New Zealand Tech Alliance calls for event submissions for nationwide festival of tech
- : NZTech
- : 30/01/2020
New Zealand Tech Alliance, a group of over 20 independent technology associations, is calling for submissions from organisations keen to take part in Techweek2020, a nationwide series of events showcasing and celebrating New Zealand tech innovation during the week 18 – 24 May.
Tech Alliance Chief Strategy Officer Julie Gill says Techweek2020 is a fantastic opportunity for everyone involved in New Zealand’s vibrant tech innovation ecosystem to meet, share ideas and find new ways to work together.
“Techweek is when everyone in the tech sector can showcase the amazing innovation that is taking place in Aotearoa,” Gill says.
“Techweek2020 marks the fifth year, with the first iteration of Techweek including 55 events attended by 10,000 people in Auckland. It has now grown to become a nationwide event that attracts over 46,000 attendees around the country. The theme this year is ‘Connecting our future’, which recognises that as we begin a new decade, we need to be thinking long-term about how new technology is impacting our nation.”
There are three distinct pillars of activity during Techweek – community, education and business – and submissions are welcome from organisations with ideas for events that support one or more of these pillars. Events can vary from major conferences to small meetups on niche topics, hackathons, workshops and networking events.
“Whether it is a two-day conference with multiple speakers or a 30-minute pitch session for fledgling start-ups, we’d love to hear from anyone interested in taking part,” Gill says.
Gill says she is delighted that AUT and Callaghan Innovation have once again signed on as strategic partners, and that ANZ Bank and Chorus are Festival Partners for Techweek2020. For ongoing updates and information about Techweek2020, visit www.techweek.co.nz.
- : Julie Gill
- : Chief Strategy and Commercial Officer
- : julie.gill@techalliance.nz
- : 0274585671
- : https://techweek.co.nz/
- https://www.facebook.com/TechweekNZ/ | https://www.instagram.com/techweeknz/ | https://twitter.com/TechweekNZ
Precision Driven Health announces sponsorship of Hack Aotearoa 2020
- : Precision Driven Health
- : 09/01/2020
Precision Driven Health (PDH) is excited to return in 2020 as a major partner for Hack Aotearoa.
Building on the success of the 2019 conference – the first of its kind in New Zealand – Hack Aotearoa 2020 continues to innovate and will include a health datathon in addition to the main Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare conference.
This globally recognised Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Critical Data event aims to spark cross-disciplinary collaboration and learning of data science to improve healthcare. Hosted by the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Critical Data, the event will see local and international data scientists, academics and healthcare professionals come together to present opportunities for the use of data science and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in health.
The overarching theme for the 2020 event is ‘Advancing the Quadruple Aim’, while the ethical use of data, and the use of data for Māori health equity, are key event themes. Hack Aotearoa is an exciting opportunity to advance the digital health and data science landscape in Aotearoa.
During the datathon, healthcare professionals and data scientists will have the chance to work with the MIT eICU Collaborative Care and MIMIC Critical Care datasets. The aim is to harness insights from these datasets and search for better ways to diagnose and treat critical care patients.
Precision Driven Health returns as a major partner for the second year running. Chief Executive Dr Kevin Ross is looking forward to the event.
“As New Zealand’s premier health data science collaboration, we are looking forward to another gathering that looks to unlock the value of data for our population. Hack Aotearoa combines local expertise and values with international know-how to bring a unique, hands-on experience over a few days,” says Dr Ross.
Philips ANZ is another major partner of Hack Aotearoa. As a leading health technology company, Philips ANZ provides connected care solutions powered by advanced analytics in order to improve health outcomes and the delivery of care. At the crux of transitioning towards value-based healthcare, the measurement of system-wide health outcomes and the improvement of patient care delivery is based on a combination of multiple datasets.
“As the owner of the largest translational ICU dataset in the world composed of 7.5 million ICU episodes, Philips is proud to contribute to events like Hack Aotearoa in order to drive academic and practical insights for New Zealand. We need to look at new, more efficient ways to increase access to care and improve care collaboration. Philips believes Hack Aotearoa is a great setting to start those conversations,” says Joe Cain, Business Manager Population Health, Philips ANZ.
Hack Aotearoa will take place 17th to 19th January 2020 at the Owen G Glenn Building, University of Auckland.
About MIT Critical Data
MIT Critical Data is an affiliation of research labs at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) who are engaged in research in and around data that has a critical impact on people’s health.About Precision Driven Health
The Precision Driven Health partnership (PDH), established in 2016, is one of the most ambitious data science research initiatives to be undertaken in New Zealand. The partnership unites the health IT sector with healthcare providers and universities to create health and commercial opportunities for New Zealanders. Research is focused on applying new data science techniques to understand the massive volume of data about an individual captured by health information systems, consumer devices, social networks, genetic testing and other sources. To date, PDH has supported more than 75 projects in health data science, including summer and postgraduate scholarships, a joint PDH-HRC Postdoctoral Fellowship scheme, and multi-million dollar discovery and transformation programmes in several areas, including de-identification and deep learning. PDH researchers are also exploring vital concepts such as bias in machine learning, the ethics of AI use, and consent paradigms for enabling the next wave of health data research. Find out more at www.precisiondrivenhealth.com.- : Nicole Gray
- : Communications Specialist
- : nicole@precisiondrivenhealth.com
- : 0212290811
- : https://precisiondrivenhealth.com/
- https://twitter.com/HealthPrecision | https://www.linkedin.com/company/15212839/
Regional and Rural Schools take out National Digital Titles
- : IT Professionals NZ
- : 08/12/2019
Smaller regional and rural schools from across New Zealand swept the National Finals for the Tahi Rua Toru Tech in-school challenge this year.
The 2019 National Winners were announced at a gala event at TSB Arena in Wellington, following 10 regional finals held across New Zealand in October. The National Finals were attended by the regional winning teams with students coming from around the country.
As part of the Tahi Rua Toru Tech Challenge, teams of 3-4 students find a problem in their local school or community and use digital technologies to solve it. Teams are paired up with tech industry mentors and given support and resources. Over 6500 students participated in the Challenge this year.
IT Professionals New Zealand CEO Paul Matthews said today that “Regional and Rural New Zealand were the winners this year, with winning teams coming from Hāwea Flat near Wanaka, Morrinsville, Rotorua and New Plymouth”.
At the Discovery level (years 0-5), Hāwea Flat School’s Team Happy Hawea took out the title, completing a set of challenges in the fastest time. It came down to split-seconds in the end and was hotly contested.
Morrinsville Intermediate’s Team Thunderbolts took out the First Challenge (years 6-8), creating an app game to encourage fitness by getting the user to move around Morrinsville to scan QR codes whilst seeing the ‘Herd of Cows’ (sculptures) on display within their town.
John Paul College, Rotorua’s Team ShumbaLeon won the Secondary level (years 9-10), created a website showcasing cultural diversity in their school and a platform for students to share their own stories and culture with other students.
And Sacred Heart Girls College, New Plymouth’s Team Red took out Senior Secondary (years 11-13), creating a medication box that sends bluetooth messages to your phone to remind you to take your medication, and has a motion sensor and lock and software designed to reduce under or overdosing.
The Ministry of Education’s Deputy Secretary for Early Learning and Student Achievement Ellen MacGregor-Reid helped announce the winners and was seriously impressed by the level of innovation. “A huge scale of learning has clearly gone on in the challenge. The majority of the students didn’t know how to write any code at the start – and yet that was such a stand-out feature of the innovations I’ve seen,” MacGregor-Reid said.
As part of the National Finals, the Digital Technologies Teachers Aotearoa (DTTA) and IT Professionals New Zealand recognised an influential teacher who has made a huge difference to digital tech. This year the Ali Chivers Teacher Influence Award went to Julie MacMahon from St Hilda’s Collegiate School in Dunedin.
“I’ve known Julie for several years, working with her on bringing about the changes to the Digital Technologies curriculum. She’s an inspiring and energetic teacher who contributes so much to her students and their profession,” Matthews said. “A very worthy choice.”
The Challenge will enter its third year in 2020 and is part of a suite of resources and tools to help teachers and schools implement changes to Digital Technologies and Hangarau Matihiko in the Curriculum in a safe and supported way.
ENDS
About Tahi Rua Toru Tech
Partnering with the Ministry of Education, the IT industry is supporting the introduction of the new Digital Technologies & Hangarau Matihiko (DT&HM) curriculum into schools and Kura with the 123Tech Challenge.
In the challenge, small teams of 3-4 students complete a project-based challenge either in-class in schools, or through a local Code Club. Most will complete it as a classroom activity, but the model caters to both. The 123Tech Challenge is for everyone, not just tech geniuses (although they’re welcome too!). Schools are also partnered with an industry mentor, and the Challenge provides all the guidance and support students need to make a real difference.
Tahi Rua Toru Tech is being delivered by a partnership of not-for profit organisations led by IT Professionals NZ and started in its current form in 2018.
The National Finals were held on Thursday 5th December 2019.
To learn more about Tahi Rua Toru Tech visit https://123tech.nz
To learn more about Digital Tech/Hangarau Matihiko, http://education.govt.nz/digitech.
- All
- : Paul Matthews
- : Chief Executive
- : ceo@itp.nz
- : 021705212
- : https://itp.nz
- https://www.facebook.com/123tech.nz/ | https://twitter.com/123tech_nz | https://www.instagram.com/123tech.nz/
Government’s proposed Landfill Levy increase will have no impact on plastic waste
- : plastic2parliament
- : 28/11/2019
This week the Government announced a long awaited and welcome proposal to increase the landfill levy in order to encourage behaviour change away from dumping to more recovery, recycling and reuse. However, the increased levy will have no effect on the volumes of plastic waste entering the economy, our landfills and the environment, according to plastic2parliament.
“Currently plastics account for around 8% of total waste by weight, but as much as 20% of landfill by volume and that’s an enormous proportion of the waste problem.” said Wade Bishop, initiator of the plastic2parliament letter writing initiative. (Ref. Recycle.co.nz)
“With the landfill levy based on weight there’s no incentive in this to move away from plastic packaging or other avoidable plastics that end up in our landfills and environment.” Wade Bishop said.
Plastic2parliament is encouraging New Zealanders to ask all political parties what their plastic reduction policies are by penning letters to MPs in Parliament, via the Parliamentary free-post address while also stuffing their large envelopes full of non-recyclable plastics to illustrate the plastic waste problem.
“We are asking political parties and Government to focus regulation on the producers of plastic packaging targeted at simply making less of it.” said Bishop.
The global oil industry is currently investing US$180 billion in new plastic production plants to increase production by 40% in the next 10 years. This immense supply-pressure will create a further explosion in plastic volumes here in New Zealand and the increased landfill levy will have zero effect on that. This is an over-production issue that needs urgent regulation where the problem starts: the producers.” he said.
The Plastic2parliament initiative believes that an immediate impact can be made on plastic waste by extending bans across wide categories of avoidable single-use plastics, such as cutlery, dishes, cups, takeaway containers and even bubble and pallet wraps.
The initiative also advocates a Plastic Tax on imported virgin plastics used to manufacture single-use packaging and on imported new plastic packaging.
“While the landfill levy will have a negligible effect on the cost of dumping plastic packaging for New Zealanders, it still gets under your skin having to pay even more to get rid of a toxic waste that you didn’t ask for in the first place.” Wade Bishop said.
Plastic2parliament continues to grow quickly with membership numbers of the Facebook Group reaching more than 1000 people sending more than 720 letters and plastic parcels to MPs since beginning in early October this year, including another 90 to Minister for the Environment, David Parker, this week.
ABOUT PLASTIC2PARLIAMENT
Plastic2parliament is a letter-writing initiative started by Wade Bishop of Christchurch which encourages New Zealanders concerned about single-use plastics to include these products with their letters to M.P.s using the Parliamentary Free-post address. The purpose of the initiative is to creatively emphasise how these non-recyclable products cannot be avoided by consumers and that the actual cause of plastic waste is over-production and use by manufacturers. We seek to have M.P.s advocate for meaningful plastic waste reduction policy within their respective Party focused on packaging producers.
Oil companies are investing US$180 billion right now to increase virgin plastic production by 40% before 2030. This enormous supply pressure has already created an explosion in single-use packaging globally. New Zealand will not be immune to these supply pressures and is poorly placed to deal with the waste volumes that will eventuate. (Ref. theguardian.com; and sciencemag.org)
- plastic2parliament_mailing David Parker
- : Wade Bishop
- : Initiator
- : plastic2parliament@gmail.com
- : 021432045
- : https://www.facebook.com/groups/plastic2parliament
- Twitter: @plastic2parlia1 | Facebook: @plastic2parliament
640 letters but no reply from Scott Simpson… yet
- : plastic2parliament
- : 20/11/2019
More than 640 letters in parcels filled with nonrecyclable single-use plastics have been mailed to MPs in Parliament via freepost since the plastic2parliament initiative started in mid-October. Another 125 plastic-stuffed letters were directed to National Party Environment Spokesperson, Scott Simpson, this week in a second mailing to the MP.
“When we mailed Mr. Simpson a few weeks ago, we specifically asked he put aside party politics for a moment and let people know what his plastic waste reduction policy might be.” Said Wade Bishop – initiator of the plastic2parliament letter writing initiative that encourages the public to include non-recyclable plastics with their letters to MPs.
“Unfortunately, instead of saying what he or his Party might actually do should they be in Government, he simply side-stepped into meaningless politicking,” Wade Bishop said.
At the time of the first mailing, Mr. Simpson received around 60 letters and plastic parcels and was quoted as saying:
“I’d suggest people send this to the Minister’s office instead as there has been a complete lack of action on recycling and waste minimisation from this Government.” (Ref. Stuff.co.nz)The second letter sent to Mr. Simpson, again, asked him to support the Product Stewardship changes to the Waste Minimisation Act 2008 (WMA) proposed by the Government (which includes many categories of plastic packaging) but also asked him to advocate for bans of avoidable single-use plastics, such as cutlery and dishes, and a Plastic Tax on imported virgin plastics used to manufacture single-use packaging. (Ref. MFE.govt.nz)
Mr. Bishop said: “The fact is, the powers of Waste Minimisation Act [WMA] have been available since 2008. We could have avoided this deluge of single-use plastic waste, but instead those powers have largely not been used.
“The previous National Government essentially sat on the WMA and did nothing. This current Government is, at least, looking to put some of those powers into meaningful action. The problem for New Zealand is we can never be sure who will be in Government,” he said.
Plastic2parliament is encouraging citizens to ask all political Parties to detail their plastic reduction policies by penning letters to MPs in Parliament, via the Parliamentary Freepost address, asking them to focus regulation on the producers of plastic packaging, while also stuffing their large envelopes full of nonrecyclable plastics to make the point.
The plastic2parliament initiative continues to grow quickly with membership numbers of the Facebook Group reaching almost 1000 people since beginning in early October.
The global oil industry is currently investing US$180 billion in new plastic production plants with the aim to increase production by 40% in the next 10 years and some estimates suggest that plastic-waste volumes could quadruple before 2050.” Wade Bishop said. “This immense supply-pressure makes plastic-waste an issue of over-production with very little to do with consumer demand or consumer choices and it needs urgent, firm regulation.” he said.
ABOUT PLASTIC2PARLIAMENT
Plastic2parliament is a letter-writing initiative started by Wade Bishop of Christchurch which encourages citizens concerned about the explosion of single-use plastics to include these products with their letters to MPs using the Parliamentary Freepost address. The purpose of the initiative is to creatively emphasise how these nonrecyclable products cannot be avoided by consumers and that the actual cause of plastic waste is over-production and use by manufacturers.
ENDS
Media Contact: Wade Bishop
https://www.facebook.com/groups/plastic2parliament/
M: 021 432045
E: plastic2parliament@gmail.com- Plastic2parliament_MailDayEvent_18Nov19
- : Wade Bishop
- : Initiator
- : plastic2parliament@gmail.com
- : 021432045
- : https://www.facebook.com/groups/plastic2parliament
- @plastic2parlia1 | @sendit2them | @plastic2parliament
Precision Driven Health partners with MoleMap in AI project to improve skin cancer detection
- : Precision Driven Health
- : 18/11/2019
Precision Driven Health (PDH), New Zealand’s leading health data research initiative, has today announced it is working with MoleMap on its use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to improve the early detection of skin cancer.
PDH Chief Executive Dr Kevin Ross says the $2 million research project will enhance the AI algorithm that MoleMap has developed to differentiate cancerous skin lesions from benign lesions.
“Every year nearly 400 New Zealanders die from skin cancer and studies indicate that early detection could have greatly improved the chance of survival in the majority of cases,” Dr Ross says.
“This project has the potential to increase access to skin checks by extending the technology for use at the primary care and general practitioner level, and thereby enabling more New Zealanders access to early detection for skin cancer.”
MoleMap Chief Technology Officer Adrian Bowling says the PDH partnership builds on initial research developed with IBM Research in Melbourne on a small subset of data.
“The partnership with PDH will provide us with access to a larger, wider set of data as we continue to work with experts at the University of Otago in Dunedin, and Monash University in Melbourne, to enhance this ground-breaking technology,” Mr Bowling says.
Computer-based systems for recognising malignant moles have been developed over the past 20 years but have had limited uptake. With the advent of AI, combined with large databases and “deep learning” algorithms, new opportunities for the use of these technologies can be explored.
“Published studies and our own research suggest that it is possible for a system-based AI to be at least as good as dermatologists in differentiating cancerous lesions from benign lesions,” Mr Bowling says.
The research project will include clinical trials in New Zealand and Australia once the algorithm has been enhanced. As essential part of the research is to ensure that the unique population of Aotearoa is taken into account and all skin types will be tested.
Dr Ross says that, as with all PDH projects, a key focus is applying new techniques in data science to advance Māori health outcomes.
“Māori do not have a high incidence of melanoma; however, there is a high mortality rate for those who have melanoma. This has generally been seen as a result of Māori, like many other New Zealanders, presenting with later stage melanoma when it is difficult to cure. Being able to better detect melanoma in Māori could help decrease this mortality risk and save lives.”
For more information and/or an interview with Dr Kevin Ross, contact:
Nicole Gray
Communications Specialist
nicole@precisiondrivenhealth.comAbout Precision Driven Health
The Precision Driven Health partnership (PDH), established in March 2016, is one of the most ambitious data science research initiatives to be undertaken in New Zealand. The partnership unites the health IT sector with health providers and universities to create health and commercial opportunities for New Zealanders. Research is focused on applying new data science techniques to understand the massive volume of data about an individual captured by health information systems, consumer devices, social networks, genetic testing, and other sources. Visit our website precisiondrivenhealth.com.About MoleMap
MoleMap’s team of leading dermatologists and melanographers have been detecting and diagnosing melanoma for over two decades, using a unique skin mapping system that’s designed to track changes in the skin over time. MoleMap has over 40 clinics around New Zealand serving over 250,000 patients nationwide. Visit our website www.molemap.co.nz.- : Nicole Gray
- : Communications Specialist
- : nicole@precisiondrivenhealth.com
- : 0276177235
- https://twitter.com/HealthPrecision | https://www.linkedin.com/company/precision-driven-health/
More than 500 Plastic-filled parcels mailed to MPs
- : plastic2parliament
- :
More than 500 letters and parcels filled with nonrecyclable single-use plastics have now been mailed to MPs in Parliament via freepost.
This week alone, the plastic2parliament initiative mailed over 130 plastic-stuffed letters to NZ First MP Jenny Marcroft to ask if her Party has a single-use plastic reduction policy.
“Plastic waste is essentially environmental change in solid form,” said Wade Bishop, initiator of plastic2parliament.
The plastic2parliament initiative encourages the public to include non-recyclable plastics in their mail to MPs to illustrate the problem.
“The problem with these plastics is that once they’re in the environment they don’t go away but continue to break down into smaller and smaller particles.” Wade Bishop said.
The letters ask MPs to support the Product Stewardship changes to the Waste Minimisation Act 2008 (WMA) proposed by the Government which includes many categories of plastic packaging but also ask for bans of avoidable plastics and for all political Parties to have a plastic-waste reduction policy.
“Plastics are now in our water, our air, our food and we now eat about a credit cards worth or more every year. There’s plenty of research making its way into media about endocrine disrupting chemicals in plastic packaging and most recently to type 2 diabetes in research out of Australia.” Mr. Bishop said. “One could say that the cost of over-production of plastics is more than just the economics of dealing with the waste alone.” (Ref. sciencedirect.com; and baker.edu.au)
Plastic2parliament is encouraging citizens concerned about the growing epidemic of avoidable and single-use packaging plastics to engage in penning letters to MPs in Parliament via the Parliamentary Freepost address. The initiative asks politicians to focus regulation on the producers of plastic packaging, while urging the public to stuff their large envelopes full of nonrecyclable plastics to make the point.
The plastic2parliament initiative continues to grow quickly with membership numbers of the Facebook Group now more than 900 people since the initiative began in early October.
“People are tired of plastic pollution being framed as a consumer issue, or one that is simply a matter of better collection and recycling.” Wade Bishop said.
“The fact is, it’s more about unfettered production of higher and higher volumes of single-use plastics. It’s a production issue driven by the economic benefits of cheap plastics, which are cheap only because the true lifetime cost of those plastics is not currently carried by those producers.”
The global oil industry is investing US$180 billion in new plastic production plants, over this coming 10 years, with the aim to increase production by 40% from the 348 million tonnes per year presently. Some estimates suggest that plastic waste volumes will quadruple by 2050. (Ref. theguardian.com; and sciencemag.org)
“We already know that plastic waste and pollution is an enormous problem here in New Zealand, and globally. The current investments to increase plastic production exponentially in the face of the problems we already see is criminal. It’s foolish to think that New Zealand will not experience a massive increase in plastics given this mounting global supply pressure.” Mr Bishop said.
Media Contact: Wade Bishop
https://www.facebook.com/groups/plastic2parliament/
M: 021 432045
E: plastic2parliament@gmail.comABOUT PLASTIC2PARLIAMENT
Plastic2parliament is a letter-writing initiative started by Wade Bishop of Christchurch which encourages citizens concerned about the explosion of single-use plastics to include these products with their letters to MPs using the Parliamentary Freepost address. The purpose of the initiative is to creatively emphasise how these nonrecyclable products cannot be avoided by consumers and that the actual cause of plastic waste is over-production and use by manufacturers.- NZFirst_jennymarcroft_210219_MORE POPULAR THAN SIMON BRIDGES
- : Wade Bishop
- : Initiator of plastic2parliament
- : plastic2parliament@gmail.com
- : 021432045
- : https://www.facebook.com/groups/plastic2parliament
- @plastic2parliament | @plastic2parlia1
Simon Bridges asked to put aside politics on plastic waste
- : plastic2parliament
- : 06/11/2019
This week the plastic2parliament initiative mailed well over 130 plastic-stuffed letters to National Party leader Simon Bridges asking him to “do something crazy” and put aside party politics on plastic waste.
The letters asked him to support the Product Stewardship changes to the Waste Minimisation Act 2008 (WMA) proposed by the Government including plastic packaging.
“A massive opportunity to get on top of New Zealand’s plastic waste problem was lost during the 9 years of a National Government where they essentially sat on the powers contained in the WMA and did absolutely nothing to deploy them. Now Simon Bridges can act constructively to support the Government’s proposed changes and announce a meaningful plastic reduction policy of his own as well.” said Wade Bishop, the initiator of the letter writing to MPs.
Plastic2parliament is encouraging citizens concerned about the growing epidemic of avoidable and single-use packaging plastics to engage in penning letters to MPs in Parliament via the Parliamentary Freepost address. Citizens are also being asked to stuff their large envelopes full of non-recyclable plastics.
“I see this as a creative way to physically take this unfettered, over-production of single-use plastics directly to the desks of MPs where they can’t ignore it.” said Mr. Bishop.
“MPs need to acknowledge that plastic waste is a production problem, not a consumer issue, and advocate for meaningful plastic reduction policies (within their respective political Party) and to regulate the producers of these plastic products,” he said.
The plastic2parliament initiative shows no sign of slowing down. Membership to the Facebook Group now growing beyond 800 people. In turn, its members have delivered more than 350 letters and parcels of non-recyclable plastics to MPs since the middle of October.
“This might seem like a frivolous thing to be doing, but we are drawing attention to very serious issues that the public and MPs need to be fully aware of,” Wade Bishop said.
“The fact is, while we already now know that plastic pollution is an astonishingly big problem, global oil companies are investing US$180 billion in new plastic manufacturing plants aiming to increase virgin plastic production by 40% before 2030.
“This is the true cause of the explosion in single-use plastics around us here in New Zealand. This clearly illustrates that it is a production issue and not a matter of consumer choice as we always seem to hear.” he said.
Plastic2parliament is advocating that waste policy and legislation focus on the source of single-use plastics by regulating the producers of them to reduce volumes of plastic packaging entering the economy and then the environment.
“Setting measurable reduction targets on the import of virgin plastic resins, used for packaging, and, on import volumes of new plastic packaging, would be one clear way of measuring the success of any regulations that are put in place.” Mr. Bishop said.
“Only about 20% of plastics are recycled each year and many are not even recyclable for various reasons. With plastic production set to increase 40 percent in the coming 10 years, recycling is clearly not the solution to the plastic waste problem. The best solution is making less in the first place.” he said.
ENDS
- p2p mailing_simon bridges 2
- : Wade Bishop
- : Initiator of plastic2parliament
- : plastic2parliament@gmail.com
- : 021432045
- : https://www.facebook.com/groups/plastic2parliament/
- @plastic2parliament
Climate Change and Mental Health top priorities for Port Hills nomination – Joe Davies
- : Joe Davies
- : 03/11/2019
-
I’m standing to represent the millennial generation and to broaden the debate around mental illness and climate change, Labour Party member Joe Davies said today.
Joe Davies is a 25 year old activist and a member of the Port Hills Labour electorate committee. Mr Davies was formerly the Head Boy at Linwood College through the 2011 earthquakes and at 19 he was elected on to the Hagley Ferrymead Community Board. After completing one term on the Community Board Mr Davies decided to pursue a career in nursing.
“I’m currently coming to the end of my nursing education and its given me a deep insight into the health of our people,” Mr Davies said.
“I have been impressed by the work of the Ardern Government in dealing with chronic underfunding from the Key Government era and giving our health workers greater facilities and resources.”
Davies says that if he is unsuccessful in the race to become the next Labour Port Hills nominee he will enter psychiatric nursing at Hillmorton Hospital.
“Those that end up as inpatients at specialist mental health services are some of the most traumatized and vulnerable people you will ever meet. We have to do everything we can to give them the tools to recover and contribute to society.
“I’m putting myself forward for the vacancy created by Ruth Dyson who has been a wonderful community focussed parliamentarian, because I want to be part of this Government that is reshaping our mental health system.
“I have also been inspired by the youth movement that is winning office across New Zealand.
“You only need to look at the local government election results to see that the voters are wanting to pass on the baton to competent young candidates.”
Davies is also standing to broaden the debate around climate change.
“Voters in the Port Hills are switched on about the environment and the need for action on climate change. I believe that I can best represent their interests both for the Labour nomination and the upcoming 2020 General election,” Mr Davies said.
For more information:
Joe Davies – (027) 552 1295
- DAVIES2020portrait
- : http://davies2020.co.nz
- : Joe Davies
- : Candidate for Labour Port Hills nomination
- : JoeDavies195@gmail.com
- : 0275521295
- : http://davies2020.co.nz
Expat Brit Makes Extra $280,000 on Pension by Transferring to New Zealand
- : Lyfords Pension Transfer
- : 10/10/2019
The on-going Brexit negotiations and subsequent demise of the UK exchange rate have left many British expatriots who have moved to New Zealand wondering what to do about their UK pensions.
Should they wait for a more favourable exchange rate, or bite the bullet and transfer their pensions now – knowing that it could get far worse before it improves?
Alison Renfrew, pension transfer specialist at Lyford Investment Management, has been advising British expatriots for 17 years on their options for transferring their pensions. She recommends that with some exceptions, transferring now is probably the better option.
Why?
“Firstly, if you’re worried about the exchange rate, you can keep your funds invested in GBP and convert them into NZD years in the future,” says Renfrew.
“More importantly though; pension transfer values seem to be really high at the moment.
“I advised a client earlier this month that her transfer value had increased by 25% in just six months. She now has another £145,168 ($281,776NZD) to transfer. This is phenomenal”.
Renfrew has not seen such a dramatic positive change in transfer values before.
On the very same day, Renfrew had a conversation with another client about her pension transfer value. She was offered a Cash Equivalent Transfer Value (CETV) of £59,731, or a pension of £900 p.a.
You would have to receive £900 p.a. for 66 years before you broke even – before you saw any investment returns from your retirement savings.
“It is 100% illogical to accept such a lousy deal,” Renfrew says.
When Renfrew compared current CETVs with promised pensions, she found little incentive to choose to have a taxable pension paid from the UK compared to receiving a far higher non-taxable income in New Zealand based on realistic investment projections.
“What Brits really don’t like is knowing that if they die prematurely their spouse will only get half of the income. In some cases, the spouse gets nothing”.
A major benefit of taking control and investing your transfer value to provide you with a retirement income is that you can access your money if you need to. Conversely, there’s no access to your retirement pot if you’ve elected to take a pension.
“Where is your financial security if you can’t access your money in an emergency?” Renfrew asks.
There are a couple of exceptions, of course.
Renfrew cautions Brits and returning Kiwis not to transfer their pension funds if they are uncertain where they’ll live for the five years after they have transferred their pension funds to NZ, due to tax obligations.
Renfrew further cautions that before deciding to transfer you need professional advice to ensure that all your options have been considered.
“Maybe you are one of the few who have a very attractive pension, and converting to cash would be madness.
“You really need to seek independent advice from a New Zealand investment adviser specialising in pension transfers before making the decision to transfer, because individuals simply don’t have access to the same resources advisers do. It’s important to make informed choices.”
Alison and Richard Renfrew of Lyfords have been specialising in UK to New Zealand pension transfers for over 17 years. Visit their website to find out more.
- photo of the london eye
- : Alison Renfrew
- : Certified Financial Adviser
- : alison@lyfords.co.nz
- : 0800459367
- : https://uk-pension-transfer.co.nz/
- https://www.facebook.com/Lyfordsukpensiontransfers/ |
