Tonight on Close Up ` bad behaviour in the beehive. Will someone end up in jail? What kind of person would do this? Some lowlife, lousy mongrel. Struggling with exams? Where do you turn to? Your phone, of course. And mayor details ` Bob Parker's story of dealing with the quakes. Due to the live nature of Close Up, captions for some items may be incomplete. ONE News captions by Richard Edmunds and June Yeow. Close Up captions by Virginia Philp and Angela Alice. Manuka honey ` it's been likened to a gold rush. The stakes are high and so are the rewards. NZ manuka honey fetches a premium worldwide. It used to be a gentleman's profession where farmers let beekeepers place their hives in exchange for a few pots of honey, but a war's broken out at the hives in the Hokianga, with millions of bees mysteriously poisoned. Mark Crysell has more. Up north... BEES BUZZ The manuka wars ` yeah, that's what it should be called. ...there's an angry buzz in the hills. Do you know who did this? > We've got suspicions, but that's it. A nasty sting in this tale. < What kind of person would do this? Some low-life lousy mongrel. Springtime in the Hokianga ` the air should be sweet with the smell of manuka-honey making, but there's a whiff of something rotten. This is the remains of the rotting bees. There's just masses of` Just in a handful, there's thousands of bees in there. They're all shrivelling up a bit now. Someone put poison in 90 of John Whitehead's hives, killing more than four million bees. Normally every box would be totally full of bees. And you come and there's just a few bees in the middle with all the outsides empty, and that definitely is no chance of doing a honey crop. You'll get nothing out of these? We'll get nothing out of these in this manuka year. A kilometre up the road from John Whitehead's hives, more evidence of sabotage and destruction. This is more or less the scene of devastation we found the next morning. 17 of Lindsay Guest's hives stolen; seven others smashed. This is just an old honeycomb, really. The bees have just been washed out by the rain and they've all left ` well, all died or left, you know. So just a few stragglers left behind. That's all. And, well, the hive's dead, really. 60-odd years and you've never had this sort of trouble before, have you? 10% of the income of Lindsay and his father Bill (90) is gone. Bill's been making honey here since he got back from the Second World War. Beekeepers like to see themselves as peaceful folk working in harmony with nature. I couldn't do this to a beehive, because I love my bees. Just incredible to me that someone would do this to a beehive, so the people that do it obviously haven't got a heart for the bee. You know, they're just in it for the money, I'd say. And there's big money in manuka honey ` upwards of $400 a kilogram if the quality's good. It's a gold rush. With more than 160,000 hives in Northland, they're running out of room. There are no rules at the moment. There used to be a gentleman's rule ` 2km away from the next site. That's all out the window with manuka these days. Now they're all, like, on top of each other, more or less, without any regulations or anything. Don't know about a war. A war normally needs two parties. We haven't declared war. Are you close to it? > (LAUGHS) Well, I don't think we need to. I've got a living faith in the living God and will not I will not judge of all the earth do just. It's all under control. It's in his hands. He's already on the job. And if he's not, Charlie Dunn is. Not much scares Charlie, especially not bees. Just don't worry about them. Don't worry about them, and they don't worry about you. Charlie Dunn is a former heavyweight boxing champion. His family have been in Panguru for generations. I know everything. I'm the local cop, the local priest. I'm the local barman and beekeeper. I know everything that happens. So how long do you think it'll be before you find the person that did this? We will find out. Sooner or later, Someone will come along and tell me. We will find out. Sooner or later, someone will come along and tell me. The real police are investigating, but there's been no arrests so far. And no one has come forward with any information, despite the beekeepers putting up a reward worth $8000. You undo the zip and the hood goes on last. The beekeepers believe it was one of their own but can't prove it. So the guys that came in ` would they have been wearing suits like this? Yes, they must've been wearing suits like this. They knew what they were doing? > They knew what they were doing. Tens of thousands of dollars of honey money has gone to pot. But no one's moving or backing down. This is the kind of thing where people could get hurt, isn't it? There could be retaliation. You don't know who did it and you could never be sure, so... But one thing leads to another; someone kicks your hives over so you kick somebody else's hives over and where does it stop, you know? It's crazy, really. So should they be scared of you? > Oh, they should be scared of me. They should be bloody shit-scared of me. They'll be dealt with anyway by whatever way, you know, and my way first. What's your way, Charlie? > Oh, I can't tell you that on TV. (CHUCKLES) Joining me now in the studio is John Rawcliffe from UMF Honey Association. The UMF stands for Unique Manuka Factor. So, can he maintain it? WHY IS THIS SO VALUABLE/ UM, IT'S SO VALUABLE THAT SOME MANUKA HONEY HAS UNIQUE PROPERTIES. THIS HAS BEEN RESEARCHED AND IDENTIFIED AROUDN THE WORLD. WHAT'S THE POTENTIAL OF THIS BUSINESS? THE POTENTIAL IS IN THE BILLIONS. I CAN GO FROM 100 MILLION TO A BILLION IF WE GET IT RIGHT. THERE'S NO SURPRISE THAT PEOPLE MIGHT SOBATAGE THE COMPETITION? I AM SURPRISED ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE BEEKEEPING INDUSTRY. DO YOU HAVE SUSPICIONS AS TO WHO DID IT? IT'S NOT MY JOB TO UNDERSTAND THE INTENT. NO, I DON'T. I'M SURE WE'RE GOT SECUIRTY OF STANDARD BEHIND THE UMF MARK. THAT'S Y JOB I TRUST THE BEEKEEPER. YOU'VE GOT THE GERMANS ATTEMPTING TO TAKE OUT THE TRADEMARK ON MANUKA. YOU'VE GOT BEE FEED WHICH CAN MIMIC MANUKA? THESE THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN WHEN YOU HAVE SUCH VALUABLE STUFF. HAVE YOU BEEN ASLEEP OF THE WHEEL? HAVE YOU NOT PROTECTED YOU BRAND? WE WERE IN THE SAME SITUATION THREE YEARS AGO. THE HONEY ASSOCIATION HAS SHOWN LEADERSHIP. OVER TIME, THEY HAVE PUT IN LABS IN THE UK. IT'S LIKE THE KFRUIT EXAMPLES IN CHILE, THEY ARE TRYING TO PLANT MANUKA. CAN YOU DO THAT? NO, WHAT YOU SAW THERE, IT WAS THE UNIQUE ENVIRNOMENT. THE UNIQUE NZ POSITION CANNOT BE REPLICATED. IN THE LAST YEARS, THE UMF HONEY ASSOCIATION HAS DONE THINGS. WE'VE ASKED HOW WE PROTECT IT IN THE AREAS WE SELL WE'VE DONE THE SAME IN CHINA AND JAPAN. WE CAN OVERLAY ANYTHING WE LEARN ABOUT THE HONEY INTO THOSE MARKETS. IF WE LEARN ABOUT THE DETECTION OF ADULTERATION, AND WE CAN APPLY IT. THEY CAN TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FAKE HONEY AND ACTIVE MANUKA? YES, WE CAN TELL THE DIFFERENCE USING DIFFERENT TEST METHODS. WE CAN PROTECT THAT AND VERIFY IT. DOES THE PUNTER CARE? ARE THEY GOING TO KNOW WHEN THEY BUY IT? THEY WILL KNOW IF IT'S GOT THE UMF QUALITY MARK. WE'VE EMPOWER THE CONSUMER TO TAKE THE PRODUCT AND TEST IT. NOW, THAT TAKES STRENGTH. YOU'D GOT A BUSINESS WORTH BILLIONS. PEOPLE WILL DO ANYTHING TO MAKE A QUID OUT OF IT. THEY MAY BE DOING IT ALREADY. OUR ASSOCAITION, 30 MEMBERS, THEY HAVE VOTED TO PUT IN PROGRAMMES TO PROTECT THIS. SAY, FOR INSTANCE, IF SOMEONE TRIES TO TAKE OUT A PATENT, I SUPPOSE YOU TALK TO THEM. WE EITHER TALK POLITELY IN THE FIRST CASE. THEY'RE THERE JUST TO BRIBE YOU. IT'S LIKE DOMAIN NAME PROTECTION. SO THERE'S A BIT OF GAMESMANSHIP GOING ON. WE PUT ALL EFFORTS TO PROTECT THE NZ UNIQUE POSITION. HAVE YOU TRIED TO CUT OFF ANY OF THE OTHER AREAS? YES, WE HAVE. WE'VE PROTECTED THE UMF BRAND IN 46 COUNTRIES. CAN YOU WIN? WE WILL WIN. YOU'RE 100% CONFIDENT? IT'S UNIQUE, IT'S SPECIAL. WE HAVE A STRONG COMMITTMENT. YEAH, WE WILL WIN. THANKS. So should NZ's manuka honey beekeepers be working harder to protect their industry? Go to our website or email us at... And we're on Facebook too. Coming up ` he's the man who fronted the Christchurch earthquake. Now Bob Parker on what was going on behind the scenes. Just imagine this ` Gerry and Bob in bed. It's an interesting sight. Plus, can a smartphone really help your kids pass their exams? Bob Parker and his orange jacket were front and centre during the Christchurch quakes. But behind the scenes there was turmoil. The mayor came under attack over the council's CEO. He claims Wellington was interfering too much and then the humiliation of Gerry Brownlee calling him a clown. Throughout all that he had to just keep going and has recorded those experiences in a new book. He talked to Abby Scott. His orange jacket may be gone,... Don't stop now. This is great. ...but PR Parker is still in full swing. All right, ladies. OK. I've got a city to run. And a book to promote. This book is written because I want to put this story down. I hope it is positive for me, but I'm sure in some people's hands, it will be negative for me. BELL RINGS Leaving aside the human toll, in political terms, the quakes were incredibly positive for mayor Bob Parker. I've just declared a state of emergency. His harsher critics even say September's quake was the only thing that won him re-election. Uh, it will take out a number of buildings. While his dulcet tones soothed Cantabrians, his book details how it hasn't always been smooth sailing. There was that time Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee called him a clown. Mayor Parker's book reveals he nearly threw in the towel. I thought, 'Oh well, if Gerry really thinks that, I'll put my resignation in. 'I'm not going to get in the way of what we need to achieve as a city.' Have you forgiven Mr Brownlee? Yeah, of course I have. He apologised. We had a little discussion. We worked it out. And I'll tell you now, I don't think many politicians could do the job that Gerry Brownlee is doing. Yes, Bob Parker knows the right egos to stroke, and while his book hands out its share of criticism, it also pays compliment to those in power ` some closer than others. In your book, you talk a lot about Tony Marryatt. Do you think he's been hard done by? Look, I do, to be honest with you. I don't think Mr Marryatt's ever set out to be anything more than a really good local government chief executive. That's not the same as being a chief executive of a high-flying corporation. It's public service. He's got a massive staff, and I think he has been undersold. Public protests and criticism are a result of what the mayor calls a smear campaign. You mention a specific businessman who's tried to bring you down. Yes, I do. Name names? > I'm not that silly. (LAUGHS) You know, I don't want to end up in court with a litigation. As I said, this is a personal view. Certainly, there's been a relatively well-organised campaign to destabilise the council, and I find that essentially treasonous, and it hurts me deeply. What also hurt was the behind-the-scenes battle with central government and the move to relegate the mayor to MC at the high-profile press conferences. It now gives me great pleasure to also... When I worked as a television host, that was part of the way I made my living. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to This is Your Life. And that was more than 20 years ago, and to be told by someone, 'Oh, look, 'you can go and introduce this and that and explain who we all are.' And I said, 'No, no, you're missing the point.' That local knowledge, the local relationship, and I think the response really showed that people appreciated having someone there they knew. All of this, this was your domain, this was the Christchurch City Council's domain, and with what's happened, you've had central government come in to help. Your book touches on that a lot and the frustrations involved. Are you confident that you can work forward, or you're still frustrated with big brother watching over your shoulder? Big brother is just the reality of life at the moment. I get frustrated by it. I'd like to be able, and my council is, I'm sure, to be more hands-on. That was our job, and then it disappeared, and now we have to share the bed with somebody else, and they're big brother, as you said. Just imagine this ` Gerry and Bob in bed. It's an interesting sight. The book's raising money for a quake-related charity. I do keep telling my lovely friends at the Spinal Trust, I say, 'Guys, I'm giving you my royalties, 'but I'm not sure you should be ready to retire yet. I don't know how many we'll sell.' Regardless, this is 230 pages of Bob Parker, a man who says he will be going for re-election next year. How much of this book is you standing on a soapbox, getting your message across disguised as fundraising? Sounds like a particularly cunning plan, doesn't it? But this is the game of politics. I don't think that it would do my election opportunities any harm for people to read this and understand some of those issues. And, of course, you can't have Bob Parker without that orange jacket, which now lives in the museum. It wasn't about me; it was about that jacket being there day after day. It was continuity, and that's what people needed. It became a kind of good-luck charm, in a way, at that point. 'I don't want to take it off.' But now I don't want to ever have to put it on again. The book Ripped Apart: A City in Chaos is in the book stores now. Just ahead ` forget libraries. How to swot in the digital age. NCEA exams started today with more than 40,000 students sitting down for Level 1 English. Were they pulling their hair out sweating over textbooks in libraries? Or is their an easier way to swot up? Rakesh Pandey thinks all you need is a cell phone. I'll let him explain. He joins me know from the Dunedin office. WHAT'S WRONG WITH GOING TO THE LIBRARY? THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH GOING TO THE LIBRARY, BUT YOU HAVE TO GET THERE. STUDENTS LIKE MUSCKING ROUND ON THEIR COMPUTERS, THEIR PHONES. THEY'VE GENERALLY GOT A PHONE. IT'S THEIR WORLD. HOW DOES IT WORK? STUDENTS BUY THE AP AND PICK A SUBJECT. WE HAVE IT FOR LEVEL 1 MATHS, LEVEL 2 PHYSICS AND BIIOLOGY AND OTHERS. THEY PAY THEIR DOSH AND GET THE AP AND START ANSWERING QUESTIONS. IF THEY KNOW THE ANSWER ON THE SPOT, THEY FEEL CONFIDENT. AS THEY DO MORE, THEY FEEL MORE CONFIDENT. IF THEY DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER, THEY KNOW THEY HAVE SOME MORE WORK TO DO. HOW DO YOU KNOW YOU'RE PUTTING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS IN? I HAVE BEEN TUTORING FOR YEARS. I HAVE TEACHERS CONTIRIBUTING TO THE PRODUCT. SO IT'S GETTING DRIVEN INTO SHCOOLS. IT'S A LOT OF PEOPLE COMBINING TOGETHER. IS IT TRUE ALL THE TUTORS YOU USED HAVE BEEN DUXES? YES, IT IS. THEY'RE A UNIQUE BUNCH. WE TEACH THEM MEMORY TRICKS AND WAYS TO REMEMBER THINGS. STUDENTS DON'T JUST LEARN AND TRY TO PRACTICE. THEY TAKE OWNERSHIP. WE ARE DOMANTING A WHOLE LOT OF MONEY TO KIDSCAN. AND THE OTHER AP ALLOWS THEM TO MEASURE THEIR PROGRESS. THEY HAVE STRATEGIEIS TO MAKE SURE THEY GET THE GRADES THEY NEED. IS THERE GOING TO BE A PROBLEM? NEXT YEAR WHEN THE RESULTS COME OUT, SOME MIGHT BE ANGRY AT YOU. BRING IT ON. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THOSE FEEDBACKS, WE WILL LOOK AT WHAT WE'RE GOING. WE WANT TO MAKE THE APS BE THE STUDENTS' AP WE WILL PUT MORE DESIGNS ON THEM. WE WILL MAKE THEM BETTER AND BETTER. IF THE AP IS THERE, PEOPLE CAN TURN OFF THEIR PHONE. PEOPLE CAN AVOID SWATTING ON A SMARTPHONE. ABSOLUTELY, BUT EVERYONE PROCRASTINATES, RIGHT NEAR THE EXAMS, THE STUDENTS ARE FREAKING. A LOT OF STUDENTS WANT THOSE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS WAS APERTUITIES IN THE ENGLISH EXAM TODAY? I DON'T KNOW, BUT PEOPLE NEED TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS. PEOPLE NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE EXAMINER WANTS. THEY NEED TO GIVE THE ANSWER IN THE WAY THE EXAMINERS WANT. THE AP IS IMPETUS FOR STUDENTS TO START DOING THAT. YOU'RE DOING WORK WITH KIDSCAN TOO. And for all you students out there, Breakfast takes a look tomorrow morning at what help there is out there for exams. Breakfast is on air from 6am. Feedback now, and on the honey wars, the Wooster family say... Henry on Facebook says... Gerry says... Tomorrow night ` two average K families with two opposing views on teenage drinking and supervised parties. It's like the forbidden fruit. If you say, 'No, no, no,' they're always going to want it. By supplying them with alcohol, it is not the way to teach them. Everything in moderation is fine. In, like, a year or so, they'll start to let me. You don't have to drink to have a good time. The ones who are new to it, I guess, they're the ones who take it too far. They're sending a mixed message. It was important that if you wanted to have a drink, to have a drink with me. I don't think that saying no is that evil. I think that sometimes you just have to say no. That's tomorrow night. And that's NZ Close Up. Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright TVNZ Access Services 2012