Last Friday (November 6) I had a very eventful day in Auckland which included opening the senior prizegiving ceremony at Kristin School and celebrating ACT’s 15th Anniversary with former Australian Prime Minister John Howard - as I’ve already mentioned in a previous blog post. Ea...
Hon Heather Roy speech to launch of Science OlympiaNZ (SONZ); Parliament; Tuesday, November 10 2009. Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa. Students, families, friends, Parliamentary colleagues, Government agency representatives, ladies and gentlemen...
As the school year draws to a close there are always a lot of special events held for students to mark their achievements and to farewell those who are leaving. I had the honour of being part of the senior school celebrations at Kristin School during my visit last Friday (6 November)...
More Argument Against Emissions Trading This week another compelling argument was raised against the need for an Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), this time in a New Zealand Institute of Economic Research Inc (NZIER) report titled 'Sustainable Development: Have We Got Our Priorities Right?' The...
November 8 - it's a year today that we had a change of Government and what a difference a year makes. It's easy to overlook the difficult economic conditions that the new government inherited following the collapse of the global banking system in September 2008...
ACT celebrated our 15th anniversary last Friday, 6 November...
New Zealand Battle of Britain hero Sir Keith Park has been honoured in London this week with the unveiling of his statue in Trafalgar Square alongside those of King George IV, General Charles James Napier and Major-General Sir Henry Havelock., where he stands alongside Born in Thames 1892, Sir...
While New Zealanders today think nothing of being able to sit down and watch the news at the very same time as their counterparts at the other end of the country, it wasn't always this way - in fact, more than 40 years ago, television in New Zealand was a very local and disjointed affair...
I was interested - and a little amused - to see a story on the 'Stuff' website yesterday about a man in India who is suing the makers of Lynx deodorant because he has used the product for seven years and has still not been able to attract a woman...
While it is common knowledge that Government departments are notorious for their use of jargon and official language, and there have been calls recently for school reports to use plain English, some departments are making inroads into the problem...
And another inspiring person ... When it comes to testing yourself and overcoming obstacles, there are not many challenges as rigorous as those required to gain a Gold Duke of Edinburgh Hillary Award...
Today I note with sadness the passing of Australian June Middleton at the age of 83. Remembered as a remarkable, strong lady, and as an inspiration, in April this year June marked 60 years confined to an Iron Lung...
When you ask most people if they can name the teacher that made a real difference to them, most can name a teacher without hesitation. For me it was my 6th and 7th form English teacher who gave me a lasting appreciation of literature and provided excellent vocational advice as well...
OCR Remains At All-Time Low As predicted, Reserve Bank Governor Dr Alan Bollard this week announced that he has kept the Official Cash Rate (OCR) unchanged at 2.5 percent...
Associate Minister of Education Heather Roy today welcomed the tabling in Parliament of a report by the Auditor-General on the Ministry of Education’s management of four initiatives to support school-age students it assesses as having the highest level of special need. ...
