The White House has a policy of responding to any online petition that gets more than 25,000 signatures. This one got almost 35,000.

Those who sign here petition the United States government to secure funding and resources, and begin construction on a Death Star by 2016.

By focusing our defense resources into a space-superiority platform and weapon system such as a Death Star, the government can spur job creation in the fields of construction, engineering, space exploration, and more, and strengthen our national defense.

I would have thought the left would be fully in favour of this, as the ultimate fiscal stimulus. It would create jobs for every American!

The Chief of the Science and Space Branch at the White House Office of Management and Budget has responded:

The construction of the Death Star has been estimated to cost more than $850,000,000,000,000,000. We’re working hard to reduce the deficit, not expand it.

Actually they are working hard to spend more than ever. They could just print some more money to pay for it!

The Administration does not support blowing up planets.

Heh. Not even Pluto which isn’t even a real planet now?

The Listener had a link to this sexism test. As with all online tests do not take it as canonical – it is just a bit of fun, reflecting the values of the author who programmed it.

On a 0 to 5 scale, I scored 1.00 on hostile sexism and 1.18 on benevolent sexism. This is below the average for both men and women!

Victoria Park

EveryTrail – Find trail maps for California and beyond

This track/s turned out to take three hours as the hill climbs were extensive, but over the 11 kms you get some amazing views of both Christchurch, and the harbour.

But in terms of track markings it was the total opposite of the tracks at Bottle Lake Forest Park. The latter had track signs every few score metres, making it so easy to follow. The tracks around Victoria Park were missing markers at many a fork or intersection, forcing you to guess.

It didn’t help that the visitor’s centre was closes due to quake damage, and hence no track pamphlets available. Anyway I started off down a path to Bowenvale Reserve. The path forked and the fork I chose was the one that goes down steep banks, rather than steps. Eventually rejoined the main track.

Then you walk along the Bowenvale Reserve in a lovely valley. Again they have dispensed with marking the track up the hill, so I walked all the way to the road, and then doubled back until guessing it was the zig zag track on the left.

The zig zag up is a vertical elevation of around 400 metres and you have a few sheep to keep you company. Finally you get to the top, and once again they dispense with anything useful such as clearly marked track names. I guessed that heading towards Sugarloaf would be the right thing to do, and after a short walk along the road (in 30 degree heat!) I saw the Crater Rim Walkway, which I joined and there were stunning views from.

After the crater rim walkway, I took another track around the back of Sugarloaf, which again had some great views. Upon exiting that track I saw the back of a sign, and upon turning around to read it, I discovered the track was closed due to rockfall danger. It really would have been useful for them to put these signs up at both sides of the track – not just one side!

By this stage I was bloody hot and tired and had been mentally anticipating a nice drink at the cafe at the Sign of the Kiwi. Would have been nice for them to have a sign up at Victoria Park itself that Sign of the Kiwi was also closed. I let out a small yell of annoyance, and then proceeded down some path (Harry something) back to the Victoria Park carpark. Once again they neglected to have signs up at any forks, and I choose the fork which took me down around 1 km below the carpark, so finished with a walk back up the hill. Was a rather annoying afternoon, despite the great views. Took me three hours in total.

Journalists should be careful about taking assertions as facts. The Herald reports:

When Matthew Fraher left for Australia in 2000, he says, he was required to pay back as much on his student loan as his entire income, within a year.

Wrong. Impossible.

Now, after incurring penalties, his loan balance is six figures and could grow to almost $1 million by retirement age, even if he keeps up minimum repayments, he says.

Only because he has moved overseas.

Mr Fraher said he contacted the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) when he first left NZ in 2000 with a student loan of about $70,000.

The requirement for him was to pay 15 per cent of the principal and all of the interest in a year, he said – about $15,000, though Mr Fraher recalled the amount was $23,000.

The income from his first job would not have covered it, even if he had lived homeless and ate at soup kitchens, he said.

This is not what the law at the time was. Repayments were never based on the size of the loan – they have always been based on your income. 10% of your income above the $15,000 or so (then) threshold. So if you were on $55,000 you would be paying $4,000 a year interest.

And the law also said that after an adjustment for inflation, at least 50% of your repayments would go on reducing your principal, with interest written off above that. This was to stop the principal always increasing.

So say you were on $75,000 and had a loan of $70,000 (I’d love to hear how a loan that large was incurred back in the 1990s). Repayments would be $6,000 a year. If inflation was 2% then $1,400 would go towards inflation indexing the loan effectively. Of the remaining $4,600 $2,300 would reduce the principal and $2,300 would be interest.

This is massively different from either $15,000 or $23,000 as cited.

Audrey Young interviews North Shore MP Maggie Barry. Some extracts:

What’s been the most rewarding part of the past year?

My big highlight was Taharoto, the mental health facility. From probably about my first month in the job I got complaints from my constituents about this dreadful acute psychiatric facility in the North Shore Hospital grounds. It’s a converted maternity hospital and is absolutely vile, deeply awful and I went and had a look and I was shocked by what I saw. I’ve been lobbying and talking to (Health Minister) Tony Ryall and Lester Levy at Waitemata DHB and when Tony was out of the country he let me announce that we are putting in $25 million and we are completely rebuilding the facility.

Most electorate MPs will cite something they have done for their electorate as the best part of the job.

What’s the most frustrating thing about working in Parliament?

I guess some of the posturing. The obfuscation that goes on, the crap that gets talked in the House, the faux outrage has been so extreme it’s almost amusing, and the fake gravitas as well is one of my other favourites.

Both Labour and the Greens had talked to me at different times about joining their ranks over the 30 years I had been (in the media). There was a certain amount of “you’re toast, we’re going to get you” in the corridor. I sustained quite a few insults in the first couple of months – “get back to the garden where you belong”. A couple of grumpy old trouts came out with that stuff.

My son is 14 and he said to me a while ago, “What do you do about bullying?” I said, “You’ve got to face them down”. And that’s what I’ve decided to do with bullies in Parliament, the bully boys in the Opposition and the more passive aggressives in the Greens and New Zealand First.

When it comes to the dark arts of politics, one piece of advice I received and that I took was that if someone hits you, you hit them back twice as hard. I’ve done that in my first year. I think people have got the message that I’m not going to be bullied and pushed around so hopefully (in 2013) I can relax a bit from that stance.

You’re very combative.

I think if you don’t do it you’re dog tucker, frankly. I’ve looked at others who are heckled, nasty things – “bottle-blonde”, “big slob”, “fat girl” – really low-grade, low-rent. Never going to make it into Hansard, not going to be heard from the gallery but it’s there and undermines people’s confidence. It was a bold call to answer them back.

Maggie has indeed shown she is no victim.

Are you talking about Jacinda Ardern (whom Barry pointed out, in the Paid Parental Leave Bill debate, didn’t have children)?

Oh, “precious petal” is a bit different. (When Labour MPs called her comments outrageous, Barry told Ardern; “Don’t be precious, Petal”.) Frankly, I was sick of people shouting across the House at me, “You’ve dumped your son at boarding school”, “All Nats are bad mothers” and Jacinda did her “National Party women love coal more than they love kids”. I thought: “Actually, how many kids do you have? What do you understand about the reality of juggling it all while you are in the House?” So then Trevor (Mallard) does his mad tweet (demanding an apology) with the faux outrage and gravitas, which is all nonsense. If I thought Jacinda had been in the foetal position, weeping, I would have acknowledged that. But when she says it’s no big deal and Trevor wants me to apologise, guess what the outcome is likely to be?

Not hard to guess.

Name one of your heroes outside politics.

Ed Hillary. I did the last interview of him for the Listener. He was somebody I had always admired as a kid. To do the final interview with him was an honour. I did six hours with him over two days for oral archives for Radio New Zealand and it ultimately ended up a 14-pager for the Listener, published posthumously. As it turned out, his health was such that even Mark Sainsbury couldn’t get an interview with him after that because of the nature of his decline. He’d been on the Garden Show many times talking about meconopsis, the blue poppies. Bless him, he hardly knew a rhododendron from a poppy but he knew what he liked.

He was the quintessential Kiwi – very self-effacing, which is why I did the thing for the oral archives because there was very little (on record) about his trip up the Ganges. (And) there was very little on record about that final ascent. “What happened Ed, when you got to that point (now) known as the Hillary Step and Sherpa Tensing turned back as he had done four times before? What made you go on?” He spelt it all out and he spelt out why he didn’t come out with it at the time. It’s that old-fashioned sense of honour and we will not see his like again.

Very true. He was exceptional.

Today’s Herald story is:

The Government is being urged to stump up the cash for surf lifesavers and Coastguard operations, as figures show New Zealand has the third highest drowning rate in the OECD.

Yesterday’s Herald story was:

New Zealand had its lowest drowning death toll in six years last year

Now the two stories are not contradictory but I find it puzzling that the stat on the lowest toll in the last six years wasn’t included in today’s story. It is clearly relevant to the story.

In terms of the international comparisons, I presume they are per capita. What would be interesting is if they could be calculated in terms of number of days spent doing water activities.

Having said all that, I’m not against more resources in this area. Our rate is much higher than Australia’s and they certainly spend as much time on the water as we do, if not more.

Michael Field at Stuff reports:

Fiji’s military dictatorship has slammed a draft constitution drawn up with New Zealand aid as an appeasement to racist divisions in the Pacific nation.

But military strongman Voreqe Bainimarama, who rules Fiji by decree, told the nation on Thursday night there will be a new constitution – and democracy restoring elections next year.

Bainimarama, who overthrew democracy in 2006, commissioned Kenyan law professor Yash Ghai to draft a new constitution, but after it was presented last month, police seized copies of it and burnt printer’s proofs.

Since leaked, the Ghai document proposes to force the military out of political life and make it permissible for soldiers to disobey an order to take part in a coup.

I think Bainimarama started this with relatively good intentions, but it is becoming clear he will never give up power. The draft constitution included everything he wanted in terms of no racial divisions, one electoral roll etc. He just didn’t like the provisions that the military must be accountable to Parliament, not vice-versa.

Bainimarama then told the nation he had asked for the draft to be amended to ensure that it was positive.

Aew draft of what will become Fiji’s fourth constitution would be be available by the end of this month.

He will then send it to a constituent assembly made up of people he will appoint to finalise it.

His draft will include the military staying on as some sort of over-lord. This is repugnant. Legitimacy comes from free and open elections, not from the end of a gun.

Adorable Baby Crashes Daddy’s Concert from coffey on GodTube.

Tom Hunt at Stuff reports:

Three years into a ban on drivers using handheld cellphones, the number of those caught keeps rising – as does the body count.

Police figures show 28 people have died on New Zealand roads in accidents caused by people using cellphones since 2007.

Annoyingly the story doesn’t give us data capable of backing up the assertion. The ban has been in place for three years and we are told there have been 28 deaths in the last five years. What would be useful is the annual number of deaths for the three years since and the three years before.

The NZ Transport Agency has confirmed it is planning a new campaign specifically targeting driver distraction, with a focus on cellphones.

I always thought educational campaigns were more likely to be effective than a law change targeting just one type of driver distraction.

Road policing national manager Superintendent Carey Griffiths said the rise of smartphones, with which people could check social media and emails, as well as answering text messages and calls, was adding to the problem.

“There is the opportunity for more and more distraction as we are getting more and more wired.”

Figures show in the year to November, 2011, 10,070 drivers were caught.

In the year to last November the figure rose to 12,973.

Mr Griffiths said the number of people caught could be due to more people flouting the law or police keeping a keener eye on it.

Just as one has airline mode for phones, maybe there should be a car mode also that turns off all the alerts but still allows phone calls (which you can do handsfreee)?

Just been to see Scott’s last exhibition at the Canterbury Museum. It is a joint exhibition with the National History Museum and the Antarctic Heritage Trust.

For those interested in Antarctica and/or the age of exploration, it’s a great exhibition. They have many original artifacts from his last expedition, and have even got a life-size model of Scott’s Hut at Cape Evans where 25 men lived and worked. The Antarctic Heritage Trust maintain the actual hut, which would be an incredible thing to observe.

The exhibition tells the story of the ill-fated Terra Nova exhibition. Most of us know the basic story including Oates saying “I am just going outside and I may be some time.” and Scott’s final words of “It seems a pity but I do not think I can write more. R. Scott. For God’s sake look after our people.“. Oates’ body was never found. There are photos of the burial site and cross for Scott, but they estimate this is now under around 75 feet of ice.

But you also see and hear about other aspects such as the journey to Cape Crozier for Emperor Penguin eggs. In temperatures as low as -60 °C, and blizzards with force 11 winds, they survived in an igloo and tents. Amazing endurance and survival.

The deaths of Scott and the other four are controversial. His reputation was as a hero initially, then as a bungler, and in later years more balanced. For my 2c I think their deaths were a combination of some poor planning decisions but also some of the most extreme weather that the continent has seen.

A very good and interesting exhibition. They also have a permanent more general Antarctica display on their third floor.

The NZ Herald editorial:

An economy does not work very well, many countries have found, if every worthy service is financed from taxation and none need to put some of their energy into raising independent sustenance. Many a worthy service is provided from the private sector for a profit. But some of those that cannot carry a charge and make profits can offer value to commercial sponsors and capitalise in other ways on their popular appeal, and it is economically healthy that they should rely on those sources as far as possible.

The misconception that any good and essential service deserves a government grant is not confined to those who are not seeking a profit. Commercial firms are no less susceptible to government hand-outs and no less reluctant to present a case for them.

A mixed economy prospers when as many as possible of its goods and services are financed by voluntary trade and the proceeds of taxation are reserved for those that are essential and could not otherwise survive.

Absolutely. I’ll happily donate money to good causes, so they need less taxpayer funding. We have a wonderful volunteer ethos in New Zealand.

The rescue helicopter gives good value to its name-sponsor, Westpac bank, and its well-publicised work is guaranteed to elicit a good response to any appeal for public donations. The same is true of the Starship children’s hospital and of some prestigious state schools that can command high parental donations. Consequent reductions in their public grants are socially and economically justifiable.

Far from complaining that they are being penalised for success, the fortunate should be quietly proud of their reduced dependence on public money. They should be praised and celebrated for the proof of value that voluntary finance provides, and for the public money their fund-raising success has left in the purse for the less fortunate.

I just hope the Herald remembers their own editorial when there is some controversy over government funding!

Recently Telecom were kind enough to send me [note author is Stuart Peters, not DPF] the new Samsung Galaxy Note 2 to play with. These are my first impressions of the device.

The first thing that struck me on opening the box was just how ENORMOUS this phone is – 80.5 x 151.1 x 9.4 mm apparently. I’m not sure if it’s the biggest smartphone on the market but it’s certainly the biggest I’ve ever seen, and dwarfs the iPhone. In fact my immediate thought was that it was far too big, and would be a pain to carry around all day. On this I have been pleasantly surprised – the Note 2 is reasonably slim and light (182.5g), and I haven’t had an issue carrying it in my pocket.

The upside to the size of the phone is the fantastic display. I understand the Note 2 is being marketed as a sort of hybrid device that combines the functionality of a phone and a tablet, and the impressive 5.5-inch (140.9mm) HD Super AMOLED display (the iPhone 5 has a 4-inch display) is key to this. I thought the iPhone was easy to navigate but the extra space that the Note 2 provides makes navigating the device an absolute delight.

I was surprised to find the trim and battery cover are entirely made of glossy plastic, with no metal surfaces. The plastic battery cover feels flimsy and cheap when you remove it (I thought I was going to break it the first time I took it off!), but seems solid enough once attached. While the Note 2 is undoubtedly well-constructed and the phone feels robust in the hand, the full plastic case still feels a bit cheap and nasty for such a high-end phone. The glossy plastic case is also a fingerprint magnet!

This was my first experience with an Android, and the UI was initially a bit daunting. The Note 2 runs a modified Samsung-specific version of Jellybean, the latest (I think) Android OS. I can’t comment on how the OS compares to other Android systems but it certainly doesn’t hold your hand quite as much as Apple’s iOS does! On turning on the phone I was immediately presented with the option to pick “Basic Mode” or “Easy Mode”, without much explanation as to what each offered. I initially went with Easy Mode, which I later realised automatically populates your home screens with what it thinks you will want access to. I switched to Basic Mode fairly quickly and found that much more useful.

Actually manipulating the device is brilliant, the touchscreen is highly responsive and everything happens smoothly and fluidly. Having used Androids belonging to friends to send texts and the like, I’ve always found them highly frustrating to manipulate compared to iOS. The Note 2 is the first Android that seems to match Apple for smooth navigation, and might even better it.

I’ve been impressed with what I’ve seen of the Note 2 so far, and will be posting further thoughts on the device once I’ve had more time to play with it.

Bottle Lake Forest Park

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Thought I’d do a few walks during my break in Christchurch so headed north slightly to the Bottle Lake Forest Park.

I did the blue trail which is around 10 kms in length and is a very well signposted walk. Almost impossible not to follow the trail as they have markers every few score metres.

Most of the time you have a pleasant walk in the shade of the forest. There is a long stretch along the boundary of an exclusion zone, and then on the return leg there is a sandy patch which on a hot day is somewhat draining. Walking uphill on sand slows you down considerably.

The park is a multi-use area so you get walkers, cyclists, runners and horse riders. Not generally on the same track, but the paths often intersect so always need to watch out. Oh yeah, also the odd truck on the forest roads you cross.

Sam Boyer at Dom Post reports:

A time limit restricting novice drivers from holding their learner and restricted licences for too long is set to be introduced.

The Government plans to change the law by 2015 so that learner and restricted drivers will be obliged to gain their full licence within five years, or be forced to resit tests, Associate Transport Minister Simon Bridges announced yesterday.

At present, drivers can remain on their learner or restricted licences indefinitely, having to update their licence card only once a decade.

Currently, 37 per cent of learner drivers have held their licences for more than six years, as well as 32 per cent of restricted drivers. Three drivers in the country have held their learner licences for 25 years or more.

“The Government intends to limit learner and restricted licence periods to five years to encourage drivers to move through the . . . system,” Mr Bridges said.

“The [system] never intended drivers to stay on a learner or restricted licence indefinitely. What these drivers need to do is demonstrate their skills and competence and graduate to a full licence in a reasonable time.”

Seems reasonable to me. You don’t want people staying on a learner license for ever.

Morgan Godfery at Maui Street blogs his picks:

Best Maori MP: Louisa Wall – for services to equality and old school lobbying. 

Best Maori Minister: Paula Bennett – a competent manager, good communicator and is overseeing some innovative programmes. 

Best Maori electorate MP: Parekura Horomia – for what he lacks on the national stage, he makes up for on the ground. His majority (the largest in the Maori electorates) wasn’t a mistake. 

Most improved: Te Ururoa Flavell – after a shocking 2011 and despite a fail on education in 2012, Flavell has made up ground with his strong support for Tuhoe, competent debate performances and electorate work. 

Most consistent: Metiria Turei – points for tireless advocacy for Maori, women and beneficiaries. Always takes a consistent and articulate line. Stand out performer in the Native Affairs debates.

Joshua Hitchcock also provides his list:

The Iwi Leaders Group

Without a doubt the big winners from 2012, the Iwi Leaders Group have established themselves as the go-to national Māori body for Crown engagement on national issues.  They have established a good working relationship with the Government over the past 18 months, and have clearly adopted the approach of working with Government to achieve progress for Māori rights over a more antagonistic approach.  While many question their standing and their beliefs (occasionally referred to disparagingly as the “Iwi Elite”), you cannot overlook the fact that this self-selected group comprise the elected leaders of many of the major Iwi in the country. With this comes a lot of weight, and a lot of influence with the Government.

Paula Bennett 

This may come as a surprise to many of my readers, but I consider Paula Bennett to be the Māori politician of the year.  You might question her kaupapa, but to survive the MSD security breach scandal and to oversee the most drastic reform to our welfare system since Jenny Shipley in the early 1990s is no easy task.  Add to that the ease with which she brushes aside the attacks from Jacinda Ardern in the House and you have a Māori politician who appears brilliant at her job.  With the remainder of the National Party Māori caucus either failing to fire (Henare, T) or making a complete fool of themselves (Parata, H), having one competent Māori in the National front bench, regardless of her politics, is something to celebrate.

Louisa Wall

Runner-up in the Māori politician of the year awards, Louisa Wall has shown herself to be the exemplary opposition M.P.  Having such a contentious bill pass its first reading with a massive majority is no easy task for an opposition M.P, what makes her all the more remarkable is the effort she  undertook to sit down with opponents, listen to their concerns, and quietly convince them of her case.  A future Minister of Māori Affairs, if not destined for higher honours.

Tariana Turia

It is hard to think of a Māori politician who has made as great an impact as Tariana Turia has over her 18 years in Parliament.  Her decision to cross the floor on the Foreshore and Seabed Act led to the formation of not one, but two Kaupapa Māori political parties and a renewed influence of Māori politicians in the House.  While Whanau Ora is a mere shadow of her initial dream, her efforts to curb smoking in Aotearoa have been immense and caused even given the big Tobacco companies something to worry about.  Her decision to retire marks the great cross roads in Māori politics.  Can the Māori Party survive without her, or will the independent Māori voice represented by the Māori Party and Te Mana be dragged back into the welcoming arms of the Labour Party?

The National Party

Yes, the National Party are one of the big winners of 2012.  While the partial asset sale programme has been delayed, a crushing victory in the High Court a few weeks ago means that it will take a miracle in January to bring about a final halt to their key policy platform.  Ructions within Ngāpuhi aside, they have also made great strides in settling historical grievance claims with Hapū and Iwi and an historic Tuhoe settlement is on the cards for early 2014 – a mere two years after it lay in tatters.

Rahui Katene

With the retirement of Tariana Turia in 2014, Rahui Katene looks set to succeed to her Te Tai Hauaurau electorate seat and, by extension, the co-leadership of the Māori Party.  Her work with the New Zealand Māori Council, and a renewed effort working at the ground level, has seen her restore the mana lost when she was defeated at last years election.  Expect to see and hear more from Rahui in 2013 as the Māori Party look to position her as Tariana’s natural successor.

Both Maori bloggers (whose politics are quite different) cite Paula Bennett and Louisa Wall as having done well.

Hamish Rutherford at Stuff reports:

Disability services group CCS says it has “grave concerns” about plans to introduce work ability assessments, influenced by controversial tests conducted in Britain.

From July, the invalid’s benefit, paid to about 85,000 New Zealanders, will be replaced by the supported living payment, as part of wide-ranging welfare changes.

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett has said this would mean little change, although in a speech to health professionals late last year she signalled a new assessment regime which “echoes” the British process.

Measuring the extent to which disabled can work, the British tests have prompted a debate in the British Parliament, as well as protests targeting the Paralympics where Atos, the private company doing the tests, was a sponsor.

CCS Disability Action chief executive David Matthews cited research showing the British Government had spent £42.2 million (NZ$80.5m) on appeals against the tests, about 40 per cent of which overturned Atos’ findings.

CCS may have a point, but the data they cite doesn’t make it.

The cost of appeals by itself means little. The UK has a population around 40 times larger than us.

The 40% being over-turned on appeal means little also, unless we know how many appealed. If only 1% of those classified appeal, then a 40% success rate would be lower than what I’d expect. If 75% of those classified are appealing, then a 40% success rate would suggest a wider problem.

Very good.

Claire Trevett at NZ Herald reports:

The Parliamentary Art Collection, value $12 million, includes an artwork in shagpile that can only be described as a piece of its time.

That time is 1981 – the year of the underarm bowling scandal, the Springbok Tour, and the first hints of the trend that shoulder pads and big hair will become. The piece, Variation in Apricot, is considered ‘textile art’. It reportedly feels like touching a dirty dog.

Arts Minister Chris Finlayson’s immediate reaction is sotto voce: “S***, that’s awful.”

Then he gets closer and sees the plaque that says it was donated by the National Party caucus wives in 1981 – when Robert Muldoon was the Prime Minister.

“Oh my God,” he says, shamefaced at slighting the taste of such a group of women. He slams into reverse and hunts for a more diplomatic adjective than ‘awful.’

“It certainly is a unique contribution to the art collection in Parliament.

Heh, too late.

Mr Finlayson has managed to find a spare 45 minutes between signing Treaty of Waitangi claim settlements – as Treaty Negotiations Minister – to take the Herald on a grand tour of the parliamentary collection.

There are more than 3000 pieces, including the big names: Grahame Sydney landscapes, four Colin McCahons, Len Castle, Ralph Hotere, Philip Trusttum, Brent Wong, Stanley Palmer, Frances Hodgkins, Dick Frizzell, and several by the ubiquitous Unknown Artist.

Mr Finlayson is not one to be seduced by the power of a name, however.

He is an honest, if brutal, critic, designating most pieces to the categories of either “boring” or “bleak”.

Honest, and brutal – that’s the Chris we know and love.

Prime Minister John Key’s favourite piece is Colin McCahon’s Koru. Mr Finlayson is kind about Koru, but possibly only because it is in the Speaker’s Lounge and the Speaker, Dr Lockwood Smith, is there when we drop in.

Mr Finlayson manages to muster up something about the admirable “texture” of the piece, which Dr Smith informs him is worth about $300,000.

But the Speaker was not there just five minutes earlier when Mr Finlayson trotted past two other McCahons – A Piece of Muriwai Canvas and Necessary Protection I – glanced up and sighed. “He’s a strange one, isn’t he? I just find it all a bit … bleak.”

I have to confess, that I once made a rather serious error with a McCahon at Parliament. It was around 2001 or 2002 and I was on the parliamentary ball committee and one of my jobs was to put up posters promoting the ball. I was in a bit of a hurry and having one of those days where I wasn’t concentrating much and pinned one of the posters onto a noticeboard on the 3rd floor of Parliament House, in the Opposition Leader’s corridor.

Except it wasn’t a noticeboard. It was a Colin McCahon painting that was worth around $300,000. I can’t recall which one it was (maybe A Piece of Muriwai Canvas) but there was a very anguished yell when someone discovered my mistake and I quickly removed the poster hoping no one else would notice the thumb tack marks in it. In my defence it really did look a bit like a notice board!

The Herald reports:

An Indian spiritual leader has sparked outcry by claiming the student raped and murdered in New Delhi was partly responsible for what happened and should have pleaded with her attackers to leave her alone.

It was the latest in a series of controversial comments campaigners say highlight a mindset within the heartland of India that permits such assaults to take place.

Asaram Bapu, a self-styled guru, told followers in Rajasthan the 23-year-old was “as guilty as her rapists”. He claimed: “The five or six drunken men were not the only ones guilty. The girl was also responsible … she should have called the culprits ‘brothers’ and begged them to stop.”

I’m pretty sure she did, as they raped her to death.

Words can’t express how angry comments like this make me. In my darker moments I almost wish a group of men would rape and violate the self-styled guru, and see if at the end of it he still blames the victim.

A Chhattisgarh provincial minister said sexual assaults on women were taking place because “women’s stars are not in their favour”. He made the comment after allegations emerged that 11 tribal girls had been raped by a teacher in the state.

Words fail me.

The Herald reports:

The Labour Party housing policy for first-home buyers has struck a chord despite the Government’s attempts to write it off as expensive and unrealistic.

Just over 70 per cent of the 500 respondents in the Herald-DigiPoll survey approved of Labour’s promise to enter the housing market to build 100,000 low-cost homes over the next 10 years.

I’m surprised it isn’t 95%. Who is against a political party saying they can wave a magical wand and produce houses  $150,000 to $200,000 cheaper than normal.  The problem is their numbers simply do not and can not add up. It is a con.

The Herald reports:

Ms Wall provided research to the Herald which showed that all of the 11 countries that have legalised gay marriage have outlawed polygamy.

None of the 50 countries that recognised polygamy under civil law formally recognised same-sex relationships.

Ms Wall said that in most cases, polygamy was legal in countries that repressed women, not socially progressive countries like New Zealand.

“You have countries where you can be whipped, fined, flogged, sent to jail for the rest of your life [for being in a gay relationship] so to say that marriage equality is a stepping stone to polygamy completely misrepresents the truth globally.”

I have to agree with Louisa that the countries which have polygamy tend to regard women as chattels and homosexuals as criminals.

I wonder if any of those 50 countries that allow polygamy, allow polygyny (one man married to multiple wives) and polyandry (one woman married to multiple husbands) or just polygyny?

Interestingly NZ law does give some recognition under the Family Proceedings Act to polygamous marriages made overseas, if legal in the country they resided in.

Anyway I personally do not accept the argument that if you support same sex marriage you should support polygamous marriage. I don’t think people have any significant choice over their sexual orientation. I do think people have a choice about the number of people they want to be in a relationship with.