Tag Archives: NZ
Data Centers: It’s not about faster internet … they are building the physical infrastructure of a surveillance state
“Nearly 3,000 new data centers are under construction or planned across the United States, and most Americans have no idea what these things actually are or what they are being built to do.”
Continue reading Data Centers: It’s not about faster internet … they are building the physical infrastructure of a surveillance state
NZ police hunt down woman over social media post (Update: Winston Peters weighs in)
“Police in New Zealand have tracked down and harassed a woman over a social media post they claimed was “unwelcoming to the Indian community”.”
Comment: This entire issue of course, is not the fault of Indian people per se. Draw back the layers and it is really about the policies of the controllers pulling their new world order strings behind the scenes. Hiding in the shadows. Ugly cowards that they are. The fact that they demand Police investigation for expressing opinion on social media illustrates their intent to intimidate and control. Illustrates that democracy is long gone and we have only the illusion of. And they themselves have created the situation in question here. It is by design.
Continue reading NZ police hunt down woman over social media post (Update: Winston Peters weighs in)
Gardening: WINTER AND FROSTS (Wally Richards)
In New Zealand, the official winter months are June, July and August.
As a Southern Hemisphere country, these months bring the coldest temperatures, shortest days, and snow to the mountains, with July usually being the coldest month.
Continue reading Gardening: WINTER AND FROSTS (Wally Richards)Brutal Treatment by Kainga Ora – Housing NZ Tenant Fights Back
From Liz Gunn, a must watch. Below I’ve added some related articles from our own archives EWNZ
How the authorities everywhere call private rescues to a halt
From Robin Westenra @ substack
After posting this yesterday
Was the closing of bridges in Lower Hutt a psyop, or an “abundance of caution”?
Robin Westenra 21 Apr
Continue reading How the authorities everywhere call private rescues to a halt
NZ Beekeepers Say Authorities are Now Officially Ordering them to Destroy Entire Hives, Including Healthy, Thriving Ones
As we know, once the bees are gone, our food is also. Bees have been under attack from many directions for a long time. Control the food, control the people… EWNZ
Continue reading NZ Beekeepers Say Authorities are Now Officially Ordering them to Destroy Entire Hives, Including Healthy, Thriving Ones
NZ is always too late: New Zealand’s Fuel Crisis & What’s Actually Happening
This was posted 2 weeks ago, the guy is right. Gas tonight where I am is $3.39 a litre. Two to three weeks ago, $2.41. Groceries are shooting up quickly too (by globalist design). The full video of this clip can be viewed here.
Continue reading NZ is always too late: New Zealand’s Fuel Crisis & What’s Actually HappeningWaikato: A Public Owned Essential Infastructure Asset, Internet Fibre, Was Sold Offshore in 2020 Under the Cloud of Covid
RELATED: Waikato Signed Away $3billion In Water Assets: Whats Actually Happening
Note: Globalists are intent on destroying nationhood. That is done by, among other things, selling off assets to offshore interests. Councils of course are the trojan horses for Agenda 2030 (formerly Agenda 21). EWNZ
Stabbing Chest Pains 15 mins After Receiving the ‘Safe and Effective’ – Hear About this Young NZ Woman’s Horrific & Ongoing Nightmare
Hear Ange’s story, told by herself. One hundred visits to the hospital. Put on mental health drugs and in a Psych Facility, told it’s ‘all in your head’ ….
Continue reading Stabbing Chest Pains 15 mins After Receiving the ‘Safe and Effective’ – Hear About this Young NZ Woman’s Horrific & Ongoing Nightmare
An interview with Two NZ MDs: Drs Sam and Mark Bailey (Eric Meder)
Today I had the pleasure of interviewing two very courageous truth-seekers and freedom fighters. On this episode, I spoke with Dr. Mark and Dr. Sam Bailey. They are doctors from New Zealand who are actively speaking out against the medical system… Eric Meder
Continue reading An interview with Two NZ MDs: Drs Sam and Mark Bailey (Eric Meder)
Raw Milk: The Forbidden Superfood Big Pharma Fears Most (Diamondz Ultimate Health)
NZ’s raw milk farmers endure constant new onslaughts on their industry, making it harder and more expensive to meet requirements. I’ve been sourcing raw milk in NZ for 20 years now. The supply gets harder to find. Check out our prior posts on topic here:
https://envirowatchnz.com/?s=raw+milk
Particularly that of a little NZ girl who was crippled with eczema, wheelchair bound at times, who was completely healed by drinking raw cow’s milk:
https://envirowatchnz.com/2015/03/28/raw-milk-gives-a-child-relief-and-healing-from-chronic-eczema/
Warning of coming shortages
From Robin Westenra of seemorerocks @ substack
A DIRE WARNING FOR ALL NEW ZEALANDERS
I am producing this for friends, relatives and anyone who will listen in New Zealand and Australia.
Continue reading Warning of coming shortages
Other Recent News Items (29.2.26)
The New Normal—health Services Are Forming an Alliance With Big Pharma and Big Tobacco
By Guy Hatchard
In our article “Some Hard Sobering Truths Are Beginning to Sink in” we reported that Health Services in highly vaccinated countries are beginning to realise that more people are falling sick than ever before.
Continue reading The New Normal—health Services Are Forming an Alliance With Big Pharma and Big Tobacco
On the anniversary of the Christchurch earthquake: read an investigative report that raises serious questions
“At 12.51 p.m. on Tuesday 22 February 2011, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake caused severe damage in Christchurch and Lyttelton, killing 185 people and injuring several thousand. SOURCE
Below is an important investigative article by Kiwi4Justice, posted here in March 2018.
Study Raises More Serious Questions About The Christchurch Earthquake Who Knew It Was Coming And Why?
More on the interesting findings of this study shortly, but to help put some broader perspective on this issue let us first look at what are some extraordinary occurrences and coincidences surrounding the Christchurch earthquake which add to theories that high level US officials knew that the earthquake was about to strike. If so, how did they know this and why was it kept from the New Zealand public?…
On the day of the Christchurch earthquake the 2011 US-NZ Pacific Partnership Forum was being held in Christchurch with many high level representatives present from both the US and New Zealand, with meetings scheduled to go all day. Why did a number of delegates from US Congress who were at that forum suddenly cut and run for the airport at 10.00am, two hours before the earthquake struck, and relocate to Prime Minister John Key’s offices in Wellington?…
Homelessness: Another Dark Secret in NZ
From Ursula Edgington
There’s been a dramatic change in New Zealand since the covid era. Another uncomfortable truth that most are unwilling to discuss: homelessness. In this article, I describe my perspective of the homelessness problem, and draw on three case studies from local individuals I’ve spoken with recently who are without a home. The situation will only get worse in the coming months and years ahead. Could local communities do more to help?
Continue reading Homelessness: Another Dark Secret in NZ
Land Grabs Still Happening
Having recently heard of a property being taken by the authorities who are supposed to be serving us, I figure it’s timely for a revisit. Historically, just from my own small circle, I’ve heard of others as well … ones I cannot share here, but publicly there was this recent example in Hamilton. See here and here also. The last link concerns Matata and the Whakatane DC from 2020.
Continue reading Land Grabs Still Happening
NZ Unemployment figures are so much worse than they are letting on!
Another very interesting video from Pigeon Post at Youtube. We recently posted an update on NZ’s unemployment rate based on (what you will hear about in the video) a very small seemingly irrelevant sample of the population. This investigation exposes that figure as being inaccurate. Judge for yourself. I wonder why the government doesn’t want you to know the real number? EWNZ
Continue reading NZ Unemployment figures are so much worse than they are letting on!NZ House Price Insanity! This week – WAIPUKURAU
EWNZ comment: as the Pigeon Post comments houses have become primarily investment items rather than a place to raise one’s family. A sign of course of the downward slide that is the new world order aka great reset aka world control aka Agenda 21/30 (in NZ). Courtesy of the WEF. A must watch really. (Further comment below).
Pigeon Post
In this series we take a look at properties for sale in small NZ towns. In this video we take a look around Waipukurau, in the Central Hawkes Bay region and see what house prices are doing there. This video was created on the 10/01/2026 **Please note that all of the information in this video is publicly available. However, I cannot confirm its accuracy and nothing contained within this video is advice. It is all for entertainment purposes only.
Thanks for watching.
Links – maps.google.com/ trademe.co.nz
https://www.bnz.co.nz/personal-bankin… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Waipukurau 00:00 Intro 01:03 Property 1 02:21 Property 2 04:11 Property 3 05:29 Property 4 06:44 Property 5 08:02 Affordability calculation 10:07 Conclusion More to come so please like and subscribe…
On topic a good watch to help you realize how we were forced to join this slide:
The Tartarian System That Threatened Banking – And Why It Was Destroyed ? or how the Rothschilds killed debt free community living in order to introduce debt slavery. Applying the same MO to indigenous peoples in colonizing aka seizing control of their lands and resources by stealth or by force. On that count is Venezuela sounding familiar at all? EWNZ
An Open Letter to the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment re NZ’s Prolific Use of Sodium Monofluoroacetate (1080) & Brodifacoum
Rt Hon Simon Upton
Dear Sir –
This is an open letter as it involves all living in New Zealand.
I am writing to you because of your current position as Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, a second term; your earlier position at the OECD responsible for the chemicals program, and prior to that, your former position as a New Zealand politician. You should have considerable knowledge on the subject of 1080.
I believe you should also have considerable influence in wielding authority if and where needed.
Since your early days in the 90’s of being a minister of health or the environment, a great deal of data has become available which contradicts the virtues of 1080. This is a major concern and something I am sure you should be interested in.
I have read some of your presentations and speeches to different organisations and letters to various MP’s on environmental concerns. Also the lack of regulatory infrastructure in place needed to oversee, decide or make recommendations related to the many thousands of chemicals in use today in NZ. That is disturbing and makes me wonder how on earth did 1080 ever get to be accepted to be used in NZ in the first place? It appears NZ has Authorities, NGO’s, government departments such as the EPA or MPI but not one to make immediate approval or refusal decisions on these chemicals – thousands of them in fact.
New Zealand uses 90% of the world supply – tons as opposed to tablespoons by other countries, of a poison with the classification by the World Health Organisation of 1A extremely hazardous, and then drops poison baits out of helicopters over vast areas of land and into water which we drink, to supposedly save our native wildlife. This is the official DOC narrative and is truly astonishing and extraordinary. People wear hazmat suits when around it.
Because no other country uses such quantities or drops huge amounts of 1080 or brodifacoum into the environment and ecosystem there is no scientific evidence available of the sub-lethal and chronic effects on humans, wildlife, insect life, birds, all life except plants and some micro-organisms. How about long-term ecological damage? 1080 is an eco-system poison.
Because of your experience and knowledge, I have questions which I hope you can answer:
Why are reports, books, testimonies by anyone who challenges the DOC narrative ignored? I will mention some below.
Quinn and Pat Whiting-O’Keefe, independent scientists who reviewed more than 100 DOC Scientific Papers say
“There is no credible scientific evidence showing any species of native bird benefits from 1080 drops.” These two have impeccable credentials that cannot be ignored when it comes to evaluating this whole subject. They say a lot more which conflicts with what we are told to believe by our government and related agencies. One of their two reports is immediately below.
https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:AP:8d386759-9154-4daf-8ae7-368cf9bca4cd
There is another report – 89 pages with a great deal more detail as well by these two.
Independent Scientist Dr. Jo Pollard and her website 1080 Science.
Professor Fiona McQueen, a rheumatologist and environmentalist who wrote The Quiet Forest.
Dr. Koen Margodt’s report which was written as a result of the late Dame Jane Goodall being so concerned about the ethics of 1080, she asked that this be written.
At War With Nature – Corporate Conservation and the Industry of Extinction by the late Bill Benfield as well as The Third Wave.
The Killing Nation, aptly called, by Reihana Robinson; as well as other books.
New Zealand’s Changing Diversity by Jim Hilton and Roger Childs; there are more I have not listed here.
Articles by Marc Bekoff, Ph.D., who worked closely with the late Dame Jane Goodall as co-chair of the ethics committee of the Jane Goodall Institute. Marc has written over 30 books and is known for his work on animal research, animal behaviour and emotions and compassionate conservation. He raises the alarm and questions animal cruelty in NZ with our treatment of wildlife. Marc has many awards to his name.
I must also mention the excellent award winning documentary Poisoning Paradise by the Graf Boys – not allowed to be played on our airwaves. Disturbing detail of wildlife dying; hormone/endocrine disruption concerns stated by Dr Sean Weaver, and human health concerns as well, mentioned by the late Dr. Peter Scanlon. Their website TV Wild has excellent information and videos on it.
As NZ has five times the world statistic of motor neuron disease and various cancers through the roof why have no human health studies been carried out?
Anything that challenges the “inhouse science” of DOC is ignored and never acknowledged. Why?
The WHO stated there is NO acceptable amount of 1080 in water, why did NZ govt ignore and change that?
How have NZ Government and users of 1080 been allowed to ignore data on the original Safety Data Sheet in favour of their own? These are Safety Data Sheet violations. Major violations – 1080 found dumped and exposed on Stewart Island in 2018 (covered by Patrick Gower).
1080 found in ground water and traced to a landfill where the toxin had leached out of the baits. Is this not a serious health and safety issue? (Environmental Health Watch April 6 2019 – Is there 1080 in your landfill …) – this website has a great deal of information on this subject. There are other violations as well.
Are these above not State Sanctioned crimes? Acts of Omission by the State?
Peter Notman, an entomologist, Mike Meads, an invertebrate ecologist, and Dr. Valerie Orchard, a microbiologist were all made redundant when they all raised concerns which did not align with what DOC wanted. “Safe science” is preferred by DOC. Chapter 11 of At War With Nature, is called “Conservation Science – Its How We Get The Message Right” – the late Bill Benfield describes in great detail how this “safe science” came to be and not allowed to be challenged.
Why have there not been prosecutions of individuals? Of Companies/agencies concerned?
There are many more questions which need answering. Is the careless and indiscriminate use of a 1A extremely hazardous toxin which is dropped in huge quantities across our land and waters not environmental terrorism?
Is it not ecocide? Where dying carcasses are left which then creates secondary poisoning on a massive scale? Horrific carnage. Where cruelty of a heinous nature is suffered by all which come into contact with and ingest 1080? Deer right now are having their babies – these babies will watch their mothers thrashing around in agony dying and then starve to death themselves. Other young, starving watching their mothers screaming in pain as they die – what sort of country is this where the Department of Conservation which holds responsibility for the welfare of our wildlife is killing it and rare native species are or have become extinct? Killing the basic on the chain, the insect life – which then kills the birds as their food is gone and they starve to death or die poisoned. Vilifying non-natives and calling them pests? In particular, the possum.
Because NZ does not appear to have the technical ability to test for 1080 correctly, or will not, how many humans have been affected in some way as well?
President Nixon banned it in 1972, in the U.S., the country of origin, because of high toxicity, lethal effects, environmental and safety concerns, cruelty and harm suffered by wildlife, targeted and non-targeted. It was approved in very limited amounts later by President Reagan.
The second reason for banning was the terrorism risk. With huge amounts of 1080 being brought into this country, and held in built-up areas in NZ, surely these are major causes for concern? According to Predator Defense in the U.S. “both the FBI and Canadian Security Intelligence Service list Compound 1080 as a substance that may be sought for use as a possible chemical warfare agent in public water supplies”. This threat cannot be underestimated with daily events happening somewhere. If the U.S. has concerns of terrorism potential, with their guns and weapons, is it not absurd that we here in NZ blindly keep using it, dropping it out of helicopters like confetti year after year? Dangerous? Is not the terrorism threat very real? Should this deadly toxin not be locked up with the equivalent of something such as Fort Knox?
1080 is being dropped in our waters which we drink, by our own government. The hoppers have been filmed spilling the baits carelessly; accidentally, killing farm animals, pets, birds, insects, poisoning the landscape – how can the birds be saved if the insects they rely on for food are poisoned or dead?
The fact that these deadly drops are repeated year after year means a huge failure; on the other hand, if it succeeded then the money supply would dry up and cease as well as the employment of those involved in this cruel activity which is not needed. Is this one reason why after 70 years this practise is still continuing?
Tons of 1080 are being dumped in landfills in and around NZ. Why is it being stockpiled here and then after four years which is the shelf life, it has to be disposed of? How? Where?
With so much government information contradicting testimonies, videos, reports by highly qualified scientists, books written by specialists in their field all following a similar pattern and disagreeing with DOC and related agencies, why have they at the very least not been investigated or shut down? DOC are perpetually being economical with the truth. They even contradict their own data. Do not follow their own policies. What is it going to take to stop this dangerous and failing experiment year after year?
There are alternatives – why are they not being used? Traps, hunters, which are sources of employment – also a possum fur industry.
The possum excuse is that – an excuse; the Tb was from cattle and then possums – thousands were found when tested to have no Tb – (the late Richard Prosser and Nathan Guy – Hansard). Possums made out to be villains by DOC when we are virtually Tb free and children encouraged to kill them? Unconscionable behavior – was that sanctioned? Why not?
Why has a major source of food been taken away from the people? A HIKOI the length and breadth of the country ignored? Thousands of people speaking out against 1080 not listened to. Where is government representation of the people of NZ?
These are some of the many questions that need to be answered as the consequences are unknown and could be deadly.
With daily articles of the threat of war looming in various parts of the world, the public unease at immigrants not embracing NZ values or even an individual living here with a personal grudge, the lack of security and safety involved in storage of this deadly toxin, the large amounts lying around in the open and not buried in NZ, silence by people who should be speaking up and not for fear of consequences like losing their employment, accidents just waiting to happen such as a loaded helicopter crashing into a dam or a truck carrying it falling into a major water supply – millions could die. There is no antidote.
The evidence against the use of sodium monofluoroacetate/1080 and how it is used here in NZ is damning. Why has it not been banned?
How is this not a NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUE?
I would really appreciate a response from you, and also responses from anyone copied directly into this Open Letter.
Sincerely,
Rowena Kaleopa
Copied to Rt Hons Christopher Luxon
Winston Peters
David Seymour
Shane Jones
Mark Mitchell
Tama Potaka
Andre Hoggart
Penny Nelson
Penny Simmonds
Police:
Richard Chambers
Mike Pannett
Copied also to –
Brooks Fahy, Predator Defense
Mark Bekoff, Psychology Today
Dr Jo Pollard
Clyde Graf
The Whiting-O’Keefes
Professor Fiona McQueen
Reihana Robinson
Jim Hilton
Environmental Health Watch NZ
Photo Credit: envirowatchnz.com
Health NZ admits they did not look at their own safety data. The treatment in question is safe. Why bother to look at our data?
Do you not find this seriously disturbing?
Admission by Health New Zealand that they recommend the COVID vaccines and flatly refuse to look at their own data or make their own data public for researchers to review.
They admit they don’t look at the evidence of harm and in the same document assure the public there is no evidence of harm.
From Steve Kirsch
Executive summary
Here you go: an admission by Health New Zealand that they don’t analyze the COVID vaccine data for safety signals.
“We assure people there is no evidence whatsoever that vaccination is responsible for excess mortality in New Zealand and that they can continue to have confidence in vaccines.”
So how can they reassure people that there is no evidence of harm if they haven’t looked at the evidence? They even admit they haven’t looked at the data in the same document:
Health NZ has never engaged in an analysis of the data … publicly released by Mr Young with a view to testing the accuracy of his misinformed claims.
I’ve asked them for their analysis of their own data showing I’m wrong, and they did not reply.
“We will not accept Kirsch’s invitation for a public discussion on the NZ data”
I’ve asked them if I can have a public conversation with their epidemiologists to show me how I got it wrong so they can publicly expose me as a “misinformation spreader” and they refused to do so. Why would they do that? Doesn’t misinformation cause harm? They could easily stop it by accepting my offer.
We will not autopsy anyone who relatives believe were killed by the COVID shots
AI analysis: “Health NZ isn’t practicing science, they are practicing public relations.”
Excerpts:
Summary
So there you go. They admit they don’t look at the evidence of harm and in the same document assure the public there is no evidence of harm.
No epidemiologist or doctor will dare to publicly challenge Health New Zealand for fear of retaliation. Not a single one.
1080 – where are the cancer causing or carcinogenicity studies?
Some of our readers will have seen this post. I’m re-sharing it, and others on topic going forward, as many will not be up to speed on this toxin that our conservation ‘experts’ (DoC) swear is harmless once dissolved in water (hence why they can now dump it in our waterways). They spread it all over NZ like veritable lolly scrambles :
For over 50 years the New Zealand Government has been systematically dropping massive amounts of food, laced with a cruel and universally toxic poison into its forest ecosystems. Enough poison every year to kill the entire population of NZ four times over. No other country is doing, or ever has done, anything remotely similar on such a scale.
1080 is an alias for Monofluoroacetate, a chemical. Monofluoroacetate was originally developed and marketed as an insecticide. It functions primarily by interfering with the citrate step in the Krebs cycle [5]. The Krebs cycle is the major and an essential mechanism by which all air breathing creatures utilize food to produce energy. It is therefore universally toxic to all animals, essentially every living thing except plants and some micro-organisms. The degree of toxicity of 1080 is extreme, but varies somewhat among species. It is categorised by the World Health Organization (WHO) as 1A, their highest rating, “extremely toxic” [1,2]. The PAN pesticide database classifies 1080 as one of the few “PAN Bad Actor Chemicals”, by which it means “highly acutely toxic” [2]. It can kill every air-breathing animal. One hundred milligrams is sufficient to kill an adult human [1]. In theory, one could kill at least 20 million people with the amount being dropped into New Zealand Forests every year.
Dr Q Whiting-OKeefe (BA Chemistry, Math), MD, FACMI
RELATED:
Poisoning Paradise (must see award winning doco banned from NZ screens)
Why are people so concerned about 1080?
For further info on the carcinogenicity of 1080 and to hear the late Dr Scanlon discussing the issues highlighted below go to this article: IN 2009 TWO MIDWIVES URGED THEIR PREGNANT PATIENTS TO LEAVE TOWN BEFORE A 1080 DROP – HEAR THE LATE DR SCANLON SPEAK ON THE LACK OF RESEARCH ON THE POTENTIAL RISKS TO THE UNBORN
Is there 1080 in your landfill? According to a 2019 OIA request DoC alone has buried 100 tonnes in NZ’s landfills
“It is common practice to dump excess 1080 pellets after 1080 drops have finished (Re Stewart Island dump, see article).When 1080 toxin was first discovered in ground water the source of the toxin was traced to a landfill site above. Un-spread 1080 baits had been buried in the landfill and the toxin had leached out of the baits and seeped down into the ground water where it remained as toxic as the day it was dumped. No breakdown of the poison had taken place over all that time” … these are only DoC’s figures … “OSPRI has traditionally dropped more 1080 poison than DoC. Regional Councils account for around 12% of 1080 use too.”
READ AT THE LINK
Image by Heamna Manzur from Pixabay
Kiwi farmers are still poisoning their fields with a Bayer/Monsanto product that has involved multi billion dollar settlements
Travelling about the NZ countryside recently I noticed the familiar yellow fields I used to think were attractive. Until I discovered they’d been sprayed with Roundup, the herbicide that farmers tell me, is so harmless you could drink it.
Sounds a bit like the ‘safe and effective’ mantra. Well it turns out Roundup is far from either of those terms. Why will farmers not read the independent research? Or follow the precautionary principle. Any doubt whatsoever about safety? wait until it is proven safe.
Roundup is manufactured by Bayer (formerly Monsanto… read their history … who have morphed into oblivion) and one of its ingredients so harmful to us all is glyphosate. There is a ton of independent research now (including law suits) that should make you avoid it at all costs. US Legal firm Wisner Baum helped negotiate over $11 billion in settlements against Bayer, securing multi-billion dollar jury verdicts for its clients. They state at their website:
Roundup is a widely used herbicide whose active ingredient is glyphosate. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) — part of the World Health Organization — classifies glyphosate as a probable human carcinogen. Thousands of people across the U.S. have alleged that long‑term exposure to glyphosate (in Roundup and similar products) caused them to develop non‑Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and other serious illnesses.
A NZ tertiary agricultural textbook has long instructed farmers to spray Roundup on their fields then plow it under. The text book is called Pasture Doctor and can be found on Amazon here. (Small wonder farmers still think it’s safe. Why would the University lie to them? ) There used to be a preview option of that book from which I screenshot the pages recommending spraying, however that option has now disappeared. (I lost the screenshots some time ago unfortunately). Of note, it was a University lecturer who told me in the 1980s that corporations would one day control governments. Predictive programming at its finest.
Professor Seralini (from France) conducted a two year experiment (2011) examining glyphosate and GMO food, his team fed transgenic corn to lab rats that produced in them multiple tumours. But of course Monsanto produced ‘evidence’ claiming the rats they used were the wrong kind, casting aspersions on the whole study. (Refuted here). Wiki predictably called it the Seralini ‘affair’. I would prefer to believe the Professor any day. You can watch the 12 minute Seralini video below. There is a transcript at the source on YouTube.
A French court ruled in 2009 that Monsanto has lied about the safety of Roundup (ie it is not biodegradable as claimed, a bit like the claims made about deadly 1080).
US Tertiary level lecturer of 55 years experience in agriculture, Professor Emeritus of Plant Pathology (Dr Don Hubert) calls Glyphosate one of the most toxic substances on the planet.
The Physicians & Scientists for Global Responsibility (PSGR) supply a long list of research citing concerns about glyphosate here.
Hear also, NZ’s Dr Meriel Watts speaking on glyphosate.
“We don’t want to wait until we have exposed enough people to a chemical in order to prove that it’s carcinogenic. When we hit that point, we have hit a failure in the regulatory process.” – Dr. Lynn Goldman,
National Research Council Report Review Committee Member
For some time I and other interested folk appealed to the local Rangitikei District Council asking them to drop the use of glyphosate/Roundup on Council lands, streets, parks and so on. There were some concessions made about signage warning the public of spraying and so on but as to ceasing altogether they declined. There was evidence cited of the use of steam in Auckland to combat weeds which was only minimally dearer than Roundup. No go. I approached a person spraying for Council one time and asked why he didn’t wear protective clothing as recommended by the manufacturer. He told me he didn’t want to scare the public.
To educate yourself on the long list of studies and the experts who have spoken out against glyphosate and Roundup check out these pages (glyphosate is in other herbicides as well, check the labels, and consider organic alternatives if you must spray) :
Glyphosate Toxicity: What You Need to Know
Links between Glyphosate and a Multitude of Cancers that are “Reaching Epidemic Proportions” from GlobalResearch.ca
Search in ‘categories’ for ‘glyphosate’ (categories is found at the top left hand side of the news page). Alternatively type glyphosate into the search box (top right hand side).
Safe & Effective: Compare the possible side effects listed by the NZ Govt with those listed by the FDA
This important data was heavily censored at the roll out, preventing you from making a truly informed decision. It’s not medical advice, it’s just putting out there for you, the respective and differing medical points of view that we have been served up EWNZ
Here are those supplied by the authorities in NZ:
The most common reported reactions are:
- pain or swelling at the injection site
- feeling tired or fatigued
- headache
- muscle aches
- chills
- joint pain
- fever
- redness at the injection site
- nausea.
Uncommon side effects
In the clinical trials, uncommon side effects were reported in every 1 in 100 to 1 in 1,000 people. These include:
- enlarged lymph nodes
- feeling unwell
- pain in limb
- insomnia
- itching at injection site
KNOWN POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS FROM THE COVID-19 EXPERIMENTAL mRNA INJECTION LISTED BY THE FDA
This is a draft list compiled by the FDA – the Food and Drug Administration in the US (link below):
Guillain-Barre syndrome, Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, Transverse myelitis,
Encephalitis, Myelitis, Encephalomyelitis, Meningoencephalitis, Meningitis, Encephalopathy,
Convulsions, Seizures, Stroke, Narcolepsy, Cataplexy, Anaphylaxis, Acute myocardial infarction (heart attack), Myocarditis, Pericarditis, Autoimmune disease, Death, Pregnancy, Birth outcomes,
Other acute demyelinating diseases, Non anaphylactic allergy reactions, Thromocytopenia,
Disseminated intravascular coagulation, Venous thromboembolism, Arthritis, Arthralgia, Joint pain,
Kawasaki disease, Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, Vaccine enhanced disease.
https://www.fda.gov/media/143557/download (see page 17)
You are advised that you aren’t necessarily going to get all of those or even any of them if you have the treatment. But those are the possible side effects that the FDA has listed. They’re all unpleasant, most of them very serious and you can’t get more serious than death.
Remember only 1% on average are reporting adverse events.
Be sure also to read this article:
Pro-Vax Doctor Blows Whistle, Warns Public About ‘Major Cover Up’ of ‘Devastating Side Effects’
For related health articles go to https://truthwatchnz.is/
Also, https://nzdsos.com/
ALSO RELATED:
Safe & Effective linked to Turbo Cancer Explosion in Massive South Korea Study
Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay
Sustainable practices?
I was sitting outside in NZ’s Northland sunshine, December 2024. All year round, it’s the warmest district in the country and has a wealth of orange orchards. The temperature was 24 deg and set to get warmer. I was eating an orange however, that had traveled all the way to NZ from 7798 miles away. Grown in the US of A. I don’t generally buy imported oranges on principle, however someone else had brought me these. Similarly, I also had in my fridge, some Australian oranges. Those had traveled 2583 miles to get here. How big were those carbon footprints? Good luck with those calculations. Generally speaking, it would appear, according to the Davos boys, we shouldn’t be traveling too far or buying stuff that traveled a long way?
Now Northland is known for its orange orchards. It is one of the two leaders in our citrus industry. The other district is Gisborne. Twenty years ago I lived in the Eastern Bay of Plenty, which is near there, during which time we had free access to a local orchard to pick all the oranges we wanted. Why? Because the owner told us the supermarkets weren’t interested in buying them and to pick and sell them themselves was not cost effective at all. Meanwhile, just down the road the local supermarket sold fruit from, you guessed it, Australia and the US. So we would drive to town to shop, passing multiple orange orchards with beautiful ripe oranges falling on the ground and frequently going to waste.
Check out Davos and their ‘sustainable menu’. No mention of where they sourced their fruit from.
Can you see the hypocrisy? And the scam that it is?
RECKLESS GENE TECHNOLOGY BILL AN ATTACK ON LOCAL DEMOCRACY, FARMERS, AND COUNCILS (GE Free Nthland Media Release)
Protecting Our Democratic Right to Be GE-Free
GE Free Northland (in food & environment)
12 February 2025 Media release
Whangarei, Far North, Kaipara, and Auckland communities share the concerns of many New Zealanders about the controversial Gene Technology Bill, quietly released just days before Christmas 2024.
The Bill proposes removing all ethical considerations and the Precautionary approach to outdoor GE/ GMO applications and the authors of the Bill have failed to adequately consult with the farming sector. In addition, the Bill proposes stripping local councils of their authority and jurisdiction in regard to outdoor GE experiments, field trials, and releases.
Removal of the authority of these councils would destroy what they have worked hard to achieve – much needed additional protection for the biosecurity of particular regions and the wider environment. These were put in place to address significant risks that would be faced by farmers and other ratepayers.
The Northland and Auckland Region, along with the Hastings District, are established GE Free food producing zones that provide protection from outdoor GE field trials, and releases.
“The Northland /Auckland Councils collaborated in a fiscally responsible manner to meet the needs of farmers and other ratepayers, after robust public consultation over a period of many years. “
“The councils wisely prohibit the release of any Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and make any EPA approved outdoor GE experiments and field trials a Discretionary activity, subject to liability provisions including the posting of bonds,” said GE Free Northland spokesman Martin Robinson.
“We fully support council rules without which GM free primary producers, including conventional, IPM, and organic, would be at risk of serious financial consequences, if not the complete loss, of their valuable enterprises, in the case of GE contamination from EPA approved activities,” said Robinson. “We urge concerned Northlanders and Aucklanders to make a submission opposing the Gene Technology Bill by the deadline of 17 January 2025.”
The proposals in the Coalition government’s plans to remove the rights of councils to prohibit GMO activities are in clauses 248 to 253 of the Bill* (1).
“This is a political fight any government would be foolhardy to pick, given the huge backing from the Northland and Auckland communities, the significant biosecurity risks, the concerns of Kiwi farmers, and the importance of our existing valuable GE free status, says GE Free Northland spokesman Martin Robinson.
Councils’ concerns about GE relate mainly to uncertainties over the economic, environmental, biosecurity, and socio-cultural risks, including risks to farmers and other primary producers.*(2)
Without a strict liability regime, unsuspecting third parties and local authorities are at risk of GE contamination. This would result in them being unable to sell their produce on the export market. The issue of liability for any adverse effects of GMOs grown in the area needs to be resolved before any outdoor experiments are permitted in Auckland/Northland Peninsula.
Instead of there being provisions in this Bill to compensate farmers for GE contamination, the opposite is proposed. Farmers and growers whose crops or stock are adversely affected must pay the clean up costs and suffer the losses of cancelled export orders. This would mean the loss of access to key markets and the current non-GMO market premiums they earn.
There has been no economic cost-benefit analysis carried out in the Bill on the effects of GE contamination on our primary sector exports.
“Farmers cannot afford to experiment with their income and livelihood. There’s no hardcore evidence to suggest anything is practical or feasible with this technology. Co-existence between GE and other crops is impossible without significant contamination threshold levels, as documented in North America and other countries.”
“Agriculture in New Zealand is worth around $56 billion in exports. Why would anyone in their right mind want to gamble all of that on something that might not even work and is highly likely to cause irreversible harm,” said horticulturist Zelka Grammer, GE Free Northland chair.
Analysis of the Bill has been carried out by a team of researchers from the University of Canterbury headed by Professor Jack Heinemann. Their area of expertise includes the biosafety of GMOs and risk assessment protocols. *(3) This analysis indicates that a robust scientific case has not been made for the proposed reforms to gene technology law and that we would be much better off sticking with the current laws under the HSNO Act (1996).
The right of communities to decide was confirmed by a landmark Environment Court decision in 2015. This decision gave councils the power, under the RMA, to control the outdoor use of GMOs in their regions.
The National Party’s previous attempt to take away communities’ ability to ban or control GM releases in their territories was strongly opposed by farmers and all councils from South Auckland to Cape Reinga as well as Hastings District Council and its ratepayers.*(4)
GE Free Northland urges NZ First to no longer support the unscientific, unsafe, and economically risky proposals in this Bill, and to respect the right of councils to choose sustainable integrated planning. *(5)
“NZ’s reputation in the global marketplace must be protected. GE crops have failed to perform overseas, with lower yields, higher herbicide use, and the creation of herbicide resistant invasive “super weeds”.
“This combined with ongoing consumer and market aversion to GE food means that this is not the path NZ should go down. We must continue to protect our valuable “Northland, Naturally brand” and high value agricultural economy against GMO contamination,” said Grammer.
The operative Northland “Regional Policy Statement”, Regional Plan, the Auckland Unitary Plan, and the Whangarei and Far North District Plans all have strong precautionary and prohibitive GE/GMO provisions, policies, and rules in place in keeping with the wishes of local farmers and other ratepayers. *(6)
Northland Regional Council is holding a workshop today at Whangārei council chambers in response to widespread concerns about the proposed legislative changes. *(7)
ENDS
Contact: Martin Robinson 09 409 8650
Mobile: 027 347 8048
Zelka Linda Grammer
email: linda.grammer@gmail.com
*(1)
The explanatory notes in the Gene Technology Bill state:
“Subpart 9—Amendments to Resource Management Act 1991 Clauses 246 to 254 amend the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA). In particular, these clauses— • define genetically modified and Regulator (clause 247): • prohibit a regional council or territorial authority from performing its functions under sections 30 and 31 of the RMA in a manner that treats genetically modified organisms differently from other organisms, including in regional plans, district plans and regional rules (clauses 248 to 253).”
All councils from south Auckland to Cape Reinga in Far North/ Te Tai Tokerau have precautionary and prohibitive GE/GMO provisions, policies, and rules- set up in keeping with the wishes of local farmers and other ratepayers, in order to protect our regions biosecurity, wider environment, economy, and existing GM free farmers/ primary producers, including conventional, IPM, regenerative,and organic.
Hastings District Council has achieved outright prohibition of all outdoor GE/GMO experiments, field trials, and releases for the duration of the District Plan.
*(2)
Whangarei District Council “Genetic Engineering Review” webpage, detailing the good work of the Northland/ Auckland INTER COUNCIL WORKING PARTY ON GMO RISK EVALUATION & MANAGEMENT OPTIONS
https://www.wdc.govt.nz/Council/Council-documents/Reports/Genetic-Engineering-Review
“Three major reports commissioned by the working party have identified a range of risks involved with the trialing and release of GMOs. They also include approaches to managing those risks.
GMO Reports [link to documents]
Environmental risks
- GMOs becoming invasive and affecting other species including native flora and fauna
- the development of herbicide or pesticide resistance creating ‘super-weeds’ or ‘super-pests’
- long term effects on ecosystem functioning.
Socio-cultural risks
- effects on Maori cultural beliefs of whakapapa, mauri, tikanga
- ethical concerns about mixing genes from different species including human genes
- concerns about the long term safety of genetically engineered food.
Economic risks
- loss of income through contamination (or perceived contamination) of non-GMO food products
- negative effects on marketing and branding opportunities such as ‘clean and green’ or ‘naturally Northland’
- costs associated with environmental damage such as clean-up costs for invasive weeds or pests.
Associated with these risks are limited liability provisions under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (HSNO) Act 1996. “
*(3)
A comprehensive analysis of the Bill by Professor Jack Heinemann, an international expert in the biosafety of organisms created by gene technology, and his colleagues indicates that a robust scientific case has not been made for the proposed “reforms” to gene technology law.
See
Centre for Integrated Research in Biosafety submission to the Parliament Health Select Committee on the Gene Technology Bill 2024.
*(4)
Hastings District Council
1 August 2018 Media Release
“Council and Iwi welcome GMO decision”
*(5) NZ First
Despite their reservations about a number of extreme proposals, NZ First supported the first reading of the Bill. Their support of the Bill is at odds with what they signed up to in the Coalition agreement, that is to “Liberalise genetic engineering laws, while ensuring strong protections for human health and the environment”.*
“Coalition Agreement between the National Party and the New Zealand First Party”
Primary Sector
• Liberalise genetic engineering laws while ensuring strong protections for human health and the
environment
The Gene Technology Bill in its current form removes strong protections for human health and the environment, as well as undermining our biosecurity and proposing the removal of ethical considerations and the Precautionary approach. NZ First has previously had a strong precautionary GE/GMO policy.
*(6)
- Northland operative Regional Plan and RPS provisions
- 6.1.2 Policy – Precautionary approach -p112
- 2.6 Issues of significance to tangata whenua – natural and physical resources -p26
- Rule C.1.9.1 Genetically modified organisms in the coastal marine area – permitted activities – p 107
- Rule C.1.9.2 Genetically modified organism field trials – discretionary activity– p 107
- Rule C.1.9.3 Viable genetically modified veterinary vaccines – discretionary activity – p 107
- Rule C.1.9.4 Genetically modified organism releases – prohibited activity– p 108
- Policy D.1.1 When an analysis of effects on tāngata whenua and their taonga is required – p 235
- Policy D.5.32 Precautionary approach to assessing and managing genetically modified organisms -p 275
- Policy D.5.33 Adaptive approach to the management of genetically modified organisms -p 275
- Policy D.5.34 Avoiding adverse effects of genetically modified organism field trials -p 275
- Policy D.5.35 Liability for adverse effects from genetically modified organism activities -p 275
- Policy D.5.36 Bonds for genetically modified organism activities -p 276
- Policy D.5.37 Risk management plan for genetically modified organism field trials -p 276
- Objective F.1.15 Use of genetic engineering and the release of genetically modified organisms – p 294
The Northland RPS includes Precautionary policy 6.1.2 and Method 6.1.5, as well as the GE/GMO issue correctly identified as an Issue of Significance to Northland tangata whenua/ issue of concern to Northland communities…and the specific concerns of Maori regarding the risks of outdoor use of GE/GMOs to indigenous biodiversity
(as directed by Judge Newhook on 12 April 2018, the wording of Policy 6.1.2 and Method 6.1.5 has the following wording
“Policy 6.1.2 – Precautionary approach
Adopt a precautionary approach towards the effects of climate change and introducing genetically modified organisms to the environment where they are scientifically uncertain, unknown or little understood, but potentially significantly adverse.
This is confirmed by method 6.1.5 in the Northland RPS which states that:
“6.1.5 Method- Statutory Plans and Strategies
The regional and district councils should apply 6.1.2 when reviewing their plans or considering options for plan changes and assessing resource consent applications.
Explanation:
Method 6.1.5 implements Policy 6.1.2″
(ENDS excerpt from Judge Newhook’s 12 April 2018 decision)
see also
Policy D.1.1 of the Proposed Regional Plan includes a reference to genetic engineering. The policy requires effects on tāngata whenua to be addressed in resource consent applications where specified effects or activities are likely, including release of GMO’s to the environment.
*(7)
Northland Regional Council Workshop Wednesday, 12 February 2025 Council Chambers, Rust Avenue,
“12.45 – 1.45pm 3.0 Recent Central Government Legislative Changes
Reporting Officers: GM Environmental Services, Ruben Wylie, and Policy
and Planning Manager, Tami Woods”
Further information:
According to an independent study by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER), New Zealand’s primary sector exports could be reduced by $10 – $20 billion annually, if GMOs were to be released into the environment. The report was commissioned by Organics Aotearoa New Zealand (OANZ) to evaluate the cost of proposed regulatory changes governing gene technology. OANZ says that the costs, as well as supposed benefits of deregulating gene technology, need to be carefully considered.
The NZIER study authors note that the proposed changes to the regulations as outlined by Wellington bureaucrats at the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE), do not include a Regulatory Impact Statement, economic assessment, cost-benefit analysis or address the practicality of “co-existence” of GE and non GE crops..given the known vectors for GMO contamination (seeds, pollen, vegetative material, soils, waterways, machinery, animals, insects, extreme weather events).
The report was commissioned by Organics Aotearoa New Zealand (OANZ) to evaluate the cost of proposed regulatory changes governing gene technology. OANZ says that the costs, as well as supposed benefits of deregulating gene technology, need to be carefully considered.
26 November 2024 OANZ media release
Media Statement: “NZ exports risk multi-billion dollar hit if GMO rules deregulated”
“OANZ’s commissioned NZIER Economic Report that clearly highlights the economic risks to the country” (26 November 2024)
https://www.oanz.org/new-blog/NZ%20exports%20risk%20multi-billion%20dollar%20hit%20if%20GMO%20rules%20deregulated?rq=nzier
26 November 2024 NZ Farmers Weekly
“Gene shift could cost exporters billions: report “
“Researchers flag lack of research from MBIE on financial impact of opening doors to gene editing.”
29 August 2024
“Let’s cut the crap on gene technology”
by Professor Jack Heinemann
https://www.concernedfarmersnz.org/news/get-out-there-n9t2h-2c3pz-4tsby-ek7wx-e3res-nnleb
Summary recommendations for the Gene Technology Bill- by Physicians & Scientists for Global Responsibility (NZ) .
https://psgr.org.nz/component/jdownloads/send/1-root/166-gtbill-3pager
11 Feb 2025 • Ashburton Guardian
Gene tech bill “a slap in the face to farmers, experts”
https://www.guardianonline.co.nz/news/gene-tech-bill-a-slap-in-the-face-to-farmers-experts/
Concerned Farmers NZ
30 January 2025
“The Risks of GMO Deregulation to NZ Farmers”
“There is no ban on gene technology in NZ. This misleading hyperbole is used to obscure a failure to engineer products that will have a market or social value that exceeds the cost of compliance with reasonable regulations.”
– Professor Jack Heinemann, Genetics/ Molecular Biology, Canterbury University, and director- Centre for Integrated Research in Biosafety
National Party previous attempts to strip local councils of their authority and jurisdiction, falsely claiming that council plans (Northland, Auckland, Hawke’s Bay, etc) prohibited ethical and humane medical research in the laboratory
Radio NZ 2 September 2016
“Environment Minister accused of GMO beat-up”
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/312414/environment-minister-accused-of-gmo-beat-up
“Minister eyes law change to end councils’ control over GMOs”
Northern Advocate
5 September 2016
Two scientists who reviewed more than 100 of DoC’s scientific papers say: “There’s no credible scientific evidence showing any species of native bird benefits from 1080 drops”
Time for a repost of this article from 2007, as the drops continue, in spite of the clear scientific evidence it is not beneficial to our ecosystem.
“We have audited Department of Conservation scientific research and produced an 88-page monograph reviewing more than 100 scientific papers.
The results are startling and belie most of the department’s claims.
- First, there is no credible scientific evidence showing that any species of native bird benefits from the dropping of tonnes of 1080 into our forest ecosystems
- Second, considerable evidence exists that DoC’s aerial 1080 operations are doing serious harm“Quinn and Patricia Whiting-O’Keefe
Read the Whiting-O’Keefe report HERE
Scientists, Quinn and Patricia Whiting-O’Keefe: “Poison facts belie the claims”
We have audited Department of Conservation scientific research and produced an 88-page monograph reviewing more than 100 scientific papers.
The results are startling and belie most of the department’s claims.
First, there is no credible scientific evidence showing that any species of native bird benefits from the dropping of tonnes of 1080 into our forest ecosystems, as claimed by the department and Kevin Hackwell. There is certainly no evidence of net ecosystem benefit.
We have repeatedly challenged DoC and Mr Hackwell, a representative of the Forest and Bird Society, to come forward with the hard scientific evidence for their “dead forest” claims. They have not.
Second, considerable evidence exists that DoC’s aerial 1080 operations are doing serious harm, as one would expect, given that 1080 is toxic to all animals. It kills large numbers of native species of birds, invertebrates and bats.
Moreover, most native species are completely unstudied. In addition considerable evidence shows there are chronic and sublethal effects to vertebrate endocrine and reproductive systems, possibly including those of humans.
Considerable evidence demonstrates that DoC’s aerial 1080 operations are doing serious harm. Photos: Upper (Tomtit in hand) by Clyde Graf
Lower (multiple dead birds) by Jim Hilton:
Dead birds found over a few acres, after 270,000 hectare aerial 1080 poison drop, Kahurangi National Park, 2014. This was the first year of DoC’s “Battle for our Birds” drops.
Third, DoC claims that one can drop food laced with 1080, a universal poison (World Health Organisation classification “1A extremely hazardous”) indiscriminately into a semi-tropical forest ecosystem and only negatively affect one or two target “pest” species. That is counterintuitive and scientifically improbable.
Fourth, as far as we can determine no other country in the world is doing (or has ever done) anything remotely similar – mass poisoning of a semi-tropical ecosystem on the scale that the department is now doing to ours.
Fifth, and perhaps most disturbing, is that what the department-sponsored research shows has been habitually misrepresented – entirely unjustifiable assertions regarding 1080’s benefits and lack of harm.
Statements like those of Mr Hackwell that the forests will be “dead” without poisoning them with 1080, and from John McLennan (Landcare Research) and Al Morrison (then Director General of DoC) that 1080 is existentially necessary to Kiwis is pure demagoguery and scientific nonsense.
What is at risk by continuation of this extraordinary practice – and it is unique in the world – is the ecological integrity of our forest ecosystems, our reputation as an environmentally sane and responsible country, and our existence as a society in which reason and rationality can triumph over bureaucratic prerogative and budgetary gain.
Since Galileo Galilee first discovered the moons of Jupiter in the 17th century, the way to resolve this kind of disagreement has been to do the experiment and examine the evidence, and that is precisely what we urge everyone to do.
Don’t believe DoC. Don’t believe Mr Hackwell. Don’t believe us – believe the evidence. To that end we will provide a copy of our report and the source scientific research papers to all who would like to read them.
* Quinn and Patricia Whiting-O’Keefe are retired scientists.
Header Photo: Robin, TV-Wild
ARTICLE SOURCE:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10448063
Read the Whiting-O’Keefe report HERE
If you have difficulty with the link to the report go to our Resources page & see it there.
RELATED:
See the TheGrafBoys YT channel and website for more videos. Educate yourself on 1080 poisoning. See also http://1080science.co.nz/
And our 1080 pages for info & links, &/or search ‘categories’ drop down box for further related articles (at left of any page).
EnviroWatchNZ
The day the Treaty was first signed at Waitangi: exploring the differences in the English & te reo Māori versions (Claudia Orange)
For the info of international readers… today is Waitangi Day in NZ, the anniversary of the signing in 1840 of the Treaty of Waitangi, now a public holiday here. There’s much controversy currently going on nation wide regarding the absence of PM Luxon at Waitangi this week (hmmm)… although denying it, it’s likely due to the Treaty Principles Bill currently before Parliament. Says he won’t approve it but allowed its introduction? And we have David Seymour present who is currently trying to change the said Treaty with his Bill, without any input from or consultation with the Crown’s signatories/partners … Māori. Smell a rat? I personally am with the deductions made by Australia’s Dr Jeremy Walker regarding Seymour’s connections to the Atlas Network.
And his proposed bill, it’s all having the desired effect, inciting racial division which, after all, has always been the ace card of empires.
He’s not being well received and IMHO rightly so. Plenty of coverage of the day on Youtube anyway if you’re curious to learn more, here’s one … and Claudia Orange here in her book excerpt explains the Treaty versions in both languages. EWNZ
From 2021, by Newsroom
Featuring an excerpt from Claudia Orange’s book The Treaty of Waitangi / Te Tiriti o Waitangi: An Illustrated History
Governor William Hobson was caught by surprise. Summoned ashore late in the morning of February 6, he arrived in plain clothes but having snatched up his plumed hat. Several hundred Māori were waiting for him in the marquee, and several hundred others stood around outside. Many had arrived since the meeting the previous day, including some high-ranking women. Only James Busby and about a dozen Europeans had turned up, among them the Catholic Bishop Pompallier. Hobson, nervous and uneasy, more than once expressed concern that the meeting could not be considered a “regular public meeting” since the proper notice had not been given. He would not allow discussion, but would be prepared to take signatures.
On the table lay a tidily written treaty in te reo Māori – Te Tiriti o Waitangi – copied overnight on parchment by one of the missionaries, Richard Taylor. Rangatira were invited to come forward and sign. Just as Hone Heke was about to do so, William Colenso asked Hobson if he thought that the chiefs really understood what they were signing. “If the Native chiefs do not know the contents of this treaty it is no fault of mine,” replied Hobson. “I have done all that I could . . . They have heard the treaty read by Mr. Williams.”
Colenso agreed, but pointed out that it had not been explained adequately; he was afraid that they had not been made fully aware of the situation in which they would by their so signing be placed. Later the chiefs would hold the missionaries accountable, whereas their agreement needed to be “their very own act and deed”. Impatiently, Hobson brushed the protest aside, saying, “I think that the people under your care will be peaceable enough: I’m sure you will endeavour to make them so.”
The signing went ahead, while two rangatira kept up a running challenge in the traditional manner. Busby called each rangatira by name, probably from a list of those who had signed the 1835 Declaration of Independence. When each had signed, Hobson shook his hand, saying “He iwi tahi tātou.” According to Colenso this meant “We are [now] one people”, but Felton Mathew thought it meant “We are brethren and countrymen.” The expression greatly pleased the rangatira, who also shook hands with each of the official party; it was probably either Williams or Busby who told Hobson to express himself in this way. Both men must have known that the words would have a special meaning, especially for those who were Christian: Māori and British would be linked, under the guardianship of the Queen and as followers of Christ.
That afternoon, over 40 rangatira put their names or their moko on the parchment, affirming the agreement known as the Treaty of Waitangi/Te Tiriti o Waitangi. As the signing was drawing to an end, someone gave a signal for three thundering cheers for the Governor and Queen Wikitoria (Victoria). Patuone presented Hobson with a greenstone mere “expressly” for the Queen, and the meeting closed with Hobson retiring to the Herald, taking Patuone with him to dine. Colenso was left to distribute gifts – two blankets and some tobacco – to each person who had signed.
Several hundred New Zealand Company settlers had arrived in the Cook Strait region in January and February 1840. In March they had set up a form of government at Port Nicholson (Wellington) which, they claimed, derived its legality from authority granted by the local “sovereign chiefs”. The flag of an independent New Zealand, made on the company’s ship Tory, flew above the settlement, and a provisional constitution had been drawn up.
Hearing of these moves, Hobson reasoned that the settlers were assuming powers of government that were the prerogative of the Crown. On May 21, he proclaimed sovereignty over the whole of the country: over the North Island on the basis of cession by chiefs who had signed the Treaty of Waitangi, and over the South Island and Stewart Island on the basis that Cook had “discovered” them. At this stage, Hobson held only the copy of Te Tiriti signed in the north, and one signed at Waikato Heads and Manukau Harbour. As for the South Island, he doubted that its “uncivilised” Māori were capable of signing any treaty. He had taken measures he deemed necessary under the circumstances, using Cook’s “discovery”, which his instructions had allowed him to use, if necessary.
Unaware of Hobson’s actions, Bunbury also proclaimed sovereignty: on June 5 at Stewart Island, by right of Cook’s discovery; and on June 17 at Cloudy Bay, by right of cession of the South Island by several ‘independent’ chiefs. The Colonial Office approved Hobson’s proclamations, which were published in the London Gazette on October 2, 1840. This was the only requirement at the time to validate sovereignty being acquired. Treaty meetings had continued after the proclamations; on September 3, the last signature was put on a copy of Te Tiriti, somewhere near Kāwhia, the copy not arriving back to Hobson until April 1841. 542 rangatira, among them 12 or more women of rank, had signed at about 50 meetings.
The differences between the two texts were crucial to a full Māori understanding – or the lack of it
Hobson had kept British officials informed throughout the signing process and had sent them copies of the Treaty. In October, he dispatched a final report, together with ‘certified’ copies of Te Tiriti and one English Treaty copy which was headed ‘translation’. He said nothing about any variations between the two texts, although it had already become apparent in April that there were differences in meaning, and therefore in Māori understanding of what they had agreed to. Hobson was aware of this.
The differences that affected the meaning were important:
ARTICLE 1
By the Treaty in English, Māori leaders gave the Queen “absolutely and without reservation all the rights and powers of Sovereignty which the said Confederation or Individual Chiefs respectively exercise or possess . . . over their respective Territories as the sole sovereigns thereof.”
By Te Tiriti in te reo, they gave the Queen “te Kawanatanga katoa o ratou wenua” – the governance or government of their land.
ARTICLE 2
By the Treaty in English, Māori leaders and people, collectively and individually, were confirmed in and guaranteed “the full exclusive and undisturbed possession of their Lands and Estates, Forests, Fisheries, and other properties . . . so long as it is their wish and desire to retain the same in their possession.”
By Te Tiriti in te reo, they were confirmed and guaranteed “te tino Rangatiratanga o o ratou wenua o ratou kainga me o ratou taonga katoa” – the unqualified exercise of their chieftainship – over their lands, settlements, and all their valued possessions.
ARTICLE 3
The Treaty in English extended to Māori the Queen’s “royal protection and imparts to them all the Rights and Privileges of British Subjects.”
By Te Tiriti in te reo, in consideration of the agreement to the government of the Queen, the rights and privileges of British subjects – “nga tikanga katoa rite tahi ki ana mea ki nga tangata o Ingarani” – were extended to all the Māori of New Zealand.
The differences between the two texts were crucial to a full Māori understanding – or the lack of it. Only 39 chiefs signed a copy of the Treaty in English, which almost certainly had a copy of the printed Tiriti in te reo with it to enable the missionary at Waikato Heads to read it to Māori. Apart from that, all Māori leaders signed a copy of the Māori language Tiriti, which did not convey the full meaning of the English text, especially the extent of sovereign powers. Only some would have been able to read Te Tiriti, even if they had been given the chance. Explanations at meetings with potential signatories might have helped, given that discussion was essential to Māori in the customary building of relationships; but the records that exist show negotiators did not comment on differences in meaning. Their aim was to secure rangatira agreement. The complexities of sovereignty, as they were increasingly being recognised under international law, were not brought up.
Thus the differences between the Māori and English texts laid the basis for different British (and later colonial) and Māori understandings of the agreement, and for the debate over interpretation that was to continue.
This is an edited extract from the newly published The Treaty of Waitangi / Te Tiriti o Waitangi: An Illustrated History by Claudia Orange (Bridget Williams Books, $39.99 ) available in bookstores nationwide.
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Remembering why empires make treaties
Seymour’s principles of privatisation
The Atlas Network: Big oil, climate disinformation and constitutional democracy (includes Dr Jeremy Walker) From Central News UTS
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