Employment Grievance Lottery

Hattip: Scoop
There still seems to be a number of people in the community and political sphere that maintain that our employment dismissal laws are sufficient and clear.  However in the above article from scoop the following caught my eye:

“Hurt and humiliation awards ranged from one Member awarding an
average $8,933 with 62 per cent in favour of employees, while another Member awarded an average $2,150 with a 38 per cent in favour of employees.”

It may actually be used to argue both in the favour of employers having too much leniency or employees having too much protection - however I would just use this to show that the required procedures are too complicated and unclear. If even the judges trying the dismissal cases cannot seem to agree about the bounds of unfair dismissal to the tune of damages differing by a factor of 4, and a 24% difference in outcomes then both employee and employer cannot have any certainty in the process protecting their rights.  Both must feel some trepidation; the employer being worried if they can ever actually let someone go, and the employer whether they could be fired without justification.

Wayne Mapp's probationary employment bill will assist in this matter - but only by making the rules very clear for the first few months.  After that the employment relationship re-descends into the current mire, where neither side is 100% sure of where they stand.  I would see that we need to pass the probationary bill, and then move to make the whole process clearer and simpler for the entire employment period. 

What do you see as the current problems with the employment dismissal procedures?  And are they weighted too much in the employer or employees favour?
Tags: Wayne Mapp, employment, nz, new zealand, dismissal

IE Killer Feature for blogosphere addicts

I really wonder how many people that have the actual technical competence to install a program are still using Internet Explorer - but just in case there is I had to point out a little tool that I've started using that I now would hate to go without.

With an extension for Firefox (although you can use a bookmarklet in IE / Firefox / Opera / Other) it allows you to track your blog comments and, increasingly, the conversations around those. So from a centralised point you get to see both the conversations you have been commenting on - and the activity that has been occurring on those conversations. In context.
I have found this far better than RSS where you get overloaded, and feedburner / email updates etc where the conversations lose context very quickly.

At the very least even for blogs that don't send updates it manages the permalinks for you so you can return to those conversations that you were flaming recently and see if the troll has taken the bait yet ;-)
Tags: blogging, blog, coComment, firefox

[update] Of course the other point to bring up is for you blogger users out there (like me): Turn off the pop-up comments option!! While it doesn't prevent us using coComment it does make it more work (I.E. some rather than being automatic). And surely you wany to look after your visitors - especially those leaving comments?

A bad sporting weekend (not a repeat post)

As a companion post to; A good sporting weekend, A bad sporting weekend

Well the results of the teams I support all seemed to swing the wrong way this weekend:
Warriors play great football but just don't have the luck to topple the top of the table Bronco's.  Darn - playing top of the table is normally when they can win! Still watching the game from a corporate suite on halfway certainly made for a good spectacle!
All Whites lost 4-0 against Brazil - not a bad performance I suppose, but you really do wonder if we could have kept it to 2-0 if Neilsen hadn't broken his leg!!

And most importantly we lost our soccer 4-1 (yes again), a bad performance if I do say so myself.  And I can't take comfort in that I was on the bench for this one (because I wasn't) so cannot blame it completely on others ;-)
Although I might start blaming it on one of our center backs who cannot seem to stay in that position and plays a bit more center-mid.  And therefore not surprising that all 8 goals over the last 2 weeks have come straight through the middle...
On a further downside we lost our best striker to torn ligaments in the first 5 minutes, so he won't be back this season!

Tags: soccer rugby league sport soccer2, brazil, new zealand, All Whites

Tax Freedom day today - Every body elses anyway ;-)

Your Total Tax Bill
$32,368.85

Your Tax Freedom Day
Saturday, 20 May 2006

Days worked for the Government
139

Days worked for yourself
226

https://www.staplesrodway.com/index.cfm/Hidden_Tax/hidden_tax

A bad sporting weekend

As a companion post to; A good sporting weekend

Well the results of the teams I support all seemed to swing the wrong way this weekend:
Warriors play terrible football again and get destroyed by the Sharks (Started listening to the game on the radio... didn't even bother to download from Bigpond)
Hurricanes botch the final - at least we couldn't see the smug smiles on the Crusaders faces in the fog.  Damn - was kind of hoping the Canes were going to line up Daniel a bit better, they didn't even give him a touch up!

And most importantly we lost our soccer 4-1, a bad performance if I do say so myself.  Still I can at least take comfort in that I was on the bench for this one so can blame it completely on others ;-)
On a further downside we had to place a formal complaint about the opposition due to a number of incidents on and off the field - the most unsettling when one of their strikers punched our right back in the face, then wouldn't leave the field of play after being sent off...

(Thanks to weizguy for prompting me to actually remember to write this post :-> )
Tags: soccer rugby league super14 sport

An amusing Meme to try

From http://web.tickle.com/tests/uiq/
Whats your score? (no cheating - one attempt only...)

Very Deceptive Broadband Statistics

I have to thank DPF for posting about these on his blog (where I have also commented briefly on their issues).
The full report is available here.

For anyone interested in the state of broadband across the OECD countries it makes a good read - and has plently of pretty graphs for those who want a brief read. However be sure to check what the scale being used on each one is as the authors have done a good job of attempting to make New Zealand appear that it is performing badly on almost every graph despite them leading that statistic.

As a case in point: (New Zealand is highlighted by being the gray bar).

Thats right - this statistic is the cost of a new connection. So smaller is better... The authors are using the innate perception though that this is putting NZ at the bottom of this statistic.

The worst however is when they calculate their final conclusion. This is done by ranking on the following formula:
Business [Download + Upload + Monthly Cost + Connection] + Data cap = Business Ranking
Residential [Download + Upload + Monthly Cost + Connection] + Data cap = Residential Ranking
Business Ranking + Residential Ranking = Final Ranking

This means the Data Cap ranking is given a 50% weight in the final score. The authors have decided that monthly cost, connection cost, upload speed and download speed are all only worth a 12.5% weighting versus the data cap.
And despite the datacap ranking for NZ being last, and this 50% weighting, we still get 18th in residential (and 24th in buisiness).

Furthermore even if the datacap was the most important thing to be ranked on they have only ranked on initial size - not charge per GB after breach, further distorting the results. (I know I prefer my orcon plan that only charged $10 per 10GB over the cap to Australia's "For example, a limit of 200MB per month was not unusual
and neither was an excess charge in the region of A$100 per additional gigabyte.")

This is appalling statistics at its worst - and I deplore the Dominion Post and DPF both who should be able to do a halfway critical analysis on this before reporting the result as "fact".
Tags: new zealand, nz, statistics, misleading statistics, Telecom, broadband

Air NZ troubles caused by an accounting loss

I'm guessing this is not really a revelation for most people who tracked the development closely - but I for one did not realise that the $600 million dollar loss that Air NZ suffered (causing its shareprice tailspin and subsequent Government bailout) was actually primarily caused by a change in accounting policies.

Air NZ changed their recognition of taxation liabilities from a partial basis to a complete basis (optionally) which increased their deferred tax liability by $786 million (compare that figure again to the total loss above...) and increased the debt to assets ratio from 34% to 66% - causing issues in a number of their debt covenants.  Now while one would have to question the internal decision to optionally cause themselves so much pain - it also casts into start relief the decision of the Government to spend taxpayers money "bailing" them out.  This is a company that effectively chose to make a loss, and subsequently gained millions of dollars in taxpayer funded capital injections as a result.  Hardly indicative of an efficient markets hypothesis...

However more interestingly is that NZ is currently changing / has changed its accounting standards.  One change (by moving from SSAP-12 to NZ IAS 12) will make the complete basis compulsory  (That's right Air NZ would now no longer have the choice and those losses would at least have been forced on them...).  The question in my mind is how many other companies are about to have a big shock as a similar treatment occurs to their balance sheets.  Or without the Government hyperbole will we even notice as it does?
Tags: nz, new zealand, airnz, shares, stock market

Beware the undeclared remainder

The current AADirections magazine has an interesting article on crime and crime reduction policies, however one quote from Rick McKee (strategic Advisor on Crime reduction with the Policing Development Group) caught my eye:

"About 10% of offenders are responsible for half of all crime, so if a road patrol turns over a known offender in a hot location, then 'alarm bells' go off. Even if we can't legally search the car, we have on record that this person was in this location at this time and, if it turns out later that crimes have been committed in the area we know who to start looking at"

While I applaud the efforts gone to for this type of approach, and also believe the logic behind it, what can be dangerous is the use of the above statistic to justify it. Mainly because the statistic probably is not for "all crime" as Rick probably believes, but more likely "all solved crimes". Which means that it can become both a self-fulfilling statistic, and an impediment to catching new offenders. While initially this will lead to more crimes being solved; it will lead to more crimes being solved where the offender is already known (and flagged as one of the "high risk" 10/20%) - meaning the 10% responsible for 50% of crime will trend upwards. If the statistic is watched and continued to be a justification in the use of these techniques then the mind set can increasingly move towards only concentrating on known offenders - which then means the statistic continues to trend upwards as less crimes with new offenders are caught... My main point here is actually nothing to do with crime - it is a warning against taking any statistic at face value.

The above stat has probably had no spin of any kind applied to it, and the person delivering it believes in what he is saying. However in interpreting a stat we must always ask what is the undeclared remainder of the original set - in this case the unsolved crimes - and how can that affect the interpretation and movement of the statistic. What makes this more difficult is that it needs to be realised that the undeclared remainder is frequently not known by the reporter of a statistic, and is as likely to be through a genuine simplification - rather than deliberate obfuscation.
Tags: statistics, nz, new zealand, police

Origin shows what the Air New Zealand bailout should have been

Hattip: NZ Herald
What are the key differences between the Air New Zealand bailout and Origin's "success story"?
Origin was actually in far greater financial strife than AirNZ ever was - in Origin's case bankruptcy had been filed for - and yet they have been able to use the private financial markets to fund their turn around.  There was no need for the Government to get involved and (yet again) spend the publics money in the bail out of a troubled business.

Origin Pacific has demonstrated that where there is a business which at its heart is competitive and able to make money, the markets will value this and keep it afloat.  If the business is not viable; then it is not worth private or public finance to keep it afloat.

Of course if the Government was not so antagonistic towards high wealth individuals, the creation of wealth or the individual investment of wealth then Air New Zealand may have been able to find the financing it sought locally far earlier and avoid the later strife that it encountered.
Tags: capitalism, nz, new zealand, finance, Origin Pacific, AirNZ

A good sporting weekend

Well the results of the teams I support all seemed to swing the right way this weekend:
Warriors finally play some real football and dismembered the Tigers (found somewhere to download the game after missing it on Prime... yay for Bigpond)
Hurricanes finally make me proud and make it into a final - now they've just got to wipe the smug smiles off the Crusaders faces.  Damn - was kind of hoping the Bulls were going to line up Daniel a bit better, they didn't even give him a touch up!

And most importantly we won our soccer 6-0, not a bad performance if I do say so myself ;-)
Tags: Rugby League, Rugby, Super14, soccer, soccer2

Case in point - Compulsory dog chipping

Hattip: NZ Herald : Dog mauls cat to death then savages neighbour
The most important paragraph in this story is:
"An Auckland City spokeswoman said the unregistered dog was from Otara and was being looked after by the owner's family in Pt England."
Now - can anyone tell me any way in which this would have unfolded differently - before or after the incident - if compulsory electronic tagging was already in place?  Most importantly would someone from United Future explain?
Tags: nz, new zealand, politics, dog, dog control, electronic tagging

The real reason for NZ's obesity problem...

http://dilbert.com/comics/unfit/archive/unfit-20060518.html

There now - did that really take $72 million?
Tags: nz, new zealand, politics, obesity

Pick pocketed

Last year while in Madrid I had my pocket picked while on the Metro back towards our stop.  It is one of those surreal experiences in which you don't really know it's happening at the time, but in hindsight you know exactly when and where it was done; and in my case by whom.  Afterwards (when you actually realise that yes your wallet is gone) you feel an incredible sense of betrayal, and also stupidity: why didn't you actually realise at the time, how did you let it happen, and why did you have 250 Euros in cash in there...

The budget delivered by Labour yesterday (in New Zealand) pretty much brought back exactly the same feelings of betrayal and stupidity; how could they be spending our money on such pointless drivel, why did you still have money invested here, how did you let it happen (was there more people you could have convinced to vote otherwise), and most of all why didn't everybody actually realise at election time that this was the meandering future to which they were delivering us?

"Twelve percent of New Zealanders – 362,000 people – now pay the top tax rate that Labour promised would only affect 5% of Kiwis. They pay 51% of New Zealand's income tax"
And that is why.
Tags: nz, new zealand, tax, budget, Liarbour

Legal system abdicates responsibility again

Hattip: NZ Herald
I am greatly disappointed by the decision of the High Court to throw out the case brought Susan Couch and Tai Hobson against the parole board.  Something that this country desperately needs is greater accountability in the parole process - which I believe would instantly bring us better justice and less crime.

Please note that I am an Ignorantselfishertarian when it comes to the facts of the actual case - and I am not saying that I am disappointed that the case failed, I am disappointed that it was thrown out; that the case never had its chance to be heard on its merits and challenge the fact that parole boards currently have no consequences against them for the decisions that they make.  If a parole board took joint responsibility (share any subsequent convictions?) for the actions of a criminal returned to society (for the duration of their parole period - it would be unfair for them to assume responsibility for the period after which they would have been returned anyway) you can be very sure that they would:
Take more care in their assessments of who could be returned to society
Dedicate more resources and care to the rehabilitation of criminals while in custody
Dedicate far more resources and care to the rehabilitation of criminals while on parole
Release less criminals early, and less early in their sentences.

I see all of the above consequences as being greatly beneficial to society - and surprisingly all it takes is a little personal responsibility...
Tags: nz, new zealand, justice, parole, RSA, Ignorantselfishertarian

Advice shouldn't be limited to African-Americans

Hattip: CrissCross
"Comedian Bill Cosby told a forum on family and education Tuesday night that African Americans should be proactive and fix their own communities. I have a problem with people sitting there and saying God and Jesus will find a way," Cosby said." 
I have a problem with people sitting there and saying that the Government will find a way - even more I have a problem with people saying the Government should find the way.

"Cosby wasn't as biting as he was in Washington in May 2004, when he made headlines telling the NAACP Legal Defense Fund that blacks spoke poor English and spent money frivolously. But he touched on similar themes during Tuesday's panel and maintained that African Americans shouldn't blame their problems on others."
All of this is very true - and unfortauntly extends beyond the African American community.  It seems to be the universal issue with virtually every "underprivileged" group in the community.  Locally Maori would do well to listen to Cosby's advice - and apply it to their own situation.  Beyond the racial divide, this is good advice to beneficiaries, alcoholics, criminals, etc - in this matter Cosby's comments aren't particularly insightful as to things that are particular to the African American community - but they are as to the methods by which poverty becomes a vicious cycle to those that do not take responsibility for their own situations.
Tags: nz, new zealand, beneficiaries, advice

Regulation begets regulation

Hattip: TaxBlog
The big problem with introducing legislation - especially that which is attempted to be targeted - is that invariably the loopholes and unintended consequences rely on further legislation to back it up.  And so we get caught in the spiraling increase of ever increasingly complex laws and regulations.  The only people who really win in this are lawyers and the IRD (due to the penalties they impose on those who inadvertently break one line of these tomes of rules).
Note that this is one of the key reasons that I support the principles of Libertarianism - because oddly enough the typical answer to the inequities created through deregulation is that further deregulation is required.  Normally the problem is that another law or rule has been left in place that is creating an inequitable situation and so the answer is to remove that as well.  And so we are caught in what I would see as a virtuous cycle - rather than the cycle of inertia promised by the alternative.
Tags: nz, new zealand, law

Sorry - use which law?

In another fantastic piece of reporting the NZ Herald tells us employers should be using the Holidays Act to crack down on fake sickies.
This is as Ruth Dyson tries to defuse the outrage from employers over their skyrocketing wage bills over public holidays due to Labour's changes to the Act.  Labour managed to be its typical self when it introduced provisions in the Holidays Act that allow employees to take sick leave, but still qualify for the same rate they would have received had they gone to work; relying on the fact that employees would be good people and not screw over their employers.  Which of course will never happen.

However what they manage to quote as being in the Act to help combat this is:
"An employer may require an employee to produce proof of sickness or injury for sick leave taken ... if the sickness or injury that gave rise to the leave is for a period of 3 or more consecutive calendar days, whether or not the days would otherwise be working days for the employee."
Which given that we do not have any public holidays that span 3 consecutive calendar days means that this advice is completely useless.  They then state "Employers can also seek proof of illness within the three-day period if they believe the illness is being faked" - but without any backup from the Act itself.

Why do I get the impression they were trying to prove an un-proveable assertion from the Minister of Labour?  It was certainly always my impression that the latter was only true where it was in the employees contract, so again sorry employers?
Tags: nz, new zealand, Liarbour, holidays act

Pies not the problem - parental responsibility is

The New Zealand Herald today complains about the "Fat still flowing over tuckshop counters" but basically misses the point that a healthy diet is not one that eschews pies / hot dogs / sausage rolls etc - but one that identifies these things as a "treat" that should be eaten on occasion and not as the staple lunch of a child.  And this is where the real battle lies and so called child advocates continue to provide IMHO completely flawed advice.

The parent that gives their child money every day to buy their own lunch is instantly giving the power of choice to that child and abdicating their responsibility of ensuring that they get a healthy meal.  If the school tuckshop stops selling pies and / or other foods that children do not naturally want to eat then they will just tend to hoard their money and spend it on pies after school or sweets etc.  It is unlikely that a child that is given money every day has the necessary teaching and self-discipline to do otherwise.

What should also be added to this debate is the correlation between child obesity by ethnicity by parental employment status.  In my school days it was certainly the case that the children who could be guaranteed to be buying tuckshop lunches each day were those with parents on the benefit.  The next most likely were the "middle class kids".  The rich kids were those most likely to have packed lunches of fruit / sandwiches / etc - while the "poor kids" were most likely to have fruit pottles / yoghurt / etc.  I wonder how much that has changed.

The blame should not be on the schools for not providing healthy food choices - it should be on the parents.  And because the food provided by tuck shops is invariably more expensive than healthy options provided from a supermarket, any arguments about them being necessary for lower income children is false.
Tags: nz, new zealand, child obesity, tuckshops

Chickens beaks and happiness worth $2 a week

OK - so I just killed 2 Ethopian children by making this judgment call, but I finally came to the conclusion that happier chickens with beaks and feathers was worth the extra $2 a week.  Note this means I have made the switch to barn laid eggs - but not yet free range.  The further $2/3 a week to give each chicken sunlight and pasture by killing another 2/3 ECU's wasn't a reprioritization that I was ready for yet.
I'm hoping that more people will slowly make this judgment move and put at least a bit of animal cruelty prevention above their need for cable / satellite tv for a couple of months (if you're like us and manage to eat a dozen eggs a week...), and slowly allow the costs of the production methods to close.
Tags: nz, new zealand, ECU, eggs, free range, barn laid

[Update] When I wrote this post this morning I had not read the NZ herald and so had not yet hit the editorial about outlawing battery cage hens.  In that opinion article by Catriona MacLennan she quotes two high profile polls that "overwhelmingly support" the banning of battery cages for hens.  This is the core of her argument in that the battery farming of hens should be outlawed.  I disagree entirely.  There is a far better poll that shows (unfortunately) that the majority of New Zealanders DO still support battery farming of eggs - and that is quote simply the number of eggs sold by farming method each week.  If we did not support the practice, we would not buy those eggs and the cages would fade from existence.  You see it is far easier to SAY that we are against battery farmed eggs, than to actually BE against the practice - and the consequences of its removal.  I support the removal of the practice - but it should be done as I indicate in my original post - through the removal of the economics that support it, not through the unilateral legislation against something that is obviously still supported by the majority of people.If free range and barn laid eggs were not easily accessible via the supermarkets etc (like say 10 years ago) the argument might be different.  But the choice is there and, sadly, most of us still say cage those hens.

An achievement of inspiration

Hattip: Stuff
Mark Inglis is one of those Kiwi's that continues to inspire and astound with his achievements.
However I hate the fact that so frequently people refer to the things he has done as being "great for an amputee" - most of his achievements are greater than what anyone else even aspire to; and to call it great for an amputee attempts to lesson the magnitude of what he has done.  Sure acknowledge the fact - as this does make what he has done more impressive - but don't belittle it by suggesting that it is only great because of the amputation in 1982.

Something else that must be highlighted is how Mark shines a light on the powers of determination and attitude. Too many people blame fate or circumstance for what they do or do not achieve - while Mark belies that regardless of what life and chance throws in your way, it is your own responsibility to bring focus and achievement into your own life.
Tags: nz, New Zealand, Mark Inglis, everest, achievement, goal, life, tall poppy

How about blaming yourself?

There still seems to be a vocal backlash against the petrol outlets for the current (relatively) high cost of petrol.  However people still need to look at their own consumption patterns before they can justifiably start complaining. 
Last time I saw the statistics compiled for car trips in New Zealand; 1/3 of trips were under 1km, 1/3 under 5km, with the remainder over 5km duration.  When you consider that the most inefficient period of fuel use for a car is the first 3 kilometers these statistics become even more damning. 

While I appreciate that the car trips under 1 km are never going to be completely eliminated (we have to take disabled people and things like moving a fridge into account) - it is inexcusable to use a car to get a loaf of bread from the dairy, and then complain about the cost of fuel.  The single largest driver of fuel costs is the demand - not price gouging or anything else - demand.  If the demand is not there then prices will fall.
And the best way to decrease demand is to walk those small trips, and use a bike for the slightly longer ones.  Oddly enough another way is to do as the (misguided) Greens are spending our money telling us to do - buy NZ made.  Or at least Australian ;-)
Tags: new zealand, nz, petrol

Possums

I have to admit to being somewhat amused at both the story and the talk back around the possum that was killed at Spotswood college in New Plymouth.  The fact that I went to school in New Plymouth and already had views on Spotswood from that time probably increased my personal hilarity at the story, however my views actually tend to revolve around the reporting of the story:

The possum was not "bashed to death", its skull was staved in with a hammer - these are very different deaths.
Spotswood is a high school - was this a 3rd form / 5th form / 7th form class that was involved (yes - I havent got the hang of this new "years" thing).  There is a huge difference between getting a 13 year old and a 17 year old to smack in the skull of an animal.
The defense of this being no different to what these kids see on the farm - New Plymouth isn't THAT much of a hick town; most of these students ARE NOT farmers.  And most farmers in the region send their kids to NPBHS / NPGHS anyway.
To those claiming trauma of the children - most of them were probably high anyway at the time - particularly if this was after Horticulture class.

All in all I say good on the teacher - what better way of teaching those invading Australians that they should be more careful where they tread...
Tags: nz, new zealand, new plymouth, possum

New Zealander's pay less tax

That's right - there is actually one tax where we are now paying less than predicted: petrol taxes.
Stuff reports: petrol tax revenue 2.9 per cent less than predicted in the nine months to the end of March, and road user charges, mainly from diesel vehicles, 4.3 per cent below forecast.

To me this is a great thing - it shows how the market is far more efficient than political interference, and more importantly it shows that higher taxes can lead to a drop in revenue.
Wow - that may come as a surprise to some of those left wingers who continue to think that dropping taxes necessitates a drop in revenue...
Tags: nz, new zealand, taxes

So shouldn't ALL the loops be unbundled?

An item on ZDNet caught my eye and made me think tangentially about the telecom Local Loop Unbundling (LLU) - basically it is talking about how the cable companies in the U.S. are currently facing similar unbundling threats from regulators over there and have a similar retort in terms of "we've made an investment, and I don't think the government should be coming and telling us how we can work that infrastructure, simple as that".

The query this suddenly raised in my mind was - why isn't the Government regulating for ALL the local loops to be unbundled?  If there is such an economic bar to investment in the local loop then surely this means that where additional loops have been created (EG by TelstraSaturn in Wellington) then all of these should be subject to the same unbundling legislation?  If fair and reasonable rental rates are to be enforced as suggested - and why Telecom's competitors are saying they shouldn't be complaining on a commercial basis - then surely those same competitors would not be disadvantaged by a compulsory rental arrangement on their own lines?

If not what REALLY is the difference? And please do not come whining about the lines never having been "sold" to Telecom - either they were and they should be theirs to charge / monopolize as they please, or they weren't and this could have been sorted out through a court case, not new legislation.
Tags: nz, new zealand, telecom, LLU, local loop unbundling, politics, legislation

Correlation and Causality

Scoop today fawns over the report Decades of Disparity III by Pete Hodgson which attempts to blame inequality in social circumstances for the inequalities in mortality rates and health outcomes in our society.  This is despite it explicitly realizing: "Socio-economic inequalities explain much of ethnic inequalities in health but do not account for all the disparity."
When you are only able to explain a portion of a statistical correlation but are left with a large remainder co-efficient this is frequently a good sign that you are looking at exactly that - a correlation NOT a cause.  Please note I am not disputing that poorer socioeconomic groups have poorer health - what I dispute is that the statistics PROVE that the lower socioeconomic conditions RESULT in poorer health outcomes.
Being poor does not CAUSE someone to smoke, participate in less sporting activities, or be obese - and yet these are all factors that are ALSO highly correlated with lower socioeconomic conditions - and ethnicity.  I have no issue with a health policy that targets these risk factors, and in attempting to target them in an effective way means different policies may be required for different ethnic and social groups - because they frequently think and act in different ways (hence the correlation in the first place...)  However for this to be effective people need to stop BLAMING the social strata as being the CAUSE of those conditions.  Otherwise these people become powerless to affect the necessary changes in their own lives.  It needs to be recognized that having less money does not CAUSE someone to smoke and/or drink, what needs to be found is why poorer people tend to CHOOSE to smoke / drink and give them the actual responsibility for that choice.
Tags: nz, new zealand, statistics, correlation, causality

It's a small world?

Hmmm - one of which I've only visited 11% of. Aiming at least to break 50% by the time I'm 33! How do you fare?

create your own visited countries map
Tags: meme, world, travel

Shocked and Amazed

I was witness to something in the weekend that shocked and amazed me - but on reflection I suppose I shouldn't be.
While at our local bakery to pick up lunch a Polynesian family of Mother and two sons (about 14 and 8) attempted to steal 2 large bottles of coke.  This was despite the operators of the bakery picking up on the plan part way through and while the mother was paying pointedly checking that they did not want the two bottles, were not paying for the bottles and were not going to take the bottles (which had been positioned outside the fridge to one side of a cabinet).  And yet the family still in a *brilliant* piece of confusion work managed to walk out with the bottles which fortunately the operators picked up on quick enough to send pursuers after the three - that even then were trying to hide the bottles.

Bottles retrieved the bakery operators didn't even bother trying to hold the 3 to prosecute - I only wish it was legal to take a photo and post an A3 flyer in the window proclaiming the 3 as thieves.
Tags: nz, new zealand, crime

Civil Defence alters procedure to account for media cockups

Hattip: Stuff
I find it amusing that the radio and TV have still not picked up on this but still seem to be mocking Civil Defence for having not "publicizing the Tsunami warning".

The key here is that:
The Ministry’s National Crisis Management Centre staff were, within ten minutes of the earthquake, in contact with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii to monitor the tsunami risk to New Zealand, and report on any action needed in Tonga or other Pacific islands. In the event there was no risk to New Zealand and no warning was issued in New Zealand.

So the problem was never Civil Defence - it was always the intial "misreporting by the BBC" - and the subsequent misreporting by other media agencies that caused any issue at all; which was the panic about a Tsunami, not the risk of a Tsunami.

In any event - if people want a more effective Civil Defence network they should probably demand that the Government funds it more than what they spend on TV ads for middle class welfare.
Tags: nz, new zealand, tsunami, civil defence

ARL vs Kiwi's League Test

Okay - I need to vent my spleen on this one - that was the worst display of Rugby League officiating I have seen. Ever.
Of course I should accede out that the Kiwi's were thoroughly outplayed - but only after the bad decisions had taken their toll.

Number 1 on my list - and really the main prompt for the post - Frank Pritchards "high" tackle on Karmichael Hunt:
Realistically what was FP supposed to do - step out of his way? FP goes for shoulder tackle and KH lowers his head and runs into his shoulder. If this is upheld as a genuinely high tackle then it says that an attacker can run his own head into a defender and claim a penalty as a result.
Turnaround from this madness: Nigel Vagana called back from scoring an under the posts try, Kangaroos penalty from which they score, and a free interchange for the kangas.

Number 2 - the from the ground pass leading to a try:
Okay - I accept that within the letter of the law that pass was legal - but then the officials shouldn't have penalised Cayless at the far end of the field for a "flop" - same situation player had not touched the ground with the ball carrying arm but would normally be considered "tackled". And that is what it is about - if they are going to allow the passing from the ground they need to accept that the defending team has the right to continue a tackle until the guy is either flat on the ground or tackle is called. Okay - this one is more a bitch than genuinely bad reffing.

Number 3 - bundle together (because I don't want to spend all day on this post) "that" missing offside call (how could you miss that?), how were no forward passes called (maybe the officials forgot about that rule?), and after admirably setting the standard of clearing the ruck (costing the Kiwi's 2 penalties - no issue with that) spectacularly failing to enforce that standard.

Now please note - I'm actually not blaming the ref on this one - most of the worst calls (and absent calls) were touch judge calls. And this is an area of League that does not get enought focus - sure we roast the ref's for their high profile mistakes but it is the cold reality that the touchies are the bane of the games progression. They are not fit enough, do not know the rules well enough and are generally incompetent.

I would really welcome a move to a 4 touch judge system both in the NRL and for international tests - one for each half of each sideline and think that the quality of the officiating would improve drastically as a result.

Hopefully next time these two sides meet it can be a 13 on 13 match.

IRD miscalculations - does that surprise anyone?

So can anyone spot the (obvious) mistake? Hint - you really don't need a calculator for this one...

Telecom Local Loop unbundling - who actually expects to benefit?

Much of the public relations mantra about why we need to do the LLU of Telecom revolves around the fact that we need this faster / cheaper broadband in businesses and schools to take advantage of the new business models available; and teaching opportunities available.
What I find interesting is how many people buy into that.
LLU only stands to improve dialup and DSL access / prices - what other broadband would run across Telecom owned copper?  Ignoring the former - I'm sure everyone agrees that this was never about lowering the price of dialup access further (although that may act as a further broadband disincentive for the home) - ask yourself how appropriate DSL is for businesses and schools?
DSL has been the best price performance choice for quite some time now - even in the business world - and yet relatively few businesses use it, why?  Because the underlying TECHNOLOGY is relatively inappropriate for business use - restrictions on IP address assignments / latency / jitter / high attenuation loss of signal / high packet loss / etc.
This is why initiatives like CityLink in Auckland and Wellington have thrived (and tell me how even an 8MB DSL line with its PPPOA overhead is going to compete with a direct Gigabit Ethernet connection?).  Why businesses still have ISDN lines, why frame-relay still exists.  More importantly why direct to business fiber connections are becoming increasingly common; because DSL just doesn't cut it in most cases.
Back to the schools - same thing applies.  In fact most schools I know have Telecom falling over itself to get direct fiber in there - why?  Because they can reap far better returns from that where there is a reasonable number of computers connected than over a shared DSL connection.  And they don't want schools dealing with the instability of a DSL solution.

So your home stands to benefit - right? WRONG (in most cases).  This will just lead to a further compartmentalization of pricing like we see now in phone lines where Wellington gets its phone rental cheaper because TelstraSaturn happens to compete in that one place.  Competition with LLU will still only occur on an Exchange by Exchange basis - and unless you happen to be linked to an exchange that can be cherry picked it is unlikely to affect you.  Which will probably mean HIGHER prices for those people linked to Exchanges that the other ISPs don't want to compete over.
Good luck seeing broadband in those rural exchanges now this century...
Tags: nz, new zealand, nationalisation, Telecom, DSL, regulation, monopoly

Tsunami warning

For about an hour this morning there was an active Tsunami warning for New Zealand - as reported on NewsTalk ZB at 5 o'clock this morning (when we happen to be getting up for work).  For us this really was no undue concern - evaluating our risks:
Tsunami from the north - would have to cross Auckland city and about 10km of ground to reach us
Tsunami from the west - would be really impressive having crossed 40km of ground and bypassed a couple of small volcanoes.
Tsunami from the east - more impressive, with the entire Coromandel peninsula having acted as a buffer...

However I am pretty sure some people wouldn't be able to think quite that rationally through their own risks and I wonder what undue panic was caused out there by this being broadcast repeatedly on a nationwide radio station.
Later on after the alert was cancelled Paul Holmes was patting themselves on the back and asking "where Civil Defence was after NewsTalk ZB had to wake everyone up to the news." I would suggest possibly only in the towns actually at risk (Gisbourne etc); and probably assessing the fact that the warning was still that there was a possibility of a Tsunami heading somewhere from off our East Coast - rather than alarming the whole nation about a vague and (for most people) non-existent threat.

I would have less derision if they had actually specified the direction / place of the Tsunami with each broadcast of the warning - but there was only one that specified that it "would hit Gisbourne first", the others were for a Tsunami warning for "New Zealand"
Tags: nz, new zealand, tsunami, newstalkzb

Ill-educated privacy fears around RFID

Hattip: Wired
Wired is reporting on how IBM has released a "new" RFID tag that allows a consumer to rip off part of the antennae to reduce the range of the device while retaining the tags usability. I love the quote from Robert Atkinson (president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation):
"The Clipped Tag shows that IBM is addressing privacy concerns, even those that are unreasonable" basically showing the derision of the industry towards privacy groups such as Caspian - who provide information like:
"While highly useful, some critics worry that RFID tags could expose individuals to privacy risks. For example, information sent wirelessly could be intercepted and deciphered by someone with the appropriate tools and skills, with little chance of detection. Since the unique RFID serial numbers on purchased goods -- called electronic product codes -- will be matched with credit card and customer loyalty card numbers in databases, the RFID tags could be used by marketers and spies to track individual consumers"

However this completely ignores the fact that the intercepting person needs access to the database with that relationship in to know it. Ignores the fact that RFID tags rely on their antennae not only for the transmission / receipt of signal, but also to induct the power to make the response.  IE they are very sensitive and something like washing your clothes is likely to destroy most of the tags.  And that even ignoring that - the tracking of an individual by their Credit Card / Loyalty Card does not need RFID - and is already done.

And the privacy advocates also conveniently ignore that most organisations are still finding it difficult to justify the cost of RFID tags at the pallet level - let alone the individual item.  Furthermore the types of large stores (Walmart / Toys R Us / etc) that could be realistically assumed to have datacentres able to process this type of information - are already struggling under the load of processing their sales orders and purchase orders.  Adding the data-mining complexity of  terrabytes of data that someone has come into the store wearing something they MAY have bought here before just is not that likely.

But personally - when it is possible - I welcome the possibility that I will only get approached by a store salesperson that is only going to bug me about things that I might be remotely interested in...
Tags: RFID, ignorance , privacy

Bad Weather Cycling

OK - I was dreading today as the first actually bad weather that I was going to bike to work in.  However I've found that at the end of it all you actually feel better for the exercise in the cr*p weather - than having wrapped yourself all snug in the car anyway.  Admittedly if it was further to my work I might feel differently...

I have decided that my cycling road code is a little rusty however - and I'm somewhat perplexed as to where a cyclist is supposed to go in certain intersections without drastically reducing their life expectancy.  Can anyone tell me the best way to negotiate an intersection with 3 lanes (when I need to turn right):
* left hand lane dedicated to left turning traffic
* center lane for straight ahead AND right turning traffic
* right hand lane dedicated to right turning traffic
So far contemplating the options has led to me dismounting and crossing with the pedestrian signals...
Tags: nz, New Zealand, rode code, cycling, bike

Opposition to Wayne Mapp's bill shows its necessity

Through my partner I frequent a place of employment with a high proportion of staff receiving youth rates, minimum wage and rates just above the minimum wage.  The interesting thing that I have found recently since the introduction of Wayne Mapp's bill  (Employment Relations (Probationary Employment) Amendment Bill) to parliament is who is in support or opposition to it.

Almost universally the "workers" are in support, while the "employees" are not.  My differentiation really just being on the basis of my observation of who actually works and who just turn up do the hours and go home.  In the latter category are those that I can tell my wife were absent from her work without having been there that day - just by what day of week it was.  It is those that when she is telling me of a staff stuff up (and consequent customer complaint), I can accurately guess who it was by the nature of the mistakes.  It is that recently departed staff member who was fired because of time clock fraud.  It is the staff member that was attempted to be fired for job abandonment - but was saved by a procedural mistake (but incidentally is back to their second written warning within 2 weeks of that).

From this place of "employment" I see widespread opposition to Wayne Mapp's proposed provisional period - and the opposition only makes me more determined that it is absolutely required.
Tags: nz, New Zealand, politics, Wayne Mapp, Employment Relations (Probationary Employment) Amendment Bill

Oil companies not necessarily the profiteers they are made out to be

Ces't Moi has a good run down on the state of the blame game from a US perspective: http://lesbiencestmoi.blogspot.com/2006/04/on-oil-we-should-shoot-messenger.html
but most importantly raises the following point:
"profits for the oil companies are sure up in the 2006 first quarter but before you draw your sword, would you be surprised to find out that Yahoo first quarter earnings are more than double the oil company's earnings?"
From a New Zealand perspective would you be surprised to know that BP only makes double the NZRU's earnings?
That really does not show Oligopolistic profiteering to me from the oil companies over a fungible commodity.
Tags: oil, petrol, gas, nz, New Zealand, oligopoly, BP 

[Update]  I even forgot to mention that Ces't Moi is a typically left wing environmentalist blog - so in defending the oil companies is showing more sense than normal ;-)

Surprise, Surprise - making the pipe into the home bigger doesn't lead to faster access

Hattip: Computerworld
"High contention rates (or the number of customers sharing the available bandwidth) have been cited as the major reason for current discontent, since they cause peak-time congestion, with severely degraded performance."

I seem to recall saying before that increasing the pipe into the home wouldn't do anything until the backbone speeds were increased.  And what incentive does Telecom have to increase the backbone speeds at the moment - none.  With the "kiwishare" and calls for nationalization of the local loop acting as a huge disincentive towards any kind of infra structural investment I really don't see this changing any time soon.

And to repeat - forcing Telecom to release the local loop and/or give "faster, cheaper broadband" to the home is not going to make anyone's Internet access move any faster.
Tags: nz, New Zealand, Telecom, internet, broadband

Worriers lose but show why I watch them again ;-)

OK - so we got caned by the doggies on the final score line - but despite the Warriors playing atrociously for most of the game they still looked like they could pull it off for most of the time.  Which makes for an exciting game.  Which  oddly enough in the New Zealand psyche is better than a won game.
Still while it was nice to have one doggie (finally) sent off for repeated infringements - it would be even nicer to see the bins keep coming when the infringing continues...

Meanwhile it appears my soccer team had a better result over the weekend beating top of the table Three Kings United 2 Inter with 4 goals to nil ;-)  In a way it's kind of depressing to get a great result like that when you're not there though...  Gets us to 3rd on the ladder (Auckland Mens Div 2, University-Mt Wellington 2 Warriors for anyone interested).
Tags: nz, New Zealand, soccer, warriors, NRL

Timeout

I'm taking leave for the first time since this time last year - and I I'm not planning to update this blog during that time...
So I'll see you all back on the 30th ;-)

It's an Oligopoly - but that's not the proof

I cannot believe the number of people and market commentators trying to use the argument that "oil companies have different cost structures and should be charging different prices; because they aren't there is price fixing involved."

Yes - there is probably price fixing in the petrol prices - but this is a completely nonsensical argument.
Petrol - as much as the oil companies try to differentiate - is still treated as a fungible product by the consumer. Which means we are not willing to pay more to get it from one supplier than another (BOCTAOE).  So a company that charges more than its competitors will lose market share very quickly. 

Funnily enough the Commerce Commission would be called if the other extreme happened.  If one of the oil companies tried to use its "different cost structure" to actually charge less than what its competitors could then it would be charged with anti-competitive practices and get fined.

A flat pricing structure for a fungible product is normally taken as a sign of a functioning market.  Why are people determined to try and use that as proof of Oligopolistic profits?
Tags: NZ, New Zealand, competition, oil, petrol, petrol prices

Sue Bradford proving that the Greens do not understand competition

I'm sure Nandor Tanczos must be pulling those dreadlocks out about now - after the hard work he put into trying to prove that they aren't just a socialist lefty party Sue Bradford goes out and shows that they do not understand enough about capitalism to be anything else.

hattip: TVNZ
She is trying to complain about the reduction in competition in the supermarket business because it has led to a decrease in prices. "sources indicate that prices have fallen on average between 14% and 18%".  Sorry - I fail to see how this is a bad thing?

"Progresive/Woolworths is using its near monopoly power to force New Zealand suppliers and producers into lower and lower prices to them so that the market is the same as with Australia," says Greens List MP Sue Bradford." Again - I don't see that our producers needing to be efficient enough to compete with our neighbors is either undesirable or unrealistic.  If we cannot compete with them importing to here and the extra costs involved - how are we ever going to compete to export to them?  Further - I cannot see how she is ever going to get the Commerce Commission to agree this is against the interest of the consumer?

Of course I can see in her little red Socialist world it would be best if there was no competition, all the prices could be controlled and you could only buy what was made here....
Tags: NZ, New Zealand, politics, greens, competition

Undercutting their own argument with misleading statistics

There is a hugely emotive piece in the Herald today which is trying to justify higher wages for cleaners etc on the basis of the difference between their wages and the effective hourly rate paid to professionals.  Without wanting to get into any discussion about the validity of the argument, all of my sympathy disappears (again) when I saw the table presented below:
Hourly rates
$489.47   Top 44 CEOs
$206.37   Auckland City CEO David Rankin (library owner)
$91.35     Finance directors
$48.08+   Law partners
$21.29     Average wage
$10.95     Cissy Alone (librarycleaner)
$10.25     Legal minimum wage

For a start - who knows a CEO that only works 40 hours a week?  Even the ones I know that only put in 50-60 hours a week in the office tend to take work home.  Hard to take the library home to clean it there.
What would be wrong with calculating the above statistics on the basis of the number of hours that actually tend to get put in by salary employees?  The argument would still exist - and at least then it might be valid.

I'm also disturbed as to where the $21.29 average wage figure comes from - I'm pretty sure last time I checked the average wage wasn't $42,000 per year.  In fact I'm pretty sure the average employee income isn't that high....
Tags: NZ, New Zealand, minimum wage, misleading statistics, statistics

Support the principles of Anti-Bullying

Anti Bullying Fund - Help put a stop to bullying within our schools
01 0833 0077918 00
CUSTOMER CODE ANTI-BULLY

I fully support this fund to pay the fines of Daryl Michael Falcon, have paid my $50 contribution, and hope many others will do the same.  Because this stands to send a very clear message back to our conceited judiciary and schooling system that we do not stand for bullying in our schools, and cannot stand for someone who does stand up to it to be dragged down in this manner.

Let me emphasize here that Mr Falcon:
contacted the school first and had no response,
contacted the parents of the bully first and had no response,
did NOT hit this child - he poked him with his finger (with no bruising) and yelled at him.

If any of the above 3 points were not true then I would not be supporting him - the reason for the support is he DID go through the appropriate channels (school), went a step further and went through unofficial channels (parents) and then only finally resorted to yelling at this kid - he did not assault him.

For those who feel like they need a little more caffeine in their lives....

For more info: http://www.coca-colablak.com/us/index.jsp

Coca-Cola Blak - coffee and coke (read caffeine) in a bottle...
Tags: Coke, cocacola, caffeine

Pressing for a prosecution

Trawling through more information on the Daryl Michael Falcon case it turns out that not only did he complain to the school - but also took the incredibly brave step of talking to the bully's parents.  Unfortunately while this shows his real concern in the matter (most people I know would NEVER approach another parent about their child's behavior) it is my supposition that it was this that led to his ultimate undoing.

What interest did the family of this piece of cr*p have to prove by obstructing a discharge without conviction?  You can bet this was all a petulant thumbing of the nose by the bully's parents to say who is the bad parent now.  Not only have they managed to escape their duties as parents to actually teach and discipline their own child; but now they have used the justice system to feel superior in the job that they are doing in breeding NZ's next generation of criminal / bully / thug.

I have no doubt who Generation X-Y's next golden wanker award should go to.

I would also be interested after all the publicity surrounding the victim in this - does anyone have the names and photos of the bully and parents?  I think these people should be shown and given the full castigation of public opinion.     
Tags: NZ, New Zealand, PC, bullying, justice, wanker

Bullying

I cannot believe our PC judiciary has found that Daryl Michael Falcon should have to pay $500 for "yelling at him, grabbing him by the scruff of the neck and poking him with a finger". hattip: NZ Herald

When I first heard about the fact the case had even been brought I thought he must have hit the kid, and thought fair enough.  However it now transpires that not only did he do nothing of the sort, but that "the parents had complained earlier to the school about the bullying, but no action had been taken." So this wasn't even a case of having ignored the proper process - but the proper process having ignored them.

The judge in her summation tried to use the justification that "On the other hand, it doesn't solve the problem of bullying" - but at least this was one parent that cared enough to confront the problem.  And I would be really interested in a follow up story that asks whether the bullying stopped?
Tags: NZ, New Zealand, PC, bullying, justice

The Separation of Charity and State

While I am recommending reading for the day the following essay at Lindsay Mitchell's blog is fairly fascinating asking the question as to whether the dismantling of the welfare state would actually lead to the decrease in welfare received.
Very well written, although they miss the point that a lot of donating to the church is self-interested fear rather than true charity: http://lindsaymitchell.blogspot.com/2006/04/separation-of-charity-and-state.html

Tags: NZ, New Zealand, welfare, welfare state, politics

Greenpeace changes to support Nuclear power

Or at least Patrick Moore, a founder of Greenpeace has: (hattip: Washington Post)

This is critical reading for all those people who still oppose nuclear power stations - and all those (like myself) who only tentatively support it.  He systematically goes through virtually every complaint about Nuclear power and shows why it is patently false; or at least no longer true.  The main points he makes for me are:

Myth: Nuclear waste will be dangerous for thousands of years. Within 40 years, used fuel has less than one-thousandth of the radioactivity it had when it was removed from the reactor. And it is incorrect to call it waste, because 95 percent of the potential energy is still contained in the used fuel after the first cycle. Now that the United States has removed the ban on recycling used fuel, it will be possible to use that energy and to greatly reduce the amount of waste that needs treatment and disposal. Last month, Japan joined France, Britain and Russia in the nuclear-fuel-recycling business. The United States will not be far behind.
Myth: Nuclear energy is expensive. In 2004, the average cost of producing nuclear energy in the United States was less than two cents per kilowatt-hour, comparable with coal and hydroelectric.
Myth: Nuclear plants are not safe.  The multi-agency U.N. Chernobyl Forum reported last year that 56 deaths could be directly attributed to the accident, most of those from radiation or burns suffered while fighting the fire. Tragic as those deaths were, they pale in comparison to the more than 5,000 coal-mining deaths that occur worldwide every year.

Over the past 20 years, one of the simplest tools -- the machete -- has been used to kill more than a million people in Africa, far more than were killed in the Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear bombings combined. What are car bombs made of? Diesel oil, fertilizer and cars. If we banned everything that can be used to kill people, we would never have harnessed fire.
Tags: greenpeace, nuclear power, NZ, New Zealand, nuclear

RMA madness again (so are we surprised?)

hattip: NZ Herald
In another piece of fine RMA madness the Environment Court has ruled against a Mussel Farm in the Kaipara Harbour partly because it would ruin the view for walkers.  However the true madness is that it is not even because it would spoil the view for current walkers, it was because there is "potential for the scale of walking to increase".

Now unless this was a particularly odd mussel farm - personally the existence of some posts in the harbour doesn't really seem like that much of a detraction to the view to me.  And something we desperately need to do in this country is exploit our advantage in the realms of mussels.  If you go to Belgium you can find out how huge the world demand for mussels truly is - the scale of farming and automation involved is incredible.  Once you order a pot of mussels and incredulously stare at the specimens that are called mussels (due to the different breed used) you will also get a feeling for why the fine restaurants of the world call for green lips.  Correlate the two and you can see this is one potential export earner for us in which we need to invest heavily.

And yet we cannot because yet another investment is scuttled by a dubious call on visual impact in an area that has not yet even managed to establish itself.  I could understand if this was a heavily used walking area that the conditions applied should be more stringent - but even then I would question the decision.  More to the point if it was actually the future development of the area as a tramping destination why not at least allow the development to go ahead with a condition on its removal if the area can / does develop sufficiently in that direction?  I bet that in 10 years time the walk will still be at a stage of "potential for the scale of walking to increase" while the commercial opportunity has been long since lost.
Tags: NZ, New Zealand, tramping, RMA, politics

As much as I hate socialism - at least ACC prevents this:

hattip: IdoNotes
Court: Coke should have warned of fizziness
Although the Court rejected the theory that the can was defective, it found that the company could be held liable for failing to warn consumers that "the beverage might exit the can at a high velocity upon opening." Expect to see a lot more language on your coke cans in the future.

"So have we finally hit the wall people?  A grown ass woman does not know that a can of soda (carbonated water, syrup, some coloring and sweeteners of some kind) could possibly come shooting out.  I am guessing she never drank soda in her life, never had seen one explode before and apparently beer doesn't fit in either.  or champagne or any other beverage that uses any form of carbonation.  She probably follows along the lines that flavored water is still water.  No it is now a soft drink once you change it from water (to quote George Carlin).

Whew, so be prepared for more printing on the cans.  And close your eyes when you open one apparently.  She is stating that it burned her eyes some and gave her SLK and dry eyes.  I am thinking very wet eyes personally that tingle :-)"
Tags: US, Coke, SLK, dry eye, law

What is the fuss really about?

While an $11m bill for landscaping new prisons on the face of it seems to be an extreme waste of tax payers funds - I would argue that the concept that the money is being spent on is required.  It is necessary to teach criminals how to enjoy a walk in the serene outdoors, to appreciate sculptures and to find ways to release tension and anger other than through violence and theft.  Simon Power is right that "these are meant to be places where inmates are reminded every day of why they are there", but only in so far as this is required for reflection to progress beyond what brought them there.

Truly the real problem is that we do not separate the reasons that a someone is sent to prison - and so in our own minds we cannot resolve the punishment and rehabilitation doctrines that are required.  Until this separation is performed we will continue to have outcries like this over technically required spending, and we will continue to have the injustice that the punishment portion of a criminals sentence is performed in better conditions than many New Zealand households enjoy.
Tags: NZ, New Zealand, politics, law and order

[Update]
Hattip: Scoop
Simon Power has the answer to how to reduce the landscaping bill right in front of him and yet doesn't propose it: get the prisoners to do the landscaping!  Sure it will take a whole lot longer with spades and shovels - but I'm pretty sure the physical exertion will do them good, and is a whole lot better for their rehabilitation than sitting in a cell all day.  And more to the point as the Ombudsmen has pointed out: "prisoners who have spent all day (possibly for years) lying in bed are not going to be released and say, "I'm now going to go to work".
And someone who doesn't work when reintegrated with the community is far more likely to recommit.

I wonder how much easier the decision was made by the minimum wage rise?

Recently I blogged about the "silver lining in the minimum wage cloud" - that it may finally encourage New Zealand to invest in automation and some real productivity.  It appears that we might have the first large companies heeding this movement: Stuff Union disappointed at Fonterra decision.

"A total of 400 jobs would go but 100 staff would be rehired.The work will be transferred to one remaining Eltham plant where automation was being introduced."

The only question in my mind remains whether this would be such an easy decision, or whether the Unions counter proposals would have had more merit if not for the meddling in the labour market? I presume a lot of people will see this as a negative - I'm sorry but I cannot see this as being other than positive for New Zealand - especially when you compound:
"While 400 jobs were affected at the existing factories, the new equipment would require new skills so the company expected to employ more than 100 people at the new facility."
For New Zealand's future I'll take 100 skilled jobs over 400 unskilled any day.  How else are we to move to a high wage economy?
Tags: NZ, New Zealand, politics, minimum wage

My god - the RMA worked!

Hattip: Stuff
"Government ministers said today they weighed up the economic benefits of mining $400 million worth of coal and the risk to a population of rare native snails before deciding the snails must move."

What makes this even more surprising is that Chris Carter actually allowed this to go ahead. Then again I suppose it was only the extinction of a species in the balance as opposed to some Maori going for afternoon Pipi's...

"Under the mitigation package, Solid Energy would pay for:
The relocation by hand of up to 250 snails from the proposed mining site;
The establishment of an expanded new habitat for the snails that was as close to the old habitat as could be reasonably achieved;
The protection of this area with intensive predator control and a predator-proof fence;
The protection of an expanded proportion of the existing snail habitat that would not be mined, and intensive predator control across this area;
The development of a captive management programme for the snails;
The conducting of a wider survey of the surrounding environment to locate other possible areas of habitat for Powelliphanta Augustus."

Got to say - this looks like a fairly comprehensive package that makes sure these snails should survive - I'm all for the decision.  However the problem is still that "Solid Energy said recently that it had already lost about $7m in cancelled orders due to mining hold-ups pending the snail decision."
We have got to find a way to make this process faster.  Its just like the Marina - if the refusal had taken 6 months from start to finish no one would be quite so p*ssed off about it; it was the wasted years in the process that makes it so galling.
Tags: NZ, New Zealand, politics, RMA

Looks like David Parker was right

Hattip: TVNZ (wrt: Housing New Zealand gagging order and cover up)
I mean if Auditors cannot find millions of dollars worth of fraud without someone drawing them circles and highlighting paragraphs - then what IS the point in hiring them?  A bit like having the crown law office really - the impression of propriety in process?
Tags: NZ, New Zealand, politics, Liarbour

Maori children miss out on new Government assistance

Hattip: NZ Herald
Ms Wynd said: "the future workforce will be predominantly brown, and we need to take steps to ensure adequate investment in them now."
Ms Wynd seems to miss the point that these statistics are showing that the benefit queue will continue to be predominately brown - unless something drastic is done to reverse that trend.  Getting these families into work and removing incentives for creating large dependent families are needed - not increasing the handouts.
Already in this country we have 5th generation dependents - where are these people going to learn a work ethic (even a bad one) when there is no one in their family, and increasingly their extended family in whom to look to?

Enforcing parental responsibility would be a start - 232,000 children in homes without incomes is far too many, regardless of race or religion.
Tags: New Zealand, NZ, politics, welfare

Maori party leader doesn't believe in capitalism

Hattip: Lindsay Mitchell
“Water is a basic human right under international human rights law (United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights)” said Mrs Turia.

At first Tariana's statement seems perfectly reasonable - until you realise that food and shelter are also defined as basic human rights.  The allocation of these on a free market basis works; so why can it not work for other "basic human rights"?  (Although personally I would tend to define it as a need rather than a right anyway...)  At worst the Government can always act as a market facilitator to ensure that there is a supply of fresh water at reasonable cost / supply etc - but at least it would make the provision explicit.  Besides - it's not like I get my water for free now anyway?

I have to admit to being an Ignorantselfishertarian on this matter, but at a skim the proposals from Rodney would seem to be reasonable?
Hattip: Scoop
Tags: NZ, New Zealand, politics, water, Maori party, ACT, right, Ignorantselfishertarian

Lets be honest shall we?

Hattip: Stuff
"It is a bleak place, it is a place where there is not much hope, a lot of unemployment," he said. The area was so depressed that people "wanted to get off their faces".

The primary reason people in places like Porirua, Otara, Otahuhu etc "get off their faces" is because they are bored - not because they are depressed.  The underlying cause - endemic unemployment - may be the same, but it changes the strategy for tackling quite considerably.  Attributing it to depression is a way of disowning the problem - it is so much harder to tackle a nebulous mental condition and certainly the person cannot help themselves out of it.  Whereas boredom allows the person to claim the issue and claim responsibility for helping themselves out of their own rut.

It is too common in too many societies to remove responsibility from people for their actions - and the consequence of this is the removal of "hope".
Tags: NZ, New Zealand, politics, welfare

Weekend Sport

OK - can't comment on the Warriors yet - I know we are down 20-0 at the half time break but won't know the fulltime until tonight... However it was interesting to see Russel Smith as the first NRL referee to nearly get Steven Price to lose his rag!

Been a long time since I've played a full 90 minutes of soccer - and I am feeling it today (can barely use my right leg...)
2-all draw with all four goals scored in the first half - then a war of attrition in the second.  Good fun though ;-)
Tags: soccer, league