Friday Feathered Friend
This week we again feature Louise Thomas, who supplied the photos and the words.
"Molly didn’t know exactly when it all went wrong, but she was pretty sure Brad had been a massive misstep. He was a real fly boy, handsome, with a cute ruff of feathers giving him a jaunty look. He used to swagger onto her section of the beach with little fish gifts. Once, she had been on a fast-track career path at flight school, then six months later she was sitting on a guano-covered rock in a stinking estuary having to regurgitate mush for a screaming infant. It’s not that she didn’t love the little tyke, but he was never in the plans and some days she felt like her head was going to split open with his incessant asthmatic kvetching. And Brad? She hadn’t seen that no-good bounder in weeks. Red-billed gulls (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae scopulinus). Parent and juvenile, Hutt Estuary."
Poll: If we want to reduce speeding, what do you think actually changes driver behaviour? 🛻🚨🚓
In the Post's article on speeding penalties, the question is asked whether speeding fines are truly about road safety, or are they just a way to boost revenue for the Crown?
What do you think? Should speeding motorists receive speeding fines or demerit points?
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37.1% The sting of a fine (Money talks!)
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62.9% The threat of demerit points (Nobody wants to lose their license!)
Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
We hope this brings a smile!
Get up to $30,000 back* with your new home
Sign up to an independent apartment or townhouse at a participating Ryman village by 31 March 2026 and receive a $30,000 credit on settlement or sign up to a serviced apartment and receive a $10,000 credit on settlement*.
Imagine a new smart TV, your next getaway or furniture for your new home. With more money staying in your pocket, it’s yours to spend!
Discover the lifestyle that awaits.
*Participating villages only, Terms and conditions apply.
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