Dr Lance O'Sullivan: It was when my daughter got sick that I realised how important immunisation is
Dr Lance O'Sullivan writes from the heart, and from the head: "It was 1996 and we were young parents. I was at medical school when I came upon an anti-immunisation pamphlet left in one of our lecture theatres.
"I was suspicious of the establishment at the time. You need to understand, I had grown up a welfare-dependent "half-caste" (I hate that term) boy living with his mother, escaping from a life of alcohol, crime and a level of violence that I would not tolerate for my daughters. An under-achiever, I was expelled from two secondary schools. I feel I had a reason to be angry at "the system".
"Then I became a father. It changed my life. I needed to be a responsible adult caring for a son, then a daughter – eventually seven children. We were young parents and wanted to do only the best for these precious beings.
"I read the pamphlet. It described "studies" in the Netherlands into communities that didn't look like mine, but I took little persuasion. I stated our second child, our little daughter Te Miringa, would not be immunised.
"At the time my wife Tracy was working as a nurse at the local medical centre and immunising children daily. Yet this was my protest against the establishment that I so mistrusted.
"Fifteen months later, we had a scare. Te Miringa became unwell with high fever and a body rash and the doctors were concerned as there was a measles outbreak locally. And I realised the information from the Netherlands did not reflect my reality.
"We got Te Miringa immunised."
www.stuff.co.nz...
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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37.8% The sting of a fine (Money talks!)
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62.2% The threat of demerit points (Nobody wants to lose their license!)
Whangarei Film Society - screenings for Thursday March 12th
Good People
Our next film night is on Thursday 12th March in the Capitaine Bougainville Theatre at Forum North.
At 6pm, WFS will screen the powerful and moving film, based on the best-selling book by Alexandra Fuller, Don't Let's Go To The Dogs Tonight.
Our 8pm screening is the the documentary about the lives of artists in isolated regional areas of Canada etching out a career for themselves, Rendering Visions.
DON'T LET'S GO TO THE DOGS TONIGHT
South Africa, 2025, Drama
98 mins, Rated M (strong language)
Cast: Lexi Ventner, Zikhona Bali
Director: Embeth Davidtz
It's 1980 in Rhodesia during the "Bush War" as agreements have finally been negotiated and change is in the air. British and white minority rule is to end and the black majority will take power to establish the country of Zimbabwe.
Based on the award winning-novel of the same name by Alexandra Fuller, the story follows Bobo, a seven-year-old white girl, raised on a gritty African farm who watches the historical events unfold. Bobo feels the tension in both her family and the servants but can see both sides of the story as a new community creates itself from the ashes of war.
"A powerful and wonderfully detailed film, with three outstanding performances." - The Guardian
Showing at Forum North, 7 Rust Ave Whangarei on Thursday, 12th March at 6pm and Thursday, 19th March at 8pm.
View the trailer at: www.youtube.com...
Tickets: Door sales only. $10 WFS members. Non-members pay $5 extra as an Associate Membership fee, per film. (Total of $15)
All welcome. Cash only please – no Eftpos available.
Like us on Facebook or visit whangareifilmsociety.org to sign up for free updates each week on the films we're screening.
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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