From news at wysiwygnews.com Sun Apr 5 10:07:04 2009 From: news at wysiwygnews.com (news@wysiwygnews.com) Date: Sun Apr 5 10:07:10 2009 Subject: WYSIWYG NEWS - 5 April, 2009 Message-ID: <3F185A541960DB4B9FBBBB4104820BBC4990350253@STAWINCOEXMAIL1.staff.vuw.ac.nz> Subject: 5 April, 2009 ----- WYSIWYG NEWS ------------------------------ Copyright, Brian Harmer. After the disastrously bleak first day of the airshow at Avalon (Victoria), David and I decided we would try again the next day. This time, however, informed by our experiences of the Saturday, we made better preparations. Rather than using trams and trains, we borrowed a car from Cath and Mark, thereby giving ourselves more flexibility and personal shelter in the event of further bad weather. Although the cloud cover was higher than it had been the previous day, it still looked threatening. We stopped at Bunnings in South Melbourne, and for a ludicrously small amount of money, bought two folding picnic chairs, two small tarpaulins, and two plastic overcoats. Never mind that the overcoats amounted to a mobile billboard for Bunnings Hardware. With these, we figured, we could establish a personal space, and protect the precious and sensitive digital cameras. Thus equipped, we set out over the Westgate Bridge and along the Princes Freeway through Altona, Laverton , and Hopper's Crossing. Skirting Werribee, we were soon passing through open farmland. Unlike the New Zealand rural landscape, there were few livestock to be seen anywhere. Perhaps, after two and a half months with no rain until yesterday, there was little nutrient to be had from those vast but empty paddocks. Soon there were road signs warning of impending delays due to the airshow, and a little after that, we joined the tail of the line idling towards the designated exit for airshow traffic from Melbourne. We were happy enough, and at least warm, which is not usually a problem in Victoria at this time of year. We could listen to music, talk aviation and photography, and generally relax. In the far distance we could tell that the airshow itself had started, and were able to get a distant view of the RNZAF doing improbable things at low altitude with their Boeing 757. On arrival in the immense parking paddock, we extracted our equipment, packed as much as possible in backpacks, locked the car and set out for our second try. Through the security gates of fond memory, we went to the ticket office and paid $50 each for admission, and then were in. Having been a bit cavalier about departure time, we missed all the prime spots on the fenceline, but could see well enough across the backs of a crowd eight or ten deep ahead of us. And so the show began. There is something primal about the sound of a military jet's exhaust on full power. The earth shakes, and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and various bodily parts loosen. It is impossible to be unmoved, though I could have done without the showbiz commentary to the F16 display provided by a Master Sergeant of the USAF. His excited commentary would not have been out of place in an episode of WWE wrestling. Otherwise, we enjoyed every minute of the display despite the still cold wind and the occasional bleak shower. Periodic patches of blue sky held hope for an improvement. (They lied). We saw the USAF F16, RAAF FA/18s and their venerable C130, Blackhawk helicopters, and Boeing's demonstrator of the new Super Hornet soon to enter RAAF service. The few vintage Warbirds on display including a P51 Mustang were deterred from flying by the strong cross wind on the operational runway. Even that supremely elegant paragon of piston engined airliners the Lockheed Super Constellation was reluctant to take off, but to keep faith, taxied up and down the runway. All in all, even with the weather, we had a great day, and when we had enough, we left our tarpaulins behind with some shivering but grateful people who could then use them to shelter from the wind and occasional drizzle. The drive back to Port Melbourne was uneventful. That evening, Cath and Mark hosted us in a very nice Italian restaurant on the waterfront, to celebrate my imminent birthday, and a good time was had by all. Well, actually, Mark was disappointed that there was no spaghetti Bolognese on the menu, and the Italian equivalent of Gordon Ramsay indignantly explained that spag.bol was more than spaghetti and minced beef, and was an art form that took at least a week to prepare. Superb Tiramisu was a break from my dietary protocol, but it was a birthday celebration after all. Later in the week, I made a trip to Canberra. Two things attracted me there, apart from the fact that I had never been there before. One was the National War Museum and its fine display of WWII aircraft, and the other was an exhibition in the National Gallery of Australia, of works by Degas. I am a would be pastellist, and Degas is perhaps the most celebrated artist in that medium. Canberra is one of those cities that people tend to love or hate. I found it hard to love. I am not persuade of the virtue of wide spaces in a city. There was no information desk at the airport to tell me what there was to see or how to get there, nor even so much as a display of pamphlets describing available attractions. I took a shuttle bus to the city figuring that there would be an information centre there. If there was, I never found it. The nearest thing was the ticket office of the bus company who could at least tell me which bus to catch for the two things I definitely wanted to see. And so I commenced my day at the National War Memorial, and even from the outside it is impressive. There are some fine and moving statues, and some artefacts from various wars. Australia takes the memorial business very seriously indeed, and of its kind this one is superb. I confess I was there for my fascination with the machinery of aerial warfare, and so spent time exploring the Avro Lancaster, the DH Mosquito, the P40 Kittyhawk, the P51 Mustang, The Hawker Sea Fury (Korean War). Enemy aircraft such as the Mitsubishi A6M Zero, the Messerschmitt Bf109, Me163 Komet, and Me 262 Schwalbe were also represented. A fine collection of WW1 fighters was also displayed including an SE5a. My maternal grandfather, William Hibberd was a cabinet maker, and during that conflict was deemed to be essential labour. His special skill was the manufacture of laminated propellers for the SE5. He taught me how to carve propellers for my own models when I was a boy. Time was passing, and with much to do before my return to Melbourne, I set out towards the National Gallery of Australia. It was a fine day, so I decided to walk. I enjoyed the walk down among the trees lining Anzac Parade, and looked at the many memorials to various groups and nationalities along that fine street. Still intending to walk to the Gallery, I turned into Constitution Ave. I was making good progress, but finding the temperature, even at that hour of the morning a bit trying. The sound of a bus approaching as I passed a bus stop was too much, so I succumbed, and got on a bus bound for the suburb of Parkes. The driver made a slightly illicit variation to his route and dropped me off in a no stopping area on Kings Avenue, somewhere near the gallery. Let me say from the outset, that the Degas exhibition was superb, and excellently displayed in a very fine world class gallery. His sketches, oil paintings and sculptures were magnificent, with his usual fascination for ballet, nightlife and horse racing well displayed. Yet, if I had thought things through, I might never have gone to Canberra at all. Pastels were what I wanted to see. Pastels are essentially bits of coloured pigment clinging precariously to the texture of the paper or other backing. If the painting is moved or knocked, the pigment simply gives up the struggle and falls off. Pastel works are fragile, and for that reason are hardly ever moved. Thus, I should have known that I would not see pastels. In fact there was just one of the artist's lesser pastel works on display, and it was a joy to see. >From there I was close to the striking, and dare I say iconic parliamentary precinct of the Australian capital. The old parliament building is a fine, albeit conventional example of this kind of building. The new parliament building, on the other hand, designed by Romaldo Giurgola, is fascinating. Embedded in Capital Hill, it has an elegance and understated quality. The true extent of the building is simply not apparent from the outside. After a brief but visit to a fellow academic at the University of Canberra, I returned to the airport and thence back to Melbourne. All in all it was an interesting trip. I had a really great time in Australia thanks to the generous hospitality of Catherine and Mark, and the enthusiastic support of David and Mary. Thanks so much, team. Home again in a much cooler New Zealand, in time to celebrate not only our 39th wedding anniversary but also my 65th birthday. Retirement is not on my horizon at present, but it is time to ask again whether there is still support for the continuation of WYSIWYG. I last asked this question in 2006 or 2007, I think. There is just enough money in the kitty from that round to cover another 18 weeks of news collection and formatting. I have been erratic in my delivery in recent weeks due in the main to academic "busy-ness" and to being away. If I am willing to continue, are you still inclined to support it? Please send a brief email indicating whether you would be able to offer support(don't send the whole issue of the news with it). Just to remind you, each issue costs NZD$40, all of which is paid to an assistant who collects the news items, and reformats them for transmission. I do not take any money personally, and never have. Please DO NOT send money at this time. ---- Any text above this point, and all subsequent material in parentheses, and concluded with the initials "BH" is the personal opinion of Brian Harmer as editor of this newsletter, or occasionally "GS" will indicate an opinion from our editorial assistant. In all cases they are honest expressions of personal opinion, and are not presented as fact. All news items (except where noted otherwise) are reproduced by kind permission of copyright owner, Newstalk ZB News. All copyright in the news items reproduced remains the property of The Radio Network Limited. Sponsorship this week is from Claus Tondering. Many thanks as always. ---- On with the News. Monday, 23 March 2009 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JOB SUMMIT IN HAMILTON ---------------------- Putting beneficiaries into the workforce through a "top-up scheme" was one idea put forward at today's Job Summit in Hamilton. 130 business leaders and representatives from government agencies looked at ways to boost the Waikato economy. Chris Williams from King Street Advertising led a group on creating jobs. He says one idea would see those made redundant put back into the workforce, with their employer topping up their salary. Other ideas put forward included nine hour days with a four hour Friday, or four 10 hour days. GOVERNMENT DUMPS STUPID LAW --------------------------- The Government has scuttled what has been described as a stupid law introduced by Labour. Changes to the copyright laws could see websites being closed down after someone complained about copyright being breached. ACT's Rodney Hide said it was guilt by accusation and breached the principle of natural justice. The industry was given until Friday to come up with a workable code of practice but has failed to do so and Prime Minister John Key says the law change will not now go ahead. (To be fair, it was a single section - S92A - that attracted the criticism. It is quite appropriate, however that it was struck out. - BH) EARLY SEASON FOR KIWIFRUIT -------------------------- The Bay of Plenty kiwifruit season is off to an early start - with fruit shipments now on their way to Japan. Zespri says the first shipment of 140,000 trays of the Gold variety is due to arrive in Kobe in early April. This is almost two weeks ahead of the 2008 season start date. The first shipments of kiwifruit to China are expected to arrive mid April - and in Europe at the end of next month. Zespri CEO Lain Jager says they are delighted with the quality of the early season harvest, the crop is clean with good-sized fruit and excellent taste. (It does look nice, but I am disappointed with the early departure of stone fruit, especially the magnificent Omega plums. - BH) JURY SYSTEM UNDER REVIEW ------------------------ One high profile defence lawyer is questioning the need for jury vetting. The Supreme Court has ruled inquiries by police to establish whether jurors have criminal records, is lawful. But the Crown only has to pass on information to defence lawyers if there is a risk a conviction could prejudice the juror against the accused. While John Haigh QC says it's unfair - as all information should be available to the defence, he is questioning the need for jury vetting at all. He says once you have served a sentenced, one view is that you are still entitled to make rational decisions on a jury. Mr Haigh says another point is, an 11 to one jury verdict will be in place later this year, which will weed out rogue jurors. (I know it is unfair, but I think there is a grain of truth to the assertion that most of the people who have the capability to do the job well, are smart enough to use the system to avoid jury service. I recall with horror an article in the Listener a few years back wherein a member of a jury wanted to convict, not on the evidence, but because that was what her astrology readings for the day required. - BH) NEW INCENTIVE FOR STUDENT LOANS ------------------------------- The Government has tweaked its student loans repayment policy claiming its new approach is much broader. As of next month, loan holders who make voluntary repayments of over $500 will get a 10 percent bonus payment, or top up, from the Government. Tertiary Education Minister Anne Tolley says the original idea was for voluntary repayments to be a lump sum, but now they can be accrued across the year. She says that will further help take the pressure off loan holders. Ms Tolley says overseas based student loan holders will also be covered by the revised scheme. TVNZ CHARTER NOT WORKING ------------------------ The Prime Minister says TVNZ's charter is not working and the 15 million dollars of funding for the production of local content is now open for bids from commercial operators. The state broadcaster operates under a charter which encourages it to show programmes that reflect New Zealand's identity. But John Key says it does not mean TVNZ is now up for sale. He says they are not selling TVNZ, but the charter has not worked, there has been no discernable difference in the amount of local content that has been played because of the charter. (In my opinion, it has had an almost negative effect. The world does not need more soap operas or more so-called "reality-TV". The shows we have paid for have been, in the main, appalling. - BH) NO MAIL COLLECTION ON WEEKEND ----------------------------- Snail mail is about to get even slower at the weekends. New Zealand Post is cutting mail collections from street post boxes at the weekends. There are around 4,800 street mail boxes around the country. From April 18 letters popped in those on a Saturday or Sunday will not be collected until Monday. Postal Services Chief Executive, Peter Fenton, says 95 percent of mail collected from street boxes is posted Monday to Friday - and the amount being posted at the weekend has dropped 13 percent in the past year. He says collecting and sorting at the weekend is expensive - and it is a fixed cost that does not fall as mail volumes fall. (Just this weekend, NZ Post have revealed an overall drop in the number of posted articles. I think I heard a figure around 10% overall. E-mail strikes! - BH) NATIONAL BANK RAISES RATES -------------------------- The National Bank has increased its three to five year interest rates. The rise affects fixed home loans, residential investment and business equity loan products. The three year rate has gone up by point 16 percent, four years by point 15 percent and five year by a quarter of a percent. National Bank says it is due to a rise in the cost of borrowing by the bank on the wholesale market and they are just bringing the rates up to par with other banks. (Watch this space - BH) LEAVE FOR PAY COULD BE A REALITY BY NEXT YEAR --------------------------------------------- The Government hopes to allow workers to cash in their fourth week of annual leave by this time next year and is working through a change to legislation. Unions are voicing concern after having fought for years to take New Zealand from three weeks annual leave a year to a compulsory four weeks. Minister of Labour Kate Wilkinson says everyone will benefit from the change. "It is the employee's choice. It's not part of the initial employment contract. It's up to the employee to go to their boss and say look, I'd rather work that extra week and have some extra money." LABOUR DEFENDS SUPER FUND ------------------------- The Government is again being pilloried over its approach to the Super Fund. John Key is indicating payments to the fund may be suspended in this year's Budget - earlier this month he was talking about a reduction in payments. Labour's finance spokesman David Cunliffe says the arguments over contributions to the fund are either affordability or investment strategy, and it's unlikely that both can apply. He says the bottom line is the fund has not made a loss as such, as none of its shares have been sold, and smart investors know when the market is low that is the time to buy. REPORT TIPS RISING POWER PRICES ------------------------------- A new report from investment bank Goldman Sachs says the three state-owned electricity generators will have to increase prices. The report says only NZX-listed Trustpower and Contact Energy are actually recovering their long term costs from retail clients. Business correspondent Roger Kerr says it appears the Government's desire to seek higher profits and dividends from state-owned electricity generators is on a collision course with the Reserve Bank, which requires inflation to be kept under control. "As we know, one of the largest causes of the inflation rate going up in the last five years has been the 50 percent increase in electricity prices to consumers. That's 10 percent a year, it's worse than local body rates. There is no end to the price rises." The Government-owned electricity generators are Meridian, Mighty River Power and Genesis Energy. (Whenever I find myself in agreement with the BRT, I have to question whether I am in the wrong place. However, I resent paying increasing prices for electricity generated by resources built with our money - BH) MORTGAGE HOLIDAY NO HOLIDAY IN LONG RUN --------------------------------------- A Wellington mortgage broker says people need to be aware that a mortgage holiday is not a waiver of interest and that the loan will keep growing. Parent company of New Zealand's ASB bank, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, is offering mortgage repayment holidays for up to 12 months for those laid off due to the global recession. ASB Bank already has the capacity to grant mortgage holidays of up to six months. Mortgage broker Maria Pereira says she would only advise a mortgage holiday where the only choice is between that and selling the home. "It's not a good idea to go on a mortgage holiday because you're worse off. You are capitalising the interest payments so the balance of your loan keeps growing." Ms Pereira says putting a loan on interest only or pushing out the term to 30 years are other ways to create more cash flow. Tuesday, 24 March 2009 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MAORI SUPPORT PRIVATE JAILS --------------------------- The Maori Party will support Government legislation allowing privately run prisons. Parliament is due to debate a Bill tonight that will clear the way for some of the country's prisons to be run by private companies. Maori Party Co-leader Tariana Turia says they will vote in favour of the legislation. She says they support prisons that are run in particular ways and if they have to be private then they will support that. Mrs Turia says her party certainly does not like the way prisons are run now. However she says there are some changes they'd like to make to the Bill and they will announce those in due course. FONTERRA PERFORMANCE SATISFACTORY --------------------------------- Fonterra's Chairman describes the dairy giant's financial performance over the past six months as satisfactory. It has reported increased revenue of $9.6 million dollars for the six months from August to January. However, when timing and seasonal factors are taken into account, total revenue would actually have been down 7.6 percent. Chairman Henry van der Heyden says that is satisfactory given the turmoil in the global economy and the effect it is having on international dairy markets. Fonterra is sticking to its forecast payout of $5.10 per kilo of milk solids - their third highest pay out ever. NZ ECONOMY MUCH WORSE --------------------- Finance Minister Bill English has revealed figures showing the economy is in a much worse position than originally thought. Mr English says Balance of Payment figures are in the order of nine percent of GDP, while the GDP figures will show the economy has contracted by two percent compared with a year ago. Both sets of figures are not due for release until later in the week. But Bill English says the outlook has worsened since the pre-election fiscal update. He says the country faces the challenge of chronic twin deficits with both fiscal deficits and balance of payment deficits, which are among the worst in the OECD. LABOUR CONCERNED OVER POLITICAL APPOINTMENTS -------------------------------------------- Labour is worried that National is about to purge the appointments it made to boards when it was in Government. Labour leader Phil Goff says appointments should be made on merit and he is worried that National has begun appointing its mates to boards. Mr Goff says he has no problem with people leaning towards National being appointed to boards providing they are competent and effective. He says people should not be removed from boards simply because they are not card carrying members of the National Party. Mr Goff says Labour appointed a number of people who identified with National with former Prime Minister Jim Bolger being the most obvious. (By and large, despite attempts to maintain the illusion of neutrality, governing parties always seem to appoint their own. Perhaps it's time to drop the pretence and follow the American system whereby ambassadors and others serve at the pleasure of the president. - BH) EMPLOYMENT WORRIES FOR MIGRANTS ------------------------------- Migrant workers are concerned they will be the first on the chopping block when their employers look to cut jobs. A group representing Filipino migrants, Migrante Aotearoa, is urging employers to uphold International Labour Organisation standards. National coordinator Dennis Maga says tensions are growing in workplaces because people think migrants should be the first to go. He says a fair and transparent process should be followed when selecting workers who will made redundant. Mr Maga says migrants make a significant contribution to New Zealand's economy. (I think people who have gone to the trouble of becoming permanent residents should be treated equally. Otherwise, in tight times, people who are merely on some sort of work visa should expect to take second place - BH) UMR GOOD LIFE ------------- City suburbs and small country towns are where the good life is, if the results of a UMR Research survey are anything to go by. 90% of respondents living in rural areas liked where they lived. While around 75% of people living in the suburbs and small towns are happy. In contrast, only 64% of central city dwellers wanted to live there. The survey says younger people tend to opt for the central city and Maori long for the rural life, more than other ethnicities. DOC STOPS HIRING ---------------- The Department of Conservation has put a hold on hiring staff despite recently advertising positions. Applicants for three Kea Field Assistant positions received an email reply from DOC which says there will be a delay in the recruitment process. The email says DOC is reassessing all advertised positions until its budget for the coming year becomes clearer. Spokesman Rory Newsam says they have put a temporary hold on filling positions while they wait on the budget in May. He says it is a step in response to the current economic situation. EMPLOYERS SUPPORT LEAVE PAY OUT ------------------------------- Employers are supporting the Government's move to allow staff to swap cash for holidays as their own survey shows employees are already clocking up high levels of annual leave. The Employers and Manufacturers Association survey suggests the average amount of unused holidays has jumped to nearly four weeks per employee. Under the Labour Government, it was illegal to cash in annual leave, but National plans to allow workers to be paid out for their fourth week of holidays. EMA spokesman David Lowe says paying out workers is a sensible move. "For some people four weeks is a lot of time to take off. Others simply just don't want to spend that sort of time on holiday for a whole range of reasons." Mr Lowe says allowing two weeks to be cashed up would strike a better balance between accommodating employees' wishes and preserving the good practice of taking a break from work. However, the Maritime Union is not happy about the move because it expects most people will have to give up their precious family and personal time to make ends meet. General secretary Trevor Hanson says people will effectively be forced to surrender a week's holiday while permitting well paid executives and managers to spend more time at the beach. He says the Prime Minister is being dishonest by saying workers will have a choice in the matter as he believes job applicants who may want four weeks leave will settle for three in order to secure the position. (As I understand it, the choice to cash in the leave is solely with the employee. The proposed law change does not permit employers to impose it. - BH) STUDENT ALLOWANCE A BETTER OPTION --------------------------------- The Green Party and students claim the Government has the wrong priority, with its approach on student loans. From next month, loan holders who make voluntary repayments of $500 or more in a year will receive a 10 percent bonus payment from the Government towards their loan debt. But Green Party MP Metiria Turei believes the Government is focussing on the wrong area. She says student allowances should have been increased instead, as half of the loan debts students accrue covers living costs. Ms Turei says eliminating that debt would be the most sensible option. Freya Eng from the Victoria University Students Association says it is great the Government is providing incentives to pay off student loans but claims it is ignoring the overriding issue that the student loan scheme is a terrible arrangement. She says a universal student allowance is a better option as it would enable students to contribute to the economy as soon as they graduate. Ms Eng says the Government should be supporting students while they are studying, especially in such hard financial times. AUSSIE TOURISTS A FOCUS FOR ROTORUA ----------------------------------- Rotorua is hoping to cash in on the increasing number of trans-Tasman visitors. Auckland Airport figures show 3.1 percent more Australians came to New Zealand last month, compared with the same month last year. Rotorua mayor Kevin Winters says his city's big marketing campaign will be directed at Australia over the next 12 months. The airport's runway extensions will be finished in July and talks are going on with several airlines about flying directly into Rotorua. Rotorua hotels plan to focus on adding value and effectively managing costs to remain competitive as they face softening demand over the next few months. In releasing the New Zealand Hotel Council's Annual Survey 2008 yesterday, council spokeswoman Jennie Langley said the state of the economy is currently the single biggest concern for NZHC members, with revenue coming under significant pressure as demand falls. "We know the short-term outlook for many hotels is tough but they cannot lose sight of the eventual economic recovery by continuing to deliver quality product, retaining staff and investing in refurbishments and developments." The survey showed that New Zealanders accounted for 42.2 percent of all rooms sold in Rotorua last year and Australians 11.9 percent. Tours and groups were the biggest source of business for Rotorua hotels, accounting for 42 percent of rooms sold. "Australia and the domestic market will be critical in buffering the industry from lower long-haul international demand. Across New Zealand, falling demand for group travel is being felt, particularly from the valuable Asian markets, so last week's announcements by the Government and Air New Zealand of an additional $5 million for marketing in Australia will provide a real boost." Rotorua's average occupancy has fallen 2.3 percent to 66 percent, reflecting the national fall from 70.7 percent in 2007 to 69.2 percent in 2008. The average national room rate increased just $1.11 in 2008 to $138.65. In Rotorua, the average room rate was up only 3 cents, to $109.15. At the same time, operating costs for hotels continued to rise. "Hotels are coming under increasing pressure to offer discounts but it is very difficult to make up the revenue elsewhere and have funds to invest in the business when the market recovers. We strongly recommend hotels find ways to add value to their guests to help maintain demand." Ms Langley says the shortage of skilled labour continues to be a challenge for hotels throughout the country. Other statistics to come from the NZHC Annual Operating Survey 2008: NZHC members directly employed around 9100 permanent and casual staff in 2008, Auckland achieved the highest annual occupancy rate of 72.8 percent followed by Wellington (70.5 percent) and Christchurch (68.2 percent), Wellington had the highest average room rate of $147.39, followed by Auckland ($146.33) and Queenstown ($137.23), The average room rate for 5-star hotels was $193.62, 4-star was $129.80 and 3-star was $100.53, The largest individual source of business was leisure travellers (37.9 percent of all rooms sold), followed by corporate (23.2 percent) and tour groups (21 percent), The largest consumers of hotel accommodation in 2008 were New Zealanders (49.5 percent of all rooms sold), followed by Australians (17.1 percent), On average, 30 percent of bookings were short-term (made up to seven days prior to arrival), 33 percent were medium-term (8-30 days prior to arrival) and 37 percent were long-term (more than 30 days prior to arrival), 16 percent of bookings in 2008 were made online, Almost all NZHC members provide some sort of recycling facilities. Wednesday, 25 March 2009 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ AIRNZ FLIGHT ATTENDANTS WANT MORE --------------------------------- Air New Zealand says workers threatening strike action are overstating the amount they are suffering. 250 Flight attendants employed by Air New Zealand subsidiary Zeal 320 are going are taking industrial action - they're claiming their wages are far worse than other Air New Zealand staff employed directly by the parent company. They're also claiming a large part of their wages is going towards maintaining grooming standards and dry cleaning. Air New Zealand spokesman Glen Sowry says they believe they pay their Zeal staff a very competitive rate which includes an allowance for dry cleaning and meals, just as other airlines do. (If I have understood correctly, employees of Zeal 320 are paid considerably less than their equivalents employed directly by Air New Zealand - BH) F&P SIGNS UP TO 9 DAY FORTNIGHT ------------------------------- Fisher and Paykel has become the first company to sign up to the Government's nine day fortnight. It has reached agreement with the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union for a temporary 35 hour week. Workers will get paid for three and a half hours of the five hours remaining through a government funded top up and equivalent company contribution. The remaining one-and-a-half hours they can take as paid leave. They will also attend a company funded in-house training programme for three and a half hours a fortnight. The scheme will run for six months from April to September. CALL CENTRE JOBS IN WELLINGTON ------------------------------ One hundred new jobs are being created at ANZ in Wellington. After previously outsourcing jobs to India, the bank says it will start recruiting for new call centre jobs as part of a scheme to share the load of customer calls between the Melbourne and Wellington call centres. ANZ National spokeswoman Virginia Stracey-Clitherow says the Wellington call centre will increase from 600 to 700 staff overall. She says no call centre consultant roles will be made redundant in either country, but those who voluntarily leave Australian call centres will not be replaced BANKS KEEN ON SUPER CITY ------------------------ The mayor of Auckland is taking a wait-and-see approach to the plan for the region's future governance which will be put in the government's hands today. The findings of the Royal Commission of Inquiry is expected to be made public by the end of the week. John Banks says Auckland City Council supports the creation of a super-city. He says it will do away with layer upon layer of unnecessary bureaucracy. He will not be pinned down on whether he wants to be its mayor, saying it is not about him. (A pig just flew past my window. - BH) UNION OFFERING INPUT TO CLOSE LOOPHOLE -------------------------------------- The Council of Trade Unions claims employers are using contracting arrangements to get around paying the statutory minimum wage rates to people doing work such as leaflet delivery. The CTU has contributed to the redrafting of a bill that will be debated in Parliament today aimed at closing the loophole. Secretary Peter Conway says the downturn in the labour market has seen an increase in subcontracting work. "The minimum wage is a really important protection and this loophole allows people to be employed as contractors and their piece rate does not add up to effectively the minimum wage. So we'd like to see that loophole closed." Mr Conway says some businesses are evading the law concerning minimum wages by farming out low-skilled work to individual contractors who have little or no choice about work available to them. LOCALS WILL HAVE PRIORITY ------------------------- The Government is making moves to ensure New Zealanders have priority over migrant workers. The issue has been thrust into the spotlight following allegations that MCK Metals Pacific in New Plymouth has retained temporary Filipino welders, while making 28 local employees redundant in October last year. Immigration Minister Jonathan Coleman says as unemployment rises, the focus will be on locals. "It's going to be a situation where temporary migrants won't be having their permits renewed and won't be getting new permits either. So there won't be new temporary migrants coming in." Dr Coleman is seeking further information about the New Plymouth case to ensure the local workers have not been unfairly treated. (As I understand it, this case is complicated by the revelation that, although the Filipinos obtained their visas because they could do work that the locals could not do, in fact MCK is not doing anything that requires those special skills. - BH) FIELD DAYS UNDERWAY TODAY ------------------------- The latest farming gadgets will be on display today at the 58th annual South Island Field Days in Christchurch. The oldest Field Days event in New Zealand runs until Friday and more than 20,000 people are expected at the Lincoln University's seven-hectare site on Weedons Rd. Chairman David James says this year's event has a record number of exhibitors and up to 100 demonstrations will be held each day. He says as 64 percent of New Zealand's merchandise exports come from the primary sector, Field Days is a barometer of how the economy is faring. This year's event coincides with the 7th World Potato Congress which is being held in Christchurch and congress participants will visit Field Days. Thursday, 26 March 2009 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TELECOM ANNOUNCES BEBO PARTNERSHIP ---------------------------------- Telecom is launching a new partnership with the social networking site Bebo. From June, Telecom users will be able to access the site's content and services. This means people will be able to upload photos, give virtual gifts, get updates via text messages and interact with friends. Bebo has been pairing up with mobile phone providers across the world since the beginning of the year. The company says hits on the site have gone through the roof since they made it more accessible. (I wonder if Telecom staff will be allowed to access Bebo sites in work time. - BH) CAP SET ON NUMBER OF PUBLIC SERVANTS ------------------------------------ A cap has been set on the number of workers in the public service. State Services Minister Tony Ryall has set the number at 38,859 based on the number of full time employees at the end of December last year. He says putting a cap on the number of workers will provide greater flexibility in re-balancing staff numbers and resources between and within organisations. Mr Ryall expects the number of communications staff will be reduced, but he is adamant the cap does not mean a cut to the public service. He says it is about making more resources available for frontline services. HOME AFFORDABILITY GETS BETTER ------------------------------ Owning a home is getting more affordable. The latest Massey University figures shows an 8.3 percent improvement over the last quarter. The three drivers of the affordability equation have improved. House prices were down 2.2 percent, weighted average mortgage rates dropped more than five percent and weekly wages increased by just over one percent. All regions except Southland showed improvement in affordability, led by Central Otago and Lakes District, Hawkes Bay and Northland. MIDWIVES NEED MORE TRAINING --------------------------- Midwives say extra training for student midwives is not a reflection on their competence or skills. Trainee midwives will now have to assist with extra births before going solo. >From next year they will assist with 40 births instead of the current 30 and will do extra hours training before they graduate. Midwifery advisor for the New Zealand College of midwives Norma Campbell says the extra training is already in place in Otago and at CPIT and comes about after broad consultation. She says they have no problem with the competence of current graduates... LABOUR SHORTAGE IN HAWKE'S BAY ------------------------------ A seasonal labour shortage has been declared for Central Hawkes Bay, Napier and Hastings. It means travellers can have their visitor permits amended so they can work in the region's horticulture or viticulture sectors. The declaration will remain in effect until the end of April. Work and Income regional commissioner Lindsay Scott says finding local labour will remain their priority, but there's concern there are not enough New Zealanders to fill the vacancies. (Despite the increase in unemployment, the problem is that not enough of the people seeking work live in Hawkes Bay or can afford to move there. - BH) TRADE MINISTER UPBEAT ABOUT ECONOMY ----------------------------------- The World Trade Organisation is forecasting a nine percent contraction in world trade but the Trade Minister says New Zealand's situation has never been better for opportunities. Speaking at a meeting of export industry leaders at the Wellington Chamber of Commerce, Tim Groser says in the year to January total merchandise exports were $43 billion dollars - a 15 percent increase from last year. He is stressing the importance of gaining free trade agreements with South Korea - our sixth largest export market. He says eliminating tariffs on Kiwifruit would be worth $8000 to every single kiwifruit producers in the country. CURRENT ACCOUNT DEFICIT RISES ----------------------------- New Zealand's current account deficit for the year ended December has risen to $16.1 billion, 8.9 percent of the Gross Domestic Product. It compares with a deficit of $15.5 billion or 8.6 percent of GDP, for the same period the previous year. Statistics New Zealand says higher freight costs and declining number of visitors to New Zealand have made a significant impact. Exports of goods increased, with higher values of dairy products behind the rise. This was offset by an increase in the import of goods, which was due to an increase in the prices of imports of petroleum and petroleum products. The seasonally adjusted current account deficit for the December 2008 quarter was $3,772 million, $236 million smaller than the deficit in the September 2008 quarter. The smaller deficit in the latest quarter was due to an increase in the value of exports of goods, which was partly offset by increased value of imports of services. Exports of goods increased due to higher exports of dairy and forestry products. ANZ chief economist Cameron Bagrie says while the numbers are not pretty, they could have been worse and the market appears to be taking comfort from the fact they were not worse. Mr Bagrie says the market is now waiting see what the GDP figures out tomorrow look like. WEIGHT A PROBLEM FOR PACIFIC PEOPLE ----------------------------------- A new report says Pacific Island people in New Zealand cannot always afford to eat food which might lessen high obesity rates. The report, "Food Security for Pacific Peoples in New Zealand" comes from lobby group, the Obesity Action Coalition. It says healthy food is more expensive than less healthy food, is not as easy to access and is often not as tasty. Lead author Professor Elaine Rush says governments can do something about it, particularly in the area of changing what she describes as New Zealand's obeso-genic environment. She says the government should support moves that help New Zealanders make good food choices. GOVT SORTING OUT PRIORITIES OVER ROADING ---------------------------------------- Transport officials are working through with the Government exactly how they will be able to carry out the work requested on the seven roads of 'national significance'. Transport Minister Steven Joyce last week revealed his wishlist, which includes three projects in Auckland, as well as the northern corridor out of Wellington. New Zealand Transport Agency CEO Geoff Dangerfield has told a select committee at Parliament this morning, that the agency is now working through the amount of funding required to carry out the workload. He says the agency is always trying to prioritise, as there are many more proposals than can be funded, and each must be looked at to see which can give the best results. LAND SOUGHT IN NZ FOR ASIAN BURIAL GROUND ----------------------------------------- New Zealand is being explored as a burial ground for Asians, who have a tradition of honouring their dead and worshipping their ancestors. Cremation is not an option for some Buddhist and Taoist who want their bodies kept intact after death because of their belief in reincarnation, but cities such as Tokyo and Singapore are running out of cemetery space. A group of Singapore businessmen toured the North Island last month looking for land on the Hibiscus Coast for a cemetery and have appointed an agent to explore the possibilities of establishing burial grounds. (Personally, I find this repugnant. It seems akin to the business of shipping our toxic computer waste to third world countries for disposal. The Hibiscus Coast is a nice area where our citizens live and work. How appalling to try to turn it into a cemetery for people from other countries. - BH) MERCURY ENERGY POWERS UP THE TACTIX ----------------------------------- Relief for the Canterbury Tactix just two weeks out from the start of the ANZ Championship with the news they have secured a major sponsor. Mercury Energy is the new naming rights sponsor of the Tactix, signing on for two years with the right of renewal. Tactix CEO Andrew Hercus says they were grateful the Christchurch City Council was prepared to underwrite them, but they will not now need any financial assistance as they have a break-even budget. Hercus says they had the best average crowd numbers of the New Zealand teams last year and now the big question will be whether they can maintain those figures in a recession. TELCOS ACCUSED OF DELAYING TACTICS ---------------------------------- The Telecommunications Users Association is accusing Telecom and Vodafone of using delaying techniques to continue overcharging consumers for the use of mobile phones. Telecom is charging voice termination rates at 16 cents per minute and Vodafone 15 cents. The companies have offered to reduce that to around 10 cents over time, but the Commerce Commission says it should be seven cents. Association spokesman Ernie Newman says it is taking far too long to regulate mobile phone charges. "The very best answer is for Vodafone and Telecom to come back to the Commerce Commission with a figure that's an awful lot closer to seven than the very slow glidepath that they're proposing at the present time." The commission has asked Vodafone and Telecom to put another offer on the table by the end of April. Friday, 27 March 2009 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ONE SUPER CITY, 6 LOCAL COUNCILS -------------------------------- Auckland ratepayers are being assured they won't lose their representation with the creation of a super council. The Royal Commission on Auckland Governance is proposing to dissolve the Auckland Regional Council and seven territorial authorities. Commission chairman Peter Salmon QC says six elected local councils will be established. He says their function will be to deliver local services, including managing resource consents and roads, as well as helping people to get involved in their communities. Mr Salmon says the councils will be part of and accountable to the new Auckland Council. MILLENNIUM INSTITUTE GETS $12 MILLION INVESTMENT ------------------------------------------------ AUT University is to invest $12 million into the expansion of the Millennium Institute. The agreement sees AUT investing land and capital to expand the facilities on the North Shore. The aim is to build a facility which will set the benchmark for high performance sport. Millennium Institute CEO Mike Stanley says one of the missing elements in New Zealand's sporting success has been the expertise of a dedicated multi- code high performance centre. He says this development will help coaches and athletes bridge the gap between New Zealand and the rest of the world. YET MORE MISTAKES ON TOLL ROAD ------------------------------ Yet another stuff up with the Northern Toll road. Some people with pre-paid accounts have been double billed. Last week some customers were debited multiple times. Land Transport New Zealand spokesman Andy Knackstedt is again apologising. He says toll road users will quite rightly be asking how many more mistakes will be made and when will it end. He says Land Transport has to work hard to get it right, earn people's trust and ensure it does not happen again. Mr Knackstedt says the accounts of all customers who were double billed have now been reimbursed. MORE RUMBLE STRIPS FOR ROADS ---------------------------- The length of rumble strips along our state highways is to be doubled. The raised strips along highway edges and centre- lines, make a rumbling noise when cars are driven over them - alerting inattentive drivers they are veering out of their lane. Additional funding is being made available through the government's jobs and growth plan for another 750 kilometres - taking the total to over 1300. The work is expected to be finished by the end of June. SEALORD ACCUSED OF CORPORATE GREED ---------------------------------- Sealord is being accused of corporate greed after it confirmed 120 jobs are going at its Nelson plant. The Service and Food Workers Union says the company has made it clear it wants to make almost $10 million additional profit. Union spokesman Neville Donaldson says Sealord wants the remaining workers to trim $1.8 million form the wages bill. He says the company has told workers if they can't achieve profits or the savings they require then jobs of the remaining 350 workers are far from secure and there is a likelihood the site will close. JOBS BEING LOST IN TEXTILE INDUSTRY ----------------------------------- Layoffs have also been confirmed in the textile industry. Thirty-eight jobs in will be lost at Pacific Brands in Christchurch and 51 in Palmerston North as factories in both cities close. In addition, Summit Woolspinners in Oamaru is in the process of finalising a voluntary redundancy agreement that could see the loss of up to 60 jobs. The National Distribution Union is investigating whether it is feasible to use the Government's nine day working fortnight to prevent another 20 redundancies. Union President Robert Reid says carpet maker Cavalier Bremworth has negotiated a series of four, four-day weeks starting today to try to reduce stock levels. Workers will get holiday pay for the fifth unworked day. It is hoped that will be enough to protect jobs. GDP FALLS IN DEC QUARTER ------------------------ There has been a fourth consecutive decline in economic activity. The economy contracted 0.9 percent in the December quarter according to the latest GDP figures. It was driven by a drop in manufacturing and wholesale trade industries. For the year to December, GDP increased by 0.2 percent. Annual GDP was higher than for the December 2007 year, despite the four quarters of declining activity. This occurred because the economy grew at a faster rate in 2007 than it contracted in 2008. TOUGH TIMES IN THE RAG TRADE ---------------------------- There is another sign that people are keeping their wallets firmly shut. Profit for clothing retailer Hallenstein Glassons for the six months to February is down 40 percent to $5.48 million. The company says the quest to catch the consumer dollar has been at the expense of margins. It says it has been necessary to aggressively promote, in order to maintain market share and ensure inventory levels are managed effectively. The company will pay an interim dividend of 10 cents per share. CAPPING CREATES MORE BUREAUCRACY - UNION ---------------------------------------- The union for public service workers has spotted what it considers potential difficulties in the Government's capping policy. National plans to limit the number of full time staff in the core public service to just under 39,000 people. Public Service Association national secretary Brenda Pilott says the State Services Commission will have a difficult job. "If one department needs to or wants to increase its numbers by say, 25 jobs, presumably it means that somebody else has got to cut 25 jobs in order to not go beyond the total cap that has been put in place." Ms Pilott says the policy is likely to create more bureaucracy, rather than reduce it. Labour's State Services spokesman Grant Robertson says given the number of cuts already announced at the State Services Commission and the Tertiary Education Commission, the Government is simply making things up as it goes along. He says the policy is an absurd public relations exercise. Mr Robertson says while the cap might set a maximum number of public servants it does not create a minimum meaning it is possible more cuts could be on the way LANDMARK BUILDINGS SWITCHING OFF LIGHTS --------------------------------------- New Zealanders are being encouraged to join the millions worldwide who are expected to turn off their lights tomorrow night. Forty-four New Zealand cities, town and districts are taking part in Earth Hour, when people are encouraged to power down from 8.30 at night to show support for action on climate change. Project director Dairne Poole says it is symbolic event which helps raise awareness about climate change through energy saving. She says it also brings the community together to celebrate the earth for an hour. Auckland's Sky Tower, the Beehive in Wellington and Christchurch's Cathedral Square are some of the country's landmarks taking part. The lights will also be out on the Pyramids of Giza and the Eiffel Tower. In Cathedral Square, an Earth Hour concert featuring six local bands is being held at six o'clock tomorrow night. FOREIGN AID THE FOCUS OF SUMMIT ------------------------------- Opposition parties are gathering in Wellington today for a summit on New Zealand's aid programme. It comes as they raise concern about the Government's commitment to development assistance, particularly in the Pacific. The meeting has been organised by Labour MP Phil Twyford who claims the Government has indicated it wants to get rid of NZAID and drop the focus on poverty elimination from the $480 million a year aid programme. A range of organisations is expected to be represented at the three hour gathering, which will include MPs from Labour, the Greens, United Future and Progressives. CLARK CONFIRMED AS UN'S NUMBER THREE ------------------------------------ Helen Clark has been confirmed as number three at the United Nations. The former prime minister's appointment as administrator of the UN Development Programme was announced at the UN in New York this morning. A spokeswoman says Miss Clark's well-honed consensus-building skills helped win her the job. Monday, 30 March 2009 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PUBLIC TO HAVE SAY ON NAME CHANGE --------------------------------- The public is encouraged to give their views on Wanganui's name. The New Zealand Geographic Board has decided Wanganui should be spelt with an 'h' as Whanganui. Chairman Don Grant says it is a matter of spelling not pronunciation. He says it is about correcting 150 years of incorrect spelling. He says early settlers intended the name of the city come from original Maori spelling. He says it is important the rest of the country has their voice heard and not just the Wanganui community. Dr Grant says the consultation process will start around mid May and will go for three months with a decision finalised late this year or early 2010. Meanwhile, local Maori are celebrating the decision. Iwi spokesman Ken Mair says he is thrilled the incorrect spelling used for the last 150 years has finally been recognised. He says the current spelling of Wanganui has never been officially documented and to have the original name gazetted shows the board has taken notice of the submissions. The Wanganui District Council wants the will of the people to prevail. Mayor Michael Laws says the majority of the community oppose the decision. He says it is an attack on the integrity of his city, and he will fight it all the way. (This is like giving a lynch mob a vote on whether to hang the victim and then calling it democracy. There are historical facts involved here. Of course there should be an 'h' - BH) NEW LAW WILL AFFECT FLIGHTS --------------------------- Air New Zealand says it will be forced to cancel 25 regional services each week because of new legislation requiring Air Traffic Controllers to take a scheduled lunch break. The changes to the Employment Relations Act come into effect on Wednesday. Air New Zealand spokesman Bruce Parton says in the past, controllers have worked flexibly but under the new rules, the Civil Aviation Authority will be forced to close five towers each day for up to 45 minutes while workers take set breaks. He says Napier, Gisborne, New Plymouth, Rotorua and Invercargill airports will all be affected. Mr Parton says the effect of these cancellations on pilot and cabin crew job numbers is currently being assessed. (The difficulty was created, in my opinion, by the CAA choosing to insist that all towers should take their breaks at the same time. The issue has since been solved by the application of common sense and compromise - BH) PLASTIC BAG CHARGE NOT THE ANSWER --------------------------------- The Packaging Council says introducing a charge on plastic bags will actually result in more plastic being sent to landfills. The Government is looking at introducing a five cent charge to cut the use of plastic shopping bags. Packaging Council Executive Director Paul Curtis says overseas evidence shows while a mandatory tax on plastic bags does cause a big reduction in their use, it also causes a sharp increase in the number of people buying kitchen tidy bags. He says those bags are made from a heavier gauge plastic, so more plastic ends up in landfills rather than less. Mr Curtis says advocates of the move seem to cite litter as a good reason but a tax on supermarket shopping bags would be misdirected. He says supermarket shopping bags are usually unpacked and then reused, making it difficult for them to make it into the litter stream. He says takeaway plastic bags and bags from dairies are usually the litter culprits. BUILDERS REMAIN OPTIMISTIC -------------------------- The Certified Builders Association is optimistic the slump in the building industry is levelling out. The latest statistics show there were 1059 new housing consents in February, which means there has been a 50 percent fall since June 2007. But Certified Builders Association chief executive Derek Baxter says there are signs of improvement. He says the seasonally adjusted number actually rose slightly at 0.3 percent for February, but that is still an all time low. However he says taking that in conjunction with the survey of designers' forward work, he is hopeful that they have reached the bottom. POSSIBLE JOB CUTS IN CHRISTCHURCH --------------------------------- Christchurch-based staff of the Tertiary Education Commission may face the brunt of planned job cuts. Christchurch Central MP Brendon Burns claims 14 staff based in the city are to be told this Thursday their positions are to be axed. He says the staff are in frontline roles and removing them will reduce oversight on tertiary providers across the South Island Around 70 jobs in total are affected by restructuring at the Commission. SOLUTION ON ROAMING CHARGES SOUGHT ---------------------------------- The Commerce Commission is investigating whether or not there are grounds to regulate the price of mobile telephone roaming services. The Commission has deferred any action for three months to give telecommunications companies an opportunity to reach commercial solutions. Chairwoman Paula Rebstock says there is significant concern over price and the ability of future potential market entrants to negotiate a competitive agreements in a timely manner. RENTALS USED FOR DRUG DEALS --------------------------- A warning to landlords to check their properties are not being used by drug dealers. The Customs Minister says P makers are increasingly using vacant rental properties and sublet rooms as drop-off and pick-up points for illegally imported precursor ingredients. Maurice Williamson says such properties are being given as delivery addresses for pseudoephedrine- based precursors. He says the offenders are transnational criminals whose reach extends across the world. NEW COMPUTER VIRUS WARNING -------------------------- An April Fool's Day virus is about to hit New Zealand computers. It is stage two of one of the most destructive computer worms ever known - a conficker worm dubbed the "cyberworm of mass destruction". Domain name commissioner Debbie Monaghan says measures have been put in place to try to counter it, but she is issuing a warning to all computer users both at home and in the workplace. She says it is imperative that everyone download the latest "windows" update to make sure you are protected. SUMMIT TO TACKLE CRIME ---------------------- The Justice Minister says there is a need to find out what causes people to offend. A summit will be held this Friday to tackle crime. Simon Power says Maori, police and other agencies will be attending the meeting dubbed Drivers of Crime. He says he has a real interest in finding out why crime is committed in the first place and why Maori are over represented in prison. Mr Power says he would like to prevent crime from occurring rather than have a continuing debate about the size of the prison population. COUNCILS TOLD; STICK TO BASICS ------------------------------ Councils are being told to stick to their knitting. The Local Government Forum - a group lobbying on behalf of businesses - has released a report that tells them to steer clear of forming social policies to even up the distribution of wealth. It says that is the government's job, and it should stay that way. Forum chairman Charles Finny says councils generally do not have the information necessary to put such policies in place. He says if they tried such social meddling, their actions could clash with what the government's doing on a national basis. Mr Finny says local councils should focus on providing public services. LATEST TAX CUTS WILL REWARD EFFORT ---------------------------------- Bill English says the Government never had any intention of cancelling the fresh round of tax cuts which take effect this week. The opposition is calling for them to be spread more evenly across all workers, and for future tax cuts to be scrapped. Wednesday's changes will see some low income earners receive no tax cuts, while the average worker will get another 18 dollars a week and those earning over a hundred thousand almost 25 dollars a week extra. Bill English says they will put cash in people's pockets in the shorter term, and along with lower interest rates, it will cushion the economy from a deeper recession. He says the tax cuts are a step towards the government's goal of delivering a tax system that rewards effort. Tuesday, 31 March 2009 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ AIR FORCE BASE TO STAY OPEN --------------------------- Cabinet has confirmed it will not be closing the Whenuapai Air Force base in west Auckland. It reverses the former Labour government's decision to shut down the base and move operations to Ohakea in the Manawatu. Defence Minister Wayne Mapp says Cabinet has also approved a three-year $60 million revamp of the base, including rebuilding the runways and reconstructing workshops, as well as planning for new fuel storage. He says having two operational Air Force bases is preferable to one congested location. Dr Mapp says the decision reaffirms National Party policy that Whenuapai will be used for Defence purposes and there will not be any scheduled civil services. GOVT URGED TO SIGN DECLARATION ------------------------------ The Maori Party is lobbying hard to get the Government to sign the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The declaration sets out the rights of indigenous peoples to maintain their own cultures and sets out to ban discrimination against them. With Australia announcing it will sign up to the declaration, Maori Party co-leaders Pita Sharples and Tariana Turia say it is time we did the same. Dr Sharples says it is a blot on our history that the previous Labour-led Government did not sign and he believes the current administration should do it because it is the right thing to do. NEW ACC BOARD ANNOUNCED ----------------------- The axe has been taken to the ACC board with five new faces including chairman John Judge who replaced former trade union head Ross Wilson. New appointments include former trade unionist Rob Campbell who has been involved in business for the past twenty years. There is also finance man Murray Hilder, Jane Huria, who is a corporate governance and shareholder advisor, and John McCliskie who has a background in international marketing. Former Labour Minister Peter Neilson remains and his term expires at the end of next year. The terms of the other two directors who have kept their jobs expire late this year and early next year. ACC Minister Nick Smith says the board will provide a new direction for scheme to address the serious and significant deterioration in its financial position. He says the new board will need to work hard to get on top of ACC's escalating costs that risk flowing through into unaffordable levy increases. PUBLIC-PRIVATE BROADBAND PARTNERSHIP ------------------------------------ The Government's $1.5 billion plans for ultra-fast broadband will see the setting up of a Crown-owned investment company which expects its investment to be at least matched by the private sector. Communications Minister Steven Joyce says history shows computers and their associated technologies develop fast and the Government has to prepare for the future. He says they could stop and wait and risk criticism for doing nothing for broadband infrastructure ability, or get out there and make sure it happens now. Prime Minister John Key says over the next ten years, 75 percent of New Zealanders will be able to be hooked up. He says broadband capability is essential if New Zealand is to compete with the rest of the world and it will allow Kiwis to cruise on the cyber highway. Mr Key says they will be able to watch television in real time on their computer screens and operate their businesses with the rest of the world from their home. But Internet New Zealand says it has a lot of questions to ask the Government about its new policy. Executive Director Keith Davidson says while the policy looks good on the surface, they have got questions about cost and issues such as micro-trenching. He says digging very shallow, narrow trenches to lay fibre optic cables is not allowed in most of New Zealand but if it is permitted it would reduce the cost substantially. Mr Davidson says they will also want clarification on exactly what the definition of 'open access' is. LUNCH BREAK DISPUTE RESOLVED ---------------------------- The airline dispute which could have affected 2,500 passengers a week at regional airports has been resolved following threats from the Government. There were fears a new employment law would force the closure of five regional airports for a time, twice a day, while controllers took new, rostered rest breaks. Air New Zealand was preparing to cancel some 25 flights a week. Now air traffic controllers will take both set and flexible lunch breaks. Airways Corporation Chief Executive Ashley Smout says they have come up with a number of solutions to keep the airports open, including dropping from two staff down to one in some locations to allow people to take a rostered meal break. Prime Minister John Key had warned the law would be changed if the issue was not resolved. He says it was no empty threat and if it has helped to resolve the issue he says that is good. Mr Key says the Government will not be making a practice of threatening parties with law changes if they cannot reach agreement. BAIL LAWS ALREADY UNDER REVIEW ------------------------------ The Government is offering assurances to the family of slain Auckland teen Augustine Borrell that bail laws are being looked at. The Borrell family is upset with the state of the justice system after it was revealed Haiden Davis was on bail for theft and assault charges the night he killed the 17-year- old. Justice Minister Simon Power says changes the Government made to bail laws last year would have made it tougher for Davis to get bail. He says work is already underway to review bail, and particularly electronic bail, so it is an ongoing issue for the Government. However, the Law Society feels the bail system is working. Criminal Law Committee Convener Jonathan Krebs says when something goes wrong there is a great clamour for change, with people saying heads must roll and things must be done differently. But he says the system is working, because there are hundreds or even thousands of cases of people being given bail and nothing going wrong. HIGH TURNOVER AT ENVIRONMENT MINISTRY ------------------------------------- The Government is offering assurances to the family of slain Auckland teen Augustine Borrell that bail laws are being looked at. The Borrell family is upset with the state of the justice system after it was revealed Haiden Davis was on bail for theft and assault charges the night he killed the 17-year- old. Justice Minister Simon Power says changes the Government made to bail laws last year would have made it tougher for Davis to get bail. He says work is already underway to review bail, and particularly electronic bail, so it is an ongoing issue for the Government. However, the Law Society feels the bail system is working. Criminal Law Committee Convener Jonathan Krebs says when something goes wrong there is a great clamour for change, with people saying heads must roll and things must be done differently. But he says the system is working, because there are hundreds or even thousands of cases of people being given bail and nothing going wrong. JOB ADS UPSET UNION ------------------- Air New Zealand could be breaking the law by looking for cabin crew to fill the positions of striking staff. Recruitment company Hudson has placed advertisements for flight attendants to work on Trans-Tasman and Pacific A320 services during the Easter break, when around 250 employees of Air New Zealand subsidiary Zeal 230 plan to strike. Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union National secretary Andrew Little says the airline is undermining the Employment Relations Act by taking on workers to do the job of striking staff. He says there is a provision in the law which does not allow employers to recruit workers from outside their organisation to do the job of striking staff. Mr Little says he has lawyers looking at the advertisements. He says Air New Zealand needs to focus on addressing the pay needs of those planning to go on strike. Mr Little says pay talks with the airline will continue today. CORRECTIONS WANT MORE RESOURCES ------------------------------- The number of Court sentences managed by the Corrections Department is heading for an all time high. The number has increased from 72,500 in 2006 to over 86 thousand last year. The Department's predicting the numbers will exceed 100 thousand by the end of this year. It is advising MP's it is making a budget bid which, if successful, will allow it to get enough staff to manage the situation. But Corrections is also warning, it will need more resources to make significant improvements. PUBLIC SUBMISSIONS WANTED ON BROADBAND -------------------------------------- The Government is seeking public submissions on its plans for the 1.5 billion dollar investment in ultra-fast broadband across the country. Communications Minister Stephen Joyce has just released the Government's proposal which will see broadband rolled out to 75 percent of New Zealanders over the next ten years. It will form a Crown-owned investment company to drive the Government investment. Mr Joyce says he expects the taxpayer investment to be matched by the private sector. He says the open infrastructure model will ensure all telecommunications companies will have the option of using the fibre. Mr Joyce says that will ensure minimal Government involvement in commercial operations which the private sector is better positioned to direct. Submissions have to be in by the end of April. JOB TRAINING KEY TO SURVIVAL ---------------------------- Job-training is being put forward as the key to lifting New Zealand out of the recession. A report released today from Business and Economic Research Limited says investment in infrastructure and skills training will help New Zealand avoid the worst of the downturn. Chief economist Ganesh Nana says a comprehensive training package is needed to lift the skills of New Zealand workers. He says the big disappointment of the 9- day fortnight is it is not accompanied by the promised skills training package. Mr Nana says this is short-sighted behaviour. Wednesday, 1 April 2009 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RETAILERS WARNED NOT TO SELL PARTY PRODUCT ------------------------------------------ The Associate Minister of Health is warning retailers not to sell a herbal party product commonly sold as a 'legal high'. ESR tests have found 'Spice', which is widely available, contains a substance substantially similar to THC, found in cannabis. Associate Minister Peter Dunne says that means Spice is actually a Class C illegal drug and he is warning retailers to stop selling it. He says he has referred the matter to police, the Minister of Health and Customs to follow through on their processes. But redefining the product as a Class C drug may not be a straightforward process. ESR General Manager of Forensics Keith Bedford says while they believe the substance they have identified in 'Spice' fits with the definition of a controlled drug analogue in New Zealand legislation, it is possible science and the actual law may be at odds. He says the way the science can be applied in a legal and regulatory framework is not necessarily straightforward. At least one party pill retailer is refusing to stop selling the product. Hemp Store manager Chris Fowlie says American research disputes the argument that the substance in 'Spice' is a Class C drug. He says the product is without the classical cannabinoid structure, it is not an analogue and so it is not illegal. Mr Fowlie says if there was anything wrong with it, it would have been made illegal by now. REVIEW OF ELECTRICITY SECTOR ---------------------------- There is to be an immediate Government review of the electricity sector. Minister of Energy Gerry Brownlee says the Government has concerns about security of supply, affordability and duplication of governance in the sector. He says there will be a Ministerial review carried out and he has appointed a Technical Advisory Group to do the work. Mr Brownlee says the group will look at the design of the market and see what improvements can be made, however it will not consider the ownership of state-owned power companies, or regulation of electricity lines. REPORTED CRIME UP ----------------- The number of crimes being reported rose last year. Just- released statistics for 2008 show overall, crime increased by 1.2 percent from 426,380 in 2007 to 431,381 offences last year, but police say that is in line with New Zealand's population growth. Six districts recorded an increase in the number of offences, while six experienced a fall, with Auckland City recording the biggest drop of four percent. The national resolution rate reached a 10-year high, hitting almost 50 percent. Violent crimes were up just over five percent, but that is a small increase when compared with 2007, when 12.3 percent more violent crimes were recorded than the previous year. The Eastern district had the highest increase in violent crime with 14.5 percent. The number of homicides went up from 88 in 2007 to 109 in 2008, including 52 murders and 35 offences of attempted murder. PRIVATE INVESTMENT EXPECTED --------------------------- There is confidence someone will equal the government's $1.5 billion investment in high-speed broadband. It is proposing to establish a Crown-owned investment company which will work with private companies to drive new infrastructure developments. New Zealand Institute research director Benedikte Jensen is certain the investment will be matched by at least an equal amount of private sector investment, to transform access to broadband services. She applauds the government's decision to act with urgency to invest in fibre, given the rapid pace at which other countries are moving to deploy high-speed fibre-based networks. RESERVE BANK ATTACKS INTEREST RATES RISE ---------------------------------------- The Reserve Bank has hit out at the banks raising interest rates. Governor Alan Bollard says the rise in longer-term interest rates from trading banks is unwarranted and inconsistent with the monetary policy out-look. He is concerned the Banks are not working from the same page as the Reserve Bank. The wholesale cost or the amount banks pay to borrow money is on the rise, however the Reserve Bank feels that is because the Banks are working on a much faster economic recovery and expected rise in inflation than reserve Bank projections. Dr Bollard says, if this apparent distortion persists, it could put unnecessary pressure on the cost of borrowing by firms and households. The chief economist from each of several banks have cheerfully admitted that the proposed rises were unjustifiable - BH) HOTELIERS TOLD TO FOCUS ON THE FUTURE ------------------------------------- The Hotel Council says Auckland hoteliers need to keep their eyes on the future, rather than on falling occupancy levels. Latest figures out from the New Zealand Hotel Council show average hotel occupancy in Auckland fell one percent to 70 percent from 2007 to 2008. The fall is in line with nationwide figures. Hotel Council chairwoman Jennie Langley says hotels cannot lose sight of the eventual economic recovery. She says what is important is retaining quality, keeping skilled staff and looking towards the future. CYBERWORM OF MASS DESTRUCTION TODAY? ------------------------------------ Computer experts worldwide are holding their breath to see how much damage the April Fool's Day virus does - if it does any at all. The conficker worm has been dubbed the "cyberworm of mass destruction". It acts in two parts - and the first stage is already in place, with virus code instructions lying dormant in perhaps millions of computers. Today the second stage is due to be unleashed. Experts believe they have put measures in place to contain it and Microsoft says downloading the latest update is vital. VECTOR EXCITED ABOUT BROADBAND ------------------------------ Infrastructure company Vector is excited about the prospect of being involved in the country's new broadband plan. The government wants to create a Crown-owned company which, along with private investors, will put money into regional companies to install fibre optic networks. Vector currently owns and operates networks in Auckland and Wellington. Chief Executive Simon Mackenzie says it is early days yet, but as the tender process unfolds and if it makes sense to them commercially, they will look to invest. He says it is pleasing to see the government has stuck with its bold vision for broadband. BIG CHANGES IN THE WORKPLACE TODAY ---------------------------------- Employers now have a great deal of change to understand and implement. Sixteen major areas of law change relating to employment and tax matters alone come into effect today. These include increasing the minimum wage to $12.50 and compulsory meal and rest breaks. Employers and Manufacturers Association chief executive Alasdair Thompson says employers need to make sure they are up to speed. Also from today, workplaces will be required to provide infant and breasting feeding areas. Alasdair Thompson says it is not a dictatorial thing. He says workplaces need come up with something that will work, that is reasonable. He says the EMA is fielding 250 calls a day on the changes, and other employment compliance issues. The Council of Trade Unions says it is a bittersweet day for workers. Secretary Peter Conway is welcoming the increase in the minimum wage to $12.50 and the introduction of regular rest breaks. But he says the rise in employer Kiwisaver contributions to two per cent is good news, as is the right for mothers to take breast feeding breaks. But Mr Conway says most of the tax cuts go to people on high incomes. He says it is unfair that workers on 40 thousand dollars or less and receiving Working for Families miss out on tax cuts. SIS RELEASES LIMITED INFORMATION -------------------------------- The SIS is revealing some details on its most recent spying activities. The agency has just released its annual report for 2008, giving a brief overview of the number of interception warrants it had in force. According to the figures there were 25 domestic interception warrants - each lasting an average of 153 days. Monitoring methods used were listening devices and copying of documents. The SIS also had foreign interception warrants in place but is not giving any details as to how many. TRADE UNIONS ATTACK TAX CUTS ---------------------------- The government is being criticised for leaving the most vulnerable out of its latest tax cuts package. Workers on 40 thousand dollars a year or less and already receiving Working for Families will get no tax cut. Those bringing in 100- thousand dollars will get an extra 24 dollars a week. Council of Trade Unions secretary Peter Conway says the government is essentially borrowing money to give tax cuts to those mainly on high incomes. He says the outlook for workers is not positive, with the Government signalling attacks on ACC, holidays and public sector jobs. (A tax cut is never a gift. It is merely the amelioration of a form of taking by force. If more is being taken from you, then naturally you benefit more when the action is curtailed. I don't go as far as the "tax is theft" people, but I don't see how you can give as much relief to low contributors as you do to large ones. - BH) Thursday, 2 April 2009 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JOB CUTS AT NZ POST ------------------- New Zealand Post says the job cuts it has announced today are a direct result of less mail. Chief Executive Peter Fenton says around 80 to 100 people will lose their positions. He says there has been a ten to twelve percent decline in the amount of mail being sent. He says less mail directly impacts on the number of people needed to process the mail. Mr Fenton says affected staff will be consulted over the next six to eight weeks. ACC IN WORSE TROUBLE THAN THOUGHT --------------------------------- The financial health of ACC is getting a cutting diagnosis from its new chairman. John Judge has levelled serious criticisms against the corporation's financial forecasting on liabilities during a select committee hearing at parliament. He says it is his professional opinion that they have been materially understated. Mr Judge says too many long term calculations, including those on inflation forecasts and claims handling expenses, have been based on overly optimistic assumptions. Meanwhile, more detail has emerged about ACC Minister Nick Smith's controversial appearance at a hearing on ACC last month. Labour is outraged at the Minister's behaviour, claiming it was a deliberate attempt to muzzle the ACC Board and control the message on issues affecting the corporation. Today ACC's new Chairman John Judge has shed light on what happened. He says he spoke with Dr Smith, telling him he could not attend the hearing as he was away on holiday. He says he asked the Minister to go to the hearing and present apologies on his behalf. Mr Judge doubts he would have specifically used words asking the Minister to give evidence on his behalf, though he cannot recall exactly what was said at the time. COMMISSIONERS SAY NO TO WIND FARM --------------------------------- Electricity commissioners have declined Contact Energy's application to build a $500 million wind farm near Dannevirke. Contact Energy wanted to put up 65 turbines on the Puketoi Range in the Waitahora Valley. The decision from the commissioners has just been released, after a two-week hearing and around 400 public submissions. Contact Energy spokesman Jonathan Hill says they are disappointed about the decision but still confident about the project. He says it is highly likely they will appeal the decision. LOCALS GET PRIORITY ------------------- The Immigration Minister is welcoming news his department has moved on work permits issued to foreign staff at a New Plymouth factory. Last month, MCK Metals Pacific laid off 28 local employees in October last year, while retaining temporary Filipino workers. Immigration New Zealand has told Minister Jonathan Coleman it would have declined the six migrant workers' applications for Variation of Conditions if it had known the company was considering redundancies. It has now cancelled the variation, meaning they can only work in accordance with their original employment conditions. Immigration Minister Jonathan Coleman endorses the decision, saying it sends a strong message that in a time of growing unemployment, temporary work permits will only be granted when there are genuine skills shortages. But he accepts there will be situations when employers need to recruit offshore and their needs will continue to be met. GOVT LOOKS AT ELECTORAL LAWS ---------------------------- A review has begun on electoral finance laws ahead of the next election. Justice Minister Simon Power has released consultation papers on what needs to happen to find a workable replacement for the much criticised Electoral Finance Act. The Act was abolished earlier this year, and now the hunt is on for new legislation which needs to be in place by the end of 2010. Mr Power is confident an agreement can be met with the support of all parties in Parliament. He says the cooperation from other parties has been first class, as everyone wants to see it work. Simon Power says an interim regime, much like the old electoral laws, will be in place for the Mt Albert by- election which is expected in June. NEW WEBSITE TO HELP BUSINESS ---------------------------- A network of New Zealand business people is hoping to help local firms survive the recession. The World Class New Zealand Network met yesterday in Auckland to discuss how Kiwi business people can give New Zealand companies a leg up. Kea New Zealand chairman Stephen Tindall says there is an enormous network of people from all over the world who can offer advice through the Kea New Zealand website. He says the website has also sparked a lot of investment into small New Zealand businesses. STUDY SHOWS NZ LENIENT WITH WELFARE ----------------------------------- A report out today is calling for the government to toughen up its welfare policies. The Centre for Independent Studies says New Zealand has a soft approach to welfare compared to other countries. Author Luke Malpass says other countries have work- for-the-dole schemes, time-limits on benefits and requirements for solo parents to work part-time He says international research shows incentives like these get people off benefits. Luke Malpass says the Government needs to act now so people are not left languishing on welfare after the recession ends. NEW ZEALAND HAS VIOLENT CULTURE ------------------------------- Women's Refuge wants people to acknowledge New Zealand's violent culture. Police statistics show there was a 5.2 percent increase in overall recorded violence last year. The main contributor was family violence, which rose by 12.4 percent. Refuge chief executive Heather Henare says domestic violence figures tell a horrifying story about the realities of family life for many New Zealanders. She says New Zealand still has a long way to go before the level of family violence gets turned around. MORE HELP FOR BREAST CANCER PATIENTS ------------------------------------ The Breast Cancer Foundation is embarking on an ambitious move. It is committing 1.25 million dollars over the next year to fund community based support programmes and special projects. Executive trustee Heather Shotter says they will be designed to help women deal with the physical and psychological effects of breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. She says the impacts of breast cancer remain long after treatment ends. Ms Shotter says women have been asking for services that help them to resume a normal life. MAORI CONCERNS ABOUT SUPER CITY ------------------------------- Maori are expressing serious concerns over proposals for representation in Auckland's Super City. Tamaki Makaurau MP Pita Sharples is pleased three seats have been put aside for Maori. But he says the Royal Commission's proposal for just one seat for mana whenua is provocative and divisive. Dr Sharples says greater Auckland has two mana whenua - those of Tainui descent and Ngati Whatua. He says Maori advisory groups associated with councils do not compare to councillors because they have no decision making powers. WILL RESERVE BANK PRESSURE WORK? -------------------------------- A banking expert says it remains to be seen whether pressure from the Reserve Bank Governor will cause banks to drop their wholesale interest rates in the long term. Alan Bollard has called the rise in longer-term interest rates unwarranted and inconsistent with the monetary policy outlook. Massey University banking studies director David Tripe says while Dr Bollard's statement had an immediate effect on the market, we do not know whether the downward movement will be sustained or if, in another week, rates will be back up again. He says the Reserve Bank can really only influence short term interest rates so all Dr Bollard can do is ask. CONCERN LEGAL AID IS NOT WORKING -------------------------------- The government has ordered a review of the legal aid system, amid concern it is not working properly. Justice Minister Simon Power has asked Dame Margaret Bazely to chair a review team to look at the costs of the system, and the impact it has on the courts. He says legal aid has not been reviewed for many years. Mr Power is particularly interested in what the review finds about the use of public defenders officers, an area which has been criticised for many years. Friday, 3 April 2009 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PLAN TO FIX FINANCES IN BUDGET ------------------------------ Finance Minister Bill English says his plan to get the Government's deteriorating finances in order will be revealed in next month's Budget. Figures out today show the Crown's operating deficit has blown out to $8.4 billion, 366 percent worse than politicians were told just before last year's election. The superannuation fund is 662 percent worse off with an operating balance of $3.6 billion, the tax take is down by $1.8 billion, investments took a $3.5 billion hit and the ACC liability is $3 billion worse than expected. Debt has ballooned to $45 billion which is 25 percent of New Zealand's worth and the Finance Minister expects that to double over the next three years. Mr English says the blowout in the operating deficit is due in a large part to further investment losses and falling tax revenue. He says it is clear the global recession is having an impact on the Government's finances but also targets what he says are the loose spending policies of the previous Labour-led government Mr English says he has confidence that over a period of time New Zealand will emerge from the recession and the Government will be able to repay debt that it is running up now. STATE INSURANCE RAISES PREMIUMS ------------------------------- State Insurance has hiked the price of its car insurance and those with bad driving records are taking the brunt. The insurer has increased prices by an average of 10 to 15 percent across the board. It has also moved to set car insurance prices on an individual basis. State National Sales and Support Manager Mike Tully says under the old system, pricing was averaged out between a whole pool of people. He says that way, someone with a good driving record may have been penalised by someone who did not have a good record. Mr Tully says most insurance companies in Australia, the US and the UK operate on an individual risk-based assessment. WAITANGI CLAIMS HUI PLANNED --------------------------- A hui is being organised between the Government and Maori to nut out how a deadline on Treaty of Waitangi settlements can be met. Technically all claims have to be wrapped up by 2014, but the Government has already indicated it may be flexible on the date given the number of claims currently under consideration. Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson has announced a hui will be held in Auckland later this month where the Crown and Maori leaders can work together to complete the settlement process. He says the hui will raise ideas on how to speed the process up. REAL ESTATE FIRM SAYS BUYERS BACK --------------------------------- Real estate firm Barfoot and Thompson says buyers are returning to the Auckland housing market with a vengeance. The company is reporting sales for March have reached a 20-month high with a total of 924 homes sold last month. That is up a huge 65 percent on sales for February and up 46 percent on March last year. Sale prices are down though with $491,780 the average price achieved last month. That is four percent lower than in February and 5.8 percent down on March 2008. GOVT'S FINANCIAL POSITION WORSENS --------------------------------- The latest Crown accounts from Treasury reveal the Government's gross debt level is almost $15 billion higher than what was predicted ahead of last year's election. It is sitting at over $45 billion, or 25.3 percent of GDP. Treasury says issues of Treasury Bills, Reserve Bank Bills and derivative liabilities have been higher than forecast. The figures also show the Government's tax take is on the slide with tax revenue $1.8 billion lower than what was forecast at the end of last year. Treasury says the change is mainly due to a temporary timing difference, which it expects to reverse next month and it anticipates the tax take will return closer to forecast levels. Overall, the Government has an operating deficit of 8.4 billion dollars which is approximately $5.2 billion lower than what was forecast in December, with main contributors being lower tax revenue and higher than expected investment losses. JOB MARKET TOUGH FOR MIGRANTS ----------------------------- Migrants are expected to have trouble getting work in New Zealand as the recession tightens the job market. Immigration New Zealand has changed the visas of six Filipino workers who were given new jobs at the expense of New Zealanders. The six were originally given a variation to the conditions of their visas to allow them to work in an area different to the one they started in when they arrived in the country. Immigration lawyer Colin Amery says in the past, jobs that local people did not want have gone to migrants, but now everyone is under pressure to stay in work. He says it might not be fair to migrants, but given the economic situation the priority has to be to local workers. He says the situation for migrants in other countries is far worse. BURGER KING AGREEMENT A FIRST ----------------------------- Unite Union is breaking new ground for fast food workers at Burger King. It has negotiated the first agreement which has redundancy payments for staff in the case of a store closure. National director Mike Treen says it is a modest start. He says the deal gives two weeks' pay to a worker employed for a year and a week's pay for each subsequent year, if they cannot be redeployed to another store. Mr Treen says a 'security of hours' clause has also been agreed on with Burger King to help stabilise the hours of work offered. NORTH SHORE HOSPITAL GETS BETTER FACILITIES ------------------------------------------- Doctors say expanding the North Shore hospital will not work without staff. The Government has approved a 48 million dollar expansion of the hospital's emergency department, prompted by a lack of beds and patients left lying in corridors. The Executive Director of the Association of Medical Specialists says the workforce crisis must also be addressed if the improvements are to be effective. Ian Powell says if they do not have the workforce in these new expanded facilities, they will not achieve their objective. He says the real problem in New Zealand is that there is a serious shortage of senior doctors. The expansion will add 93 new beds to North Shore Hospital by the end of 2011. GREENS CONTINUE PUSH FOR HEALTHY FOOD ------------------------------------- The Greens are launching their fight to have only healthy foods available for sale at school canteens. The Government overturned the ban on junk food being sold at schools in February, saying it should be up to parents to decide what their children eat. But the Greens are not content to leave it up to the parents. Infuriated MP Sue Kedgley is today again launching her campaign to have only healthy and nutritious food and drink available for students. She says if the country is trying to grapple with the rising tide of obesity and dental disease, it is commonsense to try to encourage children to eat healthy food. Sue Kedgley says the Government's overturning of the ban on junk food has seen cream buns, sausage rolls and chips return to school tuck shops. SUMMIT TO LOOK AT MAORI AND CRIME --------------------------------- A government-organised summit on the causes of crime will try to work out why there is so much over-representation of Maori behind bars. Around a hundred people are expected to attend the gathering at Parliament today which is the brainchild of Justice Minister Simon Power. He wants to know what motivates people to commit crime as he looks to draft new legislation to tackle the problem. Mr Power says he can listen to officials and theories about why crime occurs, but you can not beat talking to people who are at the coal face of why people offend. Simon Power says the over-representation of Maori is a difficult question to get answers to, but it needs to be raised. URGENT CHANGE TO SEX OFFENDER LEGISLATION ----------------------------------------- The government has been forced to rush through legislation closing a legal loophole relating to the monitoring of child sex offenders. All political parties - except the Greens - supported the change which will allow child sex offenders on home detention to be electronically monitored for up to ten years. Under the previous legislation passed in 2007, they could only be electronically monitored for the first year. Justice Minister Simon Power says he became aware of the loophole just a fortnight ago. He says victims or children could have been put at risk, and the government had to move swiftly to deal with the potential problem. SUBSCRIBE OR UNSUBSCRIBE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian Harmer does NOT administer the mailing list. Please do not send subscription related messages to him. Instead, visit the website listed below, where you can make changes as required. If you want to send a personal message to Brian, change the country code to nz and send a message brian.harmer@vuw.ac.xx If you do choose to comment on something in these posts, please don't send the whole newsletter with your message. Just trim it back to the relevant bits. Thanks. Brian. From news at wysiwygnews.com Mon Apr 13 16:37:20 2009 From: news at wysiwygnews.com (news@wysiwygnews.com) Date: Mon Apr 13 16:37:25 2009 Subject: WYSIWYG NEWS - 13 April, 2009 Message-ID: <3F185A541960DB4B9FBBBB4104820BBC4990350514@STAWINCOEXMAIL1.staff.vuw.ac.nz> Subject: 13 April, 2009 ----- WYSIWYG NEWS ------------------------------ Copyright, Brian Harmer. Were it not for the presence of family members there, I would probably view Wanganui as a place through which to pass, rather than a destination. Nevertheless, I have to acknowledge that it has some attractive features, not least of which is Virginia Lake in the pleasantly affluent suburb of St John's Hill on the Northern side of the city. Mary and I chose to have lunch there on Friday, sitting at one of the thoughtfully designed picnic tables placed at selected sites at the Western end of the lake. In one of those picture perfect but cool autumnal days, with colours of green and blue, bright gold and fluffy white, the lake's brown water gleamed. As is often the case on urban lakes, the water fowl are thoroughly domesticated, and as soon as we sat at the table by the edge, there were ducks, coots, swans, gulls and sparrows, all hoping for crumbs from the table. Some ducks even heaved themselves out of the water to stride importantly around the table, quacking demandingly for the food. Alas for them, my lunch box contained celery, radish, tomato, dates and a boiled egg. Nothing that they would recognise as food. Eventually they lost interest and drifted hopefully in the direction of the people who arrived at the table a little further around. Out on the water, the coots performed their submarine imitations, disappearing under the surface leaving a stream of bubbles behind in the centre of a perfect ring of ripples. After a moment or two, they would reappear with no visible evidence of any reward for their effort. Ducks and swans performed their usual antics, pointing their posteriors at the sky as they searched the depths for food. Or at least I presume that's what their doing. For all I know, they might be holding secret underwater meetings to discuss existentialism, or the impact of the current financial crisis on the expected level of food brought to the lake by the tourists. On the grassy slopes on the Northern edge, near the road, families were picnicking in the sun. Something about ducks is their magnetic attraction for young children. Of course they always elude the little kids who totter towards them, though it must be a minor irritant for them. Something was happening in Wanganui, and none of our usual motels had room for us even though we first attempted to book a month ago. Nor even any of the second tier establishments. We had to settle for a much older establishment. Having all the architectural charm of a 1950s Ministry of Works hostel, the motel we got was nevertheless, sufficient for our purposes. It was dry, clean, free of draughts, and had most of the necessary equipment, though a bedside light would have been appreciated by me. While not entirely full, the motel had a large number of its units occupied by young families. Consequently, when I looked for a quiet rest later in the afternoon, the peace was disturbed by the sounds of children enjoying the play facilities nearby. Only a true curmudgeon could complain about the sound of innocent play in these days when there are so many kids who have no such opportunity. Some brave souls were camping in the grounds, despite the low overnight forecast temperatures. Canvas is no substitute for real shelter in this cool season, but I suspect that even those in the various motorhomes on the grounds felt the chill. On Saturday, I took my mother out of the rest home for a bit of a drive and as a change from the four walls in which she spends so much of her time. For some reason, I found that the wheelchair was quite resistant to collapsing as it should for transport, and I am sure several bystanders were mightily amused by my struggles. Living so far away means that I can't do this as often as I would like, so we both make the most of the opportunities when they do arise. As we drove along Somme Parade, I had to pause and show her the large waka (Maori canoe) in which a somewhat mixed looking crew all wearing decidedly non-traditional yellow lifejackets were learning to manage the unwieldy craft. A number of near tragedies in recent years have raised awareness of the necessity for a modern approach to water safety. We crossed the river at Dublin St Bridge, and turned North up SH2 towards Upokongaro. Readers who have driven the Parapara road out of Wanganui will recall it as the little village with the lovely wooden white painted colonial church just about where you part company with the Whanganui River. We drove a little further North to the Pipiriki turn-off, and then up the winding tree shaded road towards the Whanganui River valley. Traffic coming the other way seemed to have forgotten that there might have been others on the road, and had to move suddenly to their left to avoid collisions. Where the oncoming vehicle was a truck, considerable care and mutual compromise was required. At the top of the ridge, the view over the valley is just beautiful, and put me in mind of C.S. Lewis who in his last years hankered to lay eyes on a golden valley which was the feature of a painting he had loved earlier in life. This valley would be a candidate for such a role. Mum's pleasure at being out was soon outweighed by the effort of being up and about so a little way along the road, we found a turning place and returned to Wanganui. A quick lunch in a little restaurant overlooking the lake was about as much as she could cope with before being returned to her room to recover from the day's exertion. On Easter Sunday morning, Mary decided it was time for a decent walk and she had mapped out a riverside route that later analysis revealed to be approximately 9km in length. Starting near the Gonville supermarket, we crossed Heads Road, and walked down a narrow access path to emerge on a well maintained walkway beside the river. The Whanganui river seems to be a great mover of earth. Silt and driftwood combine to make the water seem murky and impenetrable. The local waterfowl seemed untroubled by this. Many varieties of duck, and some pied stilts waded in the shallows, poking around in the murk at their feet, seemingly satisfied with their catch. In places great beds of reeds provided a resting place for some, while others relied on the plentiful driftwood which has arrived from far upstream. We walked upstream towards the Motorway bridge, behind a series of obsolete warehouses, and into an area of open grassy land through with the walkway curved its artful way. At strategic intervals, seats shaped like small canoes were placed for weary pedestrians. Despite last week's marking of my advanced years, I was not permitted to count myself in this category, and on reaching the bridge, we went up the ram and crossed the River to the South. At the far end of the bridge we crossed the road and walked up SH2 still beside the river, until we reached the City Bridge. Crossing this too, we regained the walkway from which we had parted earlier. In this older part of the city, there are the remains of the old wharves, once lined with warehouses, from which much the trade from Wanganui's thriving port passed. Many of these wharves are now rotting skeletal remnants, no doubt climbed upon by the young, the daring, and the plain stupid. On some of the better maintained or restored ones, people were fishing, though we saw no visible signs of success. As we retraced the earlier part of the walkway to the West of the Motorway Bridge, a solitary power boat came purring up the river, leaving an arrow straight wake spreading across the unusually calm surface of the water. We completed about 9 km in almost exactly 90 minutes, not exactly a competitive speed, but sufficient to get me moving, and to offset some of the dietary excess which follows dining with my most hospitable in-laws. Of 1,800 subscribers, just 25 of you expressed an interest in its continuance. It seems improbable, therefore, that I shall continue it in its present form. Some asked that I consider dropping the news, and doing just the purple prose thing (which of course requires no money). I imagine that some would prefer the reverse. I'll see what this week brings before reaching a final conclusion. As before, I am not (yet) asking for money. See you next week. ---- Any text above this point, and all subsequent material in parentheses, and concluded with the initials "BH" is the personal opinion of Brian Harmer as editor of this newsletter, or occasionally "GS" will indicate an opinion from our editorial assistant. In all cases they are honest expressions of personal opinion, and are not presented as fact. All news items (except where noted otherwise) are reproduced by kind permission of copyright owner, Newstalk ZB News. All copyright in the news items reproduced remains the property of The Radio Network Limited. Sponsorship this week is from James Justesen from Minnesota. Many thanks as always. ---- On with the News. Monday, 6 April 2009 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PRICE OF MILK UNDER QUESTION ---------------------------- A website is stirring up questions about the price of milk. Oily-rag-dot-com is running an online survey where people enter how much they are paying in their local stores for two- litres of milk. Website founder Frank Newman says people are paying anything from $2.50 for two litres to over $5.00. He says milk is milk, but clever marketing is what makes up the difference in price. (Also interesting to many is the price at which NZ dairy products are sold in export markets. Often cheaper than at home, even allowing for shipping costs and currency conversion. - BH) LABOUR KEEN TO REFRESH PARTY ---------------------------- Labour Party President Andrew Little says he wants to use the Mt Albert by-election to refresh the party. The comment will deal a blow to former MP Judith Tizard's hopes of returning to Parliament if a Labour list MP wins the seat and when Michael Cullen departs. Labour has opened the nomination process to find a candidate for what is likely to be a June by-election. He says the party needs to look at the talent it will have in the future. Mr Little says Labour needs to renew and refresh, and his preference is to take as many opportunities as possible to have new people in the party. (Of course some rejuvenation is needed, but I also think that Labour needs to take this lesson with a solid dose of realism. Unless National make a major error, which is not entirely impossible, Labour have at least six years in the wilderness ahead of them. - BH) BUSINESS CONFIDENCE IS UP ------------------------- A sharp improvement in the housing market is thought to be one of the reasons business confidence is picking up. Pessimists and optimists now match each other at 35.8 percent each in the last BNZ confidence survey. Just last month pessimism was at 23 percent. BNZ chief economist Tony Alexander says some pent up home buyer demand has been unleashed in recent weeks. Mr Alexander warns the surge in real estate could be just a temporary clearing of the decks. He says it would be a brave person who said it was the start of a upturn. (Demand is one thing. A rise in prices seems a way off. - BH) CONTAMINATION FOUND IN FROZEN FOOD ---------------------------------- The heat is being put on a frozen food manufacture about quality control. Black nightshade berries have been found in several packets of Talley's frozen vegetables. Food Safety Authority spokesman Geoff Allen says the berries themselves are not toxic but he says they are concerned about standards. Mr Allen says the authority will be talking to Talley's and looking at the quality systems that they have in place. He says the presence of a small number of black nightshade berries in frozen food is not a food safety issue, provided the numbers are small. GOVERNMENT TO LOOK AT MORTGAGE HOLIDAYS --------------------------------------- The Government's looking at whether or not an Australian plan to offer 12 months mortgage relief for those who lose their jobs would work in New Zealand. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has announced the plan as a way of offering a reprieve during the recession. The plan was agreed to by the country's four biggest banks, with the banks working with borrowers to negotiate a postponement of payments, with interest payments being capitalised back into the loan. Prime Minister John Key's office says our Government will be seeking further information on whether the scheme would work in New Zealand. (Some banks have offered just such a deal this weekend, though consumer groups are urging great caution about examining the fine print before homeowners accept any such deals. - BH) BIG DOWNTURN IN TRAVEL AND HOLIDAYS ----------------------------------- People are spending less money on accommodation and travel. Paymark figures reveal processed transactions for both sectors dropped eight and 14 percent respectively year on year last month. Chief executive officer Simon Tong says March is typically a busier month for the tourism sector as people start booking their winter holidays. He says from market commentary it would appear they are often discretionary items. Mr Tong says at a time when people are watching what they are spending, travel and accommodation would appear to be two of the things they are forgoing. (Maybe for long trips. However, every second person in the Wellington region seemed to be in the queue of traffic stretching from Levin all the way to Otaki on Easter Monday. Once clear of the shopping traffic on SH1, traffic sped up again. - BH) SOME RELIEF WITH POWERS BILLS? ------------------------------ The jury is still out on whether or not electricity prices will fall. Business correspondent Roger Kerr says prices have gone up 50 percent in the past five years and up again in recent weeks. He says reasons for this include not enough rain going into the lakes, Transpower grid bottlenecks and more expensive geothermal and wind-generated electricity. Mr Kerr says a just-released Meridian report predicts electricity supply will exceed demand in coming years. He says in a true free market that would drive prices downwards, but time will tell. THOMPSON CLARIFIES SAVING CLAIM ------------------------------- EMA chief executive Alasdair Thompson is defending and clarifying his claim that every Auckland ratepayer will save $400 if a super city council is created to replace the existing eight councils in the region. The Mayor of North Shore City says the bill for the restructure of Auckland is likely to exceed $240 million, and he has taken a swipe at the EMA's full page adds last year claiming the savings. But Alasdair Thompson says he never said the ratepayers would see the savings. He says the ads made the point there is a backlog of infrastructure investment and that any saving would go towards that, not towards reducing rates. Cabinet will today consider the Royal Commission's report. LABOUR DOUBTS TAX CUTS ---------------------- Labour is confident the Government is about to break its word on tax cuts. This follows comments by the Finance Minister where he declined to confirm further tax breaks planned for 2010 and 2011 will take place. Bill English has said no decision has been made yet and the matter will be looked at in next month's Budget. But he concedes they have to look at whether they are affordable. Labour leader Phil Goff says it is clear the public is being softened up. Mr Goff says tax cuts were the big issue for National before the election and now it looks like they are about to renege on them. SURVEY SHOWS CONTENTMENT ------------------------ New Zealanders are a pretty contented lot, when it comes to quality of life. A new survey of residents living in some of the country's largest cities and districts shows 92 percent rate their overall quality of life positively. They also largely give the thumbs up when asked about their health, and standard of living. Residents in Rodney and Wellington feel healthiest, while those in Waitakere, Manukau and Lower Hutt are at the other end of the scale. However while the survey gives us a snapshot of people's perceptions, the police have been quick to point out that they are just that. They say Christchurch is the safest city in New Zealand, yet in the survey it had the lowest percentage of residents who felt safe in the city centre after dark. Inspector Derek Erasmus says the perceptions are not based on fact - and at 100 violent offences recorded per 10 thousand people, it is safer than Auckland, South Auckland, Dunedin, Hamilton and Wellington. Mr Erasmus blames the media for influencing people's perceptions. The survey was a telephone poll of more than 8,000 people, and was jointly funded by the participating councils and the Ministry of Social Development. (Why would we not feel content? It's a great place to be. - BH) Tuesday, 7 April 2009 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SUPER CITY DETAILS FOR AUCKLAND ANNOUNCED ----------------------------------------- Auckland City is to have one unitary authority called Auckland Council. It will provide leadership and deliver core services such as water, transport and waste. The super council will be responsible for managing all of the existing community assets which amount to almost 30 billion dollars. The super council will adopt a uniform rates systems, with the potential of target rates in the future. The Government rejected the Royal Commission's suggestion of six councils, saying they were too large to provide effective local representation. Instead a second tier of governance will be made up of between 20 to 30 Local Boards. They will have more powers than the current community boards in Auckland, but will not be able to raise their own revenue or hire staff. Waiheke and Great Barrier Island will have their own Local Boards because they are geographically isolated. Prime Minister John Key believes the revised system will streamline Auckland's performance and ensure that it continues to be an engine room of economic growth for the whole country. A new Auckland Mayor will be voted in the October 2010 local government elections. He or she will need the support of the majority of Councillors for budget, planning and policy proposals. Existing councils will continue to deliver current services under the oversight of an Establishment Board. It is yet to be announced who will head the board. But, it will be expected to ensure the transition process is smooth as possible to avoid any negative impact on the quality of service. But who will foot the bill for this change in governance? The Government says it has set some funds aside but has not confirmed the amount. BABY BOOMERS BACK IN MARKET --------------------------- Credit information provider Veda Advantage says mortgage applications last month were up 38 percent on March last year - and the highest since November 2007. Veda says there seems to be strong interest in particular from cashed up baby boomers - those people aged between 44 and 62. There has been a 45 percent increase in applications from them. Veda Advantage Managing Director, John Roberts, says it suggests they are in the best shape to snap up bargains. There has been a 34 percent increase in applications from Generation X - those aged 28 to 43 - and the smallest growth in applications, 16 percent, is from Generation Y. COMMUNITY GROUPS WILL LOSE OUT ------------------------------ One community group is unconvinced about plans for an Auckland supercity. An official Government decision will be announced today on Auckland governance. Representatives from 33 Waitakere community organisations met to discuss action that can be taken if a supercity goes ahead. Community Waitakere Chairman Tony Mayow says the proposed plan will weaken democracy. He says people who are not familiar with the various communities will make decisions on how money is to be spent. Tony Mayow says community groups were not provided with a decent chance for consultation. JOHN KEY DOUBTS UNEMPLOYMENT FIGURES ------------------------------------ The Prime Minister does not believe Treasury forecasts that unemployment will soar past 7 percent. Treasury believes the initial figure of 7.2 percent is underestimated and unemployment will be higher than that within a year. That would mean a further 60 thousand people out of work. But John Key says a prediction on unemployment just can't be made. He says the figure of 60 thousand looks too high, and it is very difficult to predict any figure. Mr Key says a range of options have been put forward giving a variety of predictions of where unemployment will hit. Meanwhile he says pay rises will continue to occur for some workers despite the tough economic times. Many companies are imposing a wage freeze during the recession, in an attempt to prevent widespread redundancies. John Key says those in the state sector have higher levels of job security than those in the private sector and he does not believe workers actually expect to get a pay increase at the moment. Mr Key says most people would say that, if you're in a position where you're not likely to lose your job, then having a payrise is an added on bonus. EVALUATION NEEDED IN JUSTICE MINISTRY ------------------------------------- The Ministry of Justice is being told to evaluate its crime prevention and community safety programmes. The area had almost $8 million in funding allocated in the last financial year, with the money used at community level for initiatives that combat offending. Parliament's Justice and Electoral Committee is concerned there is a lack of evaluation material for projects relating to the programme. MPs have been told because many of the projects have small budgets, the cost of carrying out an evaluation would outweigh its value. However the Select Committee is encouraging the Ministry of Justice to conduct evaluations to make sure the programmes are actually performing. GREENS TIP MORE CUTS -------------------- The Greens are predicting the government will today announce more cuts within the Ministry for the Environment. Green Party co-leader Russel Norman says Ministry staff have been called to a presentation this afternoon where they will be told of the department's final restructuring plans. Dr Norman claims the presentation will confirm sustainability initiatives have been restructured out of existence. Dr Norman says the move is a mistake, given IRD revealed it saved a million dollars last year in cuts on travel and energy costs after it adopted sustainability strategies. SHAKEUP OF FIRE SERVICE LEVIES ------------------------------ The Fire Service Commission has advised Parliament the 1975 Fire Service Act contains loopholes which allows organisations to avoid paying levies on certain items. The Commission also says there are inequities in the levy system meaning some people pay up to three levies to the Fire Service via rates, house and property insurance. The Commission says it is discussing with the Minister of Internal Affairs the possibility of a review of the levy system and the Fire Service Act. NZ PENSIONERS BEST OFF ---------------------- A new study shows New Zealand pensioners are among the best off in the world. The OECD report reveals just two per cent of retired New Zealanders are below the poverty line. Only 13 of the 30 countries in the study have poverty rates of less than 10 per cent among older people. But Age Concern's chief executive Ann Martin says the findings are misleading and do not match what older people are telling the organisation. She says international comparisons of living standards and superannuation are notoriously unreliable. SUPPORT FOR ARTS FUNDING ------------------------ Eighty per cent of Aucklanders think the arts should receive public funding. A Creative New Zealand survey shows a great number of Auckland people attend and participate in cultural activities. The survey reveals arts festivals are increasingly important, being a contributing factor to the perception of Auckland as a world class city. Film, Pacific and performing arts are areas that see people contributing in the most. The survey also shows people living in Auckland embrace new technologies to access information to engage in activities going on in the various arts communities. LIBRARY USE INCREASES --------------------- More people are making use of the free services at Auckland City Libraries, as the recession bites. Visitor numbers increased 20 per cent in March on the same time last year, while internet use was close behind. But it was the event and learning skill programme that had the biggest increase in participation - 28 per cent. Group manager Allison Dobbie says the use of Auckland's libraries has been climbing steadily over recent years, but has been particularly noticeable since January. She says other public libraries throughout New Zealand are noticing similar trends. DR CULLEN TO RETIRE ------------------- Former finance minister Dr Michael Cullen will today announce his retirement from politics. While the decision will come as no surprise to anyone, the big news is the job he will be going into. Political Editor Barry Soper says the National-led government will be offering Dr Cullen a significant chairmanship of a State Owned Enterprise. Mr Soper says the SOE is likely to be in the energy field, as there are several chairmanships coming up this year. Wednesday, 8 April 2009 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MAORI PARTY NOT CONVINCED ABOUT SEATS ------------------------------------- ACT and the Maori Party are at odds over how Maori can be represented on the Auckland super city council. The Maori Party is irate that the Government will not support specific Maori seats on the Auckland Council. The royal commission had recommended three Maori seats. But Local Government Minister, and ACT Leader, Rodney Hide says there are avenues available for Maori representation. "Maori can stand and get elected. I believe if Maori get told that they can't get elected or can't make it, then you're not being very encouraging." But Maori Party co-leader and Minister of Maori Affairs Pita Sharples says that will never happen. "It hasn't happened in the past and it won't happen in the future." RESTAURANT BRANDS DRAGGED DOWN ------------------------------ Pizza Hut is continuing to drag down the profit of Restaurant Brands, the operators of KFC, Pizza Hut and Starbucks. Net profit fell 1.2 percent from the previous year to $8.3 million, after $5 million of non trading items were included, mainly impairment charges against goodwill from Pizza Hut. Sales also fell by 6.5 percent. However, KFC boosted the company's performance notching another record sales figure of $211.5 million, an increase of $12 million. In contrast sales of Starbucks coffee was flat at $33 million. A final dividend of four cents per share will be paid, taking the total dividend payment for the year to seven cents. GREENS AND GOVT AGREE TO COOPERATE ---------------------------------- The Greens and the Government have formed an agreement to work with each other on a case-by-case basis. The Memorandum of Understanding will focus on home insulation, energy efficiency and trans-Tasman therapeutics. Green co-leader Russel Norman says his party's independence is clearly stated, but it is committed to working with National where possible. "We will work with National where we can to make progress but we absolutely retain the right to speak out and when we disagree, to say so." As part of the agreement, Green MPs will have access to cabinet papers. HIGH COUNTRY TENURE REVIEW WELCOMED ----------------------------------- Federated Farmers is welcoming the High Country tenure review as a way forward for farming in the area. The review of the pastoral lease process has recommended farms not be restricted to low lying areas as they currently are. The new report says low-level farming is leading to pollution and run-off into surrounding lakes and waterways. Federated Farmers High Country chairman Donald Aubrey says the long held view that farming should only be restricted to the flat, is out of date. He says by giving farmers more access to higher up tussock land, farms will be more sustainable and less intense. Mr Aubrey does not agree that farm pollution is rapidly degrading the waterways. LABOUR AND GREENS ATTACK SUPER CITY ----------------------------------- Labour is condemning the Government for a lack of consultation on decisions concerning Auckland's new council structure, arguing yesterday's announcements actually weaken, rather than strengthen, local representation. Labour leader Phil Goff thinks the ordinary Aucklander will feel they are further away than ever before from those who make decisions affecting their lives. He says to replace local councils with community boards, which have no real power or influence, without consulting with residents is unacceptable. Mr Goff says the Government promised consultation but has delivered none. Meanwhile the Green Party describes the planned changes to Auckland's governance as unacceptable. While welcoming moves to replace the proposed six sub-councils with 20 to 30 local boards, Green MP Sue Kedgley says the fact is they will have little power and will be virtually impotent. She says unless their responsibilities are increased there creation will largely be a pointless gesture. (I wonder where they parked Rosinante while charging at that particular windmill? - BH) WANGANUI JOB SUMMIT ------------------- Wanganui businesses are refusing to rely on the Government to get them through the recession. The local Chamber of Commerce and the Ministry of Social Development are holding a job summit today. More than 120 community and business leaders will examine issues affecting the future development of Wanganui's economy. Chamber president Bronwyn Paul says it is a real indication of the willingness to work together to make something positive happen. Business New Zealand chief executive Phil O'Reilly is one of the keynote speakers at the summit. FINGER POINTED AT DIGITAL BROADCASTING -------------------------------------- The government is canning a review of digital broadcasting regulations and the decision is not sitting well with Labour. Broadcasting Minister Jonathan Coleman and Communications Minister Steven Joyce say there is no reason to proceed, as analysis indicates the market is competitive and there is no need for new regulation. But Labour broadcasting spokesman Brendon Burns says that contradicts advice given to the government when it took office. He says stakeholders and officials identified problems with inconsistent rules, lack of competition, loss of local content, and a lack of investment and innovation. He claims the announcement is a sign the government has a commercial agenda for broadcasting. FUEL PRICES STEADY FOR MARCH ---------------------------- Prices have been steady at the petrol pump during March. The AA Petrol Watch says fuel prices moved just once last month, with a five cent drop on 91 Octane mid month to $1.59 a litre in the main centres. Meanwhile, for the first time in two years, diesel dipped below the one dollar a litre mark. AA spokesman Mark Stockdale says while global crude oil and refined fuel prices rose last month, the value of the Kiwi dollar also climbed which offset some of the global increases. ECONOMIST POINTS TO LOWER DOLLAR -------------------------------- An economist believes New Zealand's currency needs to be the key release valve to help stabilise the economy. The NZIER Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion points to a further contraction in domestic trading activity in the first three months of this year. ANZ economist Philip Borkin says considering the weak global backdrop, a lower currency is needed to support the export sector. He says it can help engineer the re-balancing of the economy away from consumption towards the earnings sectors. Thursday, 9 April 2009 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PROCEEDS OF CRIME BILL PASSED INTO LAW -------------------------------------- Parliament has passed a new law that makes it easier for Police to seize the assets and profits of gangs. Justice Minister Simon Power says for too long, criminals have been able to accumulate illegally-obtained wealth and hang onto it by avoiding conviction. But he says under the new Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Bill a conviction is no longer required to trigger forfeiture proceedings. Mr Power says from now on, Police will have to prove only on the balance of probabilities that a person has benefited from significant criminal offending. He says the new law will be particularly important in the fight against methamphetamine, given the large amount of money being made. PORT FEELS PAIN OF RECESSION ---------------------------- The recession is making life tougher for the Ports of Auckland. Container volumes are down 7.4 percent for the March quarter compared with the same time last year. The drop follows record high container volumes recorded between July and December last year. Imported vehicles have fallen 54.4 percent. The company has announced a range of cost cutting measures and is gearing itself to make further changes. MORE LEG ROOM ON TRIPLE SEVENS ------------------------------ Air New Zealand is doubling the number of Pacific Premium Economy seats on its Boeing 777-200ER fleet. All aircraft will be refitted by June increasing the seats from 18 to 36. Spokesman Ed Sims says despite the challenging economic environment customers are prepared to pay for more leg room and businesses class style service on long haul flights. SOES CALLED TO A MEETING ------------------------ The chairmen of the country's 15 State Owned Enterprises have been called into the Beehive to explain their companies' bonus payments. The meeting was called by SOE Minister Simon Power, who is concerned about the financial performance of the SOEs and follows revelations that the SOEs paid out $46 million in bonuses last year. New Zealand Post paid $19.8 million in bonuses, while Transpower, Solid Energy and Meridian also paid out at least $5 million each. The Government has expressed concern over the bonus payments, which are likely to dominate today's meeting. BOUTIQUE HOTEL GETS FRENCH HONOUR --------------------------------- The owner of a boutique hotel in Auckland says far grander properties than hers are usually invited to join an exclusive French club. Mollies in St Mary's Bay is now part of the Relais & Chateaux group, described as a collection of the world's most beautiful hotels and restaurants. It joins only a handful of other New Zealand hotels carrying the name, including Kauri Cliffs in Northland and Otahuna Lodge in Christchurch. Co-owner Frances Wilson says Relais Chateaux properties are often situated in the countryside, so it was a surprise when her city hotel was invited to accept the honour. She thinks Mollies was chosen for its fine cuisine, its calm atmosphere and courteous staff. TRAVEL SLOWER AND REDUCE CLAIMS ------------------------------- The Accident Compensation Corporation says a one percent drop in driving speed would prevent three percent of accidents on the roads. ACC is encouraging people to slow down this long weekend. Last year the corporation spent almost $18 million on claims involving injuries on the roads. Spokeswoman Judy Buchanan says speeding leads to a third of the fatalities on the roads and a quarter of all serious injuries. She is encouraging drivers to be aware of the traffic flow, the cars around them and their following distance. VOLATILE PROPERTY VALUATIONS ---------------------------- QV Valuations says there is widespread uncertainty about what is in store for the property market this winter. QV's latest figures show a 9.3 percent decline in national property values over the past year, down again on last month. The drop is largely being put down to falling values in the Auckland market. QV spokesman Blue Hancock says winter is usually the slowest time for the property market. He says interest rates, migration and the value of the dollar will all play into the market. PRAISE FOR HELEN CLARK'S ACHIEVEMENTS ------------------------------------- Helen Clark has used her valedictory speech to fire a parting shot at recent changes to the honours system. She has told a packed debating chamber and public gallery at Parliament of her distaste for the class system and her objection to titular titles such as Knights and Dames. Miss Clark deeply detests social distinction and snobbery and says titular honours relate to another era from which our nation has largely, but obviously not completely, freed itself. She also predicts our constitutional status as a monarchy will change saying it is a matter of when, not if, it will happen. The decision to stay out of Iraq also formed part of her final speech. Helen Clark says her Government tried to reflect our country's unique personality in international relations and stand for peace, justice and reconciliation. She says the refusal to participate in the Iraq war was based on principle and knowing that involvement would have ripped the country apart for no good purpose. One of Helen Clark's oldest friends is heaping praise on her as she departs the domestic arena. Long time political colleague and friend Judith Tizard believes Helen Clark will be remembered as a person of enormous values and decency who did what she said she was going to do. She says while Helen Clark might not have had the same public presence of other leaders, such as Norm Kirk, she has lived to do what Labour members dreamed he would do. Waitakere Mayor, and former Labour Party president Bob Harvey thinks her legacy is a great one. He believes Miss Clark personified leadership and brought a great sense of direction. (The most consistent criticism of her valedictory was the total absence of any sign of contrition for several major errors of judgement. That aside, I found it a broadly sensible speech. - BH) Friday, 10 April 2009 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RETAILERS FLOUT LAW ------------------- The Department of Labour is considering action against 17 retailers caught flouting the Easter Trading laws. Most were garden centres, though three were music shops. BETTER VICTIM SUPPORT NEEDED ---------------------------- An anti-violence advocate says there needs to be better follow-up with the victims of family violence to help them recover. Attendance rates at rehabilitation programmes for victims are even lower than those for offenders. Preventing Violence in the Home Client Services Director Jill Proudfoot says the answer could be put in the domain of the family court to follow up with victims. She says if victims are not ready to do the programme at the first offer, there should be a system to make the information available to them later on. Mrs Proudfoot says no one wants to force victims to attend programmes but they should be encouraged to do so. PRISON DRUG USE DOWN -------------------- Drug-sniffing dogs, better security and the screening of visitors are all helping to reduce drug use in jails. The Corrections Department says the number of prisoners returning positive results to random tests has dropped to 10.5 percent. A decade ago, the figure was 34 percent. Spokeswoman Leanne Field says there has been a concerted effort to stop drugs getting in to prisons. The initiatives involve intelligence units and better systems for dealing with visitors. She says the drop is a great achievement but believes drug use in prisons can be reduced even further. (I find it hard to believe that we are happy that every tenth prisoner has access to drugs. Of course it could be worse, but if drugs are getting to one prisoner in ten, that is not a leak, that is a full blown canal. - BH) CALLS TO STREAMLINE CONSENTS ---------------------------- There are calls to streamline the building consent process in a bid to boost the building sector. Over 500 building professionals were surveyed about the impact of the economic downturn. Industry spokesman Matthew Dudder says there are programmes the government can put in place. He says streamlining the building consent process and resource management act would be a good place to start. He says it would get projects through the pipeline faster, helping to combat any long term effects of the downturn. Confidence emerged as another key in boosting the sector. Of those who took part in the survey, 98 percent thought the situation would become worse before it improved, but 90 percent were positive things would get better within two years. Certified Builders' chief Derek Baxter says confidence is the only thing standing in the way of recovery and growth. He says current low interest rates and cheap materials make this the perfect time to build. HOUSE SALES RISE ---------------- Figures for March show for the second month in a row there has been a slight increase in the number of sales, although prices are still falling. ASB Bank economist Nick Tuffley says lower interest rates are a contributing factor. And he thinks it is a bit early to get excited about what is happening, because the number of sales is comparable only with the downturn of the late 90s. Mr Tuffley says despite an improvement at the bottom end of the market, property overall is still weak. AIRLINE WELCOMES RESULT ----------------------- Air New Zealand welcomes the news Airways New Zealand and the New Zealand Airline Pilots' Association have reached an agreement to ensure regional air traffic control towers will not need to be closed during set break times. Airways New Zealand this morning formally notified Air New Zealand of the agreement, meaning the 25 flights per week that were to be cancelled can now continue to operate. POLICE CONFIDENT ABOUT GANG PROFIT LAWS --------------------------------------- The Police Association is confident a new law will help officers have a significant impact on organised crime. Parliament has passed the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Bill, making it easier to seize the profits made by gangs. A conviction will no longer be needed before forfeiture proceedings can begin. Police will have to prove only that a person has probably benefited from significant criminal offending. Police Association President Greg O'Connor says providing enough resources are available, police will be able to do some serious damage to organised crime. He says taking the profit out of organised crime is the only way to stop it. SOES ASKED FOR IMPROVED PERFORMANCE ----------------------------------- At least two chairmen of State Owned Enterprises are comfortable with the Government's call for improved efficiency and performance. SOE Minister Simon Power and Finance Minister Bill English called a meeting with the heads of the organisations at Parliament yesterday. Landcorp Chairman Jim Sutton says it was worthwhile and the message from the minister was what he expected. Kiwi Rail and New Zealand Post Chairman Jim Bolger is also comfortable with the Government's direction. He says SOEs have a broad responsibility to taxpayers, who own the companies. Mr Bolger says there are difficult economic issues to deal with at the moment. Mr Power says he is satisfied with how things went at the meeting. He says there was a broad discussion about performance and the role SOES have in the economy. He plans to sit down with each SOE in business planning rounds to work out individual targets for the operations. SUBSCRIBE OR UNSUBSCRIBE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian Harmer does NOT administer the mailing list. Please do not send subscription related messages to him. Instead, visit the website listed below, where you can make changes as required. If you want to send a personal message to Brian, change the country code to nz and send a message brian.harmer@vuw.ac.xx If you do choose to comment on something in these posts, please don't send the whole newsletter with your message. Just trim it back to the relevant bits. Thanks. Brian. From news at wysiwygnews.com Sun Apr 19 20:11:33 2009 From: news at wysiwygnews.com (news@wysiwygnews.com) Date: Sun Apr 19 20:11:38 2009 Subject: WYSIWYG NEWS - 19 April, 2009 Message-ID: <3F185A541960DB4B9FBBBB4104820BBC673CA7284D@STAWINCOEXMAIL1.staff.vuw.ac.nz> Subject: 19 April, 2009 ----- WYSIWYG NEWS ------------------------------ Copyright, Brian Harmer. Summer's spirit lingers, fades, reappears then fades again. Recent sunny days revived memories of warmer times, though the thermometer remained low. Days of flat calm with bright sun create the illusion of warmth, and even some of that sense of wellbeing that comes with good weather. On one such day this week, I went for one of my walks while new tyres were being fitted to my car. Setting out from Railway Ave at the industrial Southern end of Lower Hutt's CBD, I turn South into Victoria St, towards Petone and the harbour. Immediately I notice two things. First, that despite the apparent calm, the air movement is from the South, and even my own slipstream is chilling. A lady waiting for a bus huddles behind a fence trying to stay warm, while peering out for a bus. Never mind, I am certain that by the time I get going, the added circulation will warm me up, and anyway, it means that on the return leg, the chill will be at my back. Second, I notice the disappearance of the old Department of Education manual training facility at the North end of Victoria St. Though none of my youngsters went there as far as I recall, I knew this as the place where those local schools which lacked such resources, sent their older children for woodwork, metal work, and "home economics" lessons. Generations of youngsters learned to make clunky wooden footstools, dangerous sharp- edged dustpans of folded and soldered metal, and incredibly heavy scones. The surprise is not only that the cluster of buildings has gone, but that the height of the weeds growing on the vacant site imply that they went some time ago. How much more detail you get when on foot than in the car. Or maybe I just don't observe things around me as well as I thought. Moving on through the little cluster of retail shops at Alicetown which seem to survive against all odds, I pass up and over the railway bridge near Ava station. Needless to say, the elevation of the bridge brings added bite to that cold air, but the sun was shining and so I continue. Houses in this part of the valley are mostly weatherboard (US= clapboard) with corrugated a iron roof, dating from the first half of the last century and sometimes a little earlier. Occasionally, there is a boarded up building that was in all probability a thriving retail business in earlier times. The houses in this area are set in blocks of land big enough to provide reasonable yard/garden space, though not all are well developed. After crossing Jackson St, the scene changes a little as the older housing of Wellington's pioneering days are closer together, more cheek by jowl than in Alicetown, with less room for gardens. For reasons I don't really understand, Wellington's earliest European settlers thought small, despite the large amount of unoccupied land. Today, there is a grittiness to the area, not entirely due to the proximity of the beach and the frequency of the Southerly winds which lifts the sand to abrade paint work and fill the gutters. A lot of litter from fast food outlets in the area makes some areas unsightly. Petone, however, becoming gentrified, and until the recent downturn, house prices in Petone were typically in the order of NZD$500,000. Turning West on the Esplanade, I can now enjoy the splendid views across the great harbour. Through the heads at the entrance, there is absolutely nothing but thousands of miles of windswept ocean between us and Antarctica. Closer at hand the immediate greenery of Matiu/Somes Island draws the eye and the imagination. I must visit there again sometime, since the little harbour ferries call in several times a day as they shuttle between Wellington and Days Bay (which, as my friend Louise in Fortuna Ca will recall, is the setting for Katherine Mansfield's "At the Bay"). Further to the South and West, the gleaming tower blocks of downtown Wellington stand above the greyness of the waterfront area, and below the steep green hill suburbs of Wadestown, Kelburn, Mt Cook and Brooklyn. Closer at hand, new housing developments creep over the brow of the hills at Newlands, while down below at the water's edge, the glint of sun on endless windscreens crawling along the motorway from the Ngauranga interchange speaks of the steady volume of traffic passing between Wellington and its Northern dormitory cities. Long and low, with white wooden rails, the Petone wharf juts out into the harbour, and as always the unguarded extremity is well populated with fishermen. I am never sure whether the urge to fish is recreational or an economic necessity, or whether much is caught there. Given the frequency of mishaps in the pumping system, I am squeamish about the thought of eating fish from this area. Much of the traffic mentioned earlier ends up right beside me on the esplanade in the form of very large "b-double" truck and trailer rigs heading to or from the various freight depots at Seaview (If you don't know what a b-double is, see http://www.hankstruckpictures.com/pix/trucks/r_mohr/toll_frtln r_b_double.jpg). Think in terms of 20 metres and 55 tonnes all up. Despite my fascination with all things mechanical, their heavy rumbling presence, and noxious emissions detract from the view, so it was a relief to turn North at last up Nevis St. From heavy diesels to the warm and delicious aroma of superb coffee at La Bella Italia, a popular purveyor of Italian deli foods and good coffee is very nice, but resisting temptation, I press on. As expected, the breeze, such as it is, is now behind me, though truth to tell, it is probably no more than walking speed, so it now feels like a true flat calm. On Hutt Road, past the old railway station, Koro Crescent is closed off and the old bridge over the railway line demolished as part of the new works associated with the Dowse Drive Interchange project (See Transit's excellent informative website at http://www.transit.govt.nz/projects/d2p/ if you know the area). Further up Hutt Road I pass under the new overbridge, and past the little urban marae known as Te Tatau o te Po. Over the road and round the corner into Railway Ave again, I there two exchange an arm and a leg for two new tyres on the front wheels. It could have been worse. Michelin whose product was the original factory product seem to have decided to price themselves off the NZ domestic car market ... their tyres are $180 more per tyre than the product I ended up with. A pity as they were excellent tyres. So having used my feet to cover a 7 km round trip in just over an hour, I used them again in conjunction with my wallet to cast a vote against exploitative pricing. Last week just 25 of you had expressed support for the continuance of WYSIWYG. My expressed disappointment had some impact, and the number has now expanded to 61, or just over 3% of subscribers. Of the 61, about 40 of you offered sponsorship, and that's nice. Many voted for the retention of the purple prose, which is also very kind. I will now think on it. As before, please don't send money. See you next week. ---- Any text above this point, and all subsequent material in parentheses, and concluded with the initials "BH" is the personal opinion of Brian Harmer as editor of this newsletter, or occasionally "GS" will indicate an opinion from our editorial assistant. In all cases they are honest expressions of personal opinion, and are not presented as fact. All news items (except where noted otherwise) are reproduced by kind permission of copyright owner, Newstalk ZB News. All copyright in the news items reproduced remains the property of The Radio Network Limited. Sponsorship this week is from my good friends and long time supporters, Pat and George Berger from Alexandria, VA. Many thanks to you both. ---- On with the News. Monday, 13 April 2009 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CANTERBURY EARTHQUAKE --------------------- There has been an earthquake in Canterbury this afternoon. It measured 4.3 on the Richter scale and was felt just after 2.30 in central Canterbury and Christchurch city. The earthquake was centred 20 kilometres north of Methven, at a depth of 12 kilometres. RADICAL SHAKE-UP OF MAORI FUNDING PROPOSED ------------------------------------------ A radical shake-up is proposed in the way Government funds are allocated to Maori. Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia wants to see spending streamlined, with the setting up of a one billion dollar bulk funding arrangement. She says it would be a much better way of distributing spending on Maori health and other services. Mrs Turia says the current project-by-project system does not work well, and a single pool of money would reduce the need for individual contracts. She says a lot of money is being spent on Maori, but it is not justified by the outcomes. Mrs Turia says the eventual goal is for Maori to become less reliant on the state. (The last sentence will appeal to the government, but I have to wonder whether bulk funding provides more opportunity for disaster or malfeasance - BH) AUCKLAND MAYORS SQUABBLE OVER SUPER CITY PLANS ---------------------------------------------- Auckland's mayors are squabbling amongst themselves over how to proceed with plans for a super-city, with an exchange of insulting e-mails and text messages. North Shore mayor Andrew Williams has gone public with his fears about the plan this weekend. He has accused Auckland City's John Banks of being in league with the Act Party in a plot to privatise the region's assets. Now it has emerged the pair have been trading insults privately as well. Mr Banks sent a text message calling Mr Williams "a lunatic", but says it was accidental and intended for someone else. In another text, Mr Williams told Mr Banks he was behaving like a lone sheep. Waitakere mayor Bob Harvey is attempting to play peace maker, by trying to get all the mayors together for a meeting this week. (I suppose you might feel better if a message in which you are described as a lunatic was intended for someone else? Or not? - BH) Tuesday, 14 April 2009 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CAR SALES DOWN OVER 3 PER CENT ------------------------------ If you have decided against buying that new set of wheels because of the recession, you are not alone. February sales figures show car sales dropped $17 million or just over three percent. Statistics New Zealand reports an overall drop in retail spending since December 2007 of 3.4 percent. The only sector experiencing growth are supermarkets with people eating in rather than dining out. Grocery store spending has jumped $12 million since January. FOUR NEW VESSELS FOR NAVY ------------------------- The New Zealand Navy is getting its hands on the first of its four new inshore patrol vessels this week. Defence Minister Wayne Mapp has announced the first vessel, Rotoiti will be officially handed over to the Navy this Friday. Hawera, Pukaki and Taupo will follow over the next six weeks. Navy chief Rear Admiral David Ledson says it is an important and significant step for the defence force and the country. He says the patrol vessels are very capable ships and he says they will enable the Navy to make a wider contribution both to New Zealand and further afield, particularly in the Pacific. (See http://www.defence.govt.nz/images/2008-ltdp-rotoiti.jpg - BH) LITTLE NEED TO WORRY ABOUT INFLATION ------------------------------------ The ASB bank expects that Friday's CPI figures will show a decline in annual inflation to 3.1 percent in the first quarter. The bank says food, tobacco excise, education and housing costs have risen but have been offset by weaker transport costs. It says lower petrol prices after last year's spike, remain a significant factor driving down inflation in the short term and the Reserve Bank will have little need to worry about high inflation this year. The ASB says in the wake of the weaker business confidence survey carried out by the NZIER and tighter monetary conditions a 50 basis point cut to the official cash rate later this month would not be unreasonable. It believes the OCR could eventually reach a low of two percent. GOVT STILL KEEN ON TAX CUTS IF POSSIBLE --------------------------------------- Despite the economic recession, the Government still wants to push ahead with tax cuts if it can. A survey commissioned by the New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development, has found that most New Zealanders do not want tax cuts if it means the Government has to borrow money to fund them. Acting Prime Minister Bill English says officials have been looking hard at how Government spending is prioritised and how tax cuts fit into that. He says while the outlook for the economy has changed and some election promises have had to be delayed or pared back, the Government would still like to go ahead with cuts if they are affordable. An announcement will be made in next month's budget. DHBS UNDER PRESSURE ------------------- A shortage of doctors is putting services at the Waitemata District Health Board under pressure. The acute gynaecology service at North Shore Hospital has had to close its doors to new patients twice in recent weeks. The board is also considering halting the admission of acutely unwell patients to Waitakere Hospital. Resident Doctors' Association General Secretary Deborah Powell says there is a staff shortfall of 26 percent for medical house officers and registrars in the Auckland region and Waitemata is the worst hit. She says pay rates need to rise and boards need to make it easier for doctors to work as permanent part timers. Meanwhile, the Otago and Southland District Health Boards are appealing to staff to help find ways to trim budgets as they try to cut costs. The DHBs need to save five percent in their next budgets, after a directive from Health Minister Tony Ryall who wants boards to recoup their deficits totalling almost $18 million. Brian Rousseau, the chief executive of both boards, is asking everyone to put their thinking caps on. He says there are a number of initiatives being looked at and he hopes no patient services will be cut. Wednesday, 15 April 2009 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DIVISION BETWEEN MAYORS OVER SUPER CITY --------------------------------------- Auckland's mayors are trying to dispel talk they are bitterly divided, as they prepare to debate the Supercity proposal with Local Government Minister Rodney Hide. The mayors have met today for the first time since the Government presented its response to the Royal Commission's plan to merge eight councils into one. Much of the division between the mayors focuses on the level of representation for communities on the new super council. Rodney Mayor, Penny Webster, says today's meeting was important ahead of their talk with Rodney Hide, so they do not go into the talks without discussing what issues are to be raised. Penny Webster has changed her mind and will attend the meeting tomorrow, after originally deciding not to turn up. (The phrase "smiling through gritted teeth" comes to mind - BH) HIKOI PLANNED OVER SUPER CITY ----------------------------- A hikoi is being organised to protest at the government's proposal to turn Auckland into a super city. The idea has come from a hui of Maori and civic leaders at Auckland's Orakei Marae to protest over the lack of designated Maori seats in the super city plan. Maori leaders are drumming up community support for a hikoi to be held on the anniversary of the Bastion Point evictions on May 25th. A delegation of mana whenua is also planning to meet with Prime Minister John Key to outline their concerns. KYOTO PROTOCOL TURNAROUND? -------------------------- There is a huge turn-around in the country's Kyoto Protocol liabilities. What was once a half billion dollar debt is now a possible 241 million dollar surplus. The government has known about it for four months, but had not given the information to the special Parliamentary Select Committee reviewing the Emissions Trading Scheme. Climate Change Minister Nick Smith says he got the positive news from officials in January. But he says, given the scale of the change, he wanted to make sure the numbers were as accurate as possible before they were released. (Given the previous oscillations from credit to debit, I guess his hesitation is understandable - BH) COUNCIL MOVES TO MAKE STREET WORKERS ILLEGAL -------------------------------------------- Moves are underway to make street prostitution illegal in Manukau City. A council working group, which includes the mayor, deputy mayor, six councillors, council officers and community leaders is recommending the council seek amendments to the Prostitution Reform Act. Working Party leader, Councillor Dick Quax, says street prostitution is a concern in Manukau, with a report in 2005 estimating 423 sex workers were working in the district, 150 of which worked on the streets. He says the council working group wants all prostitution other than that in brothels made illegal. Mr Quax says street prostitution existed even before the sex industry was decriminalised and there will be a small group of prostitutes who cannot or will not find alternative indoor settings. He says because of that, legislative measures are only one part of the solution. Mr Quax says the measures could include social support and environmental design features, including improved CCTV cameras, enhanced cleaning measures and restricting access to areas such as car parks. The ministry of justice also provided feedback to the working party. Mr Quax says in 2006, the Labour Government rejected the council's bid to recriminalise street prostitution in Manukau, although the members of the National Party on the select committee argued that local government should have the power to regulate street prostitution. TALKS BREAK DOWN IN AIRLINE ROW ------------------------------- Pay talks have broken down between Air New Zealand and the union representing Zeal cabin crew. Staff at the airline's subsidiary, Zeal, have been seeking pay parity with those employed directly by the airline. The Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union says mediation concluded at 1.15 this morning without agreement. The union will now hold talks with its 250 members to consider what further action to take and will not make further comment until the meetings are completed on Friday. Zeal staff fly Tasman and Pacific routes on Air New Zealand's A320 fleet. They are currently taking industrial action in the form of refusing to comply with the airlines uniform policy and refusing to carry out stand-by duties. (Why people doing the same job for the same airline should be paid different rates depending solely on whether they are paid by the airline itself or its wholly owned subsidiary is a bit of a mystery - BH) UNION CLAIMS DHB CUTS WILL CAUSE DEATHS --------------------------------------- The Resident Doctors Association says it is inevitable patients will die if hospitals continue to cut services because of acute doctor shortages. General secretary Deborah Powell says all the District Health Boards that she can think of have had to either reorganise services or redistribute work loads as a result of the doctor shortages. In some cases, clinics have been cut. Dr Powell says Waitakere DHB has been the worst hit, with services in obstetrics and gynaecology reduced. Waitakere Hospital has reduced admissions. She says the DHBs are now considering cutting services even further. Dr Powell says there is a national shortage of resident medical officers, house officers and registrars and the problem will not be resolved until the Government tackles pay issues. MAORI PRISONERS COULD GO "FLATTING" ----------------------------------- Corrections Minister Judith Collins is offering cautious support to a proposal for a Maori-only prison unit. Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples wants a separate Maori prison, where inmates who have the right attitude are allowed go "flatting" at a separate prison unit. The focus will be on healing. The 60-bed urban facility would provide education and employment opportunities to Maori prisoners. Corrections Minister Judith Collins is keen on the plan, if it reduces the Maori crime rate. She says her ideology for prisons is to do what works, and she is looking forward to getting more detail about the plan. SANLU SCANDAL BEING PUT TO REST ------------------------------- China is keen to have closer agriculture and farming ties with New Zealand, despite the tainted milk powder scandal involving Fonterra's joint partner Sanlu. Chinese President Hu Jintao has held talks with Prime Minister John Key in Beijing's Great Hall of the People. Mr Key says he specifically mentioned that Fonterra is keen to have a strong presence in China in the years ahead. "The fact that he (Mr Hu) acknowledged that New Zealand has a role to play in agriculture and farming in the future in China, I think is a very strong signal that the (Sanlu) issue has been put to bed." The poisoned milk powder produced by Sanlu resulted in the deaths of six babies and 300,000 others falling ill and ended with the company being shut down. Two Chinese Sanlu executives were sentenced to death for producing the chemical melamine, which is used in plastic, and mixing it with milk powder. Mr Key will sign a tourism agreement today and deliver a speech at Beijing University. Later in the day, he will meet with Premier Wen Jiabao. HEAD RESIGNS FROM REMUNERATIONS AUTHORITY ----------------------------------------- The head of the Remunerations Authority has resigned as he faces pressure not to give MPs a pay rise this year. David Oughton will step down as chairman in July after four years in the role. As the effects of the recession deepen, Mr Oughton has come under increasing pressure from Prime Minister John Key not to increase MPs' salaries this year. The Remunerations Authority is responsible for setting salaries for MPs, mayors and judges. The Government has accepted Mr Oughton's resignation and is paying tribute to the job he has done. Thursday, 16 April 2009 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BATTLE FOR MT ALBERT BEGINS --------------------------- National MP Melissa Lee has announced she is putting her name forward to stand as the party's candidate in the Mt. Albert by-election. It sets in place a determination from National to take what has been a Labour stronghold. As a Korean-born former journalist, Melissa Lee is exactly the high-profile candidate National has been seeking for the looming by- election. Nominations for National close today, and Ms Lee is expected to be a shoe-in. As for Labour, at least four people have expressed interest in replacing Helen Clark as the local MP. None are current list MPs. Labour's nominations do not close until later in the month. (It has been fascinating to read local commentators speculating on the manoeuvring within the Labour Party to avoid the vacancy going to Judith Tizard or indeed any of the "old guard" - BH) HOUSING NZ SPENDING WATCH ------------------------- Housing New Zealand's spending is under extra scrutiny. Housing Minister Phil Heatley has put the department on monthly report. He is responding to concerns raised by Treasury about transparency in the corporation's capital spending programme. The Minister wants monthly details on maintenance work, upgrades, and purchasing of new state houses. Mr Heatley says he wants to ensure Housing New Zealand is focussed on efficient spending. SHARPLES HITS BACK AT LABOUR CRITICISM -------------------------------------- Associate Corrections Minister Pita Sharples is hitting back at Labour Party opposition to his plans for Maori offenders. Labour is rubbishing his proposal to create alternative rehabilitation centres for Maori offenders claiming it would create a separatist justice system. But Dr Sharples says his opponents are committed to failed policies. He says Labour's retributive approach and lack of support for rehabilitation will not reduce offending, nor will it help victims of crime. Dr Sharples says Labour's lack of ideas and lack of innovation has cost the country dearly. (The proof of this pudding would come if we see people trying to gain entry to, or to avoid, this programme. In those circumstances, it will be interesting to see who can discover a convincing Whakapapa or genealogy to be included or excluded - BH) OWNERS LEFT OUT ON A LIMB ------------------------- Amputees with prosthetic limbs might not realise that technically their limbs are not their own. A report from the New Zealand Artificial Limb Board says prosthetic services are provided to amputees free of charge and because the artificial limbs are sold to the Ministry of Health and the Accident Compensation Corporation, they actually belong to the Crown. But the report says because prosthetics are customised to individuals, there is no market for them second hand, so in reality they are owned by their wearers. However it does want to see an ownership policy put in place in case amputees do try to sell their prosthetic for financial gain. FARMERS DISPUTE KYOTO CALCULATIONS ---------------------------------- Federated Farmers is questioning the calculations used to estimate New Zealand's Kyoto Protocol liabilities and claims New Zealand has entered the scheme with its eyes wide shut. The Government has confirmed that what was once around a half billion dollar carbon credit debt is now possibly a surplus of $241 million. Federated Farmers' spokesman Frank Brenmuhl says there is too much uncertainty around how green house gas emission liability is determined. "The methods of actually determining what our liabilities are, are very, very crude and there is a whole heap of uncertainty around that. Anything we do is going to be hugely variable and yet we are going to have to pay on the basis of plus or minus 40 percent accuracy." Mr Brenmuhl there needs to be a reality check on the scheme as he believes the surplus is due to the 2008 drought that tipped New Zealand's economy into recession. The drought-induced local recession in the first half of 2008 is a foretaste of what an ill-conceived ETS (Emissions Trading Scheme) will visit on every New Zealander." He says any economic growth almost ensures that the country's Kyoto liabilities will grow. The only way farmers could possibly meet Kyoto targets is to cut production. That means fewer exports, less growth but more unemployment as the main economic tap is turned down. Where is the global upside if New Zealand artificially throttled back agricultural production, just to see some country in the tropics knock down more trees to increase their production? If we are to act globally then New Zealand must get farming locally. That's the only responsible world view." Federated Farmers intends to tell the Select Committee reviewing the scheme next month that New Zealand should follow Denmark's lead by excluding farm animals from the equation. PACIFIC FORUM LIKELY TO MOVE FROM SUVA -------------------------------------- Fiji looks set to be stripped as the home of the Pacific Forum as the military stranglehold on the country infuriates its neighbours. The forum's chairman, Niuean Premier Toke Talagi is writing to regional leaders suggesting they bring forward the planned suspension of Fiji which was due to occur next month. The decision is likely to also result in the forum's secretariat being moved away from the Fijian capital, Suva. Mr Talagi says the situation in the country remains uncertain and it is too difficult to determine what the interim regime is going to do. He says 800,000 Fijians are now under the control of 3,000 members of the military. Wellington's Fijian Community is disappointed about the latest developments in its home country, which include the media being censored, control seized of the Reserve Bank and the constitution being axed. Save Daugunu from the Wellington Fijian Community says the situation in Fiji has set the country back at least 30 years and he is concerned for family members who are struggling to survive. Mr Daugunu says the only way Fiji will ever get back to democracy is through the exertion of foreign pressure. His views are in stark contrast to another similar group based in Auckland, which says Bainimarama should be left alone to fix the country's constitution. COMPO ISSUE NOT STRAIGHTFORWARD ------------------------------- Private landlords are questioning how practical it is to get compensation from tenant drug dealers who have trashed their properties. Housing New Zealand has won a test case for $180,000 in damages from a drug ring that manufactured P in a state house in Napier. The house was so badly contaminated, it had to be demolished. Andrew King, the vice president of the New Zealand Property Investors Federation, says the judgement has opened the door for private landlords to seek compensation. But he says enforcement of compensation orders is one of the biggest problems landlords face. Mr King says the process of actually being paid compensation would be easier if the tenants have already been arrested and some of their assets seized as the proceeds of crime. He says any judgement that punishes criminals and compensates landlords, has to be a good thing. Friday, 17 April 2009 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NEWSTALK ZB STILL NUMBER 1 -------------------------- Following the first major change at Newstalk ZB in over twenty years, Newstalk ZB remains the most listened to radio station in New Zealand with 439,100# different listeners. This gives Newstalk ZB a market leading 12.4%* share of listening in New Zealand. It's a huge relief we now know that our audience shares our faith in new breakfast host Mike Hosking and I am sure he represents the future of Newstalk ZB. Replacing New Zealand's most popular personality Paul Holmes was always going to be a challenge, said Bill Francis TRN's general manager talk. Mike Hosking's breakfast ratings held up strongly. In Auckland he has an 18.0% share^, more than double that of the nearest competitor TRN's ZM. Nationally Mike has a 16.1% share~, a dominant lead over all other stations and most importantly, five times the audience of Newstalk ZB's nearest talk competitor. According to the latest radio survey released today by Research International, TRN continues to have four of the top five stations by share^ in the Auckland market led by Newstalk ZB at number one, followed by the number one music station Coast, ZM moving up to third place and Classic Hits fifth. Nationally, TRN has three of the top five networks by share* led by Newstalk ZB. About the Radio Network (TRN): The Radio Network operates 129 stations in New Zealand under eight brands ? Newstalk ZB, ZM, Classic Hits, Radio Sport, Radio Hauraki, Easy Mix, Coast and Flava. The Radio Network is jointly owned by Clear Channel Communications and APN News and Media through Australian Radio Network. (www.radionetwork.co.nz) Source: Research International Radio Audience Measurement Surveys 1-2009 National 10+ Cume Monday to Sunday 12mn - 12mn National 10+ Share Monday to Sunday 12mn - 12mn Auckland 10+ Share Monday to Friday 6am ? 9am National 10+ Share Monday to Friday 6am 9am Whereas I might normally have overlooked such an item, I do wish to record my ongoing gratitude to Newstalk ZB for their continued permission to use their items in this newsletter. They have been most generous, over many years now. - BH) DAM ON CLUTHA RIVER CONSIDERED AGAIN ------------------------------------ Contact Energy is once again exploring the possibility of a hydro-electric dam on the Clutha River. Communications manager Jonathan Hill says the four possible sites for the dam are Tuapeka, Beaumont, Queensberry Hills and Luggate. The company is opening up public discussion on the topic on its website Mr Hill says there has been a mixed response since discussions started last August. He says some people have made it clear they do not want any development of any kind on the Clutha River but others support it, saying it will bring investment to the region. Contact inherited the four options when the company was formed in 1995. They had originally been explored by the Electricity Corporation of New Zealand. (I have noted the emergence of groups dedicated to saving these sites - BH) FOODSTUFFS EXTENDS PLASTIC BAG CHARGE ------------------------------------- More supermarkets are about to start charging for plastic bags. Foodstuffs has announced from August, that it is introducing a five cent charge per plastic bag at its New World, Four Square and Pak'n Save stores nationwide. Pak'n Save stores in the North Island already charge for plastic bags, but the new charge will be extended to its other outlets. Foodstuffs Managing Director Tony Carter says good progress has been made since the 'Make a Difference' campaign began in 2007 but the latest move is about taking the next step to reduce plastic bag consumption. He believes customers will understand the environmental reasons for the charge. (The difference with Pak'n'Save is that it is a minimum service store, and many of its customers take their purchases home in the discarded cartons which the supermarket leaves near the exit for this purpose. The other two are full service outlets. They have not said that they will offer paper bags instead, as is done in North America. If it's just a tax, it doesn't save the planet by much. - BH) SANCTUARY IN FOR SHAKE UP ------------------------- Wellington's Karori Wildlife Sanctuary is in for a shake up following a $1.9 million budget blowout in its Visitor and Education Centre project. Wellington City Council is demanding changes to its governance after ballooning costs forced it to bail out the centre to the tune of almost $2 million last year. The sanctuary already had an $8 million interest free loan and $6.5 million from the Crown. Wellington Mayor Kerry Prendergast says that huge investment from ratepayers and taxpayers means the sanctuary's trust needs new management skills. Council representation on the board will increase from two to three positions and it will have the right to appoint the board chair. PRESSURE MOUNTS FOR NEW CLASSROOMS ---------------------------------- Two Christchurch City councillors have added their voices to a primary school's bid to replace aging, sub-standard classrooms. Aorangi Primary School students face spending the Christchurch winter in cold, rotting buildings as the Ministry of Education delays a promised rebuild. The councillors say it is unacceptable for the students to face another winter in the dilapidated relocatable classrooms. Students at the school have composed a rap song, which is posted on YouTube, pleading for help from former pupil, Prime Minister John Key. TIME RUNNING OUT FOR SAY ON ALCOHOL BILL ---------------------------------------- The Alcohol Advisory Council is reminding people that submissions on the Sale and Supply of Liquor and Liquor Enforcement Bill close next Thursday. CEO Gerard Vaughan says it is the first major review of New Zealand's alcohol policy since 1989. The bill would give local authorities more powers on liquor licensing, tighten regulations for retail outlets and toughen penalties for selling or supplying alcohol to minors. NATIONAL HAS CHOICE OF 3 FOR MT ALBERT -------------------------------------- National Party officials have three candidates to choose from to stand in the crucial Mt Albert by-election. The result of the by-election is being seen as a sign of how well the Government is performing and how Labour will fare in what has been a party stronghold for decades. The most high-profile of National's candidates is Korean-born former broadcaster turned list MP Melissa Lee, who is almost certain to get the nod. However, she will have to fight off the challenge of Blair Mulholland, who has been involved with the ACT Party, and National's longtime Mt Albert candidate Ravi Masuku. At least four nominees are putting their name forward to be Labour's candidate in the seat held by Helen Clark for the last 28 years. BROWN MAY PUT HAT INTO RING --------------------------- Another of Auckland's mayors is likely to put up his hand for the super city's top job. Previously only John Banks has indicated he is in the running to head the new organisation, but after yesterday's meeting at the Auckland Town Hall, Manukau mayor Len Brown says he is also giving serious consideration to running for the role. But North Shore mayor Andrew Williams is not so willing to step up to the plate. He is describing being mayor of the super city as a death wish, however, he is not ruling out an interest once the organisation is fully in place. Mr Williams is predicting the 18 month lead-up to the 2010 local body elections will be a very trying time. (I have the strong sense that anyone who wants this job ought to be disqualified. - BH) REWARD MAY UNCOVER DOG CRUELTY OFFENDERS ---------------------------------------- Police are confident they are closing in on those responsible for stealing an elderly dog and using him as fight bait. The men who stole 14-year-old Rhodesian ridgeback-cross named Lincoln, tried to break his legs when he defended himself against two pit bull terriers which were set upon him on Monday. Lisa Snow from the Wellington SPCA says officers are working with police and have positive leads as to who the offenders may be. She is expecting more people to come forward with information now that a $20,000 reward has been offered. (An arrest was made this weekend - BH) GOVT RECONSIDERING GIANT HOUSING PROJECT ---------------------------------------- The large affordable housing project at the old Hobsonville Air Force base in west Auckland may be under threat. Following warnings of risks by Treasury, Housing Minister Phil Heatley has asked Housing New Zealand to re-examine its business case for the 500 home project, given recent changes in the economy and the housing market. Labour is accusing him of planning a reduction in the project and falling for a Treasury agenda, but Mr Heatley says the Government has already announced $124 million worth of funding for housing. Mr Heatley says reviewing the Hobsonville project is the right thing to do, as it can only move as fast as there are people available to buy houses. INFLATION EXPECTED TO HAVE DROPPED ---------------------------------- The latest cost of living data is due out today. Consumer Price Index figures for the first quarter are expected to show a drop in the inflation rate. ASB chief economist Nick Tuffley is expecting the annual inflation rate to decline to 3.1 percent. He says the figures will show a marked drop in inflation over the course of this year, with a lot of that movement being driven by a sharp lift and then drop in petrol prices. Inflation for the year to December was 3.4 percent. OECD'S SUGGESTIONS SLAMMED -------------------------- The Council of Trade Unions is questioning why an OECD report on New Zealand's economy is pushing for greater privatisation at a time when cases of mismanagement by the private sector emerge around the world. The report suggests the privatisation of the Accident Compensation Corporation, the health and electricity sectors and ports. CTU spokesman Peter Conway says the OECD does not appear to have learnt anything from the global financial crisis. He says the whole thrust of the report concerns road tolls, pushing up the retirement age and breaking up national wage bargaining for nurses and others, which he believes are not the solutions New Zealand needs at this time. Ian Powell from the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists says the OECD's ideas on the health sector are an attempt to return to an unsuccessful past. He says it was tried in the 1990s and failed because the country is far too small. Dr Powell says privatising is also contrary to the principles of what a good health system should work on. He says there is a need for the collaboration and integration of services, not wasting time, effort and resources competing against each other. SUBSCRIBE OR UNSUBSCRIBE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian Harmer does NOT administer the mailing list. Please do not send subscription related messages to him. Instead, visit the website listed below, where you can make changes as required. If you want to send a personal message to Brian, change the country code to nz and send a message brian.harmer@vuw.ac.xx If you do choose to comment on something in these posts, please don't send the whole newsletter with your message. Just trim it back to the relevant bits. Thanks. Brian. From news at wysiwygnews.com Sun Apr 26 17:49:05 2009 From: news at wysiwygnews.com (news@wysiwygnews.com) Date: Sun Apr 26 17:49:33 2009 Subject: WYSIWYG NEWS - 26 April, 2009 Message-ID: <3F185A541960DB4B9FBBBB4104820BBC6997BF0A1A@STAWINCOEXMAIL1.staff.vuw.ac.nz> Subject: 26 April, 2009 ----- WYSIWYG NEWS ------------------------------ Copyright, Brian Harmer. Yesterday was ANZAC day. We honour all of our war dead, and will remember them. On Friday, Mary and I dined at a long time favourite restaurant, the Cobar in Days Bay. I have spoken of visits there on several previous occasions, and I confess that remembered celebrations there add to its attractiveness for me. Mary and I took my supervisors and their partners their when my PhD finally ended, and elder daughter Catherine celebrated there after her wedding to Mark in December, '07. On Friday, despite near flat calm, and bright sun all day, the air was cold, as the sun disappeared behind the Western hills. The only ripples on an otherwise perfect milky calm surface, came from the slow passage of a small open boat hauling a net across the bay. It was silhouetted against the last flare of daylight reflected off the water, and though there was still enough light to see its two occupants, its bright navigation lights added some colour to the occasion. Nestled between the gleaming water and the black bulk of the Tinakori hills, the city tried on its evening jewellery as street lights and tower blocks began to twinkle. Parallel wisps of cloud like Nike's famous whoosh gave special texture to evening as darkness crept steadily Westward, laying its rich black cloth gently over the water. Since our earlier visits, the restaurant has changed hands. I take nothing away from my memories of good times and good food provided by the previous owners, when I say that this has now stepped up enormously, with no apparent hike in prices. The new owners and their chef offer a very good wine list, an exciting and innovative menu and friendly yet professional service. The d?cor has become more elegant and the seating more spacious, though I have some reservations about the wall art - a large framed cartoon entitled "Dancing Dogs" looks like a preparatory sketch from the notebook from Maurice Sendak's "Where the Wild Things Are". On the basis of the few dishes I have thus far been privileged to try from the new menu, and the cheerful but unobtrusive service by the staff, the new owners will win many friends, and I wish them every success in these difficult times. We shall certainly be back, though I shall have to try not to write about it next time. I have always thought that the quality of restaurant food is inversely proportional to the view. Here is a magnificent exception to that rule, and with no personal or commercial involvement whatsoever, I heartily recommend it to Wellingtonians and visitors alike. They take a great deal of care to accommodate special diets as well. Take the ferry to Days bay, it's just across the road. Or drive or take a bus. And tell them I sent you. I felt able to enjoy three excellent courses at the Cobar with a clear conscience because earlier in the day, I had undertaken a 10km walk from Kelburn Parade to Karori Park and back. On the outward journey, as I walked along Plunket Rd towards Raroa road, I noted that the blades on the Brooklyn wind turbine were almost stationary, barely creeping around. As I walked, I counted the seconds it took for each successive turbine blade to come to the low vertical position. About ten seconds, so for a three bladed turbine, that is just two rpm - close enough to flat calm for me. Winding around Raroa rd, though the roadworks where a steep bank above Glenmore Rd is getting a reinforced retaining wall, I arrived at the open area above Birdwood Park, from where I descended to Chaytor St and then began the slight but steady climb up and around the corner to Marsden Village. It's a busy little centre with some interesting shops which I still intend to visit someday. Up the hill past Samuel Marsden Collegiate School on the left to the crest of Karori Rd, and then down its long Western slope into Karori shopping centre. Perhaps a higher than usual proportion of retired persons made it seem especially busy, and on several corners, well dressed seniors were shaking buckets and selling the RSA poppies for the observance of ANZAC day on the 25th. Now that I am legally a senior, I still refuse to wear a tie except on the most formal of occasions! I certainly don't intend to do so when retirement finally comes. A big new branch library in Karori and the community centre are opposite the small local mall, and these may account for the level of activity. Pausing briefly to part with the few remaining coins in my pocket in exchange for a poppy, I resumed my Westward journey, overtaking a white-haired couple who were gently walking their grocery bags back home. I think I startled them a few moments later, because I then reached the letterbox which, according to Google Maps is exactly 5km from my start point. I made a smart u-turn and had to do one of those awkward left-right- left shuffles as we decided who should pass on which side of whom. The down side of any hill, in the other direction, becomes the upside. By now, despite the cool air temperature, I was feeling quite warm as I continued my brisk progress back up the hill which seemed somehow longer than when I walked down it. Just to the East of Marsden village I turned into Lancaster St (named I am sure, for the English county rather than the WWII bomber). It was nice to be off the busy main artery into the suburb. Most modern vehicles, and especially the big new yellow trolleybuses are very quiet, but New Zealand's tendency to use rough chip seal on its roads makes tyre noise quite intrusive. On the side roads I became aware of birdsong in this rather affluent part of town. The area is characterised by high fences, electric gates, big smartly painted houses with mullioned windows and lots of mature trees. Tui, and blackbird contributed to the musical background, and to my great delight the repeating cascades of the tiny shy and elusive grey warbler were coming from the trees overhead. See http://tinyurl.com/cstjha for a splendid picture and http://tinyurl.com/c4xvhj to listen to its melody. Down Birdwood St, through the Karori tunnel, and onto the top of Glenmore St, across the viaduct at Upland Road, and back through the leafy streets and Kelburn Village, and thence down the hill to the university. What virtue! What self satisfaction! The weight continues its slow decline, as long as I don't go to nice restaurants such as the Cobar too frequently. And now we come to the future. Messages of encouragement and support have continued to drift in, and now there are 76 of them, most offering to support one or more issues. So, if you are willing to support, here's how it works. For each issue, it costs NZ$40 for collection and formatting. If you want to sponsor one or more issues, please send money in one of the following ways: (a) I have a paypal account associated with my normal email account which is brian.harmer (at) vuw.ac.nz (make the usual adjustment there). or (b) Post me a cheque (or a check) in any of the major currencies (some cannot be cashed in NZ, including Ringgit, or Shekels) to 85 Normandale Rd, Lower Hutt 5010, New Zealand. Though somewhat clumsy, this method is free of any bank deductions (at least at my end). (c) If you prefer direct electronic transfer, I will forward WYSIWYG's informal trust account number on request, though I think that incurs the highest fees. As always, except where anonymity is requested, I will acknowledge each donation as it is used, so tell me in what form I should make that acknowledgement. I repeat once more, that none of the money comes to me personally. See you next week. ---- Any text above this point, and all subsequent material in parentheses, and concluded with the initials "BH" is the personal opinion of Brian Harmer as editor of this newsletter, or occasionally "GS" will indicate an opinion from our editorial assistant. In all cases they are honest expressions of personal opinion, and are not presented as fact. All news items (except where noted otherwise) are reproduced by kind permission of copyright owner, Newstalk ZB News. All copyright in the news items reproduced remains the property of The Radio Network Limited. Sponsorship this week is from Ted and Tina McCarthy from Austin Texas. They are also among my long standing contributors. Thanks to you both. ---- On with the News. Monday, 20 April 2009 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MT ALBERT BY-ELECTION DATE SET ------------------------------ The by-election in Mt Albert will be held on June 13. The seat is being vacated by former prime minister Helen Clark, who has been appointed head of the UN Development Agency. Prime Minister John Key says the last day for nominations, in what is considered a safe Labour seat, will be May 19. Three National candidates have been nominated with the party believing it is in with an outside chance, considering the party vote in Mt Albert separated Labour and National by just 2,500 votes at the election. List MP, and this country's first Korean MP Melissa Lee, is expected to get the nod. Nominations for Labour close on Wednesday. (Despite its status as a long-time safe Labour seat, there is a real risk that it might change hands. For various obscure reasons, the leading candidate for the Labour nomination has been persuaded not to stand, and as at the campaign opening by Phil Goff this weekend, it is still not known who the candidate will be. The co-leader of the Greens is one possible winner if Labour don't get their act together to put forward a credible candidate - BH) DROUGHT IN GISBORNE, NORTHERN HAWKE'S BAY ----------------------------------------- A drought has been declared in the Gisborne and northern Hawke's Bay areas. Despite rain which continues to fall today, farmers are now going through their third autumn drought. Agriculture Minister David Carter says the Government is promising to help drought-affected farmers. He says it will assist by offering tax help and funding. He says the effects of a drought are very real and east coast farmers are bearing the brunt of three years of extreme weather. (Heavy rain fell the day after this, but not yet enough to change the drought status - BH) TWO COMPANIES JOIN NINE-DAY FORTNIGHT ------------------------------------- Two more companies have joined the nine-day working fortnight scheme, taking the total number to three. Oamaru-based Summit Wool Spinners and a manufacturing company, which wants to remain anonymous, are the latest to join up. They follow Fisher and Paykel, which was the first company to join the Job Support Scheme last month. Social Development Minister Paula Bennett says a total of 117 jobs have been retained as a result of the three companies opting for the nine-day fortnight. She says Work and Income has had around 60 approaches from mainly manufacturing and construction firms, with some of them likely to join the scheme in the next few weeks. Summitt Wool Spinners director Ricky Hammond-Tooke says the nine-day fortnight was one of the ideas suggested by staff. He says it has meant the company has been able to save 57 jobs, despite 50 employees already taking voluntary redundancy. Mr Hammond-Tooke says the company had already reduced shifts from 12 hours to 10 hours last November to stave off the effect of the recession. COUNCIL TO FIGHT GROUP OVER STADIUM INJUNCTION ---------------------------------------------- The Dunedin City Council will fight a group seeking a High Court injunction against the city's planned stadium. Stop the Stadium filed proceedings against the council in respect to the stadium project last week, hoping to stop the council from signing a construction agreement today. Mayor Peter Chin says councillors have received legal advice about the injunction and have decided to defend it. "The council resolves to defend the proceedings with urgency, and instructs the chief executive to work with the council's legal advisors. And if appropriate, to instruct Queen's Counsel to represent the council." Mr Chin says they still hope to sign the construction contract today. TURIA SLAMS STATE OF HOUSES --------------------------- Associate Health Minister Tariana Turia is slamming the condition of some state houses, which she says are causing major health problems for their tenants. Mrs Turia visited a state house in the Porirua suburb of Cannons Creek today, along with Housing Minister Phil Heatley, to see first hand the squalor many people are living in. The house has fraying carpets, loose wires and is causing health problems for its seven occupants because of how cold and damp it gets. The Government is working through upgrades on 18,000 thousand state houses, a move which has already created 535 new jobs. Mrs Turia says no family living in a state house should have to live in the kind of conditions they do. She says many houses have leaks, tattered carpet and are cold and damp, which can cause major health problems. "Obviously a lot of respiratory conditions. But then, if you live in overcrowded conditions, damp conditions - highly likely to get Rheumatic Fever." Housing Minister Phil Heatley says it is a disgrace that people in New Zealand are having to live in state houses badly in need of repair. He believes it is unacceptable. "Shameful. It's a disgrace . . . course a whole bunch of them need to be re-carpeted, make sure that all leaks have gone, you know from bathrooms and dripping through the ceiling. There's an awful lot of work to be done in state houses." UNEMPLOYMENT RATE RISES SLIGHTLY -------------------------------- Statistics New Zealand has released updated employment data for the last quarter of last year. The Household Labour Force Survey shows the unemployment rate (seasonally adjusted ) increased 0.1 percent to 4.7 percent, and the total number of unemployed increased by 3,000 to 108,000. While the number of people in jobs rose by almost a percent the number of people not in the labour force is up 1.6 percent. Overall the labour force participation rate has dropped marginally to 69.2 percent. The actual hours worked per week increased by 1.1 percent. NZ JOINS ANTI-RACISM CONFERENCE BOYCOTT --------------------------------------- New Zealand is joining the boycott on the UN's anti-racism conference in Geneva. It follows similar moves by a number of other governments including the United States, Australia, Israel and the Netherlands. They pulled out over fears the conference will be used as a platform for criticism of Israel. The meeting is aimed at healing wounds from the last summit in 2001, where Arab states sought to define Zionism as racist. Foreign Minister Murray McCully says wording emerging from preparatory discussions suggest this conference could descend into the same kind of rancorous and unproductive debate. MP SAYS COMMUNITY PATROL NOT WORKABLE ------------------------------------- Manurewa MP George Hawkins believes a community patrol aimed at getting prostitutes off the streets will not work. As the Manukau City Council tries for the second time to draft legislation to make street prostitutes illegal, the Papatoetoe Community Group wants to get rid of some 20 sex workers operating around Hunter's Corner. It is sending letters to clients' homes warning them about the health dangers of sleeping with prostitutes. Mr Hawkins says while the group's efforts are well meaning, they are not in a position to solve the problem. He says it is clear the South Auckland community has had enough but he thinks the issue will require the combined efforts of the local council, police and possibly Parliament. Mr Hawkins says if the council can draw up a bill which will work for the area, he is more than pleased to take it to Parliament, but he says the last time he took a bill to Parliament on behalf of the Manukau City Council, the legislation was not tight enough or workable. Mr Hawkins says there should be no need to have sex workers on the street when there is provision for brothels to set up in certain areas. (I watched a self made and self promoted video of these people in action on TV last week. I found them as repellent as the problems they claimed to be fixing - BH) REPORT CRITICAL OF SOME EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTRES ----------------------------------------------- A report by the Education Review Office shows around half of early childhood centres are not meeting care standards for under two-year-olds. The report advises parents of early- childhood education options. Seventy-four centres were checked and questions were raised about the quality of care in relation to 33 centres. Areas of concern include the monitoring of sleeping children, fire and earthquake safety provisions, record keeping for excursions and hazardous management systems. The report also raises issues about a lack of teacher interaction at meal times, due to focussing on cleaning tasks. In centres where routines are not well managed, children often spend too long waiting for food, to be put to bed or have nappies changed. Overall, the ERO report finds that 23 percent of toddlers enrolled in early childhood centres are receiving good, to high quality education. (I have an uneasy sense that the ERO is finding things that are non-compliant, rather than things that are a genuine problem. If you seek a cause for any bloat, real or imagined, in the public service, I would attribute it to the new industry of template generation and compliance monitoring - BH) CLEAR EXIT PLAN WANTED FOR SAS ------------------------------ The Government will not rush a decision on whether to send SAS troops back to Afghanistan but says it would want a clear plan for their removal. The United States has requested the elite troops to boost the military presence in the fight against the Taliban and Al Qaeda. Defence Minister Wayne Mapp says the request has to be considered in the context of the large number of troop commitments the Defence Force already has, which include deployments in Timor-Leste and the Solomon Islands. He says the Government is concerned about making open-ended commitments to deployments to Afghanistan and any commitment would have to be made with a clear exit strategy identified. But Green MP Keith Locke says the SAS should not be sent as the war in Afghanistan is counter-productive. "Our provincial reconstruction team in Bamyan is doing a good job. It has not fired shots at anyone in the six years it's been there. It's well-supported by the locals. The Green party supports that, but we're against New Zealand sending back these special forces." Mr Locke says New Zealand should instead be giving economic aid to Afghanistan. The elite troops have already been to Afghanistan three times, the last in 2006. GRILLING FOR GOVT ON PLANS FOR SENIOR CITIZENS ---------------------------------------------- The cost of living will be top of the agenda when the country's Greypower members gather for their yearly gathering today. Around 120 Greypower delegates are meeting in Marton, in the Rangitikei District, for a two and a half day Annual General Meeting. Guest speakers will include Prime Minister John Key, Local Government Minister Rodney Hide and Minister for Senior Citizens John Carter. Greypower secretary Bill Atkinson says the rising cost of living is a big problem for a large number of Greypower members. He says a high percentage rely on superannuation alone and that is not easy to live on. He says senior citizens are also worried about a suggestion from the OECD that the government should look at raising the eligibility age for superannuation. Mr Atkinson says members have lots of questions to ask the new government about its plans for senior citizens. (Too late. I am in. - BH) RESTRICTIONS ON ICY CONTINENT WELCOMED -------------------------------------- A New Zealand tourism company which specialises in trips to Antarctica is pleased large passenger ships will be banned from landing on the icy continent. Twenty eight countries, including New Zealand, have agreed to limit shore visits to Antarctica to no more than 100 people at a time and bar ships with more than 500 people on board from landing sites. Heritage Expeditions managing director Rodney Russ says with a surge in the numbers of visitors to Antarctica, tourism operators were concerned about the impact on the continent of large ships. He says if one of the vessels ran into problems, there would be the risk of oil spilling. Mr Russ says tourism plays an important role as a watchdog for the icy continent and it is good the treaty partners are supporting responsible tourism. He says while the number of visitors to Antarctica had been rising, the global economic downturn is now paring back numbers. Mr Russ says restricted landings largely reflect what the Antarctica tourism industry is already doing. Tuesday, 21 April 2009 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TUNE CHANGED ON FORESHORE AND SEABED ------------------------------------ There has been a change of tune from Labour on the Foreshore and Seabed Act, but no admission of fault. The party has made a submission to a review of the controversial law recommending iwi be given back the right to apply for customary title via the Maori Land Court. MP and former deputy prime minister Michael Cullen will not say Labour got things wrong with its law, simply that compromises were needed at the time that have proved not to be acceptable to Maori. He says the review is a chance to achieve an enduring consensus on the foreshore and seabed, something which would be valuable to all involved. (Proved not to be acceptable to Maori? I had never thought you could say that Dr Cullen was a slow learner, but Tariana Turia might still me a minister of the crown in a Labour led government if this legislation had not passed. Instead, the Maori Party which arose out of this issue was formed and is supporting the National government. I guess you could say it proved not to be acceptable to Maori. - BH) FINAL EDEN PARK CONSENTS GRANTED -------------------------------- The final resource consents for the rebuilding of Eden Park for the 2011 Rugby World Cup have been granted. Eden Park Redevelopment board chairman John Waller says it has been a long but ultimately satisfying process. He says the board is delighted it has come to such a successful conclusion. NORTH AND SOUTH ISLAND THE RIGHT NAMES? --------------------------------------- The official names of the North and South Islands are being reviewed. The Geographic Board is looking to formalise the currently used and recorded English names. It is also considering official alternative Maori names. Iwi will be written to in the coming weeks and will be asked for their known traditional Maori names for both islands. The board expects to be able to publicly consult with all New Zealanders on the names 'North' and 'South' in 2010. HAMILTON SEEKS ANOTHER INTERNATIONAL AIRLINE -------------------------------------------- Air New Zealand's last international flight out of Waikato takes off Hamilton airport at 3.15 this afternoon. The flight is to Brisbane. Hamilton Airport chief executive Chris Doak is very disappointed Air New Zealand is ending its international services after almost 15 years. He believes, during that time, it has contributed $80 million to the region's economic growth. Mr Doak is hoping another low-cost airline might be attracted to Hamilton. DEFENCE FORCE REVIEW, BUT NO FUNDING BOOST ------------------------------------------ The Defence Minister has ordered a full-scale review of the Defence Force, but says there will be no significant extra funding as a result. The review will focus on how New Zealand can work closer with Australia and whether the Hercules and Iroquois helicopters will be retained or replaced. Over the past decade, the Government has spent around one percent of GDP on defence, which is half of what Australia allocates. Defence Minister Wayne Mapp says regardless of the outcome of the review, it will not lead to a major increase in funds. "I don't see a situation where there'd be a significant increase in defence expenditure. It does go up and down a little bit around that, but I wouldn't expect us to go for a substantial increase." Dr Mapp says the review of the Defence Force will be the first since 1997. (Some na?ve people nurtured the belief that the change of government last year would result in the re-acquisition of an air strike capability. - BH) FUNDING MODELS BLAMED FOR DHB'S WOES ------------------------------------ The West Coast District Health Board is blaming health funding models for its poor financial position. The most recent financial report shows the DHB is in the red to the tune of more than $6.2 million, an increase of almost $4 million on the 2006-07 financial year. A report by Parliament's Health Select Committee says the DHB blames the population-based funding system for contributing to its worsening financial state. It argues the method is inappropriate for its small population and relative isolation, which makes delivering health services in the region more expensive compared to other regions in the country. UNION SUPPORTS NINE DAY SCHEME ------------------------------ A union supports the Government's decision to extend the nine day working fortnight scheme even though only three companies have signed up. The scheme has now been extended to include companies with fewer than 100 employees. Alasdair Thompson from the Employers and Manufacturers Union says the extension is fair despite the increasing cost. "It's all a matter of cost. It is really unfair that some people get subsidised by the Government, that is employees of big firms, while employees of small firms don't." Mr Thompson says businesses of all sizes are struggling. He says non-unionised businesses are trying to come up with solutions, similar to the nine-day fortnight scheme. DOCTORS IN SHORT SUPPLY IN HUTT VALLEY -------------------------------------- Hutt Valley residents are having trouble getting access to a doctor. A financial review of the Hutt Valley District Health Board has outlined a chronic shortage of GPs in the area. The report says the region has the lowest ratio of GPs per head of population of any urban area in the country and some patients are finding it impossible to register with a doctor's practice. The DHB says there have been discussions on the problem of practices closing their books to new patients but an agreement has been reached that all practices will be open to new patients. The approach is being monitored. DON'T DITCH YOUR JOB -------------------- People with jobs are being told not to ditch them, as the unemployment rate rises even further. Figures from the Department of Statistics show the unemployment rate up 0.1 percent, to 4.7 percent. Three thousand people lost their job in the December quarter. Tradestaff managing director Kevin Eder has noticed a lot more people lining up outside his door. "The first thing that normally changes is that the quality of the people increases and then the numbers start to come through and we're starting to see that now." Mr Eder expects the unemployment numbers to continue to rise, before levelling off after Christmas and starting to fall later next year. MANUKAU RESIDENTS AGAINST SUPER CITY ------------------------------------ The mayor of Manukau is holding community meetings about the Government's plan for a super city. Len Brown says the proposal came like a thunder bolt out of the blue for many locals and he has been inundated by people wanting to know what is happening. Mr Brown says from the six meetings held so far, there has been an overwhelmingly lack of support for the super city idea, as residents fear they will lose their local identity. He says he has had to be honest and tell them the move is likely to go ahead. Mr Brown wants his community to be heavily involved in the select committee process in August. NO NEED FOR FURTHER INTEREST RATE CUTS -------------------------------------- An economist is bucking the trend by suggesting there is no need for further cuts to interest rates. The Reserve Bank has signalled another reduction in the official cash rate next Thursday. But Darren Gibbs of Deutsche Bank says further cuts would be counter-productive. He says the exchange rate has been stronger than the Reserve Bank expected and will only rise faster if the housing market is fired up through lower interest rates. "I don't think we need to rush into further easing at this stage. You have to be a little bit patient to give fiscal and monetary policy time to work." Mr Gibbs believes the Reserve Bank will cut the OCR by just quarter of a percent. It is currently three percent. Wednesday, 22 April 2009 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MAJOR SHAKE-UP MOOTED AT PORTS OF AUCKLAND ------------------------------------------ Ports of Auckland has announced a major proposal to reorganise its operations, which it is hoping will provide significant cost savings. The country's largest international container port wants to be as efficient as possible as a result of falling trade volumes. The company wants to move to a single workforce and increase the number of containers handled at its newly expanded Fergusson terminal. Fifty one workers at the Bledisloe terminal would be made redundant, while Fergusson would take on 29 new staff. Managing director Jens Madsen says the proposal removes unnecessary duplication of overheads and infrastructure. Staff and customers will be consulted over the coming weeks, before a final decision is made next month. IRD JOB LOSSES EARMARKED IN BUDGET - DUNNE ------------------------------------------ The Revenue Minister says the 250 job losses at Inland Revenue were earmarked in last year's budget. The department's staff have been told that 250 voluntary redundancies will be called for early next month. Revenue Minister Peter Dunne says a number of major projects Inland Revenue has been involved in are winding down, and the staff that were taken on are now surplus to requirements. He says normally they would have been dealt with through normal natural attrition, but unfortunately given the current climate people are not leaving voluntarily at the same rate as in previous years. Mr Dunne is not expecting the performance of Inland Revenue to suffer as a result of the job losses. BUDGET TO CURB GOVT SPENDING GROWTH ----------------------------------- The Finance Minister says this year's budget will look to curb the growth in Government spending. Bill English has made the announcement at a meeting of business leaders in Auckland today. He is stressing however the Government is committed to maintaining national superannuation, social welfare entitlements and interest-free student loans. "Because we do thing people need a sense of security, particularly during a recession. We will also be putting more money into health and education and into police and law and order." Mr English says these are core public services, which people often need more during a recession. RECOMMENDATIONS AFTER TRAIN CRASH --------------------------------- A number of safety recommendations have been made to the chief executives of ONTRACK and Toll Rail over crash almost four years ago. A Transport Accident Investigation Commission report has been released on a train and vehicle collision in the Wellington region in July 2005. Nine wagons detached from their locomotives and ran away to the south from Waingawa. They collided with a car at Hodders Road crossing, seriously injuring the driver. The wagons then continued before stopping between Dalefield and Matarawa. The commission says the wagons should have been secured using a combination of air brakes and sufficient hand brake applications, even it was for just a short time. It highlights that training on rules and procedures, reinforced with regular safety observations and on-line assessment, are all important. LIQUIDATION FOR MRS CHRISTMAS ----------------------------- Mrs Christmas has been placed into liquidation. The High Court in Auckland has appointed Damien Grant and Steven Khov of Waterstone Insolvency to liquidate the Christmas hamper company. They are confident the business will be sold within the week and believe all customer orders will be honoured. GOVT DETERMINED TO END SETTLEMENTS BY 2014 ------------------------------------------ The Government is planning to throw as many resources as possible at having treaty settlements completed by 2014. Labour does not believe the Government is being realistic with its 2014 deadline. Treaty Negotiations spokesman Michael Cullen says given the number of settlements to be handled, some of which are very complex, the deadline is not feasible. Dr Cullen says there are already a large number of agreements in principle that the Government has to legislate for and processing them could take years. Seven Ministers are attending a hui in Auckland today focusing to how the settlement process can be progressed. Prime Minister John Key says he is impatient to see all Maori fulfilling their true potential, and completing the process is an essential part of achieving that. He says Government agencies with roles in the settlement process have been told that it is a high priority, and more resources will be made available to ensure the 2014 deadline is met. BANKS SUPER CITY FRONT RUNNER FOR MAYOR --------------------------------------- Aucklanders are almost evenly divided over the super city idea, while John Banks appears to be the front runner in the race for the mayoralty. Two UMR Research Omnibus surveys have found 45 percent of respondents were in favour of a super city and 43 percent against. Spokesman Stephen Mills says in a crowded field of 20 media-identified mayoral possibilities, there is not much separating the top three. "The top three that came through were John Banks, Bob Harvey and Stephen Tindall. Nobody has what I'd call an absolutely secure base which would suggest that they've got the job anything like locked up." However Mr Mills says Mr Banks' ratings of how well he would do the job are only modest and would leave him open to challenge. JOBS MAY GO AS FAIRFAX RESTRUCTURES ----------------------------------- Media giant Fairfax is considering plans to axe 70 jobs and moving to a nine-day fortnight. Among newspapers Fairfax publishes are the Dominion Post, The Press, Waikato Times, Nelson Mail, Marlborough Express and Southland Times. The company is looking to move production to four regional hubs and the jobs under threat are based at publishing sites throughout the country. MORE RETIRED PEOPLE SUFFERING FINANCIALLY ----------------------------------------- There has been a sharp rise in the number of elderly people struggling financially and people are being urged to check on their elderly parents to make sure they are coping. The latest research from insurance and financial services company Sentinel, shows that more than 50 percent of senior citizens are financially worse off than a year ago, but spokeswoman Linda Taylor says most are reluctant to ask family for help and will try to find another means of working out their financial challenges. Ms Taylor says many senior citizens' investment revenue has declined with the fall in interest rates and many have either lost money invested in collapsed finance companies or had it frozen. She says there is a need to understand that while older people are not suffering from issues such as redundancies, they are still feeling the impact of what is going on globally. Thursday, 23 April 2009 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CENSOR ANGRY AT LACK OF G MOVIES -------------------------------- The Chief Censor is taking a swipe at the country's film distributors and exhibitors. Bill Hastings is furious there are no G-rated movies for the school holidays. All the films intended for kids this holidays are PG, which require parental guidance. Mr Hastings says school holidays are the perfect opportunity for relatively inexpensive family outings. He says it would have been a chance to reverse declining ticket sales by offering films the whole family could enjoy. EXTRA SCREENING NOT JUSTIFIED - AIRPORTS ---------------------------------------- The New Zealand Airports' Association has come out swinging against suggestions raised in a new aviation security review. The review follows the attempted hijacking of an Air New Zealand plane which was being flown into Christchurch last February. The report suggests screening procedures are extended into 14 regional airports, at a cost of $161 million over ten years. Association CEO Kevin Ward does not believe the screening would be warranted. "It's a question of balance. And the airports generally don't think it's quite right and doesn't justify the huge expense and inconvenience that would arise from the additional screening." Mr Ward says there is no question the extra five dollars that would be passed onto passengers would affect travel. (I tend to agree. None of the usual screening methods detect the presence of mentally disturbed people such as the one who precipitated the review. - BH) NINE-DAY FORTNIGHT EXTENDED --------------------------- The Government is extending the scope of its nine-day working fortnight scheme. Prime Minister John Key has followed through on signals he sent earlier this week, announcing smaller companies will now be eligible for the initiative. Originally it was restricted to companies with over 100 staff, but now the criteria has been changed to firms with 50 staff or more. Mr Key says the new regime will take effect from next week and will cover around 140,000 workers. He says the costs of the change are difficult to estimate, but if 6,000 workers were to take part, the costs would be around $4.5 million. AUCKLAND RAIL NETWORK GETTING $90M UPGRADE ------------------------------------------ Auckland's rail network is to get a $90 million upgrade. The money will go towards new signalling and train control systems. KiwiRail says the upgrade is required to support the proposed electrification project and an increase in the number of commuter services. Chief executive Jim Quinn says large parts of the Auckland network are old, fragile and prone to failure. NZRU ANNOUNCES SURPLUS ---------------------- The NZRU has announced a surplus of $366,000, a recovery from the $1.7 million loss recorded in 2007. The surplus comes after a payment of $3.9 million to the provinces. It takes into account foreign exchange gains made in US dollars, but not money held in British pounds, which will not be reflected in the books for another two years. Cash reserves of nearly $55 million are affording some protection against the global financial crisis. PROTESTORS TO SET UP CAMP ------------------------- Anti-mining campaigners are planning to set up camp today outside the Christchurch headquarters of Solid Energy. The Save Happy Valley Coalition has been camping at one of the state-owned coal company's proposed West Coast mines for several years. Solid Energy wants to start using the land and yesterday removed the camp at Happy Valley. In protest, members of the group say they will now set up their campsite on grass outside Solid Energy's headquarters in Christchurch at 2pm. They say the mining is impacting on 13 endangered species, including giant snails specific to the area. GOVT NEEDS TO MAKE HARD DECISIONS --------------------------------- A political scientist is not surprised about hints from the Government that it may renege on further tax cuts. At a pre- Budget address to business leaders in Auckland yesterday, the Finance Minister indicated some of the Government's election promises may need to be delayed or trimmed back. He said the budget was being formed against an negative global and domestic economic atmosphere and it would be necessary to reprioritise. He said the government was committed to retaining superannuation, working for families, social welfare, interest free loans and to improving public services but he said debt would not be allowed to get out of control. Alan Simpson, from Waikato University, says the Government needs to be seen to be making tough decisions. "It's got to be the kind of budget which holds out a future which says yes, we are in control, we know what we're doing, we know the positive steps we've got to take, we know the hard things we've got to take. If they don't take some necessary hard measures, I think we'll be judged badly on that." Dr Simpson says the Government is expected to be cautious in the current economic climate. Finance Minister Bill English, will deliver the 2009 Budget on May 28. VARIETY OF SPECIES CAUGHT IN SET NETS ------------------------------------- Set net fishing is killing a lot more than just the endangered Hector's dolphins. The Ministry of Fisheries has released the results of its observer programme, which involves independent observers spending time on set net and inshore trawl vessel to count accidental deaths of other creatures. Forest and Bird spokeswoman Kirstie Knowles says the results of the two month exercise show more protected species than previously thought are getting caught in set nets. The species include 24 albatrosses, 32 shags and five endangered yellow-eyed penguins, plus nine common dolphins, three fur seals and one great white shark. Some of the species have never been recorded killed in these fisheries before. Last year, the Government introduced set net restrictions to protect Hector's dolphins and critically endangered Maui's dolphins but Ms Knowles says the restrictions on set net fishing should be extended further off shore. Forest and Bird wants a nationwide ban on set nets because it is an indiscriminate fishing method. PORT REDUNDANCIES DUE TO FEWER CONTAINERS ----------------------------------------- A prime piece of Auckland real estate could soon be up for grabs as Ports of Auckland begins cost cutting. The company is shedding 30 jobs at its container terminals in Auckland as a result of a 7.4 percent decline in container volumes in the March quarter compared with a year ago. In the reshuffle, 51 staff at the Bledisloe terminal will be made redundant while 29 positions will be created at Fergusson terminal. There is also proposal to make eight other positions redundant. Queen's Wharf is primarily used for car imports, which have dropped by up to 50 percent over the past year. In 2007 pressure mounted to make the wharf available for other purposes and managing director Jens Madsen says the company will now look at those requests. He says any deal for the use of Queen's Wharf would have to include a cruise terminal. The port company, which employs around 500 people, has decided against adopting the Government's nine day working fortnight to save jobs. The Maritime Union does not accept the reasons given for the proposed job losses. Spokesman Denis Carlisle says it appears the Ports of Auckland is trying to force through restructuring that it could not achieve through earlier negotiation. He claims the redundancies are aimed at reducing terms and conditions and undermining permanent jobs, using the current recession as an excuse. "The Maritime Union does not accept this course of action is necessary nor is it inevitable and our members will be meeting to discuss our response to this proposal." LATEST BREAST CANCER RESEARCH BRINGS HOPE ----------------------------------------- New Zealand scientists say what could be a breakthrough in breast cancer research has the potential to lead to the development of new drugs to treat a larger percentage of women with the disease than currently targeted therapies such as herceptin. The team of researchers from Auckland University's Liggins Institute led by Prof Peter Lobie, has identified three molecules that are present in up to 90 percent of breast cancers. Prof Lobie says the molecules cause the cancer cells to stay alive, but when the signal they give out is stopped, the cancer cells die. Friday, 24 April 2009 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WHAKATANE STILL CLAIMS SUNSHINE TITLE ------------------------------------- Whakatane will continue to call itself the sunshine capital of New Zealand, even though its been stripped of the title. NIWA has found the District Council's automatic recorder was overestimating the hours of sun, after tests were done. Mayor Colin Holmes says NIWA could have been underestimating, and has admitted they would not expect any two machines to test the same. He says it is a pretty serious issue, given the idea of more sun in Whakatane could help with tourism. Mr Holmes says he does not want Whakatane having to share the sunniest title with Blenheim, who was second in the race. SHOULD AUCKLANDERS VOTE ON SUPERCITY? ------------------------------------- Labour says Aucklanders should be able to vote on whether or not there should be a supercity. The plan to merge the region's eight councils is set to be put to Parliament shortly. Labour leader Phil Goff says the Government should seek a mandate from Auckland voters to see what they want. His comments follow concern from some groups that the supercity proposal would harm local representation. Mr Goff says a referendum would force the Government to accept what the people want, rather than just force through the changes. He says the way it stands, the supercity plan looks like a jackup between National and Act, John Banks and powerful business elite. MAJOR CHANGES TO ALCOHOL LAWS PROPOSED -------------------------------------- The Law Commission is looking at sweeping changes to the sale and consumption of alcohol. President Sir Geoffrey Palmer has outlined some of the policy options it wants public feedback on to police in Nelson. The proposed changes include a price hike, to reflect the more than $5 billion a year harm associated with alcohol use is believed to cost. Sir Geoffrey has also raised increasing the drinking age to either 19 or 20 and reducing the breath alcohol level of drivers under-20 to zero, regardless of license status. He says there is also a case for limiting off-license hours and questions the need for bars to be open until 6am. BUMPER STUDENT NUMBERS FOR POLYTECH ----------------------------------- The Western Institute of Technology based in Taranaki is leading the pack for growth in student numbers this year. Every polytechnic has a contract with the Tertiary Education Commission to train a certain number of students within a certain budget and WITT is already at nearly 80 percent of its capacity. CEO Richard Handley says most universities and polytechnics are showing growth on last year for various reasons. "We are showing the highest growth, we're 35 percent ahead of last year. A number of polytechnics are in double figures but I think most are around the 3-5 percent increase, so this is something different and special this year. It's nice to be the head of the pack as well." Mr Handley says the only down side, is that WITT may have to start turning students away until 2010. DUNEDIN STADIUM GETS GO AHEAD ----------------------------- The controversial Dunedin Stadium has been given the go ahead. A High Court judge in Christchurch has been hearing a bid to stop the $200 million project, with opponents claiming a flawed consultation process. Justice Chisholm has just released his decision and has not granted the injunction. That means the Dunedin City Council is now free to sign the $164 million construction contract. ELEVENTH HOUR TALKS TO AVERT AIRLINE STRIKE ------------------------------------------- Air New Zealand and a group of its cabin crew are making a last ditch attempt to avert industrial action. The union representing staff employed by the airline's subsidiary Zeal have issued a four day strike notice for next month. The airline has struck back issuing a notice to lock out the employees. Andrew Little from the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union says the parties are returning to the negotiating table this afternoon. "As recently as last week our members indicated that they weren't prepared to accept what was on offer from the company and we've now got to go back and see whether the company is prepared to put up a much fairer offer." Mr Little says the flight attendants are being paid rates considerably below other Air New Zealand cabin crew. "We're seeking a significant increase, certainly significant compared with what they are getting at the moment. But it's actually a move to try to level the playing field." ENTREPRENEUR SUMMIT POSTPONED ----------------------------- The Entrepreneurial Summit which was to have been held in Auckland today has been postponed. The invitation-only gathering has been receiving submissions from top business people on how to create a competitive economy. Spokesman Tenby Powell says one of the main reasons for pushing back the summit was to ensure Government participation. He says the organisers wanted a Cabinet minister to attend but at the moment, the Government is busy preparing for next month's Budget. SUBSCRIBE OR UNSUBSCRIBE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian Harmer does NOT administer the mailing list. Please do not send subscription related messages to him. Instead, visit the website listed below, where you can make changes as required. If you want to send a personal message to Brian, change the country code to nz and send a message brian.harmer@vuw.ac.xx If you do choose to comment on something in these posts, please don't send the whole newsletter with your message. Just trim it back to the relevant bits. Thanks. Brian.