Kiwiblog

Anyone who knows Paula Bennett won’t be surprised by the Herald story that she waded into a maul of fighting young people to break it up. She is a true Westie who takes direct action.

Travel consultant Eunice Matanibukaca said she was heading home when she heard swearing and yelling and saw girls “fighting, punching each other”.

“I saw Paula coming. I could just see in her face that she wanted to get to them. She just looked so angry, like she wanted all the kids to go – she just went into mum mode.”

Ms Matanibukaca said Ms Bennett headed straight towards the girls and physically forced them apart, before telling the crowd to move along.

Shop owner Vivian Wang also praised the “tough lady” who stopped the fight.

I sense a new nickname.

Ms Bennett said it all lasted “a few minutes”. A shopkeeper told her he had called the police. As one group was beginning to move away mall security arrived, and a few minutes later the police also turned up.

She said none of the fighters hit her, but she got called some juicy names. “It was language I wouldn’t use – and I’m a Westie.”

Goodness, it must have been colourful then.

Mayor Harvey told the Herald he had once broken up a fight and knew it could be frightening.

“I applaud her. It might not seem so wise in the cold, hard light of day – someone might stab you; you don’t know what they’ve got – but you just can’t let those things happen.”

He said he believed the council was doing all it could to keep the area safe. As well as “an MP who wades in and stops fights”, there were two youth centres nearby – one run by the council and the other by the Harawira family.

Yes, relaying on the intervention fo the local MP is not the best long-term solution

Ms Bennett said she would try to find a solution, perhaps a wider range of holiday programmes. “This wasn’t something new. A lot of them were really young and it quite alarmed me how young they were. The question is, do their families know where they are?

“We’re not talking about them hanging out for an hour. We’re talking about them hanging out for many hours over lots of days.”

Yes, theri parents are part of the solution.

Comment No 400,000 was made at 7.02 pm today by PaulL.

It is possible we’ll crack half a million in 2009.

Poneke, a dedicated transport wonk, says the initial details of the Air NZ Airbus crash are so disturbing that he recommends people avoid travelling on any Airbus model until they are sorted:

This is, as I said, deeply disturbing. Until this issue is fully sorted out and the computer issues resolved, I will not be going on any Airbus model again and will be advising everyone I know to follow suit. And I say this as someone who has always argued that flying in large passenger jets is incredibly safe. My faith in Airbuses is not that positive any longer.

The ODT looks at the issue of bad laws:

Parliament passed some poorly-drafted law during the term of the Clark Government, notably the Electoral Finance Act 2007, a most controversial set of laws widely condemned across the legal and quasi-legal community.

The Electoral Commission noted that it had had a “chilling effect” on political participation, but even before it was passed into law the Law Society and the Human Rights Commission had condemned it.

But then we had the example of a bad practice being retrospectively tidied up to legitimise the original activity, in the Appropriation (Continuation of Interim Meaning of Funding for Parliamentary Purposes) Act, which legally permitted political parties to continue to spend our money in the election campaign for purposes the Auditor-general had earlier determined were illegal.

Of course the two laws, were designed to work together. One was designed to silence critics of the Government while the other was designed to allow the Government to use taxpayer money for its own election campaign.

A good editorial from the Herald on local government in Auckland:

The commission is known to be developing a proposal that would see not just a single council for the whole city but a concentration of power in a single office, its mayor.

An “executive mayor” would run the city with the help of appointed officers. The council, it seems, would be a sounding board, or perhaps a budgeting, rating and policy-setting body to which the executive presumably would be answerable.

Some people may say this is taking power away from the Council but it is really taking it away from the bureaucracry. Executive decisionmaking lies with the CEOs at the moment, and this was one of the biggest areas of complaints to the Royal Commission. An executive Mayor actually increases accountability to the public, as they will be elected or sacked by the public.

An executive mayoralty sounds like a strong and effective force for unity and direction. It may allow the elected person to appoint a team of public officials and thus bring into the city’s service able and forceful people who would not otherwise be available.

Indeed – London has been able to attract some top talent.

Obviously, the leader of such a team would have to be democratically mandated and answerable through direct election by the whole city. This puts an end to the argument that the mayor should be chosen by the council as the chair of the Auckland Regional Council has been. The lack of a direct election for the chair is probably the main reason the ARC has never acquired the mana and confidence to unite its constituent cities and lead Greater Auckland strongly.

Absolutely – the position must be elected by all Aucklanders.

The royal commission’s plans for existing councils remain to be seen. North Shore, Manukau and Waitakere cities have argued for their own survival, with acquisitions from outlying districts, but it is unlikely the commission will accommodate them. It seems more likely to preserve local government in units approximating parliamentary electorates.

More powerful community councils is the answer, and yes you would expect around the same number of community councils as you have MPs – a bit over 20.

The commission is also said to be giving a united city some sort of role in social welfare advocacy or services. It is hard to see a reason for that. Social welfare is properly national policy, financed from taxes not the property rates that mainly sustain regional and local government.

You won’t keep rates down if you keep expanding the role of local government.

In today’s Herald:

Kevin Hague

He also laid out his personal philosophy – a vegetarian for the past 28 years, Mr Hague said he become so “to take only what resources I need from the natural world and to harm the natural world to the least extent possible”.

He felt a “growing unease” that the human race had reached the limits of what it could take from the natural world.

“Human beings are not well adapted to deal with gradually unfolding risk or dangers that are rare but catastrophic.”

He said technological advances had saved humankind from the worst consequences of their actions in the past, but he feared it would not be enough this time. He looked to the United States for some hope for the future, describing Barack Obama’s election as kindling “a small flame of hope for the future of the human race and the planet”.

Hague is a former DHB CEO and an experienced advocate. His beliefes obviously make him well suited to be a Green MP.

Stuart Nash

Has a daughter and son. Lives in Napier, where he was raised and where his family settled in 1865. Has worked in international business and marketing, including Fletchers and Carter Holt Harvey. Was director of strategic development at AUT before moving to Napier. Chief executive of Napier’s Art Deco Trust.

A rare business backround for a Labour MP.

As a 9-year-old, he had to present an item to his class the day after Elvis Presley died. It was also the day after Robert Muldoon delivered his Budget. “Five 9-year-olds spoke about Elvis and one poor kid about the Government’s fiscal plans. Thanks Mum.”

Heh.

Louise Upston

Started her first business when she was 19 and has since worked in business development and project management in a wide range of industries including local government, education, tourism and broadcasting. Most recently focused on telecommunications and information technology. Based in Taupo, she is married with three children.

Having a business-friendly environment is one of the keys out of the economic recession, so good to have another business-friendly MP.

She cites education as her top priority followed by law and order. She spoke of a family in her electorate whose daughter was killed after being hit  by a drugged driver, and said the justice system was skewed toward protecting criminals rather than the  victims.

America has a new hero.

His actions are extraordinary – both the speed of decision making that the Hudson River was his safest option, but also managing to land his crippled plane in it.

PMs Office has just released this statement:

Prime Minister John Key broke his arm in two places in a fall at an event in Auckland on Saturday.

The fall occurred while exiting the stage using some stairs at a Chinese New Year event at the ASB Showgrounds, Greenlane, yesterday morning.

This morning he sought specialist medical attention for his arm. It was found that his right arm was broken in two places.

The arm is now in a cast and Mr Key has a further appointment with a specialist tomorrow to see whether an operation will be necessary.

At this stage Mr Key is planning to carry on his usual schedule tomorrow.

Sounds somewhat nasty and painful. The right arm will be a hassle as that is the one used for writing and hand shaking etc.

Stephen Franks blogs:

Though I do not share the Invercargill Turks’ views on Israel in any degree, I defend them. I defend their right to express their views by shunning citizens of a state they consider to be evil. …

If a government agency acted as the Turks did it would be utterly wrong. The state weilds the coercive power of us all. It must be tolerant in a free society. Without proof of involvement in or support of unlawful acts the State certainly should not discriminate against New Zealand citizens simply because they are of a group in which some members have unpopular opinions.

But the vigour of our values (in the long term our freedoms) may depend on the willingness of individuals to be intolerant so long as they do not coerce their fellow citizens. So  I defend the right of any private citizen to shun whoever they want on their own property.

Stephen’s view is one shared by many on the right. That people have a right to be bigots. I have some sympathy for that view, but not without limits.

Taking the case of the Invercargill cafe owner, the most effective action in response has been privaye citizens saying we don’t like you because you are bigots. They have had protests outside, dozens of phone calls, and from all accounts are starting to regret their stance.

Those who oppose anti-discrimination laws see how they have often been used overseas to shut down unpopular speech, or prevent criticism of certain religions.

But on the other hand, do we want a society where cafes could display signs saying “No Jews allowed” or “No blacks work here”? The libertarian argument is that private reaction against such signs would probably be more effective than state action.

But we saw in Europe in the 30s what can happen, when the state does not prevent discrimination. Are we confident that would never occur?

At the end of the day I stop short of the position put forward by Stephen, that private discrimination should be legal.

Just watched the series finale of Boston Legal. It ends with a double wedding and most people will be surprised who actually marries who!

There is an interesting article in the HoS about how a deal under Labour’s Foreshore & Seabed Act may allow Ngati Porou to close off public access to some beaches.

It’s one thing to have a Court find that title to certain areas of foreshore can be claimed by Iwi and Hapu (something that the Court of Appeal said would be a very high barrier), but quite another when the Government gives it away in private deals.

How to move forward on this issue will be very challenging for the Government. Iwi who have signed agreements under the new law will want those agreements to remain valid.

Well a late start to today!

It is disturbing that allegations you have breached your parole can be taken as fact, without an investigation.

I am no fan of Brad Shipton (and criticised the fact Labour’s law allowed him out after one third of his sentence) but why were moves taken to cancel his parole on the basis of an allegation he was seen meeting someone in breach of his parole conditions?

Luckily he had video proof he was in another city at the time.

Should Corrections and or the Police not investigate the person who falsely alleged he had broken his parole?

Lefthandplan has an interesting post on David Irving. It seems the holocaust denier is not just bad, but also mad.

Today’s three MPs in the Herald:

Simon Bridges

New MP Simon Bridges wants New Zealanders to reconsider the right to silence for those accused of serious and sexual crimes and to trust juries with more information.

Mr Bridges, a former Crown prosecutor in Tauranga for eight years, used his maiden speech to challenge parts of the legal system, saying the accused’s right not to face questioning in cases such as rape put victims who had to face often gruelling cross-examinations in an uneven position.

“Martin Luther King jnr once said that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. In many trials I have seen injustices – indeed manifest indignities – performed on the weakest in our society as court rules work against them … in short, juries need to be trusted with more information and victims of sex crimes treated more evenly when compared to the accused.”

Mr Bridges told the Herald the question of whether an accused should face questioning was particularly relevant for sexual crimes or crimes against children where the victims themselves faced often gruelling cross-examination.

“I’m a reasonably experienced rape trial lawyer and I can think of specific women cross-examined for days, while the accuseds just sat on their hands and didn’t give evidence. There have been acquittals where I am sure factually that the accused was guilty.”

The right to silence has long been considered fundamental to the criminal law ethos of”innocent until proven guilty”.

Mr Bridges said he believed the law should be”rebalanced”and he intended to work on the issue as an MP.

He said juries should also be trusted with more information, such as previous convictions, in some cases as the current laws could obstruct a fair verdict.

Not sure I agree with Simon, but he makes a strong case about the unfairness of victims being cross-examined for days on end, and the accussed not having to give evidence at all. I’m more sympathethic though to his thoughts on juries having more information.

Kennedy Graham

Former diplomat and academic – most recently he lectured in international law at Canterbury and Victoria universities. Was involved in NZ establishing a nuclear-free zone, including fronting on it as a diplomat before the UN in Geneva and New York.

In his own words:
“We are drawing down on Earth’s natural resources, borrowing forward on the human heritage, irretrievably encroaching on our children’s right to inherit the Earth in a natural and sustainable state.”

It will be interesting to see what influence Kennedy has on the Greens foreign policy, as his views are presumably somewhat different from Keith Locke’s.

Carol Beaumont

Says her late father Ron takes credit for teaching her how to speak out and fostered debate, but also sowed the seeds of feminism in her when he dismissed her wish to follow in his footsteps and become a mechanic as “unsuitable for a girl”. She was chairwoman of the Melville High School Student Council, worked as a cleaner and was in the Cleaners’ Union.

In her own words:
“In the course of the campaign I saw the huge number of people who work for community good in sports groups, marae, in youth groups, in community safety groups, in churches and in community development initiatives. They are ambitious people. It is important to reflect on the meaning of the word ‘ambition’ because recently it has been used by many only in the context of the individual. It is more than that. I consider myself ambitious and have always wanted to use my skills in roles that challenge me but my real ambition is in wanting to make a difference for others.”

Beaumont was reasonably well regarded as CTU Secretary but her loss of Maungakiekie to National means she is reliant on keeping a high list place.

The ODT reports further on the controversy over the Invercargill cafe that refused to serve two women of Israeli origin.

“Mrs Bennie, of Makarewa, a New Zealand citizen who has lived here for seven years including five years in Waikouaiti, said she was shocked when she and her sister, visiting from Israel, were told to leave the cafe.

“I felt the kind of racism people were exposed to in the 1940s and ’50s,” she said.

I didn’t catch on to this detail yesterday, but one of the sisters is a NZ citizen. So those who tried to excuse the action as not being racist because it was about nationality not ethnicity are wrong. Her nationality is New Zealand.She basically got refused because she was Jewish. Does anyone think an Israeli Arab would have been refused service?

Big kudos though to Javed Khan, President of the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand who said:

“I can understand where they are coming from,” FIANZ president Javed Khan said.

“But if their action constitutes a breach of the Human Rights Act . . . then we shouldn’t breach the law of the country.

Also pleasing:

Dunedin Turkish cafe owners are not taking the same stance as Mr Tekinkaya.

Galata Turkish Cafe owner Ali Akman, himself a Turkish Muslim, said he believed what the Invercargill restaurateurs had done was wrong.

“He shouldn’t have. Any food premises is for eating and having fun. It is not for political discussions or arguments. This is wrong.”

He hoped the incident would not reflect badly on the Turkish community.

Ozan Turkish Cafe owner Murat Bay also feared the effect the incident would have on people’s view of the Turkish community.

He did not think the same would happen in any of Dunedin’s Turkish restaurants.

“We do not have such fanatics here.”

And here is the final irony:

“Obviously, he doesn’t like Israel, and I don’t blame him. I’m not a big supporter of Israel at the moment.

But he didn’t even bother finding out what my opinion was,” she said.

Mrs Bennie worked at Turkish restaurant Paasha while studying at the University of Otago. She missed Dunedin culture.

It was a “bit more tolerant” than Invercargill, she said.

So this cafe banned a NZ citizen who actually agrees with him, in relation to the Gaza conflict it seems. But hey she speaks Hebrew so she gets banned.

Tumeke reports that Mr Roark from Fantasy Island, Ricardo Montalban, has died. He was 88.

It was a great show, with 158 episiodes produced over seven years.

Tattoo died in 1993, aged 50.

The economy that National has inherited is even worse than thought at the end of last year.

NZPA reports that Treasury has told the Government it now expects unemployment to hit 7.5%.

PM Key has said that a number of initiatives have been considered and will be announced on 4 February.

To get some idea of how bad it is, look at these trade figures from the US, a reader sent to me:

THE NUMBERS: American imports:

July 2008: $230 billion
October 2008: $208 billion
November 2008: $183 billion

This is the biggest drop in imports since 1942. And it is near impossible for us to maintain exports and economic growth with that sort of contraction in the US.

I’m not sure the recession may not turn into a depression.

The Southland Times reports:

Two women were shocked after being kicked out of an Invercargill cafe yesterday because they come from Israel.

Sisters Natalie Bennie and Tamara Shefa were upset after being booted out of the Mevlana Cafe in Esk St by owner Mustafa Tekinkaya.

They chose to eat at Mevlana Cafe because it had a play area for Mrs Bennie’s two children, but they were told to leave before they had ordered any food, Mrs Bennie said.

“He heard us speaking Hebrew and he asked us where we were from. I said Israel and he said `get out, I am not serving you’. It was shocking.”

Mr Tekinkaya, who is Muslim and from Turkey, said he was making his own protest against Israel because it was killing innocent babies and women in the Gaza Strip.

“I have decided as a protest not to serve Israelis until the war stops.”

He said he had nothing against Israeli people but if any more came into his shop they would also be told to leave, and he was not concerned if he lost business.

I wonder if he would refuse to serve Israeli Arabs?

I wonder how he would like it if a shop refused to serve Turks until Turkey apologises for the Armenian genocide (or even accepts ot happened) or if after 9/11 a shop refused to serve Muslims because the 9/11 hijackers were Muslim?

It is absolutely legitimate to protest against the Israeli Government if you disagree with what they do. But it is quite wrong to target individual citizens.

Bill Ralston blogged some PR advice for NZ Rental Car Specialists:

Mr Edwin Chan of New Zealand Rental Car Specialists needs a Public Relations Specialist. Quickly.

If someone is late returning a rental car, loses the keys and you have to tow it half the length of the country at the cost of a couple of grand I’m sure you are entitled, as a commercial business, to bill the hopeless clients extra.

Of course, if two of the clients’ kids (and the keys) lie dead and buried under a garage-sized chunk of the Fox Glacier, you might consider waiving the fee. Not Mr Chan. He continues to pursue the grieving Australian Miranda family for the cash.

Okay, he’s entitled to his money. It wasn’t his fault the foolish boys ignored the warnings and neatly positioned themselves under a plummeting iceberg. It wasn’t his fault Mr and Mrs Miranda had given one of the boys the car keys. They probably wouldn’t have been in the mood to drive the car back to Wellington anyway. People are funny like that when two of their kids are killed.

Mr Chan, you have the law on your side but here is some free PR advice.

When the cops call you and ask you to show compassion, you should really think about it. The police are not known for their liberal handwringing on most issues and maybe the constable that rang had a point. At the very least the call should have rung an alarm bell that you were courting publicity that might be bad for business.

They seemed to have taken this advice, and the family will not be charged. Mainly though it seems due to a benefactor.

As a business owner myself, I know sometimes you just get landed with costs that are no fault of your own, but you have to cover them as it damages you more not to.

I also don’t know why the car company said the car had to be towed back. Just pay a student $50 and give them a rental car free for two days on the coniditon they and a mate drive over there and bring the other car back with the spare set of keys.

And another three MPs profiled in the Herald- Grant Robertson, Aaron Gilmore and Carmel Sepuloni.

Grant Robertson

Mr Robertson cited the proposition put forward in 1939 by Education Minister Peter Fraser and leading educationalist Clarence Beeby that every citizen, whether rich and poor, town or country, had a right to a free education of the kind best fitted to them.

He said he had come to Parliament to develop this vision for the 21st century.

No surprise Grant is a former student associaton president.

He said being gay was a part of who he was, as was being a fan of the Ranfurly Shield – currently held by the Wellington Lions. His sexuality had defined his politics “only inasmuch as it has given me an insight into how people can be marginalised and how much I abhor that”.

Mr Robertson, 36, said he and his partner of 10 years, Alf Kaiwai, “were living proof it pays not to stereotype”.

“We met playing rugby. I was the number eight and he was the halfback – a great combination.”

This month the pair swapped vows and rings in a civil union ceremony at Old St Paul’s in Wellington.

And congrats on the wedding civil union.

Aaron Gilmore

Aged 35. Came in as number 56, the last on National’s list. Is the luckiest new member having got in by less than 40 party votes from throughout the whole country.

It does not get much closer than that with over 2 million votes cast.

Named after “the great Elvis Aaron Presley”. Is an amalgam of “Irish, Scottish, Danish and a little bit Maori but I am 100 per cent Kiwi”. Admits to having done well enough to be known by some as a “rich prick”. Contracted a rare eye condition when he was 25 and told he would never see again, but thanks to modern technology he can.

“About 25 years ago I sat in the living room of our family state house in Corhampton St, Aranui. It was early August and freezing cold as that night we didn’t have enough money to put into the meter for electricity. We had some light from large candles on the table and my grandmother and I were having Weetbix for dinner. The next morning we couldn’t afford breakfast and I went hungry till a teacher bought me lunch.”

Another state house kid who has done well. How dare National keep attracting such people!

Carmel Seploni

Former equity manager, research project manager in Pacific health and student mentor adviser at University of Auckland. A trained teacher, who worked at the Robert Louis Stevenson School in Samoa. First MP of Tongan descent.

Born and raised in Waitara. Father was a Samoan-Tongan-migrant who worked at the freezing works and was a staunch unionist and Labour man. Mother’s parents were Pakeha sheep farmers from Stratford and “resolute Tories”. Is the mother of a young son.

I don’t know Carmel, but she is well regarded within Labour I understand, and like Grant is likely to be a Minister the next time Labour get into Government.