Y09205

Smoking should be banned in New Zealand

09205

Did you know that smoking take’s over 5000 lives’ a year and numbers have increased by 63% in the last few years and they are still increasing. The fact is that it is too easy to get into smoking; most kids have at least tried a smoke and a decent amount smoke. Also one out of ten people get addicted to it. The reason why people get addicted to it is because it is a drug. And that drug is called nicotine. I personally think it should be banned because it’s a very deadly drug witch when it is inhaled anough into your system you will end up with lung cancer and that’s pretty hard to get rid of. Because you will find it hard to breath and lack of oxygen gets into your system.

If New Zealand wants to be smoke free they have to increase the price of smokes by 75% well that’s my thought anyway. It might be harsh but it will decrease the amount of smokers. About one in five (19.9 per cent) adult’s smoke in New Zealand but the worrying thing is that 12.8 per cent of youths aged between 14-15 are regular smokers. On Wednesday first of June 2011 was world smoke free day. While none of the smokers listen Invercargill own smoke free grouped took it to the streets and protested it was good to here that they are trying to get rid of this horrible addiction that takes lives every years. According to the world health organisation smoking is a risk factor for six of the eight leading causes of death globally they reckon that this includes cardiovascular disease cancer and respiratory illnesses. This guy mar Calhoun bereaves more than one smoke free day a year should be held because of the benefits it brings to smokers. It draws attention to the fact that quitting is possible to many smokers he said. He also thinks that most smokers do want to quit many wish they never started. So this smoke free day provides help and acts as a reminder that helps is at hand. The tip for smokers trying to quit is not to get discouraged after the first attempt. It can take up to 14 prober times before you actually quit. Another incentive Mr. Calhoun recommends is to consider the purse strings. A average pack of smokes cost around 15 dollars witch means a pack a day smoker spends over 5000 dollars a year on cigarettes. Well my opinion is that it is a waste of money.

Q07038

              Reasons why New Zealanders should be more energy efficient.

Energy usage in New Zealand has dramatically risen since the late nineties it’s now costing the New Zealand consumers hundreds of millions of dollars each year on energy consumption. Due to uneducated New Zealanders on energy efficiency the benefits of becoming energy efficient and why so much energy is used every year. All these points can help save you money, the government money and set you up for a bigger brighter future.

In New Zealand new ways to control energy usage are constantly being introduced into the homes of New Zealand. It’s estimated that seven hundred and fifty thousand

New Zealand homes are victims of cold and draughty conditions, due to insulation that hasn’t been correctly installed such as insufficient ceiling or underfloor insulation. The biggest problem with insufficient insulation is heat loss. If your home has insufficient insulation it becomes almost impossible to retain heat costing you more in the pocket. becoming energy efficient doesn’t just apply to insulation there are many smaller money saving ideas which cost less but make a big difference. It’s estimated that seventy-eight percent of you power bill is mainly household appliances such as televisions, computers and other electronic devices. Leaving these devices left switched on at the wall during the day and at night soon adds up on your power bill. If a few minutes of your time were used to switch off these devices when not in use and before you go to bed you could remove about three hundred dollars from your power bill each year.

By conserving energy we could save ourselves one hundred to three hundred dollars every year. Why is conserving energy so important? it’s important because we should

treat energy as a life source as we do with food or water. Without energy the world couldn’t function up to a standard it would need to. Without energy even the simplest of jobs could be turn into a nightmare. Such examples conclude house hold electronic devices, mechanical equipment in a factory where items are manufactured,        construction sites, air traffic communication and global communication all these      examples require some form of energy which allows persons such as ourselves

to work and earn an income. In my opinion taking action on this problem will change

the way we use and treat energy in New Zealand. Eliminating this problem of energy now can benefit us when moving into the future.

Why is so much energy used in New Zealand? so much energy is used due to the uneducated New Zealanders who don’t know why conserving energy is important. They don’t realise that it’s costing the government hundreds of millions of dollars every year on energy consumption. Because the governments money is used towards energy consumption this limits the ideas the government have to better the New- Zealand economy. This excludes the important ideas that are necessary in everyday life for example schools and hospitals these examples are needed in everyday life. These establishments allow children to have an education and others to obtain jobs and earn an income to pay for their families’ lifestyle. These ideas can’t exists without money from the government and because all the money is used towards energy bills the government can’t fund enough money to build these establishments let alone enough money to keep them open or run them leaving people with out an occupation or an education.

In my opinion a lot could be done to save our country money aswell as New   Zealanders. This energy crisis will only be solved when New Zealanders step up and take action on this problem today. Only then can we save ourselves more money and better New Zealand. All these three points could help you become more energy efficient saving you money by changing the simplest of things like changing your light bulbs to energy efficient bulbs or checking that your insulation has been correctly installed. Whether you do decide to become energy efficient Kiwis remember that you can better the future of your family and your country. 

P07116

Raising the drinking age is not fair. Imagine this You turn 18 and you live a very social life You want to go out with your mates to the bars and clubs but the age to do so has just been put up to 20 years of age. At 18 you don’t want to still be going to parties with people 4 years your junior. The drinking age should not be raised to 20.

Raising the drinking age will not stop the drinking. Teenagers are always able to find people to buy them alcohol or can illegally buy it. Fake identification cards are a way minors are able to purchase alcohol. This can lead to fraud charges. Pubs are supervised locations for people to consume alcohol. This should not be taken away from the under 20 year olds for a minority taking advantage of this law.

On the other hand, 18 New Zealanders have died because of binge drinking since July 2007, This is a small number of deaths considering all the teenagers that drink. “It’s not the fact that we drink that is the problem the problem is how we drink, that is the excessive amounts being drunk”. The drinking age is not the problem there is going to be problems whether the age is 20 18 or 51.

Only a few people are abusing the drinking age. Why change it when we are talking about a minority. Sir Geffory from the palmer from the law commission has said most New Zealanders drink in a low risk manor.

Why put the drinking age above all the other ages to do things. “If Im old enough to go to war I should be old enough to drink.” The drinking age is fine as it is but some things could be changed like raising the age of purchasing alcohol in off licence premises. Teenagers should be shown the effects of binge drinking not putting up the age to purchase alcohol.

Y - BA

Books VS Cell phones and Computers

            

There are pros and cons to Books vs Cell phones and Computers.

Cell phones and computers are better in some ways because, they are easier to carry than books. They are better for people with busy life styles because you can find more information in the same time as searching one book. You can use cell phones and computers to message people. They take up less space than books. You can use them in the dark because of the lighted screen and keys.

Cell phones and computers have down sides because, you have to pay hundreds for them before you can access information on them, on top of that cost you have to pay for internet (computers) and internet/texts/calls (cell phones) then you can search for information or message people. The computers and cell phones have to have a charged battery or be plugged into a power cable/charger to be able to use them. If you get a flat battery or power outage you can not use them. If you get them wet they will short out and you will have to pay more money to get a new one.

Books are better in some ways because, you do not have to pay hundreds for something before you can read anything out of it. You do not have to rely on it working it always will. Books give people a more in-depth feeling than cell phones and computers. They are easier to access at school. They are better for your mind.

Books downsides are if they get wet the pages will go soggy and the ink will run, pages will stick together and the book will be ruined. They are bulky and heavy to carry around. A book you have to search harder to find the equivalent or less information than you could get at one website from a computer. You can not message/ring people like you can on cell phones.

My honest opinion on the subject books vs. cell phones and computers is that if you are doing something like an assignment for example, most people would use a computer rather than a book because its faster and easier but if you wanted to read something, go for a book because they are easier to read than computer screens and better for your eyes. I recommend using both things equally, because if you rely on computers and cell phones to much one day they will crash and we will have to go back to the basics while they are being repaired.

By Brendan Allan

Y - ER

Cellphones should be aloud to be used at anytime in class.
Cellphones are a major part of our modern society, a lot would say that they cannot live without there cell phone and when they are not aloud to use them in class it may make them angry. I have found out a lot of information about the use of cellphones in class and I hope hat I may change some of your minds.
I use my cell phone quite frequently during the day and also during class time in school. Teachers say that you cannot do work because you get distracted by your cell phone where I complete my work while using my cell phone during class.
I surveyed three teachers at South Land Boys High School and they all said that cellphones should not be aloud to be used in class as they are a distraction to the students and there learning environment. I have taken some quotes from the teachers "Cellphones are as of no use in class and students do not need to use them"
"I don’t use my cell phone so I have no idea why the students need to"
I also surveyed twenty students from Southland Boys High School and twelve from Southland Girls High School and from my surveys I have found that all students would like to be able to use there cellphones during class time.
Also I have found that Girls use there cellphones a lot more then boys do as a question in my survey was, how many hours a day do you use your cell phone. Girls averagely use there cellphones from six to seven hours and boys three to five.
Twenty-Eight of the students that I surveyed said that cellphones do not distract them in their learning environment and the other four said that cellphones sometimes distract them in class.
This information is from

When there are cellphones in class its comes with pros and cons and here are a few of them:
Pros
You can be in touch with your children, and know their whereabouts.
Your kids can reach you in the event of an emergency, and vice versa.
If in danger, your children can reach the authorities or a medical provider.
Cons
Students often forget to turn off their phones in class, and ringing noises or text-message alerts disrupt learning.
Even if set to silent, cell phones can still cause distraction, since text messaging has become a high-tech method of passing notes in school.
Phones can be used as cheating devices during exams.
I have found a poll on the internet and views the results of pool saying "Should schools allow cellphones?"
　
Should schools allow cell phones?
16%
Absolutely not.
84%
Yes, but schools should control their use and impose limitations during class time.
9705 Total votes cast.
This poll shows that over 7000 people think that cellphones should be allowed at school and just limited use.
I agree with the poll and with the students I surveyed I think that cellphones should be aloud to be used during class but limited to their use. As I use my phone to text during class and listen to music but I always have my work completed. I hope that if any teacher sees this that they may carry it on as of the results during this research.
Emmanuel Roderiquehttp://life.familyeducation.com/cellular-telephones/school/51264.html and this is not my information.

Q07094

New Zealand Flag – It’s Time For A Change

The people of New Zealand are different in lots of ways to people of other countries in our culture and togetherness. The New Zealand flag is too much like Australia’s, doesn’t have a cultural side to it and is not very original. The benefits of all of these points would bring New Zealand Kiwi feel to the flag.

The current New Zealand Flag is too much alike the Australian flag in most aspects. The Union Jack is the same also the colours; the only difference is a star. When you see the two flags hanging from flag poles it is hard to tell the difference between the two, until you see that one extra star on the Australian flag. My opinion is that we need to change the flag up a bit because at the moment it doesn’t represent the Kiwi culture at all.

We need an original Kiwi and cultural flag which would involve the Maori and Pakeha culture. There is more than just one culture in New Zealand and we don’t show this enough in our flag. The flag could include some Maori design on it. The Maori culture in New Zealand has died down a bit and is now starting to get recognised more in schools and there are courses at SIT where you can go and learn about the Maori language and culture which my mum is currently undertaking. My opinion is that the flag should include Maori designs and be more distinctive and recognisable as being “Kiwi”.

There are many benefits in having an original flag. If we started to introduce some Maori design to the flag, we would make the Maori side of our culture more recognised to the world through the cultural designs. There also could be a Kiwi or another iconic New Zealand thing. My opinion is that, as New Zealand, we should show our culture and icons through the flag and having some cultural aspects would be good for acknowledging Maori and their culture.

So as you can see, the New Zealand flag does not show any Maori culture and is not as original as it could be. The New Zealand Flag should be changed to include the culture and feel of New Zealand.

Q07037

Is Hunting Wrong?

Imagine you are a stag standing in a clearing, munching on some delicious grass and gazing longingly at some hinds.  You spot a strange looking animal aver by the tree line pointing something at you then all of a sudden you fall asleep. Or, imagine you are crammed on a truck and travelling to a factory smelling of blood and death watching you Friends die and then die yourself. So is hunting really that bad?  Hunting is humane (especially more so than some commercial meat methods).  It is a way of life and is a great social event full of good times and great memories.

Hunting is humane, especially more so than commercial meat methods such as the Freezing Works.  For the sake of this argument you have to put yourself in the animal’s shoes.  Would you rather fall asleep unexpectedly (without waking up) while having fun with your friends, or would you rather be in an overloaded truck full of friends sent to a factory to watch them die, then get an electric shock then a compression powered bolt through your head?  When animals such as deer go to the freezing works they smell blood and a pheromones (which are released from the tarsal gland and acts as a warning sign) they panic. The last moments of there life is terrifying.  With hunting, the animal dies unexpectedly, relaxed and painlessly (93% of the time, the other 7% are bad placed shots).  All the people who despise hunting and want it banned because its “cruel and inhumane” are the biggest hypocrites.  The meat they eat from the supermarket, certain butchers and fast-food restaurants, will have come from an animal that would of hade a cruel death.  They are so wound up that hunting is bad and hunters are “big mean people who like to hurt animals” that they do not realise there are worst ways for animals to die.

Ever since primates evolved to man they have hunted for food.  Hunting has been a part of every culture for thousands of years so why is it all of a sudden wrong?  Certain families cannot afford to buy food at the supermarket so they have to hunt for food.  Would we let these people starve is we banned hunting? For families such as mine, hunting provides meat and halves the cost of our supermarket bill.  For $1.20 (the price of a bullet) you can get approximately $750 worth of meat.  So what is wrong with feeding your family for several weeks for $1.20?  Is it not what others dream of?

Sport hunting is a great social event full of good time and great memories.  To most anti-hunting fanatics sport hunting is “hanging heads on a wall to show how tough and strong we are…” where this is not the case.  Hunting is not about the kill, its tramping over mountains and through valleys, stalking the animal through the forest and consuming alcoholic beverages at the end of the day. From experience I have found that the fun of hunting is being outdoors with the fresh clean air blowing over my face and the felling of freedom. Killing is not what I enjoy but the great memories will never be forgotten.  So is it wrong to have fun and enjoy life?

To some, hunters are barbarians who love to kill animals, to others hunting is a way of life and for many, hunting is what they love. So is hunting wrong?  Is a lion hunting a gazelle not what it has to do to survive. How are we any different from them?  Hunting happens and is what always will happen and no one can change it.

Q09159

Should all New Zealanders be organ donors?

In this modern world we can cure a lot of infections and dieses, however we can not heal all wounds which means we need to replace the tissue and organs that the dieses and accidents damage so we rely on people’s generosity before or after their death to donate these. Although we have good numbers of donors we still do not have enough, we also have major flaws in our current system which ignores the donor’s decision and only listen to the family, and we will also look at why the objections of people,s way of life present are invalid.

In New Zealand we currently have 10 donors per million of the population. This may seem good to Japan’s 0.4, however Spain’s 34 and Portugal’s 31 are far better and put us to shame.We just do not have enough donors. In New Zealand we have 400 people awaiting organs. A few of these will get lucky but a lot will die. In my opinion why not sign up for donation? You could save or raise the quality of life for up to ten people.

Our current donor system is seriously flawed. Even if it says the word “donor” on someone’s drivers licence it is not even looked at. The family of the deceased is asked instead and it comes down to there decision. To add to that it is not majority rules, if its fifteen saying yes and just one saying no the procedure can not go ahead. This is not right it should be the deceased decision is final, no matter with the family says. However until this happens make sure your family knows what you want to do and hopefully they will understand.

Some people have excuses not to become a donor, such as I forgot or I didn’t know. There are also others which are more justifiable like I think it is an unsafe procedure, however this is wrong with lowest percentage of success being 80% for lung transplants and the highest being liver transplants with an 95% chance of success. Another excuse is that it is against some people’s religion to be bury without there body full intact, but if gods were truly divine being wouldn’t they believe in using perfectly good organs and tissue to give life or raise the quality of life for other people. Also the now useless organs could be given back to the family of which the good organ came from to be buried with the body. Why not let something good come out of such a bad situation.

For these reasons all New Zealanders should sign up for organ donation, we may already have good statistics but we can make these better if the government changed the law to take the flaws out of our current law and now we know the reasons some people don’t are invalid. Now lets all go give life because one day someone we know may need an organ or tissue donation.

Q06128

Dairy farming today is one of New Zealand’s biggest industry’s and is a big money earner in our country. However this industry brings consequences both economically and environmentally. Along with milk and other dairy products, diary farming also brings with it cattle waste and gas, high prices in dairy products and is overtaking our sheep farming industry. It is because of these three reasons that dairy farming is bad for New Zealand and should be reduced.

New Zealand’s environment is one of this country’s best assets and to see its rivers and air be polluted by intense dairy farming can damage this country’s reputation. This country’s landscape is breathtaking and there are many activities that can be done all around our environmental areas. If one day someone decided to go for a swim in a creek or river, the last thing they would want is to come out covered in cow waste due to intense dairy farming nearby. A few examples of dairy farming polluting New Zealand are cow waste getting into our streams/rivers and cow methane emissions polluting the air and ozone layer. Dairy farming is one of this country’s main polluters and if careless farmers continue to work the way they do now, most of our rivers and streams will become condemned and unhealthy.

New Zealand’s industry as stated earlier is one of this country’s biggest money makers and has exported New Zealand dairy products to a lot of the world’s major countries, but knowing we kiwis pay more for our dairy products than overseas buyers is quite a problem. If one day a casual kiwi bloke decides to go to the dairy/supermarket to get some milk and cheese for their family and discovers that diary products are far out of reach for spare pocket change can be frustrating. A few examples of dairy products being ridiculously high for New Zealanders are milk reaching the $4.00 and in some places the $5.00 mark. Cheese is also ridiculously over priced being at $10.00 a kilo but in a lot of places $14.99 for a kilo. The prices of this country’s dairy products is ripping New Zealanders off and emptying our pockets. The prices of our dairy products should be reduced and be made more affordable for New Zealanders.

One of New Zealand’s biggest industry’s which is also a heritage is the sheep farming industry. Sheep farming is a very popular career and to see it get overtaken by the growing dairy industry might end up destroying one of this countries greatest assets. If one day someone decides to go for a drive in the country to explore the landscape but where there was sheep farms there instead is diary farms everywhere with no trees or bushes just flat grass and the stench of cow waste .This would most likely make the driver think that New Zealand would be better off with reducing the number of diary farms and keeping the majority of New Zealands farms being sheep ones .Sheep faming and diary farming both have examples of effects on New Zealand. With sheep farming you get less pay but you have a far less impact on the environment. With dairy farming you get more pay but you have a far greater impact on the environment. Sheep farming is being destroyed by the dairy industry and we may later lose it unless we act now and halt the growth of dairy farming throughout New Zealand.

Dairy farming today is growing excessively and due to the money made by the industry it will be difficult to reduce, but many people will be against it due to its heavy negative environmental and economical impacts like polluting our rivers and ozone layer, high pricing of dairy products and the endangering of the sheep farming industry. Dairy farming is rapidly damaging our country and unless we do something now we may loss more than what we earned through dairy farming in New Zealand.

Y07046

Is It Okay To Get Plastic Surgery To Change Your Appearance?

When you hear of plastic surgery, what do you think of? A Hollywood star trying to delay the effects of aging? People who want to change the size of their stomachs, breasts, or other body parts because they see it done so easily on TV? These are common images of plastic surgery, but what about the 4-year-old boy who has his chin rebuilt after a dog bit him? Or the young woman who has the birthmark on her forehead lightened with a laser?

Is it okay to have plastic surgery to change your appearance? No it is not okay because you’re just wasting your time and money on just getting plastic surgery, only to change your appearance.

Is it okay to get plastic surgery to change your appearance? Yes it is okay because it sometimes can get you far in life, like modelling. If you get one or two surgeries then that can be good only if it

 is on your nose or something small.

Plastic surgery is a special type of surgery that can involve both a person's appearance and ability to function. Plastic surgeons strive to improve patients' appearance and self-image through both reconstructive and cosmetic procedures. These are some of the plastic surgeries you can get.

Reconstructive - procedures correct defects on the face or body. These include physical birth defects like cleft lips and palates and ear deformities, traumatic injuries like those from dog bites or burns, or the aftermath of disease treatments like rebuilding a woman's breast after surgery for breast cancer.

I think that it is alright to have plastic surgery to change your appearance because it can get you far in life, and on the other side I think that it is brainless and a huge amount of money loss because you pay thousands and thousands of dollars just to change your appearance.

Y09161

Follow your heart

Imagine you were born without a kidney or with a heart that did not function right. You would want somebody to give up their organs for you when they die. Everyone should be an organ donor. You could change a family’s life by donating your organ when you die. Also, if you died in a tragic accident and you’re not a donor, all of your organs will decompose and go to waste. Thirdly, more people would be organ donors if there were more ways to sign up.

A families life could be changed by giving one of your  organs  like a kidney, you have two anyway so if someone was born with a malfunctioning kidney you could donate one of yours and save somebody’s life which would be a momentous occasion. “It’s very hard to put into words how grateful I am to my donor family. I know that I have received a very precious gift and will never take that for granted”. As quoted by sue on the NZ donor website. I think that this quote is relevant to this point because she is saying that she is so grateful to her donor family for saving her life.

Secondly if you did happen to be in a tragic accident and you weren’t an organ donor that means that all your perfectly good organs would go to waste like your kidneys heart liver ears eyes nose skin and even your face. It sounds a bit harsh just saying the organs will go to waste and decompose, but it is a fact that if you are not a donor it’s just a waste.

Thirdly more people would be organ donors if their was more ways to sign up to be one because the only way you can at the moment is at the hospital or doctor and when you sit your drivers license test. Maybe if you got a flyer in the mail or a web site on the internet where you could sign up would be an organ donor. The range in the past 10 years has been 25-43 deceased organ donors in NZ.

In conclusion I think that everyone should be an organ donor because there is no point wasting your perfectly good organs if you are in an accident or just want to save somebody’s life.

Y 09161

                         

Y10202

Smokers Are Jokers

Past generations used to think smoking was great and all the ‘cool’ people did it, but since then we have found it is not cool as it can take your life. There are several problems with smoking like the costs, health risks and the addiction. Smoking is a big factor in New Zealand so why would anyone carry on smoking?

Years ago thought it was cool to smoke until they found out about the health risks. From smoking you can get different types of cancers, for instance lung, mouth, lip and heart cancer. From being around smokers, there’s a thing called ‘second hand smoke’, which is simply inhaling it, so it has its health affects on everyone. I think it is a good idea about the smoke-free zones as it minimises places with smoke and then people are prevented from smoking until they find a place where they can, and it doesn’t lead to second hand smoke for other people. There is not one cigarette company now that does not try to get people to quit, they put all these horrible pictures of cancer or cracked lips from smokers which are truly ugly and sometimes it actually persuades people to quit. But still people say to me it is impossible to quit, so why do people carry on smoking?

I class smoking as a drug as it is very addictive and people get hooked easily. There are no benefits to smoking except it gives you something to do. It is not a good example to set for younger generations because look at what example they set on us, and now the present smokers can not quit. From teenagers to elders, people all round New Zealand smoke and personally I think we can change that. There are things like patches that you can easily attach to your arm, and they help you stop the craving of smoking or things as simple as gum which gives you excellent reasons to quit. So why don’t people quit?

The costs of smoking is not to flash either, a negative is there is packets from around fifth teen to forty dollars, and some people chew through a few packs a week so the money starts to add up. People who smoke eventually end up having to pay for healthcare as well if they want to live, which can be very expensive. Imagine what the family misses out on, if people saved there money each week for a year I am sure they could almost take there family on a holiday. So it can affect everyone in all types of ways, so it is pretty selfish to continue this habit considering the cost affects on your family.

Smoking should be banned in New Zealand, and I am glad I know I will never get into it. Anyone smart would know it is bad for you, and there are so many reasons why people should quit, whether its costs, health risks or the facts that it is a drug. It has its affects on everyone and harms people around you and basically there are no positives. It is pointless and everything adds up, so why not quit?

Y 10202

y07043

Y 07043

Driving children around can be a hassle. Especially if they are very social or play sport. With having a child being able to drive it relieves the stress of “what time do I have to pick them up?” Or “where are they?” So, the driving age should not be put up. As of August 1^st 2011 the law is going to change to 16 years old. In order to help parents cope it should stay at the current age of 15 years old. As well as this, it will teach young adults how to become independent. Driving also helps them to be more responsible.

In order to help parents cope, the driving age should stay the same. A personal example of this is when I was waiting for my mum and she forgot to pick me up. When parents are driving children around, remembering where they are or what time to pick them up puts a lot of pressure on parents, so it should stay at the current age which is 15 years old for a learners licence.

Teaching young adult’s independence can be hard but letting them drive is an easy solution. When people drive by themselves they have to make decisions that involve no one but themselves. An independent 16 year old would be, letting them driving to sports practices and parking in a good spot by themselves.

Teaching young adults how to be responsible can be a hard task. But letting them drive is a huge responsibility and that’s why it should stay at 15 years old. If you are driving on the road by yourself you have to be responsible because if you’re not someone could be injured or even killed. With driving comes a lot of costs like, warrant of fitness (WOF), petrol and registration. To pay for all that you have money and to get money you have to work. Most 15/16 year olds can’t get a job because they’re not old enough, or big enough. Also if you are involved in a crash that is another huge cost that needs to be payed for.

In summary, the driving age should not go up because it helps parents cope with all the stresses, it also helps young adults become independent, and it also helps young adults become a lot more responsible behind the wheel and hopefully everywhere else.

By Abraham Cole

y09204

Y09204

BATTLE OF THE CENTERS

Picking backs for the Rugby World Cup will be difficult this year as a wide range of players have preformed consistently well in the Super 15 season. A lot of new names have popped up time and time again and we are constantly hearing of these youngster playing out of their skins. These players are proving they are just as good as the senior players .Ive chosen to write about two very well known names that have appeared a lot this season. Robbie  Fruean and Richard Kahui have both proven why they should be picked for the All Blacks this year.

These players have very similar all round stats but different attributes. For example Robbie Freuan is a very explosive ball runner and is very good at running angles off  Sunny Bill Williams. He is good at finding gaps but Richard is a show stopper with his on-the-spot tackles he has the ability to lift his teams intensity which has the effect to determined the outcome of the game.

One thing Robbie Freuan lacks in his test match experience is that he has not proven he can perform his best at top level rugby. He has been criticised that he is not constant. I fell sympathetic for him as he has not had a chance to prove these sports show hosts wrong but still they look past this. His name is been highlighted as a stand out in the Super Rugby season with his blistering speed. In my words “he rips up the opposition back line”. But personally I rate Robbie as one of the stand out players in the crusaders outfit.

 Richard Kahui has played a reasonable amount of test rugby but has not proved that he is consistently at top grade football. He has been put out time and time again by injury and this has a big effect on his All Black future and he could be in doubt for the Rugby World Cup this year but when he does get an oppunitiy he is known to take it.

Everybody knows that Robbie’s strength is ball running. He is very good at running of Sonny’s of loads. For example in the weekend Sonny took the ball to the line and put Robbie in the gap for a try. This proves he has the ability to do it in the Black Jersey. He was also criticised that he is not that good of a tackler. Once again he proved this statement wrong in the weekend when he made some amazing one on one tackles and created some big opportunities for his team that lead to some outstanding trys.

 These two players have different playing styles and have opposite strengths.They  both have weaknessess and the ability to make that tackle or that line brake. 

Y09149

DON'T JUDGE A BOY BY HIS CAR

Boy racers, hoons, reckless drivers and bogans. These words describe an image of a young male driver. All words are negative and don’t accurately portray the majority of young male drivers-just a few who give the rest of us a bad name. There are many reasons why so called “boy racers” behave the way they do. There is nothing else for teens to do on weekends, and it is a hobby for those motor enthusiasts.

Boy racers have been given a bad name because a handful of people are drinking and loosing control of cars and are causing injury and death. These people have given all boy racers a bad name. All they want to do is show off their cars and enjoy their weekends.

The ones that give “boy racers” a bad name are the ones that heavily accelerate, lose traction, race and speed in town.  They put themselves and others in danger just because they want to show off.

Since the teens are bored and have nothing better to do in their spare time they go out and they drink. They break the law and put themselves in danger just because they have nothing better to keep them entertained.

But for those for which it is a hobby  or who are car enthusiasts, they boy race because they have no where else to do boy racer acts or thrash their car. This makes them break the law to do what they love. If their passion is to go fast and have a fast car they will race and have fun  when they have the chance but is safe when they do it.

If people want boy racers to stop, that will never happen because it’s a hobby for some and for others it is to keep them entertained and it will be always happening. In my view there should be an area out of town out of people’s way where boy racers can race, thrash their cars and have fun. This area should be controlled so it doesn’t get out of hand.

Y 09149

Y09160

Y 09160

Sheep & beef. Which is better?

Imagine this: walking down the hill, dogs barking, sheep running, sun boiling hot and then you smell…. Cow effluent. Sheep and beef is a better lifestyle than dairy because it is a more relaxed lifestyle and does not produce offensive effluent. Also sheep and beef pay out is rising faster than dairy farmers.

Sheep and beef is a better lifestyle than dairy because it is more relaxing and you have more time to fix your farm like fences and water supplies.. I strongly believe that sheep and beef are better because you are not in a rush all the time

Sheep and beef is less stressed because if the power turns off in your dairy shed you can not milk. Sheep and beef is a better lifestyle than dairy because it is more relaxing and you have more time to fix your farm like fences and water supplies. Also with milking you only really milk every other season except winter but then you still have to do winter feeding. Dairy is more stressful because you have to worry about all of your effluent consents and permits also your big electricity and water bill. You have to keep your cows in good shape because if they get mastitis or something like that and it gets milked you can face losing thousands and thousands of dollars. I strongly believe that milking as it says is a better lifestyle is not what it is cracked up to be because of the stress.

Another reason why sheep and beef is better is because sheep and beef has a faster rising pay out then dairy. Since about four years ago sheep and beef have lost more people because they have converted to dairy making more demand of meat. Meat prices are now at $120-130 a lamb in New Zealand compared with $90-100 approximately four years ago.

The smell of dairy is not the best either. The smell of dairy can affect towns or cities by the smell and can cause complaints and concerns. Also effluent can get into waterways and will kill fish or anything that may swim in the waters. It can also get into a towns supply if it does not get filted which may cause sickness or disease. I believe that dairy is one of the worst places to work because the smell and constant sickness you get.

In conclusion dairy is not better because it is more stressful, harder work and does not smell or get into waterways from the effluent. Since my farm has been converted to dairy I have not enjoyed being on the farm at all all because of the stress, smell and lifestyle.

Taylor Paterson

Q08213

Should GST Be Excluded on Healthy Foods?

Is the New Zealand Government making healthy eating extremely hard for New Zealand families and pricing healthy foods way too high to reach?  It is certainly obvious that healthy foods such as fruit and vegetables are priced way out of reach for most New Zealand families, and therefore New Zealand should exclude GST from healthy foods.  If the government introduces the removal of GST from healthy foods we would have less obesity which would mean that New Zealand would be a healthier nation. New Zealand would also save money on tax emissions and also the removal of healthy foods would mean that New Zealand children would have a brighter future.

In New Zealand it is obvious that we have an issue with obesity and is killing a huge number of New Zealand citizens.  It is estimated that obese people cost New Zealand around 500 million dollars each year.  This is a huge amount of money and which affordable healthy foods would help the people in New Zealand buy healthy foods.  It is completely clear that most people eat unhealthy simply just because it is more affordable for the average income family.  For example an average family would try and choose the cheapest option.  Let’s say that a two litre drink of fizz would cost around $1.50 and a two litre of milk costing around $4.00 or more.  It is obvious that most families would easily go for the fizz simply just because New Zealand families can afford it.  Prices have shown that in the last three years food has risen 20% and still rising.  It all comes up to if the Government is trying to persuade obese people to eat healthier.  So why doesn’t New Zealand make it affordable to buy healthy foods. 

It is clearly obvious that in New Zealand we spend too much on tax and the Government is also trying to save money that our country spends.  There is one thing that the Government does not understand is that excluding GST would help save money in the tax department.  This is because if New Zealand eats healthy which they should be encouraged to do, we would have healthier people, and healthy people do not usually go to hospitals.  This means that we would have far less hospital emissions because people would not be going to hospitals as frequently and would be saving a huge amount of tax payer’s money for just being healthy.  Another big spender in tax payer’s money would be ACC.  ACC is something else that drains New Zealand’s money so it would be helpful if the recovery process was reduced.  For example a broken leg.  If New Zealand ate healthily affordably, this injured person would be able to eat healthy.  If an injured person ate healthy the injury of a broken leg or any other injury would recover more at an accelerating rate because healthy foods do help the body recover from injury and sickness.  So just by having our nation nice and healthy could help money spent in New Zealand and spend the tax payer’s money on more valuable things. 

It is important for everyone in New Zealand that children get the most out of life such as education, their behaviour and the chance to have a bright future.  Enabling children the chance to eat healthy would guarantee that they would get the most out of everything.  It is proven that eating food that is good for you would help brain activity.  This is very important for a child because having an increased amount of brain activity would guarantee that they would get the most out of their education.  By making shore that children have a high performance in education would mean that children would be prepared for the future and would be able to get more out of life and get a well payed job or career.  Also it is proven that children that eat healthy are more likely to be well behaved.  This just proves that children are eating unhealthy simply because so many families can not afford healthy foods and that is why there are so many behaviour issues in New Zealand.  It we tackle the bad behaviour from when children are young it would stop children from distributing bad behaviour when they turn into adults and this would help stop the amount of crime in New Zealand.  This just means that children eating healthy means that helping eat healthy foods would provide a healthy future.

In conclusion there are not very many reasons why GST should be included on healthy foods except that it only would be helping out the Government.  So just by making it simple to eat healthy foods would for most families make all the difference between obesity, the burning feeling in our pockets of to much money being spent and the most important our children’s futures.  It just means that the Government needs to make a healthy option an affordable option.

M11201

                                          Space exploration

When the Nazi Germany started using rockets as weapons, they found out that using and riding rockets to go to the outer space and explore the galaxy is not a bad idea. This is when the space exploration begun.

The Russians wanted to be the best, when they found out about the idea they started their own exploration. On October 4, 1957 the soviets launched the very first artificial satellite named Sputnik 1. Four years later on April 12, 1961, a Russian Lieutenant Yuri Gagarin became the very first human to orbit the Earth using Vostok 1. But the Americans did not want to be left out. On January 31, 1958 the US launched its very first satellite named Explorer 1. In 1961 Alan Shepard became the first American to fly into space.

President John F. Kennedy set a national goal in 1961 “Landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth within a decade”. This is when the competition got tougher. But the Americans took the victory when the “giant step for mankind” took place on July 20, 1969, this is when the history was made, an American named Neil Armstrong became the very first human to land, explore and step onto the moon.

After a hard year of research, by the early 1970’s orbiting communications and navigation satellites were in everyday use and the Mariner was mapping the surface of Mars and Voyager had sent back detailed images of Jupiter and Saturn, their rings and their moons.

Highlight of the 1970’s was the world’s first American and Russian space mission.

In the 1980’s satellite communications were able to carry television programs, and people were able to pick up the signals using their home dish antennas. Satellites are very useful, in 1986 when the Chernobyl nuclear accident happened; we were able to see the top view photos of it using the satellites.

But there are some bad times. In January 1986 the shuttle Challenger exploded after launch, killing its crew of seven. The Challenger tragedy led to a reevaluation of America’s space program.

The Gulf War proved the value of satellites in modern war. Satellites were used to provide information on enemy troops movements and position, early warning of missile attacks, and accurate navigation. The modern satellites saved many lives in the Gulf War.

The International Space Station is now permanently crewed. With many partners contributing to its system design and construction, with former competitors now working together.

Today scientists are working to replace future space launch system for dependability, safety, and reliability.

Now NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) spends billions and billions of dollars just to find out if man can really live outside the planet Earth and if there really is life in other planets. Is this good for us?

In my opinion, it is good for us because by now Mother Earth is slowly dying due to pollution, over population and global warming, scientist and space explorators are eager to find out the answer to this question.

Do you believe that we can live outside planet Earth? I do, according to http://www.space.com/ scientist found a new planet that could harbor water. This planet is named Gliese 581 C, after its star, Gliese 581. The new planet is about fifty percent bigger than the Earth and about five times more massive.

"We have estimated that the mean temperature of this super-Earth lies between 0 and 40 degrees Celsius [32 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit], and water would thus be liquid," Udry said.

If Earth is going to die, humans have a chance to survive by living outside planet Earth.

11201 M

M09051

                                      Gambling

It is clear to me that gambling is a big problem in New Zealand. It is not only affecting the people that gamble but their friends and family to. Gambling is to be said to be one of the biggest addictions in New Zealand straight after drugs and alcohol. The difference lies in the fact that gambling addiction is usually harder to detect in people. Gambling addictions can even lead to death due to the financial losses you are going to suffer. It can leave you alone and over your head in dept.

The most obvious consequence of a gambling addiction is the financial losses you suffer as you put everything on the line. Unless a gambling addict repeatedly hits money slot machine jackpots or power ball lotteries, it is mathematically impossible to make money in the long run. The more you gamble the less chance you have to win. The odds are simply too stacked against you. Many gambling addicts find themselves digging deeper and deeper into debt, which only fuels their desire to gamble more, The worst ultimately, a gambling addiction can lead to death not like alcohol or drugs but due to financial losses, no longer able to pay rent or mortgage and is forced on to the street. I can understand that money is hard to keep when you gamble/ do drugs/alcohol in my nanas case smoking that she ended up having to sell her apartment and shift in with us due to financial problems with smoking.

It is clear to me that a gambling addiction has a big impact on not only the gambler but on his friends and family to. As a friend or family member try to help him/her they will usually verbally or even sometimes physically attack them. a gambling addict can even go out of his/her way to push those people away from them. Soon gambling will overtake family and friends in order of importance to an addict. The addiction will soon be so bad that he/she  will start steeling from family, friends through any way possible they can get money e.g. Cash, jewelry, credit cards.

Gambling is so addictive because people tend to start gambling away money that they don’t have thinking that they are going to get the big win but never comes causing them to be over their head in a big debt and trouble. Also a lot of people gamble because it is harder to detect than e.g. smoking, alcohol, drugs. I think that gambling money away that you don’t have is bad because deep down you no that your not going to win but believe you can just ruins your life when you could be saving your money and put it to a good cause in the future.   

As you can see gambling is not the right choice to take as it destroys the friendship between family and friends, leaves you is debt over your head and makes your life a living hell. According to the information I found from http://www.ask.com/ is a fact. I personally have learnt that gambling is just a waste of money will 99% destroys your life.

                    09151 Jared deal

M07023

War Crimes by Nicholas Corbin 2/6/2011

War crimes have been around for 100’s of years but I think the worst war crime was committed by the Nazi’s, this was during World War II. This was when Germany blamed the Jews for everything bad that had happens to Germany in the last world war I, and the history of the world war II.

Hitler came to power by saying to the German people that it was the Jews and communists that is why they were defeated in World War I. When Germany invaded Poland in 1939. Thousands of Jews were arrested and taken to concentration camps where they worked as slave labourers or were shot and buried in mass graves. This went on for 3 years until the Nazi party held the Wannse Conference in January 1942. This is where they decided on the final solution, the extermination of all Jews. Giant deaths camps that where mainly based in Poland were built to carry out the task of extermination of all Jews. Some of these giant death camps where Auschwitz, Treblinka and Belzec. The Jews where sill treated the same as the concentration camps but in the death camps there were gas chambers that were often disguised as showers. Jews were herded into the showers (a.k.a gas chambers) and killed. Then their bodies were taken away to be burned in big furnaces. The scale of the murder of approximately 8.5 million Jews living in Germany controlled Europe around six million were killed. Because six million Jews were killed this is why I think the worst war crime was committed by the Nazi’s.

When the Allies founded the first death camps and concentration camps they were shocked that the Nazi’s could be so crill. The Allies decided that the Nazi’s who committed this war crime would have to be punished. The bad thing about Germany was that after the war Germany made a law that if a x-German soldier said they were forced to do something bad like killing millions of Jews the charges got dropped and then they could go home but with a lot of the Germans said they were forced to do it so a lot of it was blamed on Hitler. With this law lots of Germans were getting away with war crimes. I fined this law to be stupid because if a German soldier signed up to joined army they had a choice to do that. If they were told to kill Jews they did it because in Hitler’s speech he blamed the Jews and the communits for losing World War I. So the German people believed this too so they didn’t kill Jews because they were told too. They kill Jews because they disliked them.

This war crime was the worst one, because of the gas chambers because how would you feel if you where taking from your house to be shot, beaten or have to walk 100s of miles to a concentration camp or a death camp where you would be a slave or gassed to death. Can you imagine actually walking 100s of miles to a death camp or concentration camp where you would eventually die? Just emagen that been herded in to a room told to take off there clothes because they where going to have a shower so you  walk in to a dark gloomy room the door is locked behind you and there is about a 100 people in there with you and then a hole opens up and a German is poring something in to the shower then you start to coughed and coughed like your coughing up your lungs now your coughing up blood and then there’s nothing just internal darkens. That wouldn’t be a nice way to die I think. This is anther reason I think this was the worst war crime. I gather this information from www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/nuremberg.htm

Because of this information I think the worst war crime was committed by the Nazi’s because they gased and shot Jews and buried in mass graves this is why I think the Nazi’s committed the worst war crime.

M07085

Effects of Marijuana on Teens

By Brendon Mclean

Marijuana is one of the most widely used illegal drugs and a lot of young people do it. I personally don’t think there are any benefits from it and it does cost quite a lot to get a hold of. A lot of people try it because they get peer pressured into it and then get addicted to it. Marijuana can be taken many ways for example smoking it or eating it.

I think Marijuana is a bad thing because it has a lot of effects and dangers, one of the main effects is your mood it can range from stimulated or happy to drowsy or depressed. It can also give you red eyes, make you sleepy and make give you the munchies. Marijuana makes some people paranoid or hallucinate. Smoking it is just as tough on the lungs as smoking cigarettes. Online website http://www.teendrugabuse.us/teendruguse.html shows you the information on these effects and outlines that Marijuana is not good for you.

Marijuana is one of the cheaper drugs but still quite costly drug it can cost hundreds of dollars which is very hard hitting in the pocket. The drug can also become highly addictive , teens who use Marijuana start to become dependent on it to feel go, deal with life, handle stress or maybe to even deal with school. Most people inhale it but there are many ways of consuming this drug for example baking it into brownies also known as space cakes. Research on http://www.teendrugabuse.us/marijuana.html shows there were 14.6 million teens using it in 2002 in the us, 4.8 million of those were using the drug regularly.

There are many reasons why teens start smoking Marijuana, many kids start because they see there friends using it and think it is cool or get peer pressured into it. At my school I know of a group of boys that does consume this drug on a regular bases. They may also see it on T.V for example the movie Pineapple Express is bout Marijuana or it could be on a song, like the song Ganga Farmer. A famous person that done it when he was alive Bob Marley, t quite often see Marijuana as his theme on posters and things like that, he also sung songs about it. Some people think Marijuana makes you smarter and some people think it can make you smarter.

These are some of the reasons why I think doing Marijuana is bad for you there are many more reasons out there but I just outlined the main obvious ones. Marijuana is illegal because of the effects it has on you. I know people that have used it and it does make them do silly things and that is why I think Marijuana is bad for you. If you ever get into the situation for getting peer pressured or anything into it don’t do it.

M07073

Do you think the driving age should be raised? I do not think it should. There are three main reasons why it shouldn’t be raised. At fifteen years of age young people are responsible enough to drive , secondly , you do not want to wait one more year. Lastly, they have made the test a lot harder so you really do need to study and know how to drive.

At the age of fifteen we are boys turning to men, girls turning to young woman. We are maturing more and more everyday. We know we need to be mature and safe when were driving, so we are. Young people these days need to be places like town, sport, etc so how do we get there if we don’t have our licence. On http://www.aa.co.nz/ the people of New Zealand have posted and said what they think on the matter and 74% think its better having your licence at a younger age, and its not just young people saying that ,’Im 37 years of age and its great having your licence young people need there lcence they need to be places this is just wat I think’. My personal link to this is I have my licence and don’t know what I’d do without it.

My second point is why, why wait one more year it’s a waste of time its not going to stop the crashes or the deaths on our roads. This is a direct quote from http://www.nzdrivers.co.nz/ ‘My son was in a car crash and they had a highly modified vehical I think if we lowered the power of our cars it would help a lot thanks’.Instead of raising the drivers age why don’t we do something that’s really going to work and improve this. So why don’t we lower the cc that your allowed so fore the learner and restricted licence drivers let them drive up to 1800cc vehicle. I think this will really help because all guys think bout is going fast or having the fastest car, this should happen later for now you just want a car that gets u from a to b not some flash car that always breaks down. Guys being guys would try showing off trust me not a good idea ‘I was driving my nannas Holden commodore threw town saw a mate then sped up and just about lost control.                    

The last one is the tests the tests are a lot harder then they used to be. People used to get there licence by just going and taking the tests, no study just common sense. The research I've done on this topic from http://www.drivenewzealand.co/  shows not only are the new tests 23% harder it only has a 64% pass rate to the older test having a 81% pass rate which means our older drivers wouldn't get there licence these days. So in a way that makes the young drives not more experienced but better drivers.

This brings me to my conclusion it’s really a no-brainer, it should not be raised. And why is this. We are responsible. We don’t want to waste another year .and we have the harder test. Think about those three things; put your self in our shoes.

07073