It was the final day of my 10 days in the Lakes District and I had had such a great time. Apart from just the company of friends, I’d seen Milford Sound, walked about Lake Hayes, explored Arrowtown, seen in the New Year from the Earnslaw, walked to the base of the Rob Roy Glacier, kayaked to one island, done some wine tastings and swum in an island lake at the top of another island.

All I had left to do on Tuesday was get to Christchurch. Then I got a text from Bill D saying “Are you still in Wanaka? Would you fancy a heli flight around the Wanaka basin this morning and maybe drop into Tarras for breakfast?”

This is not one of those questions you need to spend a long time thinking about. A quick negotiation saw my departure time delayed and Tea Party Girl and I headed out to Wanaka Airport very very excited.

The chopper has room for five including the pilot. It was so smooth that even when flying at pretty high speeds, you hardly noticed it inside.

Going up anywhere in a helicopter can be an amazing experience. But to do it around the Wanaka basin was extraordinary. The sights are legion, and from high up you see the entire basin, while lower down at 100 metres or so you get some great aerial views of activity below.

This is Ruby Island, where we kayayed to for a picnic lunch.

Some of Lake Wanaka.

And Mou Wahu Island, where the lake or pool we swam in is visible.

Another shot from the air.

And a great view shot by TPG.

After around 45 minutes in the air we landed. It was the perfect ending to a great 11 days in the Lakes District. An incredibly generous and appreciated offer from Bill. An experience hard to beat.

We then had a five hour drive to Christchurch. As one can see, the car was slightly weighed down by no less than three bikes and a kayak!

Lake Pukaki with Aoraki Mt Cook in the background. I’d almost forgotten how magnificent it is to drive through Central Otago. At almost every stage you have either valleys or mountains or lakes or all three. Just stunning scenery. I think I may do an RV holiday around the South Island in 2014. It would be great to be able to just stop for the night at so many of these incredible locations.

The Herald reports:

Will he admit to doping? That’s the big question being ahead of Lance Armstrong’s pre-recorded interview with Oprah Winfrey which is set to air in the United States next week.

The talk show diva’s network claims no question will be off-limits when the disgraced cyclist sits down for his first interview since being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles.

Others are not so sure.

“Armstrong has no editorial control and no question is off-limits,” Nicole Nichols of Winfrey’s OWN cable TV network told AFP in an email, adding Armstrong is getting no payment for the interview.

Nichols also said the 90-minute interview at Armstrong’s home in Austin, Texas – to be aired on January 17 on the OWN network and online worldwide – “is not live”.

Former cyclist David Millar, a member of the athletes commission for the World Anti-Doping Agency, however expects it will be “completely stage-managed”.

Of course. He will break down in tears and talk of how everyone was doing it. How at first he won his titles without drugs, but then realized the only way he could compete was to join the others who forced him into it.

It remains to be seen if Oprah will be a “sympathetic” interviewer or if she turns on him like she did with James Frey. Armstrong has arguably lied for longer and to more people than Frey did.

Deidre Mussen at Stuff reports:

John Key wrote to Solid Energy before Christmas saying a new expert panel was being set up to advise the Government on the feasibility of body recovery at the underground West Coast mine.

The men died after an explosion at the mine in November 2010.

Key had reiterated to Pike families at a meeting in Greymouth last month the Government was unlikely to fund body recovery because his experts said it was too dangerous and expensive.

However, he admitted the families were frustrated by his stance because their experts were more optimistic about it.

As a result, a panel of mining experts from diverse backgrounds, including from Solid Energy, Mines Rescue Trust, Pike families and the Government’s High Hazards Unit, would be brought together to try to get a consensus on whether it was possible plus its risks and costs.

Key wrote that he was “very keen for the families to have closure one way or another as soon as reasonably possible”.

He also confirmed the Government would pay for all out-of-pocket costs to explore the mine’s 2.3 kilometre tunnel, where some bodies might remain, if a viable plan was developed that the Government’s High Hazards Unit backed.

It included paying for the families’ international mining experts to return to New Zealand to meet other experts to develop a tunnel exploration plan.

Pike families were “ecstatic” with the prime minister’s offer.

“Certainly it’s a turnaround in that he is finally listening to us instead of sticking to his expert’s advice,” said Bernie Monk, who lost his son Michael, 23, in the fatal explosion.

I think the issue has been different experts have said different things. Paying to get them all together in one room, and seeing if they can agree on what can be safely done is a good thing.

Also useful to clarify that costs will be met by the Government in any tunnel exploration, even if not a full reclamation.

Pohutukawa Flowers, Near Paihia, Bay of Islands. New Zealand landscape photography by Sarah Sisson.

Happy New Year & welcome to the inaugural 2013 Wednesday Wallpaper!

Sorry for the unannounced Hiatus over the past three weeks – we were swamped at work leading into Christmas.

I thought we would kick off with a nice summery image that Sarah made during our December trip to the Bay of Islands.  We enjoyed our Northern travels so much that we have decided to return for the bulk of January – hopefully we see plenty of this kind of weather…..

Free Wallpaper Download

You may download the large version of today’s image from this link:  Password = freewallpaper

Also available as a premium canvas print at sisson.co.nz

See you next week!

Cheers – Todd

[www.sisson.co.nz] 

news.com.au reports:

Monday remains the hottest day since records began with an average maximum temperature across Australia of 40.33 degrees, beating the previous record of 40.17 degrees set in 1972, the Bureau of Meteorology’s David Jones told AAP.

And in one place:

The hottest place was Oodnadatta in South Australia 48.2 degree but temperatures well into the 40s were also recorded in South Australia, Western Australia, NSW and Queensland.

And at Bondi Beach, it was still 35 degrees at midnight, leading many to a midnight swim.

I like temperatures in the high 20s. I find that great. Low 30s can be okay but high 30s and even 40s is just plain nasty unless you are in water!

TVNZ have announced:

TVNZ has announced that Ali Mau , Greg Boyed , and Jesse Mulligan will host TV ONE’s new 7pm show, Seven Sharp.

I’m a big fan of Ali Mau’s work, and Greg Boyed has been solid on Q+A.

I love 7 Days and enjoy Jesse Mulligan on there. I understand the strategy has been for Seven Sharp to be more chatty and light hearted, and hence why they have gone for someone best known as a comedian. But Mulligan is also a well known left-winger (he has been a panelist for Locally Left) who has taken part in fund-raisers for the Labour Party. It is hard to imagine that his natural sympathy for Labour is not going to colour his comments on air. Can you be seen as neutral on the Leader of the Opposition when you have done fundraisers for him and endorsed him as “brilliant”?

This show is a replacement for Close Up. Would it have been acceptable for Susan Wood or Mark Sainsbury to do fundraisers for the National Party? Would John Campbell do fundraisers for the Greens? And we’re not talking years ago, but just four months ago.

Nothing personal against Jesse, who I am sure will try his best not to let his support for Labour affect his on air comments. I certainly am not advocating that those with political leanings should not be on the air. I’ve sometimes been a panelist on TV and radio. And I try to be fair with my comments when I am on air. However of course my overall worldview influences my comments. And there is a huge difference between being an occasional panelist and being employed by state broadcaster TVNZ as a daily host and journalist.

So it will be very interesting to see how Seven Sharp goes. I hope it succeeds in that I think we need more  current affairs on television, and I’m all for a bit of humour mixed in with that. Politics is often best viewed with a sense of humour. But I do hope it is fair and balanced.

I was astonished when in Wanaka to see a newspaper insert promoting the 2013 Buskers Festival in Christchurch, that it was sponsored by SCIRT, who got naming rights to it.

SCIRT is the Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team. I got briefed on their work earlier this year, and they seem to be doing a fine job. They are a fairly novel PPP involving five private firms (Downers, Fletchers, City Care, Fulton Hogan and McConnell Dowell) and three government entities (CCC, NZTA and CERA).

I think it is quite inappropriate for SCIRT to be sponsoring a festival and getting naming rights for it. It’s job is to repair the roads, the sewers, the infrastructure etc. Not to promote their brand.

If the five private companies involved in SCIRT want to sponsor a festival, then that is great and they should do so. But I don’t see it as as appropriate that SCIRt itself is sponsoring, let alone having the festival naming rights.

I’m not against either local or central govt making a contribution either, but that should be through MED or the CCC if they believe there is an economic payoff to such a contribution.

As I said, I think SCIRT seem to be doing a good job. but they should focus 100% on infrastructure and not be worrying about sponsorship, brand, or economic development. Stick to your knitting.

Reuters reports at Stuff:

The Communist Party chief of Guangdong province has reportedly stepped in to mediate a standoff over censorship at a Chinese newspaper, in a potentially encouraging sign for press freedoms in China.

A source close to the Guangdong Communist Party Committee said Hu Chunhua, a rising political star in China who just took over leadership of Guangdong province last month, had offered a solution to the dispute that led to some staff at the Southern Weekly going on strike.

The drama began late last week when reporters at the liberal paper accused censors of replacing a New Year letter to readers that called for a constitutional government with another piece lauding the party’s achievements.

Under Hu’s deal, the source said, newspaper workers would end their strike and return to work, the paper would print as normal this week, and most staff would not face punishment. “Guangdong’s Hu personally stepped in to resolve this,” the source said.

“He gets personal image points by showing that he has guts and the ability to resolve complex situations. In addition, the signal that he projects through this is one of relative openness, it’s a signal of a leader who is relatively steady.”

The standoff at the Southern Weekly, long seen as a beacon of independent and in-depth reporting in China’s highly controlled media landscape, has led to demands for the country’s new leadership to grant greater media freedoms.

China will never be a democracy as we have them in Europe and down under. Change will be evolutionary, not revolutionary. But it has been moving in the right direction for most of the last couple of decades and may end up with a Singapore system of governance one day – semi-democratic.

Stuff reports:

Labour MP Jacinda Ardern said there was a fine line between being overzealous and exercising caution.

She wanted a government body to investigate how a mental health patient managed to walk along a 192-metre-high Sky Tower platform over the weekend.

“I think the appropriate response should still involve a government department taking an interest because adventure tourism, and tourism generally, is so important to the New Zealand economy.”

I’m sorry but what nonsense. The Sky Tower near-suicide is in a totally different category to the ballooning tragedy where there was a failure on the part of operators.

The man involved was a customer and removed his harness and threatened to jump. To paint this as a safety issue is ridiculous. It is a mental health issue. Calling for an inquiry is scraping the bottom of the barrel.

The Herald editorial also goes down this path:

SkyCity and the company that runs the SkyWalk adventure on its tower have said very little since the incident on Saturday when a disturbed man paced the platform for five hours threatening to jump. There is not much anybody can say for the organisation that allowed this to happen.

The company’s director said it was reviewing its systems to see “whether there can be any improvements made to our systems to prevent such an incident from occurring in the future”. There had better be improvements. The organisers must find a foolproof solution if the platform is to be reopened for these attractions.

That should not be hard.

Nobody should be able to get outside the tower for the SkyWalk or the controlled SkyJump unless they are in a safety harness they cannot remove. There is no conceivable sensible need for customers to be able to release themselves from the harness once they are on the narrow platform 192m above the street.

The precautions seem so obvious they might have been assumed to be in force.

I’m sorry, but again this is raving bonkers. The Herald is saying that people should be padlocked into a safety harness? Why not handcuff them so they can’t try and remove it? Or use straitjackets?

By this logic, we should ban pedestrians from bridges, in case a mentally ill person tries to jump from one.

And all office buildings over one story in height must have windows which are unable to be opened in case anyone tries to get out of one.

There’s been a lot of stories about firms in Christchurch having problems finding employees. One in The Press today is:

Christchurch baker Diane McPherson has had an “absolute nightmare” trying to find staff for the past four months.

One applicant turned up for an interview in pyjama pants, another was texting during the interview and another flicked her tongue piercing in and out of her mouth and indicated she was not prepared to remove it during work hours.

McPherson, who owns the Brumby’s Bakery and Wendy’s Supa Sundaes stores at the Hub in Hornby, said many others did not return messages inviting them for an interview, or, having been offered a job, failed to turn up for work.

How many people in Christchurch are on the unemployment benefit or another work tested benefit?

One applicant for a job at Wendy’s Supa Sundaes decided he did not want the job because he did not want to mop the floors, and another did not want to have to wash dishes. A 22-year-old applicant for a job at Brumby’s Bakery arrived wearing a T-shirt, flannelette pyjama pants and socks, but no shoes.

Obviously trying hard to get a job.

McPherson approached the Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology to see whether any recent graduates were interested, but “not one of them put their hand up”.

The jobs McPherson is advertising all pay $14 an hour or more, with the bakery job starting at $20 an hour.

“I’ve had a couple of guys tell me, ‘Oh, it’s easier on the dole but we’ve got to be seen to be applying for work’,” she said.

And remember some parties want to increase the level of benefits, reducing the incentive to work even more.

McPherson has placed advertisements saying applicants could say when they wanted to work, but has still not found staff.

“There’s a whole different attitude to working. It’s all about themselves and if it doesn’t fit in with what they want to do, they don’t want to do it,” she said.

McPherson is now looking to advertise overseas.

If anyone is on a work-tested benefit in Christchurch for more than say a few months, then there is something wrong.

Ben Heather at Stuff reports:

Hundreds of people are locked up for petty drug offences every year – many for crimes our top legal body says should not exist.

Justice Ministry figures show a significant amount of court time is taken up by minor drug cases, with nearly as many people imprisoned for possessing a small quantity of cannabis as for dealing.

Among these offenders are hundreds imprisoned for possessing a pipe or a needle, an offence the Law Commission recommended legalising last year.

I wonder if those imprisoned for possession of a pipe or needle only convicted for that offence?

The figures also show fewer than one in three minor drug offenders is offered diversion, allowing them to avoid a criminal record.

How many were eligible for diversion? It is only available for first time offenders.

In the past six years, possession of small amounts of cannabis or smoking utensils, such as a pipe, made up about half of all drug charges laid by police.

While most offenders received a fine or community work, more than 2800 were imprisoned on minor drug offences.

These included possession of needles, pipes, and small amounts of cannabis or methamphetamine.

I note that proportions going to prison were:

• Cannabis possession 6.8%
• Cannabis utensil 9.7%
• P possession 22.4%
• P utensil 19.8%

Rather than dealing with people through the criminal justice system, the Government could introduce a mandatory cautioning scheme, he said.

“For a drug like cannabis you could get three cautions before being diverted to a treatment programme. We are not talking about decriminalising or legalising, it’s about a more pragmatic way to get help for people that need it.”

However, Ms Collins said the justice system was the right place for all drug offenders.

“The Government relies on enforcement agencies such as police to make appropriate decisions on how to charge someone for their offending, and the judiciary to make appropriate sentencing decisions based on the circumstances of individual cases.”

Personally I think the Law Commission proposal of a mandatory cautioning scheme is a sensible initiative, and would like to see it implemented. And I am not sure that the justice system is the right place for all drug offenders.

On Monday we headed to Bannockburn, near Cromwell, where we spent the afternoon wine tasting. First stop was Terra Sancta, where former NZX boss Mark Weldon gave us a very knowledgeable rundown on the various grape areas, soil minerals and blends. Sadly as my suitcase was already full, I could only buy a couple of bottles of their lovely Mysterious Diggings Late Harvest Gewurtztraminer. Was also very taken by the Terra Sancta Estate Slapjack Block Riesling, which is unusual for me as I am not normally a Riesling person.

You can actually do a walk through parts of the vineyard.

After lunch we also went to Mt Difficulty and Felton Road. Mt Difficulty also had some great wines. Didn’t get excited over anything at Felton Road, but by then had tried well over a dozen so might just have been a tired palate.

We did lunch at Bannockburn Hotel. It was decent pub food, and pleasant service.

I must mention the appalling service at the (otherwise lovely) Cardrona Pub. We did dinner there on Sunday, and after drinking outside, moved to the restaurant area for dining. The others ordered a bottle of wine which was served up. As I was driving I was on soft drinks, so asked for a diet coke. The waitress said that I should go and queue at the bar to get one. Hugely unimpressed.

My last night in Wanaka was last night. Have been very fortunate with the weather – almost non-stop sun. It is a minor miracle I have not become a lobster.

Adam Bennett at NZ Herald reports:

Speaking to the Herald about economic development prospects that he believes will drive growth and job creation, Joyce said there were significant opportunities in forestry and wood processing.

While the opportunities to add value to the logs produced here rather than simply exporting unprocessed timber had been talked about for years, Joyce said Chinese interest in the industry made the prospect more likely.

The topic had been discussed during the recent visit by senior Chinese politician Liu Yandong.

“Their view is they have to do something about their electricity consumption so they’re looking to offshore effectively some of the processing cost of some of their industries. So they’re looking and saying well, maybe we should invest.

“New Zealand has renewable energy, maybe we should invest there. If it’s competitive it also reduces the amount of stuff we’re bringing into China.”

Sounds excellent. No doubt the xenophobes will oppose anything to do with China.

Joyce believes New Zealanders now “are pretty awake and pretty realistic” about economic development opportunities. That, he says, could prove an increasing problem for Labour and the Greens. “For a start the Labour Party is now scared of its shadow when it comes to oil and gas – it doesn’t know what to say. A year ago they were bashing the hell out of us for it. The Labour Party is embarrassed by the Greens always turning stuff down.”

Joyce says polls suggest public attitudes to development opportunities have moved so far in the past two years that a Labour and Greens coalition that continues to oppose them as strongly as they have will find itself offside with a significant proportion of voters at the next election.

“The punters will turn around in 2014 and say, we’re not that interested because you guys are actually anti-jobs.”

Can anyone name a commercial development opportunity they have not opposed?

The Herald editorial:

The industry guidelines are not, of course, a legal requirement. That, in itself, may be reinforcing a cavalier attitude. Coroners, in voicing their safety concerns, have suggested the likes of full or partial roll bars and laps belts, as well as making the guidelines a matter of legal compulsion. The practicality and impact of roll bars have been disputed by farmers. They may have a point, but the circumstances of the Hawkes Bay accident reinforce the case for the compulsory use of safety helmets and preventing those under 15 from riding them.

Ashlee Petrowski’s plight should prompt the Government to investigate whether the industry guidelines should become mandatory. Such an intrusive step should not be taken lightly. Quad bikes are a vital tool on farms. But accidents will continue as long as there is a lax attitude towards safety. Last year’s toll indicates that education programmes have not been a total success in altering attitudes and dangerous practices.

Recklessness remains a concern. So, too, does the impact of stress and fatigue from working long hours, which the police have identified as a cause of some quad-bike crashes. Whatever the reason, there seems, increasingly, to be little reason for rural areas to be exempt from urban safety standards.

Applying the rules of the road, to private land is a huge intrusion. And as awful as the injuries are to young Ashlee, I’m sorry but can you just imagine farmers being forced to drive around their own properties wearing helmets. Will never ever happen!

The Herald reports:

Sea Shepherd’s launching a massive campaign against Japanese whalers in the waters around Antarctica.

Four vessels with 150 crew members are on their way there for the summer – the biggest team the anti-whaling organisation has ever sent.

Captain of the Steve Irwin, Paul Watson, said their efforts are working.

“Last year they only took 26 per cent, the year before that only 17 per cent. We’ve cost them tens of millions of dollars and we’re right on the threshold of breaking them financially so we have to keep the pressure on.”

Mr Watson said the Japanese have four ships too, so he is confident they can match them.

I don’t like the Japanese whalers. I don’t like what is commercial whaling under the guise of scientific research.

But I don’t like Sea Shepherd even more. They have a long and extensive record of violence, and as Pete Bethune found out they are pathological liars – or at least Watson is.

Jason Hart at Red State writes:

Dennis Van Roekel was paid $389,620 in fiscal year 2012 as president of the National Education Association (NEA), America’s largest labor union. Van Roekel was one of 14 NEA bosses paid more than $250,000 with dues taken from teachers in Ohio and other forced-unionism states as a condition of employment.

Incredible. Compulsory unionism in the US. We are somewhat better here, but not entirely. You can’t get a collective contract unless you join a union, and in the public sector, public servants are often effectively paid by taxpayers to join a union.

As current union contracts expire, Michigan’s new workplace freedom law will make Michigan the 24th state to protect the right of educators to choose whether they contribute to the following NEA paychecks.

24 states done, 26 to go!

We’d heard about Mou Waho Island, as it has a lake within the island which has islands within that lake. Or to put it more clearly there is an island in a lake (Arethusa Pool)  in an island (Mou Waho) in a lake (Wanaka) in an island (South Island) in the ocean!

It is around 20 kms from Wanaka, which is far too far to kayak. You can do guided tours but they costs $150 to $200 a head. We just arranged a boat trip out and back for $400 in total which worked out excellent value.

Heading out on Lake Wanaka.

Mou Waho Island ahead. Took just 35 minutes, and brilliant views along the way.

Landing at the beach area.

Tea Party Girl, Romeo and Juliet at the landing. The temperature was sweltering at close to 35 degrees.

There is an area where you can camp. Would be a very cool place to camp for a weekend.

We then headed up to the summit. It isn’t a very long track at just over a km, but it is pretty steep as you climb around 200 metres or so via a zig zag path. When you combine it with the 35 degree heat, we were sweltering. But as you can see the views are worth it.

Then almost at the top, is the pool. It wasn’t much warmer than Lake Wanaka, but after that climb, nothing could have kept me out. Yes that is me in the water. Actually after a few minutes it warmed up quite nicely, and there is something cool about swimming in a natural pool or mini-lake at the top of an island with such scenic views.

This is the pool, from the side. Just stunning.

You then can climb a further five minutes or so to a ledge overlooking the pool. From there you get this magnificent view of the pool, and the lake beyond it. In the photo they look like they are almost at the same level, but in reality the pool is at the top of the island.

The views from the top were just unbelievable. In one direction you see snow covered mountains, in another lake views for kms on end.

Another view from up high. A perfect day with the water so still, no clouds, and so hot. Almost too hot!

They also have quite a few wekas on the island, which is in fact a nature reserve. The wekas like to try and get into your bags.

Rob Kidd at SST reports:

A disproportionate number of people with mental health issues are being stung by Tasers, figures show.

Since the nationwide rollout of Tasers in March 2010, they have been drawn by police officers 1320 times and discharged 212 times.

The battery-powered stun guns fire electric barbs, which penetrate a person’s skin and deliver a shock of up to 50,000 volts.

Numbers released under the Official Information Act show nearly a third of those hit were considered by police to have mental health issues.

Mental Health Foundation chief executive Judi Clements said they had always feared those with mental health problems would be a target for officers using Tasers and the figures confirmed that.

They are not a *target*. Police do not go around the streets looking for people with mental health problems to taser.

You generally get tasered if you have a weapon of some kind, and are refusing to put it down. It is not surprising that a reasonable proportion of those tasered have mental health problems, as most people will drop a weapon if a police officer points a taser at you and tells you to drop your weapon.

Tony Wall at SST reports:

MP Brendan Horan has filed a High Court affidavit in which he says his political career is “in tatters” over claims he stole money from his mother, and believes the executor of her estate should be removed because he is not handling the allegations fairly as he will not listen to Horan.

It is the first time the former NZ First List MP has responded to the allegations in depth since the Sunday Star-Times broke the story in November. Horan was sacked from NZ First by leader Winston Peters, but is resisting calls to resign from Parliament, saying he has done nothing wrong.

He and his sister, Marilyn Bleackley, have jointly applied to the High Court at Tauranga to have John Buckthought, their mother Olwen Horan’s nephew, removed as executor.

Horan says in his affidavit he has “lost confidence in [Buckthought’s] ability to administer the estate in an even-handed way”.

He wants the Public Trust to take over running the estate, and new forensic investigators appointed to go over his mother’s financial records.

It may not be a bad idea to have a totally independent executor.