Subject: 4 October, 2009 ----- WYSIWYG NEWS ------------------------------ Copyright, Brian Harmer.
You can wait for ages at a bus stop, and the bus doesn't come. Then just as you are about to give up, a whole herd of them come together. Perhaps that how it seems with WYSIWYG. Anyway, I am trying to get myself back into routine so here we are again. Since I last wrote, the weather has been fairly average, but life has been no less hectic. My walking has been confined to the banks of the Hutt river, and very occasionally, the Petone foreshore. An aspect of both walks, is the variety of birdlife to be seen and heard as I walk. It is the season of the kowhai, whose bright yellow flowers represent the equivalent of Oktoberfest for the tui. Despite their sober clerical garb, black with a white ruff at the throat, these melodious natives seem to spend much of their time in celebration. I am not sure if there is any truth in the belief that they get intoxicated on the nectar from flowers. It certainly does not do any harm to their singing voice. Around the house, a variety of smaller birds including sparrows finches and waxeyes are the source of enormous pleasure as they search for insects and birdseed carefully put there by Mary among the flax and the privet hedge. And the ultimate songbird, the grey warbler sits in the trees and drops its cascades of notes carelessly as if they were of no value. On the foreshore, the pleasures are more visual than aural. Neither the gulls, black or grey, nor the oystercatchers are renowned for their musicality. And despite the eleganceof its flight, the tern also has no reputation as a singer. Still, you can't have everything, and whether the pleasures are visual or aural, the side benefits of a good walk are undeniable. Of course, with Wellington's unpredictable climate, an unexpected stinging blast of rain laden southerly can diminish the pleasure of being in the open air. Meanwhile, up on the hill, at Kelburn that is, there are just two teaching weeks left to my academic year, after which I hope to make some real progress in my research. I also hope to regain my weekends, without the self-inflicted burden of lecture preparation at home. I have been experimenting with Dragon Dictate, a speech recognition package which allows me to dictate my thoughts directly to my wordprocessor, and am impressed by the level of improvement achieved since last I tried it. It is still far from perfect, and I suspect I will have great difficulty with Maori words. It still doesn't render Edward Lear's "Owl and the Pussycat" with any better than about 85% accuracy. 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 courtesy of Gary Head in the UK. Thanks Gary for your long term support. ---- On with the News. Monday, 28 September 2009 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GREENS SLATE PRIVATE PRISONS ---------------------------- Further doubt is being cast on the claimed efficiency of privately run prisons. The Green Party's pointing to evidence presented during Selected Committee hearings on private prisons legislation about the historical cost of the Auckland Remand Prison when it was in private hands. The Greens say it shows the cost per prisoner was over $57 thousand a year compared to around $50 thousand in the public system. The party says it proves there can be no justification for claims private prisons are cheaper than public one. Meanwhile, special monitors are being proposed as part of the oversight for privately run prisons. Parliament's Law and Order Select Committee has reported back on the private prisons bill and is recommending additional checks and balances be put in place. It advises special monitors employed by the Department of Corrections be given free and unfettered access to the facilities to ensure proper standards are met. The Committee also recommends all private prison operators be required to comply with instructions from the Chief Executive of the Corrections Department. (I am not sure I could articulate it fully, but I find the idea of keeping other people locked up is a repellent way of making money, and I would rather not do business with such people. To my mind, the incarceration of prisoners is something in which the state should do for itself, as a last resort to protect others from the lawless. Like the burden of defence, corrections is a task for the state, in my opinion. The day we outsource our defence we are at the mercy of those to whom we give that task. I am not sure it would be different for our jailers. - BH) ELECTORAL FINANCE REVIEW ------------------------ Justice Minister Simon Power has unveiled the Government's options for reform of the electoral finance laws. Restrictions on donations to parties and candidates would remain as set out in the Electoral Finance Act. However politicians would be allowed to spend more on their campaigns and that limit would periodically be adjusted to account for inflation. Also in the mix is a new and clearer definition of election advertising, as well as requiring electoral authorities to provide guidance on electoral finance rules. Rules governing third parties may either remain as they are, or be changed slightly so that registration would still be required but freedom of expression would be catered for. NEW SCHOOLS FOR HAMILTON ------------------------ There is good news for Hamilton residents who have been lobbying for new schools. Over 3000 people have signed a petition asking Parliament to get education officials to speed up work to get land for new intermediate and secondary schools in the city's north eastern suburbs. Parliament's Education and Science Select Committee says $16.5 million has been budgeted for the project with land purchases imminent. It advises plans are to build a new school in the area in 2011-12 with the aim of having it opened in 2013. MOTOR-MAKER RECEIVES PRODUCT CERTIFICATION ------------------------------------------ Listed refrigeration motor-maker Wellington Drive Technologies has received what it says is the most widely recognised and distinguished certification for its products. Its energy saving electronically commutated motors has gained ISO 9001:2008 certification. Managing director Ray Cox says the certification gives the company a set of rules to grow and improve its performance and gives customers a tool to assess it. He says the rating comes as sales revenues have been growing at an average 10 percent per month since January. He says Mr Cox says rising demand for energy saving motors for commercial refrigeration and other equipment in North America, Europe and Asia means that having ISO 9001 helps the company to continue to meet and exceed customer demands. MINISTERIAL ALLOWANCES ALL JUST POLITICS ---------------------------------------- Acting Prime Minister Bill English is continuing to deny there is a problem over claiming for a housing allowance. Mr English is due to meet the Auditor-General to sort out issues over his Wellington living allowance claims. The Finance Minister was forced to disclose that he received more than $900 a week in allowances while his family lived in Wellington. The sum is twice the amount he would be able to claim for living in the same house if he were an Opposition MP. Mr English says it is all just politics. "What's important to me is that the public need to see that the Government's focused on getting the economy up and running. That's what I spend my time on. The ministerial allowance issue isn't going to get anyone a job back, it's not going to help exporters who are under pressure from the high dollar." Mr English says he is not collecting any allowance on the scale claimed by Progressive leader Jim Anderton, who instigated the Auditor-General's investigations. When questioned about whether he requested extra cleaning allowances, Mr English said he asked for no more than was allowable before the Prime Minister changed the rules. (I have never been a supporter of the National Party. However, I believe that Mr English is the victim here, of some of the worst media muckraking I can recall. The craft of journalism is sullied by people who reduce their reporting to putting the worst possible interpretation on everything for the titillation of those who are always looking for something to be offended by ... members of the church of the perpetually outraged ... I think that any dispassionate analysis will reveal that Mr English has been scrupulous in his adherence to the laws and regulations that apply to his situation. - BH) DHB REASSURES RESIDENTS OVER EMERGENCY CARE ------------------------------------------- West Auckland residents are being assured everything possible is being done to improve emergency care services at Waitakere Hospital. The emergency department's opening hours were reduced to 8am until 6.30pm in January because of staffing shortages. Patients needing after-hours emergency care have to go to private medical centre or one of Auckland's other hospitals. Waitemata District Health Board acting chief operating officer Andrew Potts says while 24 hour emergency care at Waitakere is still the overall goal, the first step is to get the centre opening until 10pm again. He says the DHB is aware of residents' desire to have improved emergency care services and are working hard with clinical staff to make that a reality. Mr Potts hopes the DHB will reach the 10pm goal by January. PLAN FOR EARLY CLOSING HOURS SCRAPPED ------------------------------------- Auckland City's mayor John Banks is scrapping plans to introduce early closing times for pubs. Proposed changes to liquor licences would have forced bars outside the main entertainment districts to close before midnight. But there was a hostile reaction to the idea and Mr Banks and councillor Aaron Bhatnagar, who was steering the changes through the council, have decided to no longer support them. Mr Banks voted for the draft law to undergo consultation but he says from the outset, he stated that if the proposed changes were not fair, he would not support them. "They weren't sound, they weren't sensible and they weren't fair. They've been canned". "It would destroy the hospitality industry, cause a lot of hardship, not fix any drink alcohol problems we might have so I decided to kill them before they got further." Mr Banks says Auckland needs a vibrant hospitality industry run by responsible, hard-working families. He says if new laws hurt them, then the council is not interested and he is not going to propose or promote such measures. Mr Banks says he has never seen such a violent reaction to a policy issue. He says the draft law was designed to clamp down on a handful of cowboys in the hospitality industry whose appalling behaviour has caused the police a lot of trouble and caused harm to the public. "We should go after them. We must not punish people who run good, responsible host establishments. That's what this draft law change was going to do and that's why it's at an end. "We're going into a World Cup 2011, we're going to be a super city, we need to be a first world city. We're not going to close up entertainment before dark." Public consultation on the draft changes was not due to close until October 7. The council will now wait to introduce any changes until the Law commission's review of the Sale of Liquor Act, due in March. (It is always interesting to me that city councillors want to protect their inner city businesses at the expense of those in the suburbs. Here in Wellington, the city council has for a long time blocked the development of the Johnsonville Mall to protect the livelihood of the businesses in the golden mile. When did the favouring of one set of businesses over another become part of their mandate? - BH) ELDERLY ABUSE VICTIMS URGED TO COME FOWARD ------------------------------------------ Wellington police say most abuse of the elderly goes unreported due to the stigma associated with such offending. Hemant Kumar was deported to Fiji over the weekend for defrauding a 94-year-old woman of $127,000 between 2004 and 2006. Detective Mike Stone says the case highlights the fact that there are people looking to take advantage of the elderly, but he says many victims are reluctant to take action. "The difficulty in crimes of this nature is that it is very difficult for the victims to come forward. There's a degree of shame and embarrassment that they've been taken advantage of." Margaret Guthrie, the president of Age Concern Wellington agrees that elder abuse goes unreported due to embarrassment, the vulnerability of the victim, or fear. "Sometimes they're afraid they may do themselves more harm than good. They're just not sure whether they're actually going to make the matter worse by bringing it to attention." Police are encouraging anyone who thinks they may have been a victim of similar abuse to come forward and Ms Guthrie says it is important to do so, otherwise the abuser is simply encouraged. KEY DID WELL SAYS COMMENTATOR ----------------------------- A political commentator believes Prime Minister John Key did not put a foot wrong during his whirlwind week in New York. Prof Nigel Roberts from Victoria University says from his light-hearted appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman to his meetings with US President Barrack Obama and his speech to the United Nations General Assembly, the Prime Minister had an extremely good run. He says Mr Key has underscored New Zealand's international reputation, with his quintessential kiwi characteristics. Prof Roberts says Mr Key's stance on New Zealand's nuclear free policy also stressed a continuity in foreign policy, which is very important. Mr Key is now taking a couple of days off with his family in Florida. He believes his trip was a success because he was able to talk to a variety of leaders that he otherwise would not have. He believes the profile of New Zealand was raised by his TV appearance. Mr Key says Tourism New Zealand had thought about advertising on the show, but a 30 second slot costs millions of dollars. He says he now realises more than ever that his decision to take the tourism portfolio was the right one. (I think the appearance on the Letterman show was an error of taste and judgement, but otherwise I continue to be impressed by Mr Key - BH) Tuesday, 29 September 2009 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ REDUNDANCIES AT COAL MINE ------------------------- Seventy workers at Buller's Stockton coal mine will be out of a job by the end of the week. The redundancies coincide with the start of a partnership between Solid Energy with Australian company Downer EDI Mining. Solid Energy spokesman Bryn Somerville says the mine will be restarting with the minimum number of staff it needs to go forward. He says if more people are needed further down the line, the redundant workers will get priority. Mr Somerville says Stockton Mine has the potential to provide jobs for the Buller area for another 20 years but to do that Solid Energy needed to make some serious changes. OPTIMISM DESPITE WEAK BUILDING ACTIVITY --------------------------------------- The latest figures confirm building activity remains at very weak levels, but analysts hope the industry is close to a turning point. While building consents were up slightly in August, they are still down ten percent on a year ago. However ASB Economist, Jane Turner, says the seasonally adjusted rise of 1.7 percent last month is higher than expected. She says a gap remains between consents issued and housing demand, with economic uncertainty continuing to weigh down construction. Apartments in particular are still suffering with only 30 new consents issued in August compared to an average of 133 per month over the past six months. MERIDIAN'S PROFITS DOWN ----------------------- SOE Meridian Energy has announced a net profit of $89.3 million for the year ended June, which is almost $40 million less than last year. Chief Executive Tim Lusk describes the outcome as satisfactory, given the extraordinary challenges of the year. He says it began with storage lakes at record lows and ended in almost the opposite situation Meridian will pay a special $150 million dividend to its government shareholder. Mr Lusk is promising the company will roll out new smart meter offers in the coming weeks and points out it has frozen residential prices to the end of this financial year. UNIVERSITIES WORRIED ABOUT STAFF SHORTAGES ------------------------------------------ Planning is underway to prevent a future staffing shortage in New Zealand's universities. There is concern traditional sources of academic staff will dry up at about the same time as a large proportion of the academic workforce retires. Kevin Seales, from Otago University is heading up the study, which is a joint effort between the country's eight universities. He says by 2020, universities will face significant difficulties maintaining an effective and efficient workforce. Mr Seales says the traditional off- shore sources of academic staff are becoming scarcer, while New Zealand staff are being attracted into other sectors or are lured overseas to teach in countries such as China, Russia and Brazil. (I wonder if, just possibly, salary levels are relevant. In a peer reviewed article called "Professors and hamburgers: an international comparison of real academic salaries" Ong & Mitchell (2000) wrote "real salary levels, combined with intrinsic considerations such as the quality-of-life, indicate that Canada and New Zealand are unattractive places for visiting/migrating academics". There has been no significant change in the intervening years as far as I can see. Money may be a blunt instrument, but it is much more effective than whatever is second best. - BH) TEMPERATURES RISE OVER HEALTH REFORMS ------------------------------------- Senior doctors are giving their diagnosis on the Government's proposed reforms of the Health system. In its submission on the recently released Horn Report, the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists says plan to establish a new National Health Board, an independent quality agency and a new shared services agency will generate more bureaucracy. The Association believes the report greatly underestimates the scale of restructuring involved in its recommendations and the benefits assumed are more aspirational than empirical. The organisation believes the proposals amount to a major restructuring of the health system, which is at odds with National's pre-election promises. GREENS WANT ELECTION SPENDING CAP --------------------------------- The Green Party has reservations on the subject of allowing politicians to spend more on their campaigns. The idea is one of the options being put forward for discussion as part of reforms of electoral finance laws. But Green Party co- leader Russel Norman says spending caps are a critical part of the system. "We wouldn't support any significant increase but if they want to do some kind of inflation adjustment then that isn't a big deal. But the real danger is that elections become a money contest rather than a contest of ideas and for that reason, we really support spending caps." The public has until the end of October to make submissions on the electoral finance law proposal document. BUILDERS MORE UPBEAT ABOUT FUTURE --------------------------------- The building industry is starting to benefit from an uplift in business confidence. The BNZ's latest Business Outlook Survey says construction firms are the most upbeat sector about the way the economic recovery is unfolding. The bank says that is not surprising, after the slump in home building during 2008, from which the sector has yet to recover. BNZ Capital's head of research, Stephen Toplis, says residential construction is set to pick up most as there are not enough houses being built at the moment to cater for what is expected to be a sharp increase in population. He says some building businesses will do better than others. "The businesses that have lots of debt are still facing substantial difficulties. The businesses that don't have an awful lot of debt see quite a few opportunities looming." However Mr Toplis says it will be a long, long time before we get back to the hey-day of the early 2000s. In its survey, the BNZ says there is no doubt confidence is soaring, amongst firms and households. "Economy-wide measures for both are now well and truly above their long-term averages. Despite that, the surge in optimism has yet to translate into any significant increases in activity. What's more, there are some big differences between the business sectoral readings, with some industries still looking decidedly downbeat." The BNZ believes today's building consents data for August will continue to show improvement. INVESTIGATION WANTED INTO HOUSING LONG-TERM MPS ----------------------------------------------- Acting Prime Minister Bill English says the debate over his housing allowance is proof Parliament needs to look at how to accommodate the families of long-term politicians. After months of argument over Mr English's claims to an allowance for the Wellington home he has lived in for years, he has decided to pay back the $32,000 he has received in the form of a housing allowance since the last election. Mr English says he has been elected seven times from the large electorate of Clutha Southland and his marriage would probably not have survived if he had not been able to have his family in Wellington. He has announced he will give up his taxpayer-funded housing allowances to try to end the growing controversy. He will also not claim the $30,000 annual lump sum available to him as an out-of-town minister and says he has not received any housing allowance since July 28, when he paid back the difference between his previous ministerial allowance and the allowance for ordinary MPs. Jim Anderton, leader of the Progressive Party, says it is clear Mr English has decided his primary place of residence is Wellington and not Dipton. Mr Anderton prompted the Auditor-General's investigation into Mr English's housing allowance claims and is welcoming the Finance Minister's re-think. "He has probably come to the conclusion his primary place of residence is in Wellington, which has been clear to anyone who understands the ruling from 2001 from the Auditor-General." Mr Anderton says irrespective of Mr English's announcement, clarification of the rules concerning housing allowances is still needed from the Auditor-General. BUS DRIVERS' PAY TALKS BREAK DOWN AGAIN --------------------------------------- Pay talks have again broken down between NZ Bus and its Auckland drivers. The two groups met yesterday to discuss the dispute but were not able to reach an agreement. Karl Andersen, from the Combined Bus Union says the dispute centres around low pay, long hours and the company's refusal to make a decent offer. He says the union has tried everything it can to resolve the issues but will be issuing a strike notice this week, which will involve some form of work to rule. Mr Andersen says the union has consistently moderated its claims but the last offer the company made was a step backward. Earlier this month, Auckland bus drivers voted to reject a pay offer on the grounds it would be continuation of poverty wages. NZ Bus said the drivers increased their claim from 70c to $1 an hour. Wednesday, 30 September 2009 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SMALL PROFIT FOR TVNZ --------------------- TVNZ has reported a small after tax profit of $2.1 million for the financial year ending June. That is a 89 percent drop on the previous 12 months. Chief executive Rick Ellis says the year has been one of the most challenging in history for advertising-reliant media and if TVNZ had not made cost cuts it would have posted a loss. Despite that, he says the company is cautiously optimistic about the coming year. TVNZ will pay the government a dividend of $1.47 million. DISEASE MAY BE RAVAGING SILVEREYES ---------------------------------- The preliminary results of this year's garden bird survey show the humble sparrow is the most regular garden visitor, however there is a large decrease in the numbers of the runner up bird. The survey is designed to monitor the distribution and population trends of common garden birds in New Zealand. It has found a decreasing number of silvereyes. There were 6.4 silvereyes per garden this year compared with 8.9 last year and 10.2 in 2007 Observers believe disease could be the cause of the reduction in numbers. Silvereyes with growths around the bill and eyes were reported last year. The growths could have been avian pox, a virus that can be transmitted by contact with infected birds, when they congregate around bird feeders, for example, or by ingestion of contaminated food or water. Survey organiser Dr Eric Spurr says the changes in bird numbers could be a result of annual variation rather than a long-term trend. He says several more years worth of data will be needed to confirm any long-term trends. The survey is a collaborative effort between Landcare Research, the Ornithological Society, Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society, Ministry for the Environment, Department of Conservation, Royal Society, and various city and regional councils. Top 10 bird species in 2009: House sparrow Silvereye Starling Blackbird Tui Fantail Myna Goldfinch Chaffinch Song thrush (The silvereye (or waxeye)Zosterops lateralis, is very plentiful indeed in the hedge outside our kitchen window, perhaps due to Mary's feeding stations - BH) AUSTRALIAN INTEREST IN MAORI TOBACCO STUDY ------------------------------------------ A planned inquiry into the effects of smoking on Maori has attracted international interest. Maori party MP Hone Harawira says Australian researchers have offered their support to the four month inquiry, which will be carried out next year. He says the investigation will gather information from cancer patients and families, health researchers, tobacco companies and government agencies. "We're using the Maori angle to go at the tobacco companies. We're not just doing it for Maori. We believe that getting rid of tobacco companies in this country will be of benefit to the whole of New Zealand." Mr Harawira hopes the study will lead to a smoke-free country. DRONE PLANE IN DEFENCE FORCE SIGHTS? ------------------------------------ The Defence Force is keeping its eye on drone spy planes, with a view to investing in one. The New Zealand Herald reports that the intention is to use the aircraft for long- range surveillance in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica and the Pacific Islands. Depending on the make and model, the drones can spend up to 32 hours in the air, sending back video footage. They can also carry missiles if required. One plane could set the taxpayer back up to $50 million. (The NZD$50 million figure is apparently predicated on the Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk, which is right up there on the wish list. I suppose it is cheaper than replacing a C3 Orion, and certainly cheaper to provide a crew for - BH) FUEL TAXES ACCELERATE --------------------- The Government's new fuel tax comes into force tomorrow. Three cents of every litre of petrol sold will be siphoned off to a Land Transport account. Diesel vehicles face a blanket hike of around $50 to their road user charges. AA spokesman Mike Noon says the rise has been well signalled and appears to be totally justified. "It will be spent on roads, on supporting public transport, the provision of policing and education. It is needed to fund the account. Nothing's being siphoned off by the Government. This is the cost of the roading network." The hike comes as fuel prices dropped eight cents a litre in the past week. Some fuel companies have said they will try to absorb the extra cost for as long as possible. The petrol tax will swell to a total of six cents a litre next year. (Ptui! - BH) NO NEED TO PANIC OVER TSUNAMI WARNING ------------------------------------- A tsunami warning has been issued for New Zealand but Civil Defence says there is no need to panic. The alert was raised after a major 7.9 magnitude quake struck in the ocean off Samoa. Other Pacific islands are included in the warning. Civil Defence will shortly issue what it calls an advisory describing a potential threat, but based on previous similar events no wave is likely to eventuate in New Zealand. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre says three metre high waves have been reported in Samoa. (What I panic about is the terminal monumental stupidity of those who rushed down to the beach to watch the waves come in, with babies in their arms according to some pictures. As many sources have said, by the time you can see the wave, it is too late to escape from it if it is a destructive one. Darwin's law in action. I despair - BH) GOVT DUE BUMPER DIVIDEND ------------------------ The Government will receive nearly $300 million in dividends from Meridian Energy, even although the state-owned power company recorded a 30 percent fall in net earnings in the year to June. Meridian's full-year net profit fell to $89 million but the underlying profit was up 87 percent to $195 million. Meridian Energy's CEO Tim Lusk says the result is satisfactory and comes amongst extraordinary challenges during the year. He says the year began with storage lake levels at record lows and ended in almost the opposition situation. The company also had to deal with a transformer failure at the smelter which reduced its load and constraints on the Cook Strait cables which limited its ability to move power between the North Island. (Interesting to watch this alongside the crocodile tears shed by politicians for the ever increasing power bills faced by consumers. - BH) Thursday, 1 October 2009 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ REST HOMES TO GET SPOT AUDITS ----------------------------- The Government will receive nearly $300 million in dividends from Meridian Energy, even although the state-owned power company recorded a 30 percent fall in net earnings in the year to June. Meridian's full-year net profit fell to $89 million but the underlying profit was up 87 percent to $195 million. Meridian Energy's CEO Tim Lusk says the result is satisfactory and comes amongst extraordinary challenges during the year. He says the year began with storage lake levels at record lows and ended in almost the opposition situation. The company also had to deal with a transformer failure at the smelter which reduced its load and constraints on the Cook Strait cables which limited its ability to move power between the North Island. (Spot audits are one thing. Service quality is entirely another. You can never inspect quality into a system. Quality must be designed in from the beginning. And it seems to me that if your system is designed around the availability of the cheapest and least skilled labour you can find, then quality aspirations are doomed from the outset. I don't mean to imply that low paid people can't or don't take pride in what they do, and many of the carers I have met are truly heroic people. Many, however, are not. - BH) REVIEW OF CIVIL DEFENCE RESPONSE -------------------------------- The Civil Defence Minister has asked for a review into how the Civil Defence deals with tsunami alerts. John Carter says the response to yesterday's tsunami warning was pretty good, but there are concerning reports about the ways in which some information was communicated to the public. Mr Carter says coordination between the national headquarters and regional Civil Defence officers went largely to plan, but Civil Defence was not as helpful as it could have been in communicating with the media in the early stages. He is also concerned about reports places like Wellington Airport did not get timely information. Mr Carter says it is not good enough and has to be sorted out. (One component that is in desperate need of sorting out is the use of the SMS system. Many people who are signed up to receive txt messages when alerts are issued received them hours after the event warned of. It seems that bulk txt messaging is far from instant, and must be considered an unreliable medium for emergency purposes. - BH) REMARKABLE SKI SEASON IN SOUTH ISLAND ------------------------------------- The sun is setting on what looks to be a record ski season in the South Island. Coronet Peak and The Remarkables near Queenstown and Mt Hutt in Canterbury will close for the season later this month. NZ Ski CEO James Coddington says it has been a fantastic season, which started with the best opening in more than a decade and continued with a phenomenal number of people visit the slopes. Mt Cook opened two weeks early and Coronet Peak and the Remarkables started the season with record snowfalls. Mr Coddington says the bumper season shows that recession means nothing to skiers and snowboarders when conditions are prime. He says in addition, the world's top competitors are happy to journey to our mountains for their off-season training. "They know the facilities are world-class." Mr Coddington says actual visitor numbers are in the process of being tallied up Coronet Peak closes on Sunday and The Remarkables the following Sunday and Mt Hutt on Oct 18. CRIME RATE RISES ---------------- The crime rate continues to rise although police describe the increase as slight. The latest crime statistics for the 2008/09 year show 442,540 crimes were reported in the year ending June an increase of 3.7 percent. Violent crime rose seven percent, following an 11.1 percent rise the year before. Police say the figure has been driven almost entirely by increased recording and reporting of family violence which rose 13.5 percent. That compares with a much higher increase of 28.8 percent the previous year. Assistant Commissioner Grant Nicholls believes the result is due to the work that has gone into reducing the tolerance of family violence "and the devastation it causes to our families. "As tolerance in the community falls people will report family violence more readily. Also, the mandatory training which all front line staff received in 2007 in identifying families at risk has resulted in more recording of these events." Police solved just under half of all crimes reported. Police have revised previously published statistics for homicide offences for the past three years, to reflect more accurate information in police IT systems. The resolution rate for the violence category overall is 83.3 percent. Recorded sexual offences increased by 6.3 percent and comprise less than one percent of recorded crime. Drugs and anti-social offences increased 12.2 percent. Nine of the 12 police districts experienced increases in the total number of recorded crimes. During the year, New Zealand's population increased by around one percent. BOSSES IN PARLIAMENT SHUN PAY RISE ---------------------------------- Parliamentary managers have asked not to be given any pay rises this year. The disclosure comes at the same time Parliamentary Services is involved in a dispute with its staff over pay and redundancy. Tonight, 122 members of the PSA, including many of Parliament's security staff, are holding a stopwork meeting. Parliamentary Services General Manager Geoff Thorn says arrangements are being made to ensure Parliament remains secure. He says he asked the Remuneration Authority not to give him a pay rise this year and his salary has not been increased. Other senior managers have also expressed a desire not to receive an increase. Mr Thorn says managers throughout the organisation are showing they are being consistent. DALTON PLAYS DOWN TALK OF DIVISION ---------------------------------- Blues CEO Andy Dalton has dismissed reports the Super 14 franchise is in disarray. Auckland, Northland and North Harbour reportedly cannot agree on match arrangements for next year, player payments and dividends. Northland and North Harbour are upset the Blues are not playing a Super 14 match in their area. However, Dalton says they offered Harbour a plumb super rugby fixture between the Blues and Hurricanes and they turned it down. Dalton says Okara Park in Whangarei is being redeveloped and will not be up to Super 14 standards for next year. NZ TO LOBBY FOR IOC REPRESENTATION ---------------------------------- The New Zealand Olympic Committee will continue lobbying over the next week to try to secure representation on the IOC's decision-making group. There are no New Zealanders among the current International Olympic Committee members, meaning New Zealand will not get a vote on who hosts the 2016 Summer Olympics. NZOC secretary general Barry Maister and president Mike Stanley are on their way to Copenhagen for the 13th Olympic Congress. New Zealand has not had representation since Tay Wilson stepped aside four years ago and Maister says there are a few New Zealanders on the list for consideration by IOC president Jacques Rogge. However, he says Rogge will most probably say that Oceania does not deserve another member as there are already four in the region. Maister would like to see the Olympics awarded to Rio de Janeiro but believes Chicago will win hosting rights for the 2016 Games because the IOC feels the need to go back to the USA, where the bulk of their funding comes from. Madrid and Tokyo are the other candidate cities. (Sir Tay Wilson, if you please. Mary and I had the honour of being invited to the celebratory lunch after the conferment of his knighthood in August. - BH) Friday, 2 October 2009 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BILL COULD WIPE OUT STUDENT UNIONS ---------------------------------- Student unions claim they may collapse if a private members' bill goes ahead. The ACT bill would remove compulsory student union membership, long-used to fund extra-curricular campus activities. Union of Students' Associations co- president Jordan King says a similar bill was passed in Australia by John Howard. He says it had detrimental effects on student unions and the non-academic services they provided such as clubs, newspapers and sports groups. Mr King says Roger Douglas' bill would have similar effects in New Zealand. (I believe in freedom of association and am opposed to compulsory membership of anything - BH) CLAIMS BY TELECOM DON'T RING TRUE --------------------------------- Telecom believes the tough times are almost behind the company, but analysts are not so sure. CEO Paul Reynolds told shareholders at the company's annual general meeting that the challenges Telecom has faced over the last few months have been immensely complex. In addition to splitting into three separate businesses, it has had regulatory changes to grapple with and has launched the new XT mobile service. Our business correspondent Roger Kerr suspects the next few years are going to be just as tough for the telco giant. He says the company should be concerned about its massive debt as it is paying around $250 million a year in interest. COUNCIL SHUNS 1080 POISON ------------------------- There will be no Christmas parade in Lower Hutt this year as the Hutt City Council pulls the pin on the event. Council spokesman Marty Grenfell says the event has become more and more commercial over the years and is no longer worthy of council funding. The $30,000 that would have been pumped into the parade will now go towards the Christmas in the Park concert on December 5. Mr Grenfell says around 15,000 people are expected to attend the park event, compared to the 5,000 who usually show up for the Christmas parade. "Part of this move is to provide an event that is likely to attract more people and appeal to a wider sector of the community." Mr Grenfell is reassuring disappointed children that Santa will still make an appearance at the new event. BLUE CHIP BOSS BANKRUPT ----------------------- Former Blue Chip boss, Mark Bryers, is now a bankrupt. The bankruptcy procedures took place in the High Court at Auckland yesterday. Bryers made a last minute bid to have the proceedings adjourned by offering a proposal for repaying his debts. But the judge said Bryers had never before taken any steps to oppose the application for bankruptcy and the bid was rejected. It is estimated the founder of the failed investment scheme owes creditors $173 million. FURNITURE COMPANY FALLS VICTIM TO RECESSION ------------------------------------------- A prominent Hutt Valley furniture company has fallen victim to the recession. Hazelwoods in Upper Hutt has gone into liquidation. The furniture and bed store has been operating for more than 100 years in Upper Hutt and Tawa. Employee Laurie Marks says the closure is very sad for staff but is simply a sign of the times. "With the economic crisis of the last two years I don't place blame on any particular group, area or person. It's just one of those terrible economic things that has happened." Mr Marks says he has also been a loyal customer of Hazelwoods for more than 20 years and its closure will leave a gap in the market. "It is very sad. I think there are people who have been customers with Hazelwoods for as long as I have, who are going to feel very depleted." REST HOME AUDITS A SHAM ----------------------- Nurses say giving notice of spot checks at rest homes will give managers a chance to clean up their act before inspectors arrive. The Government is introducing a trial of spot audits of homes. But the New Zealand Nurses Organisation says they are not true spot audits because employers are given notice weeks beforehand. Industrial advisor, Rob Haultain says nurses are intensely frustrated, as their employers are able to turn on a good show for auditors by setting everyone to work doing additional tasks to put forward the facility's very best face. He says 20 providers have volunteered to be spot audited and all know roughly when the check is going to happen. Ms Haultain says the move is in response to the Belhaven Rest Home case in Auckland where a resident's mouth was taped shut. (The advance notice makes them even more of a mockery than I thought - the inspection should be without notice of any kind, at any hour of day or night, and regardless of any immediate crises inside the home. It is precisely to see how such things are handled that the inspections have any value whatever - BH) 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.har...@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. _______________________________________________ WYSIWYG News mailing list News@wysiwygnews.com If you wish to unsubscribe, please visit http://wysiwygnews.com/mailman/listinfo/news Mailing List services provided by OneSquared <http://www.onesquared.net/>
