Edge Message #131 from Brian Sweeney, producer NZEDGE.COM
Greetings. NZEDGE.COM publishes daily on Facebook and Twitter. This newsletter presents a selection of New Zealanders appearing in the world’s media in the last week.
New Zealand lavished with superlatives in “God’s Country – The NZ Factor” – Forbes
New Zealand small towns ideal for childhood and a new life ex-Canada –Montreal Gazette
Stephen Kang’s short Blue wins top honor at Cannes Film Festival – Indie Wire
Dan Carter sticks with All Blacks; spurns lucrative foreign offers – Telegraph
Sir Ed Hillary’s Pole conquest “a carefully planned detour” – Sydney Morning Herald
Bob Parker, Christchurch, takes advice from San Francisco Mayor of ‘89 – The Australian
Anna Hansen, London chef, talks Fergus Henderson and carvery tactics – SFGate
Greg Henderson, cyclist, claims Tour of California stage yellow jersey – Reuters
Derek Handley, entrepreneur, Hyperfactory founder, on meaningful achievement – SFGate
Adam Parore trades wickets for crampons making Everest’s peak – República
Naked and Famous one of “12 bands you have to catch” during UK festivals – Guardian
University of Cantebury students offered Oxford terms while campus rebuilt – BBC
Martin Crowe, former NZ captain, finds solution to mid-life crisis: cricket – Reuters
Antarctic Centre mends Blue Penguins; refuge for the world’s smallest – Channel News Asia
WilliamsWarn, world’s first personal brewery, set to go global – eXtravaganzi
See all stories and a 7,000 story archive of international New Zealand news 2000-2011 at NZEDGE/MEDIA.
A BILLION FOR CHRISTCHURCH
IRD figures show there are 627,000 New Zealanders with student loan borrowings, totaling current debt of about $10.8 billion. 85,000 New Zealanders living internationally have student loans totaling $2 billion; of these people, 35,000 are behind in repayments or not paying at all. Paul Callaghan, the outstanding New Zealand physicist and science and innovation leader, has issued a plea and a challenge in the form of Heke(for Heroic Educated Kiwi Expatriates) to all student loan holders to either recommence or increase their loan payments as a way of helping fund the renewal Christchurch. “If only a few respond, the effect will be significant, but if most of you do, then you will make history and your contribution will be the stuff of legend.” NZEDGE endorses this appeal and encourages everyone with the ability to pay back more and quicker – NZ resident or global citizen – to do so. This will truly make a difference and every dollar repaid quicker is a dollar that doesn’t have to be borrowed elsewhere. IRD access is here for repayments.
Recently on a visit to Argentina I met with Rob Mumford, a longtime NZEDGE friend. Rob has been in Buenos Aires for a decade. He writes, “Our Kiwi Big Day Out and Earthquake Appeal went well, we had a brilliant sunny day and enjoyed an afternoon with fellow Kiwis and friends. We had a memorial service, BBQ, a demonstration of Argentine dog rescue teams who were in Christchurch, Japan, and Haiti, races for young and old, tug of war, and an auction. We raised around US$2,000 for Red Cross Earthquake appeal.”
And over 1,000 people took part in London’s Step Up 4 Christchurch event, a 1,037-step charity stair climb at the famous 38 floor ‘Gherkin’ tower, raising over £275,000 for the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal. The event was the brainchild of two London-based New Zealanders, businessmen, Kent Gardner and Paul Kendrick of Evans Randall, the investment banking and private equity group that half-owns 30 St Mary Axe, or the ‘Gherkin’, as it is better known. Ensuring all the money raised goes directly to the appeal, Evans Randall covered all costs as well as donating £50,000.
Maori TV’s Telethon Rise Up for Christchurch Te Kotahitanga has just raised $2.56M (Fonterra donated $1M). It is estimated that over $70M has been raised for Christchurch, with notable donations coming from the USA. For example, San Francisco-based entrepreneur Peter Thiel, director of and investor in Facebook, co-founder of PayPal, and investor in Xero and Pacific Fibre, has given $1M; three film companies have donated: James Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment and Fox Filmed Entertainment, have collectively donated US$1M towards the Appeal; and Warner Brothers has donated US$500K; and US-based travel group, The Travel Corporation, which has longstanding relationships with New Zealand tourism operators, has made a donation of $50,000. Richard Launder, president of The Travel Corporation USA, is a native New Zealander.
You can donate to the Government’s Christchurch Earthquake Appeal Fund here and select a range of investments from helping needy people and charities to education, arts, sports fields, and new ideas.
More broadly, the success of the New Zealand economy has to become a top priority for every New Zealander, home and away, and not simply because of Christchurch (or anyplace else in NZ there could have been a massive natural disaster). This is like “family conference” time because we are almost beyond having economic choices as a country. “There is no point in being brilliant at the wrong thing.” The macro choices we make about country strategy have never been more critical. Selling more stuff to the world at higher margins is the best idea there is. Winning the world, from the edge.
Top picture, Raumati South, Kapiti Coast, New Zealand. More pictures at www.paradiseroad.com. Fern symbol viawww.nzflag.com.
