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Friday August 24, 2012
Spare Daffodils? Daffodil Day Friday August 31 Daffodil Day is coming around quickly and we are in need of more daffodils for our Blenheim South Rotary volunteers to pick.
YOUR daffodils would be very much appreciated Please phone 579 4379 to arrange a pick up or drop them at our bunching centre, McKendrys Car Cnr, opposite Coundown Supermarket, Harcourts or Mayfield Motors
Drop off August 28-30 PHONE: 579 4379 Forum Building, Market St, Blenheim
Visit our display: 105 Middle Renwick Rd, Blenheim Ph: 03 579 4723
To advertise your business, call Jill on (03) 5777 868
Total market coverage in Marlborough
farming
The Sun
Rural GP workforce scheme under review Rural Women New Zealand is calling for more transparency around the number of doctors, midwives and nursing graduates working in rural communities under the Voluntary Bonding Scheme. This scheme gives financial incentives to health professionals who agree to work in hard-to-staff areas. A key concern is that the scheme appears to have failed to attract any rural GPs, according to the Rural General Practice Network, despite over 44 permanent GP vacancies around the country. Rural Women New Zealand health spokesperson Kerry Maw said rural primary healthcare services are being supported by international medical graduates, who make up 57% of the rural GP workforce, instead of encouraging local graduates. The scheme which has been running for three years, is now under review by Health Minister Tony Ryall, as the first of the graduates become eligible for payouts towards their student loan debts. “We are concerned to hear that just 25 doctors, of a potential 105, have had their payments approved so far, and that
the numbers of those now applying to join the scheme has fallen significantly,” said Kerry. Rural Women New Zealand says the problem is urgent, as the average age of rural GPs is rising, and is now between 50 and 55 years. “Rural Women New Zealand fully supports positive incentives for nurses, midwives and doctors to work in the rural sector. As a rural doctor, Theun Thein sees a wide range of cases, and meets people from many backgrounds. The Dutch doctor moved to New Zealand one and a half years ago, and straight to Havelock Medical Centre, with his wife and three year-old son. They have since had a second son, who is six months old. Dr Thein, 34, alternates his work days between Springlands Health in Blenheim, and Havelock Medical Centre, which is part of Springlands Health. He really enjoys the variation of the rural practice. “People in rural areas wait until something is big before they come in, so it can
Theun Thien, doctor at Havelock Medical Centre
often be quite progressed.” Dr Thein said this is because his clients often have long distances to travel to get to Havelock. “People come from all over Pelorus Sound, and D’Urville Island. That’s a long drive or a boat ride.” Every day for Dr Thein is different; day may start off quiet and then an influx of patients may turn up. He encourages all young medical professionals to work in a rural practice, because it creates self confidence, a wide base of cases, and an interesting work life. “I came here because I wanted to work with a wide range of patients, and I get to be creative.”
Arrangement to combat illegal logging Australia and New Zealand this week strengthened their long standing cooperation on forestry issues by signing the Arrangement on Combating Illegal Logging and Promoting Sustainable Forest Management. The signed Arrangement illustrated a shared commitment to working together to address illegal logging and promote sustainable forest management. Australia’s Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Senator Joe Ludwig, and New Zealand Associate Minister for Primary Industries, Nathan Guy, signed the Arrangement during forestry talks which included discussions relating to the progress of Australia’s Illegal Logging Prohibition Bill 2011. It was also seen as a way to build the
Government and industry’s capacity to manage forests sustainably. In 2010-11, New Zealand was the largest export supplier of forest products to Australia with trade valued at $715 million. Nathan Guy said although New Zealand is a low risk market because it imports very little timber, it made sense for our two countries to work together. Tamati Smith, from Tasman Forest Management Ltd, based in Renwick, said this agreement will have little impact on the logging industry in New Zealand. “The New Zealand forestry industry has practiced sustainability for a long time, long before it became an environmental buzz word.” Tamati said the timeframes involved with managing forests means that sustainability is fundamental to forestry. “The challenges to forestry in NZ is more to do with the longterm economic viability of forests and forest products.” This means increased competition from other countries, other substituted products, competition
for labour and the resources to train them. “Ever increasing costs and constantly changing exchange rate are also having an impact.” Tamati said the small amount of NZ Native logging occurring is highly regulated, and there would be no illegal logging in NZ exotic (Pine) forests. “This agreement is mainly aimed at reducing illegal logging by making it illegal to import non-certified logs or lumber.” Tamati said it was unfortunate that most of the illegal logging occurs in developing countries. This is because certification is not cheap, so some legitimate operators may be considered illegal. “Even small forest owners in NZ cannot afford certification.” The common certifications is either FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) or PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification). “This bill will not affect the sustainability of the NZ Forest and Logging industry, although it has a potential impact on communities in places like Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.”