Otago Daily Times: Opinion

Female fraudster thirsty for scandal

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 05:25:00 +1300

Quite a number of well-known citizens in the hill suburb were victimised last week in an impudent manner as a result of lending too ready an ear to tales of distress from a female fraud.

Little progress made on development

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 05:25:00 +1300

Ken Gemmell (94) contrasts the rapid development of early Oamaru with the lack of progress on today's Forrester Heights subdivision.

Transparency and accountability

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 05:25:00 +1300

Criticisms from a University of Otago council member about the perceived bias of media when reporting about student disciplinary matters appear out of touch with the tertiary institution's own restrictive communication policy.

Garden fete planning meeting called

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 05:30:00 +1300

The Mayor (Mr W. Burnett) presided over a large meeting of Dunedin citizens in the Town Hall last evening.

Recreational value must be considered, Panz says

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 05:30:00 +1300

The public interest at Pilots Beach on Otago Peninsula is being ignored, says Alan McMillan, of Public Access New Zealand.

Masters Games most welcome

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 05:30:00 +1300

There was a surfeit of energetic athletes of mostly mid to mature years in Dunedin last week.

Not a Brilliant cliche among these

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 05:25:00 +1300

Sam Goldwyn, the fabled mangler of the English tongue, once hurled a Hollywood script back at his writers yelling: "Give me some new cliches."

Monday's poem

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 05:25:00 +1300

Yesterday on the Peninsula
- Ann Jacobson

Taking up arms may well be Syrian opposition's undoing

Gwynne Dyer — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 05:25:00 +1300

As the Syrian opposition abandons nonviolent protest for armed resistance, many people think this means President Bashar al-Assad and his Baathist regime are in even deeper trouble than before.

Dangers of flight won't keep planes down

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 05:25:00 +1300

"I have endeavoured, more than once, to understand why the world is so slow to realise the amazing potentialities of flight: and I have come to the conclusion that we are deadened to the significance of new things by the wonders which we have already been called upon to recognise."

Key seems more wary now the honeymoon is over

John Armstrong — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 05:25:00 +1300

So it's goodbye Mr Smile and Wave, and hello Mr Grumpy. Or so the Prime Minister's critics would have you believe.

National Park access charges

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 05:25:00 +1300

Some of the most beautiful places imaginable are to be found in New Zealand's 14 national parks. Mountains, diverse landscapes and places of interest extend from the bush and hills of Te Urewera through the golden sands of Abel Tasman and to the fiords and wilderness of Fiordland.

People steamed over unfair railway priorities

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:29:00 +1300

The rivalry between the North Island and the South, particularly in the matter of railway construction, was forcibly touched on by several speakers at the luncheon tendered to the Otago Central touring party at Lawrence yesterday.

Mother Nature is in control

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:29:00 +1300

Brian Taylor, of Alexandra, joins the wilding pines debate by suggesting it might be time to reconfigure our responses and embrace greater biodiversity.

Making the most of our wool

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:29:00 +1300

Such has been the fall from grace of wool, it is difficult to believe that 60 years ago it was New Zealand's major earner of foreign exchange.

Time governments took a stand

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:27:00 +1300

What best serves the common good, asks Ian Harris as he reflects on the outrage at unbridled capitalism and greed.

First assignments set out for a new scarfie year

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:27:00 +1300

Things to do:
1) PACK FOR DUNEDIN:
The predictable essentials: Clothes, shoes, toiletries. How much clothing? How many pairs of shoes? Which coloured face-cloth? Oh, year after year, such questions plague me.

Turning up the heat on student housing

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:26:00 +1300

Living in a warm, dry flat is a basic right, Otago University Students' Association president Logan Edgar says.

The case for smaller scales

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:26:00 +1300

Eat smaller fish. That is one potential solution for Pacific Island people facing the effects of global climate change. The University of Otago's Prof Lloyd Spencer Davis reports from Noumea.

Man gets rich, apparantly prefers wife to money

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:25:00 +1300

The party of public men which has been making a rapid inspection of different parts of Central Otago this week has been besieged with vigorous appeals for assistance in obtaining irrigation for the fields and a railway for the product of the various districts passed through.

Ignoring Treasury's advice

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:25:00 +1300

It is the season of briefings from government departments to incoming ministers, with many providing helpful background, advice and recommendations.

School given green light to ease pupil congestion

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 05:25:00 +1300

The Government has approved of the plans and arrangements for the new Technical School in Dunedin.

Smoko: Key's pension pledge might not be so super

Simon Cunliffe — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 05:25:00 +1300

What was it exactly that possessed John Key in 2008 to say he would resign as Prime Minister before sanctioning a rise in the age of pension eligibility in this country?

'Cultured' food worth a thought

Gwynne Dyer — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 05:25:00 +1300

Four decades ago, Norman Borlaug, accepting the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on raising crop yields worldwide (the "green revolution"), said: "I have only bought you a 40-year breathing space to stabilise your population."

When moths collide: No magic when it comes to the talking scales

Elspeth McLean — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 05:25:00 +1300

I was prepared for the triumphant arrival of Ronnie and Maggie, but foolishly forgot they would be accompanied by the talking scales.

Perils of an extended liquor ban

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 05:25:00 +1300

It looks as if the Dunedin liquor-ban area might well be extended from the central city to cover North Dunedin. A powerful array of forces - the police, the University of Otago and Otago Polytechnic - are all in favour and that could influence city councillors. When the issue has arisen over the past seven years, councillors were divided and an extension has been rejected.

Smell of sewer an offensive matter

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:25:00 +1300

Strong complaints have been made by those working on the Dunedin wharf regarding a most offensive stench that arises from the effluent of a sewer that empties into the harbour near the V shed.

Downstream effects serious

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:25:00 +1300

The Government's proposed asset sales programme has implications for Waitaki River stakeholders, writes Elizabeth Soal.

Some sausage sizzle sense

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:25:00 +1300

While the Dunedin City Council has to watch its pennies as it tries to rein in every possible cost and earn every possible dollar, the proposal to charge for charity sausage sizzles was an idea with little merit.

Independence not a simple question

Gwynne Dyer — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 05:26:00 +1300

The answer to a question often depends on how you ask it, and Alex Salmond is doing all he can to get a "yes".

Steamers awash with trouble

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 05:25:00 +1300

Owing to the exceptionally low tides which have been experienced in the harbour during the last day or two the ferry steamers have had a difficulty in making their way to the different seaside resorts.

Monday's poem

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 05:25:00 +1300

On a night like this - Ruth Arnison

Choosing your digital diet with care

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 05:25:00 +1300

The oversupply of information and media could be too much of a good thing, writes Clay Johnson.

Vitriol on the campaign trail

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 05:25:00 +1300

Amid all the careering uncertainties of the helter-skelter race for the United States Republican Party's presidential nomination, President Barack Obama's re-election team will be rubbing its hands with glee.

Social occasion after election

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 05:25:00 +1300

A complimentary social was tendered in the public hall at Palmerston on Friday night by Mr Duncan's friends and supporters as a public recognition of his services to the district.

Week in Politics: Maori Party-National stoush sign of trouble ahead

John Armstrong — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 05:25:00 +1300

National's "mixed ownership model" - the innocuous-sounding vehicle tasked with making the party's unpopular privatisation agenda more appetising - paradoxically may yet end up making the partial sell-offs of state corporations even less palatable to voters.

Rugby and professionalism

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 05:25:00 +1300

The professional rugby era has not been kind to New Zealand.

Startling amount of praise for starlings

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 05:29:00 +1300

Information collected from the farmers of New Zealand five years ago showed that there was hardly any limit to the good words said of the starling.

Christchurch symptomatic of system

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 05:29:00 +1300

Local government in this country is not delivering to the expectations of communities, and not just in strife-torn Christchurch City, writes Mike MacLeod, chairman of the Draco Foundation.

Post-modern thinking has little to offer 'the lost'

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 05:27:00 +1300

The foundations of our economy and national pride are being challenged, yet we insist on looking anywhere for solutions, rather than upwards, writes Ivan Grindlay.

Rushing to resign our sovereignty

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 05:27:00 +1300

Should Kim Dotcom be the big issue or do we have more to fear, asks Terry McLean.

On listening and leadership

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 05:25:00 +1300

There is more than a hint of sackcloth and ashes to the listen-and-learn mission Labour Party leader David Shearer has been engaged in over the last week or two.

Vagueries welcomed in reclaimation debate

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 05:26:00 +1300

SIR. - I notice that some discussion took place at a meeting lately held by the Harbour Board as to the advisability of reclaiming a large area of the foreshore, and that exception was taken to the proposal on account of the warning given by many of the experts, whose opinions have been asked for in the past, all agreeing that a limit must be observed in the reclamation of the Upper Harbour on account of the danger of diminishing the inflow at the Otago Heads.

Treaty views grow and evolve

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 05:26:00 +1300

Waitangi Day is what we make of it, says Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres.

Treaty entanglements

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 05:26:00 +1300

Even before Parliament reassembles for the year, the temperature of politics rises.

Christchurch protest over how city is run

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 05:25:00 +1300

Thousands of protesters yesterday gathered outside the Christchurch City Council offices to vent their anger at mayor Bob Parker and his chief executive Tony Marryatt.

A former political candidate in the Garden City, Darel Hall, now of Dunedin, offers his view on what's led to the crisis.

Oval hosts rowdy display of buckjumping

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 05:25:00 +1300

A very large audience, mostly comprised of young men, assembled inside the enclosure on the Oval last night to witness the initial performance of the Wild Australian Buckjumpers, under the direction of Professor W. J. Bullock. Including the Professor himself, there are four members of the company, and the entertainment comprised exhibitions of rough riding, sharpshooting, and bullock-wrestling.

World view: Syria holds little hope of peaceful resolution

Gwynne Dyer — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 05:25:00 +1300

"The Security Council cannot go about imposing solutions in crisis situations in various countries of the world," said Vitaly Churkin, Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, as the UN began discussing what to do about the Syrian crisis last Friday. He needn't worry.

Smoko: Foreign ownership- put on the spot down on the farm

Simon Cunliffe — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 05:25:00 +1300

The great inequality debate was given impetus internationally last week by revelations of astounding bonuses still being awarded to top bankers in the United Kingdom; and pointed relevance in this country by the row over the salary rise of Christchurch chief executive Tony Marryatt, and the noisy ousting, particularly in Auckland, of the protesters of the Occupy movement.

Davos outgrows its European roots

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 05:25:00 +1300

New Zealand's Trade Minister Tim Groser has just returned from last week's World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He gives his impressions of what it meant for New Zealand.

Syria's unfolding tragedy

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 05:25:00 +1300

The tragedy that by the day continues to overtake Syria goes from bad to worse with sectarian animosities now written vividly in blood.

Convention, good practice do matter

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 05:49:14 +1300

In the news recently: a National party apparatchik from John Key's electorate got excited about a TV programme on poverty during the election campaign and used his sinecure on New Zealand on Air to push a ban on such naughtiness; and reaffirmation of a ministerial tradingfloor deal to legislate more pokies for Sky City in return for it building a convention centre.

Issue of motor traffic currently stalling

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 05:25:00 +1300

The thorny subject of motor traffic was again discussed by the Waikouaiti County Council yesterday, when Cr Foote brought forward the following motion:

My body is a botanical garden

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 05:25:00 +1300

The word on Wellness Street is that our mental, physical and spiritual hygiene hinges on the effective landscaping of our tummies, writes Gina Barreca.

Transtasman trade in criminals

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 05:25:00 +1300

Outright honesty is not the first quality that one associates with the criminal fraternity, so it might come as a surprise to many that disclosure of a criminal record for New Zealanders on entry to Australia, and vice versa, is voluntary.

Parliament members visit Central Otago

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 05:30:00 +1300

The visit which is to be paid next week to Central Otago by a number of members of Parliament and citizens of Dunedin, under the auspices of the Chamber of Commerce, would seem to have been opportunely arranged.

Noble stature of bacon and eggs not to be taken in vain

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 05:30:00 +1300

I know how the good have breakfast in heaven.

Doubts over milk shake-up

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 05:30:00 +1300

In an attempt to placate public concern about soaring domestic milk prices, the Government appears to have alienated our biggest company and largest export earner and also unwittingly assisted its partly owned foreign-owned dairy processing competitors.

This generation will win or lose the wilding war

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 05:25:00 +1300

Continuing our series focusing on the wilding pines issue, a 13-strong group, headed by Prof Sir Alan Mark, penned this response to several opinion articles published on these pages recently.

Armenia 'genocide' Bill- have the French gone mad?

Gwynne Dyer — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 05:25:00 +1300

I go to France quite often, but after this article is published, I may be liable to arrest if I set foot in the country.

Monday's poem

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 05:25:00 +1300

On hearing of the death of Hone Tuwhare, poet
- Pam Swaisland

Rush hour crowds jam transport

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 05:25:00 +1300

Those who perforce have to travel by the city's tram cars to reach their homes in the suburbs generally recognise that the exigencies of rush-hour traffic must cause a certain amount of over-crowding in the cars, and good naturedly put up with it, but when a night car is about to set out for its final run and to the ordinary traffic is added a further quota of theatre-goers, the crush at times is quite excessive.

National has plans but needs to be on the front foot

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 05:25:00 +1300

This was the week John Key was to have set the political agenda.

Milking NZ's strategic assets

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 05:25:00 +1300

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters, as is his habit, protests too much.

Enforcement of Weed Act a thorny matter

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:25:00 +1300

A deputation of settlers which waited upon the Hon. Mr T. Mackenzie (Minister of Agriculture) during his visit to the Catlins district this week asked for a more stringent enforcement of the Noxious Weeds Act.

New habits prove hard to cultivate

Katie Kenny — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:25:00 +1300

According to Aristotle (and others), humans are creatures of habit.

Faith and reason: Good to rethink, but don't forget Christ

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:25:00 +1300

The emergence of the Progressive Christianity movement gives hope for a "rethinking" of churches' attitudes in the 21st century, writes Ian Harris.

Cavernous divisions in Christchurch

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:25:00 +1300

While no-one would claim they are perfect, and there is room for debate round the edges particularly where meetings closed to the public are concerned, the processes of the Dunedin City Council, as exemplified by this week's pre-draft budget meetings, are an example of open democracy in action.

Holiday proves fruitful for Gardens

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 05:25:00 +1300

Mr D. Tannock (Superintendent of Reserves) returned to Dunedin last night after spending a short holiday in Queenstown.

Project Hayes: A missed opportunity

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 05:25:00 +1300

Was Meridian Energy's decision late last week to shelve its $2 billion Project Hayes wind farm in Central Otago a lost opportunity for establishing renewable energy in this country on a grand scale - or simply a "prudent commercial decision" by the power company giant?

Project Hayes: It simply didn't stack up

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 05:25:00 +1300

Pilgrimage to Ratana Pa

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 05:25:00 +1300

In the oft-rerun film Groundhog Day, Bill Murray plays a hapless weatherman caught by a blizzard in the small town of Punxsatawney, Pennsylvania, to which he has travelled to unearth weather predictions - according to the folklore-inflected behaviour of a small burrow-inhabiting animal.

Canal project did not float with the Board

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 05:29:00 +1300

CHRISTCHURCH: The report of the commission set up to make a final investigation of the canal project was tabled at a meeting of the Harbour Board to-day.

Economic boost in our own hands

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 05:29:00 +1300

As Dunedin's city councillors this week began their annual plan budget hearings Warrington writer Chris Skellett asks what residents and ratepayers can do to help stimulate the city's economic growth.

Dealing to dangerous dogs

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 05:29:00 +1300

It can be amusing to sit on the fringes of a dog park attempting to match the unleashed mutts with their owners.

Why being rich is now a taxing conundrum

Simon Cunliffe — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 05:27:00 +1300

Consider these two unexpected propositions: a leading contender for the Republican nomination for President of the United States of America is ambushed by a competing conservative candidate for putting profits before people; and one of the richest men in America, a quintessential capitalist, is demanding that the nation's top earners pay higher taxes.

Justified cause for complaint

Elspeth McLean — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 05:27:00 +1300

If I thought sorting out myriad nooks and crannies in my hellhole of a house was bad for my blood pressure, my attempt for relief from that last week was worse.

Renovations occur in Crawford Street, American style

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 05:25:00 +1300

The premises of Messrs Stronach, Morris, and Co., in Crawford street, have recently undergone an extensive course of renovation and enlargement.

Rational thinking means autoharp opportunity lost

Roy Colbert — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 05:25:00 +1300

Most rational thinkers would agree that the mark of a man is his ability to repeatedly purchase useless objects.

Pakistan, Bangladesh at risk of Islamist coups

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 05:25:00 +1300

The eastern half of what used to be Pakistan narrowly escaped a military coup last month.

Strife in cyberspace

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 05:25:00 +1300

The arrest in Auckland of Kim Dotcom, founder of Megaupload, one of the largest file sharing sites on the internet, opens a window on a parallel universe which, while entirely foreign to a great many people, nevertheless is inhabited by countless others.

Plans drawn up for valley drainage scheme

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 05:25:00 +1300

Mr Slinger, engineer of the Drainage Board, and a party of men left Port Chalmers on Saturday morning at 3 o'clock in an open whaleboat fitted with an oil engine to voyage round to the Brighton Beach, where Mr Slinger wished to obtain data as to the depth of water and the flow of the current opposite the part at which the sewage from the Kaikorai Valley will be ejected, should the proposed drainage scheme be finally adopted.

Islands proposal is a recipe for disaster

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 05:25:00 +1300

Support for a planned "necklace of islands" project in the upper Otago Harbour is said to be gaining momentum, but Dunedin's Terry Thomas says he is definitely not among the cheerleaders.

Monday's poem

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 05:25:00 +1300

Sandbar at Taieri Mouth
- Marion Jones

They ran along the bar's wide sandy path to the island.
On one side, the river flowed seaward, on the other, the ocean
rose and fell, while wind pressed the river to meet the tide.
In the blue, the sun hung high, a coin to pay Charon's toll

Project Hayes: counting the costs

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 05:25:00 +1300

The extent to which Meridian Energy's ditching of its controversial Project Hayes wind farm has been met with mixed reactions by even ardent environmentalists gives some clues as to the complexity of the energy issues the decision anticipates.

Let's finish the job

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 05:29:00 +1300

One of the most uplifting local events of 2010 was the public campaign to keep neurosurgery in Dunedin and the South.

Dealing with the dead a hot topic

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 05:25:00 +1300

There are three objections to the practice of cremation that are entitled to respect.

Spirited adventure on train

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 05:29:00 +1300

OAMARU: A more than ordinarily exciting incident was experienced to-day in connection with the mixed train which leaves Dunedin at 8.16 a.m. for Oamaru.

Is tone of reports on Govt funding for Destiny town fair?

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 05:29:00 +1300

Destiny Church - is it a religion or a cult? asks Peter Lyons.

Scourge of wilding pines

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 05:29:00 +1300

While many in Otago are vaguely aware of the scourge of wilding pines, most do not - or are only starting to - realise just how widespread and serious the matter is becoming.

Industry braced for fall out from sinking

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 05:27:00 +1300

The Costa Concordia disaster has raised questions about the safety of cruise ships which may have a long-term impact on the industry, writes Gene Sloan.

Brits on the waste: slum-bred incapables hit the bottle, haunted from cradle to grave

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 05:26:00 +1300

The remarkably few cases of drunkenness - less than a dozen - that figured in the local Police Court charge-sheets during the Christmas and New Year holidays supply a satisfactory proof of the general sobriety of the public in this part of the Dominion.

Thatcher film stirs updeep-rooted sentiments

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 05:26:00 +1300

She may be 86 and suffering from dementia, but former prime minister Margaret Thatcher is still having a divisive effect on Britain, thanks to a new film about her life, as Henry Chu reports.

Tough-guy stance about showing who's on top

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 05:26:00 +1300

The all-male Republican presidential campaign has a professor of neuroscience at Stanford University, Robert M. Sapolsky, hot on the trail of some "monkey business" not usually associated with the hotbed of politics.

Emergency medicine complexities

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 05:26:00 +1300

If there has been a perception that the emergency department of Dunedin Hospital has for some years stumbled from one crisis to the next, then the latest revelations concerning staffing do little to assuage that image.

Jury out on foul-mouthed policeman

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 05:25:00 +1300

One of the differences of procedure in New Zealand and English courts was demonstrated at the Magistrate's Court at Christchurch on Monday, when a constable giving evidence in an obscene language case mentioned in court the language alleged to have been used.

Sometimes it is necessary to be out of touch

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 05:25:00 +1300

Did you check your work emails while on holiday? Hawea Flat writer Liz Breslin vows not to do this in 2012, using instead her "Out Of Office" message.

Opponents point out hazards of lignite plant

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 05:25:00 +1300

Plans to mine lignite in Southland - and possibly Otago - have raised fears of potential health hazards, issues that will be canvassed at a "Keep the Coal in the Hole" festival in Mataura this weekend, writes surgeon Russell Tregonning.

Closer China ties part of waiting game

Gwynne Dyer — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 05:25:00 +1300

The most important thing in Taiwanese politics is always left unsaid. When I interviewed Ma Ying-jeou in 2008, just before he won the presidency for the first time, he was happy to talk about the details of his plans for better relations with the People's Republic of China: direct flights, more trade and the like.

Smoko: Wheels come off New Year's resolutions

Simon Cunliffe — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 05:25:00 +1300

Burma's welcome thaw

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 05:25:00 +1300

Perhaps now that the thaw seems to have begun in earnest, Burma can go back on to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Christmas card list; or perhaps it might be safer to wait a while and see what the warming amounts to.

Officials on non-stricken steamships at a loss in identifying troublemakers, rapscallions

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 05:26:00 +1300

The experience of sawmillers in the Auckland district goes to show that the timber from pinus insignis trees lacks the necessary durability to support its usefulness for building purposes, notwithstanding a report from Canterbury that the material has been used in farm buildings with satisfactory results.

Urgency on water needed

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 05:26:00 +1300

The Otago Regional Council's plans to "walk the walk" on its vision for water use and quality require more urgency, says Niall Watson, chief executive of the Otago Fish and Game Council.

Mining town cops keeping the lid on a powder keg

Roy Colbert — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 05:26:00 +1300

A friend of mine, let's just call her a Friend Of Mine (FOM) has been told by her partner he would like to go over to Australia and make some serious money in the gold mines, you know, knock the mortgage for six and all that.

Inequalities can no longer be justified

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 05:26:00 +1300

Inequalities are the big political issue for 2012 and beyond. That's not because the Left is about to surge - the Left has yet to connect principle to modern conditions.

Cruising towards disaster

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 05:26:00 +1300

Imagine every man, woman and child in Balclutha aboard a ship on the high seas; or the entire population of Alexandra, or Cromwell. Then imagine the potential for chaos and loss of life should an unexpected maritime disaster overtake the vessel.

Taieri Mouth bridge construction begins