I reckon the Warriors forwards are going to put the young Roosters through the wringer.
Immediately below that is the live scorecard:
Creating a nation of sooks
8 minutes ago
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Faux pas of the day
Richie Barnett (via the front page of the Herald website) on the Warriors/Roosters clash:
A Seminal Moment?
A couple of days ago Adolf watched a report on the BAJA's latest gaffe. I thought then 'This is the end for Obama. He just cooked his goose good and proper." This time it was the old 'live mike' trick except that this one was pretty serious.
Obama was caught out offering concessions to Vladimir Putin via Putin's mate Medvedev. (Concessions on missile defense when there is no negotiation in train.) The real shocker from Obama was his request for Putin to wait until his re-election in November, after which he would no longer be accountable to the voters for his actions.
Here was a US President admitting that whatever he was going to concede would not go down well with the electorate. As an aside, he was selling out on of the US and Europe's most important defense systems.
The President was caught with his pants well and truly down. This clip will feature nationwide in anti Obama TV advertising and I think its effect will be devastating.
A couple of other such moments seep through the fog of Adolf's memory:-
Jim Bolger and his superannuation surcharge gaffe.
Gough Whitlam and his sale of Australian foreign policy to Iraq in return for funding the ALP's campaign debt and forthcoming costs.
Paul Keating and his 'recession Australia had to have.'
Can you think of a few more? Maggie Thatcher's poll tax perhaps?
Text Of The Day
From todays Hawkes Bay today.
`Yes I work in retail and yes, customers do come first but what we don't need to put up with is rude arrogant customers who take it as their right to treat us rudely. We take pride in our customer service and we have awards to show this.' SW
Friday, March 30, 2012
Some weeks are better than others
On a personal level, this was a motherfucker of a week - critical systems falling over, horrendously boring meetings, and an assignment I've barely started that's due on Sunday (warning - never assume the coming year looks quiet enough for you to do some extramural papers).
On a national level though, what a fucking satisfactory week - the govt's getting the death of a thousand cuts courtesy of factional infighting, and now PoAL is reduced to putting a brave face on a painful defeat in the courts.
Stuff has the story here, in which PoAL "...announced it had made a "fresh determination" to work with the Maritime Union and come to a collective agreement," or in plain language, cancelled its lockout and agreed to pay the locked-out workers for the time lost.
But Stuff's story is just confusing - why would PoAL do that? Well, my money's on this sudden change of heart having to do with Judge Travis having issued this document on Thursday, in which he says:
And:
And:
If PoAL's CEO and board couldn't see the writing on that wall they'd need seeing eye dogs - hence the "surprise" backdown today. Their efforts now will be focused on avoiding a judicial spanking at that substantive hearing.
At this point, a special mention to 3News: at least twice you guys told us that "employment law specialists" were of the view that MUNZ were clutching at straws taking this to the employment court because they didn't have a shit's show of getting a result. I watched on both occasions thinking that either "good faith bargaining" is a meaningless term in law, or the overpaid blatherers you were talking to were specialists mainly in wishful thinking. I guess it was the latter - I advise looking for some less delusional "employment law specialists" to talk to in future.
On a national level though, what a fucking satisfactory week - the govt's getting the death of a thousand cuts courtesy of factional infighting, and now PoAL is reduced to putting a brave face on a painful defeat in the courts.
Stuff has the story here, in which PoAL "...announced it had made a "fresh determination" to work with the Maritime Union and come to a collective agreement," or in plain language, cancelled its lockout and agreed to pay the locked-out workers for the time lost.
But Stuff's story is just confusing - why would PoAL do that? Well, my money's on this sudden change of heart having to do with Judge Travis having issued this document on Thursday, in which he says:
[24] I find that there is a seriously arguable case that the actions of the defendant in allegedly threatening to and then deciding to contract out the work on which the union employees were engaged under the expired collective agreement whilst collective bargaining was on foot for a new collective agreement was likely to undermine and arguably has undermined the bargaining. It will also, arguably, undermine the bargaining in the future. It is therefore seriously arguable that those actions have breached s 32(1)(d)(iii) of the Act.
And:
...even under the Employment Contracts Act 1991, mass dismissals for bargaining purposes had been found to be unlawful in McCulloch v New Zealand Fire Service Commission3 and New Zealand Seafarers’ Union Inc v Silver Fern Shipping Ltd (No 2).
And:
[30] Finally, there is an issue that by progressing the dismissal proposal and engaging the contractors, their employees will be performing the work of striking employees in breach of s 97 of the Act. That will be equally arguable, even though the strike has ceased, if the dismissal proposals are pursued while the threatened lockouts apply. I find that all these issues are arguable and they will be dealt with in the substantive hearing commencing on 16 May.
If PoAL's CEO and board couldn't see the writing on that wall they'd need seeing eye dogs - hence the "surprise" backdown today. Their efforts now will be focused on avoiding a judicial spanking at that substantive hearing.
At this point, a special mention to 3News: at least twice you guys told us that "employment law specialists" were of the view that MUNZ were clutching at straws taking this to the employment court because they didn't have a shit's show of getting a result. I watched on both occasions thinking that either "good faith bargaining" is a meaningless term in law, or the overpaid blatherers you were talking to were specialists mainly in wishful thinking. I guess it was the latter - I advise looking for some less delusional "employment law specialists" to talk to in future.
You'd Think Someone Might Ask Why?
Today on ABC Radio midday news I heard that Fiji has rejected an offer of $900,000 from the Australian and NZ governments - tagged for funding voter registration for the forthcoming 2014 election.
I thought, how odd that the report carried no reason for such an apparently strange decision.
A google search of news sites reveals only one report, that of the ABC, repeated in a number of places.
Could it possible be that NZ and Aust hung a few too many strings onto their aid package, such that aid' might have morphed into 'bribe?'
I thought, how odd that the report carried no reason for such an apparently strange decision.
A google search of news sites reveals only one report, that of the ABC, repeated in a number of places.
Could it possible be that NZ and Aust hung a few too many strings onto their aid package, such that aid' might have morphed into 'bribe?'
Text Of The Day
From todays Hawkes Bay Today.
`I am not a Colin Slade fan but he has to be the unluckiest player in rugby.' BB.
Not even half of it
The pilot who lost his marbles on the passenger deck of the Vegas flight "suffered a panic attack" what about the bloody passengers?
Balanced media scrutiny?
Am I alone in thinking that the treatment of two ex party presidents was a little different.
One, a person who, so as to be able to perform the duties of assisting the election of a party by being appointed to several "cosy directorships on NGO boards, spent undisclosed money possibly from government funds trying unsuccessfully to find evidence of malfeasance by the leader of a rival party.
The other after leaving the position of president which I understand was fundeded from party funds, rendered substantial assistance to a fellow party activist in claims against ACC and an Insurance company.
The former activity almost passed beneath the radar of state TV while the latter was almost rabidly reported by an animated Walrus as the crime of the century while he desperately attempted to embroil the PM in what is becoming a beatup of epic proportions.
Just my right of center bias I guess
A WOF Every Six Months To Go?
I hope so.
It is an established fact that "operating an unwarrantable Vehicle" is a Traffic violation.
Having a 50mm square sticker on a vehicle is not evidence of its mechanical soundness.
How often within weeks or on occasions days or even hours a "passed" vehicle is no longer warrantable.
An annual inspection and placing the onus on the driver to ensure any vehicle taken on a road is compliant should suffice with the annual assessment concentrating on the more obscure things that are unable to be seen with "a walk around" such as any aircraft pilot will perform before any take off.
Most of the alarm being raised seems to be coming from the beneficiaries of the six month rort ie those making a living from the system and are threatened with a reduction in work.
It is an established fact that "operating an unwarrantable Vehicle" is a Traffic violation.
Having a 50mm square sticker on a vehicle is not evidence of its mechanical soundness.
How often within weeks or on occasions days or even hours a "passed" vehicle is no longer warrantable.
An annual inspection and placing the onus on the driver to ensure any vehicle taken on a road is compliant should suffice with the annual assessment concentrating on the more obscure things that are unable to be seen with "a walk around" such as any aircraft pilot will perform before any take off.
Most of the alarm being raised seems to be coming from the beneficiaries of the six month rort ie those making a living from the system and are threatened with a reduction in work.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
JUDITH COLLINS
Collins is a lawyer with a mind as sharp as a tack. She would not have done this lightly and on a whim. She knows full well that unless her case is rock solid it could backfire big time and no lawyer, let alone a Minister of Justice, would ever issue proceedings unless they had total confidence they would stand the high test necessary to achieve a guilty verdict. It is a big call. Judith Collins has made it and, as I said, Mallard and Little should be very very afraid.
One wonders if they have been bright enough to put their personal fortunes into Trusts?
Union Delegates - My Recent Personal Experience
Over the time the Ports of Auckland v MUNZ dispute has been happening I have been jousting with Robert Winter over at Idle Thoughts Of An Idle Fellow, always taking the employers side. Robert is passionate about the role of unions, may even be a union official (I don't know) and expounds on Employment Law at a level I cannot and do not try to compete with.
What I want to do here is give you a precis of a recent experience with a Union Delegate. This took place in early February when Allied Work Force, who provide casual staff to Watties in Hastings invited me to participate in an induction meeting before the work started. The first speaker they put up was the local Union Delegate - what an oaf.
This man was foul mouthed, persisted in calling company management `those bastards' throughout his 15/20 minutes talk. The way he bad mouthed Watties, who were presumably also his employer, was almost unbelieveable. Almost unbelieveable but, not unexpected because as soon as I say him I could see what was going to happen. While he was talking he went around the room distributing membership forms and instructed attendees to complete them so the union could protect them from `those bastards' once work started. By his style of speech and mannerisms there was a high degree of coercian in getting people to sign up - no bullying but definitely an expectation that everyone would sign up.
I do not exaggerate - the `those bastards' phrase must have been used close to twenty times during his presentation. Bloody and bugger were also in regular usage although he did not resort to the `F' or `C' words.
Now this man was not addressing just a bunch of unemployed New Zealanders looking for work. Among the 25/30 people in attendance were a number of Asians, a few probably from Europe or maybe South America - I found out last week there were people from Argentina and Chile working in the Peach House as I was. Therefore this man did not reflect well on New Zealand.
I politely told him I would not be joining the Union and would fight my own battles with the company if necessary. I wonder now if this is the reason I only got seven days work in total while others will have up to three months work. Is Allied Work Force bowing to Union pressure and giving preference to union members - this of course is a different issue.
From my observations and experience some Unions are living in the past and holding New Zealand and it's employers back. They need to change not only their attitudes but the way they communicate what they offer to potential members.
Text Of The Day
From todays Hawkes Bay today.
`Enough is enough of these low life sumbags stabbings and violence. Give them a taste of a rattan cane on their naked bums and see if they come back for more.' Unattributed.
`Enough is enough of these low life sumbags stabbings and violence. Give them a taste of a rattan cane on their naked bums and see if they come back for more.' Unattributed.
These sentiments will be shared by many.
What is Gunna Happn.
In the last month I have been fortunate to access a couple of reasonably inaccessible bits of the SI High Country, The Middle Clarence Valley and last weekend country around the Pahau and Dove Rivers in Nth Canterbury.
The two areas have been or are involved in "Tenure Review", or as one wag described it Ten Year Review. A process where the Crown negotiates the retirement of some of the land in the CRL, Crown Renewable Lease, and the Leaseholder gains a Freehold Title to some of the more productive areas.
One thing that becomes apparent is the retired land is exposed to major problems from weed and animal pests as the control of them exceeds DOC's abilities and resources and the land that is retained for pastoral use is still being managed and will be kept relatively clear of gorse, broom, blackberry, briar and animals such as possums, ferrets, pigs, rabbits and deer.
The other benefit of Occupied vs Retired is access with landholders maintaining tracks and river crossings that allow the more mature among us to still access these areas that Doc controls following Tenure Review. Naturally they are only doing that on the areas of DOC estate of benefit to them.
Retirement of vulnerable land brings problems that will be way beyond Doc's management abilities.
I understand DOC are exploring some limited reoccupation of the retired lands as a management option but there are major challenges ahead.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Text Of The Day
From todays Hawkes Bay Today.
`I'm all for an inquiry into the Nick Smith saga and I'd like to see Winston Peters in charge of it.' PK.
`I'm all for an inquiry into the Nick Smith saga and I'd like to see Winston Peters in charge of it.' PK.
What I would prefer to see is an enquiry into all of the rorts by Winston Peters during his time associated with the Clark led government. I am available to head up this enquiry.
I wouldn't do that if I were you...
DPF has a whinge about the fact that the universities are now directly funding student associations, thus defeating the purpose of the VSM Act.
Thing is, anyone who actually knew anything about universities, including the universities themselves, pointed out beforehand that this is what would happen. Universities are in competition with each other and "the student experience," ie the social activities that make being a student fun, is one of those areas of competition. So, if a bunch of right-wing ideologues pass legislation threatening the current means of providing that student experience, the universities will fund it directly themselves and bill it back to the students - to the detriment of student representation, as the people running things will then effectively be employees of the university, not student representatives.
Practical considerations mean nothing to ideologues, and of course the legislation was passed. But it's a bit rich for said ideologues to now complain that the result is exactly what was predicted. In fact, it's just plain stupid. Even more stupid is suggesting the govt should use this as an example of how universities obviously have too much money - because who is it again that's requiring the competition between universities in the first place? Uh, duh-uh...
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Bloody motorist, well arsehole anyway
Recently on a winding state Highway, I was riding along very far to the left of the road, minding my own business and enjoying the wind in my face and the sun on my legs, when a lone motorist drove up behind me and started to dominate the lane we are to share as equal status road users.
Yes equal, but as a much more vulnerable cyclist, I understand the person driving the killing machine is required to consider ALL road users and must not drive too close to the left so as to avoid "squashing" the cyclist.
There are a proliferation of signs on Hwy 75 and other main roads ( but those signs are not a hazard, funny that), asking motorists to slow down, and to use caution around bends, and to watch for cyclists - all safety measures I support but zero signage as to how a motorist must actually behave.
After being threatened and cut off by this particular arrogant prick for some kilometers and having had about 300 meters of very wide sealed verge alongside the roadway when he first came up to pass me, I was more than a little exercised when finally having an opportunity to pass to discover he had no rego, no WOF, no rear view mirror and his eyes and hands were following a mobile phone number list as he proceeded to send a text message, but preventing any meaningful ability to see me or other road users as he nonchalantly and arrogantly enjoyed the roadway I helped fund directly through my taxes, ACC levies and petrol tax (when I drive) while he was paying nothing at that time.
Motorists wonder why so many cyclists become angry with their idiotic behavior.
Yes equal, but as a much more vulnerable cyclist, I understand the person driving the killing machine is required to consider ALL road users and must not drive too close to the left so as to avoid "squashing" the cyclist.
There are a proliferation of signs on Hwy 75 and other main roads ( but those signs are not a hazard, funny that), asking motorists to slow down, and to use caution around bends, and to watch for cyclists - all safety measures I support but zero signage as to how a motorist must actually behave.
After being threatened and cut off by this particular arrogant prick for some kilometers and having had about 300 meters of very wide sealed verge alongside the roadway when he first came up to pass me, I was more than a little exercised when finally having an opportunity to pass to discover he had no rego, no WOF, no rear view mirror and his eyes and hands were following a mobile phone number list as he proceeded to send a text message, but preventing any meaningful ability to see me or other road users as he nonchalantly and arrogantly enjoyed the roadway I helped fund directly through my taxes, ACC levies and petrol tax (when I drive) while he was paying nothing at that time.
Motorists wonder why so many cyclists become angry with their idiotic behavior.
Bloody Cyclists, Well Potentially Anyway
Recently on a winding state Highway, I came up behind a lone cyclist dominating the lane we are to share as equal status road users.
Yes equal, but as a slower vehicle, I understand the cyclist is required to keep as far as practicable to the left and to pull over to allow a following faster vehicle to pass.
There are a proliferation of signs on Hwy 75 and other main roads ( but those signs are not a hazard, funny that), asking overtaking vehicles to allow 1.5 meters space when overtaking, a safety measure I support but zero signage as to how a cyclist must behave.
After following this particular arrogant prick for some kilometers at around 40 KPH and having had about 300 meters of very wide sealed verge alongside the roadway when I first came up to pass, I was more than a little exercised when finally having an opportunity to pass to discover he had no rego, no WOF, no rear view mirror and his ears supporting the inevitable ear pieces to allow uninterrupted delivery of his favorite music but preventing any meaningful ability to hear following traffic as he nonchalantly and arrogantly enjoyed the roadway I helped fund directly while he was paying nothing for at that time.
They wonder why so many motorists become angry with their idiotic behavior.
Yes equal, but as a slower vehicle, I understand the cyclist is required to keep as far as practicable to the left and to pull over to allow a following faster vehicle to pass.
There are a proliferation of signs on Hwy 75 and other main roads ( but those signs are not a hazard, funny that), asking overtaking vehicles to allow 1.5 meters space when overtaking, a safety measure I support but zero signage as to how a cyclist must behave.
After following this particular arrogant prick for some kilometers at around 40 KPH and having had about 300 meters of very wide sealed verge alongside the roadway when I first came up to pass, I was more than a little exercised when finally having an opportunity to pass to discover he had no rego, no WOF, no rear view mirror and his ears supporting the inevitable ear pieces to allow uninterrupted delivery of his favorite music but preventing any meaningful ability to hear following traffic as he nonchalantly and arrogantly enjoyed the roadway I helped fund directly while he was paying nothing for at that time.
They wonder why so many motorists become angry with their idiotic behavior.
It Just Doesn't Make Sense.
As Easter approaches the mandarins at the Dept of Labour, who are the custodians of the antiquated laws that apply to what shoppers can buy and where they can do it, are warning again not to flirt with their ridiculous contrivances.
Homepaddock highlights again the totally idiotic situation that exists in the Lakes District.
Wanaka Air Port will again host the bienniel World renowned Airshow that Sir Tim Wallace began, with thousands of visitors attending.
Meanwhile Queenstown will be business as usual where shoppers in Qtown can buy any goods a vendor wishes to sell but 70 Kms over the Crown Range options as to what can be bought and sold are severely proscribed.
One of the recurring themes the thought police advance in support of such lunacy is that "workers" should be able to have "holidays" that honour a very basic plank of Christians belief to spend with their 'families' with absolutely zero regard as to the religious significance of the weekend to their personal belief system.
I am guessing if those "workers" require a Dr, an ambulance, a fire truck, a policeman, a roadside assistance technician, petrol for their boat, a ferry crossing, a meal at a restaurant, a ride in a train , a bus, a taxi or an aeroplane they will not for one minute think about waiting for another 24 hours till the day of the crucifixion commemoration has been put to bed for another year, they will want the service provided on "Good Friday".
As one who will be on call to provide two of the above services, but I will not be paid anything let alone time and a half, double time let alone days in lieu, I find it totally obnoxious that I am prevented from buying goods from a garden center on certain designated days of the Easter Weekend.
Why the decision to trade or not to trade requires such laws when it is up to employers and their staff to make such a simple outcome to suit their wishes and personal circumstances is a complete mystery.
Of course the Dept. staff will be out and about seeking compliance and preparing evidence for subsequent prosecution on all the designated days but their pain will be assuaged by subsidised "holidays" for their families in various prime locations and they will be rewarded with penal pay and days in lieu.
SHEESH
Homepaddock highlights again the totally idiotic situation that exists in the Lakes District.
Wanaka Air Port will again host the bienniel World renowned Airshow that Sir Tim Wallace began, with thousands of visitors attending.
Meanwhile Queenstown will be business as usual where shoppers in Qtown can buy any goods a vendor wishes to sell but 70 Kms over the Crown Range options as to what can be bought and sold are severely proscribed.
One of the recurring themes the thought police advance in support of such lunacy is that "workers" should be able to have "holidays" that honour a very basic plank of Christians belief to spend with their 'families' with absolutely zero regard as to the religious significance of the weekend to their personal belief system.
I am guessing if those "workers" require a Dr, an ambulance, a fire truck, a policeman, a roadside assistance technician, petrol for their boat, a ferry crossing, a meal at a restaurant, a ride in a train , a bus, a taxi or an aeroplane they will not for one minute think about waiting for another 24 hours till the day of the crucifixion commemoration has been put to bed for another year, they will want the service provided on "Good Friday".
As one who will be on call to provide two of the above services, but I will not be paid anything let alone time and a half, double time let alone days in lieu, I find it totally obnoxious that I am prevented from buying goods from a garden center on certain designated days of the Easter Weekend.
Why the decision to trade or not to trade requires such laws when it is up to employers and their staff to make such a simple outcome to suit their wishes and personal circumstances is a complete mystery.
Of course the Dept. staff will be out and about seeking compliance and preparing evidence for subsequent prosecution on all the designated days but their pain will be assuaged by subsidised "holidays" for their families in various prime locations and they will be rewarded with penal pay and days in lieu.
SHEESH
Text Of The Day
From todays Hawkes Bay Today - there are two today.
`OMG! I hear they might be making an action figure doll of Tama Iti.' Unattributed
`I am sure Nelson Mandela would never have spat at the Queen.' JL
`OMG! I hear they might be making an action figure doll of Tama Iti.' Unattributed
`I am sure Nelson Mandela would never have spat at the Queen.' JL
Since HBToday stupidly changed to a morning paper from last week the texts have mainly been local focused and it has been hard to find one wothwhile. Todays paper has a few others which are worth airing so I will keep them up my sleeve.
You said what?
I had an interesting time over at The Standard the other day. The post was about the number of children in NZ with preventable Third-World diseases, and how this is a crime perpetrated against the poor by the rich, and what should Labour come up with as a response.
It seemed straightforward enough to me. For decades now we've made having kids consequence-free for wasters and munters, and they've gone forth and multiplied accordingly. The inevitable result is legions of kids made stupid by fetal alcohol syndrome and poor nutrition, and brutalised with a childhood of neglect and abuse. The resurgence of preventable diseases is also an inevitable result, and blaming it on "the rich" is only true to the extent that we (don't laugh - in the view of The Standard's readers, I am "rich" courtesy of having a low-level management job with a salary) have funded that process.
With that in mind, I suggested that what I'd like to see from Labour is for them to "take steps to actively discourage the production of children in situations known to be high-risk for poverty, neglect and abuse." Obviously that's not a serious suggestion for Labour, they couldn't do that and still be a party the Standard's readers could vote for. But we know that the people with the highest risk for inflicting poverty and neglect on children are having the most children, and that taxpayers' money is enabling that to happen, so the taxpayers' representatives should do something about it.
As you can imagine, it wasn't a popular view. Among the many eloquent arguments raised against the view were:
That I hate the poor.
That I think only middle class people have the right to breed.
That biology renders it impossible for people to have fewer kids.
That I'm proposing eugenics.
That punitive measures (ie, making the production of children you've no intention of supporting less attractive by one means or another) are inferior to offering incentives of some description.
That attempting to impose consequences on people who don't want their actions to have consequences is wrong.
That the problem is actually due to National's tax cuts for the rich.
That a better solution would be to get rid of poverty.
That we just need to replace capitalism with a better system.
The stupid, it burns! It's kind of like a Kiwiblog thread, only in a strange mirror world in which Johnboy, Elaycee etc have become leftists. I even prompted a bizarre rant from someone who's obviously read far too many Warren Ellis comics and fancies himself as a kind of real-life Spider Jerusalem.
A few people troubled themselves to make a case that the solution to this is to put more money into child support services so the kids of wasters and munters eventually become productive citizens instead of the next generation of wasters and munters. Personally, I think this is wildly overestimating the ability of taxpayers' money to overcome the influence of family, peer group and environment, especially given that we do a lot of this at huge expense already and it appears to have very little effect. In any case, the one doesn't rule out the other.
It seemed straightforward enough to me. For decades now we've made having kids consequence-free for wasters and munters, and they've gone forth and multiplied accordingly. The inevitable result is legions of kids made stupid by fetal alcohol syndrome and poor nutrition, and brutalised with a childhood of neglect and abuse. The resurgence of preventable diseases is also an inevitable result, and blaming it on "the rich" is only true to the extent that we (don't laugh - in the view of The Standard's readers, I am "rich" courtesy of having a low-level management job with a salary) have funded that process.
With that in mind, I suggested that what I'd like to see from Labour is for them to "take steps to actively discourage the production of children in situations known to be high-risk for poverty, neglect and abuse." Obviously that's not a serious suggestion for Labour, they couldn't do that and still be a party the Standard's readers could vote for. But we know that the people with the highest risk for inflicting poverty and neglect on children are having the most children, and that taxpayers' money is enabling that to happen, so the taxpayers' representatives should do something about it.
As you can imagine, it wasn't a popular view. Among the many eloquent arguments raised against the view were:
That I hate the poor.
That I think only middle class people have the right to breed.
That biology renders it impossible for people to have fewer kids.
That I'm proposing eugenics.
That punitive measures (ie, making the production of children you've no intention of supporting less attractive by one means or another) are inferior to offering incentives of some description.
That attempting to impose consequences on people who don't want their actions to have consequences is wrong.
That the problem is actually due to National's tax cuts for the rich.
That a better solution would be to get rid of poverty.
That we just need to replace capitalism with a better system.
The stupid, it burns! It's kind of like a Kiwiblog thread, only in a strange mirror world in which Johnboy, Elaycee etc have become leftists. I even prompted a bizarre rant from someone who's obviously read far too many Warren Ellis comics and fancies himself as a kind of real-life Spider Jerusalem.
A few people troubled themselves to make a case that the solution to this is to put more money into child support services so the kids of wasters and munters eventually become productive citizens instead of the next generation of wasters and munters. Personally, I think this is wildly overestimating the ability of taxpayers' money to overcome the influence of family, peer group and environment, especially given that we do a lot of this at huge expense already and it appears to have very little effect. In any case, the one doesn't rule out the other.
Public service pay increases
Here's today's byline:
Public organisations have paid about $90 million to their chief executives in a year - with some receiving rises of more than 20 per cent, and one getting a 55 per cent increase.Here's what Labour had to say on it:
Labour Party state services spokesman Chris Hipkins saw the increases as a "slap in the face" to public sector workers fearing redundancy amid the Government's public sector reforms.
"There does need to be restraint. It has got out of control and, at a local government level, I think some of these CEOs' salaries are very hard to justify."Here's what Labour did in 2005:
Mr Rennie said the pay rises flowed through from a decision in 2005 to increase the overall funding for chief executives by 5 per cent a year for five years.Of course 2012 is more than five years later than 2005. And so one cannot blame Labour for this. But Hipkins speaks with a forked tongue and out of both sides of his mouth when arguing for restraint in public sector pay rates.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Text Of The Day
From todays Hawkes Bay Today.
`The most useful animal ever invented apart from the sheep dog would have to be the horse...The horse of the Year Show rocks!. Unattributed.
`The most useful animal ever invented apart from the sheep dog would have to be the horse...The horse of the Year Show rocks!. Unattributed.
quiz answers
Apologies a little late again. Enjoyed a great 4 WD trip under Te Kooti In Nth Canterbury with Amuri Lions and a bit late back to a connection.
Agree Chris, it was a lot obscure. The only settler I recall on that settlement was the Late Teddy Robbins ex RNZAF.
Marc first in with Four
Homepaddock as usual a merit for analysis Diving at Motanau would require a boat and go a couple of Miles south off "Seaview", good paua and crays at low tide when I worked on that property in the early 60s.
Allan a solid four, Cadwallader and Rosco commended.
Answers;
1 Sir Dennis Blundell a good bugger GG, came to Waipara School when our girls were there in the mid/late 60s. He signaled a maturing state of our Nation in that he was not a 'Pom" as Freyberg was almost another UK person although NZ born and educated, he returned to "The Old Country" following his retirement, Blundell was entirely a Kiwi, Wellington Lawyer as I recall.
2 Yes I guess you had to be there. The Cheviot Cricket ground on what would have been the front lawn of the Mansion House on Cheviot Hills built by Ready Money Robinson and destroyed by fire in the 1930s. The pavilion steps were the front steps of the house and the foundations can be viewed today some under the pavilion. The very picturesque ground set in acres of mature exotic trees is a little constrained cricketwise and a sports jock said of it once that "it was the only ground he ever played on where one could field in the gully and be standing in it at the same time".
3 The Boot Tree on the Heaphy Track.
4 Motanau Island off the mouth of the Motanau Stream in North Canterbury, 18 Kms East of Greta Valley. A wonderfully safe children's beach with a feeling one could walk to the island at low tide.
5 I thought this might have been harder than it turned out. The Petrified Forest. in The Catlins. Just a little East of the most Southern land of the SI at Stope Point.
Agree Chris, it was a lot obscure. The only settler I recall on that settlement was the Late Teddy Robbins ex RNZAF.
Marc first in with Four
Homepaddock as usual a merit for analysis Diving at Motanau would require a boat and go a couple of Miles south off "Seaview", good paua and crays at low tide when I worked on that property in the early 60s.
Allan a solid four, Cadwallader and Rosco commended.
Answers;
1 Sir Dennis Blundell a good bugger GG, came to Waipara School when our girls were there in the mid/late 60s. He signaled a maturing state of our Nation in that he was not a 'Pom" as Freyberg was almost another UK person although NZ born and educated, he returned to "The Old Country" following his retirement, Blundell was entirely a Kiwi, Wellington Lawyer as I recall.
2 Yes I guess you had to be there. The Cheviot Cricket ground on what would have been the front lawn of the Mansion House on Cheviot Hills built by Ready Money Robinson and destroyed by fire in the 1930s. The pavilion steps were the front steps of the house and the foundations can be viewed today some under the pavilion. The very picturesque ground set in acres of mature exotic trees is a little constrained cricketwise and a sports jock said of it once that "it was the only ground he ever played on where one could field in the gully and be standing in it at the same time".
3 The Boot Tree on the Heaphy Track.
4 Motanau Island off the mouth of the Motanau Stream in North Canterbury, 18 Kms East of Greta Valley. A wonderfully safe children's beach with a feeling one could walk to the island at low tide.
5 I thought this might have been harder than it turned out. The Petrified Forest. in The Catlins. Just a little East of the most Southern land of the SI at Stope Point.
And What of MMP?
In Queensland, that is.
What would the result have been had Queensland operated NZ's current version of MMP?
Unfortunately the online calculator doesn't accommodate more than 70 electorates so Adolf has been forced to do a little maths and here's the result. I should think that 49.7% of Queenslanders will be very pleased they do not have MMP.
The Goodies have a comfortable majority of 78 in a parliament of 131 seats, while Labour tries to talk turkey to the loons and the windbag.
Don't be surprised if the Labor rump and the loonie Greens start agitating for MMP on the grounds that - wait for it- 'Newman hasn't got a mandate.' because he got less than 50% of the popular vote.
What would the result have been had Queensland operated NZ's current version of MMP?
Unfortunately the online calculator doesn't accommodate more than 70 electorates so Adolf has been forced to do a little maths and here's the result. I should think that 49.7% of Queenslanders will be very pleased they do not have MMP.
| Queensland MMP | ||||||
| Party | Vote % | MMP seats | Seats Won | List members | Overhang | MPs |
| Labor | 26.6 | 33 | 7 | 26 | 26 | |
| Liberal National | 49.7 | 62 | 78 | 16 | 78 | |
| Greens | 7.6 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 10 | |
| Katter Party | 11.6 | 15 | 2 | 13 | 15 | |
| Others | 4.5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 100 | 120 | 89 | 49 | 18 | 131 | |
The Goodies have a comfortable majority of 78 in a parliament of 131 seats, while Labour tries to talk turkey to the loons and the windbag.
Don't be surprised if the Labor rump and the loonie Greens start agitating for MMP on the grounds that - wait for it- 'Newman hasn't got a mandate.' because he got less than 50% of the popular vote.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Quote of the Day
From Avi Singh at cricinfo:-
"this beginning has given me that terrible feeling that plagues NZ cricket fans . . . Hope?"
QUEENSLAND ELECTION
A number of commentators on the night called out Labor for running a negative and personal attack campaign on Campbell Newman and his family alleging financial improprieties against them. Clearly it backfired big time when the Queensland Crime and Misconduct Commission found there was no case to answer and Ms Bligh admitted she had no evidence to support her claims. Now Labor is turning on itself. Retiring Labor Cabinet Minister Stephen Robertson described the attack campaign as ‘‘terrible’’ and blamed Labor’s inner sanctum, including Bligh, her ousted deputy Andrew Fraser, attorney-general Paul Lucas and their advisers for the debacle.
With latest projections having Labor with just 7 seats in the 89 member parliament it will be fascinating to see whether Campbell Newman is prepared to forgive and forget and waive the requirement that a Party has to have a minimum of ten seats to be officially recognised as a Party and entitled to enhanced parliamentary support. My advice, don't. Politics isn't about being 'nice'. Labor screwed up big time and doesn't deserve any sympathy.
Light relief on the night was provided by Bob Katter speaking from the Tally Room. He sure sez a lot but figuring out what he means is a mission. Like this one 'My Party stands firmly in the market place against market forces'. Seems his Party is an coalition of fruit loops combining the worst of Rob Muldoon, Winston First and Pauline Hanson. But then, many Australians are a bit like that.
Ethically Cleansed......
Queensland, that is.
Not just a walk over, not just a land slide, not just a crushing defeat but a veritable extermination of Labour.
Even that fearless forecaster Adolf never imagined Labor would tumble from 51 seats to a paltry 7.
Better still, the Greens vote slumped from 8.4% to 7.6% and they couldn't win a seat.
Apparently seven seats is not enough in Queensland to qualify for party status so Labor misses out on parliamentary funding, offices, staff etc.
The similarities between Queensland and the federal scene are interesting.
Not just a walk over, not just a land slide, not just a crushing defeat but a veritable extermination of Labour.
Even that fearless forecaster Adolf never imagined Labor would tumble from 51 seats to a paltry 7.
Better still, the Greens vote slumped from 8.4% to 7.6% and they couldn't win a seat.
Apparently seven seats is not enough in Queensland to qualify for party status so Labor misses out on parliamentary funding, offices, staff etc.
The similarities between Queensland and the federal scene are interesting.
- Labour had been hanging around too long
- The female premiere made some big election promises which she promptly broke.
- Labor mounted a dirty personal attack campaign on their opponent and his family.
- The opposition leader was a straight talking, competent and likeable fellow.
Unfortunately for Gillard, as the economy continues to sag and the threat of Chinese collapse looms, the only arrow federal Labor has left in it's quiver is the personal attack on Tony Abbott.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
More sport "safety" fascists protecting us from ourselves
In this post I quoted Coast to Coast supremo, Robin Judkins. He needs repeating:
One area that...has changed over the race's 30 year history is the paperwork, particularly in the area of health and safety...Judkins insist that this has always been his focus and points out that his was the first event to insist on competitors holding a kayaking certificate and wearing helmets and lifejackets.Now this, from Auckland's cycling scene:
What he objects to, and he's certainly not alone here, is the "stifling" level of bureaucracy now surrounding the multisport and adventure racing industry. "I'm safety conscious anyway, I always have been, I just don't like being told what to do...[T]he risk is the same it was thirty years ago. The risk hasn't increased but where we started out with 22 officials, now it takes 400 officials to run the same race."
The bottom line is that "all the red tape makes events more expensive to run" which is bad news..."[P]rice has become a huge factor".
An illegal "underground" road racing movement has taken root in Auckland as traditional cycling clubs have been forced off the roads by rapidly rising council costs.There are many who question complainers like me on stifling bureaucracy, especially in the area of sport and recreation. A lot of those on the Left just love more regulation and bureaucracy - without it we are all doomed. Every facet of our lives needs a law to control it. Sport and recreation is no different.
Auckland Transport outlined in a statement to the Weekend Herald, that "traffic management costs for all types of events have changed over time as traffic and pedestrian growth and development of Auckland has required improved levels of service for safety".
I find really offensive the attitude of bureaucrats who think they can protect people, especially athletes, from themselves, in the name of "safety".
Individual safety of cyclists on roads is actually none of their business. If cyclists want to use the road and battle Auckland's traffic, that is their risk. They know it. ACC covers their injury cost, and the more expensive bikes are insured also.
I don't recall, ever, anyone suing a council in New Zealand for failing to provide safe roads for cyclists. Yet the nanny-statist approach from the we-know-best bureaucrats might just allow the first case, as the cycling club president alludes to:
There are now a number of unlicensed, essentially illegal, races, including the long-standing Tamaki Drive Time Trial and a less regular event in Mangere's industrial fringe. The biggest trend has been the creation of Cannonball Run-type events promoted through social media and cycling message boards.Of course, none of this ever occurs to pen-pushing, sandal-wearing, pen-behind-their-ear officianados. Maybe they can pay for the funeral caused by their nonsensical regulations.
The courses are secret until the night before the race. They are popular, but come at the cost of the clubs. "It's great having an underground because it suits a lot of people, but eventually something is going to happen and dare I say it, someone's going to get killed," Cornelius said. "Who does it fall back on then?"
A Dead Dog's Donger
Adolf recalls a wonderful one liner from Australian politics of the eighties. From memory it might have been Bill Hayden who, in referring to an election win by Paul Keating, said:-
"Labour would have won the election if it had put up a dead dog's donger as leader - and it did."
Perhaps the quote is apocryphal but it's a goodie.
Now the Republicans have their very own DDD.
"Labour would have won the election if it had put up a dead dog's donger as leader - and it did."
Perhaps the quote is apocryphal but it's a goodie.
Now the Republicans have their very own DDD.
Saturday Joke
Two eminent retired physicians met at a medical school reunion. One was English and the other, American.
The conversation turned to their last roles before retirement.
Said the Brit "I spent my last five years as personal physician to Prince Charles. One did not need to be a brain surgeon so the whole thing was a piece of cake."
"Well I'm damned!" exclaimed the Yank. "You know I just spent my last three years as personal physician to The President of the USA. I tell you, that was no easy ride. The guy had only two moving parts, the mouth and the asshole, and they were indistinguishable."
The conversation turned to their last roles before retirement.
Said the Brit "I spent my last five years as personal physician to Prince Charles. One did not need to be a brain surgeon so the whole thing was a piece of cake."
"Well I'm damned!" exclaimed the Yank. "You know I just spent my last three years as personal physician to The President of the USA. I tell you, that was no easy ride. The guy had only two moving parts, the mouth and the asshole, and they were indistinguishable."
Another Warmenising Lie Exposed
The zealous adherents of the Climate Change cult have long shouted that the Medieval Warm Period was not widespread but restricted to Europe.
Well, the real scientists of this world just called BULLSHIT on that theory
There you go. Hard data trumps theory and computer models every time.
Another nail in the lying bastards coffins.
Well, the real scientists of this world just called BULLSHIT on that theory
Ikaite crystals incorporate ocean bottom water into their structure as they form. During cooling periods, when ice sheets are expanding, ocean bottom water accumulates heavy oxygen isotopes (oxygen 18). When glaciers melt, fresh water, enriched in light oxygen isotopes (oxygen 16), mixes with the bottom water. The scientists analyzed the ratio of the oxygen isotopes in the hydration water and in the calcium carbonate. They compared the results with climate conditions established in Northern Europe across a 2,000-year time frame. They found a direct correlation between the rise and fall of oxygen 18 in the crystals and the documented warming and cooling periods.
There you go. Hard data trumps theory and computer models every time.
Another nail in the lying bastards coffins.
Lord save us from dabblers
In the IT field, everyone hates dabblers - people who know a little about computers and therefore feel free to make changes they heard would improve performance, only to have to log a job when the changes actually make things a lot worse. It's a handy metaphor for Ministers of Education in National-led govts, except that in this case the dabbler is actually in charge of all the metaphorical computers.
Latest dabbling from a Nat Min of Ed is performance pay for teachers. She's heard (from noted education expert David Farrar, for example) that this would bring about improvements in the education system. The admonishment from actual experts "That's working OK right now, don't fuck with it" is of course water off the dabbler's back.
Parata knows that the experts are actually wrong:
"Typically, you get a response that it's not possible to design something like that, because this is so difficult. Well, I don't agree," Ms Parata said.
Here we have the major problem with dabbling - you know so little about the subject that you can easily dismiss the experts' concerns simply because you have no fucking idea what they're talking about.
For the record, it's not difficult to design a performance pay system for teachers, and many have done so - that isn't the basis for the experts' response at all. What is difficult is to design a performance pay system for teachers that can't be gamed by the teachers to the detriment of the students, and won't destroy the benefits of our current system (which, also for the record, is not broken but is actually one of the best-performing education systems in the world).
The first problem is obvious: measure teachers' performance according to students' achievement in standardised tests, and what you get is students trained to pass a particular test, and teachers at high-decile schools apparently the best-performing by an astonishing amount. Mess around with it all you like, your system can be gamed. That doesn't matter so much when your business is selling fridges and washing machines, but if your business is running the country's education system? Yeah, it matters.
The second one is what Parata simply lacks the knowledge to understand. Ian Leckie attempts to explain it to a Fairfax journo:
Rewarding teachers differently creates too much high stakes stuff that actually stops collaboration, stops people working together and that is counter-productive to trying to make a better education system doing more for more kids.
That's the education dabbler's downfall - they're convinced the system performance will be improved by increasing competition between teachers, unaware that it's the current system's promotion of co-operation between teachers that's delivering the high performance we have now. Fuck with that, and before long you'll be calling the help desk.
As usual, there are probably some gains that could be made out of a few tweaks:
Teachers Council director Peter Lind said there was a "tension" between building a collegial team and recognising success.
But there's a big difference between addressing that and mistaking teachers in the public education system for sales staff in the private sector, which is what Parata seems to be doing.
Text Of The Day
From todays Hawkes Bay Today.
`Well done nurses. You do a great job. Actually you do a fantastic job! Kia pai o koutou mahi! Unattributed.
Credit where credit is due.
Credit where credit is due.
Friday, March 23, 2012
Text Of The Day
From todays Hawkes Bay Today.
`To my neighbour in the bright yellow raincoat who I caught watching me sunbathing nude in my back yard. Keep it up. Love your work'. Unattributed.
A question: what does the watcher need to `keep up"?
A Further Question: What `good work' did the watcher do - did he jump the fence.
BTW the tenor of the text suggests to me the sunbather was female and the watcher male.
`To my neighbour in the bright yellow raincoat who I caught watching me sunbathing nude in my back yard. Keep it up. Love your work'. Unattributed.
Disclaimer: mrspdm assures me she did not send this text and I assure readers I was not the man in the yellow coat. My neighbours sunbathing nude would not attract my attention in any sort of way..
A question: what does the watcher need to `keep up"?
A Further Question: What `good work' did the watcher do - did he jump the fence.
BTW the tenor of the text suggests to me the sunbather was female and the watcher male.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Just Sayin' Is All
In all the media fuss over Nick Smith's resignation and, in particular, the Toxic Tabloid's daily barrage of adverse commentary and negative headlines there seems to be a failure to recognise that New Zealanders are not stupid.
My guess is that new Zealanders will look at the events of this week and thank their lucky stars they have an administration which is honest enough to quickly put things right when things go wrong.
Unlike the other mob.
Reporters and opiners seem to easily forget what it was like when Labour was in power and the most egregious behaviour was defended to the death. The New Auck Times (In The Tank For Labour) carried a headline 'Key's Cabinet Hall of Shame.' What a contrast it is to the despicable performance of the Clark regime.
Philip Field
Tolerated until he ratted on Labour
Winston Peters
Clung to while he lied to the privileges committee and was sprung only because an expat multimillionaire came forward and told the truth about his shenanigan.
Benson-Pope
A serial pervert who was kept on for months after his appalling behaviour became common knowledge.
Darren Hughes
A predatory poofter, given to grooming young men from across the political spectrum.
I'll bet pounds to peanuts the opinion polls over coming weeks do not give any advantage to Labour or Peters.
My guess is that new Zealanders will look at the events of this week and thank their lucky stars they have an administration which is honest enough to quickly put things right when things go wrong.
Unlike the other mob.
Reporters and opiners seem to easily forget what it was like when Labour was in power and the most egregious behaviour was defended to the death. The New Auck Times (In The Tank For Labour) carried a headline 'Key's Cabinet Hall of Shame.' What a contrast it is to the despicable performance of the Clark regime.
Philip Field
Tolerated until he ratted on Labour
Winston Peters
Clung to while he lied to the privileges committee and was sprung only because an expat multimillionaire came forward and told the truth about his shenanigan.
Benson-Pope
A serial pervert who was kept on for months after his appalling behaviour became common knowledge.
Darren Hughes
A predatory poofter, given to grooming young men from across the political spectrum.
I'll bet pounds to peanuts the opinion polls over coming weeks do not give any advantage to Labour or Peters.
"Conflict of Interest"?
First off I am no supporter of Dr Nick Smith.
His position on the ETS scam and some of his environmental stances in general often leave me somewhat confused as to whether he is in the right party.
However, as I subscribe to a position on "broard church" party representation as opposed to a proliferation of single issue parties in the Parliament, I accept wholeheartedly his views and the pursuit of them as healthy democracy in action.
He has proved in the past that he indulges in activities as an Electorate MP whose judgment is to often questionable in that he sails close to the wind and the use of ministerial letterhead stationary in an attempt to get a very persistent, to the point of harassment, person from his past, off his back, a big error. It has turned out a mistake that has brought his career to a shuddering halt.
I concur with those who are questioning John Keys handling of the cluster f**k and earlier less dramatic action was, with the benefit of hindsight, probably a more acceptable and pragmatic course of action.
Dr Smith is a very popular MP in an area of the political landscape that must be courted by any right of center Government and Nick Smith was clearly a force in that demographic.
As technological advances make our national "Village" political activity, a minefield for perceived "Conflict of interest" charges, politicians both national and localbody will be potentially conflicted with every decision they contribute to, so perhaps we have to take a deep breath and accept that with the sunlight of scrutiny that they work in, avoiding such conflict is counter to why they are sent to the table to make decisions that affect us all in the first place.
In the elected Environment Canterbury Council, that could not achieve a water management policy in 19 years of wasted opportunity, one of the major problems was the requirement for the rural based elected members to be excluded from discussions and decisions on water issues on conflict grounds when a significant majority of their support came from those who sent them to council in part because they had a deep understanding of the issues around water.
Nick smith is one of an increasing number of elected representatives with virtually zero life experience outside the pressure cooker of education and politics that includes over 20 years in The Parliament. He was elected to a council at 19 and has been in what many see as an insulated position ever since. Despite a very comprehensive education and a demonstrable intellectual ability maybe there is still a rather gaping hole in his makeup that has contributed to his political demise.
Vulnerable? yes, stupid? yes, clever? yes, a loss to the government? clearly yes, as he is widely seen as a cornerstone of "blue/green faction that contributes to a rounded image for National. However conflicted? definitely not as apart from getting a very focussed Brenda Pullar off his back there was nothing in it for the still, imo, Honorable Dr Nick Smith.
His position on the ETS scam and some of his environmental stances in general often leave me somewhat confused as to whether he is in the right party.
However, as I subscribe to a position on "broard church" party representation as opposed to a proliferation of single issue parties in the Parliament, I accept wholeheartedly his views and the pursuit of them as healthy democracy in action.
He has proved in the past that he indulges in activities as an Electorate MP whose judgment is to often questionable in that he sails close to the wind and the use of ministerial letterhead stationary in an attempt to get a very persistent, to the point of harassment, person from his past, off his back, a big error. It has turned out a mistake that has brought his career to a shuddering halt.
I concur with those who are questioning John Keys handling of the cluster f**k and earlier less dramatic action was, with the benefit of hindsight, probably a more acceptable and pragmatic course of action.
Dr Smith is a very popular MP in an area of the political landscape that must be courted by any right of center Government and Nick Smith was clearly a force in that demographic.
As technological advances make our national "Village" political activity, a minefield for perceived "Conflict of interest" charges, politicians both national and localbody will be potentially conflicted with every decision they contribute to, so perhaps we have to take a deep breath and accept that with the sunlight of scrutiny that they work in, avoiding such conflict is counter to why they are sent to the table to make decisions that affect us all in the first place.
In the elected Environment Canterbury Council, that could not achieve a water management policy in 19 years of wasted opportunity, one of the major problems was the requirement for the rural based elected members to be excluded from discussions and decisions on water issues on conflict grounds when a significant majority of their support came from those who sent them to council in part because they had a deep understanding of the issues around water.
Nick smith is one of an increasing number of elected representatives with virtually zero life experience outside the pressure cooker of education and politics that includes over 20 years in The Parliament. He was elected to a council at 19 and has been in what many see as an insulated position ever since. Despite a very comprehensive education and a demonstrable intellectual ability maybe there is still a rather gaping hole in his makeup that has contributed to his political demise.
Vulnerable? yes, stupid? yes, clever? yes, a loss to the government? clearly yes, as he is widely seen as a cornerstone of "blue/green faction that contributes to a rounded image for National. However conflicted? definitely not as apart from getting a very focussed Brenda Pullar off his back there was nothing in it for the still, imo, Honorable Dr Nick Smith.
Text Of The Day
Frm todays Hawkes BayToday.
`Why do our schools seem to not be including the kia Kaha/no bully programme in the curriculum. Kids are being bullied every day in NZ schools. It is not just part of growing up. Parents, do you know for sure your child is not a bully? Why have adults cntinued to let this happen? Talk to your kids and schools. It is time to make a change. Support Pink Shirt Day, May 18.' Unattributed.
`Why do our schools seem to not be including the kia Kaha/no bully programme in the curriculum. Kids are being bullied every day in NZ schools. It is not just part of growing up. Parents, do you know for sure your child is not a bully? Why have adults cntinued to let this happen? Talk to your kids and schools. It is time to make a change. Support Pink Shirt Day, May 18.' Unattributed.
Texter - bullying is a fact of life and the Kia Kaha programme and no matter how many people wear pink shirts on the 18 May it will continue in schools - it is what kids do and is nothing new. I went to school from 1952 until 1963 and bullying was rife then. At least in that period the worst of the bullies was sorted out from time to time with 6 of the best with the strap or at High School the cane. Nowdays parents cannot even give a clip round the ear or a good swift kick in the backside. Now wonder bullies continue to prevail.
Quiz Results, belated.
Wher's ya Bin , Bin Bush an coudna find enough dry wood to make steam.
Sorry for the AWOL, but got some new material for future Quizzes
Chris Bird first in with 4 correct
Simon would have had a 5 but it is Borrows with an O.
Image above gives a perspective on how the Main Trunk dramatically changes the Altitude as it drops off or climbs onto the central plateau, combining cuttings and the circular tunnel .
Answers;
1 Chester Borrows, ex cop, Minister of Courts and a couple of associates, after he made a citizens collar of a scumbag he had given a lift to and was rewarded by the scroat stealing CB's cellphone.
2 The Raurimu Spiral, a major engineering achievement in the construction of the NI Main Trunk, since modified for the electrification project.
3 The Home Bush Woolshed on the Deans Property West of Hororata, constructed with Bricks made on the Station. Not sure how it has come through the Siesmic activity but I am led to understand the nearby Homestead is for demolition.
4 The Tolaga Bay Wharf.
5 Maruia Falls off the Shenendoha Road from Springs Junction to the Buller Gorge Rd, created by an earth quake fault.
It's a mystery
Someone with no qualms about casually murdering strangers is shooting French soldiers and Jews in the city with the biggest Muslim population in France. I guess there's just nothing the authorities could go on for profiling this guy...
UPDATE: contrary to the media's forlorn hope, it turns out that no, the perp isn't a white supremacist but a Muslim. No shit, Sherlock?
UPDATE: contrary to the media's forlorn hope, it turns out that no, the perp isn't a white supremacist but a Muslim. No shit, Sherlock?
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
A Fruitful Interview
When you are doing a TV News interview, defending your mate who has been using his Union credit card to pay for prostitutes and other little side benefits, it pays to check the fruit bowl on your parliamentary desk.
Text Of The Day
From todays Hawkes Bay Today:
`When I received Contact Energy's letter about increasing prices to receive better return on "our asstes" I rang about it and am now on lower rates for usage than I have been for years. Shop about Hawkes Bay, well worth it! Unattributed.
Topical at the moment with Xtra running a poll on this very subject.
`When I received Contact Energy's letter about increasing prices to receive better return on "our asstes" I rang about it and am now on lower rates for usage than I have been for years. Shop about Hawkes Bay, well worth it! Unattributed.
Topical at the moment with Xtra running a poll on this very subject.
New Aerodynamic Technology
Update 6:00 PM:
Hope they all secured good jobs before they left.
The tacky tabloid has stumbled across revolutionary technology which dramatically increases the speed of conventional passenger jet aircraft.
Faster aircraft mean shorter duration flights, using less fuel.
Here it is:-
Hope they all secured good jobs before they left.
The tacky tabloid has stumbled across revolutionary technology which dramatically increases the speed of conventional passenger jet aircraft.
Faster aircraft mean shorter duration flights, using less fuel.
Here it is:-
New Zealanders continued to abandon their home country for Australia, with the speed of annual departures accelerating to a record 53,000 last month.
Time To Nix Nick
Update 2:05
Nick Smith has resigned all his portfolios and his resignation has been accepted.
There is always a silver lining.
Adolf has watched with interest as the Nick Smith debacle develops.
Coverage at Whaleoil has been vitriolic as the enmity of a pathetic generational family feud erupts. You could almost hear the squeals of delight from the mud hole in the corner.
The focus on Michelle Boag is a childish sideshow. All the scrutiny should be aimed at Nick Smith who, from what I can see, has acted in an extraordinarily foolish and ham-fisted way.
Whatever his positive attributes might be, they have been eclipsed. His conduct in this affair does not give one confidence he has what it takes to be a cabinet minister. If he can make such gross error of judgement in this case, when will he make the next one and it what way will it damage the country and the reputation of its government?
Seems to me he should by now have tendered his resignation to the PM and in due time, a few days or so, the PM should accept it.
Such a resignation would be politically useful. With the most strident supporter of the ETS relegated to the back benches, it will be relatively easy for John Key to repeal the legislation and disestablish the ETS in a year or so, by which time, newly elected Australian PM Tony Abbott will have nixed Gillard's appalling carbon tax and its associated ETS.
Nick Smith has resigned all his portfolios and his resignation has been accepted.
There is always a silver lining.
Adolf has watched with interest as the Nick Smith debacle develops.
Coverage at Whaleoil has been vitriolic as the enmity of a pathetic generational family feud erupts. You could almost hear the squeals of delight from the mud hole in the corner.
The focus on Michelle Boag is a childish sideshow. All the scrutiny should be aimed at Nick Smith who, from what I can see, has acted in an extraordinarily foolish and ham-fisted way.
Whatever his positive attributes might be, they have been eclipsed. His conduct in this affair does not give one confidence he has what it takes to be a cabinet minister. If he can make such gross error of judgement in this case, when will he make the next one and it what way will it damage the country and the reputation of its government?
Seems to me he should by now have tendered his resignation to the PM and in due time, a few days or so, the PM should accept it.
Such a resignation would be politically useful. With the most strident supporter of the ETS relegated to the back benches, it will be relatively easy for John Key to repeal the legislation and disestablish the ETS in a year or so, by which time, newly elected Australian PM Tony Abbott will have nixed Gillard's appalling carbon tax and its associated ETS.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Text Of The Day
From todays Hawkes Bay Today.
`Sale f SOE's. So Key's take on a referendum is "it's called an election". Once again the wishes of the people fall on deaf ears.' Unattributed.
`Sale f SOE's. So Key's take on a referendum is "it's called an election". Once again the wishes of the people fall on deaf ears.' Unattributed.
I would have thought that 48% of the vote after 10 plus months of campaigning on Part Privatisation of selected SOE's was very much a mandate. This texter must have been hibernating while all of that was happening.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Gummint Intervention
A week ago or so, some leftie was calling for the Gummint to intervene in the Ports of Auckland ve MUNZTERS negotiations.
The leftie might regret wishing thus.
Last time the gummint intervened in a waterfront dispute, the result was not to the liking of lefties.
The leftie might regret wishing thus.
Last time the gummint intervened in a waterfront dispute, the result was not to the liking of lefties.
Do these guys talk to each other?
Bill English on Friday - that's two days ago:
Bill English is confident we're not about to see another housing boom.John Key this morning:
Property prices have been rising...especially in Auckland...with real estate agents saying there aren't enough houses on the market.
New Zealand's housing market is set to take off again, particularly in Auckland, as slow planning processes, lack of development finance and internal migration forces up rents and prices, Prime Minister John Key said this morning.For the record, Key is 100% right. And this one will be big. It's very evident. It will make Labour's capital gains tax look very attractive politically, but all the policy and handwringing in the world won't stop it. That's because the market is bigger than government intervention. The only policies that will help cure it won't be enacted because neither large party, and certainly not the Auckland Council, are prepared to release large areas of land and reduce compliance costs. The number of people versus the amount of land will drive it, including pent-up demand from years of no development.
Text Of The Day
From todays Hawkes Bay Today.
`I have just returned home from the supermarket where 4 of the 6 mobility parks were occupied by non-card holders. Not all disabled persons use wheelchairs but we all do require a medical certificate to obtain the card. We also pay for them on top of the cost of the doctors visit. I wish the inconsiderate idiots who use the parks without cause would count their blessings that they are able to walk that bit further than some others who are often in a lot of pain walking short distances.' Unattributed.
`I have just returned home from the supermarket where 4 of the 6 mobility parks were occupied by non-card holders. Not all disabled persons use wheelchairs but we all do require a medical certificate to obtain the card. We also pay for them on top of the cost of the doctors visit. I wish the inconsiderate idiots who use the parks without cause would count their blessings that they are able to walk that bit further than some others who are often in a lot of pain walking short distances.' Unattributed.
This of course is a National problem.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
If I was angry, I'm sure I'd have noticed
The Herald reports "Angry diabetics reject changes."
Well, some of them certainly seem angry, judging by the HoS letters page today (not online). Not just angry, either - one of them is "utterly devastated."
The reason for this anger and utter devastation is that Pharmac has decided to fund only one model of blood glucose meter, at a saving of ca $10 million p.a. (Ah - I see from that article I'm not only angry but worried and frightened as well.)
For the many out there unfamiliar with the banalities of type 1 diabetes, we have to manually regulate our blood sugar levels (the more usual automated biological system having shat itself in our cases). This manual regulation requires monitoring the level of glucose in your blood using an appropriate meter.
There is a range of such devices available, capitalism being the system it is an' all, but they all do basically the same thing: you put a drop of your blood on a test strip and the meter shows you a number, said number being your blood glucose level.
That being the case, a reasonable person might conclude that it really doesn't matter what make and model of meter you use, and if Pharmac can get a good price on a bulk deal for them and hand you one over completely gratis, courtesy of the long-suffering taxpayers of New Zealand, the proper course of action would be to thank them kindly and take one - or, of course, graciously decline the offer and purchase your preferred model and its ongoing supply of test strips your fuckin' own self.
Well, so you'd think. Except, Pharmac's been bunging you pretty much whichever one you happened to want completely gratis for ages, so for some diabetics this apparently looks a lot like a step backwards. Far from thinking "Hurrah! I still get a free blood glucose meter and subsidised test strips, and my generous sponsor the taxpayer saves $10 mil every year!", these people are feeling "angry," "worried" and "frightened." I almost wish Pharmac could strap these ingrates over a barrel so the aforementioned long-suffering taxpayers of New Zealand could queue up to give them a kick up the bum.
Hmm... OK, yes, perhaps I am feeling somewhat angry about this after all - just not in the way the Herald journos are imagining.
Well, some of them certainly seem angry, judging by the HoS letters page today (not online). Not just angry, either - one of them is "utterly devastated."
The reason for this anger and utter devastation is that Pharmac has decided to fund only one model of blood glucose meter, at a saving of ca $10 million p.a. (Ah - I see from that article I'm not only angry but worried and frightened as well.)
For the many out there unfamiliar with the banalities of type 1 diabetes, we have to manually regulate our blood sugar levels (the more usual automated biological system having shat itself in our cases). This manual regulation requires monitoring the level of glucose in your blood using an appropriate meter.
There is a range of such devices available, capitalism being the system it is an' all, but they all do basically the same thing: you put a drop of your blood on a test strip and the meter shows you a number, said number being your blood glucose level.
That being the case, a reasonable person might conclude that it really doesn't matter what make and model of meter you use, and if Pharmac can get a good price on a bulk deal for them and hand you one over completely gratis, courtesy of the long-suffering taxpayers of New Zealand, the proper course of action would be to thank them kindly and take one - or, of course, graciously decline the offer and purchase your preferred model and its ongoing supply of test strips your fuckin' own self.
Well, so you'd think. Except, Pharmac's been bunging you pretty much whichever one you happened to want completely gratis for ages, so for some diabetics this apparently looks a lot like a step backwards. Far from thinking "Hurrah! I still get a free blood glucose meter and subsidised test strips, and my generous sponsor the taxpayer saves $10 mil every year!", these people are feeling "angry," "worried" and "frightened." I almost wish Pharmac could strap these ingrates over a barrel so the aforementioned long-suffering taxpayers of New Zealand could queue up to give them a kick up the bum.
Hmm... OK, yes, perhaps I am feeling somewhat angry about this after all - just not in the way the Herald journos are imagining.
Sunday Joke
A beautiful young lady in a very low cut dress approaches the Vicar who was greeting his congregation as they arrived for his sunday service.
"good morning Vicar" says the young lady.
"good morning miss" says the Vicar who then adds "I am sorry that dress is not suitable for wearing in my church and I must ask you to go and change into something less revealing".
"but I have a divine right" says the young lady."as far as I can see you have a divine left too" replies the Vicar "but you are still not wearing that dress in my church.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
THE RACE FOR THE REPUBLICAN NOMINATION
I have just finished a detailed analysis of the remaining Republican Primary contests. It is very difficult now to see Romney loosing the nomination. Most of the delegates in the remaining Primaries are elected on a proportional basis and Romney will at least pick up one-third of delegates in most Sates while in a couple of big ones (California and New York) he is projected to win handsomely.
And all this because of the incredible ego of Newt Gingrich and his inability to face reality which has him splitting the 'conservative' vote allowing Romney to come through the middle. He might have not figured it out but it is clear from the results in States you would expect to be favourable to him (as a good ole Southern boy) a substantial majority of Republicans have no truck with a candidate who has the morals of a stoat and possesses a code of ethics that make Winston Peters look like Mother Teresa. By staying in the race he certainly looks like stuffing it well and truly for Rick Santorum.
So where does that leave Romney head to head with Obama? To my mind the contest will hinge (for Romney) on two important factors .........
#1 Will he manage to energise the Republican Right including the Evangelical Right who traditionally provide the 'feet on the ground' to run an effective campaign? Answer .... perhaps maybe (but not enthusiastically).
#2 Will his candidacy have wide appeal to Independents (that amorphous middle ground where elections are made and lost)? Answer .... difficult to determine; some will be suspicious of his wealth, some of his Religion and some that he is Obama lite. His challenge will be to turn these 'negatives' into 'positives'.
On balance I think Romney will have a hard road to hoe made more difficult by a generally antagonistic MSM and a President with a huge and expanding war-chest per courtesy of George Soros et al.
Vale Margaret Whitlam AO
A truly great Australian has died at the age of ninety two.
Adolf well remembers her impact on politics and Australian life during the 1970s. Sure, she was on the other side but she was an absolute cracker. I never realised she had represented Australia at the Empire Games.
Here's an excerpt from Malcolm Farr's obituary:-
Adolf well remembers her impact on politics and Australian life during the 1970s. Sure, she was on the other side but she was an absolute cracker. I never realised she had represented Australia at the Empire Games.
Here's an excerpt from Malcolm Farr's obituary:-
The month of the election triumph she wrote in her diary: "What am I to do? Stay in a cage - wide open to view, of course - and say nothing? That's not on, but if I can do something good I'll certainly try."
She had soon taken on a television program and started writing a column for the Women's Day magazine. Those activities sat alongside her continued advocacy of women's rights and social issues.
She told biographer Susan Mitchell: "I came to represent all the ungainly people, the too-tall ones, the too-fat ones, and the housebound, as I had once been, who'd never get the chance to go to China or Buckingham Palace, and who experienced it through me."
Text Of The Day
From todays Hawkes Bay Today.
`The way the Government is cutting and slashing maybe our new flag should be the Jolly Roger! Unattributed.
`The way the Government is cutting and slashing maybe our new flag should be the Jolly Roger! Unattributed.
A lover of big government emerges from the wilderness.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Super Ministry a red herring
The Super Ministry announced by John Key is not any sort of magic bullet. Not by a long shot.
This table I produced the other day shows core Crown expenditure is not a major issue. The real issue is welfare spending along with unreal increases in Health and also in Heritage and Culture spending until 2016. Core government services actually decrease over this period. Ipso facto, government ministries are not a "real" issue.
The biggest monkey in welfare is WFF, but this remains unchanged. The other large cost - financing - includes things such as interest free student loans, and increases from $2billion to 4billion in nine years, but if you tried to solve that you'd be in opposition. So you do very little about it.
All in all, as Steven Joyce said the other day, you can make some changes on the margins.
But that's just National being like Labour, but doing it slightly better.
This table I produced the other day shows core Crown expenditure is not a major issue. The real issue is welfare spending along with unreal increases in Health and also in Heritage and Culture spending until 2016. Core government services actually decrease over this period. Ipso facto, government ministries are not a "real" issue.
The biggest monkey in welfare is WFF, but this remains unchanged. The other large cost - financing - includes things such as interest free student loans, and increases from $2billion to 4billion in nine years, but if you tried to solve that you'd be in opposition. So you do very little about it.
All in all, as Steven Joyce said the other day, you can make some changes on the margins.
But that's just National being like Labour, but doing it slightly better.
Socialist Television Doesn't Get It
TVNZ don't seem to be keeping up with the rest of New Zealand.
You see, the rest of NZ - apart from the MUNZTERS and the Teachers, that is - understands the need for austerity and the downsizing of core administrations.
But not so the illiterates at TVNZ.
The dead set giveaway is in the first line of the first paragraph:-
Adolf has kindly rewritten this piece.
And a little later the discerning reader can spot the NCEA standard education of TVNZ staff with howlers like this:-
You see, the rest of NZ - apart from the MUNZTERS and the Teachers, that is - understands the need for austerity and the downsizing of core administrations.
But not so the illiterates at TVNZ.
The dead set giveaway is in the first line of the first paragraph:-
There are concerns that merging four Government ministries into one with a strong business focus will come at a cost to hundreds of state sector jobs.
Adolf has kindly rewritten this piece.
There is widespread relief that merging four Government ministries into one with a strong business focus will eliminate hundreds of duplicated state sector jobs.
And a little later the discerning reader can spot the NCEA standard education of TVNZ staff with howlers like this:-
Between the four departments there is about 3200 workers.
Shearer's Speech
Update and bumped:
NATIONAL (48.5%) INCREASE BIG LEAD OVER LABOUR (30%)
BIGGEST LEAD FOR KEY GOVERNMENT SINCE ELECTION
Roy Morgan reports National's lead over labour just boomed out to 18.5 percentage points. Farrar's burbling on about it being a hung parliament but nobody seriously imagines that motley gang of misfits Labour, Mana, Greens and NZFirst could ever govern.
Not even John Armstrong's praise can make a damp squib into anything other than a damp squib.
The speech was long on fluff and short on substance with NBR summing it up succinctly as Candy Floss. What a pity. What an opportunity lost.
It was just the same old same old tax and spend with just the real sillies of the 2011 election campaign removed. If that was a move to the right then Labour will be tripping over its left foot for a long time.
I measure Shearer's success by the way he makes me feel about Labour. Here I was, actually looking forward to being able to view Labour with some respect. Never in a million years would I vote for them but it would be good for New Zealand if they could command some broadly held respect.
Such was the case in 1972 with one Edward Gough Whitlam whose intellect and powers of oratory gained him the respect and admiration of Australians right across the political spectrum. As a Liberal Party branch vice president, I worked my arse off to get our man into the seat of Stirling and we succeeded, in an election where nationally the Libs were tossed out on their arse as Australia's second worst PM, Billy McMahon, was thrashed.
The many nefarious and cynical actions of Helen Clark and her gang of crooks destroyed the Labour Party's respect within the broad community and David Shear's job is to rebuild that respect.
His speech today did nothing to rebuild anything. Just more of the same with more of the same old gang still hanging around.
NATIONAL (48.5%) INCREASE BIG LEAD OVER LABOUR (30%)
BIGGEST LEAD FOR KEY GOVERNMENT SINCE ELECTION
Roy Morgan reports National's lead over labour just boomed out to 18.5 percentage points. Farrar's burbling on about it being a hung parliament but nobody seriously imagines that motley gang of misfits Labour, Mana, Greens and NZFirst could ever govern.
Not even John Armstrong's praise can make a damp squib into anything other than a damp squib.
The speech was long on fluff and short on substance with NBR summing it up succinctly as Candy Floss. What a pity. What an opportunity lost.
It was just the same old same old tax and spend with just the real sillies of the 2011 election campaign removed. If that was a move to the right then Labour will be tripping over its left foot for a long time.
I measure Shearer's success by the way he makes me feel about Labour. Here I was, actually looking forward to being able to view Labour with some respect. Never in a million years would I vote for them but it would be good for New Zealand if they could command some broadly held respect.
Such was the case in 1972 with one Edward Gough Whitlam whose intellect and powers of oratory gained him the respect and admiration of Australians right across the political spectrum. As a Liberal Party branch vice president, I worked my arse off to get our man into the seat of Stirling and we succeeded, in an election where nationally the Libs were tossed out on their arse as Australia's second worst PM, Billy McMahon, was thrashed.
The many nefarious and cynical actions of Helen Clark and her gang of crooks destroyed the Labour Party's respect within the broad community and David Shear's job is to rebuild that respect.
His speech today did nothing to rebuild anything. Just more of the same with more of the same old gang still hanging around.
Text Of The Day
From todays Hawkes Bay Today.
`Do some employers wake up every morning and come up with a plan to make their employees' lives miserable? I am out of the workplace now but cannot believe the bullying tactics so many put up with.' AR.
Texter - how about the intimadation and thuggery being used by several of the MUNZ union members, or the workers that deliberately bruise fruit, or the hungover or drug addled workers.
`Do some employers wake up every morning and come up with a plan to make their employees' lives miserable? I am out of the workplace now but cannot believe the bullying tactics so many put up with.' AR.
Texter - how about the intimadation and thuggery being used by several of the MUNZ union members, or the workers that deliberately bruise fruit, or the hungover or drug addled workers.
Remember the employer takes the risks and pays the wages - no wonder they do their balls at times.
You will probably have noticed bad employers have a high staff turnover.
What Price Australia?
PM Gillard and Treasurer Swan already are struggling to meet their promise of a surplus in 2012/13.
This ain't going to help their cause.
Read it all. It's compelling.
All that bloody iron ore and alumina and no-one to buy it. Well, maybe Greece might take some - they've just got themselves a whole lot of new credits.
Unemployment will shoot up to well over ten percent just in time to sink Gillard at the next election, if Labor have not already sunk themselves.
For once, Adolf agrees with that dyed in the wool leftie Gwynne Dyer.
This ain't going to help their cause.
LONDON — Building a skyscraper is the ultimate expression of economic confidence, and more than half of the 124 skyscrapers currently under construction in the world are being built in China. But confidence is often based on nothing more than faith, hope and cheap credit, and a frenzy of skyscraper-building is also the most reliable historical indicator of an impending financial crash.
Read it all. It's compelling.
All that bloody iron ore and alumina and no-one to buy it. Well, maybe Greece might take some - they've just got themselves a whole lot of new credits.
Unemployment will shoot up to well over ten percent just in time to sink Gillard at the next election, if Labor have not already sunk themselves.
For once, Adolf agrees with that dyed in the wool leftie Gwynne Dyer.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Text Of The Day
From todays Hawkes Bay Today.
`Hastings City Centre Saturday , February 23 (Midge McCleary). Brilliant music, so entertaining. Hope to hear him again soon. Just what the city centre needs - good regular entertainment and hopefully some more varied and diverse quality cafes and a place to meet, socialise and enjoy.' MP.
`Hastings City Centre Saturday , February 23 (Midge McCleary). Brilliant music, so entertaining. Hope to hear him again soon. Just what the city centre needs - good regular entertainment and hopefully some more varied and diverse quality cafes and a place to meet, socialise and enjoy.' MP.
I have to give Midge a plug as he is `sort of' family - what in the old days one would call a cock relation.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
That May Be A Solution
But will it solve the problem?
ORFU and Dunedin City Council are in talks to avoid the formers liquidation..
Where does that leave the latter if their ratepayers, already being rated for the Forsyth Barr Stadium, if they are required to absorb the $400k the City Council is owed.
I have a lazy tenner says the incumbents who are the present authors of the current precarious financial mess will still be there to carry on carrying on.
If The Otago Union can get a commitment for the All-Black Tests and Highlander games they are asking for, the immediate future of the New Stadium will be in an enhanced position and that will be a relief for the Ratepayers many of whom opposed the expenditure originally. If I was a City Councilor I would want some serious commitment that the Union will make the major changes needed to prevent another crisis in the near future. Any attraction of funds to the FB stadium will be a drain on the proud southern Highlander franchise partner and I will be betting they are struggling also.
That may be doing what some of the other minnows in the expanded 1st division are doing and seeking a lower level of payment to their playing roster even dare I say it have some of the emerging players actually having a second job. Maybe the ORFU could contract a garbage run and do the fitness/roadwork and earn some extra income.
Writing off debt is only a solution if the beneficiary of the debt write off makes the hard calls to change the path that placed them in danger of liquidation. That does not address the other $2million of debt, but it could be a first step
ORFU and Dunedin City Council are in talks to avoid the formers liquidation..
Where does that leave the latter if their ratepayers, already being rated for the Forsyth Barr Stadium, if they are required to absorb the $400k the City Council is owed.
I have a lazy tenner says the incumbents who are the present authors of the current precarious financial mess will still be there to carry on carrying on.
If The Otago Union can get a commitment for the All-Black Tests and Highlander games they are asking for, the immediate future of the New Stadium will be in an enhanced position and that will be a relief for the Ratepayers many of whom opposed the expenditure originally. If I was a City Councilor I would want some serious commitment that the Union will make the major changes needed to prevent another crisis in the near future. Any attraction of funds to the FB stadium will be a drain on the proud southern Highlander franchise partner and I will be betting they are struggling also.
That may be doing what some of the other minnows in the expanded 1st division are doing and seeking a lower level of payment to their playing roster even dare I say it have some of the emerging players actually having a second job. Maybe the ORFU could contract a garbage run and do the fitness/roadwork and earn some extra income.
Writing off debt is only a solution if the beneficiary of the debt write off makes the hard calls to change the path that placed them in danger of liquidation. That does not address the other $2million of debt, but it could be a first step
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