A rather extraordinary valedictory speech by Charles Chauvel which makes clear how fragmented and divided Labour is.

Before we get to that, also amused by this statement:

Journalists working in much of our undercapitalised, foreign-owned media are under constant professional pressure. This comes from many quarters, including the constant need to sell newspapers and air time, and also the need to compete with instantly available online sources. In the case of the two better-known right wing blogs, those online sources are proxies for the present Government, and much copy is supplied to them directly out of Ministers’ offices at the taxpayer’s expense.

I tweeted in response that having Charles accuse people of planting information with the media is akin to Jim Jones warning people against drinking the kool-aid!

Some on the left always have these conspiracy theories about supplied copy. If only it was true. I recall once I did a comprehensive rebuttal of a Labour press release 60 minutes after it came out with links to all sorts of official sources. A blogger said I must have had the info supplied to me, and I facebooked my browser log for the last hour which showed my Google searches and references.

I am the only person who writes copy for Kiwiblog, unless I indicate it is a guest post.

I blogged at the end of last year links to several dozen blog posts where I criticized or disagreed with the Government.

Anyway enough with Charles’ conspiracy theories and accusations under parliamentary privilege. Let’s look at what he said about Labour:

Secondly, it is unproductive to keep trying to locate and exclude the supposed enemy within.

The enemy within! What a phrase. I suspect that Charles is someone that his colleagues have used that phrase about!

Instead, in order to avoid history repeating, it is time for an honest, open, and overdue assessment of why the 2011 campaign produced Labour’s worst ever electoral result. Those responsible for it should make dignified exits

That is a stunningly provocative statement for a valedictory. The four MPs he must be alluding to are then Leader Phil Goff, then Deputy Annette King, campaign manager Trevor Mallard and campaign strategist/spokesperson Grant Robertson.

You expect a statement like that at The Standard, not in an MPs valedictory speech. No love lost there!

and all the undoubted talent and diversity of the caucus should be included in the shadow Cabinet.

A plea to stop excluding Cunliffe and the Cunliffe faction.

To put it another way, in Gough Whitlam’s immortal words, the party must have both its wings to fly.

Remember that when next a Labour MP tries to tell you the caucus is not divided, and there are no factions!

I can’t recall a previous valedictory speech which so obviously ripped open the factional feuding, and called for four senior MPs to leave Caucus.

The Supreme Court has unanimously ruled all decisions on the share sales are reviewable for consistency with Treaty obligations.

Not yet clear though if the actions have been deemed legal. More to come.

UPDATE: But it appears they have said the sale will not materially affect Govt’s ability to settle Treaty claims. Hence it looks like the Government can proceed.

Note this is based on tweets from those in court room.

Yes, a number of sources are saying the Maori Council have effectively lost.

The Government will be very relieved.

Winter sunrise looking across the Tasman River towards Aoraki / Mt Cook. New Zealand landscape photography by Sarah Sisson.

Brrrrr….

The mornings are getting dark and chilly down this way – we are not too many weeks away from scenes like this appearing on my lawn (minus the 3,700m mountain peak and glacier fed river obviously).  Fortunately for me, this image was made by Sarah a couple of years ago, while I slept in my nice warm bed.

Here’s a question for the photographers amongst you.  At the time that this image was made we were shooting on both Canon and Nikon equipment – can you guess from the colours which brand this was made on?

Free Wallpaper Download

You may download the large version of today’s image from this link:  Password = freewallpaper.

This image is available  as a canvas print. on our  website.

See you next week – and thanks for all the great comments last week!

Cheers – Todd [www.sisson.co.nz] 

The Press has done an investigation:

Is there a housing crisis in Christchurch? The Press examined statistics, attended open homes and spoke to experts and members of the public. Anna Turner reports.

Difficult, pressured, heated – yes. But a crisis where ordinary people can’t buy or rent homes and flats and many homeless are roaming the streets or living in cars – No.

Those are the findings of a two-week investigation by The Press.

Well done to The Press for doing a comprehensive investigation and going beyond the headlines.

High and average income earners were simply in a more competitive market, with people having to pay more and make an offer faster to get a house.

People on low incomes and benefits, as usual, were suffering the most, The Press inquiry found.

Residential property prices were up across the city since the earthquakes – but not outrageously – and the number of homes being sold was at a level similar to before the earthquakes.

Figures from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) showed median house prices across Christchurch city have risen 8 per cent from January 2010 to January 2013. The median house price in January 2013 was $28,800 more than in January 2010.

Median house prices in Auckland rose 13 per cent in the past three years and the median price of an Auckland house sold in January 2013 was almost $60,000 more than it was in January 2010.

Auckland needs more land.

Timaru’s median house price rose 20.4 per cent from January 2010 to January 2013, while on the West Coast the median rose 10 per cent.

So an 8% increase in house prices over three years isn’t to bad.

The Press’ investigation found Christchurch’s rental market was closer to crisis than the property market.

Tenants Protection Agency manager Helen Gatonyi said many of the issues of substandard housing and poor access to housing were there before the earthquakes.

“There have always been these issues around housing and people who are living in houses of a poor condition. There have always been people living in garages and sleepouts. It’s not new,” she said.

“It’s just more visible now and people have to live in that kind of housing for longer than they did before the earthquakes because there are fewer options.”

Trade Me figures showed in Christchurch the average rent was up 26 per cent between the last quarters of 2012 and 2011.

And that is a lot. But the answer to that is to increase the number of houses available for renting. A rent freeze will do the opposite and make the problem worse in the long term.

Kennard Real Estate director Colin Lock said the rental figures in Christchurch were “misleading”.

“If you take a snapshot of all the figures across the whole rental market you’d think rents had gone through the roof.

“There’s two distinct markets – people renting fully-furnished properties at a higher price for a short time and people renting properties long-term for lower prices,” Lock said.

His own rentals had gone up an average of 11 per cent in the year to January 2013.

“My insurance has virtually doubled and my rates are up. The tenants aren’t being ripped off by the average landlord.”

That is a fair point on insurance and rates. The Council has just put rates up, and even in Wellington insurance premiums have doubled. Blaming the landlord for everything is unfair.

Mayor Bob Parker said he had never spoken to anybody, even those who were struggling, who hadn’t been able to find somewhere in the end.

The Press spoke to many people who said they had found a rental easily.

Kim Thompson said: “We moved after all the earthquakes, have an awesome house with fabulous landlords and great rent.”

Serra Kilduff said while it took her longer than usual to find a nice place, she and her partner managed it.

“It took a couple of months to find a place that wasn’t falling down, had insulation and heating, a garden, and wasn’t $600 a week. We have been very lucky in finally finding a great place with fantastic landlords.”

Christchurch’s social housing also failed to reflect a city-wide crisis. Housing New Zealand had recorded a marked decrease in the number of people on its waiting list for social housing units – dropping from 744 people in 2010 to 195 in 2013.

Again really good to see a story that both looks at the hard data, but also interviews a variety of people, not just those with the loudest voice.

That is not to say things are not very tough for many. Of course it is. But the term “crisis” has implications that do not match the reality.

What an admission from Brian Rudman in the NZ Herald:

With job lay-offs, unaffordable housing and a call for better public transport, Labour should be making inroads.

Despite the best efforts of Opposition politicians, single-issue campaigners and me and my colleagues in the media, most Kiwis seem resolutely unconvinced that this country is heading for hell in a handcart.

A stunning admission by Rudman. Not a huge surprise that he admits to trying to convince people the country is heading for “hell in a handcut” as Rudman is well known as a left wing columnist. But his inclusion of  his colleagues in the media speaks volumes.

They see their role to convince New Zealanders that their country is fucked, with the implication being unless of course they change the Government.

Will the NZ Herald let Rudman’s comments stand that the role of his media colleagues has been to use their best efforts convince people the country is damned?

The Government Administration Select Committee has reported back Louisa Wall’s Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Bill.

The changes to the bill are:

• Will not come into force immediately upon royal assent, but up to four months later
• A new s29(2) which says “Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), no celebrant who is a minister of religion recognised by a religious body enumerated in Schedule 1, and no celebrant who is a person nominated to solemnize marriages by an approved organisation, is obliged to solemnize a marriage if solemnizing that marriage would contravene the religious beliefs of the religious body or the religious beliefs or philosophical or humanitarian convictions of the approved organisation.”
• Repeals s56 which made it an offence to deny the validity of a marriage
• Has consequential amendments to the Adoption Act, Crimes Act and other Acts

These are very helpful amendments, and meet the concerns of many whom submitted they were concerned that a law change could force Ministers of Religion into being forced to conduct same-sex marriages. It was doubtful it would, but the proposed changes remove doubt.

Another change, which I submitted on, was that if someone said a same sex marriage was not a “true” marriage they could be charged under the obscure s56. There never has been a prosecution, but removal of the section again removes doubt.

One consequential change is that if a married person legally changes their gender identity, they will no longer be automatically divorced.

Also there was some doubt over whether married same sex couples would be eligible to adopt children as a couple, based on this law change. The consequential amendments make it clear they will. Note that a gay or lesbian can already adopt a child, and many have. They are just currently restricted to adopting by themselves, rather than with their partner.

I expect the second reading is likely to be on Wed 13 March, and committee stage on Wed 27 March and finally a third reading on Wed 17 April. But this all depends on what local bills or other members’s bills are around, so dates may change.

The MPs on the select committee had over 20,000 submission to wade through and heard hundreds of oral submissions. While people will disagree on the main purpose of the bill, I think most will appreciate the improvements made to the bill – which is the main job of a select committee. It is up to Parliament as a whole to really decide if a bill proceeds or not. The Select Committee’s job is to improve it, and I think they have done this.

Hamish Rutherford at Stuff reports:

Sir Peter Jackson was so frustrated by a “snake” union official he was unable to think about The Hobbit for three weeks.

Documents released under order by the Ombudsman reveal the award-winning director said Cabinet minister Gerry Brownlee was “played like a fool” by Simon Whipp, a former director of Australian union Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA). …

The Government had “engaged with a snake, who now feels quite fearless”, Sir Peter said.

“I really can’t [take] much more of this toxic nonsense. All I want to do is make films! I haven’t been able to think about the movie for 3 weeks.”

The full e-mails are here. I think they show the incredible strain that Jackson was under, caused by one Australian union official aided and abetted by barely a dozen locals. MEAA is not an NZ union, and it controls the NZ Actor’s Equity which represents less than 10% of NZ actors. It was a classic case of destructive behaviour and you see what was really driving it was MEAA trying to establish a massive income stream for itself.

The e-mail from New Line Cinema is also revealing. They state that “momentum was growing to find alternatives – including New South Wales” and detail how there would be less risk there. Anyone who claims the films were in no danger of moving is dreaming.

Oral Questions.

Questions to Ministers.

1. JONATHAN YOUNG to the Minister of Finance: What is the Government doing to encourage investment, business growth and jobs?
2. Dr RUSSEL NORMAN to the Minister for Economic Development: Does he stand by all of the Minister of Economic Development’s statements made regarding the Hobbit dispute?
3. DAVID SHEARER to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his statements?
4. SHANE ARDERN to the Minister of Health: What reports has he received on this quarter’s national health targets?
5. Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE to the Minister for State Owned Enterprises: Prior to his resignation as CEO of Solid Energy, on what date was Don Elder’s contract last renewed?
6. Dr JIAN YANG to the Minister for Economic Development:What support has the Government given to the film industry in New Zealand?
7. Hon ANNETTE KING to the Minister of Health: What expectations has he set for District Health Boards and subsidiary entities for 2013/14?
8. AARON GILMORE to the Minister for Building and Construction: Has the Government changed the system for dealing with earthquake-prone buildings?
9. DARIEN FENTON to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement that the living wage is “simplistic”?
10. NICKY WAGNER to the Minister of Broadcasting: What percentage of households in the South Island have gone digital ahead of the digital switchover on 28 April 2013?
11. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Minister for Primary Industries: Has he received a report from the Ministry for Primary Industries that identifies the pathway by which Psa bacteria entered New Zealand?
12. HOLLY WALKER to the Minister of Housing: Is the Government on track to build the 2,000 new state houses promised by Rt Hon John Key and Hon Bill English over the next two financial years, or was the Minister correct when he said “I am not yet at the point where I can tick off and say they are going to meet all of those targets”?

Today Labour are asking four questions, The Greens two and New Zealand First one. Labour are asking a standard does the Prime Minister stand by all his statements question, the former Solid Energy CEO Don Elder, District Health Boards and the Living Wage. The Greens are asking about the Hobbit dispute following the release of documents yesterday and state housing. New Zealand First is asking about the PSA Kiwifruit virus.

Patsy question of the day goes to Aaron Gilmore for Question 8:  Has the Government changed the system for dealing with earthquake-prone buildings?

General Debate 3.00 PM -4.00 PM.

12 Speeches of no more than 5 minutes in length.

Valedictory Speech of Charles Chauvel MP 5.45-6.00 PM

The Wikipedia entry on Charles Chauvel can be found here.

Government Bills 4.oo PM- 5.45 PM and 7.30 PM – 10.00 PM.

1.Reserve Bank of New Zealand (Covered Bonds) Amendment Bill – Second Reading

2.Environment Canterbury (Temporary Commissioners and Improved Water Management) Amendment Bill – Committee Stage

3.Child Support Amendment Bill – Committee Stage

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (Covered Bonds) Amendment Bill is being guided through the house by Bill English, the Minister of Finance.  This bill seeks to establish a legislative framework for covered bonds.

The Environment Canterbury (Temporary Commissioners and Improved Water Management) Amendment Bill is being guided through the house by Chris Tremain, the Minister of Local Government. This bill extends the Canterbury Regional Council’s governance arrangement and special water management decision-making powers in the Environment Canterbury (Temporary Commissioners and Improved Water Management) Act 2012

The  Child Support Amendment Bill is being guided through the house by Peter Dunne, the Minister of Revenue. The bill will make three changes to Child Support. These are a new child support calculation formula, secondary changes to update the child support scheme more generally and amendments to the payment, penalty, and debt rules for child support.

Hat Tip: Keeping Stock

As always captions should be funny, not nasty.

Colin Espiner writes:

I admit I’m no expert, but it looks to me as if taxpayers lose either way under our current SOE model. We either pay through the nose for our power with little or no government regulation on price or we watch poorly performing SOEs bailed out with our money.

I know the sale of SOEs has always been a political hot potato, but let’s look at it rationally rather than emotionally. Why does the public need to own a coal mine? Or a power company? Or an airline? 

Here’s my suggestion: Sell the lot, but only after decent regulation to protect the consumer has been put in place. Here in New Zealand we pay high prices for monopoly services that are effectively government-owned. 

Former energy minister Gerry Brownlee talked tough a few years back about taking on the power companies, but of course nothing came of it. According to a study by Victoria University researcher Geoff Bertram we have some of the highest power prices in the OCED. Is it any wonder, when the government is both poacher and gamekeeper?

There’s no reason I can see why taxpayers should be exposed to risks taken by wannabe venture capitalists or price-gouged by our own companies. Selling them off is the only way to create a level playing field and provide any real competition for the poor old consumer. 

I basically agree. The correct role of Government is regulation, not ownership. When they are both and owner and a regulator, you get a conflict of interest and neither are done as well as they can be.

If people think ownership doesn’t matter, look at Solid Energy. The “collapse” has happened because they had a very ambitious expansion programme led by the then CEO.

Now I’d argue that the basic strategy of expanding away from just coal mining was not a bad one for Solid Energy. With the difficulty of getting a coal mine consented, the new safety focus post Pike, and a target of more renewable energy – the company didn’t have much of a future just as a coal miner.

However where it appears the company went wrong was the scale of the expansion plans were too ambitious, they required too much debt and risk, and not enough focus remained on the core business of coal. Hence projections were done on coal prices that were too high. Now globally all companies have been caught out by the 40% slump in coal prices including giants like BHP.

However Solid Energy has been more exposed, because they had taken on higher risk with more ambitious expansion plans. And this is where ownership does matter.

If the Directors themselves have shares in the company, and they represent shareholders whose actual money is at risk, then they will be more cautious about expansion plans. That is not to say they would not agree to them, but they would probably have been saying let’s do it slower, let’s keep our core focus on our current income stream and not borrow too much on this vision of huge expansion into lignite and other areas.

When it is your money at risk, not someone else’s money, you act differently. The price of failure is catastrophic when it is your own money.

I have absolutely no doubt that if Solid Energy was not state owned, it would not be in as dire a situation as it is now.

That is not to be an absolutist and say that all private sector companies succeed and all state companies fail. That would be ridiculous and obviously not true. But overall there is a reason the private sector does better – it is because you make better decisions when it is your own money at risk.

Going back to Colin’s column, I agree we should sell pretty much all our commercial companies, and not just 49% of them. Taxpayers should not be having to bail out mining companies or risking the expansion plans of the power companies. The best thing the Government can do is be an impartial pro-consumer regulator that ensures we have excellent competition. That is not compatible with ownership

Stuff reports:

At least 19 people, most of them Asian and European tourists, died when a hot air balloon crashed near the ancient Egyptian town of Luxor after a mid-air gas explosion, officials said.

The balloon came down in farmland a few kilometres from the Valley of the Kings and pharaonic temples that draw tourists to Luxor.

Rescue workers gathered the dead from the field where the charred remains of the balloon, gas canisters and other pieces of wreckage landed.

I’ve been to Luxor and have done that exact dawn balloon trip. It is spectacular seeing the sun come up over the Valley of the Kings.

But chilling to have such a nasty fatal accident at the exact site where I had been three years ago.

All tourist activities have a degree of risk – ballooning in Egypt, safaris in Africa etc. But you do have a real sense of vulnerability when you are stuck in a fairly small basket scores of metres above the Earth, with large hot flames powering the balloon.

After the Carterton accident and now this one, I think it will be a fair while until I go ballooning again. Am thinking of skydiving at some stage though!

This looks like David Shearer on the toilet in his underpants but I’m pretty sure he is meant to be a Roman Consul sitting on the Consul’s chair. I presume he is meant to be Julius Caesar, which of course makes you wonder who will be Brutus?

Winston the pugilist. What was hilarious was when Winston headed over to the pub. Even the PM trotted over with just one lackey, but Winston was followed by a dozen pin-striped individuals into the pub looking like a mafia family.

Metiria Turei was delighted with her puppet. It looks like a cross between being a corporate warrior and a member of the Urerewa 17!

Bill’s one is very clever. His heart has been replaced by the ticket tape of an adding machine.

John Key or John Travolta. The PM quipped that if you have seen the video of him doing Gangnam Style you know he can’t dance. We think the puppet is an allusion to the fact the the PM is still “Staying Alive”. PM also quipped Bronagh will like the implicit comparison to Olivia Newton John.

Hone loved being in the waka and commented that Pita and Tariana used to be on it, and seem to have moved on. Subtle (only slightly) and funny.

Gerry gave the funniest speech. He was pleased with how small his body was and said he reckons it was because they used up all the spare latex on making the Prime Minister’s nose. The PM, who was still there, interjected with words about a looming reshuffle. All good natured and very funny.

Was a great night, with lots of people there. Really good to have the Backbencher open again. It has been my local since the day it opened in around 1990.

The Independent reports:

The controversial MP George Galloway has been accused of racism after walking out of a meeting at Oxford University when he discovered he was debating with an Israeli.

The Daily Mail reports:

When three-year-old Rohid Zamani and his family fled Afghanistan to escape the terrors of the Taliban regime, they could only hope to reach a better place.

But never in their wildest dreams could they have imagined such a spectacular outcome for their little boy.

While the family have built a new life in Britain, Rohid, now 16, has defied overwhelming odds to win a full scholarship to Eton.

His extraordinary story began in the city of Jalalabad, where the Zamanis lived in fear of the extremist Islamic rulers and civil unrest raging around them.

Among the horrors they witnessed was a man who was decapitated because he put gel in his hair to style it.

‘He was dragged out in the street and they chopped his head off,’ said Rohid.

Afghanistan is far from perfect today, but those who claim it is no better than under Taliban rule have never lived there!

Rohid’s father, who worked as a civil engineer, decided to risk everything by fleeing the country with his wife and two children.

Their journey took them across 3,500 miles, including crossing rivers in Russia in a leaking rubber dinghy.

Rohid said: ‘My mum was scared we were going to sink. She put her hand on the hole.

‘I was really scared. After that we had to wait for a van and the van broke down so we had to go through a forest.

‘There were wolves and dogs, everybody was just so scared.’

The family also became separated at one point.

They spoke no English when they arrived in Hull but they soon adapted and were allowed to settle in the UK. And Rohid showed his dedication to learning early on.

An incredible journey.

As well as being bright and hard-working, he excelled at rugby league and athletics. When the school suggested Rohid apply for an Eton scholarship he jumped at the chance and was among hundreds who took part in a tough four-day interview process.

‘Luckily I was picked so I must have done OK,’ he said. 

He starts at sixth form in September, studying A-levels in maths, biology, chemistry and physics.
Rohid’s father now works as a van driver – but the family won’t have to pay a penny of the £30,000 annual fees and have been given a £1,500 bursary to help cover school uniform and other expenses.

The teenager now knows there is no limit to what he can achieve. He hopes to become a surgeon. Commenting on the Eton life that awaits him, he said: ‘It’s a huge step, a bit like going to university two years early.

When people talk about equality of opportunity – this is what it means. A very heart-warming story.

Even a generation ago the infant mortality rate in New Zealand was more than twice what it is today, and post WWII was a massive 30 in 1000 or so.

The gap between Maori and overall infant mortality has also declined massively, which is good.

People often think of the 1950s as some sort of glory days. It is true that they were good times for many, but we shouldn’t overlook the progress we have had since then.

The New York Post reports:

Nanny Bloomberg unleashes his ban on large sodas on March 12 — and there are some nasty surprises lurking for hardworking families.

Say goodbye to that 2-liter bottle of Coke with your pizza delivery, pitchers of soft drinks at your kid’s birthday party and some bottle-service mixers at your favorite nightclub.

They’d violate Mayor Bloomberg’s new rules, which prohibit eateries from serving or selling sugary drinks in containers larger than 16 ounces.

Absolute fucking madness.

This is what some taxpayer funded lobby groups push for in New Zealand. It isn’t the thin end of the wedge – it is the thick end.

Typically, a pizzeria charges $3 for a 2-liter bottle of Coke. But under the ban, customers would have to buy six 12-ounce cans at a total cost of $7.50 to get an equivalent amount of soda.

Imagine how many cans you will need to drink 10 litres a day!

AP reports:

Raul Castro announced Sunday that he will step down as Cuba’s president in 2018 following a final five-year term, for the first time putting a date on the end of the Castro era. He tapped rising star Miguel Diaz-Canel as his top lieutenant and first in the line of succession.

The 81-year-old Castro also said he hopes to establish two-term limits and age caps for political offices including the presidency – an astonishing prospect for a nation led by Castro or his older brother Fidel since their 1959 revolution.

That would be a very good thing.

Communist dictatorships all too often turn into a type of feudal monarchy. We see this in North Korea, and Cuba looked to be heading that way.

I think term limits are an excellent thing as they mean no one person remains in power for ever, and as importantly focus politicians on what they can achieve in their limited time in the top job rather than trying to hang on forever.

Since taking over from Fidel in 2006, Castro has instituted a slate of important economic and social changes, expanding private enterprise, legalizing a real estate market and relaxing hated travel restrictions.

Still, the country remains ruled by the Communist Party and any opposition to it lacks legal recognition.

A long way to go, but at least heading in the right direction.

Questions for Oral Answer.

Questions to Ministers.

1. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Prime Minister: Why did he say last week in relation to SkyCity “Its architects designed such a thing, realised they needed more land, worked out who owned the land, and approached Television New Zealand”?
2. DAVID SHEARER to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement in relation to asset sales “I spent my life starting in investment banking. I know how these things work”?
3. PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister of Finance: What reports has he received on the economy?
4. GRANT ROBERTSON to the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment: Does he agree with the Prime Minister “the number one thing New Zealanders need to rely on is that they have a job, so they can provide for their families”; if so, how many New Zealanders are currently unemployed?
5. Dr RUSSEL NORMAN to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement reported in the Southland Times in June 2011 that, “At the moment companies like Solid Energy are growth companies and we want them to expand in areas like lignite conversion”?
6. Peseta SAM LOTU-IIGA to the Minister for Social Development: What impact have the Government’s welfare reforms had to date?
7. Hon DAVID PARKER to the Minister for Economic Development: In light of the view of the Deputy Auditor-General that “… the work through to August 2009 was … reasonable and careful”; did the Prime Minister’s intervention in August 2009 result in an approach that was no longer reasonable and careful?
8. COLIN KING to the Minister for Primary Industries: What progress can he report on increasing New Zealand’s economic and environmental performance through investment in irrigation?
9. Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE to the Minister for State Owned Enterprises: Does he agree with his predecessor Hon Simon Power that in 2009 the Government was “looking carefully” at the make-up of SOE boards and “commercial expertise is at the forefront of our minds”?
10. MOJO MATHERS to the Associate Minister of Transport: What steps, if any, has he taken to ensure that KiwiRail does not skimp on safety for people with disabilities?
11. CHRIS HIPKINS to the Minister of Education: Does she stand by all of her statements?
12. JACQUI DEAN to the Minister of Internal Affairs: What announcements has he made recently regarding New Zealand companies securing key government ICT contracts?

Today Labour are asking five questions, The Greens two and New Zealand First one. Labour are asking about asset sales,  jobs, the auditor general’s report into  Skycity , SOE Board members and whether the Minister of Education stands by all her statements. The Greens are asking about Solid Energy and safety for the disabled on trains. NZ First are also asking about the Skycity report.

Patsy question of the day goes to Jacqui Dean for Question 12: What announcements has he made recently regarding New Zealand companies securing key government ICT contracts?

Government Bills 4.00 PM -6.00 PM and 7.30 PM -10.00 PM.

1. Child Support Amendment Bill – Second Reading.

2. Corrections Amendment Bill–  Third Reading.

3. Environment Canterbury (Temporary Commissioners and Improved Water Management) Amendment Bill– Committee Stage (Continued).

4. Reserve Bank of New Zealand (Covered Bonds) Amendment Bill – Second Reading

The  Child Support Amendment Bill is being guided through the house by Peter Dunne, the Minister of Revenue. The bill will make three changes to Child Support. These are a new child support calculation formula, secondary changes to update the child support scheme more generally and amendments to the payment, penalty, and debt rules for child support.

The Corrections Amendment Bill is being guided through the house by Anne Tolley, the Minister of Corrections. The main aim of this Bill is to remove barriers to managing prisoners in a manner that is safe, secure, humane, effective, and efficient.

The Environment Canterbury (Temporary Commissioners and Improved Water Management) Amendment Bill is being guided through the house by Chris Tremain, the Minister of Local Government. This bill extends the Canterbury Regional Council’s governance arrangement and special water management decision-making powers in the Environment Canterbury (Temporary Commissioners and Improved Water Management) Act 2012

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (Covered Bonds) Amendment Bill is being guided through the house by Bill English, the Minister of Finance.  This bill seeks to establish a legislative framework for covered bonds.

Stuff reports:

National was quick to mock Labour’s reshuffle for its many-headed arts and culture roles led by deputy leader Grant Robertson with associates Jacinda Ardern and Darien Fenton all in the top 20.

Minister Christopher Finlayson tweeted: ‘‘Surprised to see Labour appoint 3 Arts spokespeople. More surprised to learn 2 of them have been in that job for over a year now.’’  

I thought this was a joke, but it seems that Arts & Culture is such a hefty portfolio Labour does in fact need three spokespersons for it – all in the shadow Cabinet.

By contrast Christchurch Earthquake Recovery doesn’t even make the shadow Cabinet.

I’ve counted up below the portfolios where Labour has more than one Spokesperson.

• Finance – 5
• Health – 4
• Arts – 3
• Foreign Affairs – 3
• Environment – 2
• Education – 2
• Economic Development – 2
• Science & Innovation – 2
• Justice – 2
• Ethnic Affairs – 2
• Social Development – 2
• Employment – 2
• Sport & Recreation – 2
• Maori Affairs – 2
• Disarmament – 2

You can understand Finance and Health having a few, but again three Arts Spokespersons is ridiculous as is needing three Foreign Affairs spokespersons plus two Disarmament spokespersons.

Audrey Young at NZ Herald reports:

The issue of whether MP Brendan Horan should resign from Parliament now his party has expelled him could be part of the legitimate public “conversation” on a wide range of issues relevant to New Zealand’s constitutional arrangements.

The Government-appointed advisory panel on constitutional issues will today launch a public consultation process at Te Papa in Wellington.

One of the issues under discussion is electoral integrity legislation – also known as party-hopping law – and whether MPs that leave parties from which they were elected can continue to remain in Parliament. …

Among the other issues the panel wants discussed is whether Maori representation in local government should be guaranteed, whether the Treaty of Waitangi should be entrenched in law, if the Bill of Rights Act should be made higher law (enabling the courts to invalidate laws that are inconsistent with it), the size of Parliament and the length of the parliamentary terms, and whether New Zealand should have a written constitution.

All good issues for debate.

Michael Forbes at Dom Post reports:

A reduction in the discount traditionally enjoyed by those who pre-pay for their public transport is being proposed by Greater Wellington Regional Council officers.

The 2013-14 draft Annual Plan, which will be tabled at a council meeting today, also floats an average rates increase of 2.6 per cent.

Bus and train operators are required to offer a minimum 20 per cent discount on multi-trip tickets and stored value cards.

But changes being proposed by council officers would see that reduced to 17 per cent in zone 1 – an area of heavy public transport usage encompassing the Wellington CBD, Aro Valley and Thorndon.

That would be a silly decision.

If you look at successful public transport programmes overseas, one of the keys is to get almost everyone using cards such as Snapper. In London, almost no one buys tickets for single trips. They all have Oyster cards.

The key to getting everyone onto prepay cards is to have massive discounts on them (ie it is too expensive not to have one) and to have a daily limit on them.

Wellington should move to integrated ticketing, and increase the price difference between pre-paid cards and cash tickets.

Vernon Small at Stuff reports:

Behind them, keeping them honest, will be former leader Phil Goff and the demoted but not forgotten Trevor Mallard. They will team up as the nucleus of a new “hit-squad”, with extra research and media resources to dig and dish the dirt.

Oh, this will be fun. More H-Fee revelations anyone?

Mind you, they could be quite effective. They successfully destroyed David Cunliffe’s career through background briefings to media, so if they can manage that with one of their own colleagues they might be able to do it with other MPs!