The cool store that blew up in Tamahere was approved to use Freon gas, but it was actually using propane as a refrigerant.

That was how dumb New Zealand journalists started to explain the disastrous explosion at Tamihere. If the fire brigade had known that propane was on the site, they’d have handled it differently, and possibly avoided a disaster that cost one life and ruined many more. It reminds us of the fire at Patea, where a blanket of silence has fallen on what might be a largely Maori community coated by asbestos.

Propane gas is not something that barbecue owners would normally use, and it’s exceptionally dangerous when used indoors.

But they were supposed to be using “approved” Freon gas instead at Tamahere? Can this be true?

Nobody in the media seems to have twigged that Freon is the CFC that once powered our spray cans and fridges. It caused the holes in the ozone layer.

CFCs are banned worldwide, although emerging nations such as India and China continue their use. Civilised nations use methane in shaving foams and odour-eating spray cans – and that’s pretty bad for the environment as well, according to the Greens. We now use more eco-comfy methods to run refrigerators and air conditioners.

So, how come we had a factory in New Zealand that was permitted to use Freon?

And how many more of them are still operating in our clean and green, 100 percent pure tourist paradise?