Friday 13 April is the closing date for submissions to the committee considering the How Key wants to give our silver to his mates (aka Mixed Ownership Model) Bill.
The Committee has indicated a willingness to travel to hear submissions – so ask if you want to be heard either in your home city or in Wellington.
The link to the parliamentary site is here.
H/t TV3. Warning – this is not for kids to watch.
The Guardian reports that a third of children born this year in the UK will live to be a hundred. Our life expectancy is similar.
And John Key continues to bury his head in the sand and say there is no issue.
PAY PERFORMANCE: Is pay for performance the best way to get the most from our teachers? How do we insure our teachers are the best they can be? Who determines what makes a good teacher? Should it good performance be based on test scores? And will charter schools be the way to lift achievement?
SPEAKING OF HIGH PAY…CEOs: Speaking of high pay—CEOs in the public sector are earning the big bucks. The average wage of bosses in the public sector is $340,000 while those running our state-owned energy companies are in the million dollar range. Are they getting paid too much? Should there be a limit how much those in the Public Sector can get paid? Or are high wages the only way to entice the best? Should CEOs earn more than the Prime Minister of our country?
Live pub politics from the Backbencher Pub: Wednesday 28th of March, 9:05pm and on TVNZ7
The Panel: Green Party Co-Leader Dr. Russel Norman, Labour MP Dr. Megan Woods, and National MP Scott Simpson.
Key Points:
• Liberal Nationals look certain for victory in Queensland, but Campbell Newman is on slightly shakier ground in Ashgrove
• Early trading suggests Police will investigate NZ ACC scandal
• Stocks on new NZ Cabinet Minister launched after Nick Smith resigns
• Marmite rationing begins in New Zealand
• Coalition looks set to win the next Australian Federal election
• Winston Peters to be kingmaker after 2014 New Zealand election and Labour to lead Government
• Pengxin’s bid for Crafar Farms to be successful in May
• Fonterra payout predictions down over the next four years
• New bin for glass reclycling not expected for Aucklanders
(more…)
JAILHOUSE BLUES: Old regional prisons are going to be closed and replaced with a shiny new one at Wiri in South Auckland. Closing prisons—that must be a good thing, right? Well, the new prison is privately-built and run. Plus without regional prisons—will prisoners lose touch with the families? Will it impact their rehabilitation? Do the closings mean a loss of jobs? But then again—is one new modern prison better than a bunch of run down old prisons? Is a gaol from the 1860s conducive to rehabilitation?
NATIONAL vs. LOCAL: Local council debt and our rates are on the rise and the Government wants to do something about it. Local Government Minister Dr. Nick Smith is expected to announce sweeping reforms this week aimed at reducing debt levels and curbing local powers. Are the reforms needed? What should we expect to get from our council rates? What should local councils be responsible for vs. National Government? Will any reforms mean we pay less?
Live pub politics from the Backbencher Pub: Wednesday, 21st of March, 9:05pm, on TVNZ 7
The Panel: Labour MP Phil Goff, Mana Party Leader Hone Harawira, and National MP Michael Woodhouse.
Key points:
New Zealand Labour’s David Shearer wins Super Thursday speeches, and forecast to govern without needing NZ First
Fonterra payout forecasts plummet
NZ Police funding forecast to be increased by 2.8% in May Budget
Queensland Labor on the way out next weekend
Wen Jinbao expected to step down as Chinese Premier by the end of the year
Two states each for Romney and Santorum expected in upcoming US Republican races
New bin for glass collection expected in Auckland before 2014
Pengxin’s Crafar bid for Crafar Farms unlikely to succeed before 2 June; more stock to be launched
Economic stocks extended to end of 2013
(more…)
Jock Hobbs was an All Black captain, saved rugby when Packer tried to buy it and toured rugby capitals to ensure we hosted the Rugby World Cup.
But most of all he was a good man.
Thanks Jock.
I was Minister of State Services from 1999 – 2005. Did some pretty big changes. Education, MSD and MED. Along the way I lost faith in the power of structural change to either release funds or improve services.
Change always took longer than we planned. Two years to implement and another two to bed in. It was always accompanied by a drop in morale and productivity.
Important skills and institutional knowledge were lost.
Some of the best people left with very expensive redundancy packages only to be rehired on contract at 150% of their former rate or left for Australia where they got 200%.
I now think it is better to have a longer term vision, make changes at the margins and focus on sharing as many services as possible.
This week on Back Benches:
CASUALIZATION OF WORKERS: The union protests at the Ports of Auckland continues—the Maritime Union wants a continuation of eight-hour shifts and job security. While the ports wants greater flexibility and productivity. But is greater flexibility—the casualization of the workforce—the future? Should any worker expect job security? Have the needs of workers and businesses changed? Is the age of 9-5 over? Or are businesses thinking only of themselves?
JOB CUTS: Every industry is looking to cut money from their budgets and our State Sector is not any different. MFAT is looking to save $40million but they are not alone with the Defence force and the Police are looking at places to save, too. Some 3500 public sector jobs are set to go but does this mean a cut in services. Or was the industry bloated in need of big cost cutting measures? With new technologies—do we need as much staff? Is the future doing more with less?
Panel: Green Party MP Gareth Hughes, Labour MP Kris Faafoi, and National MP Ian McKelvie.
Wednesday 14 March, from 9:05pm, on TVNZ 7.
Wayne Mapp’s commercial legal experience is limited to three years assisting one John Collinge, former President of the National Party who is better known for activity on the the table at the London High Commission than legal expertise.
He spent thirteen years at the University of Auckland but was unable to obtain a chair or a position in the Law School. He then became an undistinguished MP and a lacklustre Minister.
Mapp got the push from the National caucus but has been given a job at the Law Commission – a role normally reserved for distinguished lawyers.
Cronyism again.
CHANGES ARE A COMIN’: Changes to the benefit are a comin’—with reforms announced this week. The focus is on our youth and getting them off the dole and into work. $20 million a day or $8 billion a year is spent on beneficiaries. What are the reforms? Is it about training or incentives? Are there jobs for the unemployed? Do the reforms look at early intervention programmes? Do we need to reform more than our youth sector? Will these reforms fix the problem or leave more young people out in the cold?
SPEAKING OF JOBS: A new poll shows many tertiary students plan to head overseas because they fear they won’t be able to find a job in New Zealand. Are their fears justified? It’s “O” week—should new students keep this in mind when entering University? How do we keep our students in the country?
MMP: In November we decided we wanted to stick with MMP. Now, it’s time to have our say on MMP reform. What changes would you like to see to MMP? What should the threshold be for list seats? Should a list MP be able to stand in a by-election? Should a candidate have to choose between the list and an electorate? Who should rank the list? How many MPs do we need in Parliament? How should we manage proportion of the seats? What if a party wins more electorate seats than it would get under its share of the party vote?
A night of LIVE pub politics from the Backbencher Pub: Wednesday, 29th of February. Our Panel: Green Party MP Catherine Delahunty, Labour MP Sue Moroney, New Zealand First MP Tracey Martin, and National MP David Bennet
I’ve had a bit to do with the Computer Clubhouse movement. Some seed funding and a building back in the day when I was Minister of Education.
Went to the second birthday of the Naenae Club (thanks Hutt City) and within a couple of minutes I was cloned by the kids.
• Gillard gone by 1 July
• IMF world growth expected to be 3.2% for 2012
• Bashar al-Assad to remain Syrian dictator until at least June
• Shanghai Pengxin to secure Crafar farms in April
• NZX and Kiwi Dollar both expected to be up for the week on Friday
• New Zealand Labour to win 2014 election with NZ First or Maori Party holding balance of power (more…)
We put iPredict into Red Alert most weeks to give people a chance to have a more general political discussion:-
- Bashar al-Assad to survive February as Syrian dictator
- Australian PM Julia Gillard wobbly but safe till at least July
- Campbell Newman to win Ashgrove and oust Labor’s Anna Bligh as Queensland Premier on 24 March
- Australian cash rate to be cut on 6 March
- New Zealand National / Maori Party coalition to remain intact through February but a Minister is set to lose their position in 2012
- New Zealand economic forecasts remain steady despite more positive BNZ business survey
- NZX and Kiwi Dollar both expected to be up for the week on Friday
- Crafar farms settlement not likely till next week
- New Zealand Labour to win 2014 election with NZ First or Maori Party holding balance of power (more…)
He is too scared to answer a question relating to a decision of a Cabinet committee he chaired – the appointment of his own electorate chair.
He knows there is a lot more to come out about this guys grubby work and he is trying to keep his distance.
Making his very junior Minister take the heat. Hardly fair really.
Paid the PM salary – should do the job.
The National party are up to their old tricks – appointing people very close to them to positions in a way that is not appropriate.
First Sir Wira Gardiner. Very talented. Appointed by the previous government to do some tricky tasks. But he is married to a Cabinet Minister. He should not be appointed by any Minister in the current government to paid employment. John Key and Bill English have appointed him to sell their asset sales process to Maori.
The Labour government was very strict on this issue. Spouses were even rejected when they topped processes for voluntary advisory groups. It might seem prim and proper but processes need to be seen to be beyond corruption.
And now it appears that one of the two Nat MPs from the last intake who wasn’t good enough to make the extended list to get back in again has been employed to put the chairs out at the very same meetings that Gardiner is running. I’m not sure if Paul Quinn would be very helpful in any role.
Simon Collins has a useful article in today’s Herald. I look forward to the rest of the series and especially whether Key has the guts to try and make the solution to New Zealand’s poverty multipartisan in an attempt to get buy-in that lasts beyond this government. We all know that there isn’t a short term fix. :-
Auckland has changed from an equal city to an unequal one in less than a generation with the income gap between rich and poor widening dramatically over the past 25 years.
Whereas most people’s incomes were bunched tightly around the average in 1986, the spread has become increasingly vast, according to data prepared for the Herald by Statistics New Zealand.
Not only is the gap steadily increasing, but so too is the number of people who do not have enough money to eat.
The super-rich – such as the Chrisco hamper company owners who rented their $30 million Coatesville mansion to Kim Dotcom – have built sprawling homes on a scale the city had never dreamed of in the 1980s.
At the other extreme, food charity was unheard of in New Zealand, outside a tiny minority served by inner-city soup kitchens, until welfare benefits were cut in 1991.
Hayden is one of those doing some thinking about the future direction of progressive politics in New Zealand. Patrick on Progress Report has published a series of three blogs that are certainly worth a look.
Not sure what all the SoE Treaty Clause fuss is about.
Easily solved.
Indemnify the companies. Essentially what the act does now. Risk unchanged and stays with the crown.
If the Maori Party settle for less they are stupid.
Better still of course, abandon the sell down.
