I am so angry with the lies (or faked news) being spread by the Nats- even Bill English, for whom I have had some respect until now. . Labour is NOT increasing personal income tax- if they are elected income tax will be the same for wealthier people, and so there […]
Care, Community, Creativity…
September 19, 2017 by 2 Comments
What a privilege it is for us, with our resources and networks, to live in Tamaki Makaurau, with the wealth of cultural activities available to many. We are lucky to have friends who invite us to participate in events of special significance in their cultures, or who bring their unique experiences to us.. .and who […]
Moving On…
September 19, 2017 by 3 Comments
In July we wrote about our big decision to leave Earthsong, and carefully prepared a “For Sale ” page for the Earthsong website. The response to the Earthsong website was immediate, and within a couple of weeks we had a keen buyer, and hope to finalise the sale next month. So we spent August looking […]
Women and Politics: Reflections on Women’s Suffrage Day
September 19, 2017 by Leave a Comment
We are lucky to belong to a nation where women not only have the right to move around freely and speak up in public, but also to be elected to Parliament and to become Prime Ministers. One hundred and twenty-four years ago , on 19 September 1893, women gained the right to vote in New […]
Election 2017
September 19, 2017 by 2 Comments
What an extraordinary election campaign we are experiencing here in Aotearoa! For those living outside Aotearoa, a summary of some key events: We’ve lost two party leaders – Andrew Little from Labour, who resigned with dignity to allow his deputy, Jacinda Adern, to become leader; and Meteria Turei, from the Greens, whose attempts to draw […]
A fierce footnote
September 19, 2017 by 2 Comments
I can’t stand the term “ethnic cleansing”. There’s nothing clean about persecution, rape, mutilation and murder of a group of human beings because of their ethnicity, religion or political beliefs. Tell the truth, for goodness sake –”attempted ethnic extermination”, or “forced ethnic relocation”… genocide…hatred and criminal violence…inexcusable evil… Every day we’re hearing this term used […]
Nganeko – a personal tribute
July 18, 2017 by 1 Comment
On June 15 this year we lost a dear friend, Nganeko Minhinnick. We first met Nganeko in 1987, at a Forest and Bird Society meeting where she spoke about the mining by New Zealand Steel of the Maioro iron sand dunes, her people’s ancient burial area at the mouth of the Waikato River, and the […]
Kahurangi Nganeko Kaihau Minhinnick
July 18, 2017 by 2 Comments
On Thursday 15 June 2017 Aotearoa lost one of its greatest environmental advocates, Kahurangi Nganeko Kaihau Minhinnick, of Ngaati Te Ata – Waiohua. From the age of eleven, Nganeko Kaihau was expected to undertake legal and environmental issues for her iwi, Ngaati Te Ata, because she was the most fluent English-speaker in her whanau. With […]
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