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Environment – ECAN study confirms Canterbury nitrate issue escalating – Greenpeace

Source: Greenpeace

Greenpeace Aotearoa is calling on Environment Canterbury (ECan) to put an end to dairy expansion on the plains, following new data that shows nitrate contamination worsening in the region.
ECan’s latest Annual Ground Water Quality Survey released this week shows that nitrate-nitrogen contamination is worsening across 62% of groundwater wells, while 18% show no change in contamination and 20% show a decrease, in sites where a ten-year trend can be established
“This data confirms what’s been clear for years: nitrate contamination is a worsening crisis for Canterbury. Everybody should have access to clean, safe drinking water, but for many Cantabrians, turning on the kitchen tap means worrying about getting sick,” says Greenpeace freshwater campaigner Will Appelbe.
“The ECan study directly acknowledges that the main source of nitrate contamination is intensive dairying and the use of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser. It points out that most affected communities are those ‘in areas around and downstream of intensive farming’.
“Despite the worsening freshwater crisis, ECan has given approval for a wave of dairy expansions across the region, which will devastate freshwater ecosystems and increase nitrate contamination of drinking water.”
Since the start of the year, Environment Canterbury has approved over a dozen resource consents for dairy expansions, enabling nearly 16,000 cattle to be added to the region’s dairy herd.
“Town supplies in Hinds, Darfield and Oxford have already exceeded 5 mg/L, levels of nitrate associated with an increased risk of cancer and pre-term birth. As nitrate levels increase, it’s only a matter of time before a baby in Canterbury is seriously harmed by Blue Baby Syndrome as a result of nitrate-contaminated drinking water,” says Appelbe. “This is a serious health issue that Environment Canterbury should be deeply concerned by.”
“It’s not too late to turn things around. If we reduce the number of dairy cows and phase out the use of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser, we can restore water quality and ensure that everyone, no matter where they live, has access to clean, safe drinking water.
“Environment Canterbury is utterly failing in its responsibility to protect sources of drinking water. People across the region expect better, and are willing to stand up for safe drinking water. Candidates standing for the Canterbury Regional Council in the upcoming local elections must commit to clean drinking water for all, and to end the intensive dairy industry’s contamination of groundwater.”
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Advocacy – National Day of Action for Palestine – Tomorrow – Saturday 16 August – PSNA

Source: Palestinian Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA)

 

In more than 25 centres around the country, New Zealanders will be rallying and marching tomorrow in a National Day of Action for Palestine.

(See event details below)

 

“We will be marching to demand our government sanction Israel and hold it to account for the mass starvation and ethnic cleansing in Gaza” says PSNA Co-Chair Maher Nazzal.

 

In the last 24 hours stories from Gaza have been headlined:

 

Gaza hunger “catastrophic” says UN

The day Israeli settlers lynched two young men in the West Bank

 

“These horrific headlines are a direct result of western government failure – our government included”

 

“Prime Minister Luxon has just talked for 22 months while Palestinians have faced mass killing and mass starvation”

 

“Israel doesn’t take any notice of words – only action counts for this genocidal state”

 

“Without sanctions on Israel now, Luxon’s legacy will be complicity with genocide.”

 

All out for Gaza tomorrow!

 

Maher Nazzal

Co-Chair PSNA

 

North Island
Rawene – Winter Films for Palestine
Forth Saturdays of the month
Rawene Hall
5:30 pm
August 23 – No Other Land
 
Kerikeri – Rally
First Saturday of the Month
 
Whangarei – Let Gaza Live – Sanction Israel
Saturday August 16
10:00 am
Gather at the Hatea Carpark
 
Auckland – Stand for Palestine
Monday – Friday
3:00 – 4:00 pm at the US Consulate – 23 Customs Street East
4:00 – 5:00 pm at Te Komititanga Britomart Square
 
Auckland – Leafletting for the Nationwide Rally
Wednesday August 13
Any time of the day
Email AK-Leafletts@PSNA.nz to join in
 
Waiheke – Market Stall – hosted by Stand With Palestine Waiheke!
Every Saturday
8:00 am – 1:00 pm
Ostend Market, Waiheke Island
 
Auckland – Banners around Tamaki Makaurau
Every Saturday
10:00 am – 1:00 pm
Join the team – text John on 021 899 659
 
Auckland –Rally and March
Saturday August 16
2:00 pm
Te Komititanga / Britomart Square
 
Thames – Vigil to Stop the war on Children
(Hosted by The Basket – Social and Environmental Justice – Hauraki)
Saturday 16
9:00 – 11:00 am – Then Hikoi to Auckland
Cnr Pollen and Pahau Street
 
Tauranga – Hikoi to Auckland for Nationwide Rally
Saturday August 16
Contact your local organiser for details – Tauranga@PSNA.nz
 
Tauranga – Flag Waving
Sunday August 17
11:00 am
Coronation Park, corner Nikau & Maunganui Rd, Mt Maunganui
 
Hamilton – Flag Waving for Palestine
Every Saturday
1:00 pm
Flynn Park, Cnr Wairere Drive & Naylor, Hamilton
 
Raglan – Rally
Hosted by Whaingaroa Palestine Solidarity
Saturday 16 August
2:00 pm
Outside Raglan Library
 
Cambridge – Rally for Palestine
Every Saturday
11:00 am
Cambridge Town Hall
 
Rotorua – Rally for Palestine
Every Thursday
4:30 pm
National MP Todd McClay’s Office – Cnr Amohau and Ranolf St lights, Rotorua
 
Gisborne
Saturday August 16
9:30 am
Hikoi around the bridges of Gisborne from Heipipi Park
 
Napier – Rally for Palestine
Every Saturday
11:30 am
Marine Parade Soundshell Roundabout
 
Hastings – Rally for Palestine
No Rally this Sunday.
This has been changed to focused on the Rally in Napier on Saturday
 
Palmerston North – Rally
Every Sunday
2:00 pm
The Square, Palmerston North
 
Ngāmotu-New Plymouth
(Hosted by Palestinian Solidarity Taranaki)
Saturday August 16
1:00 pm
The Landing, 1 Ariki Street, New Plymouth
 
Whanganui – Rally for Palestine
Every Saturday
11:00 am
Riverside Market, Whanganui
 
Martinborough – Vigil for Palestine
Every Wednesday
11:00 am
Memorial gate – Martinborough Square, at the end of SH53
 
Masterton – Gathering for Gaza
Every Sunday
9:30 am
Town Hall Lawn, Masterton
 
Wellington – Flags on the Bridge
(hosted by the Falastin Tea Collective)
Every Friday
7:15 – 8:15 am
Hill Street bridge Overbridge, Wellington
 
Wellington – Rally at Wellington Hospital
(hosted by Aotearoa Healthcare workers for Palestine)
First Friday of the month
 
Wellington – Rally
(hosted by the Falastin Tea Collective)
Saturday August 16
1:00 pm
Hikoī for Palestine meeting at Te Aro Park at 1:00 pm with a Hikoī on the streets to Midland Park
See https://www.instagram.com/falastin_tea_collective for further details
 
South Island
 
Nelson – Let Gaza Live – Sanction Israel
Saturday August 16
10:30 am
Hikoi along Whakatū Drive
Check out the PSNA Facebook page later in the week – https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064134091562
 
Blenheim – Rally for Palestine
Every Saturday
11:00 am
Blenheim Railway Station
 
Picton – Rally for Palestine
Every Saturday
1:00 – 2:00 pm
Picton Foreshore
 
Greymouth – Te Tai Poutini – West Coast
Saturday 16
11:00 am
Grey District Council lawn, (in front of fountain), High Street, Greymouth,
 
Christchurch – Flags for Palestine
Every Friday
4:00 pm
Bridge of Remembrance, Cashel Street, Christchurch
 
Christchurch – Let Gaza Live – Sanction Israel
Saturday August 16
12:30 pm – Flag Waving before the rally – Durham Street side of the bridge
1:00 pm
Bridge of Remembrance
 
Timaru – Let Gaza Live – Sanction Israel
Saturday August 16
10:30 am
Statue for Tranquillity, Sophia Street, Timaru
 
Dunedin – Let Gaza Live – Sanction Israel
Saturday August 16
1:00 pm
Meeting at the Octagon for Flags Waving and making noise – Bring pots to bang
 
Invercargill – Rally
(hosted by Invercargill Stands With Palestine)
Sunday August 17
1:00 pm
Wachner place, Invercargill
 
Invercargill – Council meeting at Environment Southland (delayed to)
Wednesday 20 August
10:00
Meet outside Environment Southland Price St at 9.45 am for 10:30 meeting

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National War Memorial awarded status of National Historic Landmark

Source: Ministry for Culture and Heritage

“I am delighted to announce that the National War Memorial at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park has been made a National Historic Landmark of Aotearoa New Zealand,” says Secretary for Culture and Heritage Leauanae Laulu Mac Leauanae.
“Receiving this recognition for our country’s National War Memorial is incredibly significant, and it is only the second place in New Zealand to receive Landmark status.
“The National War Memorial is central to Pukeahu and the story of Aotearoa New Zealand. It speaks to the service and sacrifice made by New Zealanders in efforts to create peace for the future.
“The Carillon Tower is currently being seismically strengthened so that it is preserved and protected for present and future generations of New Zealanders to enjoy,” says Leauanae.
The National Historic Landmark status is awarded by the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage with support from Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga. The programme celebrates and safeguards our key national sites so everyone can appreciate their stories and significance for generations to come.
National Historic Landmarks are places of outstanding national heritage value that tell the stories of who we are as New Zealanders. “As the agency that administers the programme, we are proud to formally recognise the National War Memorial in this way. This status reflects the memorial’s profound significance to our national heritage, speaking to the sacrifice, resilience and evolving identity of our nation” says Chief Executive Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Andrew Coleman.
“This recognition is the result of a comprehensive and inclusive process, with strong stakeholder and public support from across the motu.
“We thank all those who took part in shaping this important decision – it’s a landmark moment, not just for the National War Memorial, but for the people of New Zealand,” says Coleman.
A formal dedication at the National War Memorial will be made when the building reopens after its seismic strengthening work is complete.
Notes
For more information about the National War Memorial, visit the Manatū Taonga website: https://www.mch.govt.nz/our-work/memorials-and-commemorations/pukeahu-national-war-memorial-park 
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Banking and Finance – ASB drops mortgage rates

Source: ASB 

ASB has today reduced four of its fixed home lending rates, including some of its most popular terms.

ASB’s Executive General Manager Personal Banking Adam Boyd says “We’ve got tens of thousands of customers due to refix onto lower rates in 2025, and we know any rate reduction is going to help these households, with savings they can put towards other important things. By Christmas, around 90% of customers holding a fixed home loan are likely to be on a rate less than 6%.”

 ASB also reduced some term deposit rates by between 5 and 15 basis points.

All rate decreases are effective immediately.

 

  Fixed home lending term

Previous rate

New rate

Rate decrease

6-month

5.29%

5.12%

– 17 bps

1-year

4.89%

4.79%

– 10 bps

18-months

4.89%

4.79%

– 10 bps

2-year

4.95%

4.89%

– 6 bps

 

 

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Pay Equity – More pay equity specialist expertise to be lost in further betrayal on pay equity

Source: PSA

The Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi says the Ministry of Education's proposal to disestablish its specialised pay equity team is yet another betrayal of women who need pay equity and goes to show how unworkable the current Government’s changes are.
The Ministry of Education proposal would disestablish 28 roles, citing the Government’s changes to pay equity legislation in May and what it describes as “evolving government priorities.”
“By disbanding the very team whose job it is to identify and fix this discrimination, the Government is sending a clear message that contrary to its assurances, addressing gender pay discrimination is simply not possible in New Zealand.
The PSA is calling on the Government to abandon the proposal and genuinely commit to ending gender-based pay under-valuation of work done by women.
“The Ministry’s pay equity team are specialist professionals with important expertise in supporting New Zealand women to resolve pay equity claims. The Government’s new unworkable pay equity regime has prohibited the workers covered by those cancelled claims from re-raising their claims and the direct impact on the pay equity team is they can no longer do their job.”
The pay equity team was actively working on critical claims affecting thousands of education workers, including specialist residential school workers represented by the PSA, teachers represented by NZEI and PPTA, and Ministry of Education employees in three separate NZEI claims.
“These cases represented genuine instances where predominantly female workforces have been systematically undervalued and underpaid compared to male-dominated roles of equivalent skill and responsibility.
“Gender-based under valuation doesn't vanish simply because the Government has stripped away workers' legal rights to pursue pay equity claims,” PSA national secretary Fitzsimons said. “The inequities that drove these claims remain as urgent today as they were before this Government changed the law.
“Specialist residential school workers, teachers, and Ministry employees are still doing the same valuable work they were before, and they still deserve fair pay that reflects the true value of their contributions. The Government should be working to resolve these inequities, not pretending they don't exist by dismantling the teams designed to address them.”
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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Legislation – Govt’s justification for last-minute RMA changes appears to directly contradict EU Free Trade Agreement – Choose Clean Water

Source: Tom Kay, Choose Clean Water


The Government's attempt to justify last-minute changes to the Resource Management Act appear to contradict New Zealand’s commitments under our Free Trade Agreement with the European Union, say freshwater campaign group Choose Clean Water.


On Tuesday, the Government issued a press release stating that its last-minute changes to the Resource Management Act, which would allow agricultural and industrial pollution of waterways to continue where it’s causing “significant adverse effects on aquatic life”, are “Urgent economic action to protect exports”.


The Government is aiming to change a long-standing and fundamental part of New Zealand’s environmental law designed to protect fresh waterways from severe damage (ie, the loss of fish and other wildlife).


“What this means is that ongoing, severe pollution is being made legal at the stroke of a pen and that appears to directly contradict our obligations under our EU Free Trade Agreement,” says Tom Kay, Choose Clean Water spokesperson.


“A recent court decision on the Southland Land and Water Plan concluded that farming that was causing serious harm to rivers and other waterways could not simply be allowed as a permitted activity without a resource consent. This meant other councils who had similar permissions in their plans, like Waikato, are likely also allowing farming where it is causing significant degradation too.”


“But rather than do something to address this severe pollution, the Government is trying to cover it up by calling it “routine on-farm activities”, and trying to make the problem disappear by weakening the law and stating this is to “protect exports”. 


“There are clauses in our Free Trade Agreement with the EU about not weakening environmental protection in order to encourage trade.”


Our European Union Free Trade Agreement states, 


“Each Party shall strive to ensure that its relevant law and policies provide for, and encourage, high levels of environmental and labour protection, and shall strive to improve such levels, law and policies.”


“A Party shall not weaken or reduce the levels of protection afforded in its environmental or labour law in order to encourage trade or investment.”


“A Party shall not, through a sustained or recurring course of action or inaction, fail to effectively enforce its environmental or labour law in a manner affecting trade or investment.”


“A basic reading of the Free Trade Agreement would suggest that the Government’s last-minute changes to the RMA, as well as its other efforts to weaken environmental law, directly contradict the clauses relating to environmental protection.”


The Ministers’ press release says they are making the changes because “The Waikato region generates 20% of the nation’s primary exports,” and “If we don’t act, the economic heart of New Zealand’s primary sector could grind to a halt.” 


However, Kay says, the Government has not mentioned the potentially irreversible and intergenerational damage that could be done to waterways—such as groundwater underneath Canterbury that many rely on for drinking water—by allowing this pollution to be swept under the rug.


Given the consequences of these changes on people’s health and well-being, the places we live, and our international trade obligations, Ministers Bishop, McClay and Hoggard must issue a vastly more detailed explanation on the impacts of their changes to environmental protections for the state of our water and our trade agreement. 


“There have been other instances where MFAT has advised we may breach these environmental obligations. How much can the Government weaken environmental law before there are international consequences?”


“If so-called “routine on-farm activities” in New Zealand lead to the severe pollution of our freshwater, then our agricultural industry lobby groups aren’t the international leaders they say they are.” 


“The Government must drive and support more widespread improvement of farming activities, council enforcement, and accountability. They can not just magic away the problem by taking away environmental protection that safeguards all New Zealanders, the places we live in, and the water we all rely on.”

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Defence News – NZDF and University of Auckland collaborate on low-cost lifesaving locator for people at sea

Source: New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF)

A low-cost floating reflector to enable space-based synthetic aperture radar to detect people lost at sea is being developed by University of Auckland scientists in collaboration with the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF).

The device could be a lifesaver in the Pacific and help New Zealand keep watch over its vast search and rescue region, covering 30 million square kilometres of water.

Vice Chief Defence Force, Rear Admiral Mathew Williams, and senior University leaders observed the latest phase of the Synthetic Aperture Radar for Search and Rescue (SAR4SaR) research programme at Omaha, north of Auckland.

“Finding a raft or small boat in the open ocean is like looking for a needle in a haystack,” said Tom Dowling, a University of Auckland scientist who is leading the project in conjunction with Defence Science & Technology (DST).

“But we aim to make the needle so shiny that it can’t be missed,” Dr Dowling said.

Small enough to fit in a small boat – even below the seat of a canoe – the device is popped open to float on the sea, reflecting electromagnetic energy back to satellites passing overhead.  An artificial intelligence tool would be scanning radar data to detect the call for help.  

“This innovation could be especially relevant for parts of the Pacific where many people rely on simple boats and lack access to high-end emergency gear,” said David Galligan, the director of DST, the Devonport-based scientific arm of the NZDF.

“The ocean is central to the lives of Pacific Island communities; it is an important source of food, and a means of transport,” Dr Galligan said.

“But fishers often go to sea with limited safety and communications equipment. When problems arise, they can find themselves adrift on the open ocean.”

In experiments done earlier this year, reflectors were tested for their durability and detectability from the air and space.

In tests staged from HMNZS Canterbury near the subantarctic Campbell Island, prototypes remained visible to satellites in stormy seas with gusts of 50-knot winds – more than 90 kilometres per hour.

During the week-long experiment at Omaha, the reflectors were put through a series of trials that confirmed their detectability, durability and ease of deployment.

The device’s effectiveness is made possible because of the advent of low-orbiting satellites.

Working in the University Space Institute’s fabrication facility, Dr Dowling and University engineer Ella Fasciana created prototypes in a variety of shapes – square, diamond, wedge – from materials available at local home improvement stores: aluminium foil, plastic sheeting, gaffer tape and tarpaulins.

The geometric configuration of adjoining aluminium surfaces focuses the energy of the radar signals and bounces it back to space, providing a distinctive signature for identification.  

Reflectors won’t replace contemporary emergency alerting systems, such as Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacons or Satellite Emergency Notification Devices. But they would be a boon for people who can’t afford such devices and a back-up for those who can.

The aim is for a low-cost device that requires no batteries or maintenance.

When small vessels go missing in the Pacific, the responsibility for coordinating the search often falls to New Zealand because this country is responsible for a zone extending from the mid-Tasman Sea, halfway to Chile, and from the South Pole almost up to the Equator.

In 2023/24 New Zealand’s Rescue Coordination Centre conducted 489 search and rescue operations.

In many cases, search and rescue involves deploying long-range maritime patrol aircraft, such as the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s P-8A Poseidon, operated by No. 5 Squadron.

While these aircraft are vital for conducting extensive search and rescue operations, their use comes with significant operational costs. Each mission places considerable demands on both resources and the aircraft themselves, contributing to increased maintenance needs and airframe fatigue.

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Weather News – Winter sun before a cloudier, wetter weekend – MetService

Source: MetService

Covering period of Thursday 14 – Monday 18 August – MetService is forecasting a mix of weather for the rest of the working week, with showers for some, but also plenty of sunny skies. However, a switch back to active weather is on the horizon as wetter, windier weather returns for the second half of the weekend into early next week.

The past week has been a true reminder that we are still in winter as cold weather gripped the country.

MetService meteorologist Mmathapelo Makgabutlane says, “Wellington’s Kelburn weather station went 113 hours where the temperature was below 10°C, its second longest run in the last decade, only surpassed by the 155-hour run in August 2016.”

Today (Thursday) the sun is out in full display for many places, helping ease the chill. However, for parts of Northland and Auckland, the day may also come with a possible heavy shower. For most across Aotearoa New Zealand, Friday is shaping up as a great opportunity to make the most of winter sunshine.

While dry weather prevails for Saturday morning sports for most, the picture changes during the second half of the day as weather desc