Open mike 18/08/2010

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, August 18th, 2010 - 36 comments
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36 comments on “Open mike 18/08/2010 ”

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  1. Graham 1
    18 August 2010 at 9:29 am

    Sooo … what about those Trades Academies that National will be opening next year, providing trades and technology programmes?

    Good idea, don’t you think?

    • Armchair Critic 1.1
      18 August 2010 at 10:00 am

      Fantastic, Australia will be stoked. What with the lack of jobs in NZ, the graduates from the academies will have better opportunities overseas. Where they won’t face the risk of being fired without explanation after 89 days.
      The Aussies will probably be a bit upset that the academy system has less of a practical, hand-on approach than the apprenticeship system, but since they’ll be getting something for nothing I doubt they’ll mind that much.

    • Marco 1.2
      18 August 2010 at 10:55 am

      Actually a Labour idea started at Onehunga High School, but hey the Nats may as well claim them.

      • prism 1.2.1
        18 August 2010 at 11:10 am

        Yes with NACT everything Labour had is theirs, if they so decide, and everything they have is their own unless it doesn’t work then it’s Labours fault owing to some action taken a decade ago.

        ‘Go back Jack, do it again, wheels going round and round’. But never getting anywhere we want or need to go sadly just the same old desperate remedies.

  2. B 2
    18 August 2010 at 9:31 am

    Results of National’s axing the TIA and blaming beneficiaries for their own unemployment:

    Sole parents surviving by eating their children’s leftovers
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10666600

    Huge no of parents have to go to WINZ to borrow money for uniforms and other school costs
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10666578

    • prism 2.1
      18 August 2010 at 10:07 am

      Last recession there was a boy who couldn’t participate in all the activity of the top cricket team at his school because his parents couldn’t afford the right clothes, blazer etc. This is where the gulf between the haves and have-nots is noticeable and hurtful on a personal level.

      As a poorer person it was sad to have the hard-bought Nikes I had got for my son stolen from his locker. The belt-tightening in a recession is felt more at the bottom, and you get into a dog-eat-dog mentality. One of the ways that some poor people cope when things are stolen from them is to then replace them by stealing from someone else.

      When there is little hope of improving one’s situation and you’re preyed on by others with no moral restraints, then it can seem foolish to go without because you’re the only one following moral behaviour. Learned helplessness is a term for beneficiary behaviour by critics of social policy. Improving your income and managing your duties in life can become too weighty and you need to apply for social welfare help with school uniforms etc. Is that learned helplessness or just the certain outcome of countrywide financial and business mismanagement?

  3. joe90 3
    18 August 2010 at 9:54 am

    Another Peter Sinclair crock of the week video.

    The CO2 is good for plants, more CO2 must be even better for plants crock.

  4. jcuknz 4
    18 August 2010 at 10:34 am

    This mornings NYT heading “Golf Course goes organic …. weeds make a comeback”
    Then it mentions that Obama will be playing there shortly.
    You have got to be able to laugh at your side don’t you 🙂

  5. prism 5
    18 August 2010 at 10:59 am

    Stupid NZ laxness No. 64,003 – Bus shelters that leak so that people get wet while ‘sheltering’ and may stay damp all day – public transport then becoming devalued in Auckland and other places around NZ. Why? Because the councils have abrogated their role to provide services to reasonable standards by giving a contract to some business to erect bus shelters for use as advertising space. Public-private partnership towards a country with deteriorating standards for everything public?

    And without having a design standard imposed by Councils. Not needed apparently, the firm is following an ‘overseas’ design and of course if it’s from overseas it must be OK and even superior to what NZ might initiate. I am so sick of hearing the word ‘overseas’ as an authority – where in the world is ‘overseas’ exactly?

    Commuters explained that there is a gap between roof and the wall/s of shelter so rain and wind get in there, and there is a sufficient gap at the base so shoes and ankles receive the bad weather. A nice touch was the commuter waiting under a stainless steel screw that carried the rain water direct to her. Possibly the shelter was too crowded to change position or she would use her umbrella (if available). In Wellington though, the wind often turns umbrellas inside out but no worries they have these (inadequate) shelters.

    • Adrian 5.1
      18 August 2010 at 1:00 pm

      40 years ago I worked for an outdoor advertising company that introduced bus shelters in Auckland, they didn’t leak because we made them properly, but there was a gap at the bottom to stop rubbish and leaves gathering in them , but the gap only needs to be 50mm or so. Now it’s all about making stuff as cheap and shitty as possible. The new miserable corporatism.

      • prism 5.1.1
        18 August 2010 at 8:47 pm

        That’s good info Adrian. 40 years ago, and the outdoor advertising company introduced the first bus shelters in Ak you say, and with just a 2 inch gap at the bottom which would be practical. I wonder what contract length they had then? I think the new ones have got the monopoly for 25 years.

  6. felix 6
    18 August 2010 at 2:10 pm

    Oh dear, our glorious Prime Minister is drunk in the house. Again.

    • MikeG 6.1
      18 August 2010 at 2:21 pm

      Could you please explain for those of us without access to Parliament radio/tv. Thanks

      • Carol 6.1.1
        18 August 2010 at 2:33 pm

        Those were my thoughts entirely – Key has been slurring his speech in the house today… not to mention gleefully, with a smirking smile, telling everyone that the gap is INDEED closing with Aussie, that less people have left for Aussie in his regime than under Labour, and that the economy has improved vastly in the last 6 months, showing a big improvement from the mess and economic decline that Lavour left them with…

    • The Voice of Reason 6.2
      18 August 2010 at 2:23 pm

      Do tell, felix! Has he done a Muldoon and called a snap election? Or is there any chance he’s proposed a drunken toast to the Standard on the occasion of this mighty organ’s 3rd birthday?

      • felix 6.2.1
        18 August 2010 at 3:15 pm

        Nothing so exciting, sorry. Just what Carol said, above – slurring and yelling and snorting and generally behaving like an obnoxious dinner party guest who doesn’t realise he’s the only drunk in the room.

        In other news, Lockwood has just approved an urgent debate on the sacking of Heather Roy.

        • Armchair Critic 6.2.1.1
          18 August 2010 at 8:50 pm

          eard a bit of the snap debate today in parliament.
          The Sir-Roger Douglasaurus stood up to defend his party’s shenanigans. Despite having voted otherwise just a day or so earlier.
          His speech had so much potential, none of it good, and it didn’t fail to live up to my very low expectations. So how did he defend his party?
          Turns out, according to the Douglasaurus, ACT is a democratic party, and democracy won out. I could only conclude that the democracy consisted of a vote for every dollar donated by each MP. And Heather Roy was voted out by 100,002 votes to 2,000. A resounding victory.
          More than that, it’s all okay because ACT are more democratic than Labour. A long-winded and confused ramble about the inner workings of a party he has not been a member of for a decade or two followed. No attempt at transparency or explanation; finally he was saved by the bell.
          In the end I smiled wryly to myself and wondered how it is that the Douglasaurus survived extinction 65 million years ago. I’m sure 2011 will bring about the inevitable.
          On a slightly different topic – are the deputy-leadership of ACT and ministerial posts inextricably linked? Before I get a “no, but ACT would hae looked silly if they did anything else”, they look pretty silly already, and it’s spreading.

  7. John Elijah 7
    18 August 2010 at 2:35 pm

    Bring back a Committee for Public Safety.

  8. Carol 8
    18 August 2010 at 6:06 pm

    Huh!? TV 3 news claims Winston Peters will stand against Key in the Helensville electorate next elections. Peters wouldn’t confirm or deny, but said, if he did do it, it would mean he could get to ask Key the questions he never gets asked or doesn’t answer.

  9. BLiP 9
    18 August 2010 at 6:07 pm

    Heh!! I see my man Winston is to stand in Helensville – should put the cat among the pidgeons. : )

    • Pat 9.1
      18 August 2010 at 6:23 pm

      It also kills off any premise that National will go with NZ First.

      • d14 9.1.1
        18 August 2010 at 6:42 pm

        The other option quoted in Stuff was Epsom!!! That would interesting and fun.

        • loota 9.1.1.1
          18 August 2010 at 6:45 pm

          Winston wants back into Parliament. Which seat can he spin his way to make it happen. He probably sees unique angles on both that we can only dream of.

        • The Voice of Reason 9.1.1.2
          18 August 2010 at 7:41 pm

          Quote of the week:

          Mr Peters said he would also “love to think about standing in Epsom, but I would never want to have a dual of wits with an unarmed opponent”.

  10. BLiP 10
    18 August 2010 at 8:23 pm

    And another item from the W T F file:

    Council history book causes major embarrassment

    Auckland City Council was today left with egg on its face after working party recommendations on who is to write the controversial $120,000 history book were rejected by the Finance & Strategy Committee because the working party failed to meets its quorum.

    A three-member working party comprising Deputy Mayor David Hay, Councillor Aaron Bhatnagar and Councillor Mark Donnelly was set up in June to review expressions of interest (EOIs) from interested authors. However, both Councillor Bhatnagar and Councillor Donnelly declared conflicts of interest and in the end, only the Deputy Mayor reviewed the EOIs and produced a set of confidential recommendations on who should write the book and how many tens of thousands of dollars extra (above the $120,000) would be needed to pay for its printing.

    Further embarrassment was to follow when the Finance Chair Doug Armstrong tried to reconstitute yet another working party when he learned that none of the five City Vision-Labour Councillors wanted any part of the secret review. That left Councillor Armstrong leaving the chair to whisper in the ear of the only other Councillor present (Councillor Bill Christian) to flatter him into accepting the nomination to save the day..

    Councillor Cathy Casey said “We reached a new low today with regard to the secret decision-making process on who will write the history book and its cost.. This Council needs to come clean. $120,000 is just the writing cost. This John Banks-led Council is so hell-bent on getting its dubious name into the annals of history that it is prepared to throw another $35,000 at it to get it into print.’

    Councillor Northey said “I consider it a profoundly sad day for the reputation of Auckland City Council that the C&R Councillors have not taken the heaven-sent opportunity to abandon the history book project. A premature, biased rushed hagiography and a scandalous waste of public money is all that results from this desperately ill-conceived project.’

    Councillor Fryer said “Family friendly street furniture such as New Zealand critters in Aotea Square would be a more valuable legacy than a history of Auckland City Council which may well end up no better than a historical bodice ripper.’

    And these fuckers think they can run a Super City !!!

  11. Armchair Critic 11
    18 August 2010 at 11:03 pm

    The CEO of Fletcher Building says that there will be a lull in infrastructure next year.
    “The volume of government-funded infrastructure projects is expected to reduce in 2011, with a number of large projects scheduled for completion later in the current calendar year. A rebound is anticipated in the 2012 year with several significant new projects scheduled to commence.“.
    So much for increasing infrastructure investment, or even keeping it going. National have failed to keep up. There was some suggestion that building stuff during the RWC was not favoured, but the RWC lasts for a month or so, not for the whole year.
    Useless bastards.
    Capcha = mad. A concise summary of National’s approach to infrastructure investment.

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