Tag: New Zealand

A Supervolcano in New Zealand Is Rumbling So Much It’s Shifting The Ground Above It

JESS COCKERILL –  July 12, 2022

The vast expanse of Lake Taupō’s sky blue waters, crowned by hazy, mountainous horizons, invokes an extreme sense of tranquility.

And yet, deep in the ground below, geological unrest is brewing, according to a new paper in the New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics.

Lake Taupō is the largest freshwater lake in Australasia, located at the center of New Zealand’s north island. And while it appears peaceful today, the lake has a violent origin story.

The lake’s waters sit within a prehistoric caldera – a word based on the Spanish for ‘cauldron’ or ‘boiling pot’ – formed during Earth’s most recent supereruption, the Oruanui eruption, 25,400 years ago.

When magma is released from a supervolcano (defined as having released at least 1,000 cubic kilometers of material in any one eruption) in an event like the Oruanui eruption, the depleted magma vents cave in, Earth’s surface sinks, and the landscape is permanently changed into a caldera.

In the last 12,000 years, the Taupō volcano has been active 25 times. Its most recent eruption in 232 AD is described by authors of the new paper as “one of the Earth’s most explosive eruptions in historic times”. Since then, the volcano has had at least four documented “episodes of unrest”, causing destructive earthquakes and, in 1922, a massive ground subsidence.

It’s the supervolcano’s more modern periods of unrest that the researchers have studied, analyzing up to 42 years of data collected at 22 sites dotted around and across the lake. And there’s evidence that the supervolcano is still rumbling.

https://www.sciencealert.com

New Zealand Euthanasia Law Goes Into Effect, Pro-Life Advocates Fight to Save Vulnerable People

Right to Life UK – Nov 10, 2021

As New Zealand’s euthanasia legislation comes into effect, anti-euthanasia campaigners have launched an initiative to begin the path towards repealing the legislation and protecting the vulnerable.

After becoming the first country in the world to introduce assisted suicide and euthanasia by popular vote in a binding referendum, New Zealand’s End of Life Choice Act (EOLCA) came into effect last Sunday. In response, DefendNZ has launched a new campaign to “protect” the vulnerable from the new law, and to “expose and improve” the law as it is written.

Their spokesperson, Henoch Kloosterboer, said: “Some may have wrongly assumed that this debate was over now that the EOLCA has come into force, when what this actually means is that our advocacy for the vulnerable put at risk by this law is more critical than ever before”.

He described the introduction of assisted suicide and euthanasia into New Zealand as “one of the most seismic shifts in law, healthcare and medical ethics in its entire history. As of this moment, some New Zealanders now wield the state-sanctioned legal power to deliberately end the lives of others, or to assist in their suicides”.

“To think that there will be no harms that will come from this is to be unaware of the many problems unfolding overseas in the limited number of places that have also legalised these practices – and this includes the harm of wrongful killings”.

https://www.lifenews.com

Powerful quake hits off New Zealand, prompting evacuations

Nick Perry – March 4, 2021

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — One of the biggest earthquakes to hit the South Pacific in modern history forced thousands of people in New Zealand to evacuate and triggered tsunami warnings across the world Friday, but it did not appear to cause injuries or major damage because it struck in remote ocean.

The magnitude 8.1 quake was the largest in a series of tremors that hit the region over several hours, including two earlier quakes that registered magnitude 7.4 and magnitude 7.3.

The earthquakes triggered warning systems and caused traffic jams and some chaos in New Zealand as people scrambled to get to higher ground, but their remoteness meant they did not appear to pose a widespread threat to lives or infrastructure.

The largest quake struck about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) off the coast of New Zealand. One of the earlier quakes hit much closer to New Zealand and awoke many people as they felt a long, rumbling shaking.

“Hope everyone is ok out there,” New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern wrote on Facebook during the night.

After the largest quake, civil defense authorities in New Zealand told people in some coastal areas to immediately get to higher ground. They said a damaging tsunami was possible, and waves could reach up to 3 meters (10 feet).

Emergency Management Minister Kiri Allan told reporters that people had followed the advisory.

https://abcnews.go.com

NZ referendum legalises euthanasia and assisted suicide

Christian Institute – November 9, 2020

New Zealand has voted to legalise euthanasia and assisted suicide, following a public referendum.

The End of Life Choice Act was passed in the country’s parliament last year by 69 votes to 51, allowing doctors to administer or supply lethal doses of drugs to patients. However, it still required official public support before it could become law.

New Zealand will join a tiny group of countries that allow the practices, including the Netherlands and Canada.

From 6 November 2021, citizens over 18 years old will be permitted to kill themselves with a doctor’s assistance.

Criteria include having a terminal condition that is ‘likely’ to end life within six months, a ‘significant decline’ in physical capability, and having the ability to make an ‘informed’ decision.

The law also states that two doctors must approve before administering any life-ending dosage.

Pro-life group Euthanasia-Free NZ said following the referendum that the public had voted for a “flawed” law, which did not contain proper safeguards.

Renée Joubert, Executive Officer of Euthanasia-Free NZ, said: “The New Zealand Parliament voted down 111 out of 114 amendments that could have made this law safer. Many amendments were rejected without even being debated.”

The group said there was “widespread confusion” as to what the law would actually entail, with polls showing that 80 per cent of voters believed the End of Life Act would legalise turning off life-support for patients, which is already legal in the country.

There has been vocal opposition to the legislation throughout the process.

When the Bill was voted on by MPs last year, protesters outside held signs reading “assist us to live not die” and “euthanasia is not the solution”.

The vote has also raised concerns that those facing chronic conditions may feel pressured to die so as to not be a ‘burden’ on their families, as has been the case in Canada.

https://www.christian.org.uk

New Zealand legalizes euthanasia, joining small club of nations allowing terminally ill to end their lives

REUTERS/Vincent West – October 30, 2020

New Zealand has become one of a handful of countries to legalize euthanasia after voters approved a referendum to allow assisted dying for those suffering from a terminal illness.

The law, which comes into effect in November 2021, will make it legal for patients with less than six months to live to request a medically-assisted death. The patient will need the approval of two doctors before undergoing the life-ending procedure.

New Zealanders voted on the issue during the October 17 general election. Preliminary results announced on Friday by the country’s electoral commission showed 65.2 percent signing off on the initiative, while 33.8 percent rejected it. Full results will be released on November 6, as officials are still tabulating nearly half-a-million special ballots – most of them from overseas. However, the current margin of support for the referendum means that the remaining uncounted ballots will not change the outcome.

The referendum’s success makes New Zealand the seventh country to allow euthanasia, according to reports, joining nations such as Canada and Belgium. Several other countries and US states have legalized varying forms of physician-assisted suicide.

One prominent campaigner for the referendum described the result as a “victory for compassion and kindness.” 

Opponents expressed concern that legalizing euthanasia would contradict suicide prevention campaigns and would pressure terminally ill people to choose assisted dying in order to be less of a burden to family.

Although considered taboo in most parts of the world, campaigners to legalize euthanasia have scored a number of victories in recent years. Earlier this month, the Dutch government said it would allow doctors to euthanize terminally ill children as young as one year old, making the Netherlands only the second country in the world to permit the practice.

https://www.rt.com

Powerful Magnitude 7.4 Earthquake Strikes Off Coast Of New Zealand

ETH – June 18, 2020

(ETH) – A powerful magnitude 7.4 earthquake has struck off the coast of New Zealand with a depth of about 2o miles according to a report.  An alert was released from the UNESCO/IOC Pacific Tsunami warning and mitigation system stated: “Hazardous tsunami waves from this earthquake are possible within 300km of the epicenter.” More information will come as we receive it.

https://endtimeheadlines.org