Daily review 31/03/2021

Written By: - Date published: 5:30 pm, March 31st, 2021 - 26 comments
Categories: Daily review - Tags:

Daily review is also your post.

This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day.

The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Don’t forget to be kind to each other …

26 comments on “Daily review 31/03/2021 ”

  1. Ad 1

    OK so this is the Minister of Transport's way of starting the Auckland light rail project again:

    https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA2103/S00242/next-steps-for-auckland-light-rail.htm

    He has announced a working group, which may report back by the end of the year.

    No route. No funding. No consent strategy let alone a consent or even call-in proposal. No delivery vehicle or procurement path. No state entity funding. No operator. No design or apparent use of previous designs. No service level aimed at for patrons.

    This follows this government's pattern from their first term that continued this term: form a working group around Christmas in whatever the policy field and talk in a circle until it goes stale (health governance, education, farming, electricity, welfare, child poverty, water governance, tourism, you name it) and then just before another public holiday take it round the back and bury it.

    • David 1.1

      With a bit of luck and a favourable wind we might actually get another working group report delivered in the timeframeAdern promised an actual tram with actual tracks was meant to be delivered.

      And then the Minister will stand there and trumpet delivery of a report as an actual achievement.

      This governments weekly non-announcements are the best entertainment going.

      • weka 1.1.1

        please check the spelling on your name and email when commenting.

      • alwyn 1.1.2

        "With a bit of luck and a favourable wind we might"

        As that wonderful Australian movie "The Castle" would have put in, in the inimitable accent of Michael playing the part of Darryl Kerrigan.

        Tell him he's dreamin'.

        I wouldn't hold your breath matey.

    • David 1.2

      With a bit of luck and a favourable wind we might actually get another working group report delivered in the timeframe Adern promised an actual tram with actual tracks was meant to be delivered.

      And then the Minister will stand there and trumpet delivery of a report as an actual achievement.

      This governments weekly non-announcements are the best entertainment going right now.

      Now we just need to wait for the straight face defence of this announcement on TS.

      • Nic the NZer 1.2.1

        "This governments weekly non-announcements are the best entertainment going right now."

        Have you tried starting a hobby?

      • Jester 1.2.2

        Yes what happened to that "year of delivery"?

  2. weka 2

    been awol, what have I missed?

  3. greywarshark 3

    Tau Henare and other Maori striding across the firmament like the bigmouth Pauls, Henry and Holmes, need to think about language and not just Te Reo.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018789885/just-bugger-off-tau-henare-tells-ports-of-auckland-boss-after-damning-report

    The remark from TH about Ports of Auckland bosses may feel justified and very satisfactory to say. But the fact is that Maori are asking, demanding, more respect for themselves and their concerns. If we pakeha said some Maori should bugger off for being unsatisfactory or worse, it wouldn't wash. And whatever the problem, it isn't helped by casual bad language in a public way. Saying it to your mates or during a confidential meeting perhaps but not in front of media sure to report it.

    • Pat 3.1

      He had a good point however when he pointed out someone could do a better job for 1-200 K a year instead of a million or so.

    • Obtrectator 3.2

      TH has "form" for that kind of thing. He was present when some TV types tried to quiz Tuku Morgan about the (in)famous $89 underwear. They were told – on film – to "p*** off!".

    • Treetop 4.1

      What part are property managers playing when it comes to a rent rise?

      For a start the landlord does not need to deliver the bad news. The property agency get their cut. The tenant realises that not a lot can be done to challenge the rent rise as the market sets the rent.

      The government will pay in the end for emergency and transitional housing and lost votes.

    • Jester 4.2

      Unfortunately as expected, there will be a lot more of this happening. The once a year increase that landlords are allowed, they will increase by as much as they can to cover the extra costs imposed by Grant Robertson. Grant did say if the landlord increased the rent by too much, the tenant should look elsewhere….which was a pretty dumb comment. Grant will need to look at controls on rent increases now in my opinion.

    • KSaysHi 4.3

      The government needs to put a limit on the amount rent can be hiked IMMEDIATELY before this takes place nationwide. Not a rent freeze, but a percentage limit of increase that will slow everything down.

      The alternative will be that we will run out of emergency accommodation and pensioners like this will end up in unthinkable situations.

  4. joe90 5

    Must be those junior staffers.

    /

    Premier Steven Marshall is being asked to explain Labor claims that personal information collected from a State Government website was later used to send unsolicited political emails from his Liberal Party email account.

    Labor says it conducted a two-month investigation into data harvesting concerns raised by members of the public, and this showed a person who submitted their details to an SA Health website later began receiving emails from Mr Marshall’s Liberal Party account.

    Labor is trying to convince the five lower house crossbenchers to vote with them to seize a parliamentary majority and force an inquiry.

    This would centre on the claim that a pristine email account suddenly received the four unsolicited political emails after that email address was entered into the SA Health website.

    https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/labor-demands-inquiry-over-revelation-state-government-redirects-voters-via-liberal-party-site-sparking-fears-of-data-harvesting/news-story/babcfac9a2e62c82227a419a54b8eb05

  5. Chris T 6

    Probably nothing but this seems slightly dodge on the surface, from what is reported.

    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/03/father-of-teenager-killed-at-pike-river-says-andrew-little-is-trying-to-scare-families-into-silence.html

    "But her minister responsible for Pike River wants families to stop talking about that publicly, warning that they could jeopardise the police case.

    Newshub has obtained a recording of Little meeting some of the families, suggesting if people speak out they might not get justice.

    "It has the potential to undermine the prosecution," Little can be heard saying.

    "What I find personally annoying about some of the recent public statements is that here's the police trying to get on with the job and do the best they can to get the evidence they need from the ventilation fan and there are other people going around and saying that's not good enough. That has a real potential to undermine the prosecution case.""

    • Treetop 6.1

      Not going further into the mine is a big blow for the families. This would not be easy to come to terms with. Trusting the legal process to give answers diligence is required by the investigators. I do hope that reentry into the mine drift gives some answers.

  6. Anker 7
    • Little said the same thing about Grace Milanese murder trial. He’s a lawyer so likely knows what he is talking about
    • Chris T 7.1

      How could what the families criticise the govts recovery mission possibly influence an investigation into the actual event?

      He might want to come up with some reasoning, because if true, it sounds bollocks.

      • McFlock 7.1.1

        If someone says out of frustration that "a defective spacely sprocket has been found but it was certified as A1 condition by G Jetson, we need to find all the other sprockets quality-assured by Jetson" and some breathless commentariat does a two minute prime-time piece to camera about it, George Jetson can argue the media has spiked his chance to a fair trial resulting from his incorrect paperwork.

  7. KSaysHi 9

    This is a disturbing story of a Chinese Consulate looking very out of place with a air of intimidation with 3 meter high fences/walls in a quiet Adelaide neighbourhood. It has ten staff, the only other foreign consulates in South Australia have 1 (Italy) or 2 (Greece), Coincidentally the Consulate is close to where the Australians are building naval vessels.