good news day

after yesterday's very sad news, i thought i'd concentrate on things to celebrate today. first of all is the international disability award bestowed on nz by the united nations, for the following initiatives:

• the Human Rights Act 1993;
• the establishment of the Office of Health and Disability Commissioner;
• establishing the role of the Minister for Disability Issues and the Office for Disability Issues;
• developing and implementing the New Zealand Disability Strategy; and
• New Zealand’s role in negotiating the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

i'm particularly appreciative of disability issues at the moment, especially with my daughter on crutches. i never realised what a mission stairs can be, and how very few houses are equipped to deal with people with disabilities. it has certainly made me reflect on a things that i didn't give much thought to before, and as the G-G said, there is still so much more to do.

good news also for the waikato, with new funding announced today for the innovation park. this was an initiative that was pushed many years ago by dianne yates, and the first stage has been very successful. funding has now come through for the second stage, in a partnership between central and local government. this will be particularly good for the farming sector, as well as for the science community.

also have to say good on dr cullen for common sense around tax policy. i particularly love this quote:

We will not buy into media spin that a big bang budget is vital to electoral success when delivering such a budget would be a recipe for economic failure.

he stayed his course for the 2005 campaign, even though there was considerable pressure from the budget to election day to deliver tax cuts. the pressure is higher this year, with rising costs, but i would still prefer to see the money go where it's needed most, and in the most effective way. also great to see kiwisaver having over 600,000 signed up now.

good news that the divorce rate is dropping, though not by much. and it isn't because there are fewer marriages/civil unions. so is it because people are making more careful decisions about who to marry, or are better able to work things out once they get married? who knows. but given the trauma caused by splitting up (emotional and financial), it's a good thing that people are able to stay together.

finally, best news for me personally is that i've been invited to join up with the team at the hand mirror. yippee! i love the way these women write, and the issues they raise, so it's an honour for me to be able to join them. now i have to come up with something good enough to post on that site. there's always a catch!