Copyright © 1995 Brian Harmer
We chose the Waterfall Track, advertised as about 60 minutes return. The track started in a civilised sort of way, heading off into the bush, and emerging briefly into a clearing.
Ominously, the sign on the other side said "Wet Foot Track". They weren't kidding. The track was one of those which meandered back and forth across the stream which had carved out the little valley, several dozen times. This track is not for the weak of ankle, or those who prefer dry feet, but it is really a lovely little excursion into a patch of wilderness within 5 km of suburbia.
As you would expect on such a day, the bush was green and sombre in its colours, but birds were singing, chirping, warbling in almost uncountable variety. Lichens adorned the trees and mosses and liverwort painted the rocks. At the end of the half hour trail, we found ourselves boxed in by steep rock walls from which a sprightly waterfall fell about 4 metres into a lovely rocky pool. We sat and contemplated the meaning of waterfalls for a while, before resuming our busy day, greatly refreshed by the beauty of it all.
On with the news:
Wellington Police charged a father and son with the crime of attempting to procure a named person to commit murder. The pair, aged 54, a property developer, and 24, a taxi driver respectively, appeared before a JP who granted interim name suppression and remanded them to appear before the Wellington District Court on Monday.
The government has reacted to mounting concern from farmers and the wider public by imposing a temporary ban on imports of British beef products intended for human consumption. Also banned are imports of semen and embryos for breeding purposes.
(Mary looks glum because she likes Bovril on her toast - BH)
The Dominion reports that Tradenz is promoting NZ's standard bushwear, the Swanndri (known everywhere as the swanni) along with fashion garments in a display at NZ House.
(Snort! The swanni was never intended as a fashion accessory to be worn to polo while leaning casually on one's Range Rover! - BH)
In a concert intended to be a highlight of the recently concluded International Festival of the Arts, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa's performance was severely panned by local critics. The concertgoers at the Michael Fowler Centre were shortchanged, they say. In many cases, Dame Kiri was barely audible above the orchestra, and they had some harsh things to say about her performance. Some suggested that she should have used a microphone.
By contrast, local alto soprano, Margaret Medlyn is acquiring a reputation as a rising star whose career will be watched with interest.
(My favourite Soprano is Alessandra Marc, a German American who filled every corner of the MFC chamber with glorious sound, and nary a microphone in sight. She has a rather ribald sense of humour too, asking assorted journos what the difference was between a soprano and a dressmaker. The dressmaker, she said, frills and tucks..... BH)
The New Zealand Medical Journal reports that almost 65% of NZ men and 45% of women are heavier than they should be. The rising trend to obesity is blamed on a tendency to eat more.
(sigh! - BH)
The Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences is predicting an increase in the volcanic activity of White Island, off the Bay of Plenty coast. Temperatures have been slowly increasing, and ground levels rising over the last few months. Despite this, departmental volcanologists are predicting a moderate level of activity.
Monday, 25 march
In a move reminiscent of the Muldoon years, immigration officers burst into the Auckland home of a Tuvaluan family in search of overstayers. Women and children were reported to be terrified as officers shone torches in their faces at 5:30 am. Public criticism was swift, but the department is unrepentant, saying it operated within its guidelines for such affairs.
(The moral weight of the complainants was somewhat diminished by the fact that 10 of the 13 adults in the house were served with removal orders as overstayers- BH)
The NZ Labour Party announced tax cuts for the low paid, and increases
for middle and higher packages. The comparison with National is:
| National | Labour | ||
| $0 - $9,500 | 15% | $0 - $14,000 | 8% |
| $9,500 - $34,200 | 24% | $14,000 - $35,000 | 28% |
| $34,200+ | 33% | $35,000 - $60,000 | 33% |
| $60,000+ | 39% | ||
Family support would be increased under Labour if they were elected.
The row over the levels of aromatic compounds in the new premium unleaded petrol continues unabated with over 500 reported complaints being investigated by the Land Transport Safety Authority. Tests by the oil industry reveal that elastomers in older cars are most likely to be attacked by the new formula, whereas most modern cars seem to have components which are relatively impervious.
Adding fuel to the fire (sorry! - BH) is the revelation by a number of now retired scientists and civil servants that this is not new knowledge. The impact of aromatics on rubber components has been discovered and reported to government at least twice before - once at the time of the oil shocks in the late seventies when ethanol fuels were investigated, and more recently in about 1986 when a tanker load of fuel from Bahrain was brought in to ease the impact of a coastal tanker strike. The retired scientists identified that reports were sent to various ministries, most of which have since been restructured, but that in many cases, departmental officers who received the reports are still there. Indeed the minister who received one report and sent a letter of commendation to the scientist concerned at the time is said to be none other than the present minister.
A free seminar on alcohol advertising, intended for health professionals working in the field of alcohol abuse was reduced to high farce. At the last minute, the organisers, the alcohol advisory Council were persuaded (!-BH) to allow the alcohol industry to participate and put their point of view. Of the 20 or so people registered, seven walked out when industry spokespersons got up to talk.
Today (25 march) is the centenary of the explosion in the Brunner Mine, in which 65 West Coast coal miners were killed.
Alan Neil Merry, 43 was fined $750 for running a bulletin board which provided customers with material containing violence in sex, children in sex, and bestiality. The bulletin board cost $50 to join, and 39 of its 600 files were judged indecent. The BBS was said to have approximately 50 subscribers.
Philip Nixon, 35, of Johnsonville took his seven year old daughter, Sara, and arranged for the exhaust gas of the family car to kill them both. His actions were said to be out of character, as he and his wife had been working hard to obtain treatment for the child.
Christchurch man, Colin Grant left home with his two sons Chay, 8, and Robert 4, after an argument with his wife. He drove to Porter's Pass where he too arranged the car exhaust to gas all three.
Wellington's old Circa theatre building had a brief stay of execution during the Festival of the Arts, when it was used as an art event by a group which split it in two and then grew grass up the two sheer vertical faces. On completion of the Festival, the demolition teams moved in, and the building is no more. The theatre company lives on in new premises on the waterfront near the new Museum of New Zealand building.
Malaysia's Prime Minister, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad was in Wellington today, and took the opportunity to speak out on the immigration issue which has been the subject of so much agitation by Winston Peters. He observed that Asia would be watching very carefully how New Zealand responded to Asian immigrants while it claimed at the same time to want to be part of Asia.
Dr. Mahathir came to Victoria University to open the new Chair of Malay Studies which is partly funded by the Malaysian Government. The formal visit to the university was marked by a heavy security presence, and a small band of protesters waving placards about the Bakun dam.
(I was able to watch the Prime Minister's arrival in a nine car cavalcade. There were some of the biggest policeman I have ever seen, and about thirty protesters. The protesters were kept on the far side of the courtyard where they could barely be seen by the PM behind his screen of Diplomatic Protection heavies. The final straw must have been the busload of minor functionaries which the police sergeant cunningly directed so as to park between the protesters and their target. They ran around the end, by which time Dr. Mahathir was inside. -BH)
The Meat Board has said it would be improper to exploit Britain's plight over the BSE or "mad cow" disease. Conservative Party leader Trevor Rogers claimed that the Board's attitude was an "economic absurdity" and that if New Zealand didn't make the most of the opportunity, Australia would.
(I guess if he's focussing on beef, he can't be campaigning for net censorship - BH)
The Plunket Society said that a lack of funding from the Midland RHA was forcing it to close the Plunket centres in Gisborne, Tauranga, Hamilton and New Plymouth.
The daughter of convicted rapist and wife beater Stewart Murray Wilson was obviously at risk, yet Social Welfare staff were so intimidated by the man that they chose not to act. Wilson threatened physical harm to departmental officers and their families, and succeeded in getting away with behaviour which the department concedes was intolerable. The agency says it has learned some hard lessons.
For the second time in just a few years, students at Victoria University have voted against a community constable stationed on campus. Much was made of the fear of police brutality and intimidation. Staff on campus generally supported a police presence in the light of increasing levels of theft.
According to former police officers, undercover police have for years routinely lied under oath about the extent to which they personally were affected by their own drug usage. They allege that police policy about simulated drug use was just impossible, and that the agents had to become users to survive in the drug scene.
Department of Conservation officers transferred a hundred giant Cook Strait Wetas to Somes Island to attempt to prevent their extinction. The big ugly insects were transported from Mana Island to Somes to replace the original population which was eradicated by rats. The island is now believed rat-free.
(I looked for pictures of wetas on the web and found one at http://aruba.ccit.arizona.edu/~agerber/Deinacrida1.jpeg The insect illustrated here is much smaller than the one in the Evening Post - BH)
The crater lake on Mt. Ruapehu has sprouted a lava island which scientists say is a normal part of activity following eruptions of the type experienced in 1995.
Civil Aviation Authority officials have ruled AJ Hackett's heli-bungy operation unsafe, on the ground that that there was a risk the helicopter could not land safely in the event of engine failure.
Timber giant, Carter Holt Harvey announced the closure of three of its smaller timber mills in Kumeu, Whangarei and Marton with the loss of 190 jobs. This is the second Carter Holt mill closure in the Rangitikei district in the last 12 months, with a similar closure in Fielding just a little while ago.
Don't get excited - it's just a smidgen.
New Zealand produced some exciting rugby talent in the seven-aside games in Hong Kong to narrowly beat Fiji, thereby becoming only the second team (after Fiji) to win the games three consecutive years.
Date: 28 March 1996 Brian Dooley, Wellington CURRENCIES To Buy NZD 1.00 US 0.6909 UK 0.4545 AU 0.8827 CD 0.9424 JP 73.80 DM 1.0292 FR 3.5109 INTEREST RATES Call : 9.05 90 Day: 9.86 To buy NZ Investment Trust: 21 June 1993 $4.09 Today $5.75
Well, it took two days to complete the news, and the weather turned damp. This morning, Monday was what the Irish might call a fine soft morning, with rain so soft it was almost like being steamed, but oh how wetting. Heavy rain (180 mm in 18 hours) drenched Gisborne and the Wairarapa.
Make that three days...I came to post the news and my friendly ISP was running so slow, I couldn't get on :-(
See you next week.
Brian M Harmer - Department of Communication Studies
Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
email brian.harmer@vuw.ac.nz http://www.vuw.ac.nz/~bharmer
How can I be sure I succeeded
if I can't remember what I was trying to do? - Ashleigh Brilliant
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