Open mike 09/09/2010

19 comments on “Open mike 09/09/2010 ”

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1. freedom 1

   9 September 2010 at 6:51 am

   i never profess to know the ins and outs of health funding, but like many have experienced the shortages our health services are sufferring, so can somebody please explain why this money isn’t being recovered and what a health provider was doing ‘investing’ in a farm in Northland?

   http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/national/4109717/DHB-won-t-chase-iwi-for-surplus-cash
2. mickysavage 2

   9 September 2010 at 8:36 am

   The South Canterbury Finance saga was raised by David Cunliffe in Parliament yesterday.

   He asked a number of good questions including:

   What went wrong and was the cost to taxpayers really minimised?
   How much the Government knew and when?
   Whether SCF should have been in the scheme?
   Whether it had been in breach of its eligibility?
   What deals were on the table to save it before it went into receivership and
   What other options had been considered and discarded.

   And Trevor Mallard’s attempt to table the Crown Deeds of guarantee was blocked by National MP Jo Goodhew who represents the area. What does she have to hide?
3. just saying 3

   9 September 2010 at 8:43 am

   Since hearing the sad news of Matt McCarten having cancer, I’ve been struck by the difference between his response to experiencing hardship as a child, that of and John Key. (I enjoyed McCarten’s autobiography, but can’t remember what it was called).

   McCarten was motivated to work unselfishly and tirelessly to help the disadvantaged and the poor, and to change the structures that create and maintain inequality. Key has striven with equal drive to get rich and to put as much distance between himself and the shame of his (relatively) inauspicious past, as possible (politically expedient rags-to-riches mythology excepted.)

   Both evidence of that dangerously flawed ‘meritocracy’ meme I guess, but the moral gulf that separates their life paths is glaring.
   • F.Y 3.1

     9 September 2010 at 12:46 pm

     hmmm. Maybe they’re more similar than they think.

     McCarten gets the life of an orphan, realises the hypocrisy and abuse of the world and puts his back between those, like him, who were hurt, and the abusers, effectively becoming the parent he lost.

     Key loses his father figure, and instead climbs aboard a culture he can participate in owing to his personal strengths/traits and scrambles until he becomes “the father of a nation”, the father he lost.

     Morally, the issue gets a bit more murky. You have the question of whether the group or the individual is more valuable and whether compensation for loss is good.

     From this point of view, both could be operating on the idea the individual is more valueable (both do it for themselves), but one’s action support a group who never climb and the other attempts to protect those who climb from falling. Equally pointless/impossible endeavours in my opinion, but clearly fulfilling to those living them.
     • just saying 3.1.1

       10 September 2010 at 10:23 am

       A belated reply to FY.

       Wasn’t thinking of the ‘father’ angle in particular or even the idea of “compensating for loss”. Just that we are all shaped by our experiences. If Key’s and McCarten’s unhappy childhood experiences contributed to the ‘fire in their bellies’, and I think they did, they seem to have mainly pushed one in the direction of caring for others, and the other towards looking out for number one.

       Quote: “Key loses his father figure, and instead climbs aboard a culture he can participate in owing to his personal strengths/traits and scrambles until he becomes “the father of a nation”, the father he lost.”

       This implies McCarten lacked the ability to climb that tree (and maybe that he might have, if he could have?) I don’t agree. I think he chose a different tree.

       As for Key becoming rich, successful, and eventually PM to replace/become the father he lost
       – way too Fruedian for me. How about the good old-fashioned desire for power, wealth and acclaim.

       And if Key is ‘father of the nation’ does that make him the male equivalent of Judy Bailey?

       Either way, god help us.
4. BLiP 4

   9 September 2010 at 8:44 am

   And so it begins . . .

   “We’ve got 250ha of commercial development land at the airport and we’d like to see that put to good use,” he said.

   Moutter said the airport would like to see productive, innovative businesses moving on to the commercially zoned, currently undeveloped land. “We’d love to see some Australian investors coming up with ideas to put [the land] to good use.”

   Colin McKinnon, executive director of the New Zealand Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (NZVCA), also attended the event.
5. r0b 5

   9 September 2010 at 9:07 am

   Coming up now on Morning Report – Lord Stern, of the Stern report, on the economics of climate change. Tune in….
6. Lanthanide 6

   9 September 2010 at 10:44 am

   A comparison between Haiti and Chch – not so similar after all:
   http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/07/in-earthquakes-poverty-population-and-motion-matter/
7. Bill 7

   9 September 2010 at 12:10 pm

   The Kaipoi New World.

   8 weeks payment and a grocery voucher? Seriously?

   Is that 8 weeks + outstanding annual leave + accumulated stat days? And even if so, then 8 weeks severance pay no matter how many years of service is disgusting.

   Foodstuffs are a large and profitable company who must have had insurance and even without insurance can absorb the wage bill for 34 FT and 52 PT staff. Easily. They should be commanded to do far, far better.
   • Lanthanide 7.1

     9 September 2010 at 12:37 pm

     8 weeks is pretty generous if they’re not required to provide any.

     Also, while Foodstuffs may be the brand on the door, many supermarkets are owned as franchises. Exactly how the money flows between the brand and the business, especially in a case like this, I’m not clear about, but I wouldn’t blithely assume that Foodstuffs are taking all of the liability here.
     • Bill 7.1.1

       9 September 2010 at 4:15 pm

       Foodstuffs said staff would receive full pay for two months and…

       nuff said? That would appear to indicate that Foodstuffs consider themselves as liable although not exactly embracing any liability.

       Meanwhile, I know that New World are franchised which means that there probably isn’t a CEA in place, which in turn means there will be no redundancy clause.

       And I also know that 8 weeks pay for an employee who has worked for any more than 2 years is utterly derisory.
     • Vicky32 7.1.2

       9 September 2010 at 5:22 pm

       “8 weeks is pretty generous if they’re not required to provide any.”
       I would have expected that they *are* required to provide something! Surely they have some obligation to their staff!
       Deb
8. Carol 8

   9 September 2010 at 12:15 pm

   Radio National Midday News has just reported that it has obtained evidence of an email trail that contradicts the government’s claims about the allocation of funds in the Budget to Peda.
   • Carol 8.1

     9 September 2010 at 3:17 pm

     This is the Nat Rad item on PEDA, posted just after 1pm today:

     http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/56422/email-exchange-throws-fresh-light-on-peda-case

     Updated at 1:01 pm today
     An email exchange between Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs officials appears to contradict Government claims relating to a controversial budget allocation.
     …

     But it argued that PEDA had not been chosen as the sole provider, as the allocation was dependent on the successful negotiation of a purchase agreement.

     However, Radio New Zealand’s political staff have sighted an email between two ministry officials that refers to the “email trail from Treasury that started on March the 18th, when they told us that ministers had approved the $1.2 million for PEDA”.

     Copyright © 2010, Radio New Zealand
9. The Voice of Reason 9

   9 September 2010 at 1:20 pm

   Just spent a an hour or so in the company of the leader of her Maj’s loyal opposition. Fantastic to see how well Phil Goff was able to relate to both working people and the senior management who were showing him around. He was sharp, observant and didn’t once look like like he’d much rather be in Hawaii or taking tea with the Queen.

   He very quickly got his head round the way the business operates, talked meaningfully with the staff about their work and their lives and showed he had a great sense of humour, too, particularly when he was asked to draw the social club raffle and was told the lucky winner was, er, Chris Carter. Goff laughed along with everybody else and seemed genuinely chuffed to be able get into a bit of self deprecating banter with the staff. All warm, human stuff and not at all what you’d expect if you rely on the MSM’s portrayal.

   You know, from what I saw this morning, I think he’s got a good chance next election. It might be a tortoise v hare race we’re in, but we all know how that one turned out.
   • the pink postman 9.1

     9 September 2010 at 3:20 pm

     I hate to so “I told you ” but I was praising Goff’s leadership qualities when many were having doubts. The fact is that Goff is an excellent leader;Why would the Right keep,on telling us he is not the leader for us? The reason they know he’s good and no doubt fear him.I am seeing the change in attitude from the general public and Im picking that the next Gallop Polls (for what they are worth) should show a big improvement for Goff,and Labour.If they don’t well I will then know they are bent. The scandals and sleaze from this Tory government is begining to be noticed .even the Herald is reporting it,
     If the Super City elections favour the Left then this Tory lot are mince meat.
10. Herodotus 10

    9 September 2010 at 3:37 pm

    Thanks to all involved within the last few govts our quality education slides.
    So what is different between the 2 sides, Nat or Lab they both get the same results, and many partisian groups consistently blindly support their side, when both sides are the problem.
    Just like the neo lib running of this country financially, they both follow the same line of thinking, and we expect a different result by “our” side vs “the other”. Same with education
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10671842
    For me if we want Unis to regain their past glory there has to be exellence as the focus, both in the teaching and the research (not the failed bums on seats approach) and a return to technicals as a seperate form of learing, not uni and techs being the same.
    • millsy 10.1

      10 September 2010 at 12:45 pm

      Our tertiary education system needs to be smashed to bits and built up again from the bottom.

      I would start with killing the unit standards system and the concept of mastery learning. Both have systematically dumbed down vocational and technical education to the point of box ticking.

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1. The Standard: posted on 8 September 2010 at 6:04 pm

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