No Nukes Is Good Nukes

Over the past 12 months a number of print and radio news items have appeared extolling the virtues of nuclear power and urging a reconsideration of New Zealand's opposition to nuclear power.

There are at least five good reasons for continuing to oppose nuclear power in New Zealand. These are:
1. Even now there is still no way to safely dispose of highly radioactive waste produced by nuclear power plants. If we're going to be good stewards of the environment then we cannot just dump toxic radioactive waste in the Pacific or in the Southern Alps.
2. The risk of nuclear materials falling into the hands of terrorists and the large scale damage that could result. Globally the risk of terrorists getting their hands on nuclear material increases every time another country adopts nuclear power as an energy source. We do not need to be part of that problem.
3. The inability of the pro-nuclear lobby to guarantee the safety of nuclear power plants. Nuclear accidents in the USA (Three Mile Island) and Russia (Cheronobyl) continue to remind us that sometimes our faith in science and human engineering can be misplaced - no matter how many safety systems are in place. The engineers of the Titanic also believed they had a truly safe and unsinkable product. Supporters of nuclear power will argue that life itself can be seen as being one big risk management exercise but frankly when it comes to nuclear power it pays to err on the side of caution.
4 New Zealand has particular geographical challenges such as our terrain and earthquake risks. Even if the case for nuclear power can be made for the USA or France - the challenges for New Zealand and the reasons not to do it are stronger here than elsewhere.
5. The economics don't stack up. The cost of nuclear reactors in the UK is now budgeted at $9billion each. That could fund our entire education or health system for some years. In most countries nuclear power plants rely on taxpayer subsidies to cover the cost of construction. I can think of a lot of other things I'd prefer to use taxpayer subisides for ahead of helping the nuclear power industry.

The nuclear lobby argues that because we have tiny radioactive sources in things like smoke detectors it is not true for us to claim to be "nuclear-free" Therefore - so the argument runs_ we should adopt nuclear power. But there is a huge leap between smoke detectors and nuclear power plants churning out radioactive waste.

As of 2007, the United States had accumulated more than 50,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel from nuclear reactors. Underground storage at Yucca Mountain in U.S. has been proposed as permanent storage. After 10,000 years of radioactive decay, according to United States Environmental Protection Agency standards, the spent nuclear fuel will no longer pose a threat to public health and safety.

Alternative energy sources, such as wind, tidal, solar and geothermal, which do not have the pollutant waste involved with nuclear, remain far better options.

Wellington's Regular Rates Rise

WELLINGTONIANS face another rates rises this year. The average rates increase is likely to be around five percent - almost twice the inflation rate. The Council's Draft Annual Report also recommends increases to fees and charges for sports fields, burials and cremations, and swimming pools.

At a time when central government is urging people to get fit the Council is proposing a 10% increase in fitness centre fees and 5% in learn to swim programmes. Pool entry fees are expected to increase in 2009. At the other end of the spectrum burial and cremation fees will go up by an average of 8.5%.

Surely its time for much greater rigour to be brought to bear on Council spending. Perhaps the Council could focus more on those items that promote the city's economic development - such as improved infrastructure in the north of the City - and less on some of the never-ending series of Council-sponsored events or the rate-payer funded sculptures dotted around the central city?

The Draft Annual Plan will be debated and finalised for consultation at a council meeting on March 27. Wellingtonians will then get their say between April 16 and May 19. For more information visit www.wellington.govt.nz

Time to Renew Local Democracy

Monday, October 15, 2007

When most people of voting age cannot be bothered to vote in local body elections then we should be concerned about the health of our local democracy. With voter participation at just 42% in 2004 and possibly even lower this year we need to start asking questions about the causes of this deterioration in local democracy.

Is it simply voter apathy? Are people so content with arrangements that they see no reason to get involved? Or did the proliferation of voting documents for several elected bodies, using different methods of election, different ways of listing candidates deter people from making the effort?

Having three weeks in which to vote appears to have made the situation worse rather than better as residents put the voting papers to one side to "look at later". Postal voting must also be reviewed. The last minute publicity during the last two days of the elections contributed to the late flurry of votes. Perhaps having a single day as a focus would deliver a greater sense of community participation and voter turnout? Perhaps having local polling booths as in the parliamentary elections would help. Electronic voting, including voting by Txt, should also be considered.

Then there are the broader issues such as whether we should move towards greater inter-council co-operation or amalgamation in order to boost region-wide economic development. However, if we are going to go down that path then voters will want some assurance that local community issues will be treated with respect and that grassroots democracy will not suffer further as decision-making moves even further way from some communities.

The creation of Community Boards would be one way of balancing community input with Councils taking a broader strategic view of things. Compared to Christchurch, and even Auckland, Wellington has a poor track record of facilitating Community Boards. Community Boards allow local residents to help make changes in their neighbourhood. Its one of the few areas in the democractic process where some local participation can bring tangible results close to where people live. As such it helps rebuild a sense of community and helps restore some faith in the democractic process. The cost is relatively small. Based on last weekend's results we cannot afford to do nothing. Change is long overdue. It's time the City Council adopted a consistent approach to Community Boards and facilitated their establishment city wide.

Posted by Roger Ellis at 4:22 PM
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Tana Umaga - Real Life Hero

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Tana Umaga and many of the Vodafone Wellington Lions Rugby team took time out recently to attend a post-training BBQ with local Wellington school children.

The event was a great opportunity for local school boys and girls to watch the Lions players train and to mingle with their sporting heroes afterwards. Local Parliamentarians (and one or two Vodafone staff :-) joined the Lions players as the children gathered autographs and posed for photographs.

Umaga demonstrated again why he is known as one of the great ambassadors of rugby and for New Zealand. His friendly, easy manner and broad smile made it easy for the children and parents to engage with one of the All Black greats.

Last week Tana was on hand again at the Ese Trust lunch to help raise funds for a family struck by two tragic sporting injuries. All credit to organisers, to the sponsors - including Vodafone - and to the Wellington rugby community for arranging this very memorable and successful occasion. Tana and the current and former All Blacks who were well represented at the fundraiser helped make the event as successful as it was. Later the same day Tana took the field to play in his 100th game for the Vodafone Wellington Lions - an amazing achievement in anyone's books.

Kids these days don't seem to have the sorts of real life heroes that used to exist before the days of x-box, paparazzi, doping scandals and so-called reality TV. So it was refreshing to get to meet a leader who has earned the respect of his teamates and the wider community for his real class both on and off the field. This was reflected in the standing ovation from his peers and rugby whanau at the lunch. Farewell Tana. Have a great time in France.


Posted by Roger Ellis at 5:11 PM
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Embracing the Digital Change

Thursday, November 29, 2007

This week over 500 leaders from telecommunications, IT, education, youth, iwi, and government gathered at the Digital Future Summit held at the Hyatt Regency in Auckland to help chart the way forward for ICT in New Zealand.

Among the array of talent presenting were: Barry Vercoe, professor of Music and Media Arts And Sciences at Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA and expat from Paeroa; David Cunliffe, Minister of Communications; Deputy Prime Minister, Michael Cullen, Minister of Broadcasting, Trevor Mallard; Sean McDougal, MD of Stakeholder Design; and Chris Anderson, Editor-in-Chief Wired plus a host of other luminaries from industry, commerce, government and education.

Prof Barry Vercoe discussed the internationally respected One laptop per child programme led by MIT. In brief the programme enables access to the Internet so that creativity and innovation are encouraged rather than stifled. He discussed ways in which laptops costing no more than $100 were made available to schoolchildren in the Solomon Islands. An e-learning community is then built by networking the laptops together.

We saw the responses and enthusiasm for learning as kids got to have their own laptop and to explore the Internet for themselves. In today's world we all need to be familiar with digital technology if we are going to have a say and have a role to play. We need to ensure that there are no pockets of New Zealand where children are left on the wrong side of the digital divide through lack of income or because they happen to live in the wrong part of the country.

Parents can draw real support from access to broadband and good information about parenting resources. Parents also need to be aware of the some of the risks associated with the Internet. Hectors World and other work by groups like Netsafe are all part of the pack of resources with which parents need to be empowered if we are to equip our children with the tools necessary to prosper in the 21st century while at the same time minimising risks from harmful elements in the Internet world. Amidst the many changes and uncertainties created by rapid technological change one thing is certain. To succeed in the 21st century we need to be able to use the power and capacity of the new ICT tools with the ease and confidence that children today are displaying. This applies across generations as well as between socio-economic groups and nation states.

For more details on the summit itself refer to http://www.digitalsummit.org.nz/.

Posted by Roger Ellis at 4:27 PM
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The Importance of Voluntarism

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

The combined value of voluntary effort in the community is estimated to be worth over $3 billion.

Non-profit institutions contributed 2.6 percent to New Zealand's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2004 according to a report released in August named "The Non-profit Institutions Satellite Account: 2004" just released by Statistics New Zealand. When volunteer labour is included, non-profit institutions' contribution to GDP increases from 2.6 percent to 4.9 percent.

The report estimates that the number of people who volunteered for one or more non-profit institutions to be 1,011,600 for the year ended March 2004. This represents 31 percent of the New Zealand population aged 12 years and over.It was estimated that these volunteers contributed 270 million hours of formal unpaid work. This is equal to 133,799 full-time positions being filled by volunteers.

The value of voluntary labour (or formal unpaid work) was estimated to be $3.31 billion for the year ended March 2004. This estimate added 2.3 percent to the contribution that non-profit institutions make to GDP.

The report notes that the percentage of New Zealanders who volunteered for non-profit institutions compares well with similar countries in recent years. In the United Kingdom, 39 percent of the population volunteered for one or more non-profit institution (2005), compared with 32 percent of the population in Australia (2000), and 27 percent in both Canada (2000) and the United States (1995).In New Zealand, the average volunteer did 5.1 hours per week of formal unpaid work, compared with an average of 3.2 hours per week per volunteer in Australia, 3.1 hours in Canada and 2.4 hours in the United States.The majority of volunteers (54 percent) volunteered for one non-profit institution.Because 46 percent of volunteers volunteered for more than one institution, there are more unpaid positions volunteered for than the actual number of people who volunteer. It is estimated that 1,727,400 volunteer positions were filled for non-profit institutions in the year ended March 2004.For more details and access to the full report please visit:Statistics NZ Non-Profit Satellite Account 2004