Here is a bright idea: free healthcare, free education, free child lunches - Wipe out child poverty

Protesting the GCSB bill

 

Napier 27 July 2013

Alliance supporters joined the protest against the spy bill.


Suggested reading
Posted on the Allianace webpages
28 June 2013 Dealing to Inequality Will Keep Us Safer than Mass Surveillance

Moving away from a fragmented approach to tourism

We all know we have a depressed economy in the Hawke's Bay, so the development of a higher standard of tourism strategies is a good idea.  The emphasis of tourism is often on consumption, however we should support social tourism that enables all working people to use their paid leave to travel and relax during their well deserved annual holidays. Therefore we need to develop the strategies to identify how we can ensure affordable holidays for everyone.

In the bigger picture I believe in the future of tourism in Hawke’s Bay. Building a strong tourism industry in Napier will create new  jobs. Currently tourism in the Hawke’s Bay is often supported by the good will of volunteers.  Generally people are not aware that the whole Faraday Science Centre in Napier is run by 15 volunteers including the former Napier mayor.

If we put a good transitional plan into action, with proper guidance and financial support it could change the face of the Hawke’s Bay.  It could also result in a tourism boom from which Napier could benefit.

Over the period of 25 years Napier has developed into the Art Deco capital of New Zealand.  Napier's history, architecture and annual Art Deco festival today help define the character of our town. The festival attracts a large number of  international visitors and it has become an enormous commercial success.  

It is worth mentioning that the well organized carnival in Rio de Janeiro is the one of the major events in Brazilian economy. According to the last year figures the 850,000 visitors to the Brazil annual festival in Rio contributed $628 million to its country's yearly tourism income of $3.2 billion. At our own scale, we could emulate this success.

Apart from Art Deco, developing ecotourism in Hawke’s Bay is important as well.
  

Hawke’s Bay has a very distinctive character, but to make the most of it we need to move away from fragmented approaches to tourism and have a more focused approach.

Supporting Land for Wildlife programme run by Forest and Bird

" Forest & Bird is piloting the programme as part of the "Kaimai Connection" -- a project to restore natural links from Tauranga Harbour in the Bay of Plenty to the Waihou River in the Waikato...This programme assists property owners to enhance wildlife habitat on their properties by providing expert advice, on-site visits and workshops" we read on Waikato.http://www.forestandbird.org.nz/what-we-do/projects/kaimai-mamaku-campaign/land-wildlife

Mary O'Neill said "It’s great to support the farmers to actively participate in the Land for Wildlife programme. Farmers also should be included in the various wildlife protection discussions where they can share the knowledge about the best practices and lessons learned.
Nearly 10 years ago when I was a student in Environment and Sustainability in New Zealand we were encouraged to make ourselves available to plant the native species on private farms and to identify the obnoxious plant species etc. It appears feasible for the majority of farmers to implement these strategies in an efficient and effective way".