Terrorism in New Zealand

Terrorist attack in New Zealand. I never thought I would see those words in the same sentence. Not in this little country that has felt safe and isolated from such events in other parts of the world. But there is a new reality that has come at a huge cost to my country and the many innocent victims - nowhere in the world is safe.

The terrorist came from another place, not just another country but a psychological place of evil and extremism that I cannot begin to understand. The harm that one person wrought in a few minutes on a Friday afternoon is overwhelming in it's horror and sadness.

But one thing my fellow Kiwis have shown in the past week is that we can stand together, not just to condemn such an obviously despicable act, but to genuinely care about the people who were killed or injured. Eight million dollars has been donated in one week via the Victim Support Givealittle page. That's pretty amazing from a population of 4.8 million people. Jacinda Ardern gets a big tick from me for her strong, decisive and compassionate leadership at this time. 

From masses of flowers and practical assistance by people on the ground in Christchurch to the beautiful comments on our paper hearts and in the condolence book at the library it gives me hope. I feel hope that the racism we must acknowledge exists in New Zealand will be overcome by good people not looking the other way but showing by their words and deeds that we are so much better than that. 

Christchurch Terrorist Attack

We never thought it would happen in New Zealand. I am so sad for all those people who lost their lives and their loved ones in Christchurch today. 

Prime Minister's Baby Born Today

Congratulations to our Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, and her partner, Clarke Gayford, whose baby girl was born today. A little winter solstice arrival.

Congratulations Jacinda

Congratulations to Prime Minister Jacinda Adern and partner Clarke Gayford who will become parents in June.

Three Disasters and a Triumph

It's been a tough year for New Zealand but last night was a chance to celebrate when the All Blacks won the Rugby World Cup. After a run of disasters (Pike River mine, Christchurch earthquake and the Rena grounding/oil spill) it's a great morale boost to the country for the national team of the most popular sport in NZ to become world champions.

There were a few disasters along the way for All Blacks too. After Dan Carter was injured they had to call on the reserve of the reserve of the reserve after two of his replacements were also injured. Luckily there are plenty of rugby players in New Zealand and Stephen Donald stepped in and kicked a penalty to keep the All Blacks a hair's breadth in front of France. Even though I'm not really a rugby fan I was desperately hoping the mighty All Blacks could hold onto their lead in the face of an equally mighty challenge by the French. A one point lead was all they needed for a win and a one point lead was what it took to win the World Cup: All Blacks 8 - France 7.

Rugby World Cup

Although I'm not a rugby fan it's hard not to get caught up in some of the spirit, some of the enthusiasm and some of the hype around the Rugby World Cup. If you live in New Zealand you'd almost believe that the Rugby World Cup is THE MOST IMPORTANT sports tournament in the world, ... ever ... anywhere. The fact that any country that has enough rugby players to make a team of 15 can send their team to compete doesn't matter one bit. It's still THE MOST IMPORTANT sports competition on Earth.

I enjoyed the Opening Ceremony, it's fun to see All Black and New Zealand flags flying all around the country and it's great to see people showing national pride and loyalty. Yesterday I was in Wellington. It was a rare Wellington weather day of complete calm and brilliant sunshine. The central city was buzzing as people got out and enjoyed the day. There were also a significant number of South Africans and Fijian supporters enjoying the build up to the match between their countries that evening. I spent some time in town with my nephew. He is also caught up in World Cup fever although his enthusiasm is from the curious perspective of a six year old. His focus is on flags. He can name the country of every flag of competing RWC nations and likes colouring in photocopies of the flags. He has a small, fabric All Black flag.

"Where did you get the flag from?" my sister prompted him to explain.

"From Richie McCaw" he said.

"You mean Richie McCaw the All Black?" I asked.

"Mmm," he murmured, as he fiddled with a couple of Weetbix rugby cards.

"As in Richie McCaw the captain of the All Blacks?" I said, "Wow! Did you meet Richie McCaw?"

"Yes," he said.

He wasn't interested in elaborating on the whole event so I had to find out from my sister how Zak got to meet Richie McCaw (at a public event promoting the RWC). I'm sure Zak must have been excited at the time but he clearly wasn't awed by the experience. Maybe that's a good thing. He's not hero-worshipping the players nor showing an over-the-top obsession with rugby. I don't think he'll mind too much which country wins the World Cup as long as he likes their flag!

Snowing? In Te Awamutu? Really?

In a rare occurence today we had several flurries of snow in Te Awamutu. It didn't last long but the white stuff falling gently from the sky and swirling in the wind did look pretty for a few minutes. Nobody is talking about global warming in New Zealand today. Instead many areas of the North Island are experiencing the novelty of snow.

I was excited to see the white stuff this morning and rushed to the phone to urge my Mum to look out the window before it stopped. She talked about sleet but I'm sure there were genuine snowflakes landing on the glass. Later on there was a lovely flurry with snowflakes like white polka dots decorating the deck chairs. My sister phoned from the Kapiti Coast to share her delight about snow falling there.

The South Islanders are probably scoffing at the North Islanders as we get all excited over an itty bitty amount of snow. They are blanketed in snow for the second time this winter and of course the Southern Alps are majestic white mountains every winter. But it is so unusual to have snow in northern, low altitude areas of the country that we are enjoying the unique experience.

The woman recording the video below captured the rare event and her commentary says it all really.

Only In New Zealand

The latest news from Auckland, from Newstalk ZB and on Yahoo New Zealand News.

A taniwha appears to be in the way of Auckland's planned $2.5 billion CBD rail link project.
The revelation has been made by Maori Statutory Board member Glenn Wilcox at an Auckland Council Transport Committee.
Councillor Cameron Brewer says the issue should've been put to bed with Ngati Whatua by now.
"The fact that the 'T bomb' was let off by an independent Maori Statutory Board member yesterday without anyone aware of the taniwha was disappointing."
Mr Brewer says Mayor Len Brown has been let down by his advisors.

Yahoo really knows how to stir up their readers with some of their 'news' stories. In the four hours since the news item was published on Yahoo NZ there have been 230 comments posted. Such as this one from Lorna:
'The French have trains that can run at 575km/hr and we have taniwha.'

And there are quite a few people who think a Waikato taniwha has just moved north.
According to stuff.co.nz: 'Politically taniwha are not to be treated lightly.
In 2002 Transit New Zealand moved part of State Highway 1 after Ngati Naho of Meremere claimed it was cutting through the domain of one eyed taniwha Karu Tahi.'

More Wild Wind

Today the wild wind was in Auckland when a tornado struck the suburb of Albany. What's happened to Windy Wellington? The wind news is all from northern regions at present. I found this report from a Euronews Channel on YouTube. It's in Spanish but the pictures tell the story clearly. Tornadoes like this are rare in New Zealand, only about 3 or 4 of this size every century according to the weather expert on TVNZ.

What would you do?

What would you do if you found your local supermarket open but not a single staff member in sight to take your money? This happened in Hamilton on Good Friday when Pak 'n Save was officially closed but the lights went on and the doors opened automatically. Store security video shows decisions made by people who entered the store.

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