A move by five environmentally-minded Wellington city councillors who are attempting to put the breaks on Wellington Airport’s development looks likely to fail. The airport is looking to double its capacity by 2040. Veteran councillors Iona Pannett and Sarah Free, along with three first time councillors Teri O’Neill, Tamatha Paul, and Laurie Foon, have put Read more
New Zealand’s emissions target is likely to toughen if the Climate Change Minister, James Shaw, gets his way. Commenting on advice he received, Shaw says the current target is too weak to match the Government’s commitment to helping save the world and keep the world’s heating within 1.5 degrees celsius. Shaw says conclusive advice from Read more
Catholic schools in Victoria are urging parents not to vote for the Greens in Australia’s federal election on July 2. Anti-Greens flyers have been attached to Catholic school newsletters across the state. The campaign is targeting school communities in marginal seats, electorates where members are retiring or where the Greens have a strong winning chance. Read more
A motion in the Australian senate to protect the Catholic Church’s right to distribute its “Don’t mess with marriage” pamphlet has been blocked. Former Australian cabinet minister Senator Eric Abetz put up the motion in the senate on Thursday. This was on the same day as it was confirmed that Tasmania’s anti-discrimination commissioner is to conduct an Read more
Australia’s upper house of Parliament, the Senate, has rejected an attempt by the Greens to remove the Lord’s Prayer from the start of each day’s sitting. Victorian Greens Senator Richard Di Natale moved on February 13 that the prayer be replaced with the following words: “Senators, let us in silence pray or reflect upon our Read more
Vanuatu’s Prime Minister, Moana Carcasses Kalosil, has promised the Vanuatu Christian Council that his Government is going to start paying 10 percent of the national budget to the churches. Based on the present budget, 10 percent would amount to 21 million US dollars. Kalosil became Vanuatu’s and the region’s first Greens prime minister when he Read more
The Destiny church has “not received or made any kind of charter school application,” says its spokesperson Richard Lewis. Lewis said an inquiry he made, many months ago, to the Associate Education Minister John Banks, “was simply to gather information about charter schooling and the Government’s plans in that direction, particularly for South Auckland.” Destiny already Read more
Green’s drugs spokesman Kevin Hague has alleged in the New Zealand Parliament that the Church of Scientology is using tax-payer money to promote an anti-psychiatry agenda and messages against medication used to treat mental illness through charities disguised as social service organisations. Mr Hague said he had watched members of the church on Auckland’s Queen Read more
“Groups should consider the ethics around accepting money from gaming trusts”, says captain Gerry Walker, head of Salvation Army Addiction Services. The Salvation Army will not accept money from poker machines. The Maori Party and the Greens are also sending the money back. They have rejected donations from the Todd Corporation. Todd Corporation owns Todd Energy and Todd Read more