Transpower yesterday got permission to build 185km of power lines from the Waikato River at Whakamaru near Lake Taupo, to Auckland. The lines will cross about 300 properties, mostly farms. Farmers have been protesting to stop these power lines for ma...
Today, the Geographic Board decided that the town of Wanganui should be spelt with an h: Whanganui. This will make it the same as the river which flows through the town. The port is on the mouth of the river. The town is on the west coast of the Nort...
There is a new law coming in that bans the use of hand-held cell phones while driving. From November 1st, drivers caught using a hand-held cell phone will be fined $80 and will get 20 demerit points. Licences are lost at 100 demerit points. According...
The Labour Party, at their annual conference last weekend, said that they will discuss a capital gains tax. Many countries have a capital gains tax so if you buy a house then sell it at a profit, you pay tax on the profit. Some people buy houses as a...
On Thursday, the Party General Secretary of Vietnam, Nong Duc Manh, visited New Zealand to have talks with our Prime Minister. Mr Manh thanked New Zealand for the support that our country has given, especially in education and training. New Zealand h...
New Zealand has had MMP voting for our Members of Parliament for the last 16 years. MMP means Mixed Member Proportional. The system we had before MMP was called First Past the Post, like horse racing, where the winner was the one with the most votes....
Today, Western Samoa changed from driving on the right hand side of the road to the left hand side, just like New Zealand. American Samoa will continue to drive on the right hand side just like the USA. However, all the other Pacific Islands drive on...
Dairy farmers have voted not to allow Fonterra to list shares on the sharemarket. Fonterra is owned by dairy farmers in a co-operative. The company controls 92% of all the milk produced in New Zealand. The Fonterra Board needs more money to expand th...
Whitebait is the name we give to four different kinds of very small native fish. The most common whitebait is called inanga in Maori. It is only about 5 or 6 cm long so you need quite a lot to make a meal. However, it is hard to catch and expensive t...
Dairy farmers are having a tough time during the recession because of the high Kiwi dollar. Last year, the dairy company Fonterra paid farmers more than $7 for a kilo of milk solids. This year they will probably get $5.20. They will know next month h...
