Posts by Hilary Stace
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My friend who advises on the China NZ trade says that a few years ago China decided to have complete dairy supply chains whereby they use the land in other countries - such as NZ - but own and control the whole set up. They have several of those operations around NZ now so need to buy less on the open market. However, they are apparently interested in goat and buffalo milk as they are more easily digestible, so there is some potential there. As well as anything organic. So a proactive government could help promote these areas but ensure that NZ owns and benefits from all aspects of the supply chain.
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Well said, thanks Chelle. I'm sure many people have no idea that they act like this or that it is inappropriate.
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I have hope that the generation born since about 1990 looks like it is starting to do politics in a new activist and global way. After all if dramatic and collaborative political intervention doesn't happen on slowing climate change they are the generation which could experience the extinction of the human race in their lifetime. That's quite a motivating challenge. The current way of doing politics will soon be history.
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One thing that would help people deal with these issues of anxiety, grief and fear is access to counselling. Pity that our main counselling agency has just been euthanised.
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In some ways it is a bit like planning a caesarean because you are scared of childbirth and have never been at a natural birth or known anyone who had one. Lots of people do that. But if death and dying was more part of all our lives, as it once was, then there might not be this fear of 'suffering', 'dependency', or lack of 'control' of a natural process.
Or perhaps not. -
Access: Right to die?, in reply to Russell Brown,
The lawyer mentioned that she didn't want anyone cleaning up her bodily fluids. But what does she think happens after you die?
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On the Panel just now Michele Boag disparaged the whole normal dying process. She said how terrible it was and it would be better to hurry it up. As someone who has observed that peaceful palliative slow dying process on several occasions I would strongly disagree.
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Now the Minister says the RA must hand over the names, files and confidential information of clients by the time they close at the end of the week. Huge ethical issues there. What about each person's consent? The Minister just has no idea about such professional relationships.
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Feeling pretty sad about the forced closure of Relationships Aotearoa. Few people go to a counsellor just for fun They go because they need help from a trained professional. That trained professional needs a good healthy organisation to support them and their professional development and supervision. Counselling is a profession that people train for and it has high standards. Anyone just can't do it. (Although some try with sometimes disastrous results.)
Most NGOs cannot pay these professionals what they are worth, but they stay with an organisation because they are dedicated to the helping professions and a strong organisation has checks and balances. Counsellors can keep people functioning in the face of upheavals, stress, bullying, family breakdown, health problems or addictions. They take time to build trusting relationships.
So why is the government destroying this organisation and leaving vulnerable people stranded? There just aren't other organisations out there with the capacity to suddenly pick up the workload or build the relationships. I don't understand.
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Excellent interview of Helen Kelly by Kathryn Ryan on Radio NZ just before. Lots of ideas for progress.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/201755433/union-boss's-battle-for-workers-and-personal-battle