The man in the mirror

28 comments on “The man in the mirror ”

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1. Sweetd 1

   29 May 2009 at 8:32 pm

   Eighth Successive Month of Fewer Airline Schedules

   5% Fewer Flights and 3% Drop in Seat Capacity for March 2009

   Domestic U.S. Continues to Bear the Brunt of the Cutbacks

   LONDON, March 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — The world’s airlines have scheduled 4.9% fewer flights for March 2009 compared with the same month last year, with a 3.3% drop in seat capacity, according to the latest statistics from OAG (http://www.oagaviation.com/), the world’s leading aviation data business. This is the eighth successive month of declines, and represents a reduction of more than 122,000 flights and 9.8 million seats year on year. The total number of flights scheduled to operate worldwide this month is 2.38 million, offering 289.8 million seats to travelers around the globe.

   http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m4PRN/is_2009_March_24/ai_n31466674/

   One idea that came out of the Job Summit was a tourism fund to provide contestable funding for good ideas in the sector. It could work like this. We put in a certain amount of money. Then RTOs, businesses, and other tourism bodies can contest that money if they put in some of their own.

   We’ve already done a bit of this. Just last month we announced that the government is providing an immediate $2.5 million boost for tourism promotion in Australia. Air New Zealand matched this with another $2.5 million.

   Our research suggests that this could create around $65 million of revenue for New Zealand and deliver about 35,000 extra tourists from Australia. It is early days, but it looks like the number of tourists coming out of Australia has increased since this funding boost.

   http://johnkey.co.nz/index.php?/archives/695-Lifting-our-Game-My-Vision-for-Tourism.html
   • Mr Magoo 1.1

     29 May 2009 at 9:27 pm

     Where the bloody hell are they?

     Sorry…couldn’t resist.

     Facts:

     http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/2457106/Air-NZ-cuts-services

     They are already down a lot more than your quote. This will be ON TOP of that.

     We are talking nearing 2x the downgrade you have shown above.

     Nevertheless, airlines are in trouble worldwide and some losses are enevitable. As tourism is important to us for revenue one would have hoped for more.
2. burt 2

   29 May 2009 at 10:35 pm

   Zetetic,

   How on earth did you type all that and add the picture etc with only one free hand?
3. Steve 3

   29 May 2009 at 10:37 pm

   The PM addressed a gathering of operators with tourism interests within the Auckland region last week. He spent most of the time telling jokes such as the “talking to the Minister of Tourism” mentioned in your blog. He continued with ‘Wife” jokes about Dan Carter’s appeal to Mrs Key, stories about he and his son fishing with a well known TV fishing type and how “being National and believing in user-pays” he charged his son for his share of the day’s fishing costs (yes another joke I think). But not much else.

   There was a huge void where the audience was waiting for the Minister of Tourism’s insight into how he was going to support and save the No1 industry in the country. It sort of came. Spread over 3 years his govt is going to plough $50m into a cycleway to help boost tourism and employment! A cycleway to support a market niche representing 2% of NZ’s arrival numbers! And this is his answer to saving jobs in the biggest industry in this country?

   Even Air NZ has had to come out today to say they are disappointed with the lack of support for tourism promotion. The cycleway investment is going to go nowhere in helping to keep those 80 jobs the company said they’re shedding.

   And why give $35M to private schools? Why are they not like other businesses which are failing and going into receivorship? Let them fail. That money should be going to our State schools which could absorb the fall out from the private schools closing.

   Yes, as you say, the Min of Tourism, amongst others, should be talking back to the man in the mirror.
   • calltoaccount 3.1

     29 May 2009 at 11:04 pm

     That first para is so much like a speech the guy gave down in Christchurch before the election. Different time, subject, audience and place. Same pattern, same waste of time.

     ( Is that you, Steve (Pierson)? Hope so. Must be hard to resist joining in what is getting to be like a turkey shoot?! )
     • Draco T Bastard 3.1.1

       30 May 2009 at 12:41 am

       So, basically, you stopped in to say SFA?
       • calltoaccount 3.1.1.1

         30 May 2009 at 12:59 pm

         So, basically, I stopped in to check if “Steve” is the one and only Pierson. A hope more than a question I guess, but a reasonable one to ask.
         • Zetetic 3.1.1.1.1

           30 May 2009 at 1:51 pm

           Pretty sure Clinton who wrote as Steve P is Wellington-based.

           The story you both tell of Key’s speeches being little more than hollow stories and no substance is one I’m hearing a lot.

           In fact. To get my blood up I was reading one of those NZ Management magazines the other day. (why is it that they need so much to be admired, no loved, for their ‘success). There was a story in it of Key giving a speech.

           Looked like it was going to be crappy business journalist loves Key. Then half way through it turned. Said Key didn’t say anything of substance and didn’t take questions from the audience. Just not interested. Even in a business audience.

           I tore out the article to post it on here. Then my drunk friend ripped it up. I’ll see if I can reconstruct it.
         • Steve 3.1.1.1.2

           31 May 2009 at 10:55 pm

           No, not Pierson although he must be a good guy!
4. burt 4

   29 May 2009 at 11:10 pm

   Steve

   This is why tax payers should not own airlines. Have you put you hand into your own back pocket to save the workers? Or should the govt suddenly put its hands into all of our back pockets to save the jobs. Did we vote for that?

   How much have tax payers already invested in Air NZ. Already invested to save jobs and preserve Air NZ as a brand, to protect tourism. How has the business of Air NZ operated as a ‘peoples airline’? It has hired staff via low wage arrangements in off shore entities while enjoying monopoly pricing on many NZ routes.

   Perhaps If the NZ govt had spent the money it has spent on Air NZ by giving out free flights to NZ on cereal packs in the UK, tourism would be better off for it today. We might not have a national carrier, but there would be a steady stream of visitors all going back bleating about NZ.
5. Daveo 5

   29 May 2009 at 11:39 pm

   The EPMU only represents the workers in ground services and Zeal 320. The rest are ALPA and FARSA. There’s probably not too much they can do. They’ll fight to reduce the number of jobs lost and to make sure the process is fair but at the end of the day it’s managerial prerogative.
6. ak 6

   30 May 2009 at 1:49 am

   Wife jokes

   Oh Sunny boy

   The lights, the lights are falling

   From burt to Glen

   They’ve glimpsed the fractured side

   The summer’s gone

   And all the shoots are dying

   ‘Tis you, ’tis you must grow

   Lest we subside.

   But come ye back

   With something more than shadow

   Or when your valley’s flush

   With more than snow

   “Tis we’ll be here

   Still standing in the shallows

   Oh Sunny boy, oh Sunny boy

   Mum pushed him not

   He loved you so.
   • Ianmac 6.1

     30 May 2009 at 10:17 am

     Ak Very clever! (It took 2 readings.) I do wonder what it must be like for a wife of a PM watching the charming grin become ineffective and the disillusionment spread. She would have to be stauncher that a Black Power Gang Member!
7. starboard 7

   30 May 2009 at 11:20 am

   “The Budget is already costing jobs.

   AirNZ has announced that it will be cutting flights. 80 jobs will go. The EPMU has said it will fight hard for the jobs. It’ll be tough to save them all.”

   Nothing to do with the budget you twats…increased competition between Pac Blue and Jetstar is damaging Air NZ…but dont let the facts get in the way of a good story…
   • felix 7.1

     30 May 2009 at 12:29 pm

     oh look, it’s learnt how to log in.

     Still the same old troll though.
     • billiousharridan 7.1.1

       30 May 2009 at 12:49 pm

       Is that Sue Bradford off to the Starboard …….. toot toot launch torpedoes lads there’s something billious that needs sinking.
8. infused 8

   30 May 2009 at 11:42 am

   I’ve come to the conclusion Zetetic is the crappiest post on here. I thought my arguments lacked detail and information.

   One day after the budget they plan to slash jobs? Bullshit. Sounds like its been in the works for awhile and the budget was a good way to justify it.
   • Zetetic 8.1

     30 May 2009 at 12:26 pm

     You’re not calling me wrong. You’re calling AirNZ liars. You’re calling your hero Rob Fyfe a liar.

     He’s the one who said they were hoping for something in the budget for tourism. Nothing coming. So means that passenger numbers are going to stay down. Those empty flights they’ve been carrying, hoping for something in the Budget get canned.
     • Anita 8.1.1

       30 May 2009 at 12:36 pm

       Do you have a link for that? I can find him complaining about the lack of tourism funding in the budget (e.g. here) but I can’t find him saying that the cuts were because of that.

       It’d be really impressive if Fyfe were willing to publicly blame Key for job losses and I’d love the quote.
       • Zetetic 8.1.1.1

         30 May 2009 at 1:31 pm

         Heard it on National Radio yesterday. There’s a presser on newsroom if you have access. I don’t at home. It links the Budget and the jobs. Scoop doesn’t have it.
     • infused 8.1.2

       30 May 2009 at 1:08 pm

       As others have said, you’re wrong. You can’t just announce job cuts that specific a day after the budget. It had been planned for awhile. The budget was an excuse.

       The reason I think this is because if I was in his position, that’s what I’d do.
       • Anita 8.1.2.1

         30 May 2009 at 1:26 pm

         Actually I reckon one could.

         If things were really bad but there was genuine hope that the budget might help it would make sense to build the cut package but hold it back until the budget in the hope it wouldn’t be needed. It would also make tactical sense to tell the Government that is what was being done, and if they didn’t make adequate reassurances then leak it to the media “Air NZ is hoping for good news in the budget so they don’t have to cut…” to up the pressure on the government.

         One could do it, but I don’t see evidence that Fyfe/AirNZ did do it.
9. Sweetd 9

   30 May 2009 at 12:37 pm

   Zetetic

   I shot down your wank bit in my first comment. Air lines are down globally. Air NZ has got money from Key for tourism pitched at getting Aussie tourists.
   • Zetetic 9.1

     30 May 2009 at 1:26 pm

     Not my wank. Rob Fyfe’s official reason for canning the jobs. They were going to have to go if the Budget had nothing to save them. It didn’t. Bye bye jobs.

     You calling Rob Fyfe a liar? Because he’s one of John-boy’s best mates. He’s got no reason to lie.
     • Anita 9.1.1

       30 May 2009 at 1:27 pm

       That he’s one of Key’s mates is why I’d be amazed if he did blame Key for the job cuts. Did you find the link?
10. Zetetic 10

    30 May 2009 at 1:45 pm

    That mirror’s some pretty nifty artwork. If I do say so myself.
11. Steve 11

    31 May 2009 at 11:08 pm

    Got to say that Starboard and Burt are the real twats here. Air NZ wasn’t asking for funding for Air NZ, it was for tourism promotion in general. Sure they are feeling the pinch but then all airlines serving NZ are feeling the pinch. And if you look at the record you’ll see there are something like 29 or more competitor airlines flying to this country and Air NZ has never shied ayway from that competition.

    The entire tourism industry is hurting. Wouldn’t you think that as the major player in tourism in this country that the national carrier has an obligation to show some leadership and challenge this NACT government on their tourism spend. I still can’t get over that $50m is being directed towards that damn stupid cycleway (over 3 yrs). Imagine what that funding, more appropriately directed to tourism marketing, would do for all the businesses in NZ’s tourism. Apart from anything else it would have to go some way to saving tourism jobs…and then think of the flow on effect to jobs in industries which feed off tourism…food manufacturing, farming, restaurants, taxis, general transport, even foreign airlines who employ hundreds of kiwis…the list goes on.
12. OhPlease 12

    3 June 2009 at 7:32 am

    The recent rise in the NZD was a direct consequence of the conservative budget which most economist would have predicted. This is bad for tourism and bad for exporters. How does that help our current account debt? Doesn’t it show you that a conservative fiscal stance was actually the worst of all possible worlds?

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