You get cynical when you see claims such as a walk is the “greatest three mile hike in the world”. However when it comes to this walk from Bryce Canyon, I think they may be right. It is hard to imagine a better one. The photos below don’t do it justice as the panoramic views can’t be captured in normal photo, but trust me this is a must do if ever in Utah, or near.

The hike is a combination of the Queen’s Garden trail  and the Navajo loop trail.

We got up at 5.45 am so we could make Sunrise Point by, well, sunrise. Gorgeous.

A nice shot of us, with the valleys behind.

This is where you then head down into. Unique beauty.

The path down is narrow, with huge drops on either side.

Then you hit the valley floor.

Go through some man made doors in the rocks.

Then it goes from all cliff and rocks to some bush in the valley.

Looking up at that view, is just the best.

Then the hard part comes – getting back up. A very small squeeze between two walls. hence this section is known as Wall Street.

Looking down on the climb we came up. It was a series of around 50 zig-zags.

A cute baby squirrel at the top.

Looking back at where we were.

Then you have a walk along the ridge-line. Looks like you can ski there in winter! Would love to see this place covered in snow.

You can do a three hour trek by horseback through the canyons also. Be warned that we were told the horses always walk right on the edge going down, which is meant to be a bit nerve-wracking with falls of several  hundred feet on both sides.

And on a lighter note, liked this sign.

Coming Up this week on The Nation

Why won’t Kiwis work on farms — a special panel.
And why won’t they also work on fishing boats — Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse.
Steve Adams — why he may be the last Kiwi to make the NBA draft.
What price 100% Pure New Zealand? Tunnels and monorails in the Conservation estate.

Saturday 9.30 am and Sunday 8.00 am on TV 3

The Dom Post reported:

New Zealand society is near tipping point, with the number of children born outside wedlock fast approaching those born to married parents for the first time.

Statistics New Zealand figures show there were just 1000 more children born to married parents in the March quarter.

That is well down on the year 2000, when children born to unwed parents were outnumbered by more than seven to one.

In 1980 the gap was close to 30,000, while in 1951 the number of children born to unmarried parents was just 2000, compared to the 48,000 born to married parents.

It is unclear if civil unions are included in “wedlock” for the purposes of this data.

I’m quite traditional personally when it comes to marriage and children, and think ideally parents should be married to each other if they are having kids together. I like the fact it is a life-long commitment (even though of course many fail). If you have kids with someone, you are connected to them for the rest of your lives.

However many adults have long-lasting relationships, and are not married. They just don’t believe in the institution. I don’t think there is a huge difference between them and married couples when it comes to welfare of children.

Where there is a big disparity, is when the parents do not stay together.  On average (so not all kids), kids raised in a one parent household do far far worse in almost every social and economic indicator.

So I’m not worried if parents are married to each other or not. What concerns me is whether they will stay together while their kids are young – and need both parents.

I haven’t had much time to take pics of the local bird-life (or creepy-crawlies) so this edition is from a stream in the Waitakere  Ranges instead.

Click for larger, higher res image

It’s the Mokoroa Stream if any Aucklanders are curious 🙂

Herald Economics Editor Brian Fallow writes:

The idea that New Zealand has become one of the most unequal societies in the developed world is just not supported by the data. It is a belief that is in some danger of hardening into received wisdom.

The data being:

The Ministry of Social Development has just updated its comprehensive (200 pages) and careful report, Household Incomes in New Zealand: Trends in Indicators of Inequality and Hardship, to include the results of Statistics New Zealand’s 2011/12 household economic survey (HES).

While the report debunks the notion that New Zealand is conspicuous among developed countries for inequality, it is far from providing a defence of the status quo or grounds for complacency.

In terms of the top vs the bottom 10%:

Another way of measuring income inequality is to look at the income of the top decile or 10 per cent of households (when ranked by income) and compare it with the bottom decile’s.

The average over the past four household economic surveys is that the top decile have received 8.5 times the income of the bottom one, after tax and transfers.

That puts us in the middle of the OECD rankings, and lower than Australia and Canada (8.9 times), Britain (10 times) and the United States (16 times).

 

Also:

Between the 2008/09 HES and the 2011/12 survey market income for New Zealand households fell 2.6 per cent in real terms, similar to the declines seen in the US, Britain and Australia.

But the net change in median disposable income (after tax and transfers) was a rise of 0.5 per cent over that three-year period as tax cuts and increased New Zealand superannuation compensated for the decline in market income.

Called taking the edges off the recession.

“For many OECD countries, lower income households tended to lose more, or gain less, than high income families,” the report says.

For New Zealand, however, there was a small gain for bottom-decile households of 1 to 3 per cent and a net fall, of around 8 per cent, for the top decile.

Please remember this data when people go on about how the rich have done best under National. Simply not true.

Stuff reports:

Conservation minister Nick Smith has thrown his weight behind calls to expand the use of 1080 to more of the conservation estate, saying he expects a report from the conservation department in a matter of weeks.

It comes after the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment this week called for more use of the poison used to kill pests like possums, stoats and rats.

The damage done by those pests is immense, and while few people like 1080, there is no other viable alternative.

The Kiwiblog mobile office. Now we are out of Nevada, the temperatures are much more pleasant. Still in the 30s, but not the 40s. Great to be able to enjoy a beer outside at night.

A natural tunnel on the way to Bryce Canyon. You also have a one mile long tunnel as you exit Zion National Park.

There’s an 18 mile main road you can drive up in Bryce Canyon, and it has scores of views like this.

A 2d photo can not do justice to the incredible views that stretch into the horizon.

A natural bridge.

One curious bird.

At the far end of the valley.

Auckland Girl with a scenic backdrop.

This photo is taken right from the edge. I wondered if it was safe, but figured they would have a sign up if it was not. The drop down would hurt.

15 metres along the trail out of sight in our direction was this sign. Would be helpful if they had warning signs up at both ends!

This is a camp ground just outside the park. Pretty cool to be able to camp in a teepee. We’re actually camped inside the park itself.

Did a short walk today, and planning a dawn walk tomorrow to see the sunrise from on high.

Stuff reports:

More than 3000 alleged welfare cheats receiving a total of $33.7 million a year have been caught in the past six months.

The Government says the findings are the result of a new way of sharing information between Inland Revenue and the Ministry of Social Development which started this while it is also looking at tying the amount of money they have to pay back to their wages in a bid to recoup costs faster.

Associate social development minister Chester Borrows said a total of 3139 people were caught in the investigation, with 1948 on an unemployment benefit and 559 on a sickness benefit.

He said the ministry believed it would be able to prove a ”big chunk of them” were intentionally defrauding the taxpayer though some could have been a legitimate oversight, he said.

”The fact is that these 3139 have been found to be paying more tax than they should have been if they were only earning their $100 a week maximum that they were allowed to on a benefit so there is obviously a reason for suspicion there,” he said.

That’s a great practical example of the value of being able to have IRD and WINZ check data with each other.

The Herald reports:

New Zealand’s fight to establish a massive marine reserve in Antarctic waters has been delayed at least another three months after countries failed to agree on the ambitious sanctuary for a second time.

The proposal to create a 2.27 million sq km marine sanctuary in the Ross Sea, which was backed by the United States, failed yesterday after a consensus could not be reached within the 25 members of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources.

A delegation from Russia did not support the proposal at the meeting in Bremerhaven, Germany, questioning whether the commission had the legal power to establish a reserve in the region. Along with Ukraine, Russia expressed concern about the increased restrictions on fishing in the plans.

This is a great pity. The Ross Sea should have the same scientific reserve status as the continent itself.

An amusing article by Claire Trevett on MPs and Twitter:

Justice Minister Judith Collins is the biggest surprise in this regard. While many MPs delegate tweetery to their staff, Collins runs her own with a steel fist. And with what unbridled glee does she deploy that fist. She alternates between Agony Aunt and Iron Lady, dispensing kindly advice to some, but getting others with a swift upper cut.

So an exchange with Clare Curran over Family Court reforms somehow ended up being a critique of Green co-leader Metiria Turei and her jacket, both of which Collins decreed were “vile, wrong and ugly”.

She revelled in Labour’s man ban, telling Trevor Mallard she could see why Labour wanted a man-ban “if you’re anything to go by”. She reserves her best patronising tones for Chris Hipkins: after finding out he was calling her “Cruella” she replied “Chris is a dear boy. Probably stayed up all night thinking of that one.”

Superb response.

MPs on Twitter play to a relatively small audience. It is mainly beltway or enthusiasts of politics, rather than undecided voters who might be swayed by the persuasiveness of an MP’s tweeting skills. It can be useful for making announcements though – one of the more astonishing moments in recent times was last week when Labour MPs turned to Twitter to reject reported rumours that a coup was under way. Grant Robertson, Annette King and Chris Hipkins led the charge, getting their message out but also turning it from a virtual non-story to a story about their vigorous denials on Twitter.

The predominant motivation for those MPs, therefore, is pure fun. When the Speaker calls order on the interjections, the MPs simply turn to Twitter where there is no Speaker to rain on their parade. Should some earnest person try to intervene, they can simply be taken out of the game by being blocked to shut them up. There are no whips on Twitter, no Speakers. An honourable mention also goes to a former MP who may be an actual MP again in the future, Labour’s Kelvin Davis, @NgatiBird. His recent contributions include this on the Pakeha Party: “they want what Maori have. Excellent. They are welcome to our 16 per cent unemployment rate, lower life expectancy, and gout.”

And Claire wants Shane Jones on Twitter:

The MP who most people want to join Twitter is Labour’s Shane Jones, the master of the backhanded compliment. His recent insults include this, about the Green Party’s Ikaroa-Rawhiti candidate Marama Davidson: “Marama is a younger, somewhat smarter, version of Metiria.” It is a perfectly formed tweet, but in this case was said during an interview with yours truly, who never found an opportunity to use it. …

The only people who do not want Shane Jones to join Twitter are the Labour Party communications staff, who quiver in fear at the very thought.

A shame.

Sunbeams over the Two Thumb range, Rangitata valley. Canterbury New Zealand. Landscape photography by Todd Sisson

I was super tempted to post another Milford image today – just to stir the pot on the tunnel news.  However, I am away on holiday and didn’t relish the prospect of  playing the role of  ‘burning sphincter through which a partially digested enviro-flamefest passed’ on a sunny winter’s day 🙂  David has dutifully kicked off the debate over here though.

This image is another recent discovery from the archives that I used in our upcoming ebook (which will hit the e-shelves next Tuesday). Sorry about the PC-desktop unfriendly format, but I like this one a lot and just felt like sharing it.

Cheers – Todd

Free Wallpaper Download

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

Thanks for your support!

Cheers – Todd [www.sisson.co.nz] 

Stuff reports:

Documents made public yesterday show officials were surprised in November 2011 when the casino operator suddenly put compensation on the table. It came after SkyCity made a series of ambitious demands in return for building the Auckland facility, including 850 more pokie machines and lowering of the gambling age to 18.

And they got only 230, and no change to the gambling age (I think it should be 18 regardless incidentally).

Here’s a comparison of what they asked for, and got:

• Perpetual extension of licence, got 27 year extension
• 853 extra pokie machines, got 230
• Lower gambling age to 18, stayed at 21
• 150 automated multi-player gambling tables, got 12
• $10 million a year to promote the convention centre, got nothing
• The ability to promote jackpoint draws, not agreed to
• Cashless pokie machines – agreed to
• Pokie machines that can take $100 notes – agreed to in restricted areas

I’d say the Government drove a pretty hard bargain. Also kudos to them for releasing all these documents in advance of OIA requests, and not trying to say they are commercially sensitive and unable to be released It is good to have this full transparency.

Huff Post blogs:

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s (R) reelection campaign was backed by four more Democratic elected officials Monday, bringing the total to 36 statewide. …

Christie has been backed by two of the state’s most powerful Democrats, Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo and state Sen. Brian Stack, in his reelection campaign. DiVincenzo and Stack, who both command powerful voter turnout armies and are popular in their home regions, have been long time Christie allies. A third powerful Democrat, Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, has not ruled out backing Christie.

Christie is obviously going to win re-election massively.

What is more interesting is all these endorsements will help him in 2016, if he can win the Republican nomination. Having so many senior Democrats endorse you as Governor, means that you can appeal to independents and moderates and very importantly be seen as someone who can break the gridlock in Washington.

I think Christie may be the only Republican that has a chance against Hillary Clinton in the general election. I think he could beat Clinton. A Clinton or Bush has been in the White House for 20 of the last 25 years. Why carry on a dynasty.

However can Christie win the Republican nomination. Many would rather let Clinton win, than nominate Christie. However if the Republicans fail to win the White House in 2016, then there is a fair chance they lose a majority on the Supreme Court, which would be a setback.

The next three years will be interesting.

The Herald reports:

Controversial plans for a tunnel between Queenstown and Milford Sound have been rejected by Conservation Minister Nick Smith.

Dr Smith said he was declining the application because the environmental impacts were “significant” and beyond what was appropriate in two of New Zealand’s most spectacular national parks.

Milford Dart Limited had applied for permission to build a $170 million, 11.3km, five-metre diameter, single-lane bus tunnel that would have slashed the nine-hour journey time between the tourist hotspots.

How disappointing. The journey to Milford is insane, and a major turn off.  I don’t see how having hundreds of buses driving man extra hours on the roads is good for the environment.

All facilities to get tourists in have some impact on a high value conservation area. But without them, no one at all would ever get to see them and value them. The Daintree Rain Forest has a gondola for example.

A tunnel would have far less visual impact than a road as it is well, underground, apart from the entrance and exit. I was hoping the application would be approved. If it had got the go ahead, I reckon in 20 years time everyone would be saying it should have happened a long time ago. Now, it may never happen.

The Herald reports:

Greenpeace has erected a huge billboard in central Wellington accusing Energy Minister Simon Bridges of misleading Parliament over a meeting he had with oil company Shell.

The billboard, at the corner of Manners St and Cuba St, is almost 300 square metres and says: “Simon Bridges Pants on Fire”.

Greenpeace said Mr Bridges misled Parliament over his contact with Shell about a controversial Crown Minerals Bill amendment covering deep-sea protests.

The sanctions were rushed into law in May without public consultation

It later emerged Mr Bridges had met Shell in February, two weeks before taking a paper on the protest changes to cabinet. …

Mr Bridges said while the Opposition and Greenpeace may wish otherwise, there was no conspiracy.

“I was not, at any time, lobbied by Shell or anyone else to make the changes to the Crown Minerals Act … I met with Shell, but the issue was not discussed. Ministers regularly meet with business. However, decisions are made by Cabinet.

I wonder how you’d feel if you donated money to Greenpeace thinking they will use it to help the environment, and instead they spend what must be at least ten thousand dollars on a billboard to call a Minister a liar (without proof). Their money, they can do what they want with it.  But remember they are fighting in court for the right to be a charity not a lobby group.

At least they used a nice photo.

He said he was “chuffed” about the billboard.

“As a boy from Tauranga, I’ve always wanted my name up in lights in the big city. Now it’s happened and I managed to get Greenpeace to pay for it.”

Simon should ask them to do one in Tauranga also – should help increase his already massive majority.

Zion National Park is in Utah, and the main focus of it is the Zion Canyon which is 24 kms long and almost a km deep. There are mountain lions in the park but not near where the humans are, so sadly didn’t see any. But the park is spectacular and there are over two dozen walks ranging from the short to the long. Did five different walks, enjoying the breath-taking views and scenery.

Many years ago the number of cars in the park lead to massive congestion as it was so popular. So what they do now is now allow private vehicles on the main canyon road during summer, but they have bus shuttles running every ten minutes or so. Makes it very easy to get around.

This is the view approaching Zion.

Our RV, parked at the campsite.

We took the shuttle down to the Temple of Sinawava and walked along the Virgin river. The further in you go, the more narrow it gets,

The walls are often pure vertical.

One of the locals.

Outside the Zion Lodge.

We then clibed up to the Lower Emerald Pool where the water flows overhead (more so in winter).

Then kept climbing up to the Middle Emerald Poll through this narrow passage,

This stick was wedged beneath this huge rock. I doubt it was holding it up but wasn’t game to remove it!

A view back from the climb after we got to the Upper Emerald Pool.

The Virgin River.

The size of the walls is hard to capture in photos.

The park gets around 2.8 million visitors a year.

Left Vegas on Monday (US time). Had a fun three nights there with a 6 am and two 3 am nights out. That’s why so many people like Vegas – there is stuff happening 24 hours.

Thought I’d share my thoughts on the good and bad, for future travellers.

Hotels

I asked on Facebook and Twitter for recommendations and the Bellagio was most recommended.  They were right. Great location, rooms, facilities, restaurants etc. The fact we got upgraded to a suite helps, but even without that, was a good pick.

Casinos

We did Bellagio, New York New York, Paris, Caesars, Rio and Monte Carlo. Managed to lose no money at all. Made 250% on Blackjack Swap, 120% on pokies, and 25% on Roulette.  Bellagio and Monta Carlo my favourites, and Caesars least favourite (customers too trashy).

Restaurants

Had dinners at Sensi at Bellagio and Mon Ami Gabi at Paris.

Both excellent. Sensi has Italian, Asian, grill and seafood cusines. We did the seafood. Mon Ami Gabi is of course French and their escargots were as good as in Paris.

Shows

On the first night we saw O, from Cirque du Soleil. Probably the best show in Vegas. It is water based (a 1.5 million gallon pool of water) and they have diving, acrobatics, dancing – everything. The show has grossed over a billion dollars in live performances. I had previously seen Ka, and that is also very good.  The costumes alone are amazing.

At O, we were seated on the very front row, next to an entrance. This is known as the wet zone, but you don’t get too splashed. More than worth being that close as you get such a close up view of the performers. And in fact many of them run out in front of you.

On the second night we saw Penn and Teller. I’ve loved them from afar for a long time, so was great to see them live. Their stunts and tricks are done adroitly, but they also use them to make some political points in line with their libertarian beliefs. The TSA airport screening gets dealt to, and the Bill of Rights is highlighted.

Two things I especially liked is how they go out of their way to tell you everything is a trick. They have no supernatural powers, there is no ESP, there is no magic, and people like John Edwards who prey on people’s vulnerabilities are just criminals. Hear hear. Also they meet fans after the show and pose for photos. Two really nice guys to boot.

Pool

It is so hot during the day (40 degree) that the only thing to do is be poolside.  One of the best investments you can make is paying $75 to get a permanent recliner in the “premium” section. It means you can come and go all day and not lose your seat. You have an umbrella, and you have dedicated waiting staff who keep you supplied with drinks. It’s like the Koru Club for swimming pools 🙂

Travel

You can walk to neighbouring casinos, but more than one away and everyone taxis. A few casinos have train links also, which is useful. Be aware can take 10 minutes or so to get to the front of the queue.

Also be aware that trying to get a taxi outside of the main strip can mean a wait of over an hour. if you need to go outside the main area, then pay for your taxi to wait for you rather than try to get a new one.

No longer in Nevada. We drove on Monday through Arizona into Utah and spent last night in Hurricane and now am in the Zion National Park. The photos of Zion are able to be blogged, unlike many of the Vegas ones 🙂

Isaac Davidson at NZ Herald reports:

Labour MP Maryan Street is under pressure to drop a member’s bill which would legalise euthanasia because her party is concerned it could be a negative distraction in the lead-up to the general election next year.

If Ms Street’s End of Life Choice Bill was pulled from the ballot, the debate could extend into election year, and some Labour MPs felt this could hurt the party’s run for Government by distracting from its main policies and deterring more conservative voters.

Ms Street said that several colleagues had discussed with her what would happen if the bill were pulled from the ballot in 2014.

I think they are more worried that the euthanasia bill could help the Conservative Party make 5%.

Personally I’ll be very disappointed if Maryan does drop the bill. I think we inflict some terrible suffering on people by not allowing them to opt for euthanasia.

If she does drop the bill, then maybe a Green Party MP can pick it up?

At present, there are 69 members’ bills in the ballot. Nine members’ bills were still waiting for a first reading, so another ballot was unlikely to be held until the end of the year.

Not quite right. Once the number awaiting first reading drops below eight, then another ballot is held. I expect another ballot in August, say September at the latest.

Chris trotter writes at Stuff:

Labour MPs have accused Garner of “making up” his story about a coup being under way against Shearer. But only a moment’s thought is required to expose this accusation for the nonsense it is.

Garner has confirmed that his informant was a member of the Labour Party caucus. Presumably, he or she was someone who had vouchsafed information to Garner in the past – information which had proved to be reliable.

The maelstrom of criticism into which Garner has been unceremoniously pitched, since his predictions of last Thursday night were proved wrong, provides the strongest argument as to why he would not have tweeted without feeling extremely confident about the rumour’s veracity.

(Just to make sure, however, he sought and received confirmation from a second Labour Party source.)

That Garner was given what the Americans would call “a bum steer” should tell him (and us) that the atmosphere in Labour’s caucus is becoming increasingly toxic.

Is the source the same one who told One News and Three News staff Shearer had two months to improve?

So, why did Garner’s coup rumour fail to stack up? Let’s go through the explanatory options.

1) Some sort of leadership coup was on, but Garner’s tweet alerted Shearer’s supporters and the organisers were forced to abort. (Despairing Labour MPs may simply have been gathering sufficient signatures to persuade their leader to go gracefully and preserve the party from a debilitating civil war.)

2) No coup was imminent, but Garner’s source considered it vital that Shearer be forced to endure yet another destabilising round of media speculation concerning the viability of his leadership. (So vital that they were willing to abuse and lose Garner’s trust.)

3) For reasons of their own, Shearer’s backers decided to undermine Garner’s journalistic credibility by deliberately misinforming him that a coup was under way.

My pick is No 2.

Marty Sharpe at Stuff reports:

A third of people sentenced to life in prison are in the community on parole.

Hardliners on crime say this makes a mockery of the term life imprisonment, but the Ministry of Justice says it is an accurate description as people on parole can be recalled to jail.

Figures issued by the Department of Corrections under the Official Information Act show that of the 719 people serving life sentences, 217 have been freed on parole.

I don’t think all murderers should spent the rest of their lives in jail. With the ability to now give lengthy non parole periods, and even life without parole, the sentencing regime is getting reasonably close to where I think it should be.

However what I would be interested on is whether those killers who are now out on parole, have offended since they were released.

Here’s the data I’d like to see.

• Number of criminals sentenced to life
• Number who have been given parole, and median and mean periods before parole
• Mean and median period between being eligible for parole and getting parole, for those who got it
• Of those given parole, how many have not breached any of their parole conditions
• Of those given parole, how many breached a parole condition, but were not recalled
• Of those given parole, how many breached a parole condition, but were recalled
• Of those given parole, how many have committed further crimes
• Of those given parole, how many have committed further serious (say strike eligible) crimes

Anyone able to provide or obtain that info? I could OIA it, but am in the Zion National Park in Utah at the moment, so would rather reduce keyboard time to a minimum!

I recently OIA’d ACC and asked them how many compensation claims had been paid out due to zombies, vampires or ghosts in the last five years.

I’ve had a response and there were 25 claims costing a total of $24,500 excl GST.

So not a great impact from our undead brethren. In fact sadly it seems all the claims were due to humans, not the undead.

ACC provided details of some of the claims (not identifying the clients of course), which are quite amusing. They include:

• Being chased by a zombie at Spookers; turned and hit pole, and flipped over fence
• Playing “zombies” at school; crashed into pole 
• Playing ghosts tripped and fell 
• Accidentally put arm through window telling ghost story
• Crawling under bed to find ghost – hit head on bed
• Fell off stage during ghost tour 
• Playing ghost tag, bumped into dishwasher
• Playing ghosts with sister; had a sheet over head, and banged jaw
• Walking like a zombie in hallway; slipped on carpet and twisted ankle sideways
• Banged forehead on door frame when pretending to be a ghost (wearing a blanket)
• Theme park ghost ride – was thrown from side to side causing a horrible pain in neck
• Removing face paint/makeup after zombie party; pain in eye while removing – worsened following morning

I like the crawling under the bed to find a ghost. I suspect they had a child unable to sleep due to the ghost there. Not sure hwo you play ghost tag, but sounds fun. Also unsure why you would walk like a zombie in a hallway, unless you were one.

Dressing up as a ghost is likely to lead you to walk into doorframes, unless you put eye hole in!

The Australian reports:

GRAPHIC images and plain packaging for junk food may be forced on consumers, as food industry heavyweights debate tough measures to combat obesity.

A panel of food science, nutrition and manufacturing experts will tackle whether tobacco’s plain packaging approach would help curb the state’s growing obesity epidemic at the Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology convention today.

This is my concern over proposed plain packaging for tobacco. It sets a precedent that will be used in other areas such as alcohol and then food.

In New Zealand, Otago University professor of marketing Janet Hoek said tobacco use there had halved since the introduction of policies to restrict the way plain packaging was marketed.

But we don’t have plain packaging for tobacco implemented in NZ, so crediting it for a halving of the smoking rate is preposterous.

She called on the NZ Government to do the same for junk food, telling the New Zealand Herald“it makes sense to examine the potential these policies could have in reducing consumption of foods associated with obesity”.

Why not just have the state decide what foods we’re allowed to buy, what portion size is acceptable and have them deliver the approved foods to us every week?

UPDATE: The Australian it seems misreported Professor Hoek, and their article now says “tobacco use there had halved since the introduction of policies to restrict the way it was marketed”.