As the Green Party Website put it - "We're swimming in it."

Consumer New Zealand recently reported that one third of New Zealand's popular swimming beaches were now dangerous to swim in due to risk of getting infections and diseases. Around the country Kiwis, predominantly children, are getting nose, ear, eye and skin infections and even campylobacteriosis from swimming in their favourite beaches, rivers or lakes. The main causes are cows pooing in the river and peoples' poo being dumped in the sea.

This comes after years of ineffective and weak laws on water pollution and inefficient sewage treatment plants. The Green Party recently called for the government to change these laws. They also suggested giving extra money to the councils that they may improve the sewage plants.

It is my view that this is particularly serious with a hot, Kiwi Christmas coming up. Hopefully not too many people will get ill.

Kathryn,
Change this! Party vote Green!

My Decisions are Being Made for Me. . .

. . .and I don't like it! National's new "Fire-at-will" bill is most likely to affect students and teens, yet at fifteen I cannot vote and therefore cannot have a say. I'm not necessarily asking for a vote, but surely it's time for better youth representation in parliament?

Decisions are not only being taken away from teens.*

The new National led government recently declared urgency and is no longer required to make bill public three days before it is proposed in parliament.

"While the Government have laid out their plans to pass a range of laws which will have major impacts on New Zealanders, it's a real worry that they have failed to make the actual legislation available to the public."

Russel Norman, Green Party co-leader

New Zealanders discover what the proposals are at the same time as they discover whether or not they were passed. This is appears to be an outrageous abuse of power and seems to undermine our current democracy. I will be interested to hear National's reason for urgency.

However, these decisions are being made for us without our knowing, let alone approval. How can we have a say, or contact our local MP with regards to an issue if we don't know what it is?

Love,
Kathryn
Party vote Green

*how about the fact that the "fire-at-will" bill was not on the National Party's list of legislation that they would pass in the first 100 days.

Factory Farming

It is, perhaps, the worst common crime in the world and yet in many countries there is no penalty. Factory farming is happening so much around the world, that in the time it took you to read this over a thousand chickens have been killed after a torcherous life, approximately half of them no more than three days old. Collectively we can stop Factory Farming, after reading this, maybe you'll want to help.

Battery Hens



Battery chickens are selectively bred for the egg-laying productivity and often have little use as meat chickens. Over 4,000. Hence male chicks are worthless to egg farmers,they have two possible futures: 1) thrown out with the trash - they don't even bother killing them (see below) 2) some farmers grind up the live male chicks and mix them with the grain so they can be fed to their sisters.




Before they can move on, the female chicks must be debeaked (The tip of the hens beak is cut of so the hens cannot fight). Unlike horses' hooves, chickens beaks have a lot of feeling - imagine the pain of having your nose cut off. 12,000 Unlike geckos' tails, chickens beaks' do not grow back. Because there are lots of nerve endings in a chickens beak, the pain never stops throughout their sorry excuse for a life. Sometimes factory farmers get a little carried-away with the debeacking machine and the tip of the chickens toungue is cut off too. Imagine having that happen to you, wait! don't forget you're little more than a couple of days old. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . do you have any children?

Then the chicks are shut in small cages until they are old enough to lay. 15,000.


Hold up your newspaper. Fold it in half. Put it on the floor. It shouldn't be much bigger than your computer screen. imagine fitting up to seven hens on that newspaper. could be tricky right? But factory farmers don't have much trouble doing it. In fact sometimes cages are stuffed so full that one chicken has to stacked on top. 18,000. At least doesn't have to worry about suffering severe and painful foot and claw damage,* fowl pox, bronchitis or even cancer - Chances are she will have caught her head in the wiring at the top of the cage and been pecked to death (despite the debeaking) by the chickens in the cage above. Or maybe the wire got stuck around her neck and she suffocated. Whatever the cause, she'll probably be dead by morning. 20,000


Due to the enormous strain put on battery hens, they usually only lay for a year. Some hens are starved for up to a week to force-moult them, so that some hens can live to continue laying for another year - of hell


Unlike cats, chickens cannot be toilet-trained and the cages are typically stacked four or five high in the 'better' factory farms. Throughout this whole time the chickens on top have been pooing on the chickens at the bottom. In many factory farms the poo dries around the bottom cages feet, so when they are finally pulled out, their legs are ripped from their bodies. 25,000. Unlike... actually, I don't think there is an animal that grows back it's legs. If these chickens did grow back their legs nobody would know because they're off for the slaughter anyway.


Broiler Hens

... actually I don't think I could bear to put you through this again. There are many websites that contain good information regarding the factory farming of many animals.


Ok, Ok, it sucks! But what am I supposed to do?

1) 27,000! Become a vegetarian and refuse to eat anything but free-range eggs - the local farmers market should have some. Failing that, at least make sure you watch what you put in your mouth. Ensure that any meat on your plate has a good past. Your own health could be in jeapody!

2) Protest! It doesn't necessarily have to be marching with signs. Try writing letters to the editor of your local newspaper. Anything to get the message out there and ruin the factory farming market.

3) Stop reading this and get out there! 32,000! Heaps of people don't understand the extent to which factory farming has grown. 33,500! It keeps getting higher while you're not doing anything. Don't be scared to tell your friends, family and colleagues. Maybe they'll thank you one day. 34,500!

Love,
Kathryn
Party Vote Green NZ - with your help, they can put a stop to stuff like this. 35,000...

*due to the wiring and the slant of the bottom of the cage.