Open mike 02/08/2012

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, August 2nd, 2012 - 206 comments
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Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to Policy in the banner).

Step right up to the mike…

206 comments on “Open mike 02/08/2012 ”

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  1. BillODrees 1
    2 August 2012 at 7:45 am

    Chris Trotter has some thoughtful comment on aspects of Labour’s policies. 

    “For all those tax-payers born after 1966, however, Labour’s policies on NZ Superannuation, Kiwisaver and a CGT may well result in a reduction of living-standards.”

    “Why, then, does Labour persist with these business-friendly, Rich List-cossetting policies? Why not adopt fiscal measures more in keeping with its social-democratic principles? ”

    Read it in full at
    http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.co.nz/

     
    • Carol 1.1
      2 August 2012 at 8:01 am

      [Sigh]. Labour still has yet to get my support. It seems like a dead party walking. There are some very good people in Labour’s ranks – Sue Moroney, Nania Mahuta, Cunliffe etc. But the top ranks of the MPs need to be cleaned out, and some new blood allowed through (Shearer is old blood masquerading as new blood).

      I guess we really need to nurture a strong left grass roots (non-party aligned) movement articulating real left policies – and that would be more left than Trotter’s favoured social democracy. I envisage this as a network of groups with their own focus. The network could be co-ordinated by some joint actions and meetings focused on specific issues. This would need a communications network -like Global Peace and Justice:

      http://gpjanz.wordpress.com/

      • Pete George 1.1.1
        2 August 2012 at 8:05 am

        But the top ranks of the MPs need to be cleaned out, and some new blood allowed through

        Should have been done last term, but with fewer MPs it they have just concentrated the old dross.

        A cleanup now can’t be done until 2014. Tread water until then? Or keep slowly sinking?

        • Te Reo Putake 1.1.1.1
          2 August 2012 at 8:16 am

          🙄

          • Tigger 1.1.1.1.1
            2 August 2012 at 8:21 am

            With you Carol. The caucus is to blame, of course. They voted in the leaders. Can’t help but think if it was the Cunliffe/Mahuta ticket that had won we would see a different Labour.

            • muzza 1.1.1.1.1.1
              2 August 2012 at 9:08 am

              Its like saying, that when Obama and Key won their respective elections, the direction of the country was going to change for the better…

              Some knew that was never going to be true, and many fell for it.

              Same would apply to your wishful thinking!

            • prism 1.1.1.1.1.2
              2 August 2012 at 9:11 am

              Not to worry. Labour has had the moment of triumph which it seems to feel is most important – Trevor Mallard doing his excellent rant at John Banks and putting him on the spot. That’s it for the quarter June-Sept. I don’t think that anything significant and useful can now be expected to happen in Labour till next quarter so we can all go back to our pasttimes, meantime.

              I think the trouble is that Labour views parliament as a proxy for the country and so a win there as Opposition is achieving something and showing the flag etc. This is despite discussion and condemnation on this blog and elsewhere. I think that entrenched groupthink rules! Memories of Helen and what she achieved – what was her recipe? Hold on while we write all the ingredients down, then tick off the boxes as we follow her practices. Nice Labour fruit cake anyone. Hock it off at stalls in the provinces as a fundraiser – you can rely on the hard workers there to carry on supporting us while we carry on ignoring and undermining them.

              Where is the evidence of all the great communication we know is around? Why aren’t Labour getting good signals? They seem no better informed about the country and people’s concerns and ideas than in their earliest days. Perhaps Labour is behind the defeat of the new cable through lack of interest and investment in getting it as it would improve communications and opportunities in NZ and put some steel in our spine. But no, NZ Labour is of the type that can only get excited about some old chap wearing other people’s medals and his grand malfeasance of $63.20. Just milk and water and wine, no substance. And they aren’t even ensuring continuance of our water and milk. Soon Labour will be nothing but an empty wine bladder – what is the favourite tipple – chardonnay? Can this dross be recycled? Is it the right stuff?

              • Bill …
                2 August 2012 at 11:08 am

                Labour is now dominated by the old has been brigade…’true believers’ who simply cannot accept that the world has moved on from their glory days when they could soft peddle ‘rogernomics’ on NZ. I can almost picture them sitting in the pariamentary bar or wherever reminiscing on past glories and washing down bucket loads of ‘what’s, if’s and might have been’s’ with their favourite tipple.

                And when they’re not looking backwards, they are only capable of conniving to hang on to the tattered shell of power that fell into their hands come hell or high water. And it seems they’re quite good at that. First one of their number became leader in a fashion not a million miles removed from some sort of royal appointment. And that bought them enough time to get together like so many Gepetos and fashion themselves a wee Pinnochio. An interim measure before the next in their royal lineage (Robertson) assumed the mantle of leader. Oh, that’s right. The wheels kind of fell off that last royal carriage while it was on its way to the coronation. Fall back plan? Citadel the puppet behind an unassailable wall of 67% disapproval and get working on those wheel repairs.

                • Colonial Viper …
                  2 August 2012 at 11:22 am

                  Labour is now dominated by the old has been brigade…’true believers’ who simply cannot accept that the world has moved on from their glory days when they could soft peddle ‘rogernomics’ on NZ

                  You called it: you also implied correctly what has happened to the next generation – the young have been co-opted into the old-has been way of doing and looking at things. In other words, far too many of the new gen in the LabourParty are simply old gen outlooks in younger looking bodies.

        • tc 1.1.1.2
          2 August 2012 at 9:10 am

          Agree PG, it’s like an ageing board of directors doing everything to ensure they keep their comfy seats at the expense of the organisation.

        • Fortran 1.1.1.3
          2 August 2012 at 9:59 am

          Pete

          Tread water is probably the right answer. The Nats Coalition is sinking under the combined opposition pressures, well aided by the media.
          Opposition parties do not attain power but Governments lose power through continued inertia from as many oppositions as possible, and we currently have plenty.
          Under MMP the Nats, and hangers on, cannot get enough to seats to govern on their own.
          Whereas a Labour Greens Winston coalition can easily achieve the required numbers. All that is required is concerted pressures at every opportunity, which is currently under way.

          • bad12 1.1.1.3.1
            2 August 2012 at 10:21 am

            Where are you coming from,by the looks of that comment from deep in the bottom of a prozac bottle that is as empty of capsules as your wee rant is empty of the truth,

            National +John(the convicted)Banks,+ the ‘Hairdo from Ohariu’ = a majority in the House, the fact that they are floundering as the Government is simply a reflection of their abysmal policies, and, the abysmal little shyster they have as Leader who is so far gone that His decision making looks like a set of disco lights,

            Flick,this one day, flick,that another day…

          • Pete George 1.1.1.3.2
            2 August 2012 at 10:27 am

            Treading water isn’t enough (as they found out last election) – they have to be training up so they are seen as capable of doing a decent medley once they get the opportunity.

            Too many old salts don’t help

          • the pink postman 1.1.1.3.3
            2 August 2012 at 2:34 pm

            Fortran.
            Problem is NZF are really National with a Smile.They are more likely to support National . To be honest I would not be happy with them being with Labour . They consist of a lot of racist members.I realise they were part of the last Labour Government but that was under Helen and there are not many with the abilty she has. Anyway she packed him of abroad out of harms way.The country needs Labour Green government and for a long while .

      • Di 1.1.2
        2 August 2012 at 8:25 am

        I totally agree with you, Carol. I have voted always voted Labour but at present I am in total despair because the Labour Party seem to be chasing the middle-to-right vote and forgetting that they need to represent the left. Labour need to ask themselves the question: “What are the policies that will get the non-voters from last election into the polling booths to vote for Labour?”
        There are more than enough potential votes out there to be had but people need to be inspired. A charismatic leader would help and some decent policy. Labour’s National-lite policy induces the apathy that makes people from the left feel unrepresented and uninspired to vote.

        • Olwyn 1.1.2.1
          2 August 2012 at 8:42 am

          One of Trotter’s commentators, under the ‘anonymous’ title, said, “In NZ there is no incentive to take risks producing goods and services when you can engage in exploitation of the financially vulnerable.” This short sentence strikes at the heart of the problem. Seriously challenge this state of affairs and you frighten a decent portion of the middle class. Fail to challenge it and you cease to represent the financially vulnerable, who look to the left to represent them. Labour looks more and more as if it has been nobbled by financial interests, with Shearer as yet another Key-style stand-in. I note that in his questions and answers on Stuff he said that he did not intend to turn out to be parliament’s longest serving member.

          • just saying 1.1.2.1.1
            2 August 2012 at 8:51 am

            Rather than being a traitor to the left with his blogging and public commentating on this issue, it seems to me that he is still clinging hard to hope for a future for the party, and that he is actually unable to give up on it.

            • bad12 1.1.2.1.1.1
              2 August 2012 at 10:11 am

              Trotter though should have a deeper understanding of whats gone on with Labour in recent years,

              Hows that saying go, when your young your rebellious and left wing,but,once you get older and have responsibilities you become more right wing,

              When i look at Labour from a historical perspective going back to my childhood i can see how Labour represented the reality,aspirations and needs of my parents who had nothing,

              By nothing i mean 4 kids, 2 jobs,a State house and a few sticks of furniture,from there they went on to own the State house,shareholdings in various company’s,cars, and have regular up-dates of the substantial limps of furniture,

              Thats what modern Labour is representative and a reflection of, if at all ‘Socialist’,and, i am pretty sure i heard Helen Clark ditch the ‘Socialist’ in favor of the ‘Social Democrat’,it is the Socialism of,for, and,by the middle classes who in effect have moved in social position from 4 kids,2 jobs, and, a few sticks of furniture upon the basis of previous Socialism and now won’t tolerate the boat being rocked in any way,

              Unfortunately the new underclass have 4 kids,no jobs,a few sticks of furniture,and,no hope in the Labour Party that they can see or is being promoted from within the Parliament by the Party that offers to them any such path to a more comfortable life as what my,and, a whole generation of our parents were privy to,

              Labour, to the new underclass,(which Labour had a large hand in creating), are the status quo of the denial of their existence while in Government, a refusal to reverse National’s continual financial attacks upon them, and thus, simply the agents which empower the right in the form of National Governments to mount the financial attacks upon the new underclass…

          • just saying 1.1.2.1.2
            2 August 2012 at 9:02 am

            I note that in his questions and answers on Stuff he said that he did not intend to turn out to be parliament’s longest serving member.

            I’ve often wondered how committed Shearer is to politics. He came back to NZ after a really well paid and prestigous gig at the UN. What could he do that wouldn’t be a “step down” for an obviously ambitious man? Did he join the party before or after he was approached by party power brokers to discuss a possible career option? I can’t see Shearer joining any political party without such a motive. He’s just not that into politics

            Pity he didn’t get shoulder tapped by National really.

        • Pete George 1.1.2.2
          2 August 2012 at 8:43 am

          “What are the policies that will get the non-voters from last election into the polling booths to vote for Labour?”

          What if most of the non-voters who may vote for Labour with the right policy mix are from the centre?

          There seems to be assumptions that those who didn’t vote but might are leftish and would vote for Labour if only they had more leftish policies.

          Didn’t Labour try a bit more leftish last election?

        • Glg 1.1.2.3
          2 August 2012 at 9:09 am

          Labour voter born and raised I have gone Green Because Labour think they have to be Nat Lite so as Not to scare business. Well all they have managed to do is piss off all their liberal voters. I agree they need a good clean out, and let some of the young blood through.

      • ad 1.1.3
        2 August 2012 at 8:44 am

        God I’m struggling with this Labour lot at the moment.

        Norman did a great job with Brownlee in the House yesterday. Would be great to see a full-throated Greens-Labour anti-City-asset-sales mission arise out of it.

        Seriously imagine if Brownlee used his CEA powers to force asset sales.

        • ad 1.1.3.1
          2 August 2012 at 8:45 am

          Sorry. “… his CERA powers”

        • Pete George 1.1.3.2
          2 August 2012 at 8:51 am

          Russel Norman wants the rest of the country to pay a ‘levy’ (a tax) to help pay for the Christchurch rebuild as an alternative to selling some of their assets. At least he seems to understand the folly of borrowing even more to avoid selling asets.

          The rest of the country is already paying a lot to help Christchurch.

          • bad12 1.1.3.2.1
            2 August 2012 at 9:08 am

            🙄

          • McFlock 1.1.3.2.2
            2 August 2012 at 11:22 am

            🙄 on so many fucking levels

          • Vicky32 1.1.3.2.3
            2 August 2012 at 5:56 pm

            Russel Norman wants the rest of the country to pay a ‘levy’ (a tax) to help pay for the Christchurch rebuild as an alternative to selling some of their assets

            I would resent that very much indeed! Sympathy for Christchurch, yes, paying for them, no.
            I am interested in knowing what became of renters and flatters in Christchurch, but all I hear about is the middle class kiddies with houses and businesses.
            BTW, all the roll eyes smilies as replies to Pete George are juvenile and stupid. Much more disruptive than replying to him would be!

            • bad12 1.1.3.2.3.1
              2 August 2012 at 6:16 pm

              Yeah i know, i was never able to ‘grow up’ and my stupidity is only matched by my ugliness,

              Horses for courses ae, i find the smiley faces directed at that one both amusing and they make in my opinion a cleaner open mike and other posts where there is no longer the same circular debate occurring day after day without really imparting anything of substance…

            • Draco T Bastard 1.1.3.2.3.2
              2 August 2012 at 6:26 pm

              I would resent that very much indeed! Sympathy for Christchurch, yes, paying for them, no.

              The whole point of being in a community is that there’s someone there to help when needed. You seem to be against this concept.

            • felix 1.1.3.2.3.3
              2 August 2012 at 8:20 pm

              🙄

            • McFlock 1.1.3.2.3.4
              2 August 2012 at 8:21 pm

              Okay then. Easy to rebuild a city with sympathy.

      • Dr Terry 1.1.4
        2 August 2012 at 11:04 am

        Exactly Carol, I am right with you on all of your discerning comments and suggestions.

    • Draco T Bastard 1.2
      2 August 2012 at 1:27 pm

      Actual Link

      Some good questions but, other than that, a load of bollocks as he looks to the past to fix the problems caused by that past. He’s right that Labour are just National Lite now.

  2. Morrissey 2
    2 August 2012 at 8:04 am

    http://tvnz.co.nz/rugby-news/hansen-brushes-aside-sir-graham-s-match-fixing-suspicions-4994166
    Hansen brushes aside Sir Graham’s match fixing suspicions
    by DAVID SKIPWITH, Monday July 30, 2012 Source: ONE Sport

    All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has brushed aside some bizarre and unsupported match-fixing claims made in Sir Graham Henry’s biography.

    The allegations have caused a furore both here in New Zealand and around the world after Sir Graham claimed while watching a video review of the All Blacks’ quarter-final loss to France at the 2007 Rugby World Cup, he briefly suspected match-fixing played a part in the shock result.

    Speaking about the claims today, Hansen, who was an assistant to Sir Graham at the time, said it was time to let the issue rest.

    “Look, you’ve got to ask him about those things it’s irrelevant as far as I’m concerned, I’ve moved on. It’s 2012,” he said.

    Penned by rugby writer Bob Howitt, Graham Henry Final Word stops short of making the allegations concrete. Instead, the passage describes Henry’s emotions and thoughts in the aftermath of the loss, as he dealt with the tidal wave of disapproval from heartbroken and disillusioned New Zealand rugby followers.

    Howitt and the book’s publishers Harper Collins ran the controversial words past their lawyers with Howitt yesterday revealing some further portions have been removed from the final copy to avoid compromising their legal position.

    However, the comments sparked immediate attention from local and foreign media with Sunday Times correspondent and regular critic of New Zealand rugby, Stephen Jones, taking to Twitter to voice his scepticism.

    He, labelled the comments as a “Puke-making assault on Wayne Barnes by bitter Graham Henry”, while challenging the IRB to take action against the All Blacks’ 2011 World Cup winning coach.

    The sport’s governing body offered a tentative response saying only that the comments had been “noted” as speculation began to mount as to the nature and substance of any further retort from the IRB and Barnes.

    Brendan Gallagher, writing in Britain’s Daily Telegraph, mocked Sir Graham’s motives for voicing his suspicions, saying, “Hilarious Graham Henry trying to rewrite history”, mirroring the contempt held for 1995 All Blacks coach Laurie Mains’ accusations that food-poisoning derailed his side’s World Cup final against South Africa.

    Sir Graham said he was “physically ill” after watching a tape of the match and asserted how numerous match statistics were so skewed against his side that he felt the performance of match referee Wayne Barnes deserved closer inspection.

    His suspicions stemmed from the fact the All Blacks had enjoyed an overwhelming 73% territorial advantage in the match, winning 166 rucks to France’s 42 and made only 73 tackles compared with France’s 331, yet they had not been awarded a single penalty in the final 50 minutes of play.

    Publicly Henry refused to point the finger at Barnes’ performance but upon his return to New Zealand voiced his concerns to the New Zealand Rugby Union and the International Rugby Board and asked if there were any review systems in place. But he was told there were no such avenues available.

    Reaction here has included the suggestion that Sir Graham’s decision to speak out five years on from that fateful World Cup, less than a year after he found redemption with the All Blacks’ 2011 World Cup triumph over France, was inspired not so much through sour grapes but rather as a ploy to boost book sales.

    The book is available in stores today.

    • tc 2.1
      2 August 2012 at 9:19 am

      A cynical and stupid ploy to sell more books and doing the current regime no favours in the process.

      Careful Sir Graham or you’ll become a sad and cranky figure, which some say is accurate but winning a WC gives you some credit, don’t burn it trying to eek some extra dollars out of the rugby faithful.

      • Morrissey 2.1.1
        2 August 2012 at 10:13 am

        A cynical and stupid ploy to sell more books…

        I suspect this whole idea was not Henry’s but Bob Howitt’s. Henry has merely deferred to Howitt’s authority as a veteran rugby author and obediently mouthed Howitt’s words, despite the fact they are clearly nonsense.

        …and doing the current regime no favours in the process.

        The current regime immediately distanced themselves from Henry’s crank comments. Steve Hansen and Wayne Smith are far too diplomatic to actually refute them more forcefully.

        Careful Sir Graham or you’ll become a sad and cranky figure, which some say is accurate but winning a WC gives you some credit,

        Winning it like THIS gives him credit? ….

  3. Pascal's bookie 3
    2 August 2012 at 8:16 am

    Who reckons that a job like, for example, ‘Chair of the ACC’ would come with a work email account? Just in case things related to the job need to be discussed, and records kept of those discussions and the like.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10823956

    Damned inconvenient for poor old Mr Judge too, I have to say, that when he buys a new computer he loses access to his personal email account. he’s a busy guy. He must have lost a lot of important stuff with that computer.

    I think we just have to accept that we live in a post truth environment.

    • higherstandard 3.1
      2 August 2012 at 8:24 am

      Very odd indeed, I would have thought that emails while at a place of employment on their computer were the property of that place of employment.

      However, I’ve got a friend who’s high up in IT provision and support within the public service and he has suggested that it is unbelievably loose.

      • Pascal's bookie 3.1.1
        2 August 2012 at 8:29 am

        The claim seems to be that he didn’t have a work email account, so Collins forwarded the Boag email to his personal account. It then was leaked in a way damaging to Boag/Pullar, and then he got a new computer and lost his emails.

        Just bad luck I guess.

        • McFlock 3.1.1.1
          2 August 2012 at 11:29 am

          I’m just intrigued that his home computer is the only possible source for his emails – no servers or anything…

    • Tigger 3.2
      2 August 2012 at 8:25 am

      Wtf? Who wipes computers when there is an investigation going on? Oh that’s right, guilty people!

    • rosy 3.3
      2 August 2012 at 8:27 am

      I thought that saving data was one of the reasons organisations have networks with network backups. Silly me.

      • seeker 3.3.1
        2 August 2012 at 8:34 am

        First thought on reading the news,”Huh! Why am I not surprised?” Second thought, “Probably all organised by Judith Collins’ “get me out of this” team.

        • Murray Olsen 3.3.1.1
          2 August 2012 at 5:53 pm

          My immediate reaction was that Crusher is as desperate as she is thick. Any emails he sent will be backed up somewhere, as will any she sent. The GCSB doesn’t seem to have much to do that’s useful, why not unleash them on this one?

    • just saying 3.4
      2 August 2012 at 8:41 am

      From the article cited above:

      …But Ms Collins told the Herald last night that the email from Ms Boag was forwarded to Mr Judge’s personal and only email account…

      Very strange. This at least should be able to be proven one way or another. Check the email of the other top brass and see what address they sent emails to Judge to. It would be suspicious in itself he deliberately chose to work from a personal account that belonged to him, in preference to a work account for which he might be accountable.
      At what point did he stop using his work account, or did he never use it? Is that even legal under the circumstances, especially since a huge volume of privileged and highly personal private information seems to have become the private property of a personal email holder?

      Could the SFO office be lurking in the background?

      • Glg 3.4.1
        2 August 2012 at 9:03 am

        Wrong wrong. haven’t we learned from the Repubs in t.he USA started using private accounts to circumvent OI requests. I do not believe Judge had no work email. how can you work like that?

        • McFlock 3.4.1.1
          2 August 2012 at 11:37 am

          And McCully, of course.
                 
          Not idea why tory managers seem to have difficulty with multiple email accounts – their minions who turn up here don’t seem to have too much of a problem 🙂

    • Carol 3.5
      2 August 2012 at 8:42 am

      But also this;

      “In addition, I’ve now been advised that Mr Judge was given an iPad from ACC … and that iPad was wiped clean by Mr Judge’s computer expert before it was returned to ACC in June.”

      Looks like he was trying to hide something.

      These business-focused right-wingers – always much more efficient cos of their business background, than all those public-sector-nurtured lefties!

      • Jim Nald 3.5.1
        2 August 2012 at 8:54 am

        Hah! Natz business-like practice with a key bankster in charge?
        Is this the kind of modus operandi that smacks of Enron document-shredding scandal?

      • marty mars 3.5.2
        2 August 2012 at 9:25 am

        yes carol i noticed that sentence too. Very efficient at losing stuff, when they want to.

        • rosy 3.5.2.1
          2 August 2012 at 9:31 am

          collins benefits most though because they can’t rule out a leak from somewhere else.

          • marty mars 3.5.2.1.1
            2 August 2012 at 9:54 am

            yes rosy we are back to the “I know nothing” defence or maybe “it wasn’t me” – either way their tactics effectively block this avenue methinks.

    • Draco T Bastard 3.6
      2 August 2012 at 2:35 pm

      “In addition, I’ve now been advised that Mr Judge was given an iPad from ACC … and that iPad was wiped clean by Mr Judge’s computer expert before it was returned to ACC in June.”

      And that should definitely not have happened. It was a business computer and so having it erased is actually destroying business records.

    • deuto 3.7
      2 August 2012 at 2:36 pm

      Popcorn time – Ms Collins may have bitten off more than she can chew.

      John Judge’s response to her latest claims in the above Herald report – http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10824103

      Former ACC Chairman John Judge says ACC Minister Judith Collins’ claims he hampered an investigation into a the leak of a sensitive email are untrue and an attempt to “blacken” his name.
      …
      Mr Judge today said Ms Collins’ comments were “pathetic”.
      …
      But Mr Judge said Ms Collins was aware that he replaced his home computer before the Privacy Commissioner’s inquiry was announced.

      “Everything was transferred from my old computer to the new one anyway. It’s not like anything disappeared.”

      Furthermore, he was not able to receive emails on his ACC iPad anyway.

      He said Ms Collins “knew the truth” and was “just trying to blacken people”.

      From the little I know about Judge, he is not going to sit back and quietly let Collins get away with this.

      Also, I understand that forensic computer experts are able to recover deleted emails and other documents from computer hard drives etc (its their bread and butter work), so Collins’ claims don’t hold water IMO.

      • Colonial Viper 3.7.1
        2 August 2012 at 3:11 pm

        Also, I understand that forensic computer experts are able to recover deleted emails and other documents from computer hard drives etc (its their bread and butter work)

        And that’s why you use security software which overwrites your hard drive 10-20x with layers upon layers of random data. Takes days to do.

        • lprent 3.7.1.1
          2 August 2012 at 3:19 pm

          Takes days to do.

          Try doing a non-destructive surface test on a external USB 1TB drive. Lyn bounced one of her TimeMachine backup drives while it was running on the weekend. It has been running badblocks since monday night (do Mac’s have a surface scan application these days?).

          Was 94% through its first and only pass this morning. So far zero damage detected….

      • bad12 3.7.2
        2 August 2012 at 3:43 pm

        Luffly, get the Tory’s throwing each other off of the 16th floor, this is definitely turning into a new ‘blood sport’,

        Parliament could just about use the addition of a ‘cage’ on the floor of the House so we all get to watch live…

      • DH 3.7.3
        2 August 2012 at 5:03 pm

        “Also, I understand that forensic computer experts are able to recover deleted emails and other documents from computer hard drives etc (its their bread and butter work), so Collins’ claims don’t hold water IMO.”

        Take what they say with a grain of salt, that industry has some of the biggest bullshitters in the IT game. When data gets overwritten no forensic expert can recover it, a single pass zero-write is unrecoverable to all intents & purposes.

  4. vto 4
    2 August 2012 at 8:33 am

    More amuesment at the evidenced failure of right wing politics and their free market ideology has of course sprung from the well of broken Christchurch …

    Free market ideology, that the market knows best and results in the best results when left alone, was implemented through the Resource Managemenrt Act, among many others… The idea was that the free market, when left alone to develop, would provide the best solutions as demanded by the cnsumer.

    This ideology is still of course deeply ingrained and treasured by this National government and its disciples.

    So when it comes to the best ever opportunity to leave the free market up to development, such as rebuilding an entire city, and prove their beloved ideology true……… what do they do? Intervene with the most heavily centralised planning structure ever conceived. All conceived from central authority with not a skeric of free market approach.

    ha ha ha ha ha ha

    the right and business free market ideologies fail AGAIN

    • Carol 4.1
      2 August 2012 at 9:41 am

      Yes, vto. The neoliberal philosophy is just a front for doing whatever benefits the elite – a PR con-job while the elite accumulates and exercises more power and wealth for themselves.

  5. mickysavage 5
    2 August 2012 at 8:36 am

    The Government is proposing to change Local Government electoral laws so that donor trusts are outlawed.  Sounds like an EFA 2 type attack on democracy to me.  Shouldn’t there be riots in the streets and pictures of Banimarama approving the measure and all that sort of stuff? 

    • tc 5.1
      2 August 2012 at 9:26 am

      Moves to ensure they can swing the likes of Brewer or Fletcher back into the akl mayors chains.

    • McFlock 5.2
      2 August 2012 at 11:41 am

      I note they’re carefully keeping clear of applying a similar change to central government electoral laws …

  6. Carol 6
    2 August 2012 at 8:38 am

    The Herald has an article reporting that an article by some Auckland Uni academics claims that John key’s Sky City deal was against the law:

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10823966

    John Key’s SkyCity convention centre deal made a “mockery” of the law aimed at protecting people from the ill effects of gambling, according to an article in an international academic journal.

    The authors say the Prime Minister’s personal approach to SkyCity over the national convention centre was the “ultimate indicator” of the failure of the Gambling Act’s attempt to look after public health.
    […]
    “The scale of profits from high-intensity commercial gambling has an unpleasant way of penetrating most political systems.”
    […]
    Dr Adams said yesterday the Gambling Act was the legislative response to years of work in getting the health impact of gambling considered. “John Key’s gone ahead with the casino deal without embracing any of that.”

    This report supports the Green Party complaint made to the Auditory General, which is investigating the deal.

    John Key treats the government of the country as if it was a large corporation. He just does not care for the legal and democratic processes and cuts corners wherever he can.

    He needs to be held to account in a major way.

    • DH 6.1
      2 August 2012 at 10:33 am

      It could be said he’s broken the law. Relevant section of the Gambling Act;

      ___________
      11 No increase in casino gambling

      A person must not increase the opportunities for casino gambling.
      ___________

      12 What is increase in casino gambling

      (2) An increase in the opportunities for casino gambling includes but is not limited to—

      (a) an increase in the number of gaming machines unless the increase is accompanied by a reduction in the number of table games that the Casino Control Authority, or the Gambling Commission, believes is proportionate:
      ____________

      Key might be PM but in this context I’d think he would legally still be a person. He’s certainly not above the law.

  7. felix 7
    2 August 2012 at 8:55 am

    Parliament is sitting today at 2pm but DJ Johnny has something far more important to do than be held to account in a democratic institution.

    • Glg 7.1
      2 August 2012 at 9:05 am

      Is it Thursday? he only does 2 days in the house.

      • HG 7.1.1
        2 August 2012 at 9:20 am

        It is almost an unwritten rule that PMs dont make themselves available for Thursday’s question time. Clark certainly didn’t. They use Thursdays to get out and about.

        • felix 7.1.1.1
          2 August 2012 at 9:44 am

          Doing super important stuff.

          • Pete George 7.1.1.1.1
            2 August 2012 at 9:55 am

            There’s usually more than half the seats empty whenever I watch parliament TV, so a lot of MPs must have other super important stuff.

            It wouldn’t be hard to find more important stuff than a lot of the drivel that gets presented as ‘debate”.

            This one last night was an awful example: http://inthehouse.co.nz/node/14243

          • yeshe 7.1.1.1.2
            2 August 2012 at 10:17 am

            felix .. you realize the acronym for ‘super important stuff’ is SIS ?? Thx for the smiles.

            I am reminded once again of the Canadian comic visiting here a while ago — when told the name of our prime minister, he replied: ” John Key ? That what you ask for at a US gas station when you need to use the toilet !”

            What a tragedy for us all.

          • bad12 7.1.1.1.3
            2 August 2012 at 10:30 am

            Also known as, doing a runner…

        • Anne 7.1.1.2
          2 August 2012 at 9:57 am

          That’s right HG. Neither the prime-minister nor the leader of the opposition are present in the House on Thursdays. Been that way for years.

          • Carol 7.1.1.2.1
            2 August 2012 at 9:59 am

            But how many of them spend the time doing some DJ’ing on a trashy radio station programme?

        • Fortran 7.1.1.3
          2 August 2012 at 10:04 am

          HG

          But Key, Shearer and Winston are all in Samoa.

      • felix 7.1.2
        2 August 2012 at 9:25 am

        Yeah but that’s a convention followed because it’s expected that PMs have lots of other important PM stuff to do.

        Today Key is playing talkback host again. Which is so much more important than question time that he’s doing it at exactly the same time as question time.

        Neat eh?

        ps he had a day off yesterday too.

        • prism 7.1.2.1
          2 August 2012 at 9:32 am

          Oh hello Prime Minister. Raaleene here. Look I wondered what you use in your pool to keep it fresh? I’ve been trying that chlorine stuff and it turned us all green, our hair I mean because we are all blondes. Giggles.
          Well Raaleene. I’m sorry that can’t help you with that. I’m so busy giving talkback shows, overseas visits and so on that I have no time available for it and so have a little man to do that.

        • Anne 7.1.2.2
          2 August 2012 at 10:02 am

          In that case, why don’t the opposition MPs ring the talkback station and ask their questions of him there. That’d be funny. What to do? He couldn’t just hang up on David Shearer or Russell Norman or other senior pollies – could he?

          • prism 7.1.2.2.1
            2 August 2012 at 10:32 am

            Hey Anne That is creative thinking. Very creative thinking. Is there anyone alive in Labour who could do it? Probably Greens. Actual pollies trying to convey a question to the people-loving PM would soon get cut off, but get a cute Raaleene who would be a wolf in sheep’s clothing as in Trottter’s graphic, and some well put naive queries might knock the self-satisfied smile off the relaxed one.

            • Half Crown Millionare 7.1.2.2.1.1
              2 August 2012 at 12:06 pm

              “Is there anyone alive in Labour”

              Well said, well said.

              • Colonial Viper …
                2 August 2012 at 1:21 pm

                I’m in Labour, let me get some internal polling done on that question before I take a position to answer you with.

              • Chris …
                2 August 2012 at 2:25 pm

                Over nine months in Labour and still nothing to show for it.Come on baby!

          • felix 7.1.2.2.2
            2 August 2012 at 11:43 am

            Anne that’s brilliant.

            Hello Labour and the Greens, please do this kthnx

  8. felix 8
    2 August 2012 at 9:29 am

    The “Key-Banks” Government. Heh, catching on.

  9. Carol 9
    2 August 2012 at 9:52 am

    Hmmm… interesting. Rotting sleepers have probably caused derailments over the last year:

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10824040

    Two derailments – one on the Napier-Gisborne line and one on a north Auckland line – earlier this year are suspected to have been impacted by rotting sleepers, Mr Quinn says.

    The replacement of the sleepers, expected to be completed by next year, is at a cost of between $250 and $1000 each.

    Mr Quinn said KiwiRail was in a legal dispute with the supplier of the sleepers.

    So it seems the wood in imported sleepers are the problem:

    He said the decay was believed to have been present in the timber when it arrived in New Zealand.

    Huh? Doesn’t NZ have a forestry industry? Don’t we have plenty of woo? Why are we importing (rotting) sleepers?

    Also, Kudos to Brendan Horan of NZF who has been asking questions about these rotting sleepers in the House the last couple of days. He has tried and failed to table photos of said rotting tracks, taken by Kiwirail workers:

    http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/PB/Business/QOA/2/8/a/50HansQ_20120801_00000001-1-KiwiRail-Turnaround-Plan.htm

    http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/PB/Business/QOA/1/7/c/50HansQ_20120731_00000009-9-KiwiRail-Minister-s-Statements.htm

    Brendan Horan: Is he aware that significant sections of the rail network are rotting and that the staff who would otherwise be tasked with repairing them are being made redundant?

    Meanwhile RONS get more government attention than the efficiency and safety of our rail network.

    • prism 9.1
      2 August 2012 at 10:36 am

      Carol
      I think we do have plenty of woo. Making love and not war has for a long time been a favourite pasttime.

    • joe90 9.2
      2 August 2012 at 10:49 am

      Huh? Doesn’t NZ have a forestry industry? Don’t we have plenty of woo? Why are we importing (rotting) sleepers?

      In short we are stuck with using imports because there’s nothing quite like Australian hard woods for their density, strength, durability and ease of machining and handling.

      In efforts to replace imported eucalypts all manner of materials have been trialled and found to be unsuitable for use in both rail and the electrical transmission industry.

      And there’s always been a risk of importing all sorts of nasties along with the timber.

      • Carol 9.2.1
        2 August 2012 at 11:01 am

        Thanks. I don’t have knowledge of such things. Fair enough. Therefore it needs stronger scrutiny of the wood imported.

  10. prism 10
    2 August 2012 at 9:55 am

    Bullying and the way that children are treated by authorities and schools is an example of how our society really is. It is not the good place that we want to believe, and we know that. But this guy has made a valuable doco and was talking to Kathryn Ryan this (Thursday) morning.
    9-10am: Lee Hirsch, the director of an anti-bullying documentary

    Film to see -International Film Festival screening Bully. in Auckland at Civic soon.

  11. Carol 11
    2 August 2012 at 10:25 am

    Excellent interview going on right now on Nine-to-Noon:
    http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/20120802

    10:05 Feature guest: Satyajit Das – derivatives expert and global risk analyst

    He worked in the investment, derivatives banking scam institutions, and came to be a big critic of the debt-based ponzi scheme.

    • yeshe 11.1
      2 August 2012 at 10:28 am

      Hi Carol .. how do you do the line-through crossing-out please ??

    • prism 11.2
      2 August 2012 at 10:39 am

      Carol re finance interviewer Das
      He talked about the big money profits from small snips from handling financial transactions.
      Sounds just like the Tobin tax to me. What a wonderful way of spreading the government revenue task don’t you think. Magic even.

      • Carol 11.2.1
        2 August 2012 at 10:53 am

        Ah, yes, prism. But Mr Das says there are no magic bullets. People in western economies need to accept a lowering of standard of living (I guess meaning those living comfortably), to focus on getting back to production of real stuff.

        Interesting that he explained all this to Bill English a while back, and Blinglish responded by asking what can NZ do. Das’s response was to position NZ to deal with the coming changes.

        Mr Das also says NZ is in a good position because of our direct access to food supply, and the innovative, productive ideas amongst kiwis.

        Also an interesting comment about Das’s response to an NZ journalist who said Das didn’t know what he is talking about.

        • prism 11.2.1.1
          2 August 2012 at 12:33 pm

          Carol at 11 2 1
          I have to agree with that NZ journalist who was belittling Mr Das. But for another reason than that dope would have mentioned. My reason is that Mr Das doesn’t know he is talking to people who actually don’t receive his thoughts and process them. Das has been lulled into thinking that Blinglish was listening and was open to his ideas, and would be likely to action them. Major fail on Mr Das.

          And as for innovative, productive ideas amongst kiwis. They are merely like rose petals that get strewn on the roads that leaders’ chariots drive on (Roads of National Significance for instance). A bloom, a colour, a faint scent, that hails the great and god-given task of limiting innovation, crushing or ignoring ideas also all attempts to move the country as a whole to a ready position where it can cope with change and thrive as well, and that’s all of us.

          Sorry Mr Das but we are determined to become a banana republic when the climate gets warmer and growing conditions are suitable. That’s our big goal.

          • Carol 11.2.1.1.1
            2 August 2012 at 12:55 pm

            prism, as I recall, the journalist’s reasons for saying that Das was wrong about the ponzi, investment banking system, was reference to something like the US’s recent growth rate. Das’s response was that it was a false indication of what was really happening in the US economy So I think Das was closer to understanding the realities than the NZ journo.

            I do agree that Das was a bit over-optimistic about NZ’s possibilities -probably being courteous to his hosts.

            • Colonial Viper 11.2.1.1.1.1
              2 August 2012 at 1:30 pm

              Das is probably right on the goal-seeked nature of US GDP (and in fact, most GDP figures in the world).

              And just as important, today the BEA revised historical GDP data retroactively. Of note 2010 GDP was revised from 3.0% to 2.4%, while Q3 2011 GDP was revised from 3.0% to 4.1%, indicating that the slowdown we are experiencing is in fact far worse than previously expected. It also shows that HFT trigger buying or selling on GDP data is completely meaningless as today’s data will be revised violently higher or lower in a year, making it completely irrelevant.

              http://www.zerohedge.com/news/q2-gdp-beats-expectations-historical-gdp-data-revised

              This how you cause an “increase in GDP”, United States style:

              Let’s say Q2 GDP growth annualised is going to print at 1.6%. The problem is that earlier Q1 GDP growth was higher at 1.7% annualised. Well that clearly shows that Q2 GDP growth reduced from Q1.

              NO PROBLEM!

              One week before Q2 figures print you revise and update the Q1 figure from 1.7% to 1.3%.

              So when Q2 prints officially at 1.6%, all the news outlets can claim “Q2 shows strong GDP growth quarter on quarter!”

        • bad12 11.2.1.2
          2 August 2012 at 3:35 pm

          Das has my agreement on the fact that what we have all been experiencing economically for the past 27 odd years just aint sustainable, that un-ustainability extends to both our use of resources and the levels of our personal incomes,

          Obviously none of us are going to voluntarily take cuts to our income and my view is that it will take a further collapse within the global economy,(coming), which in effect will force the comfortable middle class to address such an issue,

          Das has the view of the future where the economies of both the US and Europe will become more insular inward looking, and, although Das does not say so, i assume more protectionist, gosh you know where the New Zealand economy was befor Sir(spit)Roger Douglas took a very large wrecking ball to it,

          So, back to the future we all go,blinkers on please as we glibly rewrite economic history forgetting the absolute misery inflicted upon large swathes of our society by Roger’s(spit) unfortunate experiment,

          The consensus needed here,as in New Zealand, is the realization that there can be only X amount of employment in any future economy therefor there will always be that X of unemployment,

          Das tho made the strange assertion that simply printing money will be no silver bullet for the hard economic times ahead,and, if He provided any reasoning to put flesh upon such an assertion i missed such perhaps because about here my mind had turned to matters more primitive like putting the bash on my radio for broadcasting the glib propaganda of a belated newcomer to some other economic orthodoxy after having served the masters so well in making the huge fucking mess of that economy on a global scale,

          In the New Zealand economy there is definitely a case to be made for the printing of monies, befor that is one of the Davids decides to use the primitive tool of Legislative or Regulatory devaluation of the New Zealand dollar to put that dollar into a value best suited to New Zealand exporters and manufacturers,

          Obviously,while a regulatory devaluation will make gains for the sectors already mentioned there is nothing except inflation gained by the rest of us by doing such,

          IF, we are to have a lower expectation in the future of our personal economic gains then we have to accomplish a number of things the first being the provision of affordable accommodation for all and the State printing such monies necessary to construct the needed amounts of high density housing also accomplishes by an increase in the money supply a gradual dilution of the New Zealand dollar and thus a devaluation along with a gradual rate of inflation increase for imported products,(much of which as resources we should be using less of),

          My point being that as we stumble into that increasingly economically fraught future where our personal expectations will have to be lowered then it is going to be increasingly the province of the State to ensure that we are all housed at affordable levels and as i outline above in achieving a lower valued New Zealand dollar there must also be gains for the average head who will be expected to face that increasingly fraught economic future…

          • Colonial Viper 11.2.1.2.1
            2 August 2012 at 6:09 pm

            none of us are going to voluntarily take cuts to our income and my view is that it will take a further collapse within the global economy,(coming), which in effect will force the comfortable middle class to address such an issue,

            This is a big question. In the past we have seen white collar workers sit back quite OK while their working class brethren were smashed and manufacturing jobs exported overseas. The benefits for the white collar workers – cheaper new cars, cheaper gadgets, a higher dollar for cheaper overseas holidays.

            Now its their turn to be outsourced. In the NZ context however, we have seen the middle class and upper middle class sit back quietly as income inequality widens and as child poverty continues. Jenny may have a fit at me for targetting this socio-economic strata again but its a simple fact. Those on $100K plus, outside of very specific sectors, are far more likely to vote National than Labour.

            Das tho made the strange assertion that simply printing money will be no silver bullet for the hard economic times ahead,and, if He provided any reasoning to put flesh upon such an assertion

            His point will have been that money in the future will neither be a resource nor a store of value. The NZ situation is interesting in that we are physical resource rich and we have a lot of surplus labour. Therefore printing money will work for us as it will help us mobilise those economic resources.

            My point being that as we stumble into that increasingly economically fraught future where our personal expectations will have to be lowered then it is going to be increasingly the province of the State to ensure that we are all housed at affordable levels

            Here I mildly disagree with you in that I do not believe the state will understand what it needs to do until very late in the piece. Individual families and extended families will act and adapt far more quickly.

            As for the lowering of expectations: that is already happening quietly and subtly on a vast range of fronts, even for families with 2 parents working decent jobs. In Auckland for instance, large numbers of people have given up on the idea of owning their house, on the idea of moving out of their parents’ house, on the idea of being able to use their own car every day to get to and fro.

            The nice thing is – we’re going to slowly discover once again that the most important things in life are free.

            • bad12 11.2.1.2.1.1
              2 August 2012 at 6:56 pm

              You are right of course i should have qualified that paragraph thus, ”it SHOULD be increasingly the province of the State to ensure that we are all housed at affordable levels,

              Sadly i agree with you also on the initial response from the State being basically head in the sand until such time as they hear a large and loud political voice highlighting such problems,

              Even the Minister of Guesstimates and Riffmatic, Bill English has been drawn so far as to admit that whats happening now is at the least multi-decadal, (possibly as a convenient cop-out to a piece of His other BS book balancing by 2015), and, my prognosis for the Global economy is far far gloomier than just a struggle for a decade or two…

  12. lcmortensen 12
    2 August 2012 at 10:31 am

    (get the right comment link this time!)

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10824053
     

    Charter schools to open by 2014
    New Zealand charter schools will be allowed to reshape the national curriculum but will be required to meet education targets set by the Government.
    Education Minister Hekia Parata and Associate Education Minister John Banks this morning announced the framework for the country’s model of charter schools, which will be known as Partnership Schools or Kura Hourua.
    The schools can choose between the New Zealand Curriculum (NZC) or Te Marautanga o Aotearoa (TMoA) “or use or develop an alternative curriculum framework that is mapped to the principles of the NCA or TMoA”.
    Legislation will be introduced to Parliament this year, and formal requests for proposals from potential charter school sponsors will be called for once the legislation passes.
    All sponsors will be expected to open their schools for the beginning of the 2014 school year.
    The schools will be required to report publicly on an annual basis on progress against the negotiated school-level targets and have that data included in any student achievement information provided by the Government for parents.
    Partnership Schools will be approved by the Education Minister, and the Government has the right to intervene if a sponsor breaches a contract.
    Partnership Schools must report against National Standards for years 1-8 students and must offer NCEA or an equivalent qualification recognised by industry and tertiary providers in New Zealand.
    The schools can negotiate the percentage of registered teachers they wish to employ as part of their contracts and negotiate salary levels and employment conditions with employees.
    All non-teaching and unregistered employees will undergo police vetting.
    The schools can set their own school hours and term dates.
    They must accept all students who apply regardless of background or ability, using a ballot if they are oversubscribed.

    • Dv 12.1
      2 August 2012 at 10:48 am

      >>Parata said the schools would be based on international best practise and would have high levels of accountability and flexibility.

      international best practise and charter schools in the same breathe HA

      Ipredict should set up a book on how long before a charter school fiddles its results.

      • bad12 12.1.1
        2 August 2012 at 11:04 am

        And how many of them will fail financially,(in the middle of the school term),thus enabling the ‘owners’ of such schools to double dip into the education budget…

    • Carol 12.2
      2 August 2012 at 10:58 am

      It still begs the question of why these same aims for a better education system involving consultation with parents and teachers can’t be achieved within the current state school system: i.e. without including an extra bunch of ticket clippers and consultants?

      And this:

      The schools can negotiate the percentage of registered teachers they wish to employ as part of their contracts and negotiate salary levels and employment conditions with employees.
      All non-teaching and unregistered employees will undergo police vetting.

      So the only real difference charter schools offer is the possibility of using untrained/unregistered teachers, and of avoiding dealing with the unions. How is this going to result in better education?

      • Dv 12.2.1
        2 August 2012 at 11:13 am

        >All non-teaching and unregistered employees will undergo police vetting

        So does that mean that there will be unregistered teachers?

        Will ero have any role?

        And carol you are right this looks a lot like our schools today.

        • Vicky32 12.2.1.1
          2 August 2012 at 6:28 pm

          So does that mean that there will be unregistered teachers?

          Yes, as many of them as the school wants, which will be a disaster.

  13. Adrian 13
    2 August 2012 at 10:32 am

    Sleepers have pretty much always been imported, mostly jarra from Oz. Our only suitable hardwoods are probably heart rimu. Hey, lets use that.

    • Carol 13.1
      2 August 2012 at 10:48 am

      Fair enough, Adrian. I asked a question. You have an answer. I don’t know anything much about types of wood, their best uses and what we can grow here. I’ll leave that for others to discuss/inform me on.

      • Murray Olsen 13.1.1
        2 August 2012 at 6:13 pm

        The reason kiwi wood is soft is that the growing conditions are too good and the trees grow fast. The reason aussie woods are hard is that the growing conditions are crap and they grow slowly. The same trees grown in Aotearoa or Brazil do not produce hardwood. However, plantation planting of natives would be a much better bet in the long term than pinus radiata, which basically just kills everything else around it. Pinus radiata is good for a quick buck and often used to be grown in the central North Island by prison labour. If this was then exported, it was in violation of human rights agreements, but Fletchers was always more important than anything else in the country.

        • Colonial Viper 13.1.1.1
          2 August 2012 at 6:20 pm

          If this was then exported, it was in violation of human rights agreements, but Fletchers was always more important than anything else in the country.

          And the only reason Fletchers got their mitts on it was because we stupidly privatised those forests as they were about to make shitloads of money for the NZ public

        • Draco T Bastard 13.1.1.2
          2 August 2012 at 6:37 pm

          However, plantation planting of natives would be a much better bet in the long term than pinus radiata

          That’s what I’ve been thinking for quite a few years now. Native wood is of a much better quality than radiata pine and so the extra growing time is worth it but no commercial entity would ever plant it as they need to see profits in the short term (I’ve even heard that radiata plantations have dropped back from 30 years of growing to 18 so even that low quality is decreased). The only entity with the longevity to do such planting of natives would be the government.

          • Colonial Viper 13.1.1.2.1
            2 August 2012 at 6:55 pm

            And just as that high quality native wood comes on stream, the Tories will sell it to Fletchers and Carter Holt.

            • Draco T Bastard 13.1.1.2.1.1
              2 August 2012 at 8:21 pm

              Unless we put in decent protections for state assets that holds such sales as treason with a minimum 20 years in max security jail. If we did that then even the Tories may twig that we don’t want them to sell our stuff.

        • prism 13.1.1.3
          2 August 2012 at 9:22 pm

          Murray Olsen 13 1 1

          However, plantation planting of natives would be a much better bet in the long term than pinus radiata, which basically just kills everything else around it. Pinus radiata is good for a quick buck

          I’m amazed that Landcorp didn’t put native trees in their plantation down south. Instead they have put in pines which they say won’t spread because they are following these good practices – recites five different things they have to do to keep wilding pines under control. There is a sad and stern comment from the Foresters Ferret down there about how a Lord of the Realm shouldn’t be encouraging people who are talking about destroying property. This about the threat that their plantation pines will be pulled out by affronted members of the public because they have been planted in close proximity to native plants from a massive effort by the public, now under threat of infestation by Landcorp’s project. Which they assure us will never happen, never, never for the full twenty-forty years before the pines mature. This is all from a Radionz interview from a few days back, possibly in early or midday rural slot.

    • alwyn 13.2
      2 August 2012 at 11:08 am

      Surely you know that Rimu is a softwood.
      About the only fairly common, and reasonably durable, native hardwoods I am aware of are the Tawhai family of native beechs. These would be the Red, Hard, Black and Mountain beechs. The Silver beech is not as durable.
      Sigh. I miss the availability of Rimu though. About 30 years ago I built a lot of shelving in my then house. I had the choice of pine or Rimu. Rimu was at that time only about two thirds the cost of pine! It was a very hard choice to make.

      • bad12 13.2.1
        2 August 2012 at 4:00 pm

        Shows us all just how f**king primitive and short-sighted our colonial for-fathers were and still are right,

        The Rimu,Tawa,Kauri along with the rest of what are now extremely valuable species of trees valued all over the world are bowled over like nine pins, in a lot of cases the timber wasted in the headlong rush to clear land for pasture,

        This didnt stop there either as the destruction continued to the tops of mountain ranges,although having viewed how the Tararua range was felled and milled i do have some grudging respect for those who’s labour accomplished what was in those days no easy task,

        Instead of creating an industry around the growing of such valuable wood where plantations of the future could be planted and milled sustainably such forests were simply raped and left to their own devices,

        Having watched the Tararua forest park re-generate itself over my life-time i cannot help the feeling whenever i am deep within Her heart that given another 30 years the same destruction will again be inflicted…

      • NickS 13.2.2
        2 August 2012 at 11:07 pm

        Puriri is also pretty hard (and fast growing in good conditions) as is Totara, and both timbers have been used historically in New Zealand for railway sleepers

        As for beeches, it’s my experience that rot down pretty quickly in the bush, though red beech can last a while.

    • deuto 13.3
      2 August 2012 at 11:19 am

      According to this report on Radio NZ National this morning on Morning Report, the problem is with hardwood sleepers that have been imported from Peru over the last decade, which are rotting from within from a fungal problem.

      http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2526905/rotting-sleepers-could-have-compromised-safety.asx

      • Carol 13.3.1
        2 August 2012 at 11:24 am

        So the rot started while Kiwirail was in private ownership?

        But who was responsible for, or owned the rails/tracks?

        • alwyn 13.3.1.1
          2 August 2012 at 12:05 pm

          The Government took ownership of ONTRACK, the actual lines on July 1 2004, so it has owned them for just on 8 years.
          Could have been either the Public or private owners who bought the ones having problems.

    • ScottGN 13.4
      2 August 2012 at 1:28 pm

      Don’t we grow plantation Australian hardwoods? Also I recall an item a while back about a NZ company making recycled concrete railway sleepers which KiwiRail was going to try out. Wonder what happened to that? And finally, surely there is (yet another) bio-security issue around the fungus that’s rotting the sleepers?

      • mike e 13.4.1
        2 August 2012 at 3:01 pm

        the Aussie hard woods we grow are to immature to be stable they need to grow for 800years or so

      • Draco T Bastard 13.4.2
        2 August 2012 at 3:43 pm

        Also I recall an item a while back about a NZ company making recycled concrete railway sleepers which KiwiRail was going to try out.

        The Western Line in Auckland has concrete sleepers.

        • bad12 13.4.2.1
          2 August 2012 at 4:14 pm

          Am pretty sure the new double tracking on the Kapiti line also used concrete sleepers…

      • grumpy 13.4.3
        2 August 2012 at 3:52 pm

        Totara might be OK but normally sleepers are Aussie hardwoods. Radiata treated with creosote has been used extensively as have reinforced concrete. Overseas concrete is the go……

        Clearly, the Peruvian “hardwood” was cheap, but probably only cheap for a reason………..

      • prism 13.4.4
        2 August 2012 at 9:30 pm

        Scott GN 13 4
        Good point. I haven’t heard that mentioned yet. And who is watching how Kiwi Rail handles the already estimated 7,000 sleepers from site to destruction under controlled fire. Got to be. Which wimpy state or privatised agency will be in charge of the party. And then who pays for the carbon released. Oh woe is us, will our decision makers ever be paid according to results with a ten year continuance of responsibility after end of contract? Maybe that will make them think, plus also a tattoo that goes on their foreheads in indelible ink – Shammer, scammer or something of that nature.

  14. Lanthanide 14
    2 August 2012 at 11:39 am

    Here’s a very interesting story on stuff:
    http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/7398670/Tax-likely-on-lease-sweetener

    Nightingale says the proposed change is a sign of the Government’s intent to maximise revenue out of the existing tax system, as indicated in the 2012 Budget.

    The proposed tax on lease inducements is almost certain to go ahead, Nightingale says.

    “The Government’s consulting on it, but I’d be very surprised if it didn’t proceed. They’re chasing every last dollar of tax revenue at the moment.

    Except introducing something sensible like a CGT/land tax, or rolling back the personal tax cuts. They could even bring back gift duty, or a more modern form of it.

  15. joe90 15
    2 August 2012 at 11:44 am

    Conspiracy of silence: The irresponsible politics of climate change.

    The consequence of this inattention is an irreversible commitment to dangerous climate change. Twenty years ago, the United States signed, and the Senate ratified, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The objective of this treaty was to “prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system,” which was defined in the Copenhagen Accord of 2009 as limiting the overall temperature increase to 2 degrees Celsius. There are three reasons why that goal is now unobtainable. First, even if greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere could be held steady at 2005 levels, scientists at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography have calculated that global temperature would rise by 2.4 degrees Celsius if not for the air pollution that is masking the warming by blocking some of the sun’s rays. Second, as a 2011 paper by British climate researchers explains, emissions reductions that are constrained to levels thought to be compatible with economic growth are not sufficient to stay below 2 degrees Celsius. Only a period of planned austerity and an intensive effort to build a carbon-free energy system could now achieve the goal of avoiding dangerous climate change. Finally, the International Energy Agency has estimated that the carbon-emitting energy infrastructure that will push global temperature rise beyond 2 degrees Celsius is already 80 percent complete, and will be fully installed by 2017. This will lock in future emissions unless capital equipment is retired earlier than anticipated. The best we can now hope for is to avoid catastrophic global warming in excess of 4 degrees Celsius, which will require an aggressive response by governments around the world.

  16. Te Reo Putake 16
    2 August 2012 at 11:45 am

    Family Fist get a serve from US rockers Train. The band’s song ‘Marry Me’ was used without authorisation on a gay hate site called ‘protectmarrige.org’.
     
    Train say:
     
    “We take the idea of marriage very seriously and believe it is the right of all consenting adults, regardless of sexual orientation.
    Marry Me is about just that, finding that special love and making it last forever. Everyone should be allowed to have that.”

    • Draco T Bastard 16.1
      2 August 2012 at 3:56 pm

      WTF is that article in the entertainment section? It should be in the politics and/or crime sections.

      • Carol 16.1.1
        2 August 2012 at 4:22 pm

        Because they are giving us circuses instead of bread?

        Because that anti-gay marriage website is a joke?

  17. prism 17
    2 August 2012 at 12:19 pm

    McDonald’s other crimes have been released to the public though they weren’t before as they may have influenced the decision on murder.

    Surely that is the whole point, seeing the behaviour in a series rather than presenting him as a man who had done some mistaken acts against his family. Setting neighbour’s shed on fire, killing a lot of calves etc etc.

    This man’s background means that he was presented to the jury in a false way. Crime scenes aren’t cleaned up before examination by authorities, so why should defendants be presented relatively clean. It has allowed a likely wrongful judgment by the jury.

    • Olwyn 17.1
      2 August 2012 at 12:51 pm

      Not sure I agree prism. Juries are meant to be given evidence that is relevant to the case, and these other crimes, committed two and three years earlier than the murder, may not have been seen as relevant. The deer shooting incident showed that MacDonald was capable of shooting accurately at night, and the other two were against the Guys themselves. These crimes by themselves showed him as a man capable of vengeful destruction. A litany of such crimes, including those without a direct link to the case, may have prejudiced the jury by shifting the focus to MacDonald’s character, rather than the question as to whether he did or did not kill Scott Guy.

      • Draco T Bastard 17.1.1
        2 August 2012 at 5:26 pm

        Juries are meant to be given evidence that is relevant to the case…

        The character of the person on trial is relevant to the case.

        EDIT: But possibly only as an adjunct to sentencing.

        • Olwyn 17.1.1.1
          2 August 2012 at 8:41 pm

          Character is however, but one factor to take into account. People are not convicted or acquitted of being bad arses, they are convicted of crimes. And the stuff that was put before the jury was sufficient to show what he was capable of doing.

          • Pascal's bookie 17.1.1.1.1
            2 August 2012 at 8:45 pm

            Yep.

            If he did do it, then telling the jury about those unmentioned things might have led them to convict. But the point is that they would have also led them to convict if he didn’t do it.

    • lcmortensen 17.2
      2 August 2012 at 2:13 pm

      For a minute there, I though you were talking about the Golden Arches!

  18. Dave Kennedy 18
    2 August 2012 at 12:22 pm

    National has now opened the doors to allow a chain of “Destiny” schools to infect our quality public education system. The very best way to ensure that we have the likes of creationism, anti gay propaganda and social intolerance is taught to our children by non qualified fanatics. The fact that this initiative is led by someone who has failed the very basics of political ethics is fitting.

    http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.co.nz/2012/08/nz-charter-schools-defined.html

    • prism 18.1
      2 August 2012 at 10:07 pm

      Dave Kennedy 18
      Yes I fear that Destiny will be our destiny now we have had this piece of policy shit from the Density Party. All the oddballs can have a go, it’s based on USA ideas which have produced such a happy, healthy, flourishing society. Business can reach direct into the children’s minds instead of just dangling tv ads in front of them. There will be some successes with sports academies and whanau style learning units with te reo but Maori having successes will not be equalled by any success from pakeha, more than they would have at a state school.

      Can Graham Capill become an owner? John Banks fancies himself as a role model for children. And all the warped authoritarian types can have a go. And they can be taught by someone of standing in the community. Rodney Hide, Roger Douglas, a woman who has blonde children and wants to teach the world to sing about Aryan traits (that’s one in the USA I think and I saw it on youtube) The Cooperites, the Potterites, where is the protection for the children from the brainwashed parents of cults. .

  19. captain hook 19
    2 August 2012 at 2:12 pm

    the national-banks party have now opened the door to the crummiest chapter in the life and times of new zealand.
    they beleive their own thoughts to be facts and because they are idiots what they produce will match the inanity of their miniscule comprhension.

    • prism 19.1
      2 August 2012 at 10:08 pm

      tick tock C.hook
      +1

    • muzza 19.2
      3 August 2012 at 8:36 am

      Not quite..

      The ideas and policies come from offshore, and the government of the day simply attempt to pass what they are told to, while they have a majority.

      Simply , the reason why we have such low quality politicians, is because it takes a low quality human being to willingly participate in betraying ones country, and peoples.

      Idiots, possibly, traitors, certainly!

  20. Carol 20
    2 August 2012 at 2:32 pm

    Judge disputes Collin’s claims about his computer and ACC emails:

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10824103

    Former ACC Chairman John Judge says ACC Minister Judith Collins’ claims he hampered an investigation into a the leak of a sensitive email are untrue and an attempt to “blacken” his name.
    […]
    But Mr Judge said Ms Collins was aware that he replaced his home computer before the Privacy Commissioner’s inquiry was announced.

    “Everything was transferred from my old computer to the new one anyway. It’s not like anything disappeared.”

    Furthermore, he was not able to receive emails on his ACC iPad anyway.

    He said Ms Collins “knew the truth” and was “just trying to blacken people”.

    The email was among documents submitted by ACC to police to support a complaint it made against Ms Pullar.

    So…. who is telling the truth?

    • MikeG 20.1
      2 August 2012 at 4:14 pm

      Will Judith Collins now sue Mr Judge? Surely ‘He said Ms Collins “knew the truth” and was “just trying to blacken people”’ is as defamatory as anything that Mallard and Little said.

      • Carol 20.1.1
        2 August 2012 at 4:40 pm

        Ah, it seems we now have a back-down from the crushless one:

        http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/7401888/Former-ACC-chair-defends-action

        ACC Minister Judith Collins says she will not descend to “name calling” after the former ACC chair reportedly accused her of trying to blacken his name and labelling claims against him “pathetic”.
        […]
        Collins was asked in an Official Information Act request by Fairfax if she had been given “any information about John Judge’s home computer being destroyed since he received the email or emails [relating to Michelle Boag’s email to Ms Collins] and if so what information has been received”.

        Collins responded: “Yes, the information I have received is that Mr Judge’s home computer was replaced in April this year.”

        This afternoon she said she had received “slightly different” detail around what happened.

        “I’d rather say [the computer was] replaced, but there are some parts of it may well have been destroyed”

        She did not know whether that had delayed or hampered inquiries by the Privacy Commissioner and Auditor General.

        “That is not something I have knowledge of.”

        Collins said this afternoon she had passed on the information about Judge’s computer because it was requested under the Official Information Act.

        ” I make no judgment on it, I’m simply saying that’s what I’ve been advised.

        But she did make a judgement on it last night:

        http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10824103

        Ms Collins last night told the Herald that the Privacy Commission’s investigation into who leaked an email which identified Bronwyn Pullar as the woman at the centre of a massive ACC privacy breach had been stymied by Mr Judge, replacing or wiping his computers.

        But Judge called her on it and she had to withdraw…. no apology though.

  21. felix 21
    2 August 2012 at 3:01 pm

    With John Key playing talkback host today, Anne had the good idea earlier that opposition MPs should call in and hold him to account there instead of in the debating chamber.

    Unfortunately the flaw in that plan is that DJ Johnny doesn’t take calls from the public. Imagine that. The PM hosts a talkback radio show and no-one is allowed to talk back. Says it all, innit.

    This PMs idea of communicating with the citizenry is we listen to him talking to the famous and powerful. Sorry ordinary kiwis, you’re not good enough. Speak when you’re spoken to, peasant.

    He is not one of us. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6qwlEMjZGI

    • bad12 21.1
      2 August 2012 at 4:08 pm

      Slippery is a little ‘fragile’ at the moment, polling numbers being abysmal and being royally done by the Maori Council who can’t be bought with the crumbs off of His table has left Him more than a little vulnerable to the suggestion that He aint that special after all…

  22. higherstandard 22
    2 August 2012 at 3:44 pm

    Just got the rates bills through from the Auckland council.

    Apparently the rates rises have been capped at 10% vs 2011……. and surprise, surprise every one of my rates notices has gone up by 10% vs. the previous year.

    Oh well, I suppose it’s good way to ensure a high turnout at the next Auckland council elections.

    • bad12 22.1
      2 August 2012 at 4:11 pm

      Who is your candidate, Doctor Dullard Don Brash,or, snigger, the master of snout’n’trough himself rorting Rodney Hide…

      • higherstandard 22.1.1
        2 August 2012 at 4:58 pm

        We had a plethora of drips to vote for at the council elections for many a year, the previous mayor for the Northshore was Andrew Williams….. as usual we go from one retard to another to another to another.

        Despite which side of the political spectrum they come from they all have common traits of extreme autolatry, aeolism, and abliguration – and of course increasing the rates with gay abandon.

        • bad12 22.1.1.1
          2 August 2012 at 5:20 pm

          Aaah the poor old ‘ownership’ class, really my heart bleeds for you, should have stuck to the humble State rental at 25% of income buckwheat,

          Nay, you all should be demanding such…

          • higherstandard 22.1.1.1.1
            2 August 2012 at 5:28 pm

            I see the smoking has been particularly good for your cognitive abilities.

            • bad12 22.1.1.1.1.1
              2 August 2012 at 5:44 pm

              Hmmm, you were of far more interest, (as a humorist), when you were whining over Len shaking you down for any available loose coin in the form of rates rises…

              • higherstandard …
                2 August 2012 at 6:00 pm

                Oh, it won’t be me he’s shaking down, I’ll be passing the cost on.

                • bad12 …
                  2 August 2012 at 6:09 pm

                  Which makes you what, a ticket clipper whining about having your ticket clipped by a bigger one…

                  • Colonial Viper …
                    2 August 2012 at 6:15 pm

                    He aims, he shoots, he SCORES

                  • higherstandard …
                    2 August 2012 at 6:50 pm

                    No, it makes me a commenter on the lunacy of a rating system which sees increases being foisted on the public in the order of 10% per annum year on year.

                    • Colonial Viper …
                      2 August 2012 at 6:53 pm

                      Nah, they aren’t increases, they’re the decreases that National and ACT promised would come with the SuperCity.

                    • higherstandard …
                      2 August 2012 at 6:59 pm

                      There’s a job for you in the Treasury with that kind of logic.

                    • bad12 …
                      2 August 2012 at 7:12 pm

                      You are just SO amusing, its a bit hard to eat my dinner with a gut that wants to break out in great gales of mad laughter,

                      (1) As CV said, You voted for it,
                      (2) Don’t pay it….

                    • higherstandard …
                      2 August 2012 at 7:55 pm

                      (1) No I didn’t.
                      (2) I’ll be passing the cost on.

                      Perhaps some antacid for the boborygmi ?

            • bad12 22.1.1.1.1.2
              2 August 2012 at 6:01 pm

              PS, just for your ongoing edification,education,and, enlightenment, its Abligurition not abliguration,

              Samuel would be rolling in His tomb at such bastardry of His English…

              • higherstandard …
                2 August 2012 at 6:58 pm

                How cute, you’ve spent an hour looking up words in the dictionary.

                ps, I wonder if that was actually ever in Johnson’s dictionary ?
                pps, Capitilasation, spacing etc. you must try harder !

                • bad12 …
                  2 August 2012 at 7:21 pm

                  According to some the word abligurition only ever occurred in Samuels effort of 1755, having not perused every English dictionary ever printed i cannot vouch for the veracity of such a claim,

                  PS, about 10 minutes worth of perusal educated me to your abysmal lack of spelling accuracy which marks your attempt to bamboozle an abject failure,

                  Take the D for you know what and sit in the relevant corner…

    • felix 22.2
      2 August 2012 at 4:24 pm

      Or a high turnout at the General Election to turf out the losers who foisted this council clusterfuck upon you.

    • Anne 22.3
      2 August 2012 at 6:49 pm

      Just got the rates bills through from the Auckland council.

      Left mine on the “to open file”. Should take a couple of days to psyche myself up enough to open them.

  23. Penny Bright 23
    2 August 2012 at 6:16 pm

    Lobbying – Code of Conduct and Register of Lobbyists – the Australian experience.

    http://lobbyists.pmc.gov.au/conduct_code.cfm

    Lobbying Code of Conduct
    Lobbying Code of Conduct – PDF 35KB
    In 2008 the Australian Government introduced a Lobbying Code of Conduct and established a Register of Lobbyists.

    The Code underpins the Register and sets out the requirements for contact between third-party lobbyists and Government representatives, indicates what will be publicly available on the Register and outlines the conditions for successful registration of lobbyists. It also defines lobbyists, clients, Government representatives and lobbying activities for the purposes of the Register.

    Preamble
    Application
    Definitions
    No contact between government representatives and unregistered lobbyists
    Register of Lobbyists
    Access to the register of lobbyists
    Prohibition on Lobbying Activities
    Principles of engagement with government representatives
    Reporting of breaches of code
    Registration
    _____________________________________________________________________________

    Penny Bright
    ‘Anti-corruption campaigner’

    http://www.dodgyjohnhasgone.com

  24. bad12 24
    2 August 2012 at 6:31 pm

    Another weak link welded back into the chain?, 3News having a little speculate over whether Slippery the Prime minister is about to re-instate old Lizard eyes, Nick’the meds’Smith into the role of Minister of Local Government,

    Yeah bring the cretin back, if anything the damage done by the likes of Him and Banks will pull this abysmal Slippery National Government down all the faster…

  25. Morrissey 25
    2 August 2012 at 7:20 pm

    Family First guide to disciplining your child

    If Mum or Dad can’t find a baseball bat, Family First director Bob McCoskrie points out that a hairbrush is also effective….

  26. Carol 26
    2 August 2012 at 9:45 pm

    I see this article has slipped out of sight on the Herald’s main page, but it’s worth taking note of:

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10824146

    In a draft report on the state of gender equality in New Zealand, the UN’s committee on the elimination of discrimination against women said it was concerned new welfare laws would likely “predominantly affect Maori women and reduce their social benefits”.

    It recommended the Government ensure its ongoing reforms did not discriminate against disadvantaged groups of women and called for an independent evaluation of their impact.

    The unedited draft report, presented to the Government this week, did not mention specific policies – but among the Government’s most controversial welfare reforms have been those targeted at women on benefits.

    Meanwhile Bill English is talking about performance pay for getting people off welfare:

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/112240/msd%27s-baseline-funding-won%27t-be-cut-english

    Mr English says some of the ministry’s funding will be performance-based but only in areas where it is specifically tied to getting people off long-term welfare, and baseline funding will be unaffected.

  27. Colonial Viper 27
    2 August 2012 at 11:54 pm

    US Presidential finding from early 2012, CIA, Mossad, Turkish logistics elements, Qatarian financing, Saudi fighters, etc. all active in Syrian

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mh7_z9nZsZQ&feature=g-u-u

    Hey Jenny, you pro-war activist, how is the Syrian “popular uprising” going for you?

    What do you think of the footage of pro-Assad soldiers being executed by the “Free Syrian Army”? Just a bit of collateral damage justified in the name of a good cause?

    Do you agree with Israel trying to “Lebonize” Syria, making it a weak and divided state, just so Israel can target Iran more easily?