Good Day to Bury News

Written By: - Date published: 11:18 am, December 14th, 2010 - 25 comments
Categories: Economy, Media, national, privatisation - Tags: ,

So Pansy’s gone.

That should mean we can breeze over the fact that thanks to National’s economic policies (or lack thereof) the economy’s gone to custard.  And thanks to National’s tax cuts for the rich, the government’s books are in the poo.

We certainly won’t get to hear anything about the fact that our first prison has gone private.

Poverty hurting children’s health?  It’s gone, we can only cover so many bad things…

Maybe we can come back to some of the other things tomorrow?  Or is that too much to hope for…

25 comments on “Good Day to Bury News ”

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  1. Pascal's bookie 1
    14 December 2010 at 11:32 am

    Speaking of news falling through the cracks:

    http://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/140144/shock-nz-corruption-level

    A global survey has revealed an “alarming” level of corruption in New Zealand, with 4% of respondents admitting to paying a bribe in the past year.

    Transparency International’s (TI) 2010 survey also showed that 73% New Zealanders thought corruption had increased over the past three years.

    The level of bribery uncovered in the survey was significantly worse than countries we usually compare well against, with 2% of Australian respondents admitting to paying a bribe in the past year and 1% percent of Britons.

  3. Colonial Viper 3
    14 December 2010 at 12:20 pm

    Hillside Workshops lose Trains to China

    (I put this under open mike as well)

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/4456359/KiwiRail-misses-out-on-wagon-bid

    More bad news they are trying to bury under Wong’s body

    Wait…does Wong know anyone at the Chinese train outfit?

  4. Rob 4
    14 December 2010 at 1:27 pm

    Didn’t occur to me they would just save Pansy till they had something else they wanted to publish…

  5. Bill 5
    14 December 2010 at 1:58 pm

    Here’s a very quick overview of Serco, the guys who’ve just tendered for Auckland Central Remand Prison. They’re big. Very big.

    1200% growth since 1994.
    The CEO puts their success down to ‘listening to God’.
    They increased prison capacity in one facility by 20% by putting beds in the toilets.
    They manage the UK’s nuclear arsenal.
    They run all of Australia’s detention centres.
    They are the biggest air traffic control company in the world and run Baghdad airport.
    85% of their work force are ex-public sector.
    They have a presence on every military base in Oz.

    And so on.

    They’ve been accused of profiteering, beating up inmates who subsequently kill themselves…

    And they are accountable to us, how? Oh, that’s right. They’re not.

    • Colonial Viper 5.1
      14 December 2010 at 2:00 pm

      I can’t believe that we are outsourcing our prisons to multinational corporates.

      • Bill 5.1.1
        14 December 2010 at 2:17 pm

        And they run airports and schools and traffic systems and dole to work schemes plus a whole lot more. Can’t see how to view them as anything other than a private entity Government sucking up tax revenues to generate profit through the conduit of democratically elected government.

        And that company’s foot is now in the door in NZ… if it hasn’t silently slipped right on in already.

      • Rob 5.1.2
        14 December 2010 at 2:32 pm

        I know it is ridiculous.

      • Bill 5.1.3
        14 December 2010 at 2:36 pm

        Gets worse. Went to the serco homepage and came across this 2010 presentation from Ruth Richardson…”this lecture from the former New Zealand Finance Minister discusses how to reform the way government works and considers both the scope of government and the importance of a vibrant private sector. UK”

        A ‘must’ read. Sickening but hey…

        Let me acknowledge at the outset the influence of the Brash Taskforce in the way in which I have chosen on this occasion to organise and present my long and strongly held views on the reform imperatives. The report is a compelling read and is one of the first fruits of the Coalition Agreement between the National and Act parties in NZ.

        I confess to having had a hand in the writing of that agreement.

        That’s my emphasis ’cause, well….what the fuck was she doing having input in the coalition agreement?

        Sorry. Wrong link. Richardson’s (cough) lecture is here… http://www.serco.com/instituteresource/subjects/publicsectorreform/govstructures/Index.asp

        • Pascal's bookie 5.1.3.1
          14 December 2010 at 2:39 pm

          That clause about ACT getting money, from budgets unknown, to pay for ‘research’…

          • Bill 5.1.3.1.1
            14 December 2010 at 3:04 pm

            Missed that. Where?

            • Pascal's bookie 5.1.3.1.1.1
              14 December 2010 at 5:17 pm

              http://www.act.org.nz/files/agreement.pdf

              Page 3

              To enable ACT to make a substantive contribution to the government’s programme, it will have adequate access to funding, in a bulk form or for specific projects, to enable it to commission contract research or other consultancy assistance. The terms of such funding will be a matter for the Leadership Council to decide.

  6. BLiP 6
    14 December 2010 at 3:50 pm

    Serco – the largest UK company you’ve never heard of . . .

    • Draco T Bastard 6.1
      14 December 2010 at 6:39 pm

      You can’t screw over the public effectively if they know anything about you. This is also the only reason I can think of for the commercial sensitivity that this government keeps covering their arse with in regards to all the secret negotiations.

  7. Draco T Bastard 7
    14 December 2010 at 6:45 pm

    Company to run Auckland prison “linked to violence”

    Overseas prisons run by the company that has been chosen to manage Mt Eden Auckland Central Remand Prison have been linked to violence and overcrowding, the Green Party says.

    Privatisation
 of 
Parklea

    Serco 
runs 
several 
private 
prisons
 in
 the
UK,
including 
Ashfield
 Young 
Offenders
 Institution,
which
 has
 been
 labelled
 the
 most 
violent 
prison 
in 
the 
UK.



    It was inevitable that once NACT announced privatisations of the prison system that we’d end up with one that doesn’t come close to maintaining standards. The idiots only ever decide by price and so would have chosen the cheapest.

    BTW, has the contract been publicly aired yet or is it still under commercial sensitivity?

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