Category: Uncategorized

Thoughts on budget 2015

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“I don’t know what we’re supposed to call this mode of government,”

The term is Social Conservative which is where Labour and New Zealand First usually sit.

We had a Social Conservative Budget passed and one indeed the Greens should have claimed as a victory even if a minor one (on lifting core benefits and getting Government to just even talk poverty).

Labour had a shocker over the last 24 hours and only got their collective s$%& together a few hours ago by announcing the resumption of the Kickstart for KiwiSaver which National have dropped.

All in all with the Budget?
Yep an English Social Conservative Budget demonstrating the Social Conservative Faction well in control on contrast to the Collins/Slater/DPF faction.

English has always earned my admiration and respect whether I like his policies or not. Given that I have had a few cups of teas and the odd hot breakfast over time with English.

Maybe next year Bill we can get the Auckland Transit Link (CRL) going and split KiwiRail into two. The freight side handled by KR and the tracks passed over to NZTA.

Progress

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In effect it a small strengthening of our existing laws around taxation of gains made in the sale of residential property.

I suppose some wider questions now come to mind such as ‘Why now” and “Has National lost the narrative (spin) on this one?”

I suppose if a Government was being serious a Capital Gains Tax would be universalised to include the Family home backed by a 1% of Rateable Value Vacant Land Tax to be paid annually.

As Auckland breaks so does my heart…

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Found this earlier

Ties in with my post tomorrow on the Transport Accord and why Council should say “NO!”

sinisterdisco's avatarsinisterdisco

John keyDear Mr Key,

I will aim to keep this short and not take up too much of your time.  I will also try to keep my emotions from tainting my words but it may be rather difficult so please do forgive me if that is what happens during the course of this email.  The reason I have contacted you is mostly to give you a personal account of how the housing crisis is affecting young couples in Auckland (and in other areas of NZ) and to let you know that the struggle is real.  The struggle is also isolating because young renters only have each other as allies, so I have written to you on behalf of them, on behalf of all of us who just can’t take the insanity anymore.

My story

My partner and I don’t want anything flash nor do we care about living in the city…

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quaxing

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#Quaxing
It is official and spreading globally.

sesquiotic's avatarSesquiotica

Do you like quaxing? I like quaxing. I quax all the time. Well, to be precise, I quax regularly every Friday at around 6:30 pm, and I may also quax on other days of the week.

What is quaxing? By context, you may guess it is not related to sounds ducks or Aristophanic frogs make (brekekekex, quax, quax?). No, this word is an eponym. Or perhaps I should call it a contreponym or perhaps a spitonym, because its sense is pointedly in spite of the person whose name it uses.

I don’t know if this word will take off and last. Its sound is sharp and exceptional and suggests things unrelated to its referent. But right now it’s a fun little flash in the pan. And I bet at least one of my regular Sesquiotica readers (hello, Janet!) will know it already, since she’s from New Zealand, which is…

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April ’15 – NZ blogs sitemeter ranking

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While quieter last month Talking Auckland did improve its rankings to 21 (well 20 as Whale Oil is not publicly showing his Stats Meter) up from 24 in March.

Again a thank you to readers and the growing numbers of commenters. Without you Talking Auckland would not be possible.

This month we have the Budget Committee debating the Long Term Plan, and myself due to give a presentation to the Auckland Development Committee on sub regional development.

Also this month starts the first of my Unitary Plan mediation/hearing sessions as well with Transport as the first topic being transport. Fun times ahead.

Ken's avatarOpen Parachute

Social-Media_EmailImage credit: Hosting A Competition To Increase Blog Visits

There are now over 300 blogs on the list, although I am weeding out those which are no longer active or have removed public access to sitemeters. (Let me know if I weed out yours by mistake, or get your stats wrong).

Every month I get queries from people wanting their own blog included. I encourage and am happy to respond to queries but have prepared a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) people can check out. Have a look at NZ Blog Rankings FAQ. This is particularly helpful to those wondering how to set up sitemeters.

Please note, the system is automatic and relies on blogs having sitemeters which allow public access to the stats.

Here are the rankings of New Zealand blogs with publicly available statistics for April 2015. Ranking is by visit numbers. I have listed the blogs in…

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Shayne Currie and the mystery of the ever-changing statement

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For those in Facebook who have gone
FOCUS ON ISSUES THAT MATTER

Sorry but you might not be understanding the role of the 4th Estate which is the Media holding the State to account.

What we have here is an Editor breaching ethics, ethics so needed when running stories especially sensitive stories and anonymous sources.

If such ethics are thrown out the window as might be apparent then the 4th Estate is no longer doing its job. And by that they are not holding to account the Government and State on issues like

Taxes
Expenditure
Deployment to Iraq
Natural Disaster Response
Conduct of Government, Opposition, and MPs otherwise known as part of The Parliament
Policy that affects us all one way or the other
The Police (who have been in the firing line as of late)

So yes this is now an issue that matters as the 4th Estate is brought into disrepute when it meant to be an arm of our Democratic Institute. That is right the Media are part of our Democratic Institute as much as The Executive, The Legislature/Parliament, The Judiciary, and The State.

jononatusch's avatarOccasionally Erudite Publications

In my previous post, I quoted the statement posted online by Shayne Currie, NZ Herald editor, in response to questions as to Rachel Glucina’s ethics. It’s a statement that was initially posted, disappeared, and was then re-posted.

What I hadn’t realised is that some quite fundamental changes were made to the statement between being posted and then being re-posted. They’ve been mapped by Peter Aranyi, author of the excellent On The Paepae blog, via Twitter:

Shayne Currie statement

The most pertinent change would seem to be the removal of the words “No objections were raised” from the second-to-last paragraph. Did Mr Currie, on second thoughts, realise that such a statement was indefensible?

Then note, in paragraph three, the inclusion of the phrase, “Regardless of any confusion over the initial approach, all three agreed they wanted to make a public statement.” As I’ve previously written, the  confusion seems to have been manufactured by Glucina…

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Rachel Glucina and journalistic ethics (or the lack thereof)

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Two things from this:

1) The actions of two people – an editor and a gossip columnist no less have pretty much belittled the Main Stream Media profession and the fine work the journalists actually do out there. If people or organisations are more hesitant to approach the MSM now with stories gee I wonder then why

2) The entire saga has for 48 hours now buried anything else coming out in the cycles today. If Mayor Len Brown wanted to pass a 10% rates rise today he could have done so and Auckland would have been totally clueless until the next Rates bill. The point being today there have been some larger Auckland stories coming through such as:

Auckland Transport considering transport investment over the next three years

Minister of Finance Bill English and Mayor Len Brown are in Flatbush today launching a large housing project with housing so short in Auckland.

Sticking with the Mayor it seems he has done it again and struck a deal on the Port situation. Len is known for striking deals that are the most pragmatic in the middle of a cluster turd storm

The PonyTailGate affair has been one bollocking up that is a case of wanting to turn away from a slow moving wreck but you can not.
The original offence of the Prime Minister touching someone without consent is still a big NO NO on all grounds.
The Herald cocking things up is something else entirely.

Talking Auckland does feel for the good journalists out there today. Why should two inept idiots ruin it for the rest.

Talking Auckland also feels for the waitress caught in this Category 5 shit storm. Having worked in hospitality as a worker and manager I would be guttered if from what I am hearing the owners effectively pimped out the story the way it seems to be unfolding. The Hospo Industry is fast pace and fun but hell it can be downright trying as well.

jononatusch's avatarOccasionally Erudite Publications

As everyone knows, John Key yesterday became an international laughing stock thanks to his penchant for stroking or yanking women’s ponytails. The blog that yesterday outed the issue kept the waitress’s name secret – her account of John Key’s actions at the cafe where she worked was anonymous.

Turns out it didn’t take long for her name to hit the headlines, thanks to the actions of NZ Herald gossip columnist / wannabe-real-journalist Rachel Glucina. You might remember Ms Glucina from Dirty Politics…

An excerpt from Nicky Hagar's book Dirty Politics. An excerpt from Nicky Hager’s book Dirty Politics.

The waitress has detailed her account of Ms Glucina’s overtures here, and, if true, Glucina’s actions (and, indeed, the actions of her editor, Shayne Currie) reflect appallingly on the Herald. Here’s the long and short of it:

  • The Parnell cafe, Rosie, in which this all went down, is owned by Hip Group.
  • Rachel Glucina’s twin brother, Henry…

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