Combo

Style on campus. I like that.

I'm feeling sad tonight. You've probably heard about the ship Rena that steamed into a reef last Wednesday within sight of land. How does a container ship run into a well charted reef 12km off on a fine day in light seas?

It's hemorrhaging oil, spilling containers into the sea and about to break up. For those who believed the myth of NZ 100% pure this should end that silliness. It's a maritime and environmental disaster on a scale we haven't seen in NZ. The Bay of Plenty is a long way from Christchurch. It's utterly beautiful. Now it's coated in oil, toxins and who knows if and when it will recover.

In Christchurch we don't know what it's like to have your beautiful coastal environment devastated by a disaster that didn't need to happen. But we know what it's like to feel shocked, helpless and afraid of the impact of things bigger than we've known. You're in our thoughts and prayers Bay of Plenty.

It's time we treated NZ as the gift it is. A place to cherish, where our kids and theirs know land and sea that nourishes and sustains. It's time we valued our place in the world instead of trying to rip every bit of value out of it.