Scoop Business: Bathurst Gets Nod For DoC Access To Denniston Mine
Conservation Minister Nick Smith has approved access over conservation estate land for Bathurst Resources to develop an open cast coal mine on the Denniston Plateau, above Westport, to the dismay of environmental opponents.
The timing for Smith’s move avoids Bathurst having to resubmit applications for access agreements under the revised Crown Minerals Act, which comes into force tomorrow and would have required public consultation.
The announcement lands in the middle of delicate negotiations between the company, environmental groups and other interested parties that could pave the way to a broader agreement on the Escarpment proposal, whose resource consents are still subject to court appeals. More>>
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Burst Of Psychoactivity: Legal Highs Bill To Be "Even Faster-Tracked"
Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne wants to push the Psychoactive Substances Bill through Parliament faster than planned when it returns from the select committee in mid-June, with the aim of having the legislation in place in July. More>>
Colin Craig: New Twitter Security Welcomed
Conservative Party leader Colin Craig is welcoming the announcement from Twitter today that new security measures are being introduced. This announcement coincidentally follows yesterday’s hijacking of his twitter account. More>>
"Unlawful, Unjustified And Unreasonable": Report Into Urewera Raids Finds Police Acted Unlawfully
IPCA Chair Judge Sir David Carruthers said today that the decision to undertake the operation in Ruatoki Valley and elsewhere on 15 October 2007 was reasonable and justified. “However, the road blocks established by Police at Ruatoki and Taneatua were unlawful, unjustified and unreasonable... ” The detention of the occupants at five properties examined by the Authority was unlawful and unreasonable. More>>
Better Insulate Than Never: Reaching For The Rug This Winter? You’re Not Alone
The nationwide Canstar Blue survey - of 2060 people examining consumer satisfaction with electricity providers - found that more than one third (36%) of respondents can’t afford to heat their home adequately in the winter, with Gen Ys and women finding it the toughest. More>>
One More Stays Open: Interim Decisions For Five Aranui Schools
“The proposal for a new campus originally included all five schools in the Aranui area. In reviewing the submissions and undertaking further analysis – with a focus on ensuring an exciting brand new education concept for Aranui children – we can achieve this and maintain a strong intermediate option in Chisnallwood. More>>
Arguably Reassuring: Inspector-General Finds GCSB "Arguably" Legal
The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security has completed an inquiry into potential breaches of the Government Communications Security Bureau Act (2003). More>>
Roy Morgan State Of The Nation: All About Attitudes
As the latest Roy Morgan State of the Nation New Zealand reveals, the different attitudes of Kiwis around the country offer a fascinating glimpse into its varied population. More>>
Various Deadlines: Make Sure You Can Vote In The Ikaroa-Rāwhiti By-Election
“You can only vote in the Ikaroa-Rāwhiti by-election if you are eligible and correctly enrolled,” says Sue Braybrook, Registrar of Electors for the Ikaroa-Rāwhiti electorate. More>>
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Minding Of Meats: MPI Working To Clear Shipments To China
New export certificates are being issued to release containers of meat products held up at the Chinese border, the Ministry for Primary Industries said today. Shipments of meat into China were delayed after MPI issued export certification in a format which had not been approved by Chinese authorities at AQSIQ. More>>
Banking Ombudsman: Bank Customers Need To Remember Basics
Have you heard the story about the kids who used their mum’s credit card details to buy up large online? Or the one about the person who saved all their PINs disguised as phone numbers on their mobile which was then stolen by a thief who saw through the disguise and went on a spending spree?More>>
TPP: A Global Fair Deal On Copyright - OurFairDeal.org
Alastair Thompson: The orginal "A Fair Deal" campaign brought together Internet NZ with a bunch of other groups including the Royal New Zealand Foundation for the Blind, the Creative Freedom Foundation , NZ Rise , Trademe and Kiwiblog's David Farrar. OurFairDeal.org takes the NZ based campaigns a giant leap forward bringing together 84 lobby groups from across the Asia Pacific in 6 countries into a global alliance. More>>
Business.Scoop: NZOG's Griffiths Backs Director Liability On Health, Safety
New Zealand Oil & Gas chairman Peter Griffiths has thrown his support behind legislative moves to make directors liable if the companies they govern fail to meet health and safety obligations. More>>
Scoop Business: NZ’s Services Sector Expands At Fastest Clip In 5 Mths
New Zealand’s services sector, which accounts for about 70 percent of economic activity, expanded at the fastest pace since October last month, led by activity/sales. More>>
Scoop Business: MRP Senior Managers In Line For $1.2M In Bonus Shares
Senior executives of newly listed, state-controlled MightyRiverPower are in line for shares in lieu of cash bonuses worth $1.2 million for the year to June 30, one of the company’s first disclosures to the NZX and ASX as a listed company show. More>>
Scoop Business: NZ Houses Overvalued By 25%, IMF Says
New Zealand housing is already overvalued by about 25 percent and if it continues to rise may force the Reserve Bank to hike interest rates, according to the International Monetary Fund. More>>
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Catherine Austin Fitts: The Real Deal: Make Way For Killers & The Tax Haven Round Up
There are no scandals in Washington. There is simply a turnover. We are preparing for an escalation of the global financial war. The old team are simply being told to step aside. Make way for the killers. When G-7 concluded their emergency meeting in London last weekend, they announced that they were going to target tax havens. What does this mean? After months of G-7 central banks buying mortgage bonds and equities, the hunt for capital is on. More>>
Claire Robinson and Jonathan Latham: The Goodman Affair: Monsanto Targets The Heart Of Science
Journal editors have a lot of power in science – power that provides opportunities for abuse. The life science industry knows this, and has increasingly moved to influence and control science publishing. The strategy, often with the willing cooperation of publishers, is effective and sometimes blatant. In 2009, the scientific publishing giant Elsevier was found to have invented an entire medical journal... More>>
Richard S. Ehrlich: Racism At The Heart Of Fight Among Buddhists And Muslims
Buddhists and Muslims are clashing with increasing ferocity in Myanmar, Thailand and Sri Lanka where minority Islamic ethnic groups blame racism by majority Buddhists more than religious intolerance. "It is like the K.K.K. (Klu Klux Klan) in America during the period of the civil rights movement," said Myo Win, a Muslim activist based in Yangon, Myanmar... More>>
Binoy Kampmark: The Mining Myth: Sustainability And Development
It has been a fiction that has held sway for a time. Mining booms create trickledown wealth. It is tagged as “sustainable” when it is premised on temporariness. Natural resources work for countries that possess them in abundance. Only on the periphery do we see the sense of foreboding that comes with these assets, be it the murder of such leaders as Patrice Lumumba in the Congo... More>>
Ramzy Baroud: Israel, Hawking And The Pressing Question Of BoycottIt is an event “of cosmic proportions”, said one Palestinian academic, a befitting description regarding Stephen Hawking’s decision to boycott an Israeli academic conference slated for next June. It was also a decisive moral call which was communicated on May 8 by Cambridge University, where Hawking is a professor. More>>
Binoy Kampmark: Angelina Jolie: Breasts, Celebrity And Choice
Popular culture, and celebrity, have come to this. A well-endowed personality, a figure of celluloid appeal, has to justify to the other-worldliness of an action personal and specific to the person in question. That a woman has to have a mastectomy brings with it pains within and without – not merely the challenges to her body but her family and friendship circle. In the case of celebrity... More>>
David Swanson: How Your Town Can Stop Drones
Local resolutions have helped advance many issues, including war opposition, when they've been passed in large numbers. When we passed a resolution in Charlottesville, Va., last year opposing any attack on Iran, I heard from numerous cities that wanted to do the same. As far as I know... More>>
John Spritzler: Uri Avnery's Specious Attack On The One State Solution
Uri Avnery may be the most sophisticated defender of Israel's ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. He defends this ethnic cleansing while posing as a great friend and sympathizer of Palestinians, supposedly proven by his opposition to Israel's occupation of the West Bank and support for a "two state solution." More>>
Nigeria: Port Harcourt Boils As 10,000 Want Amaechi Out
Current political crisis rocking Rivers State, one of the major oil and gas states in Southern Nigeria, took a turn for the worse on Wednesday, with Rivers Peoples Assembly, a mass civil society movement, galvanising 10,000 men, women, and youths to demand fopr the resignation of Governor Chibuike Amaechi. More>>
Jordan: UN Emergency Fund: $9.8 Million To Syrian Refugees In Jordan
The United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has provided $9.8 million to support the establishment of a new camp for Syrian refugees in Jordan and to help meet the growing needs of those fleeing the ongoing conflict. More>>
Sri Lanka: Ganeshan Nimalaruban Case
Ganeshan Nimalaruban Case: Chief Justice Mohan Peiris Denies Petitioner's Lawyers Right to See Replies Filed By Attorney General More>>
United Nations: Traditional Food Preservation Methods To Stop Waste - UN
Fermenting birds, naturally freeze-drying potatoes and squeezing meat on a saddle are some of the traditional methods used by cultures around the world to preserve food highlighted today by the United Nations environment agency, which is stressing the importance of reducing food waste. More>>
Sri Lanka: Serious Doubts On Inquiry Into Mass Graves
Serious doubts have emerged regarding the future investigations into the mass grave at Matale where the remains of 156 persons have been found. More>>
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and its federal partners, including the National Weather Service, continue to closely monitor the effects of severe weather that impacted Oklahoma and other areas within the Central United States, and at the President’s direction, are already providing resources to support the response. More>>
Syria: Number Of Syrian Refugees Tops 1.5 Million Mark
The United Nations refugee agency announced today that the number of Syrian civilians who have fled their country to escape conflict has passed the 1.5 million mark, while warning that the widening gap between the needs and resources available is becoming a huge challenge. More>>
Bangladesh: New Safety Agreement between Garment Industry and Workers
The United Nations labour agency today welcomed an agreement signed by international fashion brands and retailers, and trade unions to prevent workplace disasters. “The need for urgent improvement in workplace safety requires the industry to work together to implement a scalable and transparent plan of action... More>>
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NZ International Comedy Festival: Winners Have The Last Laugh!
Rose Matafeo and Jarred Christmas have capped off an incredible 2013 NZ International Comedy Festival by picking up the country’s most prestigious comedy awards; the Billy T Award and The FRED Award at last night’s Last Laughs hosted by the bro-mantic duo of Ben Hurley and Steve Wrigley. More>>
Pink Shirt Day: Bullying - Where's The Power?
People in schools and workplaces will think they’re seeing through rose-coloured glasses on May 17 as New Zealanders join together to show solidarity and raise awareness around bullying by wearing pink and celebrating Pink Shirt Day. More>>
Triennial: NZ's Biggest Contemporary Visual Arts Festival Opens
On 10 May Auckland’s art scene bursts to life for the opening of the 5th Auckland Triennial, New Zealand’s largest contemporary visual art festival. More>>
Werewolf: Les Blank - The Quiet American
Gordon Campbell: His unblinking quietness could be intimidating, yet it made him usefully invisible. It was sometimes hard to tell if Blank’s subjects consciously developed a tremendous amount of trust in him, or whether they simply forgot he was there. More>>
Sounds: New Zealand Music Month 2013
It's the first day of May – that means NZ Music Month 2013 begins. Thirty-one days of music across our clubs, libraries, airwaves, screens of all sizes, schools, parks, and theaters starts today. More>>
Comedy Festival: All-Star Gorilla
In All-Star Gorilla a motley crew of WIT's seasoned veterans (and the occasional piece of up-and-coming cannon fodder) will take turns directing improvised scenes, stories, sagas or songs – silly or serious – in a bid to win audience approval (and bananas). More>>
Cleanup: Bay Of Plenty Flooding - Public Health Advice
There was extensive surface flooding across the coastal Bay of Plenty over the weekend. “We can assume that all flood water is potentially contaminated with farm run-off, faecal matter from feral and domestic animals, and, in some cases, sewage,” says Medical Officer of Health, Dr Phil Shoemack. More>>
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