Watchdog 105 (April 2004; "Cape Kidnappers: David Versus Goliath Plus The Council", Liz Remmerswaal) reported that US billionaire, Julian Robertson (definitely no stranger to Watchdog readers) had plans to build a luxury lodge very close to the iconic Cape Kidnappers gannet sanctuary in Hawke’s Bay. You can read the article online at http://www.converge.org.nz/watchdog/05/08.htm. Not surprisingly, this aroused considerable environmental opposition (one detail of Robertson’s proposal was to carve a tunnel through to the cliff face so that his guests could enjoy sunsets over drinkies) but the Hastings District Council issued a resource consent. Opponents formed the Cape Kidnappers Protection Society and appealed to the Environment Court.

In December 2004, the Court overturned the Council’s resource consent and stopped the proposal dead in its tracks. "Its economic effects, through employment, the provision of services and supplies and the attraction of people with high discretionary spending power would be positive… The problem is not the concept in the abstract, the problem is its location…The Cape…is a unique iconic landscape with intense amenity values. It takes little that is man-made to jar there" (Dominion Post, 2/12/04; "Cape Kidnappers luxury resort halted", Karen Hodge and Colin Patterson). And the Court put the boot into the Council: "To a degree the members of the Court have not previously experienced, the Council adopted an uncompromisingly partisan stance during the hearing of the application" (ibid.).

Liz Remmerswaal of the Cape Kidnappers Protection Society said: "This a is great day for all iconic landscapes in New Zealand which are currently under threat of being used for purposes beyond what was envisaged in designating them special landscapes…This is a vindication of the District Plan and of the Resource Management Act. They can and do work in favour of protecting our iconic landscapes… We are absolutely and overwhelmingly thrilled to bits and all the hard work was worth it" (press release, 2/12/04; "Iconic Cape Kidnappers Saved"). CAFCA was only too happy to make a small donation to their appeal and to help publicise the issue. We congratulate them on their stunning victory. This victory shows, once again, why the transnationals and foreign landowners are among the leading proponents of scrapping the Resource Management Act. Because it stops them desecrating our landscape even more than they already have.

Watchdog 103 (August 2003, "Landmark Tobacco Control Treaty", Murray Horton) reported that the World Health Organisation (WHO) had adopted the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). You can read the article online at http://www.converge.org.nz/watchdog/03/12.htm. This was the first time that the WHO had adopted such a treaty and it took four long years of campaigning to achieve.

We are now pleased to report that, as the requisite 40 countries have ratified it (New Zealand was one of the early ones; the US is the leading light among the refuseniks) within the deadline, it becomes binding international law for participating countries, and will enter into force in February 2005. The FCTC provides for a general ban on tobacco advertising and promotion (which has been the status quo in New Zealand for more than a decade) or for restrictions in countries such as the US, where a total prohibition would violate the Constitution’s guarantee of free speech (which tobacco transnationals have exploited to the hilt). It toughens up the requirements for graphic health warnings on packets of cigarettes; aims to stop hard sell tactics aimed at teenagers; toughens up measures against second hand smoke; and espouses manufacturer liability.

Its’ ratification was very timely, coming just days before the December 2004 start of the historic second stage of New Zealand’s smoke free legislation, which outlaws smoking in all public places (specifically the pubs, clubs, restaurants and casinos that had hitherto been exempt). New Zealand thus becomes only the third country in the world (after Norway and Ireland) to ban smoking in all public places (and a bloody good thing too, I say. Personally, I’d be happy to see the whole tobacco industry criminalised).

The campaign for the treaty was spearheaded by the international Network for Accountability of Tobacco Transnationals (NATT) and CAFCA was proud to be invited to be a member of that (although we can’t say that we did very much beyond lend moral support). The core of that coalition is the US group Corporate Accountability International (which very recently changed its name from Infact). You can learn more about the FCTC and Corporate Accountability at http://www.fctc.org/ and http://www.stopcorporateabuse.org