Open Mike 01/11/13

82 comments on “Open Mike 01/11/13 ”

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1. amirite 1

   1 November 2013 at 7:51 am

   The last bits of brilliant commentary in the MSM is now coming only from the cartoonists:

   http://www.nzherald.co.nz/news-cartoons/news/article.cfm?c_id=500814&objectid=11149702
   • idlegus 1.1

     1 November 2013 at 7:58 am

     plus 1,… the cartoonists been some of the only genuine voices against the govt narative, even old righties like tremain, & not only that they are usually even funny, im very proud of them, they are the real journalists as far as im concerned.
2. Red Horse 2

   1 November 2013 at 7:58 am

   This cannot be true. No way. What if Sky City buys some?
   http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Conference-materials-for-mailing.pdf
   • ianmac 2.1

     1 November 2013 at 9:37 am

     kiwiblog mischief Red Horse?
3. millsy 3

   1 November 2013 at 8:11 am

   It’s going to be one heck of a weekend.

   Hopefully we will see some decent left wing policies coming out of this conference, and not just some tinkering. And something more than living wages, etc. Im looking more at stuff like increasing public ownership and public services, etc.

   Im thinking of joining Labour, but I have to have a reason. If I wanted to join National I would join National.
   • fender 3.1

     1 November 2013 at 10:14 am

     If you wanted to join National I’d call for an ambulance to check on you…
   • Mary 3.2

     2 November 2013 at 12:42 am

     Join Mana and hold your head high.
4. AsleepWhileWalking 4

   1 November 2013 at 8:37 am

   What the hell happened to legal aid?? The stripping away began around 2008.

   http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2013/11/01/8-interest-rate-on-legal-aid-will-please-private-prisons/
5. BLiP 5

   1 November 2013 at 9:08 am

   ‘

   A new email encryption standard announced by DarkMail . . .

   Two email providers forced to close their services in the wake of the Edward Snowden revelations on mass surveillance have proposed a new open standard for secure email that would be harder for security services and others to eavesdrop upon.

   The encrypted email service Lavabit, and Silent Circle, a firm also encrypting phone calls and texts, are the founding members of the Darkmail Alliance, a service that aims to prevent government agencies from listening in on the metadata of emails . . . </blockquote
6. fender 6

   1 November 2013 at 9:46 am

   This guy passed on before his work was complete….
   • richard 6.1

     1 November 2013 at 10:08 am

     The blast blasted blubber beyond all believable bounds
     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vn7D-pikXNU
     • greywarbler 6.1.1

       1 November 2013 at 1:13 pm

       I liked this bit in the exploded whale story (not done for reasons of cruelty mind, though some thought the aftermath was cruel to them), which is a comment from the reporting journalist.

       “”Every time a whale washes ashore I get a call from Governor Kitzhaber telling me to get down there,” he told the website.
       “He likes to watch the video when he needs cheering up.”

       I like the Governor’s name. For a story like this it shouldn’t be Smith or the like.
       It actually brings to mind the Katzenjammer Kids comics of my youth – anyone remember them? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Katzenjammer_Kids‎
       • Descendant Of Sssmith 6.1.1.1

         2 November 2013 at 8:23 am

         I’m sure some village in Ireland tried the same thing once as well – with the same result.
7. Rodel 7

   1 November 2013 at 11:20 am

   Charter school b-s. Interesting interview on the Daily show with Dianne Raditch.
   http://www.thedailyshow.com/?xrs=eml_tds_103113
   • greywarbler 7.1

     1 November 2013 at 12:28 pm

     Charter schools in NZ. The Greens very rightly complained about a definition of what charter schools are (as yet not even functioning), being taken from a political pamphlet and printed as unprovable fact by the on-line Maori dictionary. A naive academic?
     http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/226408/dictionary-changes-charter-school-definition
     The manager of the site at the Auckland University of Technology, Professor John Moorfield, admits the definition was taken from the Ministry of Education website, but does not agree that it is all government spin.

     Google headings for NZ charter school Maori – (anytime)

     Military, Maori among first charter schools – Radio New Zealand
     http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/…/govt-announces-first-charter-school…‎
     Sep 17, 2013 – The Education Minister has announced the first five charter schools, with one to use a military training ethos and two to be Maori bilingual.
     and
     http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1309/S00312/harawira-new-charter-schools-for-maori-in-the-north.htm

     “The reality is that 90% of Maori kids are in the mainstream, but instead of a helping those schools to develop a stronger, more robust learning and support network for Maori kids, government has instead scrapped the proven Te Kotahitanga programme and got them all worrying about ERO visits, school closures, cuts in funding, league tables, national standards, and Novopay.
     “And finally, if it’s educational success for Maori kids that the government is after, why not increase the funding for Kura Kaupapa Maori, which has proven to be the highest achieving school system Maori kids have ever had?”

     and
     Charter schools: More input for Maori – National – NZ Herald News
     http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid…‎
     Jun 6, 2013 – Charter schools will give Maori more input into a school model they can adapt to suit their children, the chairman of the Iwi Education Authority …
     and
     Māori Need More Than Charter Schools | Save Our Schools NZ
     saveourschoolsnz.wordpress.com/…/maori-needs-more-than-charter-scho…‎
     Jul 23, 2013 – Education For Māori Needs More Than Charter Schools – from Education Aotearoa Heni Collins investigates growing concerns in Māoridom ….
   • Chooky 7.2

     1 November 2013 at 7:11 pm

     Rodel +100….thanks…case for public education and against privatization and right wing Charter School agenda in USA very succinctly put by Professor Dianne Raditch….and based on the research evidence
8. Draco T Bastard 8

   1 November 2013 at 11:33 am

   Newt’s revenge: Child labor makes a comeback

   According to Lafer’s report, “The Legislative Attack on American Wages and Labor Standards, 2011-2012,” within those two years 15 states passed new restrictions on union collective bargaining or paycheck deductions; 16 passed new restrictions on unemployment benefits; four passed new restrictions on state minimum wage laws; and four reduced limitations on child labor. The child labor changes range from a Wisconsin law ending limits on 16- and 17-year-olds’ work hours to an Idaho law letting 12-year-olds be hired for manual labor at their school for 10 hours a week. Lafer notes that a Idaho school district spokesperson said that would both cut down on labor costs and teach kids “you have to be on time” and “do what you’re asked …”

   Yep, the RWNJs are bringing back child labour to teach kids that “you have to be on time” and “do what you’re asked …”.

   The fact that they’re sick enough to bring back child labour should prove that they should not be in office and that the corporations that support them need to be shut down.
   • Rosie 8.1

     1 November 2013 at 12:37 pm

     Reply to you at #13…………
9. fender 9

   1 November 2013 at 11:59 am

   Mighty River investors re-evaluate the windfall from their investment…
10. Pascal's bookie 10

    1 November 2013 at 12:04 pm

    ChemTrails busted wide open, Snowden to leak dox.

    http://web.archive.org/web/20130821112549/http://usahitman.com/mauctpa/
    • Lanthanide 10.1

      1 November 2013 at 12:44 pm

      “In various online communities there has been vigorous debate about what chemtrails actually mean. Some believe they spread barium as a highly-sensitive electromagnetic missile defense system. Others postulate they contain compounds that attack our blood cells and ultimately reduce populations, much like the fluoridation of our water supplies. The rise in disease and other unexplained medical phenomena does strangely coincide with the popularization of chemtrails.”

      Funny how all they can do is speculate what they’re made of, instead of taking samples or doing a modicum of investigation.

      I guess getting off the chair in front of the computer and going outside is too much effort.
    • Lanthanide 10.2

      1 November 2013 at 12:48 pm

      Actually this story is even better: http://usahitman.com/4mcdufnh/
    • Chooky 10.3

      1 November 2013 at 7:13 pm

      Pb….lol ..never heard that argument before ie blaming the atheists …..scientists….. for chemtrails!
11. Red Horse 11

    1 November 2013 at 12:08 pm

    New Zealand Post chairman Sir Michael Cullen announced the state-owned company would slash between 1500 and 2000 jobs from its processing, delivery, retail and corporate operations.
    http://news.msn.co.nz/nationalnews/8748460/nz-post-announces-job-cuts

    Dear, oh dear.
12. idlegus 12

    1 November 2013 at 12:20 pm

    nz post to restructure, sorting work to be done by non nz post employees, some kind of private contractor to take over, nz post will still deliver the mail, no more bikes, just walking & vans, up to 2000 jobs to go, michael cullen says its “sad”.

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/9350304/NZ-Post-job-losses-restructure-revealed
    • Rogue Trooper 12.1

      1 November 2013 at 12:30 pm

      EPMU it’s “simply cruel”
      http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11150048
      2000 ‘middle income earners’ ?
13. Rosie 13

    1 November 2013 at 12:34 pm

    That’s one huge and hugely informative report. Thanks for posting it DTB. There’s a pile of troubling stats in there covering all aspects of precarious work. Imagine the stress individuals and households would be under working in these conditions, including the “tipped workers”. Their lives would be clouded by constant uncertainty and anxiety.

    Above all, the most disturbing is the problem of child labour that you have discussed above and the attitude of the spokesperson. All that is teaching the child is that the world is an oppressive and authoritarian place and that you better get used to it because this is how your life will be lived. Zero respect, zero equality and zero prospects for a happy and fulfilling work life, let alone a comfortable and secure future. Welcome to the poorhouse kiddies.

    Oops. That was meant to be a reply to Draco at 8
14. Rogue Trooper 14

    1 November 2013 at 12:39 pm

    A Wise Man
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11149719
    Welby Ings, AUT
    • tc 14.1

      1 November 2013 at 1:02 pm

      Yes with the award being presented by an evil man whose gov’t is dumbing down and gutting that system
      • Rogue Trooper 14.1.1

        1 November 2013 at 1:12 pm

        yes, there is always irony in politics tc
    • Chooky 14.2

      1 November 2013 at 7:18 pm

      very interesting…thanx
    • Huginn 14.3

      1 November 2013 at 9:05 pm

      A wonderful man and a wise, generous teacher.
15. greywarbler 15

    1 November 2013 at 12:57 pm

    Sir Michael Cullen says that some of the 1000 odd retrenchment from NZ Post will be from natural attrition. I think this applies also to him. He has been there long enough to cast any clever spell he could concoct over the place. Now its time to move on to better pastures to fertilise. I think he has over-dosed nz Post going by this explanation of animal poisoning.
    Nitrates may cause inflammation of the gut when eaten in large quantities, but their main … Severely affected animals will go down, convulse and die. … Poor old NZ Post, that sturdy animal. Now they are going for efficiency for the workers, seeing management hasn’t achieved it, or been effective, the other part of the cliche. They are going to have contractors sort the mail now, not the posties. Gutted isn’t the word.

    It was an unpleasant indication that management of NZ Post was not too good when it took how many years to deal with undelivered mail from one postie in Queenstown , I think from the first day. The consequent disaster with a large amount of accumulated mail, over which they must have had many complaints that should have led to prompt action was a sign of failure that now this sham management is trying to fix by gutting what must be a very cost effective service. And which is appreciated by citizens getting on with real life in the physical world.

    And what have they done to encourage more use of the postal system I wonder? Well I looked on Trademe where NZ Post used to be prominent amongst the postal options, now there is only Pass the Parcel which is part of Post Haste couriers and I have never seen NZ Post advertising there. And presumably they cannot decline an advertisement on the site which would be anti-business.
    • tc 15.1

      1 November 2013 at 1:12 pm

      Screwed over by decades of old boy managers (Elmar etc), paying datacom bucket loads for SFA and a sell off of the parcels business into a JV with DHL that was never openly tendered.

      DHL took what they could and handed it back a few years ago.

      Filled with refugees from other gov’t bodies, telecom and armed forces, remember the debacle with that overseas consulting arm early in the 2000’s. Many failed technology ventures with the current UPost laughable if it wasn’t so sad.

      The postal business was one of the better run sectors till numptys like Peter Fenton were given the controls.
      • greywarbler 15.1.1

        1 November 2013 at 2:44 pm

        tc
        Thanks for that interesting stuff. The number of times I have read of some bloke enriching himself from screwing his employer while he sets up some internet system to do something, not well, implies that it is frequent. The bloke often walks away from the failure into another internet job, or retires with a nice package. (A woman dying of cancer vows that women in Southland aren’t getting timely treatment because of all the money lost from the guy Swan’s depredations – I think he is in prison.)

        I keep thinking about Ansett and the lack of acuity in directorship skills by the NZs on that board. Since then I have regarded NZ management with a septical eye (sic). If they can’t do it, they should know it, and get off the pot.

        I thought that NZ Post was making a profit. Small, covering costs. So why can’t we have some hot shot come in and give it a go. NZ Post were so big at one time, advising others on how to set up postal systems, South Africa etc. Ozymandias! I have a book that I must stick my nose into going back to early days of beefing up the Dinosaur that was NZ Post so that’s next to catch up.

        idlegus
        There. That is what I find great about paper and hard copy. The complaints would have been on the desk if they had been written, letter or memo, in the file where the middle manager or anyone could see them. Instead they’re shut away out of sight in a computer system.
        • tc 15.1.1.1

          1 November 2013 at 4:31 pm

          The mail division was the jewel being smudged across other divisions to make them look better than the dogs they were (transend, eBusiness, Courier post etc) they made a meal out of rural post and whined about their charter but in truth they were blowing it out their incompetant middles and upper managed A’s in these ventures.

          they’ve been screwing contractor drivers down for years but eventually it all catches up, just look at Chore-us
          • Rogue Trooper 15.1.1.1.1

            1 November 2013 at 5:22 pm

            Shore-us up.
    • idlegus 15.2

      1 November 2013 at 1:16 pm

      re: queenstown, there certainly were complaints, they sat on a middle managers computer in dunedin all that time, he was very promptly sacked (when the shit hit the fan of course).

      also, theres certainly been a feeling of these bosses running the place into the ground, little by little, they took away delivery boxes a few years ago, which were mostly used by old ppl, who mostly use personal mail, & then shutting down post shops, the rumours of 3 day delivery slowed the mail right down as many ppl believe it is already happening, shifting the sorting to chch out of dunedin so now it can take 3-5+ days for mail to be sent from one dunedin to the other. its either deliberate or stupid.
      • weka 15.2.1

        1 November 2013 at 1:46 pm

        “its either deliberate or stupid.”

        Ae. A couple of years ago they changed the pricing of packages being sent by mail, and made it so f*cking complicated that no-one could understand how it worked. So you had to go into a Post Shop and stand in a queue and then the person behind the counter had to measure and weigh and calculate, just to get a price. Maybe NZP thought people would just hand over whatever, but in the age of Trade Me etc, people want to know beforehand how much something is going to cost to post. They don’t want to have to do a trip to town or wait ages on the phone and then be given the wrong information. I suspect that a while back someone in NZ post thought we would all switch to their own packaging and that that would make things simpler. Fat chance.
        • greywarbler 15.2.1.1

          1 November 2013 at 3:01 pm

          I sat at home and read the instructions, and looked on line, and I got a ruler to measure the thickness of books, and I took measurements of paperbacks to see which size group they went into. All to find out how you worked out costs on parcels. It was worthwhile even though it took time. And I am happy with the system and want to keep it like it is NZ Post.

          Soon I could work out quickly how much to charge. And I could send things cheaply. And it worked well for me and all the book traders I bought from. And knew enough to know when the Post shop at the dairy was wrong. I never found out how to work out the nationwide parcels over a certain limit that go on volume and seem to require algebra. There is help on-line but even then you can be limited by not using the right term, or looking in the wrong classification.

          One time I put something in a great big bag and thought it went on weight. But no it was going to cost $22 so helpful assistant folded in half, pulled the edges in and stuck them down and the price went down to $14 or so.

          The staff at our Nelson main post shop are helpful, pleasant, I can’t bear to lose these important services. Computerisation is so dependent on electricity, on the flagfall of many dollars to first buy your machine, or take to a centre and pay for using theirs. It takes nous to keep this vulnerable thing going, and there is an expectation that everything will change within 5 years.

          They have been sitting on their chuffs at NZ Post director and manager level. And we lose more people friendly stuff. And it is strange how it goes. When you use the alternative wonder-systems they provide, they don’t do the job as well. The designers leave out things that have been useful. They choose a style, appearance, that looks new modern sleek and the old one may have been the best, the most effective.
        • greywarbler 15.2.1.2

          1 November 2013 at 4:01 pm

          idlegus
          re: queenstown, there certainly were complaints, they sat on a middle managers computer in dunedin all that time, he was very promptly sacked (when the shit hit the fan of course).

          Just thinking. Was there a connection between middle manager and Queenstown postie?
          Family, friend connection? So got job, knew good ol’ so and so at main office wouldn’t make trouble and just kept on (not) doing the business. That scenario would explain what to me is unexplainable. Is it known?
          • idlegus 15.2.1.2.1

            1 November 2013 at 4:12 pm

            the contract owner (whatever the real term is) is the parent of the offender. the parents of the offender run queenstown posties, or have the contract to run it. sorry, im not sure what the proper terms are. the manager running it from dunedin had no association, it was someone that used to get shifted from post to post in the branch.
            • greywarbler 15.2.1.2.1.1

              1 November 2013 at 7:23 pm

              idlegus
              What a bad idea contractors are. Obviously this ‘efficiency’ has resulted in a moral hazard. Instead of NZ Post keeping control over its business by running it with its own employees, this contracting system in effect places the brand and the public perception of its quality, in the hands of one or two people with a small interest limited to their own returns.

              I’m just thinking here of the hot air balloon tragedy. One guy runs his part in a manner satisfactory to him to a low level of responsibility, getting high in a way that a responsible operator would not have. Voluntary, self-regulation, self-enforcement, I spit on it. His crash, the deaths caused, have caused untold anguish and others have gone out of the business – 8 operators now 4. So individuals cannot be trusted to follow their own standards, there is far more to be lost than the immediate within the reach of the physical damage and the firm’s recompense to the damaged and payment of creditors.
              • idlegus …

                1 November 2013 at 8:12 pm

                yep, certainly seems a way to avoid liability, yet the whole nz post got smeared by this queenstown thing (but as i said, it was a nz post employee who was supposed to be responding to the complaints, he was a manager & well paid etc…but infamous for being useless within the branch.)

                i have been away from work back tomorrow, talked to my team leader on the phone & all the changes were news to him, he had no idea baout the sorting being contracted out, & his job is to look after a team of sorters, & god knows how they going to walk some of these routes, some of these streets are long & flat & straight, theres a reason bicycles delivered them, walking is so inefficient! but ours not to reason why, the guys in the offices in suits in their high buildings know betterer!!

                but like national its hard to actually know their ultimate motives, if it is to drive these companies into bankruptcies & massive job losses then they are doing bloody well. the original restructuring we were told with the 3 day week thing most of us could live with, but just delivering (& not sorting) means a loss of 3-4 hours of work a day, & considering the big branches (most urban centers) get paid by volume, thats gonna suck. its already hard to make the hours without killing oneself, the rounds are upto 20kms, 25-40 for bikes, theres only so much walking with that weight anyone can handle.

                probably find out more tomorrow, but again our team leaders & regional managers seem to be in the dark too.
16. Rogue Trooper 16

    1 November 2013 at 1:11 pm

    Key referring to the decision to allow Doug Graham to retain his knighthood -“a third reason being that his conviction was not in an area related to his knighthood” (treaty negotiations). Are they not both concerning theft and fraud.

    NZ Oil and Gas will not be paying the District Court judgement of $3.5M reparation to the families of lost miners as
    -they are “only” 29% shareholders in Pike River
    -they invested approx a total of $20M following the explosion- salaries, contractors etc- some paid out by insurers, while the mine remained viable…
    -the Royal Commission didn’t find them a “responsible party”

    BUT

    most importantly- “our shareholders have said ‘NO, we’ve done enough!'”

    Yep!
    • aerobubble 16.1

      1 November 2013 at 4:36 pm

      So I get that if you don’t carry out duties correctly you can keep your knighthood, wonder how other knighted people feel about that, how it makes them look, their potential value in having them on the board. Wonder what other companies have a knight or a dame on the board. Is Key decision merited? Time will tell if companies with Sir this and Sir that are less trustworthy because everyone knows the Sir might not do due diligence, etc. Now if Key had polled those who have been honour and said as much, point out this wasnt just his decision. Look I get intent was not proven, but Key is also running around suggest balance of probabilities in other cases, and how matters have to be serious to get to a court, a fairly good case much have been present.

      Now for a company whose pickup a fire sale, do they have a responsibility to the wrongs of the previous company, would you buying a car be liable for the fines on that car? But of course they were a partial shareholder. what does it say about businesses if their employees die, and the costs of securing the viability of the business soak up the compensation that would have flowed to the rightly bereaved families. And given how much this all has to do with a government policy to deregulate, and how the value of the mine was been protected by the spending of that money for the good of the west coast, seems to me that was a political decision. What does it say, that a heap of coal, already sold off but sitting on the mine property, has continued funding to send to the ‘owners’, yet that money maybe now said to have ‘gone’.

      I think the government should pay a proportion as it was its policy that played so much a part, I think any shareholder should be paying up a share depending on their collective wins and losses because the dead should be the first in line, unless we are to believe that the workers in someway caused their own demise? we hear about suicide by police, suicidal murders, etc. It seems to me that those responsible aren’t be held responsible, and where nobody comes to the party, government should step in (and then maybe would not be so gunhoe about deregulation mines oversight).
    • Francis 16.2

      1 November 2013 at 9:42 pm

      While Roger Douglass holds a knighthood after destroying our country, they’re meaningless anyway.
17. richard 17

    1 November 2013 at 1:23 pm

    The next step to the incremental gutting of the NZ education system –

    Parata: New Zealand Teachers Council to be replaced
    • greywarbler 17.1

      1 November 2013 at 3:18 pm

      I have commented on the message that came from the Min of Education that the Christchurch disaster was an opportunity to try out a new system of education for the schools affected by the earhquake. Experiment with the pigeons! Who really just want to stay home.

      I heard something chilling about plans for Christchurch hospital that is going to be set in place,
      something new. I have forgotten just what but it was fairly recently so keep an eye out.

      And I have just been writing about NZ Post and noted that new things provided on the internet , can be disappointing and provide less service than previously.
18. Penny Bright 18

    1 November 2013 at 1:57 pm

    FYI

    Press Release: Penny Bright “Doug Graham should be stripped of his knighthood – John Banks and Don Brash should have been charged with the same ‘strict liability’ offence re: Huljich Wealth Management NZ Ltd.”

    1 November 2013

    http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/sir-douglas-retain-knighthood-key-sf-147974

    “… he was convicted of a strict liability offence, where dishonest or criminal intent wasn’t required for conviction…”

    “At least Doug Graham was CHARGED for ‘for making false statements in a company prospectus’,” says anti-corruption campaigner Penny Bright.

    “So – why weren’t John Banks and Don Brash equally charged, when, as Directors of Huljich Wealth Management NZ Ltd, they too signed the following registered prospectuses which contained false statements?

    https://docs.google.com/file/d/1OfbKNxoyZgDs1gZtA1zJLTYAl7sqjYDZgKrIXdUU21S2WRG2D7quY_VyXOKA/edit?usp=drive_web&urp=http://www.pennybright4epsom.org.nz/&pli=1

    https://docs.google.com/file/d/1VFcJz_lUp51NMOdoJKpTTKVY0hJHLxYwSytctgRZzKTEbCD726XkkIKkyEpj/edit?usp=drive_web ”

    Only fellow former Director Peter Huljich was ever charged.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10754678

    “It wasn’t for want of trying on my behalf, having formally requested that the Finance Markets Authority (FMA), the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), and Auckland Central Police, apply ‘one law for all’ and equally charge John Banks and Don Brash, under 58 (3) of the Securities Act 1978.”

    http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1978/0103/latest/DLM29406.html?search=ts_act_Securities+Act+1978_resel&p=1#DLM29406

    58Criminal liability for misstatement in advertisement or registered prospectus
    (1)Subject to subsection (2), where an advertisement that includes any untrue statement is distributed,—
    (a)the issuer of the securities referred to in the advertisement, if an individual; or
    (b)if the issuer of the securities is a body, every director thereof at the time the advertisement is distributed—
    commits an offence.
    (2)No person shall be convicted of an offence under subsection (1) if the person proves either that the statement was immaterial or that he or she had reasonable grounds to believe, and did, up to the time of the distribution of the advertisement, believe that the statement was true.

    (3)Subject to subsection (4), where a registered prospectus that includes an untrue statement is distributed, every person who signed the prospectus, or on whose behalf the registered prospectus was signed for the purposes of section 41(1)(b), commits an offence.

    (4)No person shall be convicted of an offence under subsection (3) if the person proves either that the statement was immaterial or that he or she had reasonable grounds to believe, and did, up to the time of the distribution of the prospectus, believe that the statement was true.
    (5)Every person who commits an offence against this section is liable on conviction to—
    (a)imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years; or
    (b)a fine not exceeding $300,000 and, if the offence is a continuing one, to a further fine not exceeding $10,000 for every day or part of a day during which the offence is continued.
    __________________________________________________________________________

    “I think it is a disgrace that neither the Finance Markets Authority (FMA), Serious Fraud Office (SFO), or NZ Police, chose to apply ‘one law for all’, to the former (and current) leaders of the NZ ACT Party, Don Brash, nor John Banks.”

    “In my considered opinion, it is also a disgrace that the Commerce Committee of ‘Highest Court in the land – the NZ House of Parliament – chose not to “conduct an urgent inquiry into the decisions regarding prosecutions relating to the Huljich Kiwisaver Scheme registered prospectuses dated 22 August 2008 and 18 September 2009”, and has no matters to bring to the attention of the House. ”

    http://www.dodgyjohnhasgone.com/corruption/commerce-select-committee-report-on-banks/

    “In my considered opinion, both John Banks and Don Brash should have been equally charged with the same ‘strict liability’ offence, and Doug Graham should be stripped of his knighthood”.

    Penny Bright

    Ph (09) 846 9825
    021 211 4 127

    ‘Anti-corruption / anti-privatisation Public Watchdog’

    2013 Auckland Mayoral candidate

    http://www.pennybright4epsom.org.nz
    http://www.dodgyjohnhasgone.com
    http://www.pennybright4mayor.org.nz
    • Mary 18.1

      2 November 2013 at 2:01 am

      Hi Penny,

      I love your work and I voted for you. I’m likely to vote for you again if you stand. I disagree with you about Doug Graham giving up his knighthood. While I think all knighthoods should be banned, Doug Graham shouldn’t be vilified over any decision not to strip him of his knighthood or his refusal to give it up. The offence he was convicted of was not one that required him to actively and knowingly set out to do something that hurt others or that benefited himself. The offence he was found guilty of is pretty much about negligence only. We’ve just happened to have created within the criminal law a standard in relation to finance companies which is akin to negligence. This is because we place value on the need to ensure that in relation to finance companies dealing with people’s money, often life savings, we need to make sure the players do things correctly, and if they don’t then we’ve decided it’s a crime.

      Compare what Graham did, with cars backing over toddlers in driveways. There’s no specific offence for killing a toddler by backing over them in a driveway. Unless there are other factors it’s regarded as an accident. Look at what Graham was convicted of. Take the offence away and all that’s left was a mistake – not an intentional act designed to harm anyone. I don’t think an offence for making the mistake of driving over a toddler in a driveway should be created. But it doesn’t follow that because there happens to be a criminal offence attached to doing something negligently all of a sudden that person should be seen as somehow unworthy or so bereft of integrity that we need to punish them further.
19. Tracey 19

    1 November 2013 at 2:31 pm

    So if doug had beaten his wife wld he still be a sir cos its not in the area of his expertise.
20. Tracey 20

    1 November 2013 at 2:31 pm

    So if doug had beaten his wife wld he still be a sir cos its not in the area of his expertise.
    • richard 20.1

      1 November 2013 at 2:50 pm

      have a look at the wikileaks NZ page
      • thatguynz 20.1.1

        1 November 2013 at 4:06 pm

        ??
        • Jim Nald 20.1.1.1

          1 November 2013 at 7:43 pm

          This was the inside news that was going around my Nat-voting brother’s social circles in Auckland.

          It was about a well known National figure [name suppressed by the Court] being, let’s say, not very nice to his wife.

          richard’s comment can be solved quite easily. Type the following into Google search:

          site:wikileaks.org zealand wife national

          Btw, John Key talks about people phoning in with stories and he writes them on a piece of paper and files them away in his top drawer as part of his dirt file.

          Well, he is just as keen, if not more so, about his own MPs and keeps a file on them for when it might be convenient to use. And the Nat ones have really salacious stories.
21. fappity 21

    1 November 2013 at 2:35 pm

    Fuck what’s with all the trade stands at the Labour conference ?
    • richard 21.1

      1 November 2013 at 2:49 pm

      zzzz
      • fappity 21.1.1

        1 November 2013 at 3:27 pm

        Best you get the narcolepsy looked at.
22. Pascal's bookie 22

    1 November 2013 at 5:06 pm

    Wouldn’t often recommend a whaleoil post, but here. you. go:

    http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2012/06/how-many-national-party-members-will-still-be-alive-in-2022/#axzz2jMZotUOQ

    Until Greg Hamilton came along the actual National Party membership was a closely guarded secret. In a heartwarming display of openness in what is usually a closed organisation, Greg has told members that there are about 28,000 members. What he hasn’t told us card carrying members is that there are more members over 80 than under 30, and that the median age is somewhere close to 70.

    And while I am mentioning “card carrying” there really has to be more to membership than a little blue card and two begging letters a year from the President. Though I must say with the frost in Auckland the past few days the card has come in handy for removing ice from the windscreen.

    The implications are obvious. National, without fresh recruiting, is in for a massive membership collapse. By 2022 a large number of current members will be dead, or infirm or senile. This is not a condemnation of people aging, it is just a statement of fact.

    the rest is pretty much touting for business for the WhaleLusk School for How to do Politics Wrong, but that bit is funny.
    • fender 22.1

      1 November 2013 at 7:42 pm

      LOL

      Chris73 must be…
      • Jim Nald 22.1.1

        1 November 2013 at 7:58 pm

        And from that piece “there really has to be more to membership than a little blue card and two begging letters a year from the President” …

        That is quite ok considering the President can be a bit preoccupied with other matters, sometimes.
        • Pascal's bookie 22.1.1.1

          1 November 2013 at 8:10 pm

          A combination membership drive and constitutional reform of the party, driven by Whaleoil readers, for the win. What could possibly go wrong, except for the global depletion of all available popping-corn supplies.
    • McFlock 22.2

      1 November 2013 at 7:49 pm

      I wonder how the nats stack up against NZ1, demographically? After key’s snide comments at the mad hatter’s tea party, it seems his cognitive dissonance was well-entrenched.
    • QoT 22.3

      1 November 2013 at 9:46 pm

      Sounds like a pitch for Slater and his Young-Nat-affiliated mates like Wewege to get paid big wads of cash for recruitment services.
      • Pascal's bookie 22.3.1

        1 November 2013 at 10:57 pm

        Does indeed. And he wants more power for the members too. Good. national has been a wingnut farm for too long. It’s time for the animals to shine.
23. Rogue Trooper 23

    1 November 2013 at 5:15 pm

    Fukushima : The Ongoing Reality
24. Rogue Trooper 24

    1 November 2013 at 5:16 pm

    Fukushima : The Ongoing Reality .
25. travellerev 25

    1 November 2013 at 5:17 pm

    The fact that Douglas Graham can keep his Knighthood should serve as a reminder of this Frédéric Bastiat Quote:

    “When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men in a society, over the course of time they create for themselves a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that glorifies it.”Frédéric Bastiat, Economic sophisms, 2nd series (1848), ch. 1 Physiology of plunder.
    • Rogue Trooper 25.1

      1 November 2013 at 5:19 pm

      seen this talk on Fukushima above ev?
26. chris73 26

    1 November 2013 at 5:31 pm

    Well its a good start by Hekia I guess:

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/9352077/Government-replaces-Teachers-Council
    • Rogue Trooper 26.1

      1 November 2013 at 5:42 pm

      who has backed down from challenging the illegality findings of her conduct over Phillipstown School 😀 Have A Nice Day
      • Mary 26.1.1

        2 November 2013 at 7:42 pm

        Yes, but she’s cottoned on to simply going back and doing things again, probably with the view of doing things properly this time but still reaching the same result. Parata’s making the mistake, however, of only going back to do the bits the High Court said they did wrong. Mai Chen called her out by pointing to the fact that doing this ignores the changes that have happened in relation to the other areas the High Court didn’t say were handled wrongly. This still leaves it open to argue later that the further consultation was flawed because it wouldn’t be a completely accurate picture of circumstances now, only in parts, because it would assume nothing had changed since the first consultation, and would essentially mean that the second consultation was not proper consultation at all. Just like last time.

        Lots in fact has changed, including pupil numbers going through the roof. If Parata had half a brain she’d see this as an opportunity to make political capital by accepting that “the people have spoken and this National government listens to people. We’ve listened to the people of Phillipstown and we believe that they need their school. We have been convinced by their unfaltering loyalty to their community and that this is the right decision to make. This is an example of democracy in action, and this National government is about democracy. We listen to the people!”

        There’s everything for Parata and the government to lose by retaining her bullying approach to all of this. At the same time there’s everything to gain, politically, by backing away from the original stance citing consultation and the democratic process. If the government did this it would of course be a total PR sham because this government does not believe in democracy. But if it were smart it would do this. It’s probably the prudent thing to do now anyway now that student numbers have increased by so many – another reason Parata can point to for allowing Phillipstown to keep its school, that “the situation has now changed in a way that government had not envisaged at the time of the original decision.”

        Part of me wants Parata to try to steamroll over everything here so that it adds to the bag of ammunition that’s going to ensure the downfall of this hateful government. But that’s not good for Phillipstown. If Parata and the government knew what was good for them then they’d too make sure that Phillipstown kept their school.
    • gobsmacked 26.2

      1 November 2013 at 5:55 pm

      And there you go again …

      W. Oil posts, and 5 minutes later, you copy. We can set our watches to you.

      Do you have an original thought in your head, Chris?
      • felix 26.2.1

        1 November 2013 at 6:26 pm

        He’s just doing his job.
        • McFlock 26.2.1.1

          1 November 2013 at 7:50 pm

          the tories do seem to have an awful lot of self-proclaimed pr experts… perhaps they should hire some competent policy analysts?
    • Not Another Sheep 26.3

      5 November 2013 at 3:17 am

      Parata is challenged by a question on Te Karere ( 4/11) on this issue of will a name change prevent CSA? You could see just a little flash of trepidation as she knows what’s coming ….

      Councils, Boards, the best of experts, sorting machines cannot make any CSA- er openly declare on any form or in any interview say ” yeah, I’m a KF er.” .

      Believing that this Council name and member change is really about stopping paedophiles …?
      or is about the issue of child sex abuse?

      KF-ers are not an homogenous group defined by any one variable, gender, ethnicity, age, sex, profession, look…stereotype. And unsafe for anyone to think otherwise (or suggest to others to think there is) when aiming to keep children safe.
      CSA Perpetrators are not paedophiles because they are teachers, priests, nuns, politicians the ones that grab shock news headlines; they are perpetrators because they want to be KF-ers; male and female !!!

      Parata is not a simpleton that she believes the new “Council” can sniff a child predator out. But she thinks the public simpletons will believe this line !

      CSA is a timely excuse for her to implement an already pre-planned move for the States ‘new vision’, a distraction whereby she is shamelessly using the abuse of children and subversively deflecting blame this time on teachers [All of them?] to further exert control on education and educators. These moves have been underway since 2010 under Nacts watch.

      Green papers, white papers, Parata toilet paper YET
      coming VERY soon to a news channel near you……wait for it, the next lot of victims
27. karol 27

    1 November 2013 at 6:16 pm

    Aha! I now get Al Jazeera English 24/7 on my Freeview TV! That’s something because it has some good docos. So now Freeview isn’t looking so bare, with Maori TV, a little sport, a little Choice, as Lindsay Shelton says….. pity we still don’t have TVNZ7 and that regional TV is being sidelined.
28. Draco T Bastard 28

    1 November 2013 at 6:58 pm

    Referendum poll: 69.3% against partial state asset sales

    A poll using the question being asked in the November-December referendum finds 69.3% will vote against partial sale of state assets.

    Still around 70% oppose asset sales which means that Key and National are selling our assets solely at the behest of the minority.
29. Draco T Bastard 29

    1 November 2013 at 8:16 pm

    And it nows appears that The Economist is waking up to the way that banks create money:

    This is not capitalism, [Duncan] suggests, but “creditism”. It is this system which has broken down, and unless you understand it, you will not be able to fix it.
30. RedBaronCV 30

    1 November 2013 at 10:03 pm

    Just noticed this donation from the Canterbury Earthquake Appeal Trust.

    Quake-funds-for-Hagley-Oval
    and clicked on a few more links. Interesting.

    It was the main fund to donate to Canterbury and donations could be either tagged or not. It has spent about $80m out of $100m so far.Of the $80m spent around $12m was tagged funds that could only be spent as the donor directed.

    The spending is interesting.
    Cricket and rugby have had $8m in total around 15% of the untagged funds spent.

    Youth and education scored about $3m, lots of small grants that I hope made a real difference and $0.25m to rebuild a library which I would have thought was covered by the Council insurance.

    Hardship Spiritual and Faith $9m. Again a lot of tagged funds to mostly mainstream charities doing on the ground work and rebuilding a couple of community centers -needed- but again why not the council? Did they not want to give a donation to the council in case it provoked too many questions so did a bit here, a bit there?

    And a few items which looked like they should have been central govt funding – $0.23m to the retirement commissioner to fund legal advice to red zone residents. WTF
    Now the legal advice surely was necessary but is this what the donors would have intended? Money to fend off the govt?

    Heritage and culture $14.2m to rebuild the arts centre clock tower and grand hall

    I dunno. I struggle to see why professional sport has managed to scoop so much of the untagged funds. I struggle to see why so many needed counsellors are funded by charity not central govt and why needed community centres didn’t come out of the council budgets. Is the Chch city council being directd by central govt to spend its funds on other things?
31. ak 31

    1 November 2013 at 11:21 pm

    Good God. It’s official. As if any further proof that we abide in the twilight zone of utter and complete morono-tory domination of media was needed, they’re bringing back Paul Henry. Failed, rejected, talentless right-wing hack; revolting, repulsive, hatemongering filth of the most extreme order, paid zillions to further molest innocent sensibilities. Please, someone, find out who made this decision. Name and address please.

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