Thompson and Clark hasn't just been paid by the government to spy on Greenpeace and earthquake claimants in Christchurch. It's also been monitoring the activities of another three activist groups, including Oil Free Wellington.
So what's the Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern got to look forward to when she's back at work? Construction firms falling over, business confidence at a nine-year low, unemployment rising and New Zealand is desperate need of infrastructure to cope with its 10 percent population shock in the last five years. Welcome back Ms Ardern! Ebert Construction is the latest construction company to go belly-up. The Panelists consider why, when the country needs new buildings the most, construction companies aren't making the grade? Peter Silcock of Civil Contractors talks bout the failing of processes and business models used by building firms. Christchurch central seems to have a business micro-climate. And right now it's chilly. The CBD is nothing like it used to be before the 2011 earthquake and those businesses that re-opened say they really had no choice because of the demands of insurance companies. The Kingsland Business Society in Auckland is offering free child minding for couples who go out for the evening in the suburb. United States federal air marshals now follow seemingly ordinary citizens not suspected of a crime, nor on any terrorist watch list. It's a new surveillance programme called "Quiet Skies" and it collects extensive information on travellers based on their behaviour on flights and especailly in airports.
Cats all over the world hunt wild animals and can contribute to the extinction of threatened species. In New Zealand, around half of all households have at least one cat. When cats live close to a natural area, such as a wetland, they may have impacts on native species. A previous study on the movements and hunting behaviour of domestic (house) cats around the Travis Wetland, Christchurch, New Zealand during 2000-2001 raised concerns about the effects of cats on the local skink population, as skinks were a frequent prey item. My study is a comparison to the prior study, to determine if impacts have changed alongside changes in human populations in the area post-earthquake. The domestic cat population in the area was estimated by a household survey in March-April 2018. For a 6 month period from March-September 2018, 26 households recorded prey brought home by their 41 cats. During April-July 2018, 14 cats wore Global Positioning System (GPS) devices for 7 days each to track their movements. Skink abundance was measured with pitfall trapping over 20 days in February 2018. There were more households in the area in 2018 than there were in 2000, but the numbers of cats had decreased. In the 196 ha study area around Travis Wetland, the domestic cat population was estimated at 429 cats, down from the previous 494. Most of the cats were free roaming, but the majority had been desexed and many were mostly seen at home. A total of 42 prey items were reported from 26 households and 41 cats over 6 months. Of these, 62% were rodents, 26% were exotic birds, and 12% were native birds. There were no native skinks, other mammals, or other vertebrates such as fish and amphibians (invertebrates were not included in this study). Eight male and six female cats were tracked by GPS. Home range sizes for the 100% minimum convex polygons (MCPs) ranged from 1.34 to 9.68 ha (mean 4.09 ha, median 3.54 ha). There were 9/14 (64%) cats that entered the edge of the wetland. Males had significantly larger home range areas at night and in general compared with females. However, age and distance of the cat’s household to the wetland did not have a significant effect on home range size and there was no significant correlation between home range size and prey retrieved. In 20 days of skink trapping, 11 Oligosoma polychroma were caught. The estimated catch rate was not significantly different from an earlier study on skink abundance in Travis Wetland. The apparently low abundance of skinks may have been the result of successful wetland restoration creating less suitable skink habitat, or of other predators other than cats. In the future, increased education should be provided to the public about ways to increase wildlife in their area. This includes creating lizard friendly habitat in their gardens and increasing management for cats. Generally, only a few cats bring home prey often, and these select cats should be identified in initial surveys and included in further studies. In New Zealand, until management programmes can target all predators in urban areas, domestic cats could stay out at night and inside during the day to help decrease the abundance of rodents at night and reduce the number of birds and lizards caught during the day.