Coup Coup

Fast forward a few years....

Don Brash (103) will be on the look out for a new leader for the ACT Party. Maori Affairs spokesman John Banks will be out of the running due to the making another “Hone” phone call only for him to accidentally call Hone Harawira. Ever loyal lieutenant Heather Roy still smarting from her demotion due to trying to usurp Finance Spokesman Peter Tashkoff who himself is also incapable of running due to his running to the media to back Banks.
Spokesman for families Colin Craig will have the numbers from the Jesus Christ Conservative Christian wing of ACT – renamed Association of Conservative Taxpayers, but will rely on a crucial vote from Hilary Calvert who misunderstood the memo and has voted for Kevin Campbell giving him one vote.

The liberal members of the party have already left the party, taking with them the founding principles while the new members, all coming from National, are looking for a new, centre right, hungry, economically sound and principled outsider to come rescue the party from political oblivion.

Rodney, fresh from completing the London marathon, author of several acclaimed books and of TV fame as a political pundit looks down to his ringing phone, has a chuckle before turning off his phone and enjoying life.

Statement from Hon Rodney Hide

I am immensely proud of the ACT Party.

ACT is the only party in New Zealand that stands consistently for individual freedom and personal responsibility.

For smaller and limited government.

For one law for all, with all New Zealanders treated equally in law regardless of their race or their beliefs.

ACT is the only party in New Zealand that consistently stands up for private property rights, free markets, choice and competition, low and flat tax.

ACT is the only party that has the policies needed to achieve a free and prosperous future for New Zealand.

I am very proud of ACT’s achievements.

It was ACT’s success in Epsom in 2008 that ensured the change of government. If ACT had not succeeded in Epsom, Helen Clark would still be Prime Minister.

It’s the feature of MMP that it took both National and ACT to succeed to make John Key Prime Minister. I am very proud of that.

I am proud of what ACT has achieved in government. We promised and delivered, and will continue to deliver, stable, centre-right government.

We achieved our Three Strikes legislation making New Zealanders safer from the thugs and the bullies, the 2025 Taskforce provided the road map for New Zealand future prosperity, we successfully reformed the governance of our biggest city, our Regulatory Standards Bill slashes red tape and our Spending Cap Bill puts government on a much-needed diet.

But what ACT has achieved in government so far is not sufficient to reverse New Zealand’s relative decline or to return us to a society where Jack is as good as his master, no matter the colour of his skin.

This can only happen if ACT succeeds at this year’s election in greater numbers and so strengthen the John Key-led National government.

The future success of New Zealand depends critically on ACT’s success on November 26.

My entire focus since Don announced his bid to be ACT leader has been what’s best for ACT and to ensure, as we promised, continued support for the John Key-led government.

I have kept the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister fully briefed throughout.

I believe that Don Brash is the best person to lead ACT to success in this year’s election. I told the Prime Minister last night. I rang Don this morning to tell him he has my support.

The process now is for Don to join the party. His membership will be accepted by the Board on Saturday. I have asked our whip John Boscawen to organise a caucus for Saturday where Don will have my full support to be leader, and the Board will reconvene that afternoon to ratify his leadership.

I must stress that ACT and National’s Confidence and Supply Agreement remains in force with the agreement of all parties including that of ACT’s new leader and there is no risk to the Government. It’s business as usual. The only change is that ACT will have a new leader to take it into the election and to lead it into the next government.

If you will allow me a minute just here at the end to say a few more words. It is a great honour and a privilege to be the Member of Parliament for Epsom, the people here have all been wonderful to me, I have been both proud and humbled to be the leader of the ACT Party, but there’s no doubt that the highest honour and greatest privilege has been to serve as a Minister in the John Key-led government.

John Key and Bill English have my respect and admiration. It’s the greatest honour and privilege to assist their leadership of our country as we have faced and continue to face such tough and challenging times.

I have always worked hard to the best of my abilities with the best of motives. I have always put the country first. I set high standards for myself. I have at times fallen short. I have always worked to put whatever mistake I have made right and not to repeat it!

Finally I would just like to thank all ACT members and supporters for their continued support and inspiration and to the people of Epsom who have welcomed me into their homes and their communities and for whom it is such a privilege to be their Representative in the wonderful and venerable institution, our Parliament.

National's Brash Faction

After hearing National Party bloggers talk about the ACT leadership issue – and National leaning journos and commentators discuss the succession routes for Don Brash (member of the National Party) to take over from ACT, and for John Banks (member of the National Party) to run in ACT held Epsom – I am wondering who exactly is more nervous about a Key Government post the 2011 election.

My co-blogger Blair, who I respect, has put forth his ideas for why he supports this idea here.
I disagree but that is why we blog, to have opinions. I am going to put forth my own spin on this.

Why are National supporters so keen to see Brash as leader of ACT?
We all know that many Nat MPs have their political careers to thank for Brash resurrecting National from the dire awfulness of the Bill English years. Bill was hardly the best leader – the fact that he rolled Jenny Shipley before her time didn’t help the fact either. I remember being in attendance at a Young Nats conference where she spoke not too long after Bill took over. The murmurs from many of those listening to her were that she was popular and that Bill dragging the party towards the centre was painful for too many. The pollsters and public agreed and we all know that Bills election result for National was record breaking for all the wrong reasons.

Brash come to National and installed policies that were lifted from the ACT manifesto. Hell, the guy was only 45,506 votes (and $400k in unlawful campaign spending) behind Labour!
It is hard to believe that National Party supporters were ungrateful for his massive contribution to National during the short time he was leader.

When the younger and politically “easy to sell” John Key took over, suddenly the proud party of Brash and Shipley lurched in the same direction as they did under the faltering Bill English, and followed that up by making Bill deputy! This was a very strong statement that the years of following a robust right wing policy platform were over and that the 9 years of Labour needed to be broken up - whatever the cost.

It is very difficult to imagine that all these Brash and Shipley supporting Nats all had a 1984 type epiphany and decided that Brash was the enemy and Key was who they all supported. It doesn’t add up at all. This lends to the theory that this isn’t the case at all and because the populist Key faction are in control of the party at present, a more subtle means of bringing Brash back to Parliament was in order. Especially after 3 years of entrenching Labour policies like Working for Families and shutting the door on the debate about nuclear ships and the race based Maori seats – there was a huge concern that post election 2011, Key was going to stay on the same centrist path.

What the Brash faction needed is a political vehicle to bring their boy back into the race. Rodney seemed vulnerable in Epson, but as polling seemed to have been run by Hooton, who is a cheerleader for John Banks, there were no independent polls spelling out what was the situation for ACT or Rodney. Indeed all it took was a few well placed news statements, spread by anti Rodney enthusiasts and sympathetic journalists to bring about near pandemonium for Rodney and ACT HQ who I have been told were bemused that National supporters were trying to bring in a non member to run the party in the place of Rodney.

The rationale for the Brash faction is that they would expend little political energy installing Brash into a party that is already very sympathetic to him without the need to create a new brand, gathering new members and building a new structure. The result would supposedly bring ACT higher polls and a result that would mean Brash would be in a position to demand concessions from John Key and be in a unique position to place major roadblocks in the way of John continuing on his centrist policy platform for the years ahead. National’s Brash faction is in a situation where they are in a party that they cannot support and yet cannot bring themselves to join ACT – unless they took their leader with them.

The only way for the Brash faction is to now look elsewhere. From early reports it seems that the ACT board will reject this proposal from the Brash faction and there are not enough votes for this to be forced through. The presumptuousness of non members to expect to destabilise another party in order to fulfil an agenda they were too weak to fight within their own party is dreadful. If the Brash faction wanted to force John Key to live up to the founding principles of the National Party they should have done this themselves inside the National Party and fought a public battle against the Key populists instead of try to kill the ACT brand. This shows a complete lack of regard for other people and other parties and epitomises the arrogance of many within the National Party.

You could say that no person inside ACT is bigger than the party and you’d be right. But Brash isn’t a member. On that basis alone there is nothing stopping Rodney Hide attempting to roll John Key for his limpwristed centrist Labour-Lite policies that have entrenched Labour policies and make token gestures towards reducing taxation but instead borrowing beyond our means.

The question is, when the membership of National gets sick of the populism – who will emerge as the person who will take the fight for smaller Government to the voters of New Zealand? Will National be cursed again by the need to be liked and popular in place of good policies?

Easter without religion

Under communism, the ideology followed these days by starving North Koreans and middle class 1st world university students, religion was banned in places like the Czech republic. That meant the Czechs continued their traditions that still continue today, undiluted by the changing world around them.

As a man that is into traditions and quirky ones at that, as well as an atheist, I am a big fan of the Czech Easter traditions - and here is why:

Czech girls decorate Easter eggs to give them to boys on Easter Monday. Easter eggs are painted hard-boiled eggs and then hand decorated. Boys make a special handmade whip, in Czech called pomlazka, and decorate it with colored ribbons at the end. This whip consists of eight, twelve, or even twenty-four willow twigs, depending on the skills of the boy. Surprisingly enough, the more twigs, the more difficult it is to braid the whip. They are usually from half a meter to two meters long!

On Easter Monday it gets more interesting. In the morning, boys walk from door to door to spank the girls on the legs with their whip. It is to say, that the whipping is rather symbolic. The symbolism is easily traced from the Czech name of the Easter whip – pomlazka, which comes from the world pomladit or “make younger” in English.

It is believed that the freshness, youth and strength of the twigs is passed to the women on this day. Every woman thus wants to be whipped in order to keep her health and beauty during the whole next year. Unvisited females can even feel offended. It is therefore almost a duty for all boyfriends and husbands to whip their loved ones with Easter whip!

The boys accompany the whipping with a special Easter carol, usually asking for an egg or two. The girls “reward” them with an Easter egg or tie a ribbon on their whip. The more eggs or ribbons boys have, the better.

For older boys or for men the treat, instead of eggs, is a shot of a harder alcohol, mostly home-made brandy. And of course, the point is to visit possibly all girls in the town! So around noon, groups of happy men can be seen in the streets singing Easter carols and chasing girls.

In the afternoon, girls can get revenge by pouring a bucket of cold water on any male.

Easter traditions are especially practiced in villages and small towns. You will not see many boys with Easter whips walking through the streets of Prague. It is understandable – Prague is a big city and people don’t open their doors to strangers.

But everyone in Prague celebrates Easter. Girls decorate Easter eggs; bake a special Easter cake in shape of a lamb, and boys from family or friends whip girls with bought Easter whips since boys from big cities usually don’t know how to make it.

So if you are a man, don’t forget to whip all girls around you, otherwise their beauty will fade away! And an advice for females, have an Easter egg or two ready to “reward” them.

So you make a whip out of pussy-willow, go round and whip (gently) girls and then they give you shots of alcohol. Outstanding. I have my own smaller whip still from my first time doing this event a couple years back and it is covered in ribbons from the many beatings I delivered that day. :)

And as it is still Easter Monday, I might go make a few visits to some friends today...ha ha ha.

Brashgasm!

Well look who's back to save the day!

Don Brash is truly a unique and compelling politician, and for a second time, he has openly and publicly challenged the incumbent leader of a political party. Will it work for him again?

I have to say first of all that the political strategist in me thinks this is all a very bad idea. I share many of David Farrar's concerns. I remain of the firm belief that the best, and probably only way to fully implement good laissez faire government in New Zealand remains through the National Party. Even though Key's government makes me yearn for the "good old days" of Shipley and Creech(!), you are never going to get an ACT (or Brash Party) Government, and it is always going to be through National that laissez faire policies will be implemented. It then becomes a question of how you get National to do it. Do you work within National and take them along with you? Or do you pummel them from the outside and hope to bully them into doing it? For about 17 years now, most classical liberals have been doing the latter. How's that working out for ya?

Still, if anyone could make that strategy work, it would be Don Brash, a former National Party leader who doubled National's vote, and remains the only party leader in living memory to be pushed out while his party was ahead in the polls. So while the political strategist in me is dismayed, the political geek in me feels a bit like a child who has had too much food colouring. Short of winning an election itself, Brash's re-entry into the fray is about as exciting as it can get in New Zealand politics.

It would be one of those great ironic twists if Brash ended up saving ACT - after all, he was the one responsible for their dip below 5% in the first place. Even more ironically, Rodney Hide probably owes his leadership of ACT to Brash. Without Brash, ACT would have stayed at 5% in the polls, there would be no victory in Epsom, and it would probably be Stephen Franks taking over from a retiring Prebble instead.

Will ACT bite? I agree with John Armstrong that as long as Hide remains leader, ACT is screwed. It seems pretty obvious that the Brash deal is the best offer that they are ever going to get, and they would be fools to turn it down. In fact, I would say they have little choice to refuse. A Brash Party(TM) would almost guarantee the demise of ACT. It's possible Brash is bluffing on that score - setting up a new party is much much more difficult than one might suppose, but essentially he has said to ACT "I'm doing this, with or without you. Jump on board or face oblivion."

The major obstacle would be the ACT women. Calvert has already said she supports Hide, and would look pretty silly to u-turn. And Roy's chances of re-election, ironically, are non-existent unless Brash did set up his own party and she jumped ship. So there's Rodney's three votes!

Either scenario sounds like good fun to me. Welcome back Don Brash!! (We missed you. A lot)

How many more landmines have Labour got left?

When Helen Clark saw Labours polling numbers over the last year of her 9 year reign she knew she was onto a hiding to nothing. Her colleagues privately knew that their days in Government were coming to an end and they were about to be swept aside by the ex state house tenant and a hungry National Party keen to return to power.

Helen steadfastly ignored the obvious signals that Labour were becoming despised by the public and instead continued on with business as usual as they began the slow death march to the 2008 elections – knowing if she lost, she would make life difficult for Key and National as she say back in her plush UNDP office in New York. After all she had long term ambitions for a job at the UN. She committed a disproportionate donation to the UNDP before the 2005 election, only to squeak in and after paying back the illegal money spent she committed a larger percentage to the UNDP than other states (per capita) before the 2008 election which sealed her first class ticket for two to go to New York. From there she was able to unleash more havoc knowing very well that the party without her wouldn’t be able to put a dent in Nationals popularity. Helen was not stupid - far from it. Funnily enough you have Labour supporters saying that John Key is stupid - a man that is world famous for being the best at what he does and admired for such. Left wingers excel in being ignorant.

National inherited a scorched earth policy from Labour that left a clusterfuck of landmines designed to damage the economy and bring ridicule to John Key, even if it was going to hurt Kiwi taxpayers.

These include:

1) NZ Rail

Renationalising the Rail was a deliberate ploy to commit Government expenditure away from National policy pledges and into a white elephant that would suck the treasury dry. This billion dollar purchase was designed to leave the cupboards bare after all the election bribes were given out. When it emerged that the value of the network was only $369m it showed that there was only one winner from this deal – Toll shareholders who snapped off Helens hand when offered almost double the value of their shares back.

2) ACC
Labour hid a $1.5B shortfall in ACC in the Pre-election Fiscal Update (PREFU). This was a huge landmine to discover once the smoke had cleared post election. An independent inquiry showed that Cullen and Street were culpable in this coverup, which of course Helen would have had full knowledge of. In some countries, this would amount to treason – but Helen was already picking her hand luggage with Heather so didn’t care.

3) Labour tried to be tricky just recently by attacking National over the renewal of Parliamentary BMW’s. This was deliberate because Labour struck a nerve with their voter base by not disclosing that they were the ones who set up the original contract for these cars. 3 years later, perfectly good BMWs were replaced with better ones – and National looking like elitists that were too good for their old BMWs. 34 cars worth $200k each (commercially) may have seemed like a good deal to the troughing Labour MPs in 2008, before the election, but they knew that be allowing for these expensive cars to be renewed when they were out of power would look bad for National.
And finally the latest landmine:

4) Americas Cup.
Labour committed $34m to go to the latest Americas Cup challenge back in 2007 which has been reported in some quarters as National doing so. As like the BMWs, Labour had no problem throwing my and your money towards all sorts of non essential silly buggers, if it could be seen as a National issue, much the better!
Even though Mallard has defended the spending, many of their supporters and those who believe the news would have already made their mind up about this.

Just how many landmines will we find? It is incredible that we are still unearthing them at the end of the 1st term of the National Govt. I hate the practise of one Government accusing its predecessors but in many cases National do have a solid point.

Things are not so rosy for Helen over at the UNPD. The organisation has been mired with controversy over fraud and corruption in monies going to Mali, Mauritania and Djibouti – with the UNDP deliberately dragging their feet when being asked to account for the location of these missing millions. Helen has also failed to disclose gifts while she has been in office. It seems that simply by being the poster girl for arrogance and denial while being surrounded by sickening sycophancy in ones own country isn’t the sorts of qualities that will endear her to higher office.
She is already one of the least qualified UNDP administrators and may find her time in New York to be over sooner than she had hoped.

Maybe in time to save Labour in 2014?

All hail the queen of smash ups

Cactus Kate, the girl every left wing male blogger dreams about being converted by and whose photo adorns the walls of every commerce student dorms in halls of residences up and down New Zealand has done it again.

Not content of a hard living Hong Kong lifestyle, she still has plenty of time to play smash up with the pinkos leaving nothing in her wake. Both she and Whale Oil have no competition when leading the VRWC on daily assaults on lame left wing social networking campaigns.

Speaking about our latest victory against Labours “Stop” sign campaign fail she adds:

Finding out that their keystone campaign heading into the run up to the election is based on illegal signs is as demoralising as draining the chocolate from the Easter bunny in front of a diabetic child.

The beatings will continue from the VRWC regardless.

Cactus has challenged the left to come up with a campaign that we cannot destroy. The gauntlet has been thrown!

Read her latest blog post here.

Uodate... credit is also due to Keeping Stock for his nonstop shitkicking to the left. IV2 has also been giving them a good serve over at Labour HQ The Stranded blog.

Compulsory fee changes put spotlight on tertiary institutions

I’ve been meaning to write about the changes to the Education Act that will make student services more transparent. This is long overdue and will force tertiary institutions to make important choices about what they charge students.

Student services levies are closely linked to the debate over compulsory membership of student associations. Student services levies are a poorly understood and opaque part of the cost of tertiary education. Compulsory associations have used this lack of clarity to claim responsibility for services provided through student services levies.

Most student services are funded by students through fees paid to
institutions rather than to associations. Greater transparency around student services levies will allow students to see exactly what they are paying for and who is providing it. This will reduce the ability of opponents of voluntary membership to claim that its introduction will cause services to be “lost”.

The Tertiary Education Union is also wrong to claim that once voluntary membership is introduced institutions will have to fund services currently provided by student associations. TEU national president Sandra Grey said(31 March:

"If the voluntary student membership bill passes, many institutions will need to fund services that students currently provide themselves. If so they will either need to charge more or make cuts in other areas"

It’s going to be up to institutions to decide what student services levies they impose. There’s nothing that says institutions will “need to fund services that students currently provide themselves.” Instead institutions will need to look at the so-called services provided by student associations and ask if they want to pick up those costs and transfer them to students
through new or increased student services levies.

Institutions will have to ask if they want to charge students for ‘services’ such as:

· Orientation parties. Not used by all students. If institutions decide orientation is a valuable marketing tool to sell the ‘student lifestyle’ then institutions should fund orientation

· Student magazines and radio stations. Not used by all students, able to be funded by advertising

· Sports tournaments and clubs. Not used by all students, should be funded on a user pays basis

In addition, institutions will have to ask if they want to increase the cost of tertiary education by using service contracts to prop up formerly compulsory student associations to deliver ‘services’ that are not wanted or used by all students.

Steven Joyce’s change to the Education is positive as it will force
institutions to be more transparent and reduce some of the shonky
arrangements where students simply don’t know where their money is going.

See the changes here

The hug of death

The doomsday predictions that the ACT Party being wiped out are getting earlier and earlier every election including this doozy from Hooton! ACTs results since being the first (and only) new party entering Parliament since MMP began have have its ups and downs:

1996 - 8 MPs
1999 - 9 MPs
2002 - 9 MPs
2005 - 2 MPs
2008 - 5 MPs

The fact that both Rodney and Heather worked their tails off to bring ACT back from the brink in 2008 is testimony that there is a place for the ACT Party in New Zealand - but once the celebrations died down ACT found itself part of a Government for the first time. Instead of being a party that had excellent alternatives that we could wax lyrical about, we needed to experience a culture change in terms of expectations and outcomes. We all know many people left ACT, outraged that Rodney and Co had to take their foot off the accelerator and swallow a few rats. But for ex ACT members to go join National was more telling that they were mostly in ACT for the wrong reasons, as going to National showed the ACT party was full of power hungry populists. Those who left thinking they could change National from the inside must be dying inside every day.

I could be even more forthright and state two things that have harmed ACT in the last few years.

1) Being in Government with National has hurt ACT more than anything in our history
2) Having ex Nats join the party has weakened the party too.

Re #2, ACT was a party full of ex Labour supporters - freed from the shackles of socialist ideology by Sir Roger. Of course we did have Derek Quigley on board, a fine ex Nat who helped shape the party into the force that got it elected in 96. But once ACT gained popularity and advocated policies that the Nats SHOULD have been promoting then membership was swelled by ex Nats. Many with good intentions, others with ideas that would turn ACT into a more conservative movement than we envisioned when the party was created. The "Liberal Project" adopted by ACT did help push some of the conservatives back to National, outraged that we would promote less discrimination against weed smokers and homosexuals but ACT still had enough of these members involved who helped push the law and order movement.

The silly buggers that happened last year as well as the Garrett scandal hurt the brand a lot. It is safe to say the next party list is going to be interesting and I expect the party will be very keen on putting up some good talent within the party and rewarding loyalty.
Some people like to blame the leader - but considering John Key loaded Rodney with the Auckland Supercity responsibilities, it has meant that Rodney has been unable to be unleashed as the man that has worked tirelessly for ACT for all these years. Being a minister is a tough job - but try and name a dozen National MPs who could have organised Auckland better than how Rodney did it?

Lets move on to election 2011. What does ACT need to do to fight off the vultures?

#1 Commit to being an independent voice away from National. Do not go into Govt with them.
#2 Hit the road hard, preach about the debt and why ACT was right about cutting spending and not borrowing against our grandkids futures.
#3 Give Rodney a free pass to attack waste, spending and bureaucracy. Push all boundaries with National. We have the ETS, WFF and debt to start with.
#4 Give John Boscawen a chance to win his electorate seat. Give it a fair shot.
#5 Get back into the habit of upsetting the lefties.
and of course
#6 Bring back the flat tax debate and remind voters we have supported SOE sales before the Nats did.
#7 Realise that being close to National isn't an advantage, their hug of death has many sharp blades.

We have a natural constituency that do not like seeing us in bed with National. We came from the Labour Party and while we'd never go back to that gaggle, we'd be better off emphasising our differences rather than being part of the John Key show.

No doubt I might provoke debate but the comments policy will be strictly enforced by myself and my co bloggers if you're being a dick. Cheers.

**Update**
As it seems I hit the post rather than draft button before I went to bed I thought I'd touch on a couple points made in the comments.

The C&S agreement IMO should not be pursued in the next term. National don't need ACT after the 2011 election going by current polling so this provides a unique opportunity to make a clean break. This term has shown that even with just a C&S agreement - and a couple ministerial roles - is more than enough for ACT members to stomach.

I was also careful to not call all ex ACT members who went back to National the names I mentioned above. I know a few people who migrated to National who are fine people. But in many of the ACT organisations I have worked within, I can say I hae shed no tears for some of the opportunists who have thrown their toys out and rejoined National.

More food porn

well hello there!

Regular readers know about my obsession for food porn, the search for bigger and better foods that push the boundaries in terms of deliciousness, awesomeness and how much it will offend the food police. I have already written about the truly brilliant KFC Double Down which is setting the hearts of Kiwi men in a flutter as it makes its much awaited entry to the marketplace. However the KFC Double Down is a mere baby beside the latest burger to hit the market place… in fact Burger King truly lives up to its billing with their new offering the MEAT MONSTER.. (a name that I sometimes use to describe things to the Mrs but that’s another story) Burger Kings description of the burger which is a little like reading Penthouse Forum or Hustler goes like this… In between the sesame seed bun, you will find two hamburgers, a chicken breast fillet, two slices of processed cheese and three rashers of bacon, decorated with salad trimmings on top. 3 meats in one burger you say? Outstanding! I am sure the nutritionists will be screaming bloody murder about this one. Burger King has stated that this burger is the true – “have it your way” burger as you can add to it egg patties, fish or whatever… either way – it comes at a calorific 1160 calories, almost double the calories than the supposedly evil Double Down. When I was researching the goodness behind the Meat Monster, I read this brilliant description of another Burger King Burger, the “Triple Stacker”… I swear Larry Flynt couldn’t have done a better job…. This mountainous monument of meat boasts 3 patties, 2 slices of cheese & 3 half slices of bacon all smothered in BK® Stacker sauce. This shrine of meaty cheesy, goodness is sure to satisfy even the most discerning of meatatarians. Hell yes. Me want. I can't wait to see the looks on the nutritionists faces if this ever hit our fair shores. The bad news for now is that the Meat Monster is only available in Japan... seems fair, they have had a lot of misery lately so deserve a treat. Maybe John Key can use his new CERA powers to force BK to start selling it in NZ? In case you didn't know, here is the current "top 10" fast food Big Burger calorie list 1. The Meat Monster - 1,160 2. BK Triple Whopper - 1,140 3. Wendy’s 1/4lb triple - 1,030 4. McDonalds double 1/4lb with cheese – 740 5. KFC Double Down sandwich - 610 6. BK Whopper - 670 7. Wendy’s 1/4lb single – 550 8. McDonalds Big Mac – 490 9. KFC Honey BBQ sandwich – 320 fap fap fap....

The Labour List

Plenty has already been said about the Labour list, and I will pop my 2 pence in over the next few months - but my first glimpse of gave me the impression that Labour have no idea and are still in the grips of denial over why New Zealanders shit kicked them out of Parliament 3 years ago.

It's a truly awful list. I don't subscribe to the anti gay silliness - Labour already know their rainbow faction has a lot of power. But who would have thought that Phil Goff, a man who only a few years ago was popular with "middle" New Zealand, would be leading Labour to such a dreadful defeat and leading a team so disassociated with everyday Kiwis. I can wager that Phil Goff must be secretly horrified that he has pulled Labour away from the provinces. How many Kiwis are good friends with union organisers, ex teachers or militant feminists? November is going to bring a bloodbath that will signal a major change of leadership and direction for Labour.

Phil Goff has more people sympathetic to him in the ACT Party than he does in Labour. He is dog tucker. As every day passes he is simply there to collect a pay cheque while the strategists inside Labour are jostling for the post election scraps.

National were always going to win this election, no matter what silliness you read from the Labour Party funded Standard Blog, but for Labour to give up so quickly so far out from the election is unprecedented. I think Goff should look seriously at what he wants to do post election - once the knives are dislodged from his back.

I think we have a problem

No doubt my co-bloggers will have plenty to say about this but I am slightly terrified at the revelations that National have decided to bail out AMI while still maintaining almost ALL of the previous Labour party policies is finally destroying our economy.

AMI undercut its competitors. They sold more than they could cover - and when they had to pay up to their obligations they fell short. This is NOT a time to run to the Government, especially when our Government is already stretched with the disaster relief efforts in CHCH as well as paying to maintain an ancient rail network and middle class welfare - thanks to Labour. Shame on National for not having the common decency to listen to our greatest ever finance minister. Sir Roger warned John Key and the response he got was Key saying he didn't accept Sir Roger to have any part of the current Government. Stupid stupid stupid.

Fran O'Sullivan has also picked up on this crisis:

Bill English looked positively gaunt as he fronted the television cameras on Thursday to reveal that the Government might have to find another $1 billion to underwrite the latest episode of Kiwi commercial incompetence.

English isn't saying so publicly (at least not yet).

But I'm sure that in his bones he knows very well indeed that former Finance Minister Sir Roger Douglas has a point when he says the impending bailout of AMI's policy holders has led New Zealand right to the precipice of economic collapse.

Douglas is also right on the button when he asks: "Who will bail out Bill English when the New Zealand Government keeps living on the edge of financial ruin where one more unforeseen catastrophic event will push them over the edge?"

This is a question that needs to be asked. The time must surely be fast approaching when others will be asking some very tough questions.

These tough questions should be asked before the election. Will Nats have their eyes on the polls and maintain business as usual - or will they snap out of it and realise that we are heading quickly towards some major shit. If companies can get away with putting their hands out - how are we supposed to teach values to those in welfarism?

Can New Zealand survive 3 and a half more years of National?

Election year rant

With the election coming up later in the year – and the Muldoonist like policies that are taking place in front of our eyes by John and Bill – I thought it would be nice to have a wish list of what we’d like to see happen in NZ after the next election.

It is quiet scary to think that National have renationalised anything but in reality they have, not to mention borrowing against our future. We are in a perilous state and whenever people like Sir Roger Douglas stands up and says this he is discredited for being an old man from the past. It’s sickening. The situation is so dire that I am seeking people flee NZ for Australia at a pace I have never seen before. The population have simply NO idea about debt, taxation and fiscal management – and the people who get themselves into trouble expect the Government to bail them out. This lack of personal responsibility is going to ruin New Zealand and after being out of the country in the UK and Europe for almost 8 years now I have for the first time started to contemplate that when I come back, it will be to resettle in Australia.

We should ask ourselves what we can do to help fix New Zealand. I know I have a few ideas both economic and social that I’d like to help return NZ to some form of glory.

1) Flat tax. Yes this has been mooted for a long time, especially on this blog but what is astounding is the lack of understanding about this. Why do Kiwis think that this is unfair? Surely those who get basic mathematics understand that 15% of $30k is a lot less than 15% of $1.5m? I’d couple a flat tax rate to also abolish taxation for those earning under $25-$30k. Beneficiaries shouldn’t be taxed either – why should taxes go backwards and forwards?

2) The Government needs to invest in tackling joblessness. Use it as a long term investment for the economy. Get mentors and life coaches in to help people. Ensure that these mentors are of a high enough quality to guide an unemployed person into a meaningful job and stay there. The Government shouldn’t run this – it should be contracted out to the experts with strict targets which allow success without people falling through the cracks or be bums on seats. Companies like Ingeus that are based around the world incl Australia should be included. Spending more now is going to reverse an absolute certain crisis that is headed our way. Benefit recipients should be cut – through sustainable training and work programmes. A welfare system is there to protect the genuinely needy and those who cannot work through no fault of their own. Cutting out the bludgers will allow Government to give those who are really needy quality of life.

3) Abolish Government departments like Women's Affairs, Pacific Island Affairs, Ministry for Social Development, Maori affairs and Youth Affairs. What are they there for? What place do they have in the 21st century? There needs to be a political debate showing how much is going towards these departments and what savings can be made. I am open to the abolishing of other departments too; the states role should not be to employ armies of bureaucrats who slow down progress.

4) Social issues like abolishing the Maori seats and allowing American ships into our harbours should be bought in immediately. We have 23 Maori in parliament today. Political parties can pick their lists according to the talent they have available. Ending tokenism will help NZ turn a corner – especially if we settled Waitangi claims fairly and finally. Allowing American ships to have the same rights as other nations to visit our shores would also hasten free trade negotiations with the world’s biggest economy.

5) Reduce the number of MPs. Bulk fund MPs. Make public service employees and managers wages and “perks” 100% transparent – why should people who are funded via taxpayers consider themselves above the law? State employee numbers to be capped to pre Labour 1999 numbers.
By bulk funding political parties – parties can decide how and where their funding is spent. If it is spent it will not be topped up. Funding and expenditure should also be available for public scrutiny.

6) Government spending should be cut to all religious organisations. Spending will also not go towards pro or anti smoking groups and likewise for abortion or healthy living organisations or their opponents. Government should take the place of the parents and Govt will leave food policing to the family.
On top of that, Govt quangos need to all go on the bonfire. For too long both main parties have rewarded their friends and indeed themselves with jobs to sustain them in their retirement.

7) People have been taught that competition in schools and health is a bad thing and yet are satisfied getting bargains in our supermarkets or going to markets and haggling for better quality for the best price. Kiwis have always liked a fair deal so lets gradually open both education and health up to full competition from the private sector. The public system waiting lists will dry up if we have hospitals to perform operations and teachers will no longer be shackled to the same same union mandated rules of progression – good teachers will be paid better than average and bad teachers.
Educate people on how they can save money by not channelling money through the Government to get a simple operation.

8) If somebody leaves school without achieving grades that will help them get a job, then they should be co-opted into the armed forces, a hospital, local charity or a trade in order to get education. Not everybody learns the same – but 2 years service – monitored by their mentor will teach fundamentals that many schools forget. Military Service isn’t a bad idea for many people who feel disengaged from society – it can be hugely beneficial in correcting behaviour in delinquents and installing values. Even school leavers with direction can choose to enter this scheme. A society is as strong as the weakest members who live amongst it.

9) Corporate taxes to be cut to lower than Australia and multinationals to be encouraged to set up shop. Not just words from our leaders – actions. If there are obstacles – remove them. More money = more jobs = prosperity and the likelihood that business will want to have a stake in securing the country’s future. Anybody who wants to open a business should be allowed to do so without regulations.

10) Reintroduce youth rates. Sir Roger made a speech about this a long time ago and it stands true. Why throw kids on the scrap heap? Why do you think since they abolished the youth rate that the unemployment rate of youth increased so much? Keeping with the workplace laws – I also support keeping 90 day trials and unions need to also be 100% transparent with their levies which can be accessible to all members of the public – the same rules that they demand from businesses. Unions will need permission from all business owners before they can enter a workplace as well.

11) Mine our natural resources. It’s sitting there right in front of us. Billions and billions of dollars of resources in our backyard, not even counting what is available in our exclusive economic zone. Kiwis, like our Aussie mates, know how to mine responsibly and carefully. If we allow resources to be mined, the profits will allow us to pay back debt and to cut back on taxes. However we must be mindful that politicians should NOT be using mineral wealth to grow the state or to feather their nests.

12) Life should mean life. You kill or rape somebody you should be punished. People who continue to attack the freedom and liberty of others should be put away. Victimless crimes like drug usage shouldn’t mean imprisonment either. If I had a puff of weed in my own house and it didn’t affect anybody, then I shouldn’t be sitting in a cell with a child molester.

These are policies I’d like to see in NZ. I am also a realist and know that all these will never happen in my lifetime. It’s a bloody shame that New Zealand has allowed the state to grow at the rate it has and that we have allowed National to borrow at the levels they are. If you have children then they will be paying for this, as will your grandchildren. Debt doesn’t disappear overnight – as every struggling family knows. If our Government doesn’t learn to tighten its belt, then how can ordinary people do so?

It's nice to have a Social Media FAIL

The PSA have delivered a rather lovely present to the VRWC this evening (or morning my time) in the form of a new website attacking "rich pricks" for tax cuts and a "Nice to have" alternative message - intended for members of the public to have their say.

Of course they didn't anticipate that most members of the public don't hate the people who pay the most tax (even after tax cuts) nor do people seem to be rather fond of trade unions.
This led to plenty of people responding in ways that eventually led to the website being taken down - by these firm believers in democracy and free speech (unless you're a union or support the Labour Party)

Does the PSA think people are stupid? It sure looks like it.

See also the efforts by Cactus Kate and Whale Oil

See ya Mr Beck...

Finally Fox news have come to their senses and given Glen (I can cry on demand) Beck the boot, as a long time Fox news fan I have to say I applaud this decision.

Beck was becoming increasingly irrational with each passing week, it seems that advertisers were deserting the show in droves such has been the lunacy of some of Beck's comments, perhaps the lowest point was when Beck claimed that Obama had a "a deep-seated hatred for white people."

While I am no fan of Comrade Obama it is quite clear that Beck's claim is both false and libelous.

I only hope that the demise of Beck will be closely followed by the demise of Sarah Palin and the Tea party, one thing is true, the Republicans cannot and will not win the presidential election as long as they have an agenda driven by bible bashing idiots from the religious right.

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/04/07/entertainment-broadcasting-amp-entertainment-us-tv-fox-beck_8395620.html

You Should Watch This Speech

When was the last time you heard a National MP quote Reagan and Thatcher? An excellent start to what will hopefully be a great political career.

What do you think?

I am sure that despite all this, this well spoken gentleman is still wrong in the eyes of moral fundies?

Airport Cabs and the Tragedy of the Commons

Cab drivers have traditionally had a problem with short distance passengers. This is especially true at airports - a lucrative place to find customers. It's a problem perfectly illustrated by the $42.30 cab fare for a 900m trip.

The superficial response is to call out greedy cab drivers. But the reality is that the $42 charge is not a matter of greed, but represents the cost to the driver of a first-come-first-served parking arrangement. It's a direct result of a lack of ownership and property rights pertaining to the taxicab parking spaces.

There seems but one way to avoid these problems - auction off the spaces to cab drivers. This would mean a driver could own his or her park, take a short distance passenger at a reasonable cost, then return right back to where they started. They could even sell permits to other cab drivers to offset the cost of the space.

All so simple - and the airport could make a buck out of it. Why don't they do it?

Begging the Question on Drug Prohibition

As I often used to say: I hate alcoholics - they give us drunks a bad name. And so it is with other drugs. The vast majority who use them responsibly and in moderation are defamed by the small minority who can't control themselves.

My support for drug legalisation is based largely on the belief that the harm resulting from prohibiting drugs generally outweighs the harm resulting from their legal availability. The counterargument tends to rest on one principle: That keeping drugs illegal will not stop some people, but it prevents much larger amounts of people from trying them and becoming addicted. The assumption is that for these people, the illegality of a drug is the main barrier to trying and using it. It is a view that is reinforced by an addict like Robert Moore, who claims to have used Kronic "...because it was legal. I'm 23, but I kept thinking, 'I don't think the Government's just going to let me become this way'. The fact they were legal, and the availability - that's what drove it."

I have to say that I think Mr Moore's explanation sounds fishy, and, if genuine, betrays a distinct lack of intelligence and sound reasoning belying his University education. I do wonder if his sudden appearance in the media represents machinations of the Colin Craigs and Maxim Institutes of this world...

But lets assume that it is genuine. How many people actually think this way? It's hard to tell. But my guess would be that the answer is - very few. The argument resonates with people not because they are all itching to try cannabis, or methamphetamine, and feel they need a law to constrain them from such wanton decadence, but because they suspect that everyone else feels that way. They personally, of course, have much more self control, and would never smoke P, even if it were legal. It's everyone else that they are worried about.

The problem with that argument is that "everyone else" is, in general, equally assured about their own abilities to exercise self-control. Real Robert Moores - those for whom the legality of a substance is an important sanction, are a rare minority. And this is borne out in countries like Portugal, and the Netherlands, which have a degree of drug legalisation. Use of the drugs legalised/decriminalised either stayed static, or even declined.

Should drugs stay illegal for this small minority? There is a case to be made that these people would cause harm to society at large, increasing the harm that addicts unconcerned with legality already inflict. But the reality is that any such increase in harm would be outweighed by the sudden lack of crime from addicts who could not hitherto afford the extortionate price that prohibition places upon substances.

Eating Roaches

There is no such thing as involuntary poverty in New Zealand, and I wish we would stop pretending it exists. We pay billions of dollars in taxes to ensure it doesn't happen.

If children are eating roaches, that is a parenting issue, not a poverty issue. A decent loaf of bread costs $2. Budget Baked Beans are similarly cheap. If you are on a benefit and on the DPB, it is impossible for you to be poor, especially if you have a state house with subsidised rent. Again, if all your money is going on fags, booze, P and Sky TV, then you are not poor. You are a bad parent who should have your children removed from your care.

If anyone is "poor" in New Zealand, it is people who work their arse off for $13 an hour and get taxed at 18c in the dollar for the privilege. Then get taxed even more if they try and get a second job to get ahead. All so some simian can spend all their DPB money on drugs.

Let's solve the poverty of morality that punishes people for working and rewards them for sitting on their arse.

Japandering

Some of the coverage of the Fukushima emergency has been appalling. But I haven't come across anything worse than this article by the Associated Foreign Press. There's no word for it other than bullshit.

Japan's unfolding nuclear disaster is "much bigger than Chernobyl" and could rewrite the international scale used to measure the severity of atomic accidents, a Russian expert said yesterday.

So far so scary. An expert, you say! Well it must be bad!

"Chernobyl was a dirty bomb explosion. The next dirty bomb is Fukushima and it will cost much more" in economic and human terms, said Natalia Mironova, a thermodynamic engineer who became a leading anti-nuclear activist in Russia in the wake of the accident at the Soviet-built reactor in Ukraine in 1986.

Sorry, but an activist with a degree in physics is not an expert. Mironova goes on to quote ludicrous figures on both Chernobyl and Fukushima that have no bearing on reality, all taken seriously and unquestioningly by the Associated Foreign Press.

Do the NZ Herald editors even read these stories before they publish them? This is more of an opinion piece than serious journalism. Surely their credibility is on the line?

More things that God told us to do :)

Replace the words black and coloured with gay and you have yourself a NZ Conservative hoedown :)


Is that little ginger kid a very young Redbaiter?

It's Friday!

Sit back, have a biscuit and a cup of tea....

Yes!!!

" Controversial broadcaster Paul Henry has announced his first job since leaving TVNZ's Breakfast show - he's joining RadioLive as a drive time host. Henry, who left Breakfast following a furore sparked over his pronunciation of Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit's name, will replace current host Maggie Barry from July, a statement issued this afternoon confirmed. The 50-year-old broadcaster also hinted that a return to television was imminent. "I'm really looking forward to working with the talented team at RadioLive, as well as the exciting projects that lie ahead with television," Henry said in the statement. Henry has hosted RadioLive's drive time show before - when it launched in 2005 and again in 2007. Since Henry's resignation in October, Henry has had discussions with American televisions stations about a possible reality or talk show." http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/tv/4838340/Paul-Henry-joins-radio-show

Fun with Swiss Balls

It seems Swiss Balls are all the rage with those young urban hip professionals... and Darren Hughes. Don't you think he looks kinda creepy in this photo?

Truth Page 03 Apr1 I might be wrong, perhaps Dazza is learning a few things like this dog did?



Has anybody seen the Dazzler around the Parliamentary gym lately?