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Animal Welfare – Three greyhounds dead within three days: SAFE says shut it down

Source: SAFE For Animals

SAFE is calling for immediate action following the deaths of three greyhounds in the space of just three days. With the industry now resorting to legal action to delay the Government’s promised ban, SAFE says the Government must step in and finish what they started.
On 11 June, Homebush Sydney suffered a spiral fracture of her left femur during a race at Ascot Park Raceway in Southland. The injury was so severe that she was euthanised. Just two days later, Homebush Feijoa collapsed and died at the lure at Addington Raceway in Christchurch. The cause of death is unknown. That same day at Hatrick Raceway in Whanganui, Midnight Brockie sustained a catastrophic fracture to his right hock and tibia and was also euthanised.
These deaths bring the number of fatalities this racing season to 16, already surpassing last season’s death toll of 13, with six weeks still to go.
“Three dogs in three days is not just a tragedy – it’s a damning indictment of an industry that treats these animals as expendable,” says SAFE Campaigns Manager Emma Brodie.
“We must remember that behind every number is a dog who felt pain, fear, and suffering in their final moments. That should shake us to our core.”
This surge in deaths comes just weeks after Greyhound Racing New Zealand (GRNZ) filed proceedings in the High Court seeking a judicial review of the Government’s decision to ban greyhound racing.
“GRNZ is dragging the Government through the courts while greyhounds are dying on their watch,” says Brodie. “But the court of public opinion has already delivered its verdict: this cruelty has to stop.”
SAFE is urging the racing industry to accept the Government’s decision and begin working in good faith to rehome the thousands of dogs who remain trapped in the system. At the same time, urgent direction is now needed from Government to begin winding the industry down and to progress legislation that will bring an end to greyhound racing once and for all.
“Every dog still in this system is a life at risk. We need the Government to step in now to give these dogs a fighting chance at life beyond the track.”
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Palestine Forum of New Zealand: Government Must Ensure Safety of Its Citizens in the Global March To Gaza

Source: Palestine Forum of New Zealand

The Palestine Forum of New Zealand reminds the government of its duty to protect all New Zealand citizens, wherever they may be.

Among those currently participating in the Global March to Gaza are New Zealand citizens who travelled from across the country, alongside others who joined the mission from overseas. The government of New Zealand bears full responsibility for their safety and well-being.

In light of escalating risks in international waters and Israeli aggression against humanitarian convoys, we call on the New Zealand Government to immediately take all necessary diplomatic and consular actions to safeguard its citizens and demand their protection in accordance with international law.

Maher Nazzal
Palestine Forum of New Zealand

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UNOC3: "Fine words must now translate into action", Greenpeace comment

Source: Greenpeace

Nice, France, The UN Ocean Conference (UNOC) concluded yesterday with significant progress made towards the ratification of the High Seas Treaty and a strong statement on a new plastics treaty signed by 95 governments. Once ratified, the Treaty will be the only legal tool that can create protected areas in international waters, making it fundamental to protecting 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030. To date 50 countries, plus the European Union, have now ratified the Treaty. 
New Zealand has signed but is yet to ratify.
Deep sea mining rose up the agenda in the conference debates, demonstrating the urgency of opposing this industry. The expectation from civil society and a large group of states, including both co-hosts of UNOC, was that governments would make progress towards stopping deep sea mining in Nice.
UN Secretary General Guterres said the deep sea should not become the wild west. French President Macron said a deep sea mining moratorium is an international necessity. Four new countries pledged their support for a moratorium at UNOC bringing the total to 37. Attention now turns to what actions governments will take in July to stop this industry from starting.
Megan Randles, Greenpeace Head of Delegation regarding the High Seas Treaty and progress towards stopping deep sea mining said: “High Seas Treaty ratification is within touching distance, but the progress made here in Nice feels hollow as this UN Ocean Conference

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ERA releases recommendations to settle Te Roopu Taurima dispute due to public interest

Source: PSA

The PSA welcomes the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) making public its recommendations for settling a Collective Agreement with workers employed by disability support provider Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau.
The recommendations, made after four days of hearings with an independent ERA Facilitator involving Te Roopu Taurima and the PSA representing 38 workers, had been confidential.
However, the ERA has now released them as they are a matter of public interest, said Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi National Secretary Fleur Fitzsimons.
The trust was seeking to unduly restrict secondary employment that many of the underpaid workers rely on, and to impose a 90-day trial period for new workers into the Collective Agreement.
The ERA recommendations include reference to the current salary for kaitaataki (leaders in the houses providing residential disability support) not having increased for two years. It recomm

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Advocacy – PSNA appalled at deportation of Palestinian New Zealander from Egypt

Source: Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa

 

PSNA has conveyed to the Egyptian government its shock and anger at the deportation of a Palestinian New Zealander from Egypt yesterday (Thurs eds).

PSNA says Rana Hamida was deported because she planned to take part in the Global March to Gaza. Others deported include Spanish, Swedish, Finnish, Moroccan, Greek and US citizens.

 

The Global March to Gaza is due to start today in Egypt with thousands of people from throughout the world taking part.

 

“PSNA Co-Chair John Minto says the march is to express humanity’s outrage at the ongoing Gaza-wide bombing and starving of the Palestinian population by Israel in Occupied Gaza.

 

“Egypt’s action in deporting activists can only be seen as assisting Israel’s attacks against the Palestinian population.”

 

“Unfortunately, Egypt has a long history of collaboration with the US and Israel to stifle the Palestine liberation struggle. This is in sharp contrast to the Egyptian people who are as appalled and angry as the rest of humanity at Israel’s horrendous war crimes.”

 

“We received this message from Rana as she makes her way home:

 

“They Egyptian authorities along with other governments think that blocking humanity from this act of solidarity will stop because of them blocking people from being there and doing the job that they continue failing to do !!! 

They are so mistaken – the more complicit and enabling they get in their inactions and in this case their active participation, the more we will rise, and roar. 

We are escalating as you awaken the dragons within us. 

We will sing louder and we will walk longer — with our hiking shoes in the Sinai desert, or barefoot towards your embassies. We will disrupt your meetings, we will crowd your phone with calls and emails, and we will be the light that blinds your robotic heart and melts it alongside the lies you stand for. 

This is not about us, it is about HUMANITY within us that is dying and being oppressed in various forms, it is about the humans enduring hell in Gaza, West Bank and Falastine as a whole. 

Muslims, Jews and Christians together.

It is about NEVER AGAIN !!!

Boycott, divest — We will not stop we will not rest.

 

John Minto

Co-Chair

Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa

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PSNA Statement: ‘Expel the Israeli ambassador now!’

Source: Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA)

 

PSNA is calling on the government to immediately expel the Israeli ambassador from New Zealand.

 

PSNA Co-Chair, John Minto says Israel’s strikes on Iran are “unprovoked, unilateral and a massive threat to humanity everywhere.”  

 

“This is such a dangerous action, that diplomatic weasel words about Israel are not acceptable.  Israel is an out-of-control rogue state playing with the future of humanity.  We must send it the strongest possible message.”

 

“Israel’s using its often repeated lies and misinformation to attempt to justify it’s unconscionable violence and aggression.”

Minto points to Iran’s right to enrich uranium for civilian purposes.

 

“Even US intelligence officials have made it clear very recently that Iran is NOT on the way to produce a nuclear weapon.”

 

“And neither is Iran committed to the “annihilation” of Israel. Iran does not support Israel as a racist, apartheid state and wants to see liberation for Palestine. In this, Iran has, along with the overwhelming majority of countries in the world, called for an end to Israel’s military occupation of Palestine, the end of its apartheid policies directed against Palestinians and the return of Palestinian refugees.”

 

New Zealand has the same policies.

 

Minto says our government must shoulder some of the blame for Israel feeling it can safely launch attacks on Iran.

 

“Appeasement of this apartheid state, as our government and other western countries have done over 20 months, has led Israel to believe it can get away within mass murder forced expulsions and managed starvation in Gaza, so that whatever it does it will be never be held to account”

 

“Only sanctions count – and just the first one must be the expulsion of the Israel ambassador with only giving him enough time to pack his bags.

 

John Minto

Co-Chair

Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa

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Arts – $25,000 CLNZ | NZSA Writers’ Award OPENS

Source: NZSA

The CLNZ | NZSA Writers' Award of $25,000 is one of the highest value non-fiction prizes in New Zealand literature and it is now open for applications.
 
He $25,000 te nui o te Karāti Kaituhi o te CLNZ me te NZSA, te karāti mātua mo ngā pakimaero-pono o ngā momo-tuhinga o Aotearoa. Ka taea e ngā Kaituhi te tuku tono mō tēnei karāti.

Awards $25,000 cash grant to a New Zealand writer
Assists with research and associated costs
Is one of the highest value prizes awarded for non-fiction in New Zealand
Is open now for entries

The award was established to provide financial support for writers wishing to devote time to a specific project, and to cover reasonable research expenses relating to it. Writers with work in a broad range of non-fiction genres, including educational works, can apply.
 
The Copyright Licensing New Zealand (CLNZ) and the New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa (NZSA) Writers' Award has supported the creation of Rebecca Macfie's book Helen Kelly: Her Life (Awa Press), a biography of one of New Zealand’s political leg

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Govt cuts will undermine access to New Zealand’s history – PSA

Source: PSA

The ability of New Zealanders to access and better understand New Zealand’s history will be undermined by proposed cuts to the workforce at Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage.
The agency is proposing a net loss of 24 roles or 16% of the workforce. This follows Budget cuts which slashed funding by $8 million over the next four years. The proposed job losses follow last year’s cuts which saw the workforce fall from 182 to 155.
The cuts, if carried out, will decimate the agency’s workforce of historians, with six of the ten historians proposed to be shown the door.
“How can the Ministry continue to do its important work of preserving our history and ensuring New Zealanders can continue to access to it? said Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.
“This is yet another decision that exposes the short-sighted thinking behind the Government’s funding cuts.
“The proposal to cut historians threatens the existence of Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand, which is a vital online resource for New Zealanders and a window to the rest of the world to learn about our rich history.
“For 20 years Te Ara has been the first port of call for information about New Zealand history. Millions of people visit Te Ara every year, including teachers, students, researchers, and New Zealanders with an interest in our history.”
Manatū Taonga is also proposing disestablishing the team that supports the website.
Other casualties include those responsible for the education programme that supports Pukeahu National War Memorial Park, a resource schools depend on. A project to enhance understanding of the dawn raids following the official apology is also at risk.
Manatū Taonga is proposing to disestablish the roles that enabled it to produce websites honouring the 28th Māori Battalion and recording the history of New Zealand’s participation in the Vietnam war.
“All these projects are vital for people to share their own experiences and for all of us to remember and understand our past and how it shapes us today.
“The Ministry’s purpose is to do work that ‘enriches the lives of New Zealanders’ – but the Government is clearly ignorant about how history and heritage contributes to that – it’s appalling.”
The Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi is Aotearoa New Zealand's largest trade union, representing and supporting more than 95,000 workers across central government, state-owned enterprises, local councils, health boards and community groups.
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Health and Business – Ora Pharm targets growing Europe market for medicinal cannabis in trade mission

Source: Ora Pharm

Launches collective solution to meet needs of European customers
Leading medicinal cannabis company Ora Pharm heads to Europe this week as part of a unique trade mission to promote New Zealand pharmaceutical products based on cannabis in the fast-growing European market.
“European Cannabis Week is a huge opportunity to showcase New Zealand’s medicinal cannabis industry and promote what we do well,” said Ora Pharm Chief Executive and founder Zoe Reece.
The NZTE trade mission to European Cannabis Week takes Ora Pharm and other companies to the world’s largest cannabis expo in Berlin and to the Cannabis Europa Conference in London.
“We want to show the European market that Ora Pharm is uniquely placed to solve the issues it faces from fragmented supply, inconsistent quality and problems reliably meeting demand. What Ora Pharm does is unite our growers under a single export-focused platform, which allows us to coordinate supply and produce high quality pharmaceutical products consistently.”
Ora Pharm currently contracts about two thirds of the licensed New Zealand cannabis cultivators.
“Ora Pharm can be a one-stop shop for European customers – we aim to give them confidence that we can provide the quality products they need, tailored to the preferences of their patients, and at scale given our partnership with growers.
“Complying with regulations is critically important and New Zealand’s regulatory framework is modelled on EU-GMP – the regulatory framework that ensures medicines are safe, effective, and of high quality so that should also help build confidence in our products.”
Germany is the leading market for medicinal cannabis with forecast growth of over 26% (compound annual growth). In the first nine months of 2024 Germany imported nearly 40 tonnes of medicinal cannabis, and New Zealand made up just 0.6% of that. Demand is also growing strongly in the UK, Switzerland and Poland.
“Right now, European producers can’t keep up with demand. New Zealand with its enviable reputation for high quality agricultural and horticultural products is well placed to take advantage of that and build a long-term trading relationship.”
Zoe Reece will be delivering a keynote address at the BvCW Expert Conference in Berlin.
“This trade mission will position the industry well for future growth. I can’t wait to tell our great medicinal cannabis story.”
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Greenpeace – Shane Jones indicates NZ’s entire EEZ now open for oil and gas free-for-all

Source: Greenpeace

In a speech to the energy industry in Singapore this week, Shane Jones signalled a major change to New Zealand’s oil and gas exploration rules.
It appears the Government plans to remove restrictions that previously limited oil and gas exploration to defined block offer areas and instead allow oil and gas companies to apply for exploration permits across all of New Zealand’s territory.
Greenpeace has condemned the move, warning it risks turning Aotearoa into a free-for-all for the oil and gas industry, threatening the climate, marine life and the coastline.
“Ending the oil and gas exploration ban was bad enough – but this entirely new free-for-all approach could see multinational oil corporations carrying out risky deep sea drilling anywhere in New Zealand’s oceans,” says Greenpeace spokesperson Gen Toop.
“This is a giant leap backwards for the climate. Opening up all of New Zealand’s ocean and land to oil and gas exploration is reckless – it flies in the face of what the science says is needed to avoid climate catastrophe.”
“The climate science is clear. We cannot afford to burn known fossil fuel reserves, let alone search for more. This latest move by Shane Jones is climate denial in action.”
“Luxon’s Government cannot continue to claim that they take climate change remotely seriously while opening up the entire ocean in New Zealand to fossil fuel extraction,” says Toop.
In his speech, Minister Jones stated: “… we are giving the oil and gas exploration market a new Open Market Application process, meaning all acreage is open for application, and you’re not restricted to block offers.”