Latest Story
-
Fatherlessness the silent killer
Warwick Marsh | September 2, 2011All of us have been shocked by the deadly rampage of the Norwegian mass murderer, Anders Breivik, who killed 77 people. The question is, “Are we shocked by the fact that Anders grew up as a fatherless child?.”
If we know our history and the social science statistics surrounding fatherlessness, this information should not surprise us. Anders was abandoned by his father or perhaps more accurately stolen from his father, Jens Breivik, when he was only one year old.
-
UncategorisedBlue September: promoting men’s cancer
Mike Chapman | September 1, 2011We lose a lot of dads, husbands, brothers, uncles and sons to cancers that are avoidable and treatable. It’s estimated that about a third of cancers are avoidable just by slightly altering lifestyle choices — the trick is to catch it early. Virtually no one needs to die of cancers of the bowel, prostate and testicles these days.
Blue September is about to complete its fourth year in NZ, third year in Australia, second year in California and has launched with remarkable energy this year in the UK and Ireland.
-
Shaping a vision for the future
Peter Fritz | August 31, 2011Australians don’t seem to have any ideas about the society we would like to live in. We don’t have a vision of what is worth fighting for or fighting against. We automatically oppose any proposal for change. However, unless we take charge of our own destiny, we will be forever just hostages to the fickle wind of fortune.
Over the last 40 years I have had the opportunity to travel extensively throughout the world and have visited many countries, on four of the five continents. I recently returned from a month’s holiday in Europe and I have never felt so isolated as an Australian.
-
Sugar coated regulations fail to save children from fast food ads
Kathy Chapman | August 30, 2011Fast food companies have failed to clean up their act under voluntary self regulations, with the total number of fast foods ads increasing on television since 2009, and no change in children’s exposure to unhealthy fast food ads. It proves what many of us feared; that the industry only pays lip service to effective and responsible advertising.
Recent research we undertook (Medical Journal of Australia) shows that children who watch up to three hours of television per day are exposed to more than 1640 fast food ads per year – a jump of more than 430 ads per year since industry regulations were introduced in August 2009.
This is contrary to the recommendations put forward by the World Health Organisation that any standards should be to reduce children’s exposure to fast-food and unhealthy food and drink advertising.
-
Climate change and the new narrative: understanding the politics and the impacts
Matthew Tukaki | August 29, 2011In this challenging series of articles, CEO of the Sustain Group, Matthew Tukaki, will discuss the changing nature of politics and the impacts it is having on the climate change and business response debate. This first blog covers the politics of the debate and policy execution is important while his second blog will provide a detailed industry analysis of the impacts, both directly and indirectly.
