Search Results for “our far south” | Page 4

Backblocks America (EPUB)

Gareth MorganApril 2, 2013

From the authors of the bestselling Silk Riders comes the tale of their latest motorbike adventure, Backblocks America.

This time Jo, Gareth and their mates cross North America, from Christopher Columbus' first landfall in the Bahamas to the extreme northwest of Alaska, via the Appalachians, the deep South, Mexico and the Rocky Mountains — with a cruise down the California coast to finish. Taking the back roads, they discover an America far from the bland and homogenous world of big cities and reality TV.

Jo and Gareth tell their story with customary wit and insight, and it's packed full of entertaining tales of roadkill, racism, encounters with wildlife, history and good old American hospitality.

Saving the Saddleback From Cats – Friend or Feral?

Gareth MorganOctober 28, 2014Environment

Is the tide turning in the battle against introduced predators? Over the weekend we heard that tieke (saddleback) are nesting outside the fenced sanctuary of Zealandia. This is a landmark moment for conservation in New Zealand, but also reinforces the … Read More

If New Zealand is really committed to marine conservation we should start in our own part of the ocean

Geoff SimmonsNovember 2, 2014Environment

This week is Conservation Week and to celebrate each day our blogs will focus on a different conservation issue. Over the weekend China, the Ukraine and Russia rejected New Zealand and the United States’ bid to create the world’s largest … Read More

The New Zealand flag should be more than a brand

Gareth MorganAugust 16, 2015Treaty

The flag discussion is coming down to the wire. Unless the Flag Consideration Committee can get some innovative and intelligent flag alternatives into its final four, the rest of their routine will be a dead rubber – there will simply … Read More

Million Dollar Mouse Update

Gareth MorganNovember 11, 2013Environment

Some of you may have seen this recent blog from James Russell of Auckland University. James is a world expert in rats and mice and in 2012 received the Prime Minister’s MacDiarmid Emerging Scientist Prize. Earlier this year he made a trip to the Antipodes courtesy … Read More

Rigging of Housing Market Is Deliberate Policy

Gareth MorganJanuary 14, 2013Economics

January’s North & South magazine is headed “Is the Housing Market Rigged”? The article goes into depth on the resurgent property market and whether the take-off in prices is like constructing castles of sand. It compares New Zealand with the … Read More

Our Low Bar for Household Economic Wellbeing Needs a Serious Rethink

Jess Berentson-ShawJuly 27, 2017Tax and Welfare

Every year the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) using data collected by Statistics New Zealand reports on how New Zealand households are doing economically. We get a raft of data on household income and material wellbeing. Bryan Perry is the … Read More

Our hottest year on record, but there’s cause for hope on climate change

Paul YoungJanuary 12, 2017Environment, Uncategorized

It’s official: 2016 was the hottest year on record, not just globally but for New Zealand too. NIWA released its annual climate summary on Monday with the headline that 2016 was New Zealand’s hottest year since reliable record-keeping began in … Read More

Top 5 Worst Responses to our Climate Cheats Report

Geoff SimmonsApril 20, 2016Environment

Our “Climate Cheats” report released on Monday argued that our Government has been an accessory to climate fraud. We’ve had great responses, including agreement from New Zealand’s top scientists, endorsement from the Dominion Post, coverage in France and Australia and … Read More

Family Matters: Who is Responsible for Taking Care of Our Children?

Gareth MorganNovember 25, 2015Tax and Welfare

This week UNICEF New Zealand launched a campaign ‘Make my Future Fair’ to focus the New Zealand government and public on the obligations we have under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child, which we (the Government) … Read More

Whose homes and baches will sink beneath the waves in our lifetime?

Gareth MorganNovember 19, 2015Environment

The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment has published a new study on sea level rise. Last time she reviewed the science behind the issue, now she is looking at the risks that a rising tide poses to our country – … Read More

The most dangerous time for our bird life – Whiteboard Friday

Gareth MorganNovember 19, 2015Environment

In this whiteboard session we go through the dangers our birds are facing from cats, right now, in the middle of fledging time. Please watch. Please keep your cat inside.

Whose homes and baches will sink beneath the waves in our lifetime?

Gareth MorganNovember 19, 2015Environment

Coleman – Leave the Pregnant Ladies Alone – They Are Not the Solution To our Obesity Crisis

Gareth MorganOctober 28, 2015Health

Nothing gets women more upset that being told 1) they are responsible for everything that goes wrong with their children 2) how much weight they should put on when they are pregnant (or rather they are putting on too much … Read More

Why are we still dragging our feet on climate change?

Gareth MorganMay 25, 2015Environment

Climate change deniers have well and truly been given the flick yet political commitment to policies to reduce carbon footprints remains limp. Given the Government’s quick and dirty climate change consultation (it is 4 weeks long, logically flawed and doesn’t … Read More

Water trading rights a major tool for solving our freshwater problems

Geoff SimmonsFebruary 8, 2015Environment

At Waitangi Andrew Little plunged into the freshwater debate, and quickly waded into trouble. Exclaiming that water must not be traded as a commodity makes for a neat sound bite, but doesn’t stand up to scrutiny, much like John Key’s … Read More

What do plummeting milk prices mean for our fresh water?

Geoff SimmonsDecember 17, 2014Environment

This year milk prices have soured like a bottle left in the sun. There has been much wailing and gnashing of teeth about the economic impact of the fall in prices, but what, if anything does it mean for our … Read More

Should our healthcare system treat less and care more?

Geoff SimmonsNovember 10, 2014Health

Medical specialists are warning that there is a looming crisis in end of life care. There are already shortages of staff, and this will only get worse as the baby boomer doctors and nurses retire in the next few years. … Read More

Why it makes no financial sense for Treasury to invest in our kids

Geoff SimmonsOctober 28, 2014Tax and Welfare

Today UNICEF released its report on child wellbeing. They found that during the global financial crisis New Zealand’s level of child poverty didn’t budge. Child poverty rose in most countries, thanks to the financial crisis, and fell in a few. … Read More

Farmers don’t set out to pollute our rivers

Gareth MorganJuly 30, 2014Environment

It can be easy to vilify farmers. But no farmer sets out to create pollution, and the evidence suggests that many farmers are either already acting responsibly or that they are lifting their game. In particular, dairy farmers are acting. … Read More