Bill lodged to introduce second-tier patent system

Source: National Party – Headline: Bill lodged to introduce second-tier patent system

A Member’s Bill has been lodged by National MP Parmjeet Parmar to better support New Zealand innovators by providing intellectual property rights to advancements that may not qualify as an invention for the standard patent.

“Protecting ideas and advancements helps New Zealand innovators and businesses to stay competitive and stand out on the international stage,” Ms Parmar says.

“My Patents (Advancement Patents) Amendment Bill will introduce a more accessible and cost-effective second-tier patent system that will protect novel creations that don’t qualify for the standard patent.

“Providing an innovator monopoly over the use of their creation through a second-tier patent system will provide an opportunity for them to further advance the creation with reduced risk.

“It will also provide them with the ability to commercialize the creation, just as the standard patent system would, without the fear of it being copied. This will enable them to contribute substantially to research and development and to the economy.

“My bill will help ensure that New Zealanders continue to benefit from their creativity and innovation with a system that better supports the development of new and forward-thinking ideas.”

First convoys bypass the SH1 washout north of Kaitaia

Source: New Zealand Transport Agency – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: First convoys bypass the SH1 washout north of Kaitaia

There were 22 vehicles travelling south and 3 made the northbound journey, says the Transport Agency’s Northland System Manager, Jacqui Hori-Hoult.

The convoys are for essential travel only and will be repeated tonight at 5:30pm for southbound traffic and at 6:15pm for northbound traffic. Police will check the vehicles and drivers for suitability to make the 40 minute journey over the unsealed one lane track. The convoys will run at the same time tomorrow.

The route through the privately-owned forest is closed at all other times to vehicles except emergency services. Normal forestry operations have resumed in the area and motorists will be travelling at their own risk through the off road route.

If you don’t have to travel, please delay your journey until the state highway is open, says Ms Hori-Hoult.

Repair crews have made good progress over the weekend on laying a new culvert with 2.1 metre diameter pipes across the road. Seven trucks are delivering about 5,000 cubic metres of material needed to backfill the hole to road level.

The road is expected to reopen mid week.

The Transport Agency is working with local authorities, emergency services and the Ministry of Civil Defence to ensure the welfare of local communities and visitors.

Civil Defence says it’s had no requests for assistance. Emergency services also report no issues.

Schools remain open, though pupils who can’t get past the washout have been told to stay at home.

This morning, two trucks delivered 50 crates of fresh bread and milk and they were carried across the washout to store owners from the north waiting on the other side.

Tomorrow morning there will be a convoy leaving at 7:30am for southbound traffic from the corner of Far North Road and Trig Road and an 8:15am departure for northbound vehicles from 113 Hukatere Road at the end of the sealed section.

The Transport Agency thanks the local community and visitors for their patience and understanding while it works as quickly as possible to restore a safe and resilient transport system in Northland.

While SH1 is closed there is no alternative route between Kaitaia and Cape Reinga, apart from the forest track.

The road to the top of the North Island has been closed since a washout on Friday afternoon created a hole in the road 20 metres long and 4-5 meters deep near Pukenui, about 40 kilometres north of Kaitaia.

For latest road and travel information, go to:

For Auckland and Northland

 

The mechanics of a parkour landing

Source: Massey University – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: The mechanics of a parkour landing


Massey researchers are investigating the movements used in parkour – a French-developed discipline using movement developed from military obstacle courses training.


Master of Sport and Exercise Science student Marcel
Austmann.

Have you ever watched a person leaping from buildings or vaulting over railings and wondered, “How did they do that?”

Massey University researchers are looking at the movements used in parkour, a French-developed discipline using movement developed from military obstacle course training, and how it affects the forces placed on the body, particularly when landing.

The research, which is being led by Master of Sport and Exercise Science student Marcel Austmann under the supervision of Dr Sarah Shultz from the School of Sport, Exercise and Nutrition, may help in the design of conditioning programmes and injury prevention strategies for the activity that is often considered an extreme sport with high risks.

Due to the relative infancy of parkour there is less information about how parkour athletes distribute forces during landings, which has potential links to injury, Mr Austmann says.

Ground reaction force measures the magnitude of stress placed on the body when it connects with the ground, while rate of force development looks at the time it takes for the body to absorb those forces. Both factors can greatly increase risk associated with injury, but it has been shown that experienced parkour athletes may be able to lessen these forces significantly through landing techniques,” he says.

“This study is unique in that it investigates the forces as well as muscular activity associated with parkour landings during a variety of obstacles found in a natural training environment. We anticipate that the valuable findings would add to the current knowledge base of landing biomechanics in parkour.”

Specifically, this study will look to support previous research that suggested parkour precision landing was a safe landing strategy. “By moving beyond the lab and into the more common gym setting, we can better understand how parkour athletes naturally land and how much influence experience level plays in injury risk,” Mr Austmann says.

The study is looking for 12-24 healthy and injury free adults between the age of 18-35 who participate in parkour. Experience levels can vary as comparisons will be made between beginner and experienced athletes. Participants need to be Auckland-based, as the study is being carried out at Flow Academy of Motion, in Albany.

Watch a YouTube video of the obstacle course set up for the research here.

If you would like to take part in the research, please contact Marcel Austmann: static_motion@hotmail.com

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How committed are food companies to health?

Source: University Of Auckland – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: How committed are food companies to health?

A new study ranking the nutrition commitments of 25 of New Zealand’s largest food companies has found large variations with some companies leading the way, but many are not doing nearly enough to reduce the biggest cause of ill health in New Zealand, unhealthy diets.

Kiwi lands job at International Whaling Commission

Source: Massey University – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Kiwi lands job at International Whaling Commission


Dr Karen Stockin takes up a new role at the International Whaling Commission


Massey University marine ecologist Dr Karen Stockin has landed a coveted appointment with the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to coordinate a bold-new initiative focusing on global cetacean [whales, dolphins and porpoises] strandings.

Dr Stockin will take up the newly established role of strandings coordinator within the recently-created Strandings Initiative. The Initiative was formed to assist international stranding networks in their capability to respond and investigate stranding events.

The initiative has been in the works for a number of years and was requested by several of the IWC’s sub-committees, including the welfare sub-committee, to provide more support and strategic direction around strandings of whales, dolphins and porpoises.

Dr Stockin, director of Massey University’s Coastal Marine Research Group and associate investigator at the Animal Welfare Science and Bioethics Centre, has a clear record of excellence and experience in whale strandings both nationally and internationally.

New Zealand is internationally recognised for its high frequency of strandings, and especially for its record mass strandings of pilot whales. As part of the new position, Dr Stockin will be responsible for convening the Strandings Expert Panel, which comprises 22 of the world’s leading authorities on marine mammal strandings.

Dr Stockin was the recent recipient of the Bob Kerridge Animal Welfare Fellowship for investigating the human dynamic to stranding events, as part of a larger project designed to improve the conservation-welfare nexus during stranding events.

“The IWC role is a natural progression to the research myself and colleagues at Massey are undertaking nationally on strandings, and it’s a huge privilege to be a part of such a respected international commission such as the IWC,” Dr Stockin says.

Mass stranding of pilot whales [Credit: Massey University’s Emma Betty].


Scope of the work

Earlier in 2017, the Expert Panel and Intersessional Steering Group were convened, drawing from strandings experts from a number of different countries, to draft an initial work programme for the initiative, which called for an initial focus on emergency response and on trainings. Dr Stockin was part of the Steering Group, but as stranding coordinator, her primary role now will be to guide the strategic development and implementation of the portfolio outlined by the Expert Panel.

Some of her responsibilities will include developing strategies for handling requests for assistance, expanding coordination efforts with other intergovernmental organisations and developing international training workshops for emergency response.

A major part of the work will be developing frameworks to guide IWC when it needs to assist governments in unusual stranding situations when called upon. Additionally, Dr Stockin will assist the IWC with its work on other initiatives relevant to strandings as and when required (e.g. ship strike, entanglement).

In New Zealand, the Department of Conservation (DOC) is legally responsible for marine mammals. Project Jonah is a marine mammal welfare charity who are a partner to DOC, providing logistical expertise and trained volunteers to assist at stranding events.

As a member of the IWC’s Stranding Panel, general manager of Project Jonah Daren Grover said, “the appointment of Dr Stockin as the IWC’s Strandings Coordinator will bring considerable benefits to New Zealand, as well as helping share knowledge to save lives at future strandings, both here and overseas”.

Dr Stockin’s history with the IWC dates back to her undergraduate years when she studied minke whale diving behaviour as part of her Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology at Plymouth University, England. Her findings which published in the Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom in 2001, were originally presented to the scientific committee of the IWC on the grounds her findings had impact to the way in which abundance estimates were calculated in minke whale populations subject to scientific whaling quotas.

Since then she has periodically attended IWC scientific meetings as an invited participant, and will be invited participant at the Modelling and Assessment of Whale Watching Impacts workshop, being held in La Spezia, Italy prior to the commencement of the European Cetacean Society conference early next month. Additional international duties for Dr Stockin in her new role include attendance at the upcoming Scientific Committee meeting in Bled, Slovenia at the end of April and the Commissions’ biennial meeting held in Mexico in September.

Dr Stockin will begin her new role next month, continuing in her existing roles at Massey University, with the IWC position being part-time.

About the IWC

The IWC is the global intergovernmental body charged with the conservation of whales and the management of whaling with 87 member countries, bringing together a number of sub-committees to deal with major issues like animal welfare and conservation.

Massey and the IWC

Dr Stockin is not the first Massey staff member to be involved with the IWC, with one of the most notable pioneers being the late Professor Emeritus David Blackmore. In 1991 Professor Blackmore was asked by the New Zealand government to prepare a paper for the IWC on the humaneness of the methods used for the slaughter and euthanasia of whales. He worked tirelessly in the field during many strandings and demonstrated via his research, a need for investigation to ensure that stranded whales, unable to be returned to the sea, were euthanised using pain-free methods. More recently, Professor Craig Johnson facilitated an IWC workshop investigating welfare threats to whales in situations other than strandings with the aim of encouraging further research into the effects of interactions between whales and humans.

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Kaikōura earthquake update 9

Source: Earthquake Commission – EQC – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Kaikōura earthquake update 9

Kia ora,

In this month’s newsletter, you can find an update on how many EQC customers have received their Kaikōura earthquake settlement, what customers need to think about after they have received their EQC cash settlement and where you can find the updated answers to frequently asked questions on Kaikoura insurance claims.

How are we doing?

As at 28 February 2018, we’ve completed 93% of residential building settlements, 97% of contents settlements and 98.5% of land settlements.

So what’s left overall?

As at 28 February, of the 38,000 residential claims that resulted from the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake, we’ve got the following left to complete:

  • 7%, or fewer than 2,400, of building settlements,
  • Around 300 contents settlements, and
  • 1.5%, or just over 50, of all land settlements.

Below is our settlement progress in the following areas as at 28 February 2018:

Region

Total number of building claims

% of building claims left to be settled

Marlborough

4,365

10%

Hurunui

2,780

10%

Kaikōura

2,146

24%

Christchurch city

7,277

Less than 5%

Wellington city

4,299

Less than 10%

So far we have paid:

  • $314.7 million to insurers who manage EQC customers; and
  • $35.2 million to customers who we manage (land and/or properties with open or unresolved claims for prior natural disaster damage).

EQC-managed claims

We were responsible for directly managing just over 5,400 claims. As of 28 February 2018, we’ve got just over 90 claims left to settle.

What’s next?

By the end of this month we expect less than five per cent, or 1,700 building claims left to complete.

Supporting information for EQC customers

Our customers can find a lot of useful information about what to do next following the EQC cash settlement in our new fact sheet Managing your home repair. In this fact sheet customers can read about what they need to consider when repairing their earthquake damage, who can do the work and what homeowners’ rights are. We’d really appreciate it if you could share this resource with your networks.

If you have any questions about the Kaikōura insurance claims, please check out the most common questions and answers that we’ve developed jointly with the private insurers and have recently updated. The updated frequently asked questions (FAQs) can be found on our website at www.eqc.govt.nz/Kaikoura-FAQs

If there’s something you can’t find an answer to in the Kaikōura FAQs please let us know. Also if you have any feedback on this newsletter, we’d love to hear from you. Email us at communications@eqc.govt.nz

Kia kaha,

Trish Keith
Chief Customer Officer
Customer & Claims
EQC

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Update : Pakowhai Rd reopens following crash, Hastings

Source: New Zealand Police –

Headline: Update : Pakowhai Rd reopens following crash, Hastings


Location:

Eastern

Pakowhai Road in Hastings has reopened following this morning’s crash.

One person has been taken to Hawke’s Bay Hospital with moderate injuries.

A car and truck collided just before 8am.

Traffic is still heavy in the area but is clearing.

Police would like to thank motorists for their patience.

ENDS

Issued by the Police Media Centre

Escorted convoys to bypass the SH1 washout north of Kaitaia

Source: New Zealand Transport Agency – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Escorted convoys to bypass the SH1 washout north of Kaitaia

The Transport Agency, police and local authorities have been advising motorists against using the forest route over the weekend because it’s an unsealed route over private land and considered unsafe for cars, camper vans and buses.

Summit Forestry, the land owner, also said the route was not suitable for private vehicles.

But now agreement has been reached to open the route under police supervision for a short time in the morning and evening on Monday, says the Transport Agency’s Northland System Manager Jacqui Hori-Hoult.

In the morning there will be a 7:30am departure for southbound traffic from the corner of Far North Road and Trig Road and an 8:15am departure for northbound vehicles from 113 Hukatere Road at the end of the sealed section.

In the evening the southbound convoy will leave at 5:30pm with the northbound convoy leaving at 6:15pm.

The convoys will depart promptly. Any vehicle that arrives after the convoy has departed won’t be able to use the route says Ms Hori-Hoult.

There will be no opportunity to make the return journey in between these times.

The convoys are for essential travel only. If you don’t have to travel, please delay your journey until the state highway is open, says Ms Hori-Hoult.

This alternative forestry route is a single muddy track which is suitable for four wheel drive vehicles. Police will be assessing vehicles and drivers for suitability before they can join the convoy. Motorists will be travelling at their own risk.

Police will escort traffic through the area. The travel time is about forty minutes.

Schools have advised pupils affected by the highway closure to stay home on Monday.

Meanwhile Ms Hori-Hoult says work crews are making good progress on rebuilding the road to reopen it to traffic by the middle of the week. Nine of the ten pipes required to channel the stream under the road have been laid. Backfilling over the pipes to restore the road level is under way. Further progress remains subject to the weather.

The top of the North Island has been cut off after heavy rain caused a washout late on Friday afternoon that blew out a 20 metre stretch of SH1 just south of Pukenui.

Communities and tourists north of the washout have been cut off, but Civil Defence says it’s had no requests for assistance. Emergency services say it’s business as usual.

The Transport Agency is working with local authorities, emergency services and the Ministry of Civil Defence to ensure the welfare of local communities and visitors.

While SH1 is closed there is no alternative route between Kaitaia and Cape Reinga, apart from the forest track.

The Transport Agency thanks the local community and visitors for their patience and understanding while it works as quickly as possible to restore a safe and resilient transport system in Northland.

For latest road and travel information, go to:

For Auckland and Northland

 

Pakowhai Rd, Tomoana, Hastings

Source: New Zealand Police –

Headline: Pakowhai Rd, Tomoana, Hastings

Drivers should expect delays following a crash on Pakowhai Rd, Tomoana, Hastings.

Emergency services were called to the incident involving a truck and a car just before 8am.

Diversions are in place along Ruahapia Rd and Elwood Rd.

One person is reportedly injured.

ENDS

Police Media Centre


District:

Eastern


Description of incident:

Serious crash

Issued by: 
Police Media Centre

New PTA requires Reserve Bank to consider employment alongside price stability mandate

Source: New Zealand Government

Headline: New PTA requires Reserve Bank to consider employment alongside price stability mandate

Finance Minister Grant Robertson and incoming Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr today signed a new Policy Targets Agreement (PTA) setting out specific targets for maintaining price stability and a requirement for employment outcomes to be considered in the conduct of monetary policy.
The new PTA takes effect from 27 March 2018, when Adrian Orr starts his five-year term as Governor. The new PTA has to be signed under the existing provisions of the Reserve Bank Act 1989, which has price stability as the Reserve Bank’s primary objective.
The agreement continues the requirement for the Reserve Bank to keep future annual CPI inflation between 1 and 3 percent over the medium-term, with a focus on keeping future inflation near the 2 percent mid-point.
The new PTA now also requires monetary policy to be conducted so that it contributes to supporting maximum levels of sustainable employment within the economy.
The new focus on employment outcomes is an outcome of Phase 1 of the Review of the Reserve Bank Act 1989, which the Coalition Government announced in November 2017.
“The Reserve Bank Act is nearly 30 years old. While the single focus on price stability has generally served New Zealand well, there have been significant changes to the New Zealand economy and to monetary policy practices since it was enacted,” Grant Robertson said.
“The importance of monetary policy as a tool to support the real, productive, economy has been evolving and will be recognised in New Zealand law by adding employment outcomes alongside price stability as a dual mandate for the Reserve Bank, as seen in countries like the United States, Australia and Norway.
“Work on legislation to codify a dual mandate is underway. In the meantime, the new PTA will ensure the conduct of monetary policy in maintaining price stability will also contribute to employment outcomes.”
A Bill will be introduced to Parliament in the coming months to implement Cabinet’s decisions on recommendations from Phase 1 of the Review. As well as legislating for the dual mandate, this will include the creation of a committee for monetary policy decisions.
“Currently, the Governor of the Reserve Bank has sole authority for monetary policy decisions under the Act. While clear institutional accountability was important for establishing the credibility of the inflation-targeting system when the Act was introduced, there has been greater recognition in recent decades of the benefits of committee decision-making structures,” Grant Robertson said.
“In practice, the Reserve Bank’s decision-making practices for monetary policy have adapted to reflect this, with an internal Governing Committee collectively making decisions on monetary policy. However, the Act has not been updated accordingly.”
The Government has agreed a range of five to seven voting members for a Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) for decision-making. The majority of members will be Reserve Bank internal staff, and a minority will be external members. The Reserve Bank Governor will be the chair.
“It is my intention that the first committee of seven members would have four internal, and three external members. Treasury will also have a non-voting observer on the MPC to provide information on fiscal policy,” Grant Robertson said.
The MPC is expected to begin operation in 2019 following passage of amending legislation. There will be a full Select Committee process for the legislation.
Reserve Bank Governor-Designate, Adrian Orr, said that the PTA recognises the importance of monetary policy to the wellbeing of all New Zealanders.
“The PTA appropriately retains the Reserve Bank’s focus on a price stability objective. The Bank’s annual consumer price inflation target remains at 1 to 3 percent, with the ongoing focus on the mid-point of 2 percent. 
“Price stability offers enduring benefits for New Zealanders’ living standards, especially for those on low and fixed incomes. It guards against the erosion of the value of our money and savings, and the misallocation of investment.”
Mr Orr said that the PTA also recognises the role of monetary policy in contributing to supporting maximum sustainable employment, as will be captured formally in an amendment Bill in coming months. 
“This PTA provides a bridge in that direction under the constraints of the current Act. The Reserve Bank’s flexible inflation targeting regime has long included employment and output variability in its deliberations on interest rate decisions. What this PTA does is make it an explicit expectation that the Bank accounts for that consideration transparently. Maximum sustainable employment is determined by a wide range of economic factors beyond monetary policy.”
Mr Orr said that he welcomes the intention to use a monetary policy committee decision-making group, including both Bank staff and a minority of external members.
“Legislating for this committee will give a strong basis for the Bank’s use of a committee decision-making process. Widening the committee to include external members also brings the benefit of diversity and challenge in our thinking, while enhancing the transparency of decision-making and flow of information.”
Phase 2 of the Review is being scoped. It will focus on the Reserve Bank’s financial stability role and broader governance reform. Announcements on the final scope will be made by mid-2018 and subsequent policy work will commence in the second half of 2018.