– ‘…In April 30,1936 Ford Motor Company, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada tested the Pogue carburetor and was at “a loss to understand” how the carburetor got “25.7 miles on one pint of gasoline”! (appro. 205 mpg). Mr. W.J. Holmes and Mr. Purdy conducted the test for Ford Motor Company…In 1953 CARS magazine stated that in the opening months of 1936, Pogue panicked the Toronto stock exchange and threw fright into the major oil companies. Stock exchange offices and brokers were swamped with orders to dump all oil stock immediately. This same article states that Winnipeg’s largest automobile dealers tested the Pogue carburetor and got results of up to 216.8 mpg!”
History Of ‘New Energy’ Invention Suppression Cases – By Gary Vesperman
This is the third version of my compilation of specific energy suppression cases. This time I decided to get serious.
– “…Proactivity needs to extend also to the traumas in early life that are common to so many mass shooters. Those early exposures to violence need addressing when they happen with ready access to social services and high-quality, affordable mental health treatment in the community. Our data show that mass shooters have much in common. Instead of simply rehearsing for the inevitable, we need to use that data to drive effective prevention strategies”
Here’s What A Criminology Professor Learned By Studying Every Mass Shooting Since 1966
Last weekend’s mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton (following the devastation in Gilroy the weekend before) prompted the usual evidence-free avalanche of political point-scoring, blaming “the other side” for all the world’s woes.
Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
“Did George Bush ever condemn President Obama after Sandy Hook. President Obama had 32 mass shootings during his reign. Not many people…
Those wondering about seeing military helicopters flying over Whanganui tonight your not imagining things. Your witnessing Exercise Black Diamond 19. This is the precursor to Exercise Sari Bair 19 which takes pace in September, in which “all Army units will gather for a combined arms training exercise in the central North Island”.
Multiple units from the New Zealand, United States Army, US Marines, Australian and British armies, converged on the military training area in Waiouru for Exercise Black Diamond (about 100 troops).
The senior exercise is named after the Battle of Sari Bair (Turkish: Sarı Bayır Harekâtı), also known as the August Offensive (peak season for operation in the Middle East).
It is general mid level war prepration exercise which is part of the endurance training armies uder take when preparing for an offensive style operation. If the American component is any thing to go by…
Earlier this month, in one devastating algorithmic stroke, Google removed many of the top natural health and health freedom websites from their organic search results — some losing as much as 99% of their traffic. In fact, the term “organic” should no longer be used to describe Google’s referral traffic, as a jaw-dropping undercover investigation by Project Veritas reveals: Google surreptitiously manipulates its search results and auto-suggestions to conform to a very specific set of sociopolitical and economic agendas intended to manipulate elections and promote private interests.
We live in amazing times, albeit intense, filled with incredible darkness and light.
But thanks to the power of the internet, we have a level of freedom of information never enjoyed before by any previous generation on Earth — and that information is the very life’s blood of democratic ideals, and the necessary ingredient for informed consent and…
A new paper (Axford et al., 2019) reveals NW Greenland’s “outlet glaciers were smaller than today from ~9.4 to 0.2 ka BP” (9,400 to 200 years before 1950), and that “most of the land-based margin reached its maximum Holocene extent in the last millennium and likely the last few hundred years.”
The authors conclude:
“We infer based upon lake sediment organic and biogenic content that in response to declining temperatures, North Ice Cap reached its present-day size ~1850 AD, having been smaller than present through most of the preceding Holocene.”
Furthermore, the authors assert Greenland was 2.5°C to 3°C warmer than modern on average during the Holocene Thermal Maximum, and peak temperatures were 4°C to 7°C warmer.
Sydney Morning Herald 4 August 2019Family First Comment: “In short, to refer for abortion is not a passive step. It is to begin the process of procuring an abortion. Freedom of conscience demands that doctors who believe abortion ends the life of an unborn baby should not be compelled to begin the abortion process.”#freetobelieve All Australians…
The Facts:Documents obtained by researchers clearly outline the unethical and immoral actions Tobacco companies used to ‘hook’ kids onto sugary drinks. They use the same tactics they did for smoking.
Reflect On:Why do and have our federal health regulatory agencies allow such products to be approved as safe for consumption when they are clearly linked to a variety of diseases, like cancer?
Many moves made by multiple big corporations are extremely unethical, immoral, and downright shocking. These corporations have completely compromised our federal health regulatory agencies, and it’s quite clear that they do not care about the health of the human race and will do anything when it comes to the success of the products they manufacture, including taking illegal and/or immoral actions.
One of the more recent examples comes from the tobacco industry. Companies within the industry used colors, flavors, and marketing techniques to lure and entice children as…
BIZARRE footage showing hundreds of bees dead on the floor surrounding what appeared to be two 5G towers has gone viral.
The superfast broadband has sparked controversy since rolling out this year, with health experts claiming it could have serious side effects on humans.
And there are now claims online that bees could also be affected after a video went viral.
The clip – taken in Sierra Madre, California – shows the lifeless bodies of the bees lying on the ground.
Philip Sites claimed they were spotted between two 5G poles – about 40ft apart.
The launch of satellites for private companies that sell data to spy agencies raises fresh concerns about New Zealand’s fledgling space industry, Ollie Neas writes.
A satellite on board Rocket Lab’s most recent mission will collect data for US spy agencies, among other customers.
The satellite belongs to US private intelligence company BlackSky and raises “residual national interest risks”, the New Zealand Space Agency says. However these risks weren’t considered serious enough to decline approval for the launch.
This mission appears to be the first time the Space Agency has raised national interest concerns about the launch of a rocket payload from New Zealand.
Homelessness is a Political Environment: Vancouver Tent City
Homelessness is happening world wide. Part of the plan (Agenda 2030 unstated as such but is happening everywhere) NZ has 43K homeless and yet our authorities are promising to house equally vulnerable folk from abroad. Perhaps the wealthy property developers who are getting our housing stock for peanuts will be happy to fund new rental housing for everybody? EWR
Vancouver’s Longest Running Tent City: A Year in Review Architects for Social Housing The post Homelessness is a Political Environment: Vancouver Tent City appeared first on Architects for Social Housing (ASH).
We’ve been reporting the agenda for years, and now it’s formalized. Post-quake Christchurch belongs to the UN New World Order. How so?
Immediately after the 2011 quake that devastated the CBD and large portions of the Eastern suburbs, the government stepped in and purchased the “Red Zone” land. As for the rest, the government and local council nutted out responsibilities and ownerships. Taxes were raised, rates were raised, and insurance payouts dished out (and private insurance raised).
Now, the land and assets purchased and owned by The Crown has now been essentially handed to local council.
On the surface, it would appear that land and assets have gone from government ownership into the hands of “We The People”, the ratepayers of Christchurch. Wonderful, you think? Dominic Harris (no relation) thinks so:
During the “Health in Buildings Roundtable” sponsored by the NIH & co-organized by the US CDC and several other organizations, Dr. Martin Pall from the Washington State University (WSU) concluded that the “5G rollout is absolutely insane”. In this short presentation, Dr. Pall confirms that the current 2G/3G/4G radiation the population is exposed to has been scientifically linked with: – Lowered fertility – Insomnia, fatigue, depression, anxiety, and major changes in brain structure in animals – Cellular DNA damage – Oxidative stress – Hormonal disruption – Cancer – And much more Dr. Pall briefly explains the mechanisms of how the electrosmog emitted by our cell phones, wifi routers, cell phone antennas and other wireless technologies affect human cells. For the most current information on Dr. Pall’s work, read the letter he sent to various organizations in the world sooner this year, titled: “5G: Great risk for EU, U.S. and International Health! Compelling Evidence for Eight Distinct Types of Great Harm Caused by Electromagnetic Field (EMF) Exposures and the Mechanism that Causes Them”: https://s3.amazonaws.com/nghl-ntge/pa… Still think this is all tinfoil talk? Read my book, “The Non-Tinfoil Guide to EMFs”: http://getbook.at/emf (warning, you might change your mind!)
One of the world’s 7 remaining absolute monarchies, Vatican City in the heart of Rome, Italy, is a peculiar city within a city, and one of the wealthiest establishments on earth. If you’ve ever been to the Vatican, which is actually a sovereign nation, you’ve seen the unbelievable wealth owned by the Catholic Church, but how much is the Vatican really worth?
The Rothschild family is believed to hold some five times more than the combined wealth of the world’s 8 top private billionaires, but when it comes to the Vatican, it’s much more difficult to assess its overall wealth. In fact, it’s actually practically impossible to pin down the Vatican’s wealth, as the sum total depends greatly on how you add up their assets and affiliations with churches around the world, and also on who you ask.
– “…No one really knows how much wealth the Catholic Church controls, and the organization’s secrecy and obfuscation of the facts surrounding its wealth continues to lead investigators on a wild goose chase. The Vatican’s cashflow is in the hundreds of millions a year, individual holdings in the Vatican Bank total perhaps $15 billion, property held by the Vatican may be worth over a billion dollars, and the Church owns the largest store of the world’s most priceless art”
How Much Wealth Does the Vatican Control? – By Isaac Davis
One of the world’s 7 remaining absolute monarchies, Vatican City in the heart of Rome, Italy, is a peculiar city within a city, and one of the wealthiest establishments on earth. If you’ve ever been to the Vatican, which is actually a sovereign nation, you’ve seen the unbelievable wealth owned by the Catholic Church, but how much is…
Remember the Whanganui woman living in a tent? NZ has a housing crisis. Some 22% of the state housing stock I heard today (a public owned asset) sold by the National Govt … they largely sold these to developers. I hear of folk who were evicted or pressured out of their STATE homes, who are still homeless. There are more than 43K people homeless now, living in cars, garages, you name it. We all I’m sure want to help refugees but on that topic aside there appears to be more to the agenda than meets the eye. Shades of Denmark and all of that. Perhaps all of the millions pocketed by the currently well favored developers could be diverted to building more houses for both our homeless and the refugees? (And pigs might fly). Can you see the incongruity in it all? The sustainable crew who are all for equal rights if you read their plan, when it comes down to it they’d prefer you shared your garage or tent with the newcomers, not them. As we speak they swan around the planet in their private jets (attending climate conferences!!) whilst instructing us to curb our carbon footprint. (Let us know if you hear of empty state homes, bulldozed state homes, state home evictions or similar). EWR
Whanganui District Councillors told of desperation for housing in submissions
NZ Herald
Whanganui’s “desperate” housing shortage has been laid bare before councillors by those on the frontline.
A hearing on the Whanganui District Council’s draft Housing Strategy was held this week with 12 of the 38 submitters presenting to councillors.
READ MORE (you will have to sub to read the whole article, further related article below)
Focus on housing squeeze, not refugees – Whanganui mayor
RadioNZ
A Whanganui migrant advocate has criticised an iwi leader for saying the city should house Māori before it takes on refugees – but others say he has a point about the city’s housing crisis. Whanganui mayor Hamish McDouall said the city’s housing crisis needed to be addressed and refugees were not the cause.
Whanganui was chosen as a refugee resettlement destination in February. About 30 refugees – or three to five families – are due to to arrive from April next year. Up to 110 refugees are expected every year thereafter.
Here we have those familiar muppets … Soros, Strong, Prince Charles, Huxley, Prince Phillip … “the new world order, global government, global governance aka world order planners who think we can’t see past their smoke and mirrors. EWR
From orientalreview.org
Prince Charles has just given the world 18 months to save the world. Over the past years, the prince and his father (among other inbred aristocrats of Europe) have taken an incredible interest in the safety of the earth from the pollution emitting machines who greedily consume and reproduce without any consideration for Mother Gaia. In recent months this green transformation of the globe has taken the form of the “Green New Deal” promoted in the U.S. by Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders. A children’s campaign endorsed by pope Francis and led by Greta Thunberg has spread across Europe and America while a Billionaires Club under the guidance of Al Gore, and George Soros is funding a Sunrise Movement to fight global warming.
Is this passion to save the planet from humanity genuine? Do these oligarchs and billionaires really care so much that their support for a Green New Deal is as benevolent as the media portrays… or is something darker at play? To answer these questions, we will have to first quickly review what the Green New Deal IS, then where it came from and then finally what its architects have stated they wish to accomplish with its implementation.
What is it?
As the name implies, the Green New Deal is a sweeping policy agenda which takes its name from the original New Deal of 1932 enacted under the leadership of President Franklin Roosevelt. The New Deal was originally a program for bank reform, and mass infrastructure building in order to heal America from the deep wounds caused by 4 years of Great Depression. While the Green New Deal of 2019 proposes to dramatically overhaul the rules of finance and infrastructure planning, its similarities to the original end there.
Roosevelt’s New Deal was driven by projects which increased the productive powers of labor of the nation as a whole by investments into hydroelectric projects, transportation corridors, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and thousands of other infrastructure projects. The Green New Deal on the other hand seeks to lower American productive powers of labor and living standards by investments into zero growth green infrastructure. Of course if that were explicitly stated, no one would drink the Kool-Aid.
5G wireless… the industry HAS NOT shown it to be safe for your health or privacy — yet THOUSANDS of peer-reviewed, independent studies show the risks it presents. Understand the dangers and find solutions in your community!
The 5G Crisis: Awareness & Accountability Summit is online and FREE from August 26 – September 1, 2019.
Use categories (left of page) to locate other articles on 5G. Visit the NZ website 5g.org for local information. In particular watch the Apocalypse Doco. Vodafone are planning to roll this out in NZ by December 2019.
Who are the serial polluters? Corporations/local councils/industry … they pollute with impunity. And they sell off our clean water to offshore corporations. I’m not holding my breath on this one I’m afraid. They pollute it with impunity then fix it with carcinogenic chemicals like chlorine (the new sticking plaster) & NZ wide the awake people are spending a fortune on filters & other means, or purchasing bottled water. (The rest sadly are pummeling their vital organs filtering this stuff from their systems). What a scam. We cannot even swim in our waterways now let alone drink what was once a free, unpolluted natural resource. They’re quickly selling it off to not the highest but the lowest bidder … peanuts. Remember this (image below) with the Key govt? And charging you mega bucks to buy it. And I haven’t even mentioned yet the ecoli scares we’ve had around the country.
I’m afraid I really am not holding out a lot of hope for a truly dedicated watchdog given they are the ones who created the complete mess we have now with the state of our water. To boot they are dumping a class 1A Ecotoxin into the waterways with the blessings of a tweaked RMA. The header image features industrial waste pouring into the local river loop at Foxton in the Horowhenua, where children once used to swim & fish. Not any more. There’s a hazard sign up now saying not to swim there. A young man even contracted trench mouth from swimming in the Manawatu (not seen since WW2 his MD said).
It’s called the ‘sustainable development’ lie.
Here is the article from tvnz
The Government has today announced the creation of a “dedicated watchdog” to regulate water quality in New Zealand.
The decision to create the new regulations was spurred by the Havelock North Campylobacter outbreak in 2016 where 5,000 people got sick from their drinking water.
“Access to safe, clean drinking water is a birth-right for New Zealanders and a key concern for communities up and down the country. Wherever they live, consumers and communities expect to be able to turn on the tap and drink the water without fear of getting ill,” says Minister of Health Dr David Clark says in a statement.
“Immediately following the Havelock North Inquiry Stage 2 Report we began implementing its recommendations to increase public safety while the Three Waters review worked through the longer-term programme of reform options.
“To make 60kg, some 1080 possum hides were needed.”
That really should read lamestream. Makes you wonder doesn’t it? And on that note looking at the value of the fur, DoC are denying Kiwi hunters and trappers thousands of dollars worth of income aren’t they? Given they aerially drop onto land that could easily be trapped. EWR
from the Otago Daily Times – 2nd August 2019
A woman has been arrested in connection with the theft of thousands of dollars worth of possum fur from a Mosgiel shed last month.
Senior Sergeant Craig Dinnissen, of Dunedin, said today a 39-year-old woman had been charged with burglary after allegedly stealing the fur from a Bush Rd property.
She is set to appear in the Dunedin District Court next week.
Police were informed over the weekend of July 20-21 that 60kg of fur had been taken from the Bush Rd property after a shed was broken into.
New Zealand Fur Council chairman Neil Mackie said at the time the price of fur was about $130 per kg, which would make the haul worth $7800.
He was not aware of possum fur theft being a common occurrence. Nor was he aware of a possum fur black market.
“It’s important to let the other players in the industry know, because they’ll try to sell that through those channels.”
It took about 18 possums to make 1kg of fur, he said.
Everywhere is animal-killing carnage, everywhere! Recently in NZ they culled cats in one town (Waikato town from memory) & the culler was shooting them within town boundaries. This has happened in this article also. UN Agenda 2030 wants rid of all non native species in NZ but they are not outright telling us that. It is cloaked as Predator Free 2050 & as they kill off pests with a class 1A Ecotoxin they also kill off natives … our Kea birds are nearly extinct! And MDs are ‘not allowed’ to test humans for 1080 poisoning!! They drop it into our waterways with the blessing of government!!
The Fur-Bearers believes that a healthy, safe British Columbia includes a well-funded and trained Conservation Officer Service that has appropriate third party oversight and a clear mandate for interacting with wildlife and the public.
Letters sent to and meetings with the Conservation Officer Service and Ministry of Environment and Climate Change staff and leadership through two governments have outlined a growing lack of public trust in the COS, largely due to the propensity for killing wildlife when in the field, a lack of accountability and oversight, and questions about who’s responsible for attractant management. <https://globalnews.ca/news/5707009/3-arrested-bears-killed-coquitlam/> The incident of July 30 in Coquitlam ending in three residents arrested was an unfortunate clash – but one that was entirely predictable.
The Fur-Bearers does not endorse interfering with the efforts of armed law enforcement officers, but note the incident should serve as a message to…
The Whanganui item in this is the gob smacker. Unlined hole, old wetlands reserve turned landfill, undisclosed to public by all appearances, right dab next to a PRIMARY SCHOOL! How irresponsible is THAT? … EWR.
1080 poison (Sodium Monofluoroacetate) is a hazardous chemical that is repeatedly dumped in New Zealand’s landfill sites (official and unofficial) without consideration for the potential harm. Contrary to some claims, 1080 does not easily breakdown into ‘harmless by-products’: one teaspoon of the poison can kill and harm as many as a hundred adults. It is highly lethal, stable in water, disperses readily through the environment, and in some conditions remains poisonous for months, if not years. For instance, in March 2000, 20 tonnes of mixed, unwanted 1080 poison baits, between 8-20 years old, were buried in West Coast farmland. When tested a few months later, the substance was still highly toxic.
Official Informatiom Act responses have revealed that for decades, Auckland, Canterbury, Winton, Whanganui and Marton landfills have all been recipients of tonnes of unwanted 1080 poison. This is because according the manufacturers, the cereal baits have a limited shelf-life (how convenient for their profit margins?). Apparently, depending upon storage environments, damp and mould can affect the palatability and structure of the poison baits, which can mean they are unstable, unsafe and unsuitable to be distributed aerially via the helicopter hoppers. To summarise some of our findings:
• In August 1996, over 12 tonnes of unwanted highly toxic 1080 poison baits were buried in a purpose-dug pit in a managed landfill site at Winton, central Southland. Weeks after the burial, toxic 1080 was still present in some of the groundwater samples (despite unreliable testing methodology).
• 66 tonnes of 1080 poison baits, originally intended for Makarora aerial pest control operation (2015) were unused because of the poor weather. The spoiled poison baits were sent to a Manawatu-Whanganui landfill site (Probably, Marton).
• A storage shed in Haast was swamped during recent flooding, and the rising river water damaged over 16 tonnes of toxic 1080 bait. This week, that poison has been buried at…you guessed it, Marton.
• In February 2018, 600kgs of 1080 poison baits was transported from the Whitianga storage site (within a residential area) to a North Auckland landfill.
• Also in 1996, in Whanganui (near the 1080 poison factory) 80 tonnes of 1080 poison cereal bait was buried in a shallow, unlined hole at the landfill site, now known as Balgownie Reserve. Tragically, this area was previously a precious wetland of historical and cultural significance. A primary school is situated next door. (Map below).
There are many other stories waiting to be exposed. Meanwhile, none of New Zealand’s authorities adheres to international guidelines on toxic waste disposal, including the requirement to monitor community health in these areas. And concerns are repeatedly raised about potential harmful affects from the storage, disposal and aerial distribution of 1080 poison.
In the USA and in Europe, authorities are waking-up to their responsibilities to citizens. New funding is being provided to enable the costly clean-up of old toxic dump sites, and this involves specialists digging up the hazardous waste and disposing of it safely. Public health is a priority.
It’s bad enough to distribute tonnes of 1080 poison baits over thousands of hectares—66 tonnes of the poison baits could kill or seriously harm almost the whole population of New Zealand. It’s another thing however to dump this amount of lethally toxic substance into one shallow hole. What impact could a highly concentrated amount of this toxic chemical have on the health of nearby, unknowing, small communities?
When is the New Zealand Government going to face up to the magnitude of our ongoing soil and water contamination, stop the dumping of hazardous waste and start the crucial clean-up operations?
Ah but you’ll be able to download stuff really really fast…!!
5G “will be rolling out in December 2019 to select locations across Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown” we’re told on the Vodafone website.
See NZ’s site on this one:https://www.5g.org.nz for info and what you can do to oppose it.
Please take note of the folk behind 5G (header image). You can read Dean Henderson’s take on it here. Serco, Lockheed Martin, Monsanto even (now Bayer). A must read. These people have never had your best interests in mind, and I don’t think they’re going to any time soon. Educate yourself on 5G & fight it.
And NZ Herald’s on Vodafone’s plans they didn’t ask you about …
31st July 2019
Vodafone is being tipped to make a 5G launch announcement at an event scheduled for tomorrow.
Fifth-generation mobile networks will offer many times the speed of today’s “4G”.
But it’s not clear at this point if it will be a test site, some kind of wider deployment, or a marketing spin on improvements to Vodafone’s 4G network..
“We are pleased to have the privilege of inviting you, your colleagues, family and friends, to a presentation covering one of the most pressing issues of our time: ‘screens’ and their effect on human health, wellbeing and behaviour.”
July 23, 2019
Website editor’s note:EMR Health and Safety, Christchurch have organised a public talk in Christchurch on Friday, 9 August, 2019 from 7.00 – 8.30 pm at Christchurch Rudolf Steiner School Hall, 19 Ombersley Terrace, Christchurch. For full details, please see below.
If you can help publicise this event by downloading the poster at the link below and printing it and putting it up on your work, community centre, library or church noticeboard etc. that would be appreciated by the team of volunteers who are organising this event. Thank you.
Impending Milford Sound 1080 drop (Southland Cleddau area)
By Sacha Stevenson
1080 – It’s nothing new to most Kiwis. Opinions are divided.
The last aerial drop of 1080 here was only two years ago. Before the last drop (although I wasn’t working in Milford at the time) there was some community consultation, including a Q & A session with the Department of Conservation (DoC) – the lead agency involved with the drop in this region. I understand some local workers and one Iwi objected, but the drop went ahead anyway, including into the public water supply catchment area.
The next drop in the Southland Cleddau/Milford Sound area is scheduled for between Aug 1st and Dec 2019 and, just like the Sept 2017 drop, this again includes dropping 1080 into the water supply.
(See map below clipped 4 July 2019 from the online DOC map.)
In my opinion, the community here has not had an honest open forum to voice their say on the next scheduled drop (and every opinion is valid) but much worse, even if we get to have our say, chances are high that the tourists will be left uninformed.
There are many aspects to this topic, many already discussed. One of the main aspects here being in regards to the Public Health Unit (PHU) VTA Permission and conditions statement and its lack of implementation here in Milford Sound, and the effect it may have on locals and tourists. I’m not a lawyer, but I see this as a legal and moral failing in our duty to protect tourists (and locals).
The Ministry of Health (the Ministry) is responsible for ensuring that the provisions of the Hazardous Substances & New Organisms (HSNO) Act are complied with where it is necessary to protect public health. The Public Health Unit (PHU) is legislated by the Ministry of Health, to approve permission and attach conditions to interested parties applying a VTA (Vertebrate Toxic Agent) in a public place. This applies especially to drops into (or near) a public water supply. Public Health South (PHS) processes and approves permissions for the Fiordland area.
Permission is required because VTAs (of which 1080 is one) are toxic to humans through acute poisoning and chronic exposure. 1080 is considered a hazardous substance, for good reason. (See link to 1080 effects at p7.)
Some things stand out for me with the model PHU permissions:
1) Full disclosure to users is expected, with signs and warnings (which would logically be placed at the point of possible consumption)(see conditions 19 & 20 pg47 of VTA permission guide.)
2) An alternate water supply should be offered, if requested, until testing has been completed. (Case example – Condition 25 p67 note ii and conditions 25 – 32 of VTA permission guide.)
Bowen River valley and public water supply catchment area (see red circled area)
Figure 1: (Map clipped 4 July 2019 from the online DOC map.)
Milford Sound is one of NZ’s iconic tourist locations. We have between 500 to 5000 guests per day visiting the Fiord, hosted by various companies across the different seasons. The large majority of tourists are foreign nationals, many of whom don’t speak or read English very well.
However, I’ve had contact with the public water supply company in the last week, confirming that they’ve had no warning about the upcoming use of 1080. (As at 24th July)
Not a good start.
Despite the lack of communication from DoC (the lead agency for this particular drop) and from the aerial application contractor, many of the workers here in Milford know the drop is now imminent.
I understand that some of the companies here are planning to make bottled water available for their staff, but none of them (as far as I know) are planning to offer bottled water to the tourists, or even to put notices up in the terminal or on the vessels to warn them of the 1080 drop – so they can choose for themselves whether they would like to drink the tap water or not.
Knowing that 1080 is teratogenic (may cause birth defects) and with my partner being pregnant, I wouldn’t wish her to have any exposure whatsoever to 1080. I assume no foreign national in her position would wish to be exposed to that risk either. (See MOH Guidelines p7 re known 1080 effects.)
I am shocked that it appears that no one in Milford, including DoC, Milford Sound Tourism NZ (MST – the port operational company), Milford Sound Infrastructure ((MSI – the public water supply company), or the tourist companies providing vessels and the drinking water aboard them, is planning to at least inform the tourists that the water they may drink in the terminal and on board the vessels may potentially have a birth defect causing agent in it.
It is probably true that signs will likely be erected along the road into Milford, as we have seen done in various locations around NZ. But it is wrong to conclude that because those signs are at the rest areas, that foreigners will equate that with the drinking water in the terminal and on the boats being also potentially contaminated. One must remember, that many visitors can’t read English for a start, plus many come from areas where it is obvious that one doesn’t drink from any tap. Is it obvious here?
I would expect the duty of care and a minimum standard would mean that we’d firstly err on the side of caution. I would also assume that foreign governments would want us to set the minimum standard bar rather high when it comes to looking after the health and welfare of their citizens. As we would hope they do for our citizens when they’re abroad.
We know that the US and China for example, among others, take the safety of their citizens travelling overseas very seriously.
To add to the issues, Fiordland is a unique area in terms of its topography and rainfall. The Bowen River catchment valley is rather like a giant granite bath, with very little top soil, and average rainfall of 7000mm per annum. Together with winter temperatures, ice and snow melt, this will likely increase the risk of 1080 arriving at the intake at the same time and breaking down much more slowly. Further, according to TBFree HYPERLINK “https://ospri.co.nz/assets/Uploads/Documents/How-1080-Breaks-Down-in-Soil-Water.pdf” NZ:
“Biodegradation of 1080 is faster in warmer conditions (20degC), but still occurs at 5degC. At cooler temperatures rates of degradation are slower…..”
“Urgent samples for 24-hour turnaround testing may be sent unfrozen to the testing laboratory, but they must be chilled to 4°C and placed on ice as soon as possible after collection.”
Looking closer at Landcare’s testing regime (at 4.0): “Results will be available no later than 9.30 a.m. on the following day.” This means, at a minimum, no water should be drunk in Milford for 24hrs.
Do we need reminding that there is no antidote to 1080 poisoning?
It really seems easy to avoid the vast majority of the risks in this case. Just don’t drop 1080 in the water catchment area, meaning no 1080 to be aerially dropped in the Bowen River valley area of Milford Sound.
If DOC is so determined to go-ahead with the poison drop in the catchment area, then full disclosure to tourists should be made and an alternate drinking water supply offered (as per the model PHU statement example of 1080 in a public water supply).
It’s embarrassing that we call our country ‘Open and Inclusive’, ‘Clean Green’ etc and yet treat foreigners with this sort of disrespect.
Also of interest, according to the above Cleddau report; NO non-target species monitoring was undertaken. The water quality testing (pg 6 of DOC’s operational report 5.2.2) revealed the presence of 1080 at 1ppb.
I can tell you that as of writing, we have quite a few Kea (approx 20) hanging out in and around the village here in Milford.
Kea in Milford Sound, down near Deep Water Basin, May 2019 (Photo: Sacha Stevenson)
Plenty of Wekas here as well, plus I’ve seen the odd NZ Falcon eating road kill on the drive into Milford.
Weka at Deep Water Basin July 2019 (Photo: Sacha Stevenson)
I wonder how they will fare with the ‘Clean Green’ 1080 pellets raining down in the near future. Will anyone know if they’ve been affected?
To conclude: yes, opinions on the use of 1080 differ here, but no locals I’ve talked to think tourists shouldn’t at least be fully informed of what might be in their drinking water, to allow them their ‘Free Will’ to drink the local water or not.
Increase the peace
S Stevenson
Skipper – Milford Sound
An update to this article can be found at this link.
RELATED: EWR links to articles on 1080 in water. Search for other articles on 1080 poison at the categories drop down box at the left of the news page.
If you are new to the 1080 poisoning program, here is a good article to start with …
A must watch also is Poisoning Paradise, the doco made by the GrafBoys (banned from screening on NZ TV, yet a 4x international award winner). Their website is tv-wild.com. Their doco is a very comprehensive overview with the independent science to illustrate the question marks that remain over the use of this poison. There are links also on our 1080 resources page to most of the groups, pages, sites etc that will provide you with further information.
Check out the 1080 pages at the main menu, particularly the sub tab, ‘suspected 1080 poisoning cases’. Finally, remember what the retired MD Charlie Baycroft said recently …‘if you die from 1080 poisoning, nobody will know because the Ministry of Health is bullying NZ Doctors into not testing for 1080′. EWR
This item of news has naturally gotten people very concerned. Some of us know our water is not healthy to drink, either polluted straight from the source, or treated. Treated means you ingest chlorine & other chemicals, sometimes fluoride (& note Auckland is now making noises about mandatory fluoridation up there). Chlorine has been a known carcinogen for quite some time & has links to other health problems as well. Anyway the article points to a mysterious illness but says little else, no mention of symptoms, nothing … this always invites speculation. Where I posted this newshub article on social media a local has commented thus:
“Here’s a yarn. 930 Wednesday night Buller council put boil water notice in effect as pipelines are been repaired and treated water was lost, low pressure was given to town to help reinstate. So we boiled water for three minutes for drink bottles the next day. I tell the kids a story about giardiasis and coughing, reinforcing don’t drink water from school.” According to this person only one teacher at the school gave alternative/safe water to the children. He said his son drank from the drinking fountain & became violently ill that Saturday, vomiting every 20 mins. Although the principal had made a statement that the fountains were turned off and children had no access, which is a lie. Coincidence or not, you decide.”
Another commenter has said a child has tested positive for e-coli. Obviously these are just conversations but still very real for those involved.
“E-coli is responsible for more than 85 percent of all urinary tract infections, according to research published in March 2012 in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.
In children, severe giardiasis might delay physical and mental growth, slow development, and cause malnutrition”. (Info supplied … see comments section).
This article from stuff claims the boil water instruction has nothing to do with the outbreak. A curious coincidence however, please draw your own conclusions.
All up this whole incident invites much speculation & highlights the fact that NZ authorities are not taking the contamination of our waterways seriously. With only 40% of our waterways safe to swim in now let alone drink from, they persist in tipping 1080 into the waterways with (apparent) glee. Environmentalists have been petitioning the government to desist from this for decades, all falling on deaf ears. They have even tweaked the RMA rules to allow them to do this in spite of the manufacturer’s instructions telling them quite plainly to avoid distributing into waterways. Is it any wonder we have widespread speculation on the many mystery illnesses floating around? This particular region has been poisoned with 1080 also, distributed by hand. A map reveals quite prolific distribution.
If you go to the DoC website & click on 1080 at the main menu, then ‘where 1080 is used’, select ‘West Coast’. The first screen requires you to read the terms etc … scroll down & tick the ‘I agree’ box (bottom right of screen) which takes you to the map. You also need to see ‘layers’ left hand side to the bottom, which allows you to click on which view ie where 1080 has been laid & where it will be laid. Below is a screenshot.
Note: We are not saying this illness was due to 1080 poisoning … we are bringing to your attention the very real need for caution around the application of 1080 to your environment. It is just one of many environmental risks to our health today. Risks your government seems not too inclined to desist from subjecting us to. A glance at this map indicates that this area has been widely treated with 1080. If you zoom out and compare the rest of the South Island you will see how prolific the red patches are (red being 1080’d areas).
Unlike our authorities, folk should be taking a safer route by using the precautionary principle of not drinking from the public supply at all. Distilling is preferable in terms of purity in my opinion.
Here is the brief article from newshub:
“A school on the South Island’s West Coast has been closed due to a mystery illness.
Westport North School had 66 students off sick on Monday, out of a roll of around 189 students.
“There are some very nasty bugs doing the rounds. Please do not send your child to school if they are unwell and keep them home for 48 hours after they last show any symptoms,” the school’s Facebook page said on Monday.
The school website says the Board of Trustees has decided to shut down the school for three days.
It will be disinfecting and cleaning all of the schools’ surfaces and will decide whether to reopen on Friday.
Since posting this article word has come to light that of 6 tested for influenza 5 tested positive. It is being labeled the possible cause for the outbreak. Would be good if all were tested wouldn’t it? Sixty six is a lot of kids. To be honest in light of recent goings on I don’t personally place a great deal of confidence in the authorities mandated with protecting our health. However, here is hoping those children get well & don’t contract further serious illness.
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