50 years of Manapouri Power

Posted 7th August 2019 to the Otago Daily Times Newspaper Dunedin NZ

Sept 14th 2019 will mark half a century of power production from the Manapouri Power station. 
Seems like it may pass without an event to celebrate NZs most ambitious Engineering Project.
I hope that Meridian Energy will at least re open the station to the public again.

But before health and safety halted public interaction meridian was putting together a display of historic equipment in an audit tunnel
That is now under a cloud.
 
To this day no museum has been attempted to showcase the life and times of the people that toiled to build this epic project.
Some of us have tried to keep artefacts for that event but sometimes it feels like its all in vein.

Perhaps there is too much sadness involved with the reckless, needless environmental damage that was narrowly avoided and the painful loss of a NZ Taxpayers money
selling their assets without consultation that wasn’t.

Either way it’s sad the people of Fiordland who are forgotten. 

Maternity Leave Tourism - Germany 2020

Posted 23rd February 2020 to the Otago Daily Times Newspaper Dunedin New Zealand

I find this year a lot more German couples are traveling with babies than before Its nice to see that the country that invented the protestant work ethic really sees the benefits of giving its people a lot of leisure time unlike the poor saps in this country who are driven to burn out by punitive working conditions. It is however not clear why young Germans want to drag crying babies half way around the world to see a country they will never remember. Considering they are well aware and mindful of the environmental damage jet travel causes one has to wonder what is going on. It is also odd how people want to have a long distance holiday when a global pandemic is brewing.
Still, Hats off the a country that takes recreation of its citizens seriously, we could learn something from them.

Tourism Crunch - New Zealand 2020

Posted  15th February 2020 to the Otago Daily Times Newspaper Dunedin N.Z

Apart from the Corona virus effecting our Asian Visitors and Crayfish Exports, the Rivers in the Sky event has changed Tourism in Fiordland drastically this month with many displaced seasonal tourism workers looking for support to live in our high rent resorts and I would like to take a moment to thank those people who are looking out for them.
Also my hat goes off to our promotional agents who try to keep local spirits up with  Keep Calm and Carry On determination.
Sadly this season is not going to function normally till the repairs are done and even then the pattern For Heavy Passenger Vehicles only might be the new normal on the Milford Road. Doubtful Sound has not been future proofed thanks to a decision last century and currently has a 4 to 5 day backlog an allegedly priority goes to Queenstown.
News is now adventuresome tourists are starting to seek out the secret places on Fiordland's Eastern Boundary by car so that may prove interesting especially for the spectacular Borland Saddle Area.
We look forward to next season where Climate Action will be the hot topic. 

The Wounds of Racism USA

Posted 3rd August 2019 to the Otago Daily Times Newspaper Dunedin NZ.

Observing the right wing in the USA picking at the scabs of racism that the country has been try hard to heal seems as maddening as watching a pet chewing at stitches .
It is the seals I feel sorry for not the performing marine animals but the elite navy commandos,  when their terminally racist commander in chief publicly throws presidential weight against
the men who tried to stop one of their own who has clearly lost his mind with hate. If this is not a call for racial violence It is certainly a green light.

I worry that America’s Manifest Destiny is rearing its ugly head again, It must be said  It is a destiny based on stealing mostly against people who can’t fight back.
So if you have a nation that is a pyramid of torment and theft where will it end. It’s not just people of colour who suffer but woman, children, but white voters, the sick and clearly everyone in the future.
History shows racism is toxic and inhuman but it is good for business... In a billionaire gangster’s paradise... 

NZ Wetland Experience - ES

Posted 26th May 2019 to the Otago Daily Times Newspaper Dunedin NZ

It seems kind of sad that the guys at Environment Southland are upset that the Manapouri – Te Anau Cycle Trail went too close to a wetland area out side the town of Manapouri.

I seem to recall environmentalist Sir Alan Mark saying it would be a good thing for the public to have access to some wetlands as a good public relations gesture.
The Trails Trust could easily construct access to the nearby legendary Kepler Mire (Lord of the Rings Location) something Professor Mark once mooted for scientific reasons.

I doubt the Trails Trust would want to have anything to do with that now, one would think Environment Southland would desire such a public gestures but alas not.

Perhaps ES might at least consider some PR at the Save Manapouri Rock at the Manapouri end of the Cycle Trail as that would be a perfect have a water fountain to celebrate our Pure Fiordland Water.

If they are not keen on us celebrating our geographic features they ARE big on water.

Just FYI the guy who gave the first donation to get the Fiordland Trails Trust underway was also the guy who helped Gaylord Nelson get the first Earth Day Started...

Something the Minister of Conservation might consider in the upgrade of the National Park Plan.

United States of the World ?

Posted 22nd May 2019 to the Otago Daily Times Newspaper Dunedin Otago NZ

The ghost of the late engineer Osama Bin Laden will be feeling happy seeing his handiwork play out
Using the USA’s military weight and size to break it’s back.  He set up a chain of events that have morphed
into his design.

As we speak the USA has two massive new wars on the books all ready to launch into plus all the ones still burning since
The events September 11th 2001  which will strain the US Military to it’s limits.
And at the same time facing potential turmoil at home and from the planet itself...

Strangely there is only one US Presidential candidate running on a anti war ticket Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii.
And she is not getting a lot of oxygen even from the liberals.

President Trump says he is “anti war” but he might be replaced soon and any replacement will come from a game of thrones cabinet.

Who would have thought that being a genius world leader would be so complicated!

Dunedin NZ Harbour Development

Posted 15th May 2019 to the Otago Daily Times Newspaper Dunedin NZ

 I think it’s great that Dunedin wants to smarten up the water front something I have written in for decades 
But how is the threat of rising sea levels going to be factored in? Also the displacement of residents and jobs BTW What is Dunedin doing about low carbon technologies?
 I still think Dunedin’s heritage is its strong point and it is a great waste not to embrace all the creativity of the 19th Century that the City Builders left us.
As for the Harbour the best thing to do is try to turn it’s industrial shores back to nature even if it means having to recreate natures hand with technology.
If you need a Waterfront Hotel Recycle a Cruise Ship or two because if things go bad, they float!  Remember reusing and re purposing is the best way to slow damage to the environment.  

Democracy in the Doldrums 2019

Posted 7th April 2019 to the Otago Daily Times Newspaper Dunedin NZ

History looks back at previous attempts to forge empires out of peoples of different cultures with different perspectives and ways of living with he lure of protection and progress  where eventually every one becomes big happy supportive family.
Sadly after a few years of bad management progressive Ideas are squashed and micromanagement of citizens kicks in and the empire gets unstuck then dog eat dog corruption sets in as the end gets closer.

Has anyone checked on our own progress? I wonder when I hear kiwi voters saying they vote for the party that gives them the most, has our education system not taught them civics ? 

Money Buys Loyalty Not Ability In Politics

Posted 31st March 2019 to the Otago Daily Times Newspaper Dunedin NZ

Some American journalists are saying the Anglo American world has reached peak stupid..
It seems that opening the tap to big money in politics has bought us all a terrible problem, the problem of you can buy loyalty or you can buy competence but you cant buy both!

The fact is politicians need REAL skills especially to cope with un expected change the skill to raise money from rich donors is of very little use in the world of rational thought.

The Anglo American political world on both sides of the Atlantic has become fat and lazy. It is so bad that a 20 something  waitress from the Bronx with no political training is running rings around them all.

It is common conversation in the UK, if you randomly pick a person off the street they would have far more ability, flexibility and common sense then any random Tory MP out of Westminster.

Seriously, if you where paying for these people to run you might want a refund ! 

Terror in the Anthropocene NZ

Posted 20th March 2019 to the Otago Daily Times Newspaper Dunedin NZ

It is tough to look at the Christchurch Terror Attack through the prism of reason one can go down a rabbit hole of many convergent truly terrible mistakes.

One way of seeing where we are at it that our society is adapting to the Anthropocene Era we now live in, we don’t like it and we want to fight it in some form or other. At the moment our most powerful Leaders are fighting it with every thing they got including fear, lies and violence to keep their Diaspora from becoming irrelevant in this new age.

This is not new for humanity but now we do not have the benefit of geographical isolation we once did.
I am afraid reason says we will have to learn from the third world and just work around it and hope for better leaders.

Also get the CIA and FBI a budget again for monitoring ALL bad guys not just politically selected ones !

Maybe feeling some remorse about drone strikes would be nice to show we are not monsters.

Federated Mountain Club & the D.O.C

Posted 30th January 2019 to the Otago Daily Times Newspaper Dunedin NZ.

Peter Wilson’s response to the over enthusiasm about Mount Titiroa in Fiordland National Park
exposed the problem with the Heath Robinson way the Department of Conservation has been set up.
The lack of local decision making is dreadful especially for local staff, common sense has flown out the window
and the whole consultation process has tied itself in knots. Quite frankly it is a neglected tangled system that need a razor gang to cut through it all just to get to basic transparency.

There are no figures on the actual numbers of Visitors to Mount Titiroa. Local guiding agents say the numbers are minimal especially if you compare them to landings on Mount Tutoko near Milford Sound.

Something else is at play here and we are all being kept in the dark as usual. 

Fiordland Heli-Hikes Ban 2019

Posted 19th  January 2019 to the Otago Daily Times Newspaper  Dunedin NZ

Your recent article on the banning of Heli Hiking on Manapouri’s Amazing Mount Titiroa is a bit concerning.
I love the federated Mountain Club but some how they found a loop hole in the structure of the Department of Conservation that allows them to kick other types of user out of the people’s estate who are not fit young things with lots of time to kill.

When we battle the Department over the right to cycle in National Parks they say clubs like the FMC put in the submission that no bikes should ever be allowed and it takes a political event to change such as a national park review.

Now the FMC also wish to limit tourists from seeing Mount Titiroa.
It may transpire that the FMC also stopped the Department from marking safe tracks up Mount Titiroa
Or upgrading huts which have either been destroyed, or in the case of North Borland, a glorified 2 man garden shed and even restricting local guiding, but that’s another story.

I think day users should have some rights in our parks even though they have not formed a voting block especially on a unique mountain that is only 8 mins flying from our airport that would otherwise take 3 days tramping and a load of logistics.

Governing Without Faith - USA

Posted 10th Jan 2019 to the Otago Daily Times Newspaper Dunedin NZ

How is it that the United States had all the luck and power in the world for the last one hundred years and is now in a perpetual state of crisis ?  I think it’s due to a stubborn faith that it’s democratic process is God Like.
Ask any rational person if an election so corrupted as the US 2016 presidential Election should be valid and the answer is a definite no, however in the USA only the very bravest commentators say they need to run the 2016 election over again from it’s primaries knowing what we all know now.

Seriously, no faith should be this strong that this kind on madness can be left to run wild because of precedent.
The grave crisis that faces the USA is not on it’s boarders but inside them. This administration strikes at the very roots of law and order to keep it’s tentative grip on legitimacy alive.

If that is not a uber crisis than we all need new dictionaries.

As for the Government shutdown show me one billionaire stepping up to pay to keep the county that sustains them...
Not so much as a single Buffet. 

 

Last Chance for the Kingston Flyer Train

Posted 27th Dec 2018 to the Otago Daily Times News Paper Dunedin NZ.

I have followed the fortunes of the Kingston Flyer Train since It was dreamed up in the 1970s
I really hope the newest effort gets a break and goes some where, but since the government abandoned the project it has been cursed and time is now at the 11th hour.

The only really hope is if there new people can get the government to make the train a National Monument and give it some high level TLC.  The Idea that our fragile private enterprise sector can take on what is essentially a government project is flawed and leans heavily on donations and volunteer workers. Still if you can round up enough caring, generous Queenstown residents who are also Railway History Buffs I take my hat off to you for your almost wizard-like skills with human resources . 

Where is Tourism Going in New Zealand ?

Posted 18th December 2018 to the Otago Daily Times Newspaper Dunedin NZ

So when Trump is gone and Brexit is over the Anglo American world will have to regroup and reconfigure to a world that is no longer infinite in opportunities especially for environmental abuse. So NZ should prepare for a shift in tourism.
In the past we where known for preserving the past for economic reasons  and this could pay off in the future as being  place where people can romantically engage the past.  Dunedin is set up well to take advantage of this kind of thing.

At the Moment Air Travel way way cheaper than it should be so this mass scale out of control break neck tourism is going to have to go.  But we will see the return of old school low volume cultural tourism and The Dunedin Cable Car System Restoration and places like Cargill’s Castle and High Street Mornington will pay dividend to the community if preserved  especially if the government is throwing money around at Ideas.

Bad Leadership = Youth Despair

Posted 18th November 2018 to the Otago Daily Times Newspaper Dunedin NZ

A current topic in the academic circles is something that has become apparent with the convulsions in US politics.
Young people are thinking climate change means the end of civilisation and there is nothing that can be done Just like with gun violence they can’t count on a the older generations to save them.
Yes thanks to modern medicine the life span of our older generations has meant they are hanging around in large numbers with their 20th century political agendas.

The big paradox with climate science is how to frame it to the public. There has been a debate as to try and scare people, which could backfire on an already stressed population or try and tell people not to stress because it’s not that bad but we need to act now... and then make people complacent.

What is apparent The older people who are benefiting from the status quo are trending towards taking the easy road of running out the clock.
And the young  are feeling all the weight of responsibility has been dropped on them by both sides of the political arena.

All the smoke and mirrors from the Trump Media Show is not helping, nor is the endless talk of compromise from the Old School Democrats.

There is no compromise in saving humanity  unless you want to go out counting money like there is no tomorrow. Or you have lived your allotted lifespan! 

 

The Up Side of Taxation

Posted 10th November 2018 to the Otago Daily Times Newspaper Dunedin NZ

Dear ODT opinion:

Your Journalists should write more about this:
Most people hear the word TAX and it makes them squirm or fly into a rage
but when the Ancient Greeks first invented it they found it was the perfect tool for building a civilisation
not only was it a glue to hold large diverse groups of people together but it sparked democracy, built infrastructure, maintained law and order and encouraged enlightenment and creativity.

I am not saying that powerful people who refuse to pay tax to insure us all against the blows of the natural world are wicked but I think they are blinded by ignorance of how we all interact bonded together by this ancient social contract.

One sure fire indicator of a corrupt or inept society is where paying ones tax feels unpleasant .

In a well oiled society it’s like paradise. Everyone trusts and looks after each other all powered by tax.

And in that case you can honestly say money CAN buy you happiness, your tax is the ultimate life insurance! 

Aulis Alen view from Manapouri NZ

Posted 24th October 2018 to the Otago Daily Times Newspaper NZ

On Oct 19th Aulis Alen got to the heat of the meat that is all the World’s Problems in you public opinion:
POPULATION. All the world’s media beating their chest as are all the politicians and none of them can seem to hit the target.
It really is all about humans in Aulis’s case he is very concerned with unwanted humans but I am more concerned with
stupid ones especially in the west where we have cocooned ourselves in a digital Illusion both literally and figuratively.

There really are too many stupid and destructive people eroding the fabric of civilisation and not enough heroes to keep them under control. Our Governments try desperately to legislate against idiots but we all end up suffering from pointless insulting rules and stupid taxes.  

The sad thing about overpopulation is nobody asks to be born yet stupidity dictates that we believe punishing unwanted people is the way to fix everything because reality is just too darn intellectual.
Truth is  life is real and money is ethereal meaning authority bought with money is no real authority over life.

Crazy rich people are made out of the same dust as everyone else, they are not magical, also they didn’t get any say about being brought into existence either so technically we can’t blame them for us seeding them power over all human life.

This can all be fixed just don’t wait too long as time is running out.

And don’t be stupid. Stay Real. 

Saudi's Trump America

Posted 19th October 2018 to the Otago Daily Times

    

President Donald Trump aka #45 must really want to get on the wrong side of the Republican Party
With the Jamal Khashoggi case.

It’s one thing to make the USA kiss up to Putin but to Muslims wearing Arabian Garb ??
That’s really going to stick in their craw.

Is Trump trying to get the boot? Is he wanting out ? Will he defect to North Korea ?
What a crazy show this is!  What is his big ending I wonder?

Who writes this reality bending saga?  it’s almost it’s own industry now! 

Published 23 Oct 

Fundamentalist Saudi Fingerprints

Posted 16th October 2018 to the Otago Daily Times Dunedin NZ

I had an interesting conversation with a visiting British Diplomat some years ago about the Middle East
There was a concern about all the Saudi Oil Money and where it goes to and what influence it has on the world.

Since then we have seen that their export brand of religious anti female humiliation and general cruelty seems to follow that money... A lot of it has seeped into the USA and their morality fingerprints can be found on the throats of some very high officials of the right wing persuasion.

The current situation is interesting with President Donald threatening the Saudis with retribution if they are found to be killing important US Journalists willy nilly... No doubt here will be people closely watching to see who gets flushed of of the Washington bushes so to speak as the Saudi Government ramps up their anti US counter threats.