Kerre Woodham: Whale of a time for lucky Murray McCully

There are concerns that emotions will be running high between activists and whalers after Pete Bethune boarded a Japanese whaling ship in the midst of last year's protests. Photo / Sarah Ivey

I could think of no better way for Murray McCully to spend his summer holidays than bobbing about in the Southern Ocean acting as a mediator between Japanese whalers and Greenpeace protesters.

The Green Party has called on the Government to send the Foreign Minister and a navy boat to the icy waters to signify its opposition to whaling and to protect anti-whaling protesters.

This is after Sea Shepherd activist Pete Bethune boarded a Japanese whaling ship in the midst of last year's protests and was summarily hauled off to Japan where he spent five months in jail before a court trial and a two-year prison term, suspended for five years.

The Greens are worried that after that incident, emotions will be running high between the whalers and the activists and think that having McCully there would act as a restraint - although if the protesters refrain from boarding Japanese craft they would be saving themselves a lot of bother.

Still, sending a Government minister to the Southern Ocean sends a far more powerful message than issuing a statement. And let's face it, McCully owes the country a bit of overtime. Oh, I know his office will claim that being the Minister for the Rugby World Cup was an onerous responsibility and that he worked like a Trojan - but they'll have a job convincing me it was anything more than a splendid, enjoyable junket.

So, really, it's not unreasonable to expect the minister to give up a bit of his summer hols to save the whales.

Milk great - but breakfast better

As was widely tipped, Fonterra announced on Friday that it is going back to the future and putting milk into schools.

Initially, the scheme will be trialled in 110 schools in Northland but, if it's successful, milk will be available for schoolchildren throughout NZ.

Many older Kiwis will have memories of milk in schools. The first Labour Government introduced the scheme in 1937 in a bid to improve the health of the nation's children and to absorb excess milk production. But the programme stopped in 1967 because of cost and questions over the health benefits of milk.

At a time when many families are struggling to buy the basics, it's a good move on Fonterra's part to bring it back.

According to nutritionists, 250ml of milk contains as much protein as a large egg, almost as much potassium as a banana and almost as much vitamin A as you'd get in half a cup of cooked broccoli. And certainly way more vitamins and minerals than you'd get from the coloured, sugary fizzy drink that you see so many kids drinking on their way to school.

Offering young kids a glass of milk a day is a good start, but I'd love to see it extended to offering all schoolkids - or at least those in low-decile schools - breakfast every morning.

Teachers say that kids with full tummies are easier to teach, take in more of what they're taught and have fewer behavioural issues. They also report less truancy, so really it's a no-brainer, isn't it?

And yes, I know it's the responsibility of parents to provide their kids with healthy, nutritious breakfasts but many don't. Some people say that stepping in and providing for these children absolves the parents of their duties and encourages dependency, but it's not the children's fault that they were born to hopeless losers.

They have already been failed by their families - should they be failed by their communities, too?

Fonterra and Sanitarium joined forces in 2009 to offer free school breakfasts and nearly half of the low-decile schools in the country serve breakfast to their kids up to twice a week.

Kids Can provides food for schools that teachers and principals can offer and a new charity, Bambini, has been set up in the wake of the Christchurch quake. Its founders are offering breakfast to children in Christchurch schools where they've identified a need. A number of service groups provide food to hungry kids.

The need is real. So while it's a good move on Fonterra's part to provide a carton of milk a day, how much better would it be if we could offer kids a healthy breakfast and be secure in the knowledge that neglected kids would be getting at least one square meal a day?

No need to get knickers in a twist

I couldn't believe the letter to the NZ Herald column Sideswipe this week from a purse-lipped writer called Mary who was complaining about men in lingerie departments.

She felt they had no place there and should wait outside.

I could understand her concern if women were getting changed in the middle of the shop floor but they're not. That's why they have fitting rooms.

I think more men should be encouraged to buy their loved ones lingerie sets.

A beautiful boxed set of expensive lingerie is a fabulous present, although it pays to check the sizes before leaving the house. Just check the size on her favourite bra.

My man bought me a set of lovely Christian Dior underwear one year, except the bra was big enough to use as a trampoline and the undies were so small you couldn't have blown your nose on them.

But there was an exchange card so all was well and, after all, it really is the thought that counts.

Whatever ends up under your tree, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas.