Planned approach to home support needed

The New Zealand Home Health Association (NZHHA) agrees with the conclusions of a recent study that an overhaul of elderly care is needed, and is calling for a more planned approach to services.
For full story click title above.

Minister disappointed at pig code delay

Agriculture Minister David Carter is disappointed that a threat of legal action by the Pork Industry Board has delayed the release of a new code of welfare for pigs.
“It is frustrating that this has happened just days before the draft code was to be released for public consultation.
“Earlier this year I asked the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC) to review the code urgently so it could release a draft for consultation by the end of the year.
“NAWAC has advised me that it was on track to do this, but an unprecedented threat of legal action over the release of the draft code for public consultation has derailed the process.
“This is disappointing as I realise there is a high level of public concern over the issue of pig welfare.”
Mr Carter says he agrees NAWAC should protect itself from threatened litigation and he accepts that the best course of action is for the Committee to consult further with the Pork Industry Board before releasing the draft for public consultation.
“This draft code needs to be out urgently. The industry and NAWAC need to work together to make it happen,” says Mr Carter.

Stress reducing Xmas tips from Relationship Services

1. Make time to relax with those you love.

2. Christmas is a season, not just one day. Spread the celebrations out.

3. Ask for help. Offer help. Share the load

4. Try and put longstanding disagreements aside for the day and enjoy yourselves.

5. If things do get tense, take a deep breath, change the subject or walk away.

6. Steer clear of disagreements when you drink.

7. Use a little self-control so you don't say or do something hurtful.

8. Make it fun for the kids, and it will be easier for you.

9. Lighten the financial pressure on your relationship. Set a dollar limit for gifts and food.

10. Take time out as well as time off, allow some time just for you.
For more ideas and tips click the Title above to go to the Relationship Services website

National Health Board members announced

Seven of the 10 new National Health Board (NHB) members announced recently are doctors and nurses.

Establishing a National Health Board was announced recently as part of a drive to improve frontline health services and better supervise the $10 billion of public health funding the 21 DHBs spend on hospitals and primary health care.
The appointed members of the inaugural Board are:
Dr Virginia Hope (Deputy Chair) is a public health physician and Programme Leader for the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR) at the National Centre for Biosecurity and Infectious Disease. She was formerly a Medical Officer of Health in Auckland and an elected member of the Auckland District Health Board, and is currently an elected member of Capital and Coast DHB.
(Source New Zealand Rural General Practice Network newsletter).

Women underpaid - Pay and employment equity report released

The Government has finally released details of its pay and employment equity investigations which confirm that women in the public sector are significantly underpaid and discriminated against, revealed the CTU today. According to the information sent to the CTU gender pay gaps in the public service range from 3 percent up to 35 percent, from 18-24 percent in Crown research institutes, and in public health one District Health Board reported that women earned on average 69 percent of men's full-time equivalent earnings.
Click title to view full media release.

Employment Court Decision on disability support worker pay

The Service and Food Workers Union Nga Ringa Tota has welcomed another decision by the Employment Court that has confirmed the right of disability support workers to be paid the minimum wage of $12.50 for every hour on duty during sleepovers. The case involved disability support worker Phil Dickson. He works at an IHC community house that is home to five service users with intellectual disabilities. As part of his job Mr Dickson does 'sleepover' shifts from 10pm to 7am for which he's paid $34. This amounts to $3.77 an hour, less than a third of the minimum adult wage of $12.50 an hour.
Click Title above to view full media release

Electricity Act a travesty of natural justice claims DEUN

Electricity Act a travesty of natural justice - column by Molly Melhuish - Domestic Energy Users Network

"The Electricity Industry Bill is a travesty of natural justice. It excludes domestic consumers, who pay nearly half the electricity industry revenues, from any role in the Electricity Authority that is to govern the industry.

This Bill is more brash than Brash. Its neoliberal philosophy comes directly from the Commerce Act 1986 and State Owned Enterprises Act 1986.
The vision of those laws is that industry maximizes its profits and regulates itself. The consumer is protected only by whatever competition may emerge."
More .... To read full article click title above.

Road Safety Trust

RWNZ is interested to note that while its application for funding to put up billboards bearing the 20kmh past a school bus safety message failed to meet the Road Safety Trust's "innovative" threshold criteria , the Trust gave funding to itself for its driver distraction campaign to put a safety message on tracksuits worn by referees at the Air New Zealand Cup and Heartland Championship competitions this winter.  So no-one's ever worn a tracksuit with a slogan on it before?  Yeah right!

Road Safety Trust

Community groups including Rural Women New Zealand are demanding to know why they cannot get grants from the Crown-owned Road Safety Trust, despite it having more than $10 million in savings.

The independent trust is funded by a portion of profits from the sale of personalised plates and one of its aims is to hand out money for community safety initiatives.
The trust has been spending money on its own national campaign to reduce driver distraction and has rejected 14 applications from community groups for the year to June because they did not meet its criteria.
Among those rejected were the organisations Rural Women and Safekids.
Rural Women asked for money to create signs to remind drivers of the speed limit when passing school buses.
One of its national councillors, Jacky Stafford, believes the initiative should have been supported.
"This trust says that they will do specific road safety projects - this is a specific project ... Surely keeping our kids safe on roads has to be a top priority."
Road Safety Trust chair Yvonne Sharp says it gives out grants only for innovative projects but is now signalling that funding criteria will be reviewed.
"What we fund is innovation and, very unfortunately, none of the applications we got actually complied with that funding criteria.
"I think that circumstances always change and I think that I'll be recommending to the trust that we look very closely at the criteria."
Transport Minister Steven Joyce told Morning Report he will talk to the trust about why it is not paying out money to community groups and whether it is doing another agency's job.

NCW oral submission on the Injury Prevention, Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment Bill

Today the National Council of Women of New Zealand (NCWNZ) made an oral submission to the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee on the Submission on the Injury Prevention, Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment Bill that highlights the negative impact that the changes will have on women.
For full media release, click the Title above.

Relay for Life - Wellington - 27-28 March 2010

The Cancer Society Wellington Division's eighth Relay For Life will be held at Frank Kitts Park, Jervois Quay, on 27th-28th March 2010. The waterfront park will once again become a marquee city and temporary home to over 1500 Relay participants and visitors over the weekend.
For further information click the Title above.

Irrigation NZ Inc - Conference and Expo - 26-28 April 2010

At Christchurch Convention Centre
REGISTRATION NOW OPEN FOR IRRIGATION NZ CONFERENCE!

Irrigated Agriculture – NZ’s economic future and more…
The conference programme is set and full of current and challenging topics covering the key conference themes:

• Water – Managing NZ’s Greatest Asset

• Water Infrastructure – Future Proofing NZ’s Primary Industry

• Establishing Trust – The Key to Managing Our Own Destiny

• Optimising Demand Management

The conference is enhanced by several social functions designed to give you an opportunity to make connections and network with industry peers.
For more details of the conference, including the programme, sponsorship & exhibition opportunities and to register to attend visit Irrigation New Zealand’s website - www.irrigationnz.co.nz

National Climate Summary – Spring 2009: Extremely dry for much of the South Island

National Climate Centre update:

• Rainfall: Below normal rainfall over much of the South Island, especially Otago and the Lakes District, as well as eastern parts of Northland, Auckland and Coromandel. Very wet in southern Hawkes Bay and the Tararua District. Near normal spring rainfall elsewhere.

• Temperature: Near average temperatures in Northland, Coromandel, the Bay of Plenty and the Lakes District; a cooler than usual spring in most other regions.

• Sunshine: Sunny over much of the South Island, as well as for Waikato, Taupo, Bay of Plenty, Gisborne and Hawkes Bay. Very cloudy in the west from Taranaki to Wellington.

Mental health Twitter feeds launched

Two new Twitter feeds devoted to information on mental health in New Zealand have been launched.
The Mental Health Foundation and the Like Minds, Like Mine programme intend to use Twitter to make an important contribution towards improving distribution of research and information on mental health.
“The huge increase in popularity of social networking sites like Twitter is rapidly changing the way we access information,” says Judi Clements, chief executive of the Mental Health Foundation. “We have access to a wealth of quality data. Social networking platforms give us a vital opportunity to reach a wider audience and distribute information in this up-to-the-minute environment.”
The Twitter feeds are just part of the Foundation and Like Minds’ recent social media approach. Both have developed Facebook groups in recent months and the Foundation now has a blog www.mentalhealth.org.nz/blog/
The Mental Health Foundation’s Twitter feed can be found at www.twitter.com/mentalhealthnz
Like Minds’ Twitter feed can be found at http://twitter.com/NZLikeMinds

Ministry of Women's Affairs CEO Shenagh Gleisner moves on

Ministry of Women's Affairs CEO for the last six years, Shenagh Gleisner, announced in the Department's Panui  magazine that her term is coming to an end in February 2010.  She will be staying on a few extra months, until mid year, to effect the handover to a new Chief Executive.

Solar energy - check out your house's potential

Solarview, a free web-based tool from NIWA, helps you get the most out of your house.
NIWA have designed and built a do-it-yourself tool that tells you how much sunlight your home receives at different times of the year. This helps you work out whether solar power is a viable option for your energy needs.
All you need to tell the web-based tool is your address, which direction your roof faces, and what the angle of your roof is. The software already knows the terrain around your home and factors any hills and valleys into the data.
NIWA's system uses Google Maps to find your latitude and longitude based on the address of your home. It combines this with topographical data and many years of climate data from the climate stations throughout New Zealand to give a month-by-month calculation of how much available solar energy will hit your roof throughout the year.
This bright idea was created by NIWA scientist Ben Liley. He sees that for people to make solar power work for them, they need good information that is specific to their situation.
A homeowner, or their solar energy specialist, can use this information to determine what savings installation of solar panels or solar water heating would be likely to give. The tool can also help determine which part of a roof is best for solar energy given the unique surroundings and situation of the home.
On average, New Zealand receives about 2000 hours of bright sunshine each year. In energy terms, New Zealand's solar energy resource is about four kilowatt hours per square metre, per day. To put that into perspective, if every New Zealand home had a three kilowatt solar panel array, they would collectively generate enough power in a year to satisfy over a quarter of New Zealand's annual residential electricity needs.
Solar radiation is an abundant energy source which is free, non-polluting, and renewable. In New Zealand, many homes are exposed to 20 to 30 times more energy from the sun annually than they use in electricity or gas, but this energy source isn’t often made use of. A well designed and installed solar water heating system will heat 50 -75% of your hot water every year.
To find out more visit:
http://www.niwa.solarview.co.nz/
http://www.eeca.govt.nz/efficient-and-renewable-energy/renewable-energy/solar-energy-in-nz

Families Commission research on fathers

Plunket is welcoming Families Commission research that shows Kiwi fathers are keen to spend more time with their children.
The research, from two reports, includes interviews with over 1700 men, including single fathers, step-fathers, teenage parents, and foster dads.
It confirms fathers in New Zealand think they are doing a good job, and could do an even better one if they just had a little more time.
Plunket National Parenting and Community Development Manager Claire Rumble says the findings underpin Plunket’s awareness of the importance of the role of fathers, and of engaging them.
“Plunket has a real awareness of including fathers in the family and has been working to do so with what it offers for years now,” she says.
“Fathers play differently with children than other family members do, and children become more secure and curious about the world when they get time with their dads. And we are all aiming for happy children, happy families and happy communities.”
Plunket offers a Dads for Dads parenting education programme in eight centres, helps organise support groups for fathers where there is demand, and provides tailored resources and programmes for fathers.
Plunket also works actively in partnership with other organisations, including as part of the Families Commission fathering network.

Red Cross Samoa Appeal To Close On 31 December

New Zealand Red Cross would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to those people who have contributed so generously to the Samoa Earthquake and Tsunami Appeal fund. The appeal has reached nearly $3 million dollars, and combined with funds collected by other Red Cross National Societies and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the needs identified by Red Cross in Samoa can be met with the monies raised.  For full media release click on the title above.

Summer Weather from NIWA

NIWA has issues its summer forecast for the average conditions over the next three months, to February 2010.
The El Niño in the equatorial Pacific has strengthened during October and November, and is expected to persist at moderate intensity through the summer of 2010 before weakening during the autumn.

Mean sea level pressures are likely to be higher than normal to the north of the country and lower than normal to the south, resulting in stronger than normal south-westerlies over New Zealand.
Summer rainfall totals are likely to be in the normal or below normal range in the north and east of the North Island, and in Nelson-Marlborough, but near normal in other regions.
Temperatures for the coming 3-month period (December, January and February combined) are likely to be below average or average in all regions.
Rivers flows and soil moistures are likely to be in the below normal or normal ranges in all regions.

Good Farm Stories from the Greens

The Green Party has launched a website featuring farmers and growers using sustainable farm practices. The “Good Farm Stories” website is http://www.goodfarmstories.org.nz/.

Recognised Seasonal Employers - Changes to Insurance & IRD

Recognised Seasonal Employers please note, from 30 November, medical insurance is compulsory for RSE workers. Employers will be required to arrange, but not necessarily pay for, acceptable medical insurance. You can find details of the amended policy in Circular 2009/18. Also from the end of November, the IRD and Immigration New Zealand are offering a "joind up" service for issuing IRD numbers to RSE workers. The application to work for an RSE has been revised to allow an applicant to apply for an IRD number at the same time. For more information go to www.ird.govt.nz.

Fonterra farmer share application period opens December 7

Fonterra’s farmer shareholders will get their first opportunity from next week to invest additional capital in their Co-operative following capital structure changes approved at the annual meeting in mid November.
At the annual meeting, the shareholder vote was overwhelmingly in favour of raising the maximum level of share ownership to 120 per cent of farmers’ current or expected production for the season. Farmers are already required to own Fonterra shares in proportion to their milk production (with one share required for each kilogram of milksolids produced per season) and the change means all farmers can now hold up to 20 per cent additional “dry” shares not covered by their production. All shares will be eligible for dividend payments based on Fonterra’s profitability, providing more of a financial incentive for farmers to own dry shares.