Foreign Minister Murray McCully travels to Laos this week to attend the ASEAN-NZ Ministerial Meeting, the East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and the 23rd ASEAN Regional Forum.
“New Zealand has long-standing ties with ASEAN and we enjoy close cooperation with member states across a range of regional issues,” Mr McCully says.
“The East Asia Summit and the ASEAN Regional Forum play an important role in addressing the political and security challenges we collectively face, such as maritime security, counter-terrorism, and disaster response and preparedness.”
Dusseldorf has become the third German city in Singapore Airlines’ route network, with the arrival of flight SQ338 from Singapore this morning.
The new route is being served with the latest-generation aircraft to join the Singapore Airlines fleet, the Airbus A350-900. The first service departed Singapore Changi Airport at around 2340hrs local time last night and arrived at Dusseldorf Airport at around 0620hrs local time this morning, after a flight of nearly 13 hours.
Dusseldorf will initially be served three times per week. Singapore Airlines also serves the German cities of Frankfurt and Munich.
Customers departing from Singapore were treated to an assortment of food and beverages including champagne at a special boarding gate event held to commemorate the inaugural flight. They also received an exclusive goodie bag containing a commemorative certificate, a batik luggage belt with weighing scale and a wooden miniature silhouette of the Dusseldorf skyline.
Upon arrival at Dusseldorf Airport, the aircraft received a water canon salute.
With advanced technology and superior operating efficiency, the A350-900 offers customers an improved travelling experience with features such as higher ceilings, larger windows, an extra wide body and lighting designed to reduce jetlag.
Singapore Airlines took delivery of its first A350-900 in March and now has four of the aircraft type in its fleet, with another 63 on firm order. The initial batch of A350s is being fitted with 253 seats in three classes, seating 42 customers in Business Class, 24 in Premium Economy Class and 187 in Economy Class.
The A350 will form a key part of the Airline’s fleet in the years ahead, allowing for the introduction of new services such as non-stop flights between Singapore and San Francisco from October, helping to boost connectivity to and through the Singapore hub.
A Singapore Airlines press release July 22, 2016
Singapore Airlines will fly non-stop between Singapore and Manchester from 30 October 2016. In addition, as part of the Northern Winter Schedule, services to Adelaide, Christchurch and Kolkata will increase during peak periods, while seasonal services to Sapporo will be operated in December 2016.
The non-stop Singapore-Manchester flights will be operated five times weekly and will continue on to Houston, which is currently served via Moscow. Flight SQ52 will depart Singapore at 0235hrs and arrive in Manchester at 0900hrs. Flight SQ52 will then depart Manchester at 1015hrs, and arrive in Houston at 1535hrs. The return flight SQ51 will depart Houston at 2015hrs and arrive in Manchester at 1005hrs. Flight SQ51 will then depart Manchester at 1135hrs, and arrive in Singapore at 0820hrs (all times local, and subject to change).
Services to Christchurch will meanwhile increase to 10 times weekly from seven times weekly between 13 November 2016 and 5 February 2017, while services to Adelaide will increase to 10 times weekly from seven times weekly between 1 December 2016 and 31 January 2017. Services to Kolkata will increase to four times weekly in December 2016, up from the current three weekly flights.
To cater to peak winter travel demand, Singapore Airlines will also operate seasonal services to Sapporo from 1 December 2016 to 5 January 2017. A total of 24 round-trip Sapporo flights will be operated during this period.
With the launch of the Singapore-Manchester-Houston service, existing Moscow-Houston and Munich-Manchester services will be suspended, from 30 October 2016. Both Munich and Moscow will continue to be served, however, on a non-stop basis to and from Singapore. Services to Munich will be operated daily, while services to Moscow will be operated four times weekly.
Singapore Airlines will also operate daily non-stop flights between Singapore and San Francisco from 23 October 2016 using Airbus A350-900 aircraft. Flight SQ32 will depart Singapore at 0830hrs and arrive in San Francisco at 0805hrs. The return flight SQ31 will depart San Francisco at 0935hrs and arrive in Singapore at 1820hrs. (all times local at the start of Northern Winter, and subject to change).
The above flight details are subject to regulatory approvals. Ticket sales for the above flights will be made available for sale through our various distribution channels on a progressive basis.
A Singapore Airlines press releas July 21, 2016
Solar Gard positively impacts lives with products that protect, save and renew with Window Film options formost. Headquartered in San Diego, California, Solar Gard makes industry leading. Architectural and automotive window films, photovoltaics and custom coatings. A division of Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics, a subsidiary of Saint-Gobain, the world leader in the habitat and construction markets, Solar Gard's architectural solar control window films are proven carbon negative and reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. Solar Gard products are sold in more than 90 countries under the Solar Gard and Solar Gard Armorcoat brands.Saint-Gobain is located in 64 countries and with almost 190,000 employees, Saint-Gobain is one of the world's top 100 companies. A world leader in habitat, Saint-Gobain designs, manufactures and distributes building materials, providing innovative solutions to meet the challenges of growth, energy-saving and environmental protection. With an objective to reduce energy costs and improve comfort levels Solar Gard window films provide a solution including solar and window insulation products as well as safety and graffiti protection products.
Available in New Zealand through Solar Gard New Zealand distributor, SWF Distribution.
Location: Building 3D89 Ellice RoadWairau ValleyAUCKLANDNEW ZEALAND 0629 |
Contact: Ross Eathorne is the person to contact. Tel: +64 9 441 0040Fax: +64 9 444 2788 Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Web: www.solargard.co.nz |
Solar Gard items published here on MSCNewsWire include . . .
Hasmate have developed software to manage Health And Safety procedures.
They developed a tool to manage health and safety, chemical management, human resources and training records, ISO 9001 records and more. Since 2002, Gordon and Jan Anderson have refined HASMATE into a robust software application, using real world experience and development.
Location: 17 McNaughton PlaceOnekawaNapierHawke's BayNEW ZEALAND 4110 |
Contact: Founders Gordon and Jan Anderson are the ones to contact. Tel: +64 6 842 2499Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.Web: www.hasmate.co.nz |
A new plant based oil is being developed to replace petrochemicals in industrial products ranging from fuels and lubricants to specialty chemicals and plastics, writes Hartley Henderson.
In a joint project between the CSIRO and the Grains Research Development Corporation (GRDC) to establish the Crop Biofactories Initiatives (CBI), Safflower seed oil that contains over 92 percent oleic acid has been produced. This has been dubbed ‘Super High Oleic Safflower Oil’ (SHOSO).
According to the CSIRO’s Dr Craig Wood, plants can produce a wide range of compounds that can be used as raw materials for making industrial chemicals and these crop biofactories have potential to sustainably supply the volume and price required for industrial products.
“SHO Safflower, from which SHOSO is produced, has performed well in field trials. The oil produced in the seed has significantly higher stability than conventional oils and performs as well or better than synthetic oils derived from fossil reserves. These properties will see SHOSO attain a higher market value than normal crop oils, which should be reflected in a higher farm-gate value for growers,” he said.
“The stability of the oleic acid makes it especially suitable for high temperature industrial applications such as lubricants and transformer fluids, and it can also be processed to build a range of complex polymers for use in bioplastics and surface coatings.
Read the full article here on Manufacturers' Monthly
New Zealand is poised for a period of enormous change in the coming 30 years and initiatives to tackle the major shifts will be launched at the Local Government New Zealand 2016 Conference this weekend.
Over the next three decades New Zealand communities will have to adapt to significant economic, social, cultural and environmental changes. Whether it’s coping with increased urbanisation and what this means for cities and regions, responding to climate change or caring for our environment, big challenges lie ahead.
LGNZ’s 2050 Challenge: future proofing Kiwi Communities discussion paper has been developed to generate discussion about how the country prepares for significant changes.
Sparked by LGNZ’s Young Elected Members Committee, the paper outlines the major challenges facing local communities and calls for those communities to work with their councils to help develop strategies for an uncertain future.
LGNZ will also launch Planning Our Future, an eight point action plan for reform of the resource management system with a focus on improving decision-making and placing greater value on natural eco-systems.
The plan was developed following a review of the current system by a “blue skies” reference group chaired by Otago Regional Council Chair Stephen Woodhead, who is also Chair of LGNZ’s Regional Sector and its Environmental Policy Advisory Group. It released its discussion document in December 2015.
You can read more about the reference group and the discussion document online.
Key aims of the action plan are to integrate resource management decision-making across domains and enhance the strategic connection between central and local government; ensure resource management decisions grounded in evidence, transparent and able to be scrutinised; and a system designed to deliver better decisions and create economic incentives to encourage greater environmental stewardship.
LGNZ President Lawrence Yule says the 2050 Challenge and the proposed changes to the resource management system are important pieces of work.
“It is vital that as a society we address these issues now, because significant changes are underway and the way we live today may not be how we live tomorrow,” Mr Yule says.
“Local government has a critical role to play in planning for the long-term prosperity of our communities, so it is right that local government lead these discussions.”
The 2050 Challenge: future proofing Kiwi Communities discussion paper will be released on 25 July, and the Planning Our Future document on 26 July.
A LGNZ press release 21 July 2016
A survey of over 2,000 collective employment agreements from Victoria University of Wellington shows that while gains are being made for unionised workers, the benefits are having a wider effect as collectively agreed terms and conditions are often extended to new employees and non-union workers.
The survey results, providing greater understanding of current employment provisions and issues, will be released next week at the first of five seminars in main centres across the country.
Victoria’s Centre for Labour Employment and Work (CLEW) conducted the survey, which covers the full range of industry sectors.
The survey found that after years of low pay increases, the average annual increment in wages and salaries for public sector employees was at 1.6 percent for 2015/16, the highest it’s been since 2012.
Private sector employees on collective employment agreements also typically experienced wage gains over the past 12 months, of just over 2 percent on average, which was slightly lower than in previous years.
CLEW director Stephen Blumenfeld says the higher increase in wages in the private sector in the last three years was partly influenced by increases to the minimum wage that were above the rate of inflation.
Dr Blumenfeld says the survey highlights gains made in employment provisions as well as other issues that need to be addressed in the labour market, including the low take-up of collective employment agreements.
“With the elimination of zero-hours contracts and new provisions for flexible working hours in New Zealand law, some of the worst excesses of hours-of-work provisions. But there is still room for improvement, particularly around whether issues of work-life balance can be addressed in collective bargaining.
“We’ve had over 15 years of legislation that purports to support negotiation of collective agreements to regulate pay and working conditions, and yet the number of employees covered by them remains at just over 20 percent.”
Further findings of the survey will be released in seminars at major centres around the country, along with an overview of bargaining and case law developments over the last 12 months.
Registrations for the Employment Agreements: Bargaining Trends & Employment Law Update seminars are now open.
About Employment Agreements: Bargaining Trends & Employment Law Update
The annual seminar series has been running since 1994 and has established a reputation as the definitive source of practitioner-focused information on current wages, conditions and employment relations practices in New Zealand. Topics covered in the seminars include wages and penal rates, working time and leave, the legislative changes around hours of work and health and workplace health and safety, and important legal cases from the past year.
A press release from Victoria University Friday 22 July 106
Chorus has today said that, in partnership with its service companies, it is aiming to recruit another 250 technicians and support staff by the end of the year.
This is to help meet the demands it faces across its copper and fibre business, despite nearly 2000 people already being added to the workforce since 2011.
The announcement comes as the company apologises to customers who have been waiting too long for faults on its copper network to be repaired, and it has made improvement in this area its immediate priority.
During winter, when volumes of faults increase due to the weather, Chorus aims to keep average restoration times under 48 hours. A number of factors mean the average time to fix a fault has now increased to more than 60 hours, with some customers waiting considerably longer.
“We have had an unfortunate set of circumstances, including very wet weather and several major cable cuts by third parties, which has meant we’ve been playing catch up for the last couple of weeks,” said Ed Beattie, General Manager Infrastructure.
“Taking more than a day or two to fix faults is clearly unacceptable, both to ourselves and our customers. It’s not good enough and I apologise to customers who are frustrated waiting for a fix.
“When you’re short of people for all the work you need to do, it’s a constant balancing act, and we should have responded to longer fault timeframes sooner. We know we need to find enough technicians to handle these sorts of unusual events, and we are continually looking to add more skilled techs to the workforce.”
Over the last week, Chorus has reprioritised some of its technicians from other work and other locations, to fixing copper faults in Auckland, where the majority of the long lead times are to be found.
Since making a range of interventions to improve performance in this area, Chorus has seen the backlog of faults halve, and will publish regular updates on its fault restoration performance until it is back within business as usual performance levels.
Prior to the spate of wet weather and major cable cuts Chorus’ copper network reliability has been consistently good, with the overall volume of faults declining steadily over the last six years.
The company has also invested in improving its copper infrastructure, and high speed VDSL broadband is now available to around four out of every five lines.Workforce numbers the fundamental challenge
“The most fundamental challenge remains hiring enough people throughout the country to meet the demands of running an existing copper network, building a new fibre network and installing thousands of new fibre connections every month,” said Ed Beattie.
“The wider context is that across Chorus and our service company partners, we had about 1800 technicians working on the network in 2011, and today we have about 3700.
We still need hundreds more to be able to meet all of the demands on Chorus in acceptable timeframes. Not the least of which is doing more than 600 fibre installations every day – a huge level of demand.”
“At the same time, we are competing with the Christchurch rebuild, the Auckland housing demands and the NBN build in Australia for skilled technicians, and like all of those we are finding the potential labour pool to be too small to meet all of our needs.
“We have scoured New Zealand for potential technicians, and also brought in technicians from around the world to help meet the demand, but it’s still not enough. It’s not a matter of budgets or willingness, we simply need more people and the “help wanted” sign is well and truly out.
“We have left no stone unturned, including working with WINZ, running job fairs, hiring technicians from overseas, working with other companies who may no longer need as many technician staff, and working with Government to make hiring overseas workers with relevant skills easier.
“We run extensive training programmes, as do our service company partners, and we are adding around 25 new technicians to our field force every week.
“But the need to add technicians to the workforce must be balanced with ensuring they have the right skills to ensure high quality of workmanship, and the right customer service capabilities so we know they are providing a good experience for our customers when they go into their homes.
“We know this is a challenge across many sectors, and we remained focused on significantly improving performance as we find and train up ever increasing numbers of technicians,” he said.
Fault restoration performance month to date at 19 July 2016
- Total Chorus lines: 1,747,000 (as reported 15 April 2016)- Faults currently logged with Chorus: 22,851- Faults restored month to date: 22,437- Average time to restore: 60.1 hours- Currently open faults: 3,261- Faults open for more than three days: 1,074
A press release from Chorus
When a New Zealand businessman needed to solve a unique transportation problem, he sought out a Bend (OR)company for help.
Tiger Tugs, a subsidiary of Cutting Edge Design Inc. in southeast Bend, recently finished work on a modified version of its standard remote-control helicopter tug. While standard Tiger Tugs can only move a helicopter forward and backward into a hangar, the new version, the Typhoon, can move in any direction. Steve Hill, founder of Tiger Tugs, said this will allow the New Zealand businessman to land a helicopter on his luxury yacht, and turn it sideways to fit it into an onboard hangar.
“It’s the only helicopter tug in the world that can do this,” Hill said Friday.
Cutting Edge Design was founded in 2007 as a metal fabrication company, but Hill said he founded Tiger Tugs in 2009, after the Great Recession took hold.
“We realized just the cutting and forming of metal in Bend wasn’t going to be sufficient,” Hill said.
Hill’s Tiger Tugs adjust more easily to accommodate helicopter skids than other tugs on the market, helping pilots avoid damaging their helicopters. Additionally, Tiger Tugs are controlled via a remote control, which allows one person to guide the vehicle. Hill’s customers include the U.S. Army and several corporations, as well as a handful of celebrities, including Paul Allen and Harrison Ford, who have bought tugs for their personal use.
“We’ve got (tugs) in New Zealand, Australia, Japan, China, Europe,” Hill said. “You name it, we’ve got them everywhere.”
While several customers, including Allen, have used Tiger Tugs on yachts in the past, the new project represents a different challenge. The buyer, who Hill would not identify specifically, has a helicopter hangar on his yacht that can only accommodate the helicopter by turning it to the side. Consequently, Hill said, the buyer has been looking for a product that can maneuver the helicopter to fit the yacht’s dimensions.
“You’ve now given them a way to move this helicopter to somewhere else on this deck,” Hill said.
He added that the buyer reached out about two years ago. Hill consulted with several advisers to come up with a couple of designs. The final product uses specialized rollers rather than traditional wheels, allowing the Typhoon to change direction without re-orienting itself. From design to painting, the process took about nine months to complete and will cost the buyer around $100,000, compared to around $30,000 for a standard Tiger Tug.
According to a report from the yachting industry company Camper & Nicholsons, there are 4,476 super yachts — yachts longer than 30 meters, or about 98 feet — in use today.
The Typhoon will be shipped by the end of this month, Hill said. Meanwhile, the buyer asked him to start work on another identical tug for his second yacht. Hill added that Vulcan Inc., an aviation company founded by Paul Allen, has reached out about building a similar product for his unfinished yacht, but a spokesperson from Vulcan would not confirm it.
Additionally, Hill said he’s seen interest in omnidirectional tugs from manufacturing companies and film offices, both of which require transporting heavy equipment around tight corners.
“We’re about maxed out on designs; we’re ready to just start building for a while,” Hill said.
—Reporter: 541-617-7818, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Palace of the Alhambra, Spain
By: Charles Nathaniel Worsley (1862-1923)
From the collection of Sir Heaton Rhodes
Oil on canvas - 118cm x 162cm
Valued $12,000 - $18,000
Offers invited over $9,000
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242
Mount Egmont with Lake
By: John Philemon Backhouse (1845-1908)
Oil on Sea Shell - 13cm x 14cm
Valued $2,000-$3,000
Offers invited over $1,500
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242