving sustainably. The most successful groups are those that can contain unsustainable tendencies that emerge within those groups.

In the scientific method, the principal criterion for rejection is empirical disproof. Thus carbon-14 techniques to measure the age of ancient biota disprove the long-held biblical hypothesis that the earth is less than 7,000 years old. When facts get in the way of beliefs, in the scientific method hypotheses are selected because dogmatic beliefs are rejected through factual evidence.

The scientific method is a creative and speculative method. Informed conjecture about anything represents a valid hypothesis if it is conceptually capable of being rejected but has not yet been rejected.

In historical analysis the scientific method requires a counterfactual that can only be argued; never measured. Thus if we ask whether the Reserve Bank’s inflation targeting monetary policies have reduced inflation rates, we cannot even begin to answer that question in the absence of a counterfactual scenario. Thus the best ‘truth’ should arise from the most plausible counterfactual. In the absence of contested counterfactuals, we only have faith. Indeed faith is all that underpinned anti-inflationary monetary policy.

Science is the selection mechanism that defines modernity. Yet the application of the scientific method to the ‘soft sciences’ has been very limited, because we have not yet got into the habit of creating contestable counterfactuals. We have no widely practised mechanism for rejecting beliefs that are most probably false.

In economics, selection takes place through markets. Again, it is really a rejection mechanism; your business does not survive if too few people buy your wares. Markets don’t just exist in the worlds of goods and services. There are, for example, relationship markets, which take us back to the sexual side of Darwinian selection. And there are markets for ideas, or ‘propositions’ of truth. Yet market failure reigns.

In markets, a ‘true’ idea is an idea that people will buy. More to the point, propositions are rejected if they are not able to be sold; and this often has little to do with how well argued a proposition is. A proposition will be rejected if it cannot engender an audience. A proposition may be rejected if it is drowned out by other propositions. A proposition is less likely to be rejected if it serves the interests of an influential group of buyers, regardless of its merit in any scientific sense. There are imbalances in the distribution of selection influence, as well as in the distribution of income.

Success in markets conforms with the selection principle of consumer sovereignty. Rejection takes place when a thing or an idea is unattractive to influential buyers. However, a new idea that becomes attractive to many uninfluential buyers may prevail over an old idea that remains attractive to a small number of influential buyers of ideas. The adoption of MMP voting in New Zealand was one such example. (Indeed democracy itself is such an idea, rejected for many centuries in the skewed marketplace of ideas.)

Finally wilful blindness represents a refusal to consider any choice other than a prior belief. It means that we are prone to reject anything that does not fit our preconceptions; in particular it means we will reject such things by subconsciously choosing not to even be aware of what we are rejecting. Thus our preconceived ideas – our beliefs – survive, and ideas that deign to challenge them generally do not. And this may be true even when there is a clear and present change in the information we are confronted with.

Remember those Iraqi “weapons of mass destruction”. They were so obviously a political ruse. Yet so many of us seemed to fall for it. The naïve mainstream media gave credibility to an obvious pretext for western aggression. It was our leaders who wanted to go to war, and we were so easily conned.

Then in economics there is the austerity con in Europe and elsewhere. The arguments for austerity are so obviously false; yet deep-seated beliefs prevent many from seeing the obvious. The people who suffer the least from austerity politics are among those most fearful of ideas that challenge the ethos of paid work and of individual (and political) thrift, even propositions and ideas that would benefit them. It took a great depression in the 1930s before the blindly interested minority could be persuaded to buy into those new-fangled Keynesian ideas. And even then, Keynes’ proposals to save capitalists from themselves were only ‘bought’ (ie not rejected) because of the sheer terror of a Stalinist alternative that they could not be blind to.

In New Zealand the Left indulged in a particularly blatant case of wilful blindness in the 1980s. The Roger Douglas Treasury line was a fraudulent pretext for enrichment by the selfish for the selfish. We bought it. We didn’t really believe that New Zealand pre-1984 was like Albania or Soviet-era Gdansk. But we allowed ourselves to consider uncool just about everything we had thought was good about pre-1984 New Zealand.

So what today about Gerry Brownlee and Marsha Gessen?

Does Brownlee really believe that the west’s martial approach to the Islamic State (IS) will somehow suppress the problem of “sprouting” terrorist organisations? The clear scientific evidence is that western counter-aggression will further fertilise the soil from which such extremism spreads. I don’t even think Brownlee is that wilfully blind; rather he speaks on behalf of the wilfully blind.

And what about Marsha Gessen’s warning about Vladimir Putin? I’ve seen this new Cold War talk as well from Francis Fukuyama, an intellectual whom I have some time for. There’s little doubt that Vladimir Putin is a politically ambitious man. But it does all humanity a disservice to overstate his ambition. He is a brutal and ruthless Russian nationalist seeking to create a strong Russian polity that answers to no outside force. He does not want to rule the whole world, but wishes Russia to maintain a position of strength within it. People in the west should beware of taking on overly belligerent beliefs about Russia and then acting on those beliefs, having needlessly rejected more sanguine and nuanced understandings of world politics.

In the 1960s we were subject to the Domino Theory which gave us the Vietnam War. Yet once Vietnam finally prevailed and was free (after 1980) to set its own course, we soon realised that Vietnam posed no danger to us, and that any vestigial dangers the Vietnam regime posed to its own people were short-lived. (And this despite an escalation of Cold War posturing in the early 1980s.) The Domino Theory was and is an obvious nonsense that needs to be continuously rejected. Ho Chi Minh never presented a danger to western liberal-democracy. The Vietnam War did create such a danger, however. Fortunately there were enough individually uninfluential people in the west to reject war and save liberal democracy from itself.

Let’s not create new Games of Dominos. Let’s reject the real dangers – inequality, deflationary miserliness and environmental havoc – and stop believing in the faux dangers of our easily-led imaginations.

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Covering the net-beat for the dailies – The Guardian – lessons for NZ media & the left?

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EVER SINCE MY VERY YOUNG DAYS in the 1950s listening to Night Beat on NZ radio, I have had a fairly romantic idea of investigative journalists.  Night Beat was a bit of radio-noir, covering the fictional investigations of a “hard-boiled”, streetwise reporter for a US daily paper. Each story began:

Hi, this is Randy Stone. I cover the night beat for the Chicago Star. My stories start in many different ways. This one began…
Such reporting always had a masculine edge, some of which still remains in news, current events, and political journalism today. The shifts towards digital media, with its webs of interconnected relationships, have opened up more possibilities for women, but there is still a way to go. The Guardian’s new chief editor – lessons for NZ media & the left The appointment of Katharine Viner as The Guardian’s first ever female chief editor raises important issues of the changing nature of news media in the digital age. [caption id="attachment_2410" align="alignleft" width="300"]Katharine Viner The Guardian Katharine Viner. Photo: The Guardian[/caption] Related to this are challenges for (left wing) politics, gender equality and global-local dynamics. Within this tangle, there are important indications for the NZ media (mainstream and alternative). The Guardian is known to be a left leaning, liberal daily paper, yet has never before had a female chief editor.  The range of UK papers contrast with the lack of diversity in the political leanings of NZ’s dailies, which are largely conservative, and hover around the middle ground of the political spectrum. The New Zealand Herald, has long been regarded as leaning to the centre right.  The Otago Daily Times is the only exiting daily newspaper with a track record of supporting some left wing causes. Along with NZ’s smallness of scale, is its openness to foreign influence, with most of our mainstream media companies now being owned by right leaning transnational media corporates.Some NZ dailies have female chief editors, but this is more on a par with small local newspapers in the UK, some of which also have female chief editors. Many in NZ feel the left is under-represented in our mainstream media.  Part of the solution to this, is to strengthen the base through developing relationships with alternative overseas media organisations and initiatives. At the same time there needs to be more sustainable and secure support for challenging and diverse news and current events content by, about and for New Zealanders. The Guardian: internationalisation, investigative journalism & digitisation TheGuardianThe Guardian PR has foregrounded the gender aspect of Viner’s appointment along with her track record with digital media and in extending The Guardian’s reach beyond the UK.  Michael Wolff of USA Today claims that Viner’s appointment is part of a staff backlash against the retiring Editor (Alan Rusbridger’s) support for the Guardian’s role in obtaining and publishing the Edward Snowden documents Wolff claims that Viner’s appointment is a shift away from critical 4th estate journalism that holds those with political power to account. He argues it is a move towards a softer, more culturally focused approach by The Guardian.  Seeming to contradict this, Henry Mace of the Financial Times has claimed that Viner is more leftwing than Rusbridger. Few commentators comment on how events prior to Wikleaks and Snowden’s revelations had impacted on The Guardian.  For instance, it began picking up a significant online US readership after the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York, and the subsequent invasion of Iraq.  The US mainstream media tended to follow George Bush Jnr’s prescription, to be with his “war on terror” rather than against the power of the US elites. Many US people were looking for alternative takes on the events. Later in 2009 The Guardian broke stories about the News of the World phone hacking scandal, which exposed political influences and unethical practices within Murdoch papers. Investigative journalist Nick Davies had a crucial role in this, and the later wikileaks stories, as explained by Rusbridger in Newsweek:
Every so often—perhaps once every 18 months—the veteran Guardian writer Nick Davies comes into my office, shuts the door with a conspiratorial backward glance, and proceeds to tell me something hair-raising.
The Murdoch hacking revelations lead to the Leveson Inquiry, and its rather inadequate outcome, as well as to some setbacks for Rupert Murdoch.  His News Corp still has a strong foothold in the Australian media. He has recently returned his attention to NZ media, taking a 14.9% shares in Sydney-based APN which owns NZ Herald. The Guardian comes from a different position.  It was established in the 1820s when liberal values were gaining traction. This was well before the rise to prominence of the labour movement, working class solidarity and politics, and the Labour Party.  The Guardian remains fairly liberal rather than being a voice for working class politics particularly. Katharine Viner’s pitch In her pitch for the editorship of The Guardian, Viner promoted herself as being for this radical tradition,
… holding power to account; defending liberties; exposing injustice.
as well as for a focus on breaking news stories, international expansion, and strengthening The Guardian’s use of digital platforms. Whatever the backroom struggles, there is no doubt that Viner does have credentials in areas that need to be at the forefront of progressive and financially sustainable news media, now and in the future. Viner began her work for newspapers covering women’s and lifestyle topics.  She was appointed to head the of the paper’s online expansion into Australia and the US.  This also opened opportunities for Australian, and to a lesser extent NZ journalists, writing from a local perspective on local issues, but written for an international audience. (Toby Manhire of NZ Herald, article in Guardian.com.) Lessons for NZ media: strengthening the local (left) & international collaborations. [caption id="attachment_941" align="alignleft" width="300"]Evening Report, Episode 1, Nicky Hager. Evening Report, Episode 1, Nicky Hager.[/caption] There are other models indicating that NZ-overseas collaborations could work to strengthen NZ journalism, and particularly NZ progressive journalism, in a context where news media are struggling to survive financially.  One outstanding example is the collaboration between Glenn Greenwald and his online news site The Intercept, and NZ news organisations and journalists, providing New Zealand angles on the Snowden papers.  Internationally respected investigative journalist Nicky Hager is playing a significant role in this.  He brings to it a deep understanding of NZ society and politics. Towards gender equality These are the kinds of collaborative initiatives that the NZ media and the left should be learning from.  The one area that NZ (and other countries) could improve on here, is that our most renowned investigative journalists (especially with regard to current affairs, politics and international relations) are male. This is part of a long masculine legacy, but it is not clear why it hasn’t shifted more with our changing society. It is worth investigating. Related articles/videos on Evening Report: My article on the importance to democracy of Radio NZ and public service broadcasting. Selwyn Manning’s interview with Nicky Hager on Snowden revelations Selwyn Manning’s interview with Paul Buchanan on GCSB’s targeted ops.]]>

PNG: Critics slam new Bougainville mining law as ‘forgetting history’

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MIL OSI Analysis – Pacific Media Centre/Pacific Media Watch

A file picture of the Bougainville parliamentary House. Image: Radio New Dawn FM

Friday, March 27, 2015

Item: 9186

Aloysius Laukai KUBU, Bougainville (Radio New Dawn FM/Pacific Media Watch): The controversial Bougainville Mining Bill has been passed by the Autonomous Bougainville Government parliament and has been immediately condemned by critics as “forgetting history”. The bill went through the thrd reading to become a Bougainville law yesterday. It has been adopted in spite of all the negotiations and dissatisfaction expressed by factions of the communities throughout Bougainville. The bill did not go unchallenged but was forced to go through scrutiny by former combatants who demanded certain sections to be removed before they could allow the government to finally pass the bill. At the time of the passing of the bill, the House was full to capacity as people witnessed the passing of the bill. The member for Central Bougainville and Minister for Communication in the Papua New Guinea National Government, Jimmy Miringtoro, told Radio New Dawn FM from Port Moresby that he was not happy that the ABG had rushed this bill through on the eve of the ABG general elections. He said the ABG should have left the bill to the next government after more scrutiny from all stakeholders on Bougainville. Miringtoro said that pushing the bill through was “not proper” as other outstanding issues were still not yet resolved on the future of mining on Bougainville. ‘Still in dark’ He said that from the beginning he had warned the ABG against the bill, especially when the people were “still in the dark” about how they might lose their rights form their land and resources forever. The minister also also said that the bill had been written by “outsiders” like Adam Smith International which had been involved in controversial development policies in the Third World. It was unfortunate the government did not “listen to the cries of the citizens”, Miringtoro said. The Australian-based Bougainville Freedom Movement also criticised the passing of the law. It challenged a speech by Bougainville President John Momis yesterday when he was quoted as saying: “With our new mining bill, we are completely rejecting that terrible past,” referring to the decade-long civil war over the Panguna copper mine and the envronmental degradation. “Does this mean that President Momis is forgetting his own history and the shocking history of Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL) in its mining operations on Bougainville and what the mining company did to the people of Bougainville and the environment?” said BFM in a statement. “It is a ‘terrible past’ and will not be forgotten but it should not be ‘rejected’.” Not once had the BCL or Rio Tinto mining companies ever apologised or compensated the people of Bougainville for the environmental devastation it caused and the “extremely wicked atrocities it inflicted on the people of Bougainville”, said BFM. The writs for the election were due to be issued by the Speaker, Andrew Miriki, later today.

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NewsRoom Digest: Top NZ News Items for March 27, 2015

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Newsroom Digest This edition of NewsRoom_Digest contains seven media release snippets and four links of the day from Friday 27 March. Top stories in this news cycle currently include the Police watchdog finding numerous flaws in Police custody protocols, a group plans legal proceedings to halt an extension of wharfs by Ports of Auckland, and the last day of campaigning for the hotly contested Northland by-election. SNIPPETS OF THE DAY Police Custody Flaws: In releasing two reports today, the Independent Police Conduct Authority has highlighted a number of significant problems with the way in which Police deal with people who are detained in Police cells. The first report, entitled “Review of Police Custodial Management”, is a review of 31 complaints and incidents that have been referred to the Authority over the last three years, combined with more general enquiries undertaken by the Authority. “From the moment they take custody of a person, Police have a legal duty of care to take all reasonable steps to ensure that person’s wellbeing while they are in custody,” said Judge Sir David Carruthers, Independent Police Conduct Authority Chair. Police Accepts IPCA Report: New Zealand Police accept the findings of two Independent Police Conduct Authority reports released today highlighting issues with the management of people in custody, and is continuing to work with the responsible agencies to address them. The reports include an investigation into the death of Sentry Taitoko in Police custody in Counties Manukau in February 2014, feeding into a wider review of Police custodial management. “Police accepts both reports’ findings, which highlight that there are a number of ongoing and recurring issues regarding the management of people in custody, particularly with regards to training, staff expertise and consistency of practice across the country,” says Acting Assistant Commissioner Response and Operations, Barry Taylor. Labour: Transparency On Investor State Clauses: The Government must be more transparent around the draft investor state dispute settlements in the TPPA, says David Parker, Labour’s Export Growth and Trade spokesperson. “Labour is pro trade, and is proud of the FTA we negotiated with China, which includes well drafted ISDS provisions. We also support the FTA with South Korea. Some investor state dispute settlement provisions have enabled inappropriate claims by multi-national corporate investors for alleged losses suffered as a consequence of quite proper government decisions. We believe these sorts of ISDS provisions are inappropriate and should be avoided.” Inflation Target Could Overheat Economy: Targeting 2 percent annual inflation could force the Reserve Bank of New Zealand to cut interest rates too sharply and overheat the economy, says Bank of New Zealand, which suggests current low global inflation rates mean the local target is “unreasonably high in the current climate.” “We wonder if the target band should be lowered from its current one to three percent or, in the least, that its lower reaches be tolerated as the ‘new normal’ for the foreseeable future,” writes senior economist Craig Ebert. Crown Apologises To Ngāruahine: Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Christopher Finlayson today delivered the Crown’s formal apology to Ngāruahine for historical breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi. The apology was delivered in Hokitika at the conclusion of Ngāruahine’s week-long Hikoi ki Te Waipounamu to honour the memory of the 405 members of those Ngāruahine tupuna who were transported to and detained in the South Island by the Crown after the Taranaki Wars. Milk Powder Prices Expected To Fall: New Zealand whole milk powder futures dropped after Fonterra Cooperative Group said it will increase the volume of product it puts up for sale on the GlobalDairyTrade platform, suggesting prices may extend their decline in next week’s auction. Auckland-based Fonterra, the world’s largest dairy exporter, has increased the amount of whole milk powder it will offer at the upcoming April 1 auction in Contract 2, which covers product with a June shipping date, by 14 percent to 4,965 metric tonnes. Whole milk powder futures for June delivery dropped US$230 a tonne to US$2,400 a tonne today. At last week’s GDT auction, whole milk powder fell 9.6 percent to US$2,928 a tonne. Faster Transfer Of Patient Information: Health Minister Jonathan Coleman says Southern DHB has now completed the South Island’s rollout of eReferrals, enabling faster more accurate transfer of patient information. “West Coast, South Canterbury and Nelson Marlborough DHBs replaced paper-based referrals with electronic referrals, and now Southern DHB has begun introducing the system,” says Dr Coleman. “More than half a million patient referrals from a GP to a hospital specialist have been sent electronically since Canterbury DHB launched the eReferrals system in 2012. LINKS OF THE DAY ACC REPORT CONFIRMS VOLATILITY: ACC’s latest quarterly report highlights the impact of short-term volatilities on the ACC scheme’s financial position. ACC’s second quarterly report for 2014/15 is available here: http://www.acc.co.nz/about-acc/reports-and-strategy/index.htm SAVING ONE OF THE WORLD’S RAREST BIRDS: A University of Canterbury scientist is investigating ways to ensure the survival and recovery of critically endangered kakī (black stilt) in the wild. Dr Tammy Steeves is making recommendations to support the management of one of the world’s rarest birds, the kakī, which is a critically endangered endemic wading bird restricted to the Upper Waitaki Basin in the South Island.  For more details on the kakī see: http://www.nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/black-stilt. INCREASING RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT EXPENDITURE: Businesses are spending more on research and development (R&D) and this expenditure is expected to rise again in 2015, Statistics New Zealand said today. Business expenditure on research and development (BERD) increased by $53 million to $1,246 million in 2014. The greatest increase came from the services industry, partly offset by decreases in R&D expenditure by the primary and manufacturing sectors (down $33 million and $14 million, respectively). Total expenditure on R&D in New Zealand remained around $2.6 billion in 2014, despite the increase in BERD, as R&D expenditure by the government and higher education (eg universities) sectors fell. See Research and Development Survey: 2014 for tables with more detailed industry and sector breakdowns: http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/businesses/research_and_development/ResearchandDevelopmentSurvey_HOTP2014.aspx SWEDES FARMER RESULTS: The results of an in-depth farmer survey carried out to help understand the factors behind the toxic swedes issues that hit Southland dairy herds last year are expected to be available by the end of May. DairyNZ’s Southland regional leader Richard Kyte says DairyNZ interviewed 134 affected and unaffected farmers and 34 graziers last year as part of its study into why many cows became ill after feeding on swedes last season. The detailed interviews followed a general short survey of all dairy farmers that generated more than 400 replies. Analysis of all the survey data is now nearly complete. Information on the DairyNZ website to help farmers: www.dairynz.co.nz/swedes. ONLINE BULLS TO HELP FARMERS: A new online bull team builder, developed by NZ Animal Evaluation Limited (NZAEL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of DairyNZ, will allow farmers to see the impact of genetic improvement on farm profit and team averages. Instead of flicking through catalogues to compare bulls; farmers will have all the information now available in one place, says NZAEL manager Dr Jeremy Bryant. “They will be able to visit the DairyNZ website and select bulls which meet their specific needs without compromising Breeding Worth (BW). Preferred traits might include enhanced BW, productivity, fertility, long-life, calving ease, conformation or temperament,” he says. For further details visit: http://www.dairynz.co.nz/bullteam And that’s our sampling of the day that was on Friday 27th March  2015. Brought to EveningReport by Newsroom Digest. –]]>

French Alps Air Crash Causes New Zealand CAA to Tighten Flight-Deck Safety

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MIL OSI – Source: CAA – French Alps Air Crash Causes NZ CAA to Tighten Flight-Deck Safety Following reports that have emerged regarding the tragic Germanwings incident in the French Alps, The Civil Aviation Authority is working closely with New Zealand based operators to review procedures relevant to: (1) the minimum number of people in the flight deck at any given time; and (2) the ongoing updating of medical checks and reports back to the CAA. Acting Director of Civil Aviation, John Kay said ‘Effective today the CAA requires large jet aircraft operators in New Zealand to ensure they have a minimum of two people in the flight deck at any given time. This applies to domestic and International flights. This new stipulation recognises that temporary inflight incapacitation could occur for a number of reasons, including a medical event.’ ‘The CAA takes a precautionary approach on such matters in the interests of safety.’ ‘All New Zealand airline pilots undergo extensive and recurrent medical assessments to determine their fitness to hold a licence. As part of this, aeromedical examiners are required to assess a commercial pilot’s physical and mental health at each medical examination which, for an airline pilot flying with at least one other pilot, is undertaken annually. These detailed medical assessments are in-line with international aviation standards.’ Mr. Kay said. ‘The CAA’s stance is that flight crew need to be medically fit in order to fly.’ He said. ‘Our view is also that well treated medical conditions, in established remission, and/or those conditions that are well managed by taking reliably safe medication, may be eligible to return to aviation.’ Mr. Kay said ‘A pilot’s medical certificate can be suspended while determining their medical fitness to fly. It is unlikely that someone who has a medical or behavioural condition of concern would be considered as being fit to hold a medical certificate.’ (Relevant medical requirements are below). In addition, to hold a licence a pilot must remain ‘fit and proper’. When assessing an individual’s fit and proper status the Civil Aviation Act allows the Director of Civil Aviation to take into account any history of mental health of serious behavioural problems. ‘As with medical certificates the CAA will always take a precautionary approach on such matters.’ Mr. Kay concluded ‘We will closely monitor the situation as the Germanwings investigation continues and review our current requirements if any need improving or updating.’ –]]>

iPredict New Zealand Weekly Economic and Political Update

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MIL OSI – Source: iPredict – iPredict New Zealand Weekly Economic and Political Update

PETERS TRIUMPHANT; KEY WEAKENS; SHAW EMERGES

NZ First leader Winston Peters is expected to win the Northland by-election tomorrow with a majority of 1394, according to the combined wisdom of the 8000+ registered traders on New Zealand’s predictions market, iPredict.  Prime Minister John Key’s position has weakened, and he now has only a 32% probability of remaining National Party leader through to the end of 2017.  James Shaw has emerged as a contender for the Green Party co-leadership, with a 27% probability of winning the job behind favourite Kevin Hague.  The Official Cash Rate is now expected to remain on hold until January next year.  Fonterra’s final payouts (before retentions) are expected to be $4.82 on 2014/15, rising to $6.10 in 2015/16 and $6.49 in 2016/17.  National remains favoured to win the next General Election with 55% probability.

New Zealand Politics:

·       NZ First leader Winston Peters is now overwhelmingly expected to win the Northland by-election (84% probability, up from 77% last week), ahead of National’s Mark Osborne (14% probability, down from 23%).  Mr Peters’ majority is expected to be 1394

·       James Shaw has emerged as a contender to be the next male co-leader of the Green Party, with 27% (up from 5% last week).   Kevin Hague remains favoured with 62% probability (down from 90%)

·       John Key is strongly expected to remain National leader until at least the end of 2016 (88% probability, up from 77% last week) but just a 32% probability of remaining National leader until at least the end of 2017 (down sharply from 51% last week)

·       Andrew Little is overwhelmingly expected to remain Labour leader until at least the end of 2016 (97% probability, up from 82% last week) and has a 72% probability of remaining Labour leader until the end of 2017 (up from 39% last week).  There is a 55% probability he will still be Labour leader by the end of 2020

·       Stocks on who will be National and Labour leaders on Nomination Day for the next General Election have been launched today

·       Paula Bennett remains favourite to become National Party leader if a vacancy arises (33%, up from 30% last week), followed by Steven Joyce (26%, up from 25%)

·       Stocks on who is favoured to become Labour Party leader if a vacancy arises will be launched in the near future

·       Judith Collins expected to be appointed to Cabinet before next election (55% probability, down from 73% last week)

·       Next election expected in 2017 (92% probability, steady compared with last week)

·       Forecast party vote shares at next election:

o   National                             45.1% (steady compared with last week)

o   Labour                               32.6% (up from 32.4%)

o   Greens                               11.0% (steady)

o   NZ First                               6.9% (steady)

o   Others                                 4.4% (down from 4.6%)

·       National expected to win 2017 General Election (55% probability, steady compared with last week)

·       Almost no chance Wellington councils will be amalgamated by end of 2015 (only 6% probability they will be, down from 9% last week)

New Zealand Economics:

·       Fruit-fly outbreak expected to be contained with fewer than 20 Queensland fruitflies expected to be found in New Zealand as part of current outbreak (79% probability, up from 65% last week)

·       New Zealand dollar expected to reach parity with Australian dollar by the end of 2015 (57% probability, down from 62% last week) but not before July 2015 (23% probability, up from 12%)

·       Quarterly GDP growth expected to be:

o   0.8% in the March quarter (up from 0.7% last week)

o   1.1% in the June quarter (steady)

o   1.1% in the September quarter (steady)

o   1.1% in the December quarter (steady)

·       Annual growth expected to be 4.1% in the 2015 calendar year (up from 4.0% last week)

·       Unemployment expected to be:

o   5.4% in the March quarter (steady compared with last week)

o   5.3% in the June quarter (steady)

o   5.2% in the September quarter (steady)

o   5.3% in the December quarter (steady)

·       Current account deficit expected to be 3.6% of GDP in the March quarter (up from 3.5% last week), 3.5% in the June quarter (up from 3.4%) and 3.4% in the September quarter (steady)

·       Annual inflation expected to be:

o   0.2% to end of March 2015 quarter (steady compared with last week)

o   0.4% to end of June 2015 quarter (steady)

o   0.6% to end of September 2015 quarter (down from 0.7%)

o   1.0% to end of December 2015 quarter (steady)

·       Official Cash Rate priced to be:

o   3.488% on 30 April (down from 3.493% last week)

o   3.475% on 11 June (down from 3.480%)

o   3.455% on 23 July (down from 3.460%)

o   3.417% on 10 September (down from 3.419%)

o   3.395% on 29 October (steady)

o   3.377% on 10 December (down from 3.381%)

o   3.367% on 28 January 2016 (down from 3.371%)

o   3.364% on 10 March 2016 (up from 3.357%)

o   3.354% on 28 April 2016 (up from 3.347%)

o   3.344% on 9 June 2016 (up from 3.337%)

·       This implies the OCR is more likely than not to be cut on 28 January to 3.25% (compared with 29 October last week) and to remain at that rate until at least 9 June 2016 (steady)

·       28% probability of a fiscal surplus in 2014/15 (down from 30% last week)

·       Fiscal balance expected to be:

o   -0.16% of GDP in 2014/15 (down from -0.11% last week)

o   0.80% of GDP in 2015/16 (steady)

o   1.98% of GDP in 2016/17 (steady)

o   2.43% of GDP in 2017/18 (up from 2.38%)

·       Fonterra’s final payout (before retentions) expected to be:

o   $4.82 in 2014/15

o   $6.10 in 2015/16

o   $6.49 in 2016/17

Foreign Affairs/Constitution:

·       Next UK Parliament expected to consist of:

o   Conservatives                               37.9% of seats in the House of Commons (down from 38.0% last week)

o   Labour                                          35.3% of seats (down from 35.4%)

o   Nationalist parties                           7.1% of seats (up from 6.8%)

o   UKIP and similar                             6.0% of seats (steady)

o   Liberal Democrats                           5.3% of seats (steady)

o   Unionist parties                               2.2% of seats (steady)

o   Green and similar                            2.1% of seats (steady)

o   Independents and Speaker     2.1% of seats (steady)

o   All others                                        2.2% of seats (steady)

·       David Cameron expected to be prime minister after next UK election (63% probability, down from 65% last week)

·       Boris Johnson expected to be elected to UK House of Commons this year (91% probability, steady)

·       Socialist Workers’ Party expected to defeat People’s Party in next Spanish election (71% probability, steady compared with last week)

·       All Eurozone countries, including Greece, expected to remain in Euro in 2015 (23% probability of an announcement of a departure this year, up from 16% last week)

·       New South Wales Liberal/National Coalition expected to win most seats in NSW state election (94% probability, up from 92% last week)

·       Tony Abbott is expected to remain leader of the Australian Liberal Party until 1 July 2015 (only 23% probability of departing before then, down from 27% 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, steady compared with last week)

·       Bill Shorten expected to be Labor leader at next Australian federal election (88% probability, up from 87% 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 (47% probability, up from 44% last week).  Jeb Bush has a 45% probability of being the Republican nominee (steady compared with last week) followed by Scott Walker (19% probability, steady)

·       There is only a 17% probability New Zealand will sign the Trans-Pacific Partnership this year (down from 20% last week), and the Trans-Pacific Partnership is not expected to be ratified by the US Congress before 1 July 2017 (only 31% probability it will be, steady compared with last week)

·       Helen Clark’s prospects of being the next UN Secretary General are 25% (up from 23% 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 an 18% probability Kim Jong-Un will cease being leader of North Korea before 2017 (steady compared 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 11.48 am today. 

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Deaths While In Police Custody: IPCA review identifies significant problems in Police custody practices

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MIL OSI – Source: Independent Police Conduct Authority – Headline: Deaths While In Police Custody: IPCA review identifies significant problems in Police custody practices

27 March 2015 – In releasing two reports today, the Independent Police Conduct Authority has highlighted a number of significant problems with the way in which Police deal with people who are detained in Police cells. The first report, entitled “Review of Police Custodial Management”, is a review of 31 complaints and incidents that have been referred to the Authority over the last three years, combined with more general enquiries undertaken by the Authority. “From the moment they take custody of a person, Police have a legal duty of care to take all reasonable steps to ensure that person’s wellbeing while they are in custody,” said Judge Sir David Carruthers, Independent Police Conduct Authority Chair. “This report has found that, often through no fault of their own, Police officers do not always fulfil that duty of care.   They do not have the necessary expertise and training to deal with some of the challenges presented by people being held in Police cells, and they are sometimes required to manage people who should not be in Police custody at all.” The report describes the process that Police are expected to follow in assessing at-risk people and determining the steps required to reduce that risk.  While this process generally works well, the report identified a number of flaws in it. “Risk assessments are not always done robustly or quickly enough, so that officers do not identify relevant risk factors,” Sir David said. “When a person is found to be at-risk, officers sometimes fail to implement strategies to manage that risk – for example, by not monitoring the person frequently enough or calling a doctor or taking them to hospital.   As a result, there are too many instances of attempted suicide, self-harm, and failures by Police to seek attention for those that present with medical conditions.” “These deficiencies are not surprising. Police cell-blocks can be very busy. Staff are often dealing with difficult and uncooperative people who have issues that Police have neither the skills not the training to deal with appropriately.” The report has particularly highlighted the problems confronted by Police in dealing with people in custody who have mental health problems, or are intoxicated. The Authority has found that people with mental health problems are often detained and taken to a Police cell, not because they have committed an offence, but because they require a mental health assessment and there is no mental health worker immediately available to undertake that assessment in another location. “In some of the cases the Authority examined, their detention by the Police was unlawful,” Sir David said.  “In other cases the person’s initial detention was lawful, but they were subsequently detained for longer than the six hour period permitted by law.” “The Authority considers that Police cells are entirely unsuitable for those in mental distress.  They are a harsh, noisy and uninviting environment.  The problems arising from custody officers’ lack of skills and training in dealing with at-risk prisoners are accentuated when they are dealing with people who are in custody because they are mentally distressed. While officers try to deal with them patiently and professionally, the prisoners’ mental distress is often made worse and they sometimes suffer long term harm.” “Unless a person experiencing a mental health crisis, is violent or poses an obvious and immediate threat to the safety of others, all practicable steps should be taken to avoid having them in Police cells. It is unacceptable that, in many Police districts, this is the standard default inter-agency response to a public call for Police assistance to deal with a person experiencing a mental health crisis. Police should not be left in the position of dealing with vulnerable and distressed people in this way. Other more appropriate interagency responses must be developed,” Sir David said. The second report released by the Authority today is the result of an investigation into the death of a young man in Police custody. This report exemplifies the problems set out in the Authority’s review of Police custodial facilities. In the early hours of 23 February 2014 Sentry Taitoko was taken into Police custody after he was arrested for a breach of the peace. Mr Taitoko was heavily intoxicated, had taken drugs and was acting in a violent way that posed a risk to himself. After arriving at the Counties Manukau District Custody Unit at about 1.45am, Police put Mr Taitoko in a cell and officers periodically monitored him. They did not undertake a formal risk assessment until over an hour later. During the night officers witnessed Mr Taitoko rolling on the ground and thrashing his arms and legs about.   Over a period of half an hour from 1.47am to 2.16 am, the CCTV footage shows him falling and hitting his head on the concrete walls or floor of the cell 83 times.  Over the next hour, he hit his head around another 31 times.  Over time the walls of the cell became smeared with blood from Mr Taitoko’s nose and from grazes on his body. From around 4:00am onwards Mr Taitoko stopped any violent movements and started lying on his right-side and his stomach.  Although he had been made subject to frequent monitoring after his formal risk assessment (which requires checks at least 5 times per hour), he was not checked at all for about 50 minutes after 4.26am other than by way of CCTV observation. At 5:15am one of the custody officers noticed blood on Mr Taitoko and called for another officer to come and look at him. At this time the officers opened the cell door and found Mr Taitoko’s  breathing to be short and gargled and his eyes rolling back in his head. An ambulance was called and offers began monitoring his breathing.  However, attempts by paramedics to resuscitate Mr Taitoko were unsuccessful. Mr Taitoko was pronounced dead at 6:10am. The Authority has found that Police breached their legal duty of care to Mr Taitoko in a number of ways. “The officers who first detained Mr Taitoko should have called for urgent medical assistance,” Sir David said.   “There were also numerous other failures that resulted from the failure of Police to recognise that Mr Taitoko’s behaviour was caused by an extreme and dangerous drug reaction.  The custody sergeant should have called an ambulance or arranged for him to be taken to hospital when he arrived at the Police cells; custody staff should have undertaken a prompt risk assessment; and Mr Taitoko should have received continuous monitoring in view of his condition.” The Authority has noted that, at the request of the custody sergeant, a Police doctor looked at Mr Taitoko through the cell window at 3.21am, although he did not enter the cell or examine him.  The Police doctor said that Mr Taitoko was too violent to be taken to hospital and at 4.05 am he confirmed his view that Mr Taitoko did not need to go to hospital. “Although the Police should have taken Mr Taitoko to hospital at an earlier stage, they cannot be criticised for failing to do so after they received this medical advice,” Sir David said.  “It was reasonable for them to rely upon that advice.” “These two reports released by the Authority demonstrate significant problems with Police custodial management.  The Police themselves have recognised the difficulties they confront in dealing with many of those who come into custody and have been working hard in many Districts to address them.” “However, these problems are not solely the result of Police processes. They reflect an inter-agency and community failure to deal appropriately with mentally impaired and intoxicated people.  The Police simply do not have the expertise and training to respond to the demands placed on them in this respect. The Authority is highlighting these problems in order to encourage public and political debate about how improvements can be made.  Police cannot, and should not be expected, to remedy this on their own,” Sir David said. “The Authority has made a number of recommendations in relation to these issues.  These include the introduction of more systematic and nationally consistent training of officers working in custodial facilities, and more specific guidance to custody staff about the monitoring of prisoners. “The Authority has also recommended that Police work with the Ministry of Health and other agencies to look at ways of minimising the number of mentally impaired people who are taken into Police custody for a mental health assessment, and to explore ways to improve the current methods of dealing with intoxicated people,” Sir David said. –]]>

TPPA Investment leak: Jacobi misleads about protections for NZ – Prof Kelsey

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MIL OSI – Source: Professor Jane Kelsey – TPPA Investment leak: Jacobi misleads about protections for NZ [caption id="attachment_1844" align="alignleft" width="200"]Professor Jane Kelsey. Professor Jane Kelsey.[/caption]

On Radio NZ’s Morning Report Stephen Jacobi said New Zealand would have protections from obligations in the investment chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) that were not part of the text posted by Wikileaks yesterday.

‘That is misleading’, according to Professor Jane Kelsey who specialises in international investment agreements.

‘It is true that the leak did not include annexes of so-called non-conforming measures, so we don’t know what New Zealand has proposed, what has been accepted and what is still under discussion.’

‘But even if we assume hypothetically that the other eleven parties, including the US, allow New Zealand to include everything the government does, now and in the future, through these annexes (which they will not), that won’t protect us.’

Professor Kelsey points out that these annexes only apply to some of the rules in the chapter. They do not apply to the rules that foreign investors rely most on to sue governments, for example in current investment disputes over Australia’s plain packaging of cigarettes, Quebec’s moratorium on fracking, or the Canadian courts’ denial of a patent for a medicine.[i]

Stephen Jacobi’s second argument is that these agreements have general exceptions in another chapter that would protect areas like public health and environment.

‘Mr Jacobi must know that the US has never agreed that the general exception provision should apply to the investment chapter in its previous agreements’, Kelsey said.

‘Having followed the negotiations closely for the past five years I can see nothing to suggest that position has changed.’

‘Any concessions the US did make in this area would be in the investment chapter itself. But what we see in the leaked text is a cut-down version of the standard general exception that applies to only to aspects of the rule on performance requirements.’[ii]

There is also a circular provision that the chapter shall not be constructed to prevent the government taking any measure that is otherwise consistent with the chapter.[iii]

Several other very specific exceptions exclude decisions made by the Overseas Investment Office[iv] and a weak annex on expropriation.[v]

Clearly, Australia considers its equivalent of Pharmac is vulnerable to the investment rules, because it has proposed a specific Annex to protect decisions by those various agencies.[vi]

‘These errors reinforce the need for the government formally to release the text now so we can have a properly informed debate, including expert analysis, that allows New Zealanders to assess the real implications of this for themselves’, Kelsey said.

[i] Article II.6 Minimum Standard of Treatment and Article II.7 Expropriation and Compensation

[ii] Article II.9.3(c)

[iii] Article 11.15

[iv] Annex II-H

[v] Annex II-B

[vi] Annex II-M

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Business expenditure on R&D continues to rise – Statistics NZ

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MIL OSI – Source: Statistics New Zealand – Business expenditure on R&D continues to rise Businesses are spending more on research and development (R&D) and this expenditure is expected to rise again in 2015, Statistics New Zealand said today. Business expenditure on research and development (BERD) increased by $53 million to $1,246 million in 2014. The greatest increase came from the services industry, partly offset by decreases in R&D expenditure by the primary and manufacturing sectors (down $33 million and $14 million, respectively). Total expenditure on R&D in New Zealand remained around $2.6 billion in 2014, despite the increase in BERD, as R&D expenditure by the government and higher education (eg universities) sectors fell. As well as the increase in business expenditure, the 2014 survey also found the number of businesses performing R&D had increased. Fifty-eight more businesses performed R&D in 2014 than in 2012, taking the total to 1,549. “Computer services is now the biggest spender on R&D of any business type, and has surpassed machinery and equipment manufacturing,” business performance manager Jason Attewell said. “Service industries account for two-thirds of the New Zealand economy, but only some of these businesses have R&D activity.” Within the services industry, computer services had the largest increase – up from $221 million in 2012 to $311 million in 2014, a 41 percent increase. This includes activities such as hardware and software development, programming, and consulting services. The Research and Development Survey measures expenditure on R&D based on international definitions. However, it also asks about respondents’ expectations of future R&D expenditure. “Almost half of businesses in the survey expect to increase their R&D activity in the coming year. A further one-third expect their level of activity to remain the same,” Mr Attewell said. The Research and Development Survey is conducted every two years. See Research and Development Survey: 2014 for tables with more detailed industry and sector breakdowns. –]]>

Radio: A New Zealand V Aussie Cricket World Cup Final + Nats Set to Lose Key Seat

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Evening Report’s editor Selwyn Manning joins FiveAA Australia’s Mark Aiston, Jane Reily and Dave Penberthy on the Breakfast show to deliver New Zealand Report. First up Cricket… ITEM ONE: Australia has beaten India to take on New Zealand in the Cricket World Cup final at the MCG in Australia on Sunday. Let’s talk Cricket! ITEM TWO: The National-led Government is predicted to suffer a humiliating loss as voters go to the polls this weekend in a key rural by-election. The Northland seat has been a National Party stronghold for decades but two significant polls in two days are predicting the Nationals candidate, Mark Osborne is 18 percentage points behind the wily New Zealand First leader, Winston Peters. When it comes to politicians, Peters is as a shred as they come. For three election cycles, Peters has been yearning to win an electorate. He and his party’s MPs won seats in Parliament as list MPs under New Zealand’s electoral Mixed Member Proportional voting system. And due to scandals and arrogance, the Nationals have handed their conservative nemesis the Northland electorate on a plate. Years of neglect have caused anger in the region. The Nationals committed a fatal strategic mistake sending posses of suited and slick ‘flash Harry’ urban types up to the rural electorate to door knock the shakes and homesteads of Northland. It seems voters have defined that as arrogant. And, the strategic blunders have caused rifts among the various factions inside the National Party. (For reference see: Evening Report’s analysis: State Of It – Factional Fractures In Evidence As National Loss In Northland Looms) But the real reason for the Nationals’ demise, is due to the resignation of the former MP for this seat. Mike Sabin, a former Police officer, was forced to resign after Police announced there was a prima facie case for him to defend in the courts. Details of the type of assault alleged have been suppressed by the Courts. If Winston Peters does win on Saturday, that will cool the Government’s legislative agenda and force it to present to the House more centrist, less neoliberal right bills. The Government can still be assured of confidence and supply support from the United Future and Maori Parties, but the power swings into their more moderate brands of politics, and leaves the ACT Party on the far right economically, as irrelevant. New Zealand Report broadcasts live weekly on FiveAA.com.au and webcasts on EveningReport.nz. –]]>

Top News-Cycle Items: NewsRoom_Digest for 26 March 2015

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Newsroom Digest NewsRoom_Digest for 26 March 2015 This edition of NewsRoom_Digest contains six media release snippets and seven links of the day from Thursday 26 March. Top stories in this news cycle currently include the the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security announces an inquiry into GCSB spying in the Pacific, the Government changes employment laws to crack down on the exploitation of vulnerable workers, and the acting head of the Health Ministry, Chai Chuah, is appointed as permanent head of the department. SNIPPETS OF THE DAY IGIS Inquiry Into Pacific Spying Allegations: The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, Cheryl Gwyn, will commence an inquiry into complaints over alleged interception of communications of New Zealanders working or travelling in the South Pacific by the Government Security Communications Bureau (GCSB). The complaints follow recent public allegations about GCSB activities. The complaints, and these public allegations, raise wider questions regarding the collection, retention and sharing of communications data. Labour: Sink In National’s Spending Spin: Massive pay rises at the State Services Commission prove National’s claims of clamping down on spending in the public sector are simply fantasy, Labour’s State Services spokesman Kris Faafoi says. “The Government is speaking out of both sides of its mouth on spending in the public sector. On one hand its warning frontline workers such as nurses and teachers not to expect pay rises, yet up the road at the State Services Commission salaries went up by an average of $13,000 in one year.” Monarchy Succession Laws Updated: Today, at a special meeting of the Executive Council, the Governor-General of New Zealand promulgated the Royal Succession Act Commencement Order 2015. The Royal Succession Act 2013 was passed in December 2013 to implement several important changes needed to modernise the monarchy. These changes included the introduction of gender equality and removed religious discrimination. Stronger Employment Safeguards: Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Woodhouse today announced a package of measures to strengthen enforcement of minimum employment standards. “Employers are the backbone of our economy and most do a great job in meeting their employment obligations, but there are a number of serious breaches occurring,” Mr Woodhouse says. The changes include tougher sanctions, increased tools for labour inspectors, and clearer record keeping requirements. Reforms Saving Taxpayer Money: Associate Minister for Social Development Jo Goodhew has welcomed news that since benefit fraud reform initiatives began two years ago, up to $60 million of taxpayers’ money has been saved. “Over the past two and a half years around 9,500 benefits have been cancelled after fraudulent and illegitimate payments were discovered. These changes hold people to account for their actions, and make it difficult to defraud the welfare system,” Mrs Goodhew says. NZDF Continues Vanuatu Relief Work: The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) sealift and amphibious support ship HMNZS CANTERBURY has arrived in Port Vila carrying further aid to support Vanuatu’s recovery from the devastation caused by Tropical Cyclone Pam. HMNZS CANTERBURY will offload 150 tonnes of food and other supplies at Port Vila before loading aid including hygiene packs and water purification equipment, destined for Epi Island and others in the Shepherd Islands group about 100 kilometres north of Port Vila. LINKS OF THE DAY RESERVE BANK BULLETIN: The Reserve Bank today published two articles in the Reserve Bank Bulletin. The Bulletin’s first article discusses the risks created by high and rapidly rising levels of household debt. Read the Bulletin at: http://www.rbnz.govt.nz/research_and_publications/reserve_bank_bulletin/2015/ BRIBERY AND CORRUPTION REPORT: Domestic bribery and corruption is both a real and growing issue in New Zealand that organisations ignore at their peril, according to a Trans-Tasman survey released to business audiences in Wellington and Auckland today. The 2015 Deloitte Bribery and Corruption Survey canvassed the views of 269 public and private sector organisations across New Zealand and Australia and found that an alarming 23% of respondents reported experiencing one or more known instances of domestic corruption in the last five years. Of these more than half occurred in the last twelve months. To read the full report, go to http://www.deloitte.com/nz/corruption. EBOLA ONE YEAR ON: The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement has launched a campaign – Words Against Ebola – to promote knowledge and awareness, alleviate fear, overcome complacency, and create a community of global support to bring Ebola cases down to zero. Kiwi aid worker, Corinne Ambler who is currently working for the International Federation of Red Cross in West Africa, writes about her experiences and the word she is using to fight Ebola in her latest blog: https://www.redcross.org.nz/blog/from-the-field/stopping-ebola-with-courage/ RENEWABLE ENERGY USE RISES: Energy and Resources Minister Simon Bridges says new figures showing renewable energy contributed almost 80 percent of New Zealand’s electricity generation last year are very encouraging. At 79.9 percent, the share of renewable electricity generation in 2014 is the highest it has been since 1996. The figures were released today in the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s December quarter 2014 edition of the NZ Energy Quarterly, which is available here: http://www.med.govt.nz/sectors-industries/energy/energy-modelling/publications/new-zealand-energy-quarterly REGIONAL TOURISM INDICATORS RELEASED: Today, the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment released the Regional Tourism Indicators (RTI) for February 2015. The RTI are based on electronic card transaction data and provide regular updates on both international and domestic tourism expenditure at a regional level. For more detailed information on the RTI series: http://www.med.govt.nz/sectors-industries/tourism/tourism-research-data/regional-tourism-indicators?utm_source=Data20Alerts&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Regional20Tourism20Indicators2020February202015 HIGH NUMBER APPLY FOR TEACHER FUND: Education Minister Hekia Parata has welcomed the more than 200 applications for the first round of the $10 million Teacher-led Innovation Fund. The new fund is part of the government’s $359 million Investing in Educational Success Initiative and provides funding for teachers to develop innovative ideas to be put into practice and shared across schools. “The high number of applications received reflects the passion and commitment of teachers to develop further good practice and share some of the great ideas and successes that are already happening in many kura and schools across the country,” says Ms Parata. More information can be found here: http://www.education.govt.nz/ministry-of-education/specific-initiatives/investing-in-educational-success/teacher-led-innovation-fund/ PRIME MINISTER’S BUSINESS SCHOLARSHIPS OPEN: Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce is encouraging senior managers, executives and business owners who want to expand their international expertise to apply for the 2015 Prime Minister’s Business Scholarships. Entries open today for the scholarships, which cover up to 50 percent of the course-related costs of attending an international learning institution. They are designed to grow skills and business capability to make New Zealand firms more internationally competitive, Mr Joyce says.Applications for the scholarships close on 11 May 2015. For more information: www.mbie.govt.nz/what-we-do/prime-ministers-business-scholarships And that’s our sampling of the day that was on Thursday 26th March 2015.]]>

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