Written By: - Date published: 12:03 pm, October 19th, 2009 - 7 comments
Last week, David Parker asked Nick Smith what the “whole-of-life cost to ACC of all new claims” for the last year were. Smith’s answer surprised everyone because it made no sense. He told us that claims made last year alone would cost $7 billion over their lifes. If that were really so, ACC’s liablities would […]
Written By: - Date published: 9:23 am, October 19th, 2009 - 13 comments
A fascinating interview with the Sir Owen Woodhouse in the Herald today. Sir Owen has led an amazing life – after helping supply Yugoslav partisans fighting the Nazis, he rose through the ranks of our judiciary becoming a Privy Councillor and President of the Court of Appeal, and is still going strong at 93. His most enduring achievement, […]
Written By: - Date published: 6:53 am, October 19th, 2009 - 15 comments
The current National led government clearly regards the processes of democracy is an inconvenience to which it must pay lip service, but nothing more. The first signs appeared very early, with repeated abuse of the mechanism of urgency. This got to the point that even their fans at The Herald were moved to rebuke them: […]
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, October 19th, 2009 - 20 comments
We’re trying a daily “Open mike”. This is a place for anyone to post comments on topics that might be of interest, and for any discussion following up on the comments. Over to you…
Written By: - Date published: 9:33 pm, October 18th, 2009 - 30 comments
As I scanned the stuff website I came across the latest TV3 poll results. Scarcely what I’d regard as cheerful Sunday night reading (National on 59.9%, Labour 27.2%, Greens 6.9% ). But upon reading Duncan Garner’s blog I decided that while the sea change might not be happening now the signs are there that it […]
Written By: - Date published: 4:23 pm, October 18th, 2009 - 14 comments
The Sunday Star-Times details hitherto secret proposals from the John Judge-chaired ACC to cut back entitlements and increase user-pays. The hidden agenda: Introduce a $100 excess on every claim. Reduce income compensation from 80% to 70% after one year and 60% after two. Impose a two-year limit on compensation for soft tissue injuries, such as […]
Written By: - Date published: 3:34 pm, October 18th, 2009 - 13 comments
Two readers offer their reflections on our collective reaction to the Aisling Symes tragedy: The Best of Us, The Worst of Us, revealed in Aisling Symes Tragedy Sadly the body of Aisling Symes has been discovered and the means of her tragic death are understood. During this time of grief and outpouring of public support […]
Written By: - Date published: 3:22 pm, October 18th, 2009 - 13 comments
I think I might have joined the dots in what it is that is causing me such unease about the arrival of Crime Stoppers. Sure, there’s the whole ‘Big Brother’ thing as citizens are rewarded for anonymously spying on their neighbours, colleagues and team mates, that whole Stasi dimension it brings to our communities, but […]
Written By: - Date published: 1:02 pm, October 18th, 2009 - 9 comments
Len Brown seems to have the Right in a bit of panic. Remuera Mayor John ‘in your guts you know he’s nuts’ Banks is speculating that Brown’s already toted up $150-$200k of campaign spending. Banks has always been screwy but he seems to have just made this up. That hasn’t stopped acolytes like Farrer from […]
Written By: - Date published: 12:33 pm, October 18th, 2009 - Comments Off on Protests against cuts to sexual abuse cover
[Pulling the following comment from Toad in Open Mike up to the front page.] If you are in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch or Dunedin tomorrow, please try to find the time to support the protests against ACC’s proposed cuts to sexual abuse cover and therapy. There are protests organised for this Monday 19th October: AUCKLAND: Meet […]
Written By: - Date published: 7:59 am, October 18th, 2009 - 43 comments
I had a free education. Most of the politicians in this and recent parliaments had a free education. More recent students have not been so lucky. Student loans are a 10 Billion dollar burden on the young. It’s crazy – the state spends all this money to educate people in NZ, and as part of […]
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, October 18th, 2009 - 4 comments
We’re trying a daily “Open mike”. This is a place for anyone to post comments on topics that might be of interest, and for any discussion following up on the comments. Over to you…
Written By: - Date published: 4:35 pm, October 17th, 2009 - 6 comments
The Guardian reports today under the headline “Crisis looms in Kabul over Karzai election results:” Frantic diplomacy under way as report looks set to give Afghan president less than 50% of the vote, forcing run-off. Karzai’s share of the vote is expected to drop to below 50% as a result of the inquiry, forcing a […]
Written By: - Date published: 2:19 pm, October 17th, 2009 - 10 comments
If we’re to believe National’s version of events, Pita Sharples kept secret from his colleagues that he was going to take $3 million from a contestable Te Puni Kokiri (TPK) fund meant for job initiatives and give it to Maori TV (MTS) to subsidise their World Cup bid. When it became a big story Sharples apologised […]
Written By: - Date published: 1:08 pm, October 17th, 2009 - 36 comments
Fran O’Sullivan’s piece today tries to resurrect the ‘Key=Obama’ line for some reason. She even refers to Obama as Key’s ‘alter ego’. I’m not quite sure she understands what the term means. Alter egos are like ying and yang, contrasting parts of the same whole. Does she think they’re one person with different personas at […]
Written By: - Date published: 12:21 pm, October 17th, 2009 - 24 comments
Last night on TV3’s 7 Days panelist Jeremy Elwood described John Key as “New Zealand’s very own Ned Flanders without a moustache.” Ned’s a pretty complex character, with quite a lot of suppressed rage and a dark side that makes his hyper-cheerful niceness actually more of a necessary coping device than an optional expression of […]
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, October 17th, 2009 - 16 comments
Key looks like a PM under pressure. He’s started lashing out at random – never a good sign. It happened while discussing Melissa Lee’s repayment of $80,000 of taxpayer’s money that she had somehow managed to forget that she had. (Yes I know – that sort of thing happens to me all the time too.) […]
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, October 17th, 2009 - 6 comments
We’re trying a daily “Open mike”. This is a place for anyone to post comments on topics that might be of interest, and for any discussion following up on the comments. Over to you…
Written By: - Date published: 5:09 pm, October 16th, 2009 - 25 comments
I’ve been meaning to post on the emergence of Crimestoppers in New Zealand for a few days now. While some might say it’s a nasty and divisive idea funded by a dodgy Tory and likely to encourage a fascistic culture of mistrust if anyone ever takes it seriously, I certainly wouldn’t. In fact I welcome […]
Written By: - Date published: 5:00 pm, October 16th, 2009 - 10 comments
Hundreds of hospitals workers from all over the country took protest action against National’s wage freeze today. Here’s a photo from the picket line: The workers passed a resolution calling for a 24 hour mass protest stoppage in November involving as many public sector workers as possible. With Parliamentary Services and the Ministry of Justice […]
Written By: - Date published: 2:22 pm, October 16th, 2009 - 16 comments
While we’re all aghast over Nick Smith’s shambolic handling of ACC and his ‘people are killing themselves for cash’ comments, let’s not forget he’s also making a total botch up of climate change policy too. As Marty discovered, National’s ETS will cost us $73 billion in added debt by 2050 and it’s being rushed through […]
Written By: - Date published: 2:00 pm, October 16th, 2009 - 8 comments
Police have ended their investigation in National MP Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi’s immigration scam after the principal accuser left the country in mysterious circumstances. In Parliament, Pete Hodgson read a sworn statement by Darshan Singh Saran which says that Bakshi and his associates were involved first in an immigration scam, and then in trying to silence […]
Written By: - Date published: 12:30 pm, October 16th, 2009 - 2 comments
The other day on Red Alert, Chris Hipkins related an interesting story about how National’s last round of State House sales went awry: Recently I went to visit a state house tenant in their home to talk about some problems they had been having with Housing New Zealand. They wanted their home heating and insulation […]
Written By: - Date published: 11:03 am, October 16th, 2009 - 8 comments
The Herald posts this clip from Parliament entitled “Nick Smith under fire for ACC bungling”. Nice catch from Darren Hughes at the end. What a shambolic lot.
Written By: - Date published: 10:24 am, October 16th, 2009 - 40 comments
The other day, John Key said “ACC’s investment portfolio had not been working well”. Now, if there’s one golden rule regarding people with power it’s never take what they say for granted. And that’s never been more true than with this Prime Minister. So, I took a look at ACC’s annual report (Colin Espiner et […]
Written By: - Date published: 9:26 am, October 16th, 2009 - 22 comments
One of the most dishonest, yet most successful tactics of National in opposition was to rant on and on about the “Nanny state”. Here’s John Key fairly foaming at the mouth: I’ve had nine years of being told what lightbulb I can screw into the house, what shower I can take, what food I can […]
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, October 16th, 2009 - 32 comments
We’re trying a daily “Open mike”. This is a place for anyone to post comments on topics that might be of interest, and for any discussion following up on the comments. Over to you…
Written By: - Date published: 4:11 am, October 16th, 2009 - 30 comments
Colin, I think we need to discuss your work: the conspiracy theory peddled by Labour and the EPMU (i.e. Labour) that somehow this is all just a VRWC to derail the ACC, lower public confidence in it, and then sell it to the highest (or any) bidder just doesn’t ring true for me. Don’t you […]
Written By: - Date published: 8:19 pm, October 15th, 2009 - 4 comments
Far from being a careful steward of ratepayers’ money and someone who takes pride in his city, Auckland mayor John Banks is allowing parts of the CBD to slide. Less than two years ago Banks’ council spent $1.5 million upgrading the central Auckland lane Swanson Street. Yet far from being some kind of urban oasis, […]
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 pm, October 15th, 2009 - 5 comments
The debate will feature an outstanding lineup of: Darren Hughes MP, Cr Cathy Casey, Bevan Woodward, Jonathan Hunt, Jacinda Ardern MP and Cr Grant Gillon. It’s being held at the Northcote Birkenhead Rugby Club on friday night. Doors open at 7pm, debate starts at 7.30pm. There will be cheap drinks and snacks provided. This is […]
Written By: - Date published: 4:23 pm, October 15th, 2009 - 33 comments
It seems National has a problem with numbers. First they fudge the numbers for ACC so they can claim a “blow out” and now they can’t even get the numbers to pass their legislation. You heard correctly. After all of that hoopla about how ACC is in crisis and how they need to strip entitlements […]
Recent Comments