Latest news with #Luxton
NZ Herald
21-05-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
Hawke's Bay apprentice Fletcher Brown selected for Youth Parliament
A budding Hawke's Bay tradie will swap his overalls for a suit when he heads to Youth Parliament after being selected as the Youth MP of an Act MP. Cameron Luxton, Parliament's only licensed building practitioner, has selected Fletcher Brown, a 17-year-old heavy automotive engineering apprentice from Hawke's Bay, as his Youth MP. Luxton describes Brown as the kind of young Kiwi who gets up early, gets his hands dirty, and adds real value to his community. 'That kind of contribution deserves a voice in Parliament,' he said. Fletcher is currently training through MITO, an industry training organisation supporting on-the-job learning in various sectors, where he is training with a focus on agricultural and horticultural equipment, work Luxton said keeps the region's farms and orchards running smoothly.
West Australian
19-05-2025
- Health
- West Australian
Students across the Mid West take part in National Walk Safely to School Day on Friday
Primary school children across the Mid West took steps towards a healthy future by walking safely to school on Friday as part of the National Walk Safely to School Day. More than 150 students from Mt Tarcoola Primary School took part, walking or riding to school on Friday morning. Principal Paul Luxton gathered with 25 students at Paringa Park, walking together to school while another half dozen students and parents waiting in their front yards joined the group along the way. On arrival the students were treated to a healthy breakfast of fresh fruit and muffins. On the importance of the day Mr Luxton said: 'In today's world people don't think they're safe, so kids tend to not to walk to school like they used to. This shows it is easy, there's plenty of safe footpaths and crossing points all along the way. 'It's reassuring for parents to know that their child is walking to school with another child, the good thing is the kids link up and say, 'this is my place. I'm walking past here so I'll walk with them'.' The community event, now in its 26th year, aims to promote road safety, reduce impacts on the environment and champion the health benefits of regular walking. Those benefits are not just physical — walking to and from school can have a positive impact on a student's ability to focus in class and their academic performance. Pedestrian Council of Australia CEO Harold Scruby said: 'Until they are 10, children must always hold the hand of an adult when crossing the road. 'The best exercise for all Australians is walking regularly. Children need at least 60 minutes of physical activity a day. We should encourage them to take a walk before school, during and at the end of their day.'
Scoop
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
ACT Backs Legal Certainty For Fiordland's Successful Hunter-led Conservation
ACT Conservation spokesperson Cameron Luxton is welcoming the Hunting and Fishing Minister's moves toward designating wapiti as a Herd of Special Interest in Fiordland National Park, calling it a win for conservation, regional tourism, and common sense. 'The Fiordland Wapiti Foundation has spent years doing what government departments struggle to do. They manage the herd, trap pests, maintain huts, and protect native species like the blue duck/whio. And they do it all without asking taxpayers for a cent,' says Luxton. Forest and Bird has opposed the move, comparing it to creating a 'sanctuary for stoats.' 'That sort of rhetoric says more about Forest and Bird's eco-fundamentalist ideology than the facts. We're never going back to a pre-human ecology. Allowing hunter-led management of the wapiti population frees up DoC resources to deal with greater threats to native wildlife, such as stoats and rats. "Forest and Bird needs to wake up and realise that hunters are conservationists too." Luxton says ACT backs the Government's move to ensure Herds of Special Interest can be recognised in national parks, as originally intended. 'When passionate hunters are already getting the job done, the role of government should be to get out of the way. Or at the very least, provide legal certainty so they can keep going." Note: Cameron Luxton is the sponsor of the Conservation (Membership of New Zealand Conservation Authority) Amendment Bill, which would ensure hunters and fishers are represented on the Conservation Authority, just as Forest and Bird is already. The Bill is currently in Parliament's member's bill ballot. Using Scoop for work? Scoop is free for personal use, but you'll need a licence for work use. This is part of our Ethical Paywall and how we fund Scoop. Join today with plans starting from less than $3 per week, plus gain access to exclusive Pro features. Join Pro Individual Find out more
NZ Herald
09-05-2025
- General
- NZ Herald
Tarapuruhi Bushy Park seeking funding as programme hits capacity
'Every visit that these kids come to involves action against climate change, whether they are planting trees, tracking pests, restoring wetlands, or understanding where our local biodiversity fits into the bigger picture. 'They are not just listening, they are acting.' She said more than 4500 native plants had been planted at the sanctuary last year. 'We need these kids' hands to get them into the ground.' The same amount would be planted this year. 'Over the next 50 years, that will remove over 3000 tonnes of carbon from our atmosphere.' Luxton, who formed the sanctuary's Rangitahi Rangers youth group earlier this year, said every cent of the council's funding was being used impactfully. Councillor Ross Fallen asked what was needed to help schools waiting to be part of the programme, 'rather than turn them away'. More funding was required, Luxton said, and she was trying her best to find it through grant applications. 'I'm always looking for more volunteers, and I will be creating a programme with health and safety provided so schools have the opportunity to bring themselves out, without me. 'That is not ideal, but it's a public space and I don't want to tell schools, 'No, you can't come at all'.' The council provided $20,000 in climate funding in 2023-24, with a drop to $15,100 in 2024-25. Overall, the council's climate funding fell from $100,000 in 2023-24 to $50,050 for the current financial year. Bushy Park Trust board member Keith Beautrais said it would ask for an increase in funding, at least to the 2024 level, during hearings for the council's 2025-26 Annual Plan. The hearings begin next week.
Perth Now
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Perth Now
Campaigner takes on council in constitutional challenge
A political corflute kerfuffle in a battleground seat has turned into a constitutional row as election day nears. Dozens of Liberal Party A-frame signs were removed from outside an early voting centre at Kew in the inner-east Melbourne electorate of Kooyong on Wednesday, three days out from the poll. Liberal candidate Amelia Hamer was earlier directed to comply with a local council rule that limits candidates to just one sign each on public land. The City of Boroondara argued the signs were a risk to pedestrians and road users. Ms Hamer's main rival for the seat, teal independent MP Monique Ryan, and all other candidates abided by the one-sign requirement. For each breach, the council can issue daily fines of $500 per sign. But Liberal state director Stuart Smith made good on his threat to take the council to the Victorian Supreme Court on Thursday. He is challenging the permit rule on the grounds it might contradict the implied constitutional freedom of political communication. In his affidavit, Mr Smith said he had worked on every election campaign since 2001 either as a volunteer or party employee. "He's never seen anything like it," his barrister Dean Luxton said. Mr Smith suggested signs outside polling booths were crucial for candidate recognition, helping voters relate a face to their name on the ballot paper and communicating policies. Mr Luxton said the council notified identified candidates for the Kooyong election of the sign rule in April, but other candidates for neighbouring lower-house seats and the Victorian senate were not informed. "There's no rational reason that a party should be confined to a single A-frame," he said. "A single independent might find a single A-frame is sufficient because they're a single candidate. "The permit system ... it's effectively arbitrary and it's going to affect some political parties more than others, particularly where a party has more candidates, more policies that they want to promote." The confiscated signs were returned to the party on Thursday morning but Justice Kerri Judd has been asked to rule on an injunction. Mr Luxton said the implied freedom of political communication was indispensable to the system of representative government, and pedestrian safety and accessibility could be put right through an undertaking from Mr Smith. "We're not blind to the issue of safety," he said. Boroondara's barrister Emrys Nekvapil SC argued an injunction would effectively grant Mr Smith with "final relief", allowing the Liberals to display multiple signs over the final days of pre-polling. But Mr Luxton insisted a final ruling would have relevance for future elections in the area. Justice Judd said she would try to hand down a decision on the injunction on Thursday afternoon after the parties could not agree on a compromise. "It seems to me that you're not that far apart really," she said.
