The week in good news
Philip Matthews
looks on the bright side.
Aworsening Brexit shambles, a terrible hurricane in the Bahamas, a depressingly empty Loch Ness ... the world can indeed be a dark and dreary place. But there is good news, too, if you know where to look.
Fixing water
Cast your mind all the way back to the 2017 general election – yes, a lot has happened since – and you might dimly recall that the quality of New Zealand’s waterways was a central political issue. There was anxiety over declining water quality and a sense that the places we splashed in as kids in some mythical Kiwi past are no longer safe to swim in. The Government’s ambitious and undoubtedly controversial National Environment Standard on Freshwater Management and National Policy Statement aims to improve water quality for rivers, lakes and wetlands within five years and fix them within a generation. That’s a big call, but it has to happen. ‘‘Our rivers, lakes and wetlands are under serious threat after years of neglect. We can’t continue to go on like we are. If we don’t fix things now they only get worse and will be more expensive to fix,’’ Environment Minister David Parker said. The reforms have the backing of Water New Zealand, Fish and Game NZ, Horticulture New Zealand, Greenpeace and Local Government New Zealand but are opposed by Federated Farmers, which said the proposals threw farmers under the tractor, to adapt a popular political cliche.
Seals in London
Speaking of improved water quality, who could believe that seals have returned in great numbers to London’s Thames River? The New Scientist reports that a breeding survey by the Zoological Society of London discovered that 138 pups were born in the Thames estuary in 2018. The growing seal population is taken as a sign that the filthy river is finally on the mend, the Zoological Society’s Anna Cucknell explained, as the seals feed on fish, crabs, mussels and squid. ‘‘A lot of people think the Thames is still dead when they see the brown water,’’ Cucknell commented, ‘‘but it’s now a really thriving environment.’’
Te Ra¯ taka a Tama Hu¯ ngoingoi
Author and cartoonist Jeff Kinney is a pretty remarkable guy. Creator of the bestselling Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, Kinney poured some of his earnings into opening an impressive bookshop in his hometown of Plainville, Massachusetts, that has become a hub for fellow authors and, of course, readers. His books have been translated into Latin, Scots and now, te reo Ma¯ ori. The first Ma¯ ori edition of Te Ra¯ taka a Tama Hu¯ ngoingoi is published to coincide with Ma¯ ori Language Week this year. The translation was handled by He¯ ni Jacob, and the Ma¯ ori Language Commission partnered with Penguin Random House to produce the book, which meets a need for colloquial Ma¯ ori literature for younger readers. In case you’re wondering, Diary of a Wimpy Kid in Latin is Commentarii de Inepto Puero. In Scots, it is Diary o a Wimpy Wean.
Freedom cycling
The Guardian reports on the heartwarming story of ReBicycle, a Wellington charity that donates bikes to former refugees. So far, it has given away around 200 of them, with another 500 going to struggling New Zealanders. There are also bike-riding lessons on offer, as many refugees, especially women, never learned to ride a bike at home. The Guardian quotes Iranian refugee Leila Rahimi, a former football player and coach who arrived in New Zealand in 2018. Last year, she was too scared to leave the house. Now she takes her bike up and down Wellington’s many hills and around its bays. She says the bike changed her life, and offered her freedom and hope. Sign of the times
Here is another postearthquake milestone, to mark nine long years since the first of the Canterbury earthquakes. The historic
Sign of the Takahe in Cashmere will officially reopen on September 22 as a bar and cafe run by Christchurch restaurateur Andrew Male. Before the quakes the building had served as a restaurant, bar, wedding and function venue, and the Christchurch City Council spent $2.8 million restoring it after the February 2011 earthquake. The building, which originally opened in 1920, is one of four in a series completed by Sign of the Kiwi, Sign of the Bellbird and Sign of the Packhorse. We have the pioneering Harry Ell to thank for all that.