Founded by Max Farndale 1947 - 2018
10 Nov 2017 - On 1 December the Health and Safety at Work (Hazardous Substances) Regulations 2017 will come into force. The aim is to reduce both the immediate harm to people and longer-term illness caused by hazardous substances in the workplace.
It’s no small matter. A hazardous substance is any product or chemical that has explosive, flammable, oxidising, toxic or corrosive properties – and they’re everywhere. Around one in three New Zealand workplaces use, manufacture, handle or store them. This includes factories, farmers and growers, as well as printers, collision repairers, hairdressers and retailers. They are in commonly used products such as fuels and LPG, solvents, cleaning solutions and agrichemicals.
“Used safely, hazardous substances can contribute to the nation’s economic growth and prosperity,” WorkSafe’s General Manager Operations and Specialist Services Brett Murray says, “but they also pose real risks to the people working with or around them.
“The harm from inhaling toxic vapours or having contact with some substances is often unseen. Workers may be unaware they are being exposed, and the effects of exposure may not be seen for many years.”
Hazardous substances are a major contributor to the estimated 600-900 deaths and 30,000 cases of serious ill health from work-related disease each year in New Zealand. This is in addition to the fatalities and immediate harm through accidents, such as fires and explosions, and unsafe use.
“It’s time this changed,” says Mr Murray. “The Regulations bring an expectation on all those working with hazardous substances to know what those substances are, the risks they pose and how to manage those risks.”
What’s changing? On 1 December the rules for managing hazardous substances in the workplace are moving from the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 (HSNO) to the Health and Safety at Work Act (HSWA). Many of the existing requirements will continue. However there are some changes to improve the management of these substances at work.
“If you use or store these substances, you need to look at what has changed under the new Regulations to ensure you are meeting your obligations to protect workers,” Mr Murray says.
As well as looking at what is changing, Mr Murray says people need to remember there is already legislation in place they should be complying with.
“If you are following the current rules, you may only need to do a few things differently, but now is the ideal time to review your management of hazardous substances and ensure you are doing your duty to protect people from harm.”
Businesses will already be familiar with the HSWA approach to managing work-related health and safety risks. From 1 December this includes hazardous substances. It’s another step in helping to ensure our people get home healthy and safe.
WorkSafe’s website has information, guidance and FAQs. Its online Hazardous Substances Toolbox has tools to help. You can also subscribe to the Hazardous Substances Update.
The Health and Safety at Work (Hazardous Substances) Regulations 2017 are available on the New Zealand Legislation website.
| A WorksafeNZ release || November 10, 2017 |||
Nov 10 2017 - BONN: As Energy Day gets under way at the 2017 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP23) in Bonn today (Friday, November 10), influential and international businesses from a wide range of sectors are driving emissions cuts by leading the way on electric transport, energy productivity and renewable power. Four major businesses from three different continents have today joined The Climate Group’s global electric vehicles campaign (EV100), and pledged to transition to electric transport by 2030. They include the airline Air New Zealand, Mercury – the New Zealand electricity retailer and generator, Dutch engineering and project management consultancy Royal HaskoningDHV, and the Japanese shopping mall developer AEON Mall.
Also new today, one of India’s leading cement producers, Dalmia Cement, has announced that it is already almost half way to doubling its energy productivity by 2030 (using a 2010-11 baseline) as part of The Climate Group’s EP100 initiative.
And the international consultancy and construction company, Mace, which strives to create more sustainable cities and communities, has today joined The Climate Group’s RE100 campaign with CDP, committing the world’s most influential companies to 100% renewable power. The UK-based company is aiming to achieve 100% renewable electricity globally by 2022; and 75% by 2019.
RE100 members are now creating demand of up to 153 TWh of renewable electricity annually – more than enough to power Poland.
The news follows announcements earlier this week from UK-based HSBC, which has joined RE100 with a commitment to sourcing 100% renewable power by 2030. US bank Wells Fargo also announced that it has achieved 100% renewable electricity through the purchase of renewable energy certificates (RECs) to power its over 90 million square feet portfolio, and is now working to achieve its 2020 goal to transition to net new sources of renewable electricity.
Helen Clarkson, CEO, The Climate Group, championed the role of business in driving a zero-emissions economy: “It’s fantastic to see continued leadership from companies on climate action – commitments like these are smart business decisions that future-proof operations and boost the bottom line.
“EV100 members are helping to wean us off polluting petrol and diesel while RE100 members are increasing demand for renewable energy. Together with EP100 commitments that enable companies to get more out of the energy they use, leading companies are shaping our global energy market for the future and helping to accelerate the emissions reductions needed to deliver on the Paris Agreement.”EV100 – new joiners
As part of its ambitious sustainability initiatives, Air New Zealand has taken a leadership position in the shift to EVs, and has already transitioned 100% of its light vehicle fleet and electrified more than half of its heavy airport service vehicles.
Christopher Luxon, CEO, Air New Zealand, said: “At airports and on the roads, our EVs are literally driving a call to action for the business community to commit to more sustainable options. By investing in EVs, we’re helping to increase both supply and demand for electric transport and charging infrastructure – a move which will ultimately make EVs a mainstream sight in New Zealand.”
Mercury has already transitioned every vehicle in its fleet that can be practicably converted to electric (80 out of 114 vehicles), and now 870 employees at nearly 20 sites drive one of the largest EV fleets in New Zealand. Mercury, with others, also helped bring the Electric Highway to New Zealand with the peer-to-peer EV charger location app, ‘Plugshare’.
Fraser Whineray, CEO, Mercury, said: “Now that we’ve converted every vehicle that we can to EVs, our mission of Energy Freedom inspires us to support the electrification of transport throughout New Zealand. Around 90% of New Zealand’s electricity is produced from clean renewable sources so it’s a winning formula for drivers, for business, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels. Mercury is part of a movement in New Zealand and globally through membership of EV100.”
Between them, Air New Zealand and Mercury have instigated a landmark corporate initiative, influencing over 30 leading New Zealand organisations and businesses to pledge to transition their fleets to at least 30% electric in the next three years.
Royal HaskoningDHV announced in September that it would transition to 100% EVs. Under EV100, the company has committed its leased fleets and service contracts, and is supporting the uptake of EVs by its 6,000 staff and customers in over 150 countries. The company will transition its fleet, just over 500 cars, in the Netherlands by 2021, and internationally by 2030. Currently the fleet holds 20 plug-in hybrids and 30 100% electric vehicles. All employees with plug-ins and 80% of those with EVs have a charger installed at their home.
Erik Oostwegel, CEO, Royal HaskoningDHV, said: “In recent months, as a means of controlling climate change and air pollution, various governments announced measures to phase-out diesel or petrol-driven vehicles. As an innovative company, we want to be a frontrunner in developments relating to sustainability and mobility of the future. We provide advice to clients concerning sustainable mobility and the energy transition. These two elements converge in electric driving. For us the move to 100% electric vehicles is a no-brainer and all companies should do this. The trend is clear. Let’s use our time efficient and stop talking and take action.”
AEON Mall is supporting the uptake of electric vehicles (EVs) by its customers, and has been installing charging facilities at each of its 152 shopping malls across Japan since 2008. Already the company has installed 751 EV chargers in 135 malls in Japan, and plans to have installed them at 143 malls by 2018. In China, the company has so far installed 348 chargers at six malls. AEON Mall was recruited to EV100 via Japan-CLP, a regional engagement partner for the campaign on behalf of The Climate Group.
Yoshiharu Umeda, Senior Managing Director, Administration Division, General Manager, AEON Mall, said: “We have taken the lead in introducing advanced approaches such as utilizing solar photovoltaic energy, building recharging stations for electric vehicles, and increasing the greening of shopping centers. Such approaches have also become acknowledged in recent years as a new value of a commercial facility. We will promote the creation of people-friendly, environment-friendly malls and strive to be Asia’s No.1 specialized commercial developer by gaining support from local residents and society. That’s why we are joining EV100.”
| A Climate Group release || November 10, 2017 |||
Nov 10, 2017 - Reinforcing its leadership position in the shift to electric vehicles, Air New Zealand has been announced as the first airline to join The Climate Group’s EV100 initiative. The global not-for-profit works with businesses and governments around the world on initiatives that help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. EV100 is its new global programme which aims to fast track business uptake of electric vehicles, encouraging organisations to use their buying power and influence to build demand and ultimately help reduce the cost barrier to mainstream use. Earlier this year Air New Zealand completed the transition of its light vehicle fleet to EVs and the airline’s Head of Sustainability Lisa Daniell says seeing its EVs on the road is a visible reminder of its commitment to more sustainable options. “Electric transport offers a major solution in cutting millions of tons of greenhouse emissions worldwide. Having led the way in New Zealand it’s exciting to be part of a global initiative committed to making EVs the new normal.” Sandra Roling, Head of EV100 says The Climate Group is delighted Air New Zealand is joining EV100 as the first airline in the campaign. “The company’s commitment to rolling out electric vehicles and charging infrastructure in its own operations, as well as its leadership in motivating other companies to do the same, sets a crucial example for making electro-mobility the new normal.” Air New Zealand also initiated a landmark corporate pledge with Mercury Energy and Westpac New Zealand in 2016, which will see 30 New Zealand companies transition at least 30 percent of their fleet to EVs by 2019. The Climate Group announced Air New Zealand’s membership of EV100 on Energy Day of the United Nation’s 2017 Climate Change Conference (COP23) in Bonn, Germany.
| An Air New Zealand release || November 10 2017 |||
10 Nov 2017 - An unnamed Asian member of the so-called TPP-11 has thrown a spanner in the works of 11th-hour negotiations on the future of the controversial Pacific Rim trade and investment deal.
Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker told New Zealand media early local time that there had been “an unusual turn of events” at the trade ministers’ meeting in Da Nang last night.
The ministers believed they had reached an agreement at around 10pm and there was “celebratory clapping”, only for an official of an unnamed nation to dispute that a settlement had been reached.
The issue arose in checking details of text changes agreed to the agreement.
Parker would not name the country but said it was not New Zealand and not Canada, which has been sending signals it is reluctant to be rushed into an agreement.
Vietnam, the host country for the APEC leaders’ summit where the TPP-11 talks are occurring, and Malaysia are both known to have been resistant to concluding an 11-member deal because both are making major concessions on labour and environmental standards and trade which were most valuable when the US was in the TPP tent.
US president Donald Trump withdrew his country from the TPP as his first act upon election, but the remaining 11, led by Japan, have sought to keep the deal alive.
Parker declined to discuss the outstanding sticking point, but said it was of importance to New Zealand, suggesting the issue may relate to market access for agricultural access, which is the primary value of the deal for New Zealand exporters but sensitive for most other TPP members.
There were suggestions overnight of irritation that news of the consensus was leaking ahead of a TPP-11 leaders’ meeting this afternoon local time. Leaders’ thunder had effectively been stolen by the early leaks.
Significantly, Parker gave the strongest indication yet New Zealand is ready to sign the TPP-11 deal, despite getting less than the new Labour-led government wanted in terms of watering down investor-state dispute settlement provisions.
New Zealand had “improved” its position, he said.
| A SharChat release || november 10, 2017 |||
10 Nov 2017 - Speech to 2017 Environmental Compliance Conference, Auckland by Wayne Fisher – General Manager of CS-VUE
Members of the organising committee, the Planning Institute, invited speakers, and delegates. Welcome to the 2017 Environmental Compliance Conference here in Auckland - two days of great insight and best practice at such a critical time for our sector. As we know, environmental compliance is witnessing significant levels of attention and change not seen since the introduction of the RMA in 1991. It is an honour for CS-VUE to once again be a part of this conference and this year as the major sponsor. From our position as providers of cloud-based compliance software across the public and private sectors, we have seen the enforcement of compliance increase markedly over the past decade. The regulatory landscape is becoming increasingly tough and increasingly costly. A quick scan of recent court cases across the country reveals fines from $17,000 for mining to $60,000 for effluent discharge and these are not isolated incidents. We have also witnessed a sizeable swing in the ways compliance is managed and how evidence is gathered, processed, and reported. The simple fact is, the compliance environment is now more demanding, more difficult to manage, has many more stakeholders, and comes with bigger fines. Better systems go a long way in assisting with these issues but as with all systems, if you don’t use them properly, or you don’t have systems in place that you can wholeheartedly rely on, you’ll quickly come unstuck. Our collective challenge over the coming years is to adjust to and manage the changing landscape. The good news is there are ways to effectively achieve this and even ways to work more closely with the regulators. For those of you as regulators, this will also be welcome news. CS-VUE has recently completed a significant piece of innovation with NZTA to manage the compliance across the $700m ‘Puhoi to Warkworth’ new motorway build. Our enhanced management system allows three-way communication between NZTA, the contractors, and the regulator, Auckland Council. What’s more, our regulatory software module can be easily applied across any regulator, council, or corporate and for any type of consenting right down to trade waste. Another driver we have witnessed in the market is more data residing outside of organisations, which has the added benefit of building in resilience and keeping critical information safe from the likes of earthquakes, floods or fires. Technology is now playing its part to manage this data and can deliver a great return on investment simply by performing many functions that were once done manually. The upside of this is that there is more control from an operational level – that is compliance on the ground being fed directly into compliance systems. This leads to better information for management teams and enhanced oversight at board level to better manage risk and governance. Data enables organisations to create viable and valuable audit trails directly from the field to final sign off. And of course, evidence can now be gathered directly from IoT devices. The major benefits here of course are in time and cost savings and increased compliance levels, but also in the reduction of ‘risk’ - all of which keep the likes of chairs, boards, mayors and councillors very happy! Our company, CS-VUE, works closely with large government departments and agencies, many city and district councils, and many corporate entities. Sectors we work in include oil and gas, quarrying, mining, and some of the country’s key ports. And for over a decade, our team has built a reputation based on experience, trust, tailoring solutions and delivering innovation, as well as great results for our clients. CS-VUE has a large booth outside. Please join us to find out just how rapidly compliance technology is shifting in your space, and how we can benefit your organisation - be it managing your own compliance or monitoring that of others. We’ll also give you a sneak peek into the future – with some of the exciting things on our development horizon. Over the next couple of days there are sessions on compliance enforcement, pollutant monitoring, and amongst many others, we’ll hear from NZ Petroleum & Minerals… And of course most importantly our guest speaker, Te Radar!
| A CS-VUE release || November 10. 2017 |||
Will serve as a wake-up call to naïve New Zealand media.
10 Nov 2017 - The Washington Post piece claiming that the Jacinda Ardern – led coalition is a rightwing conspiracy will have the positive effect of persuading at last the legacy media in New Zealand to cease accepting anything in the Washington Post or in its attitudinal sister the New York Times as if their observations were holy-writ.
The unquestioning devotion to these two dailies by the old media and by the New Zealand foreign service apparatus has only recently been demonstrated as a perilous path simply because it is so misleading.
It was these two dailies that persuaded, for example, and beyond any shadow of doubt the New Zealand diplomatic arm, that Hillary Clinton would win the presidential election. Several damaging and indeed foolish foreign policy thrusts were based on the prognostications of these two newspapers.
The two newspapers’ single-minded determination to signal virtue has a commercial underpinning that is quite simply not understood in New Zealand.
The Washington Post is controlled by the same people who control Amazon, the digital publishing and distribution outfit.
It’s market is in a bracket defined by well-to-do individuals in the Category A marketing sector and this requires targeting those in youth and earlier middle age---and who have what is known as “discretionary spending” capability which means they are well-to-do.
The New York Times which is shedding circulation has a similar imperative in order to attract subscribers in this category and the advertiser who need to reach them.
The New York Times was once a newspaper of record, but the controlling Sulzberger family in recent years has twisted and turned to find a circulation-building approach to this Category A bracket.
The smearing of deputy coalition leader Winston Peters, especially in term of his supposed racism, is designed so that the more Mr Peters seeks to deny it, the more in fact he becomes enmeshed in the smear.
No longer under the guidance of its long time controlling family, the Graham dynasty, the Washington Post has lost any restraint in its mercantilist move for market share.
The branding of any government or the individuals which represent it as extremists is a carefully calibrated piece of virtue signalling.
It is all the more powerful in the case of New Zealand.
This is because the Washington Post marketing directorate believe that it will be taken seriously here and thus they will achieve pick-up and bounce-back into other markets.
Contrary to a naïve yet widespread belief in New Zealand, and one especially held by the legacy media here, their counterparts in the United States have little operational understanding of who governs here, and what they represent.
The extremist smear is like the racism one in that the more the targets of the smear seek to explain themselves, the more they get caught up in the original smear.
The piece is a wake-up call to the New Zealand media and the nation’s diplomatic service.
Neither are able to comprehend the zero-sum nature of the United States media and its intense mercantilist focus which transcends the kind of fair-and-balanced reporting that remains the touchstone here.
The result is that an attention-seeking and virtue-signalling piece such as the one claiming that the new coalition is an extremist and racist one in the past anyway has succeeded in obtaining extensive and unquestioning pick up here.
| From the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. || Friday 10 November 2017 |||
10 Nov 2017 - New Zealand will pass a significant milestone in its electric vehicle revolution this month. All of New Zealand’s electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids combined will avoid emitting 1 million kilograms of greenhouse gas in November. This estimate is from Flip the Fleet, a citizen science coalition of pure and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle owners that upload data from their vehicles to a communal database each month. The project estimates the amount of greenhouse gas that a conventional vehicle of the same size and power would have emitted over the same distance as each electric vehicle travelled.
"The data just received show that, on average, each low-emission vehicle avoided emitting the equivalent of 191 kg of carbon dioxide in October" said Prof. Henrik Moller, a co-founder of Flip the Fleet. "The Ministry of Transport’s estimates that there were 5,341 electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids in New Zealand by the end of October. The electric fleet is growing at approximately 9% per month. So we reckon that from now on we’ll be saving more than a million kg of greenhouse gases each month".
"That’s a million small victories for our grandchildren" said Prof. Moller, a sustainability scientist at the University of Otago.
"At the current rate of growth of New Zealand’s electric vehicle fleet, we should eliminate 10 million kg of emissions per month by the middle of 2020".
Flip the Fleet is a citizen science project that provides scientifically reliable information on the benefits and constraints of electric vehicles in New Zealand. The project is partly funded by MBIE’s Curious Minds portfolio, through Otago Museum.
Participation is free and all New Zealand’s electric vehicle owners can enrol at www.flipthefleet.org
| A Flipthefleet release || November 9, 2017 |||
10 Nov 2017 - Foreign Minister Winston Peters says Japan’s decision to continue whaling in the Southern Ocean is out of step with international opinion and defies scientific advice. Japan’s Institute of Cetacean Research announced on 9 November that the Japanese whaling fleet had departed Japan for the Southern Ocean.
“While the world calls for greater protection of the ocean’s ecosystems, Japan’s whaling vessels will be heading to the Antarctic to hunt over 300 minke whales.
“New Zealand has long been opposed to whaling and has repeatedly urged Japan to end its whaling programmes,” Mr Peters says.
“Japan’s decision to conduct whaling in the Southern Ocean flies in the face of the clear recommendations of the International Whaling Commission, its Scientific Committee and its expert panels.”
“Put simply, Japan can achieve its stated research objectives without killing whales. This is an outdated practice and needs to stop,” Mr Peters says.
| A beehive release || November 9, 2017 |||
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
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