TPPA protests in New Zealand

On the 8th November 2014,  Kiwis kick-started the global day of action against the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA). Many New Zealanders believe it poses an enormous threat to NZ’s ability to regulate for itself, and gives foreign investors and multinationals new rights to control NZ laws.

The family-friendly march from the Bucket Fountain in Cuba Street to the Civic Square ended with speeches and music. Speakers focused on local government and community issues as well as the broader national concerns.

Ariana addresses the crowd in Civic Square, Wellington New Zealand

Speakers included Sandra Grey (MC), Todd Rippon (Actors Equity), Greg Rzenosweicki (Renewables), Sue Kedgley (GWR Councillor), Gay Keating (OraTaiao: NZ Climate & Health Council)

Many people have already signed a petition to the New Zealand Prime Minister, John Key, to protect the country’s sovereignty. They said ‘it’s not for sale; No one can sign it away on our behalf’, and reminding him that ‘New Zealand is a sovereign nation’.

Speakers today believe if the TPPA goes ahead, New Zealand risks:

• Medicines costing more
• GM labelling being scrapped
• Internet access being criminalised
• Copyright law being expanded
• Parallel importing being banned
• Te Tiriti o Waitangi (1840) being overridden
• New Zealand would be giving international investors the power to sue our government for making laws which they oppose.

Cows - downunder in New Zealand

Cute Australasian Gannet: Cape Kidnappers, Napier

Great place to visit: an 18k walk or by the tractor trip are the best way.

Have you been to Waitangi - on Waitangi Day?

New Zealand is in my blood and bones, in my DNA. My family threw off the shackles of class; land-clearings in Scotland; potato famines in Ireland; and tin mine closures in Cornwall – arriving in New Zealand in the mid-1800s.

      The 1840 Treaty of Waitangi is what allowed us, and every migrant since,  to come to New Zealand and I was thrilled when Norman Kirks 3^rd Labour government made Feb 6^th a public holiday. The 1970s were a time of huge changes in race and gender issues in NZ and I, a 5^th generation kiwi, was glad to be a passionate part of the processes.

      That being so, I loved revisiting Waitangi last year for the celebrations and commemorations of this our country’s founding document and next year I’m planning on attending the day’s celebrations in Okains  Bay on Banks Peninsula.  Annually I attended the events in Christchurch but now actively encourage others to do something to acknowledge our national day. I’d love all new Zealanders to attend Waitangi Day, in Waitangi, at least once in their lifetime. It’s a great day there, but please just start by saying “Happy Waitangi Day.”

      Michael King, in The Penguin History of New Zealand says “And most New Zealanders, whatever their cultural backgrounds, are good-hearted, practical, commonsensical and tolerant. Those qualities are part of the national cultural capital that has in the past saved the country from the worst excesses of chauvinism and racism seen in other parts of the world. They are as sound a basis as any for optimism about the country’s future.” page 520.

      There will always be conflict and tensions around the day in Waitangi, they are legitimate and desirable debates that define a democracy, and for us, necessary.  Our Treaty was ignored by one partner in the agreement for over a hundred years then, as a result of our national protests and debate over apartheid, we finally looked into our own backyard. We still need to be looking and examining it – we have made much progress but, just as feminism and the 1970s progress has gone backwards, so too do we need to ensure we continue moving forward in our nation’s human rights and our legal and moral obligations agreed to by the signatories of document. 

      As Norman Kirk said about our holiday it is designed to give us “a full sense of nationhood” and I encourage you to celebrate our nation by at least saying to your friends and family, and people whose paths you cross on the day “Happy Waitangi Day” as we continued to build our nation.

Wellington Writers Walk

 The writers walk in Wellington is a great way to explore the waterfront and literature.

antarctic centre christchurch

Paradise Shelduck ... colouful ducks

These duck are the only birds to have increased their numbers (native - New Zealand) since first seen by Captain Cook ... he called them the "painted duck'. (see photos of adults here) One of the amazing things about these territorial creatures is that they often nest ( and roost) in trees .. the ducklings are pushed out when only a day old .. to live on the ground until they too can fly .. I love them!

Message for Lauris Edmond

Message for Lauris 
( Lauris Edmond)

Umbrella up, zigzag

down Grass Street,

what happened

to the letterbox?

Nasturtiums, bamboo, ti kouka,

flourish beside signs:

No nukes. No GE.

And no mailbox.

Wooden planks hang

on long ropes

for local swingers,

but where’s your letterbox?

Hungry mouth received

rejections, accolades,

acceptances, the letterbox

gone, like you

I miss its painted

pens, plumes, pencils.

Each proclaiming

a writer lives here.

 ©Heather Hapeta 2007

(previously published in the Press, Christchurch NZ)

New Zealand and the Rugby World Cup

New Zealand in Rugby World Cup - my daughter crunches the figures

Year	Location	NZ place	Final Won	Final Lost	Teams
1987	New Zealand & Australia Eden Park, Auckland	1st	New Zealand 29	France 9	16
1991	England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France Twickenham Stadium, London	3rd (won against Scotland 13-6 after losing to Australia 6-16 in semis)	Australia 12	England 6	16
1995	South Africa Ellis Park, Johannesburg	2nd	South Africa 15	New Zealand 12	16
1999	Wales (also England, France, Scotland and Ireland) Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	4th (lost to SA 18-22 after losing to France 31-43 in semis)	Australia 35	France 12	20 – 1st professional RWC
2003	Australia Telstra Stadium, Sydney	3rd (won 40-13 against France after losing to Australia 10-22 in semis)	England 20	Australia 17	20
2007	France (+ 4 in Wales & 2 in Scotland) Stade de France, St-Denis, Paris	Quarter Finalists (lost to France 18-20)[1]	South Africa 15	England 6	20
2011	New Zealand Eden Park, Auckland	1st	New Zealand 8	France 7	20

---

[1] Australia also lost in Quarters, against England 10-12; Fiji lost to SA; Scotland lost to Argentina – Argentina ended up 3rd beating France in the Bronze Final

Another great spring day in Wellington, New Zealand

As it's another great spring day in Wellington, I thought I'd post a daffodil - from on my balcony - to you all!

See my tub of herbs behind it too

PS: please note I have a new blog too "My inner city garden" - the garden is about a 10 min walk from my apartment, up through Central Park, across the road and up to Tarena Park.

Photos re Christchurch quake

http://kiwitravelwriter.wordpress.com/2010/09/04/earthquake-photos-chch-nz-sat-4th-sept-2010/

Loosing weight, diabetes & and get healthy

I had a reminder from one of my blog readers to say I hadn't reported on my health for ages: I had planned to keep a  blog as an incentive to stay on track but, found it boring - so assumed you must have been finding reading it the same.

However, after  the prompt from a woman in Tasmania, Australia, here's the latest goss!

I have continued to loose weight: in fact I have lost over 10% of my body weight!  There are about 5 or 8 kg to go until I am in my healthy BMI weight range. Perhaps now is when I do need to be blogging on the topic more often as I suspect this is when it will get harder to loose those last blubber pounds that remain.

So there it is in a nutshell: my weight has gone down, my diabetes blood test results have improved, and i'm feeling much better not carrying those extra kilograms around.

What else has been happening to me? I have had a geat road trip to WOMAD 2010 in New Plymouth:WOMAD is the acronym for world of music and dance. I have also been busy writing; active in the New Zealand Society of Authous ( PEN international) and a few days ago I had a great trip to Akaroa, our French community on Banks Peninsula, less than 100ks form Christchurch.


NOTE: To see some photos from my recent  road trip to WOMAD 2010 held annually in New Plymouth see my 'other blog'/

I was travelling in a Backpacker campervan, and on the Interislander ferry over Cook Strait - from Christchurch  to WOMAD.

Iconic NZ rubgy grounds

Iconic New Zealand rugby grounds (from Tourism NZ)

(also check out my Girls Guide to Rugby .. add a tip)

Rising from cities, small towns and country paddocks filled with farmers’ stock, no part of New Zealand’s landscape is quite complete without a set of rugby goal posts.
Rugby is New Zealand’s most-played sport, and every Saturday more than 145,000 players lace up their boots and run onto rugby fields to chase the oval ball.

Some fields are no more than farm land while others are hallowed turf identified by instantly recognisable names and often-told stories of rugby’s great moments.

A rugby-lovers tour of New Zealand would not be complete without walking the turf on some of New Zealand’s iconic rugby pitches.

Eden Park - RWC final host
Eden Park is New Zealand’s largest stadium and has been a sports ground since 1900. Eden Park hosted the inaugural 1987 Rugby World Cup (RWC), and the 2011 RWC will be the second world cup to be held at the ground.

Some of New Zealand's proudest sporting moments have taken place on Eden Park, including the 1950 Empire Games, and the 1992 Cricket World Cup. In 1981, during the now infamous Springbok Tour, a match was interrupted by a low flying Cessna aircraft that flour-bombed the park.

In the heart of Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city, Eden Park is undergoing major redevelopment to increase capacity from 48,000 to 60,000 for the 2011 RWC. Eden Park features a Hall of Legends that opened in 2002 and contains 2000 items of significant New Zealand sporting memorabilia.

Rugby Park, Hamilton - Mooloo heaven
With more than 10,500 registered rugby players in the Waikato - a dairy farming region - it’s hardly surprising that cows and rugby have become inseparable.
Mooloo has become a common nickname for everything pertaining to the Waikato Rugby team and its supporters. A pantomime cow regularly grazes on Rugby Park during rugby matches while passionate supporters swing cow bells in the crowd.

Mooloo history is littered with the scalps of international teams who have ventured to Rugby Park and experienced the ferocity of the mighty Waikato team. In 1956 Waikato beat the South African team - the first time a provincial team had beaten a touring Springbok side.

Rotorua International Stadium - hot rugby location
Founded in 1911, the Rotorua International Stadium must be the only rugby stadium in the world set in a thermal wonderland amongst bubbling mud, hot pools and rumbling geysers.
Rugby-weary bodies can soak in the healing waters of the natural hot springs and spas - famed for their therapeutic qualities, and a major New Zealand tourist attraction since the late 1800s.

One of New Zealand's largest capacity sports venues, the stadium is the home of Bay of Plenty rugby. Despite an official capacity of 37,000, the largest crowd ever recorded at the stadium was in 1977 when the British Lions played Bay of Plenty in front of 39,000 fans.

Stadium Taranaki, New Plymouth - world class
Yarrow Stadium was named third best rugby ground in the world, the only ground in New Zealand to make the 2009 NZ Rugby World Magazine list. It scored points for its distinctly Kiwi atmosphere and the fact that it is a regional stadium in the spiritual home of rugby with picturesque Mt Taranaki visible in the background.

The rugby ground was also described as "tight," because the two stands are close to the pitch and spectators feel they are almost on top of the action. The players also feel the proximity of the spectators so it is a "shared, intense experience".

Mangatainoka, Wairarapa - grassroots best
Mangatainoka’s rugby ground is no more than a paddock but typifies the home of grassroots rugby in New Zealand. As an added bonus, this pitch is next door to one of the country’s best known breweries - Tui beer has been "distracting the boys from the task at hand since 1889".

The ground’s grandstand only holds 122 people, but a combined local effort of farmers, contractors and earth movers is levelling the field, removing sheep ruts and building temporary grandstands to host the 2010 Super 14 pre-season opening match. Locals say it will rival ‘big union’ projects underway for Rugby World Cup 2011, and that tickets will sell out faster than the 2011 RWC final.

Wellington Regional Stadium - ‘Rings’ battle cry
Fondly nicknamed "the cake tin", the Wellington Stadium opened on New Year’s Eve 1999, nine years after Wellington Rugby first decided to replace aging Athletic Park.
The stadium has become a successful large capacity venue that hosted the 2000 Edinburgh Military Tattoo - the first time the event was held outside Edinburgh, Scotland. It also hosts the IRB Sevens tournament each February, providing a party atmosphere that routinely spills over into the nearby city centre.

Another claim to fame was when, during a cricket match, film director Peter Jackson recorded 30,000 fans chanting a battle scene cry for his film The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.

Botanical Gardens, Nelson - where it all began
New Zealand's first rugby game - under official rugby rules - was played in Nelson on 14 May 1870 between Nelson College and the Nelson Football Club. The game at Botanical Gardens was organised by Charles Monro, a Kiwi who had spent time studying (and playing rugby) in Britain.

A sign shaped like a rugby ball and goal posts marks the site of the original game which featured 18-player sides and attracted about 200 spectators.

Trafalgar Park, Nelson - this grass has glass
Trafalgar Park, named after the battle of Trafalgar, is not only one of New Zealand’s oldest sports grounds but also boasts the most unusual pitch - eco-friendly recycled glass that resembles sand.
Just a five-minute walk from Nelson’s city centre, with panoramic views of the surrounding countryside, Trafalgar Park is considered one of New Zealand’s most attractive rugby grounds.

Stadium Christchurch - rich heritage
Founded in 1880, Stadium Christchurch - formerly Lancaster Park - has long been a versatile venue. During WWI the ground was dug up to grow potatoes to support the war effort, it has hosted many events, including trotting, swimming, tennis, hot air ballooning, papal and royal visits.

The stadium has been through multiple name changes, and has been known as Jade Stadium, Fortress Jade and AMI Stadium. It is home to the Crusaders Super14 team.
Before the 2011 Rugby World Cup the Eastern Stands will be demolished and replaced with the new Deans Stand raising capacity to 45,000 and making it the second largest stadium in New Zealand after Eden Park.
Victoria Square, Westport - fits the whole town
Buller’s home ground seats just 5000 - not the biggest stadium by any means, but enough to seat the entire population of Westport and, according to locals, every spot is usually taken for the big games.

Hardy Westport natives say the best time to attend a game is in a good old fashioned West Coast downpour, ideally when their team Buller is playing neighbours and staunch rivals West Coast.

Carisbrook Stadium, Dunedin - "house of pain"
Known to locals as "The Brook", Carisbrook earned its nickname "house of pain" for being a difficult venue for visiting teams.
The main highway runs close to the northern boundary, and the roadside that offered punters a free view of the action became known as the "Scotsman’s Grandstand". At one time trains would slow to a crawl or stop on the track above the stadium allowing passengers to watch an entire event but a new stand and corporate boxes developed in 1998 blocked the view.

Carisbrook will be replaced by the 30,000-place Forsyth Barr Stadium, currently under construction for the 2011 RWC.
More information:
Four million Kiwis prepare to roar
2011 Rugby World Cup - host towns
2011 Rugby World Cup - match venues

Great resource for New Zealand writers by kiwis

The New Zealand Freelance Writers’ Association began over 30 years ago, as an association for freelance journalists, but is now open to writers of all genres. The focus of the association is Freelance, a quarterly magazine about writing for writers. Membership ranges from beginning, unpublished writers to writers who earn their living from their craft, and also to editors who are publishing newsletters and magazines. Membership is open to all ages – anyone with an interest in writing is welcome to join.

Issues contain tips and information about writing, news on markets and competitions, members’ book reviews and other items of interest, including a ‘Write of Reply’ page where members can write in for help.

Writing can be a lonely craft, but members of NZFWA appreciate the friendly ‘family’ feel of Freelance, which offers help and support from both the editor and other members.

NZFWA is a non-profit organisation surviving solely on membership subscriptions, receiving no outside funding.

The cost of membership is $30 per annum (students, beneficiaries, superannuitants: $25)

NOTE : remember this can be deducted from your taxes - the NZ Society of Authors (PEN) has a very good booklet on NZ tax specifically for writers - see NZSA info here

Te Ara Kakariki --- the greening of Canterbury

This is a piece I wrote for an Ecan (canterbury NZ) magazine some time ago - 2010 is the year of biodiversity so seemed appropriate to reproduce it here

‘It’s clean and green but not a native to be seen?’

‘Canterbury plains are one of the worst examples of the loss of native plants in New Zealand’ Professor Ian Spellerberg tells me. ‘Less than 0.5% of native vegetation remains on our plains.’

When colleagues from Europe ask, as he drives them from the airport to Lincoln University, 'where are your native plants’ he understands their surprise. Returning to Canterbury, he too was disappointed. Spellerberg had become used to UK landscapes with their hedgerows making great use of native plants and which are now some of the last bastions of habitat for wildlife.

However, there is good news about our plains: the Te Ara Kakariki Greenway Canterbury Trust has been formed and is encouraging us to increase native plant communities for all reasons – not just restoration, or beautification as some critics suggest, but for boundaries, shelter belts, crops, tourism, and ideas that we haven’t yet thought of. Its long-term vision, maybe taking hundreds of years, is to make connections between the mountains and sea by using corridors and stepping stones of native plant communities – and connecting existing patches. Another goal is a one-stop-shop for information: cost, availability, economic benefits, where to get natives, after-planting care and research – perhaps leading onto field days. Encouragingly, Motukarara Conservation Nursery says they can’t keep up with the demand for native plants.

The land between the Waimakariri and Rakaia Rivers gives the project an identity and all Cantabrians can be involved: country or city; on public and private land; for economic and ecological reasons, alongside roadsides, railway lines and rivers.

This year, in conjunction with Southern Woods Nursery, has seen 25 Selwyn schools being invited to design and plant a native plant community for their school. Judging (November 08) will be around the knowledge pupils gained, not just the design. (Good luck to Southbridge, Templeton and Ladbrooks schools, and others, who Robyne Hyndman tells me have signed-up).

Spellerberg’s enthusiastic. ‘I have this dream of tourists coming to see Te Ara Kakariki, a Canterbury icon! Imagine native plant hedgerows on those long stretches of road. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? It’s the loss of associated native wildlife too: maybe we could re-introduce the Kakariki back to Canterbury.’

‘We underestimate the value of natives in an uncertain future. What’s the environment going to be in ten years? What about land use? Changes in weather? We have to think about what roles native plants will play then. It might be crops, better shelter belts – after all, these plants evolved to live in dry windy conditions.’

‘Why aren’t we proud of our native heritage of plants?’ he continues. ‘We owe an apology to nature for the devastation of our native plant communities. We should be celebrating them, they are our wealth.’

‘I’m putting my money on Te Ara Kakariki becoming an icon for Canterbury.’ I see tourists coming to see this landscape project which communities, schools, and other groups have created. A wonderful greenway of native plants and native plant communities.’

feeling good!

Well today had my first weigh-in after a week of working on loosing weight and so improve my health status: I have lost 1.8 kg.

Guess if I keep doing what I've been doing I'll keep getting the results which is a good thought. what was not such a good thought was when I worked out what my weight would be ( in the old stones and pounds of my youth) when I  have lost 10% of my current weight I was shocked. Still THAT heavy! I thought if I got rid of ten percent of my body weight that would be all I have to do. I would be svelte, diabetes-symptoms-free and full of the joys of life. Now I know what it is in stones/lbs I also know I wont be svelte. so back to concentrating on my immdeiate goal -- loose 5%, then focus on the next goal, and then the next.

I'm a great believer in just doing todays challenges today, and need to remember to stay in the now, and day, with this weight loss and increased health goal journey I'm on.

Another kiwi who reached his goals - Sir Ed Hillary gazes up to Aorangi-Mt Cook in NZ's South Island.

So thats it for now, its good to to have a successful 7 days behind me, and tommorrow I start it all again.

kiwitravelwriter, diabetes, and a walk in the park

Well it's confession time . . . but first, my morning, this morning.

I have checked - and responded to some emails, Twitter conversations, (I havent checked my Facebook fan pages yet) and checked which of my wordpress blog posts people liked yesterday, then started an article about the Kaikoura Wilderness Walks which I did last week.

Then  I took a phone call from my Drs practice nurse.

After some weeks of various tests, it seems one thing has become clear - my 'pancreas is not working as well as it should' says nurse Shirley.

Oh dear - years of being a carbo-queen have come home to roost, and now, overweight, I have sucumbed to a disease that my family is riddled with - that's why this is shameful to confess: I have known the consequences of over-eating and under-excerising and, ignoring that knowledge has caught up with me.

So this will be my public humilitation page, where I will record my attempts to recover that old svelte body and hopefully a fully- functioning pancreas.

How have I started?

• 2 hours ago I bought a pedometer on trade-me
• I have been for a 30 min walk in the fabulous Hagley Park (the biggest city park in NZ) while listening to Radio NZ - I can tell my MP3 player/radio will be used even more now 
• I have picked an organic lettuce (& mint, parsley) from my garden
• Filled a jug of water and dropped a frozen lemon quarter in it in the hope it will make me drink more
• Examined my Adidas walking shoes and realise I need a new pair and maybe even a sports bra (an item I have never owned!)

So, now home again, it's time to make a salad for lunch and think about the things I saw in 'my' park ... people getting ready for the annual 'Christmas in the park' event this weekend; a mum and dad paradise shelduck with their long legged, still fuzzy-crewcut-haired ducklings, and the people who said 'Hi' to me and the many other walkers  - what an asset Hagley Park is to my city.

(see more here on Christchurchs' official website - I am just an enthusiastic promoter of my city - and check out my 'other blog' http://kiwitravelwriter.wordpress.com/ for lots of blogs and photos about this, the biggest city in the South Island of New Zealand and stories from all over the world.)

This is what paradise ducklings look like when they are only days old .. here with mum!

I  hope my public record will motivate me, and  that some of you will help keep me on the straight and narrow as I attempt to become healthier.