Fight for the Forests: The Pivotal Campaigns that Saved New Zealand’s Native Forests
Date: Wednesday 25 March 2020, 5:30pm to 6:30pm
Cost: Free. Koha from non-members appreciated
Location: Taiwhanga Kahau — Auditorium, National Library Wellington. Entrance on Aitken Street.
Part of the Friends of the Turnbull Public Programme — 2020 series
Hear Paul Bensemann talk about the ‘Save Manoupori’ campaign. From small beginnings, a much larger movement grew. Bensemann’s book ‘Fight for the forests’ was a finalist in the 2019 Ockham NZ Book Awards.
A remarkable story of activism
Involved in conservation issues since he joined the ‘Save Manapouri’ campaign at 19, Paul Bensemann tells the remarkable story of how a group of young activists became aware of government plans to mill vast areas of West Coast beech forest and began campaigning to halt this. From small beginnings, a much larger movement grew, initially centred on the work of the Native Forests Action Council, and eventually Forest and Bird and Native Forest Action.
Research at the Alexander Turnbull Library
Paul’s book research started with a NZ Society of Authors/Copyright Licencing NZ grant that provided a six weeks’ fellowship at the Stout Research Centre. He spent most of that time at the Turnbull (using the Sir Charles Fleming and Action for Environment collections), with many follow-up visits to the Library during his three-year full-time writing project. He also interviewed many campaigners and collected many old photographs to supplement photographer Craig Potton’s beautiful forest scenes. Fight for the Forests was a finalist in the 2019 Ockham NZ Book Awards.
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% The sting of a fine (Money talks!)
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63% The threat of demerit points (Nobody wants to lose their license!)
Scam Alert: Bank cold calls
ASB is warning customers about reports of cold calls from scammers claiming to be from ASB. These scammers are trying to obtain personal information, including usernames, dates of birth, and verification codes sent to your mobile phone.
🛡️ The "Caller Check" Test
If you get a call from someone claiming to be from ASB and you’re unsure, just ask them for a Caller Check. You will then be able to verify the call through the app.
Remember, banks will:
❌ Never ask for your banking passwords, PINs, or verification codes
❌ Never need to know your full credit card number – especially the CVC
❌ Never ask you to download software or remotely access your device
❌ Never ask you to purchase gift cards or transfer funds.
If you have received a phone call and think your account has been compromised, call ASB on 0800 ASB FRAUD (0800 272 372), or visit your local branch.
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!
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