National Party Paralysed by non-productive but media-friendly anti water exports pressure groups
From MSCNewsWire's European Correspondent August 7 2017 - Fresh water is New Zealand’s most promising new primary export yet the more extravagant become the prospects for development, the more intense the pressure to vapourise the business from powerfully placed ideological pressure groups.
In recent months attempts to staunch the packaged water business has U-turned away from a generalised argument against the plastic (i.e petroleum-derived) containers to a much broader-gauge argument to the effect that pumping out drinking water is undermining the very geological base on which the nation itself rests.
This notion is quite literally allowed to float un-contradicted.
A reason is that the relevant lobby New Zealand Water association is reluctant to buy into the issue.
Privately, officials will talk about the scaremongering centred on the emptying out of the subterranean aquifers.
They point out simply enough that the supply of water remains constant and that water merely changes its form on its way to finding its own level again .
Steam, rain, snow, ice being just some of them.
However, the New Zealand Water association is mainly comprised of municipal water treatment officials and their suppliers.
So there is an understandable reluctance to buy into the ideological and thus frenzied fresh water exports debate.
This is correctly viewed by New Zealand Water industry group, which is a top-tier lobby, as a lose-lose proposition from its point of view.
There are now strong indications internationally that fresh water exports offer the same economic opportunities to New Zealand now as did the wine sector a generation or so ago.
Sales of bottled water in Europe have now substantially overtaken sales of bottled flavoured sodas, of the type now so actively despised by New Zealand educationalists, among others.
The other trend is the way in which the bottled water sector has imitated the wine sector in that provincial and family-owned bottled water marques have begun to bite deeply into the established brands.
This means that Nestle and Danone, the two dominant bottlers, have had to reconfigure their marketing around the threat of these niche, and personalised premium brands.
All this is much more than abstract state of affairs for New Zealand.
It means that all the French multinationals involved in packaged potable water are intent on diving headlong into Asia.
As these companies seek scale and market share in Asia they are much assisted by France’s merchant marine which is customising its freight capacity to take advantage of this new highly absorbent market.
This will be a big export setback in the region.for New Zealand.
Much greater than is widely understood.
The reason is that the European potable water will be bundled into much wider primary offerings just because firms such as Danone and Nestle are also the world leaders in, for example, dairy products.
Dairy products move in and out of various categories of surplus.
Fresh water in clear contrast enjoys a much more constant level of demand.
| From This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. || Monday 7 August, 2017 |||
Air New Zealand will fly almost 60,000 additional seats between Auckland and Honolulu from April to October next year, an increase of 75 percent compared with this year.
The airline will operate an additional 94 return services during the period, moving to daily flights and up to nine services per week during the busy July school holiday period.
Services will be operated by the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner for the majority of the year, with a change to the Boeing 777-200 during the July and September holiday periods.
Air New Zealand’s Chief Revenue Officer Cam Wallace says the airline is excited to offer such a significant capacity boost on the very popular route.
“Hawaii is clearly a favourite destination for Kiwis, particularly for those wanting to escape the New Zealand winter. Air New Zealand has increased its services to Honolulu to offer customers even more flexibility as well as a greater number of premium seats during the peak periods by deploying our Boeing 777-200.”
Air New Zealand offers its popular Economy Skycouch™ product as well as Premium Economy and Business Premier on its services to Hawaii.
| An Air New Zealand release || August 4, 2017 |||
MIL OSI – Some of New Zealand’s largest businesses are lagging behind their international counterparts in their levels of corporate social responsibility (CSR) according to new data.
The research which measured CSR performance across more than 17,000 businesses globally found New Zealand companies ranked just 33 out of 36 countries across the CSR criteria of community, employees, governance and environment.
New Zealand general manager of GSK Anna Stove says Kiwi companies are potentially missing opportunities from a growing, ethically conscious market, and at the same time have an obligation to support social causes beyond their immediate interest in short-term profits.
“Increasingly, CSR information is used by customers, suppliers, employees and investors to make socially responsible decisions about who to buy from, transact with, work with and invest in.
“It is becoming essential for businesses to extend the traditional measurement of their financial outcomes to include a degree of their social impact as an indicator of performance – in other words, create a double bottom line,” she says.
Stove says organisations can’t commit to sustainable social investment unless they are profitable.
“While business scale helps provide the resources required for major ethical initiatives, it is the development of an organisational mindset that is the real prerequisite we need to effect change,” she says.
Stove says CSR has now evolved to become a key consideration for prospective employees and this trend is being driven by a demographic shift in the employment market.
“Millennials are expected to make up half of the global workforce by 2020 – and this generation more than others, is seeking a social conscience in the companies they work for.
“Ten years ago, a job candidate would talk about their interest in the products the business sells during an interview, while today the focus is on a company’s work in the community – this marks a major shift in one of the primary drivers of employment decisions,” she says.
Stove says that more research is needed to determine why New Zealand ranked below other markets in the latest study.
“While there could be a number of methodological reasons why NZ companies performed at this level that are difficult to identify, the results are a timely reminder for our organisations to assess their investment in CSR.
“If our corporate efforts don’t support our approach to marketing New Zealand’s identity, we will start to see an erosion of our nation’s brand equity. That’s something that will affect our tourism market but also other key parts of our economy like the agricultural sector which seek a premium for our food products,” she says.
She says it’s important to ensure that when an organisation develops their double bottom line strategy that the chosen causes align with the company’s values.
“Locally we are investing in the health and wellbeing of Kiwi children is important to us, which is why we invest in children’s charities, including suicide prevention which has seen us fund Youthline’s support line for two decades, as well as KidsCan and Save the Children working to address child poverty,
Stove says GSK’s global partnership with Save the Children combines scientific expertise and resource with the charity’s on-the-ground knowledge and the organisations aim to save the lives of 1 million children in some of the world’s poorest countries.
“Choosing the right charities to align with is a critical part of getting buy-in from your team and stakeholders. The first step is to conduct due diligence on the organisation, then look at making a long term social investment.
“The aim should be to develop a true partnership which is sustainable as charities may struggle if a supporting partner providing a significant annual donation drops out,” she says.
Stove believes at the same time, contributions must go beyond the financial.
“For employees to feel connected to the company’s social efforts it’s important for them to have direct contact with the charity which can be achieved by giving staff time off to support the organisation,
“Developing a connection with socially positive projects helps employees come to work with a sense of purpose,” she says.
Notes:
Data for the study was sourced through CSRHub, the world’s largest sustainability business intelligence database. Across the 17033 countries and 133 countries included in the analysis, only those markets with data from more than 25 companies were included in this study. This included 39 New Zealand listed companies.
| A NewsLive release || July 16, 2017 |||
China has approved formal access for New Zealand bovine blood products into the Chinese market, Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy has announced today.
Access has been approved by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China (AQSIQ) for New Zealand premises to export bovine blood products, such as bovine protein and serum, to China. This follows successful negotiations by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).
“Formal access for New Zealand bovine blood products opens up enormous opportunities for our producers. These products represent a valuable market and we expect our exports will be in significant demand in China,” says Mr Guy.
“New Zealand now has market access for both finished and semi-finished products, which will mean exporters can attract a price-premium for these higher-value products. This is likely to be worth at least $50 million per year.
“We have an enviable disease status compared with many countries, which means our bovine blood products are widely sought after by a range of markets across the globe.”
Bovine serum and protein products are used in the animal pharmaceutical industry for manufacturing vaccines, diagnostic kits, laboratory testing media, and a range of specialised products.
New Zealand exported some bovine blood products to China prior to 2015, however formal access has now been negotiated providing more certainty.
Mr Guy made the announcement while visiting Proliant’s cattle blood product manufacturing plant in Feilding today.
Currently 16 premises have been registered by AQSIQ to export bovine blood products to China.
“This new access is a real bonus for the wider meat industry, the regions and our wider economy.”
| A Beehive release || June 22, 2017 |||
Emirates has today introduced a range of sizzling fares for travel from New Zealand in time to enjoy the Europe summer across a range of 39 destinations.
The latest offers include flights directly into and out of favourite sea and river cruise connection points as well as rail links. And New Zealand travellers can also choose to enter Europe or the UK through one gateway and return from another point on the extensive Emirates network.
“We recognise that many travellers, especially those visiting friends and relatives, are not always in a position to make their bookings early, and these fares for travel into the peak northern summer months will be good news for a wide range of people,” said Emirates’ New Zealand regional manager, Chris Lethbridge.
“They will also very much suit the premium leisure market, which commonly books later.”
Emirates has five daily A380 double-decker services out of New Zealand to Dubai and beyond - one from Christchurch and four from Auckland, including a non-stop service to Dubai.
“The Dubai hub provides great connections onwards to Europe, with Emirates’ flights reaching most destinations only six or seven hours later.”
From Auckland, Economy Class return fares include Paris from $1,729, Rome from $1,759, Frankfurt from $1,779, London and Manchester from $1,809, Birmingham from $1,909; Dublin from $1,869. Business Class return fares start at just $6,919 to Rome, $6,949 to London, and $6,999 to Paris, among others.
From Christchurch, Economy Class return fares include Amsterdam and Bologna from $1,929; Paris and Frankfurt from $1,979; London from $2,049, and Copenhagen from $1,989, among others. Business Class return fares start at $7,409 to Amsterdam, $7,509 to Frankfurt and $7,529 to London.
All fares are inclusive of taxes. Terms and conditions and various travel dates apply. For bookings or more details visit emirates.com/nz, your local travel agent, or contact Emirates on 0508 EMIRATES (0508 364 728).
| An Emirates release || April 17, 2017 |||
Emirates has introduced another service to mitigate the inconvenience of the recent ban on electronic devices on board US-bound flights. First and Business Class passengers will now be able to borrow tablets on board Emirates’ US-bound flights from Dubai allowing them to continue working during their flight.
The new service is in response to the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) directive which requires all passengers travelling on non-stop flights to the US from Dubai to check-in their laptops, tablets, and other personal electronic devices larger than a smart phone.
As part of this latest service, Emirates’ premium customers will have Microsoft Surface tablets equipped with Microsoft Office 2016 available for loan on board. Customers can download their work on to a USB which can be brought on board and plugged into the devices to continue working seamlessly.
The service is complimentary and will be available on all non-stop flights from Dubai to Emirates’ US destinations. Emirates provides connections at Dubai from its five daily A380 services from New Zealand to the US.
For customers who prefer to stow away their personal devices and simply enjoy the award winning inflight entertainment and service on board, Emirates had introduced a laptop and tablet handling service for US-bound customers. This complimentary service has been made available to passengers in all cabin classes since 25 March 2017, which was when the new TSA rules took effect.
This service allows customers to retain and utilise their personal devices until just before they board their US-bound flights. Passengers must then declare and hand over their laptops, tablets, and other banned electronic devices to security staff at the boarding gate, who will pack and tag each device to be stored in the aircraft hold and returned to the customer at their US destination.
Watch a video on how Emirates’ handling service works here.
To date, nearly 8,000 passengers have utilised Emirates’ laptop and tablet handling service on the airline’s 112 weekly non-stop flights departing Dubai International airport to cities in the USA. Emirates has received positive feedback from appreciative customers, and reports an even mix of Economy, Business and First class passengers utilising its laptop and tablet handling service.
These two new services by Emirates gives customers travelling to the US several options, such as: packing their electronic devices into their check-in baggage at their point of departure; the opportunity to use their laptops and tablet on their first leg of their journeys and during transit in Dubai, up to the moment they board their US-bound flight; and for premium customers the choice to continue working on loaned devices on board. Customers can stay connected in the air with mobile phone connectivity, in-seat telephones with SMS and email and live TV on most flights. Currently, over 85% of Emirates’ fleet of passenger aircraft is equipped with Wi-Fi on board.
The TSA directive does not apply to Emirates’ US-bound flights via Milan (EK205) and Athens (EK209). It also does not impact flights departing from the US, or Emirates’ flights to any other destination.
Emirates customers flying to the US can find out more about how the new TSA rules impact them at www.emirates.com/electronicsban.
Emirates serves 12 US airports with passenger flights - Newark (EWR), Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Orlando (MCO), Chicago (ORD), Boston (BOS), San Francisco (SFO), Los Angeles (LAX), Seattle (SEA), Dallas (DFW), Houston (IAH), Washington (IAD) and New York (JFK).
| An Emirates release | April 06, 2017 |||
ravellers flying with SWISS now have access to more than 250 digital newspapers and magazines. The digital content is available to all customers, regardless of travel class.
Available in multiple languages, the digital content can be downloaded from swiss.com/ejournals. Passengers just have to provide their booking or ticket number.
The number of downloads will vary per passenger, with premium customers able to download more free content than those travelling in economy. The passenger’s Miles & More frequent flyer status will also be taken into consideration.
SWISS’s new eJournal range will gradually replace the selection of print newspapers and magazines that are currently carried on board.
The airline said this “will produce tangible savings in the flight’s weight and, in turn, deliver further ecological benefits, including a reduction of some 450 tonnes in SWISS’ annual carbon dioxide emissions”.
| A Future Travel Experience release | March 08, 2017
Emirates, which offers five double-decker A380 services a day out of New Zealand, is welcoming in the new year with special fares to a selection of points around its global network, including Australia, the UK, Europe and Africa.
The Hello 2017 Economy and Business Class fares are also on offer to destinations in Asia and the Middle East, as well as India and the Americas via Dubai
The five daily New Zealand flights – a non-stop service to Dubai from Auckland and three others via Australia, plus a Christchurch service via Sydney – offer the chance to travel all the way by A380 from New Zealand to 17 destinations in Europe among other cities.
From today until January 23 the Hello 2017 fares will include Economy Class return to Australia from $439, Asia $899, Indian sub-continent $1,299, Europe $1,499, United Kingdom and Africa $1,599, the Americas $1,799 and the Middle East $1,899.
Special Business Class fares are also available.
The fares are inclusive of all taxes and are valid for select travel dates. They are subject to availability on specific flights and various conditions apply.
“Emirates likes to welcome in each new year with a special treat for travellers and this year’s offering is no exception,” said Emirates’ New Zealand regional manager, Chris Lethbridge. “In all, we have special fares to more than 80 destinations, including the most popular places on our network.”
In total, Emirates offers connections at its Dubai hub to 38 places in Europe, 22 in Africa and 17 in the Middle East.
Passengers travelling on the three-class, 491-seat A380 aircraft will enjoy spacious cabins and experience a peaceful journey in the world’s quietest long-range jet. They can use the onboard Wi-Fi; indulge in food prepared by international chefs, and be entertained by Emirates’ award-winning ice system which offers over 2,500 channels of inflight entertainment across all cabins.
Emirates has redefined the core experience of premium travel. First Class and Business Class passengers will have access to the A380’s onboard Lounge, with space to mingle whilst enjoying canapés and the beverages prepared by the onboard bartender. First Class passengers can enjoy the aircraft’s First Class Private Suites and experience the aircraft’s signature onboard Shower Spa.
Emirates is the largest operator of the Airbus A380 with 89 in its fleet, and has carried over 65 million passengers on its flagship aircraft since 2008
Bookings can be made through www.emirates.com/nz or phone 0508 364 728.
Air New Zealand has confirmed it will operate a second season of non-stop services between Auckland and Vietnam from June to October next year and this time passengers will be able to enjoy the comfort of the airline’s state of the art Dreamliner aircraft.
For the 2017 season, Air New Zealand will operate two non-stop services a week from Auckland to Ho Chi Minh City using the 302 seat Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner offering a choice of lie flat Business Premier, Premium Economy, Economy and Economy Skycouch™ seating options.
Air New Zealand Chief Sales and Commercial Officer Cam Wallace says Kiwi travellers who’ve experienced the non-stop service to Vietnam this season are hugely enthusiastic about the destination.
“Ho Chi Minh City in the south is a great gateway to Vietnam’s tourism experience which includes great food, fascinating history, charming French influence and 3,000 kilometres of coastline to explore.”
Air New Zealand’s 2017 Vietnam season will operate between 24 June and 25 October, tickets are on sale now with a lead in Economy fare of $734 one way.
Air New Zealand is to spend more than $100 million increasing the number of premium seats on its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners and refurbishing its Boeing 777-300 fleet in response to customer trends.
Increasing demand for premium travel means the three Dreamliners scheduled to be delivered from October 2017 will arrive with a fresh new cabin configuration that will increase the number of Business Premier seats from 18 to 27 and Premium Economy seats from 21 to 33.
From February 2017, all seven of the airline’s Boeing 777-300s will also progressively complete a refurbishment programme, including the installation of the Panasonic eX3 in-flight entertainment system customers already enjoy on the Dreamliner fleet, and refreshed seating options.
Each of the 777-300s’ interiors will be completely refurbished as part of the project. The refurbished aircraft will feature refreshed Business Premier and Economy seats as well as Air New Zealand’s luxury leather Premium Economy seat which debuted on the 787-9 Dreamliner in July 2014. These will replace the Spaceseat and take the number of Premium Economy seats on this aircraft from 44 to 54.
The Boeing 777-300 refurbishment programme is expected to be completed by late November 2017.
Air New Zealand’s General Manager Customer Experience Carrie Hurihanganui says since its introduction on the Dreamliner, the new ink coloured luxury leather Premium Economy seat has become extremely popular with customers.
“When we unveiled the Spaceseat in 2010, it was revolutionary and clearly the best option in the market at the time, as a string of international awards has proven. However, seating technology and materials have come a long way since then and our customer research now shows consistently higher satisfaction scores for our newest Premium Economy offering so it’s time to continue Air New Zealand’s evolution in this space,” Ms Hurihanganui says.
“With these changes, we look forward to being able to offer our customers a consistent Premium Economy product across our long haul fleet and being able to welcome even more customers into our premium cabins with the expanded premium footprint on our Dreamliners.”
“The reconfiguration of our Dreamliners and refurbishment of our 777-300s signal a clear commitment by the airline to continue to deliver the best onboard customer experience into the future.”
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