Kiwiblog

Rodney Hide has a press conference scheduled for 1.15 pm. Will update as news is known.

UPDATE: John Boscawen has replaced Heather Roy as Deputy Leader. John Key yet to make an announcement on portfolios.

UPDATE2: The Hon John Boscawen has been appointed Minister of Consumer Affairs and Associate Minister of Commerce. Rodney Hide loses Associate Commerce and picks up Associate Education, and the role of Associate Defence Minister lapses.

Commerce is a natural fit for Boscawen. Rodney taking Associate Education could be interesting – I suspect he will push for a more aggressive policy programme there.

Somewhat sad to see Heather’s career end this abruptly, but that is the nature of politics, and it was somewhat inevitable after what happened last year.

The Dom Post editorial:

Whitireia Independent Students’ Association is not the first student association to have trouble administering the fees it collects.

However, with $1 million missing from the association’s funds, it will add impetus to the campaign to make students’ associations truly voluntary.

Good. There needs to be a good reason to take money from people compulsorily – and when it is, the money must be managed to the highest of standards. At Whitireia neither has been the case.

And I hold Parliament responsible. They have given the powers of compulsion, without any requirements for accountability.

Students attending Whitireia do not have to be members of their association, but the system is set up to make it hard for them not to be. They automatically join when they enrol but, according to the association website, “should you not want to be a member and require a full refund, you must opt out within 20 days from the commencement of your course of study”. So few do that the association has an income of about $350,000 a year, income that it and Whitireia Community Polytechnic, which handed over money despite doubts, have proved unable to administer satisfactorily.

This is better than at most institutions, but still no substitute for a proper voluntary opt in regime.

Most students could no doubt find a better use for the $135 that fulltime students pay than providing an involuntary subsidy for pool players.

And even if the services it was offering were essential, it is clear that the association, like others before it, lacks the professionalism needed to manage the funds it is given, and the delivery. No organisation is exempt from fraud, but there have been too many instances in students’ associations of mismanagement of funds.

There are some associations, such as OUSA and UCSA, which have a history of good management and value for money. But the overall prevalence of fraud in student associations seems massively higher than most other sectors. There are less than 50 such associations, and the number which have had fraud is in the range of 10% to 20% I would say.

Students attending tertiary institutions do need non-academic services such as health clinics and cafeterias. It makes more sense for those essential services to be provided through a student services levy administered by the institution. That would leave student associations to provide optional extras, such as student newspapers and wall planners – and students to decide whether they want those things enough to join up, and pay up.

Exactly. If a service is “essential” then the institution should provide it.

Hopefully Parliament will recognise the status quo is indefensible, and vote (with appropriate modifications) for student associations to become voluntary.

Around 10 kms out of Salzburg, is the Untersberg. An ancient legend has it as the site where Emperor Frederick I (Barbarossa) sleeps, awakening every 100 years, and only going back to sleep if he sees ravens.

The cable car stretches over 2.5 kms, and has a vertical climb of around 1.3 km. At one point the angle of the climb is 81 degrees!

The view from the cable car as we start up.

One view from the summit, of the valley below.

A raven peers up, with a beautiful view behind it of the other ranges.

The local birds are very human friendly and land within touching distance.

Me, blocking the view.

A cool little cafe lies just above the cable car station at the peak. There are also two great lookouts nearby – one that takes around two minutes to get to, and the other around half an hour. You get basically a 360 degree panorama from them, and the cost of the cable car is well worth it for the experience.

The Herald reports:

Prime Minister John Key is about to consider who the next Governor-General will be. And the word is he may buck the recent trend of appointing a former judge and opt for someone more unorthodox to the role.

Some of the names being tossed around by observers include Sir Don McKinnon, Wellington Mayor Kerry Prendergast and arts patron Dame Jenny Gibbs.

Philanthropist and recently named Distinguished Citizen of Auckland Rosie Horton said one person stood head and shoulders above others.

“Sir Don McKinnon. He has had an outstanding and highly revered international life and done a stunning job at the Commonwealth Secretariat, and he’s just a very fine New Zealander that we can all be proud of. And he’s come back to New Zealand.

On a personal level, Sir Don would be well suited for the role and would perform it well. However I maintain that former MPs should not be appointed to the job, regardless of how meritorious their post-parliamentary life.  The GG should be non-partisan.

“[Philanthropist and arts patron] Dame Jenny Gibbs is also marvellous, very clever and gracious to meet and such a marvellous role model.”

Dame Jenny is an interesting possibility.

Property investor Sir Robert Jones said the Governor-General should be a New Zealander who was not a token appointment.

He said Kerry Prendergast would “be wonderful at the job”.

Heh I presume this means he is not standing a Mayoral candidate against her. While there would be precedent fer Kerry to be given the job, as Cath Tizard was, I still maintain that Kerry’s national party background makes her a sub-optimal appointment. Again, nothing to do with her personal qualities, but that the GG should not be a political figure.

Asked about Maori academic Sir Mason Durie, Sir Robert said he would be “very tokenistic”, and former Labour Prime Minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer would be “most unsuitable”.

I can’t see it going to a former Labour PM.

Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei would support a female representative of ethnic groups, but insisted she was not throwing her own hat into the ring.

I am surprised Metiria only insisted that the GG be ethnic and female. She forget to include the additional criteria of being left handed and disabled.

She said former Rugby World Cup Ambassador Andy Haden “might not be the best option”.

Can agree on that one.

The appointment is the Prime Minister’s alone. He can consult whom he wants, or no one at all.

Which is why I think the effective head of state should be (at a minimum) appointed by Parliament, not by the PM solely.

If Mr Key decided that another judge should live in Government House, then Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias could be a candidate, though husband Hugh Fletcher might be a more popular choice.

There is no way the Chief Justice will give up that job to become Governor-General.

Sir Kenneth Keith, who is serving on the International Court of Justice, may be less controversial than either of them.

Sir Kenneth would be a fine choice in my opinion.

The Herald reports:

Act minister Heather Roy is facing the axe from John Key’s Administration today, after she is dumped by her parliamentary colleagues as deputy leader of Act.

First-term Act MP John Boscawen is expected to take her jobs as deputy leader and a minister.

Mrs Roy is said to again have been trying to rally party opinion against Rodney Hide.

It was sadly inevitable that this would happen at some stage, after the relationship between Rodney and Heather deteriorated last year. ACT would not be in Parliament without Rodney Hide, and they need a team going forward that can work together. This is the first stage of a rejuvenation.

In the past I hoped that one day Heather might be a natural successor to Rodney. She has always voted classically liberal, and on a personal level I have found her very engaging. The fallout between her and Rodney meant that this scenario became impossible, and I reached the conclusion that if Heather can’t be a loyal deputy to Rodney, then at some stage change would be inevitable. It looks like that change is today.

If Heather does lose her roles as Deputy Leader, and a Minister, then it is possible she will not choose to remain in Parliament, which would see Hilary Calvert of Dunedin become an MP.

John Boscawen should be a solid Minister. He has taken very well to parliamentary life, and has earned some respect on all sides for his work on finance company failures etc. What remains to be seen is if he will automatically take Heather’s portfolios, or if the PM may do a mini-reshuffle.

I’ve been forwarded on the survey results from an NZEI poll of parents, which they claim shows huge opposition to the budget decision to only fund 80% of staff positions in ECE centres to be fully qualified teachers. In other words, that 1 in 5 can be helpers.

Sadly the NZEI never asked people the question – should 100% or 80% of staff be required to be fully qualified. That would have got some useful data. First of all they start with a wee typo:

The Government has cut funding to Early Childhood Education Centres with the most qualified staff. Let us know what you think and we’ll pass your views on to the Prime Ministrer. Thank You!

Hey I know I do may typos also. However I am not an education union protesting about an education issue, in a formal survey.

Question 1 – Do you believe your child should have qualified early childhood education teachers?
Question 2 – Do you agree that all children should have qualified early childhood education teachers?
Question 3 – Do you agree that parents should pay more for early childhood education than they do at present?
Question 4 – Do you agree that quality early childhood education is an investment in New Zealand’s future?

Who is going to answer no to any of those questions? They are so leading that they are useless.

Why not just ask them directly their views on 80% qualified vs 100% qualified? Because that may not get them the right result.

Just had several e-mails turn up, many days after they were sent. As far as I can tell the problem is at Vodafone/Ihug. I have posted the headers below, so those more proficient can confirm where the problem is. Has anyone else experienced such problems?

Return-path: xxxxxx
Envelope-to: dpf@ihug.co.nz
Received: from pub.filter4.content.vf.net.nz (filter4.content.vf.net.nz) [10.80.49.4]
by mx24.content.ihug.net.nz with esmtp
(Exim 4.60 #1 (Debian); Ihug conf #216)
id 1OkrVg-0008UB-RX; Mon, 16 Aug 2010 16:41:20 +1200
X-IronPort-Anti-Spam-Result: AmwNAP5daEzKCA0k/2dsb2JhbAB0UJE6hRUViBhxuQ6FOwSMSw
X-IronPort-AV: E=Sophos;i=”4.55,374,1278244800″;
d=”scan’208,217,145″;a=”289760230″
Received: from gatekeeperwn.acc.co.nz ([202.8.13.36])
by pub.filter4.content.vf.net.nz with ESMTP; 06 Aug 2010 08:40:50 +1200
Received: from mxwn.acc.co.nz (Not Verified[172.17.8.185]) by gatekeeperwn.acc.co.nz with MailMarshal (v6,5,4,7535)
id <B4c5b21d80000>; Fri, 06 Aug 2010 08:40:56 +1200
Received: from kdcsxc0001.ds.acc.co.nz (Not Verified[10.243.11.2]) by mxwn.acc.co.nz with MailMarshal (v5.5.7.1596)
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Received: from corsxc0001.ds.acc.co.nz ([10.99.11.6]) by kdcsxc0001.ds.acc.co.nz with Microsoft SMTPSVC(6.0.3790.4675);
Fri, 6 Aug 2010 08:40:50 +1200
X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft Exchange V6.5
MIME-Version: 1.0
Subject: xxxxx
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X-MS-Has-Attach:
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From: xxxxxx
To: “Dave Farrar” <dpf@ihug.co.nz>,
X-OriginalArrivalTime: 05 Aug 2010 20:40:50.0432 (UTC) FILETIME=[7D926000:01CB34DE]
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To me it looks like a Vodafone server got the e-mail on the 6th of August and didn’t pass it on to the Ihug server until the 16th of August – 10 days later.

I will be very unhappy if this occurs again.

The Herald reports:

Former Government Minister Roger McClay has admitted a $25,000 double-dipping rort of cash-strapped charities and taxpayer money.

The 65-year-old pleaded guilty to three representative fraud charges that he abused his ex-MP perk of taxpayer-subsidised flights, then falsely claimed travel costs from two charities he worked for. …

Judge Jan Doogue described the $24,687.10 fraud as “significant” in the Auckland District Court yesterday where she indicated a sentence of community work if he pleaded guilty.

I am glad that Roger has pleaded guilty, which avoids a trial, and also the indication that he will not go to jail.

His actions can only be described as venal and corrupt, and I say this with great sadness about someone whose company I have always enjoyed. Roger has done much for the community as an MP, Minister and Children’s Commissioner – and he will regret that his actions have stained his record of service.

He is still young enough at 65, that he can continue work for the community, after his sentence, to rehabilitate his reputation.

Darien Fenton blogs a CTU video about the evil and oppressive 90 day trial law, quoting a “Florence Coen” who says she got sacked for no reason after 85 days in a job – possibly because she suggested the owner should not play a christian radio station at work.

We don’t know the employer’s side of the story, as they were not interviewed. What we do know, is that Florence Cohen (let us presume they made a typo” is a Labour Party activist.

Now this does not mean Florence’s version of what happened is not correct. But the failure to identify her as a Labour activist is significant, considering the Labour Party is campaigning to get rid of the law, and this means an activist is hardly someone unbiased.

In the comments Trevor Mallard tries to spin this as:

Lots of people join political parties after being treated unfairly. Good on you Florence.

Sadly for Trevor, the Labour site shows Florence joining in April 2009, and the law only came into force in March 2009, so it is impossible for Florence to have only joined Labour after a dismissal at the end of a 90 day probationary period under the new law.

I want to stress that I think Florence comes across well on the video, and I am not disputing she may have had a negative experience under this law. I don’t want people attacking a 17 year old who may have done nothing wrong.

My criticism is of the CTU for not doing full disclosure. Being a partisan activist is relevant information if you are put forward as a “victim” of a law your party strongly opposes.

The Herald reports:

Amy-Rose Allen was a beauty show contestant with a not-so-hidden – and ultimately fatal – secret.

The 22-year-old alcoholic fell victim to what her parents described yesterday as New Zealand’s “widely accepted” binge-drinking culture.

Three months ago, her life support was switched off after she was partially flung from the car she was driving drunk in a crash south of Morrinsville. …

Ms Allen’s grieving mother and stepfather, Catherine and John Peary, yesterday drove to Auckland from their Hamilton home to add their voices to the hundreds who gathered in three anti-alcohol marches that merged at Manukau Square.

Mrs Peary said her daughter had been convicted for drink-driving three times and was before the courts for a fourth offence when she died.

The family will never know if any law changes might have saved her life, but do not want any other families to be left asking such questions.

Mr Peary said one of the main problems he could see was that alcohol was so accessible now.

The Pearys have my sympathy at the loss of their daughter, and in those circumstances, one would want to support any efforts to try and prevent other parents losing their kids so tragically.

But I have real doubts that a law change would have prevented what happened. Amy-Rose had already shown a total disregard for the law – she was on her fourth drink driving charge – which indicates she had probably driven drunk several hundred times – despite it being against the law.

NZPA reports:

One of New Zealand’s most notorious killers allegedly contacted a woman on the jury that found him guilty this month of kidnapping.

George Baker, who is serving an 18-year jail term for murdering teenager Liam Ashley, was found guilty on August 2 of kidnapping, threatening to kill and assault with an offensive weapon.He had taken an elderly prisoner hostage with a weapon at Paremoremo last year and tried to kidnap a jailer.

However, during his trial in the Auckland District Court, a female juror was discharged midway through.

The middle-aged married woman contacted police after receiving a letter signed with Baker’s name at her Auckland home, One News reported last night.

He allegedly sent the letter after getting her contact details from a list of jurors’ names, addresses and occupations.

It is understood the letter had romantic overtures and was not threatening.

Oh yuck. I think that would be even worse than getting a threat.

Two Auckland criminal lawyers said last night that the time had come to legislate to prevent a similar incident and to better protect jurors.

Gary Gotlieb said anyone facing a trial was given a list of around 200 names of potential jurors to look through in case they knew someone on it or lived in the same neighbourhood.

“It’s about six or seven pages and you only get it for about five minutes.”

He said addresses and occupations should be taken off the list, in order to further protect potential jurors.

I agree.

An alternative is that if a defendant chooses, against all advice, to defend themselves that they shouldn’t be given access to the jury list at all. By giving them access if they do turn down legal representation, creates a perverse incentive to do so.

The Großglockner-Hochalpenstraße, or Grossglockner High Alpine Road is one of Austria’s most popular tourist attractions. The road is 48 kms long and goes from beautiful bush right up into snow covered mountain tops over 36 hairpin bends.

Just before the start of the road, in the last town before the big climb.

A map of the ranges you can see as you drive up the road.

Still in the early stages.

A nice view of the road below, with its multiple hair turn bends. And yes lots of mad cyclists who cycle up it. To be fair to them, it will be amazing going down the other side.

The actual Grossglockner peak is the one on the left, behind the other two.

This is close to the end of the road, just before the Kaiser Franz Josefs Höhe Visitors’ Centre. A three sided tunnel is just ahead.

Up on the roof the visitors centre.

These little critters don’t seem to mind the cold so much.

Just below the peak, is this little dam creating a crystal blue lake, as mountain water empties into it.

The road is only 90 minutes south of Salzburg, so easy to do in a day. Traffic actually moves very quickly on the road itself – the biggest time delays are the multiple areas where you can pull over to take photos. We do so at least 15 or so times. The views were worth it.

The Herald reports:

Labour leader Phil Goff said yesterday that KiwiSaver – which workers can opt out of – had been a great success, but had had little impact on overall net savings.

Well then, how can you claim it was a great success? Was that not the entire purpose of KiwiSaver?

This was what many people said at the time – KiwiSaver will not increase overall savings – it will just lead to people moving them into KiwiSaver due to the subsidies.

“We absolutely have to increase our savings as a country. If we want to own our own future we’ve got to have the money to invest,” he told TV3′s The Nation.

“We’re looking to have a universal KiwiSaver programme. Now how we do that, the details of how we do that we’re still working through.”

So because KiwiSaver has failed to increase the overall savings rate of the nation, we will make it compulsory?

Here’s what will over time impact the savings rate – lowering the tax rates on earning and investing, and increasing the tax rate on consumption – the very stuff just done by the Government but opposed by Labour.

Stuff reports:

North Shore mayor Andrew Williams has threatened legal action against right-wing blogger WhaleOil. …

Williams said he was undergoing “harassment” from WhaleOil which was “entirely politically motivated” and no other local body politician had been subjected to such “dirty politics”.

Williams told Fairfax he had already spoken to the police about possible criminal harassment charges and was seriously considering pursuing such an action.

“I spoke to my wife about it today and think I will,” Williams said.

When I read the headline that Williams was threatening legal action, I assumed he was considering defamation. He has every right to take civil action if he believes Whale Oil has defamed him.

But to try and get the Police to charge a blogger with criminal harassment, just because he says mean things about an elected official on his blog is ridicolous and offensive. It is also arguably defamatory itself. The definition of criminal harassment is:

Every person commits an offence who harasses another person in any case where the first-mentioned person intends that harassment to cause that other person to fear for that other person’s safety; or the safety of any person with whom that other person is in a family relationship.

Andrew Williams will be a good fit for NZ First. He is like Winston, in that he can not tolerate criticism.

The Dom Post reports:

Whitireia Polytechnic chief executive Don Campbell said students should be able to opt out of paying the $135 a year compulsory subscription to student associations. “I’m quite concerned about what’s happened.”

In fact they should be allowed to decide whether or not they opt in. It’s very simple. At enrolment they get to tick a box to choose whether or not they wish to join, based on the services being provided for the membership fee.

More than $72,000 was paid out in unauthorised “hardship” grants. However, it appears not all that money went to poverty-stricken students. …

The statements, for the year 2009, show $72,259 was doled out to students who were said to be struggling financially. But Stuff.co.nz has learned of one student who was paid $350 but was recorded as receiving $1170. She received two envelopes stuffed with $150 and $200.

When she demanded to see records, she saw she was noted as receiving $1170. There were five other names on the list who had received up to $1800 each.

Student Association actually boast about how much money they give away in hardship grants, citing them as proof of why they must remain compulsory. My response is that it is unsurprising that if you offer students free money, more and more students will take it up – and that it is the job of WINZ, not student associations, to provide welfare payments.

But the culture of corruption goes deeper, and I do link it to compulsion. I don’t blame the student associations though – I blame Parliament.

The power of compulsory membership and funding is one that should be granted rarely, and with strict controls. Take for example local government – in exchange for the power to impose compulsory rates, they are subject to the Local Government Act, the Local Electoral Act, the Ombudsman, the Auditor-General, the OIA, the Local Government Commission and statutory requirements around consultation, public plans etc etc.

Student associations have been granted the power of compulsion, with absolutely no safeguards. They are not even required to have democratic elections. There is no oversight and no scrutiny. The tales of abuse are legion – and that is because Parliament has given them the power of compulsion, with no safeguards.

Thanks to Mobify, Inspire Net and No Shortcuts Design, there is now a mobile phone version of Kiwiblog.

The URL is http://m.kiwiblog.co.nz and it is customised for better viewing on mobile phones, and to use up less bandwidth. The sidebars are gone, and the photos are smaller. If you are on the mobile site, you can click through to the full site at the top right.

At this stage we have not set it up for auto-detect, as I am assuming people are happy enough to choose the full or mobile site for themselves. But can do so, if people want it.

The SST reported former Detective Inspector Harry Quinn:

Quinn, who also helped set up the national organised crime unit and was involved in numerous cannabis eradication operations, says he took flak within police for writing a report recommending a relaxation of cannabis enforcement, which would have involved issuing warnings to adult social users. …

Quinn told the Sunday Star-Times cannabis law did not need to be changed – but the way police enforced it did. They should rigorously prosecute anyone caught dealing drugs near schools or to youth, and anyone caught with cannabis in a vehicle, but go easy on adult recreational users, he said.

“If someone who is 40 years old is sharing a joint with their 42-year-old neighbour, they should simply tell them to put it out. Why we are wasting time prosecuting adults for the use of cannabis? I’m buggered if I know.”

I’m buggered if I know also.

He said the Misuse of Drugs Act clearly differentiated between those dealing to young people and adult recreational users.

Police ignored it completely and dealt with all offenders in the cannabis realm exactly the same. I think that was a tactical mistake.”

He said there were worse drugs to worry about. “The big guns in the police should be pointed at the drugs which affect people’s lives and can kill people – that’s not cannabis.”

Quinn said senior police needed to take another look at the law and issue guidelines to all officers “so it permeates all through.

“It’s not a soft approach, it’s just a different way of dealing with the problem.”

Sounds sensible.

The balcony of our apartment in Salzburg. As much as I would have rather not have to have worked on my laptop while on holiday, there are worse things than doing so overlooking the Linzer Gasse in Salzburg. We were in the centre of the pedesterian zone and had a huge balcony.

Salzburg is a beautiful city, in Austria’s alpine region. The old and new towns are separated by the Salzach river.

Mozart was born in Salzburg, and the city centre in the Mozartsquare. You can visit the house he was born in, and one he spent many years living in.

The old city centre has a palace and museum next to it, plus is the bottomof the cable car that takes you up to the Salzburg Fortress.

These two cars were parked in the grounds of one of the Consulates in Salzburg. Can you guess which country?

This is the Hohensalzburg Castle or High Salzburg Fortress which overlooks Salzburg. It is one of the largest in Europe at 150 metres by 150 metres. Construction started in 1077.

A view of Salzburg from the Fortress.

Wouldn’t they be nice houses to live in?

The Fortress has a display of weapons and uniforms from WWI.

And a couple of treasures also.

My big advice for Salzburg is to leave the car behind. Many areas one pedestrian only and their one way system was designed by someone high on crack. Even with a GPS, the car was a pain. Having said that, we had it for trips away from Salzburg, rather than in the city itself.

NZPA reports:

The country’s state-owned weather and atmospheric research body is being taken to court in a challenge over the accuracy of its data used to calculate global warming.

The New Zealand Climate Science Coalition said it had lodged papers with the High Court asking the court to invalidate the official temperatures record of the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa). …

The coalition said the New Zealand Temperature Records (NZTR) were the historical base of NIWA’s advice to the Government on issues relating to climate change.

Coalition spokesman Bryan Leyland said many scientists believed although the earth had been warming for 150 years, it had not heated as much as Government archives claimed.

He said the New Zealand Meteorological Service had shown no warming during the past century but Niwa had adjusted its records to show a warming trend of 1degC. The warming figure was high and almost 50 percent above the global average, said Mr Leyland.

The coalition said the 1degC warming during the 20th century was based on adjustments taken by Niwa from a 1981 student thesis by then student Jim Salinger, a Niwa employee who was later sacked after talking to the media without permission.

The Salinger thesis was subjective and untested and meteorologists more senior to Dr Salinger did not consider the temperature data should be adjusted, it said.

The coalition would ask the court to find Niwa’s New Zealand Temperature Record invalid.

It would also seek a court declaration preventing Niwa from using the NZTR when it advised the Government or any other body on global climate issues. It would also ask the court to order Niwa to produce a full and accurate NZTR.

One doesn’t go to court on a whim, so the CSC obviously feel they have a case. It will be fascinating to hear the details once it reaches court.

Of all the topics, this poll graph would be for same sex marriage – hilarious

NZPA reports:

Labour could work with New Zealand First if it needed the numbers to form a government, leader Phil Goff says.

Recently, Prime Minister John Key wouldn’t rule out working with NZ First – which failed to win a seat in Parliament at the 2008 election – but said it was a decision for closer to the election.

Speaking on TV3 political show The Nation this morning, Mr Goff said Labour had worked with New Zealand First leader Winston Peters in the past and could again. Mr Peters was Foreign Minister in the last years of the Helen Clark-led government.

“I think if you’ve got an MMP Parliament and you need to get a majority, you’ve got to consider all options.”

Mr Goff said Mr Peters had good support among elderly people.

“I wouldn’t rule Winston out…I think if he ramps up his campaign there’s every chance he’ll be back in Parliament.”

Sounds almost like a plea for people to vote NZ First. That is because Labour has pretty much no hope of forming a Government without NZ First.

Mr Goff was also open to the Maori Party; “…look I’ll work with any party in Parliament if it’s for what I see as being the good of New Zealanders and for the values that we believe in”.

But his MPs (Mallard, Jones etc) have done everything possible to make it impossible for the Maori Party to go with Labour. That means Labour needs to grow its vote by almost 10% to be able to form a Government – that would be a seismic shift.

So they need Winston, to be able to govern. I fully expect these “almost” endorsements of Winston to continue, and in fact for Labour to actively assist NZ First closer to the election.

I note the PM has not yet ruled out NZ First, or more specifically Winston, saying those decisions are made closer to the election. I certainly hope his 2011 policy will be the same as 2008. No Government with Winston as a Minister in it, has ever ended well. Three times it has ended in disaster.

A NZ First without Winston as Leader would be a different issue. But I do not believe Winston is pathologically capable of being trusted.

After Vienna, we drove across to Salzburg, for four nights stay there. The rental car was a Mercedes (it was upgraded gratis) and much of the route was an an auto-bahn, so I enjoyed the driving greatly. My parents may have different views

Seriously it is great to drive on a well designed road, with a well designed car. Bliss.

Around 40 kms are spent driving next to the Danube. This picture doesn’t capture it, but it is a beautifully scenic trip on a good day. Hugely popular with cyclists.

I had to get a photo of this memorial, as it celebrates their military victory over the French – in 1805. Beating the French always deserves celebrating.

These are the remains of Dürrstein Castle, where Richard the Lionheart was held captive in 1192.

The main road in Dürrstein town. Austria has many small tons or villages like this.

A tavern since 1437 – very cool.

A highly recommended attraction is the Stift Melk, or Melk Abbey. It was founded in 1089, and the current abbey built in the early 1700s.

In one of the display rooms at the Melk Abbey, they had the mirror room, where you see each state in triplicate.

One of the many ceiling artworks. I got a sore neck looking at them all.

Part of the Abbey, from the rear. The architecture and colour is wonderful.

No flash allowed in this room, so you don’t see the gold covers on almost every book. It’s an amazing library.

The church, in the abbey. There was enough gold in the room to solve NZ’s public debt!

Also near Melk is the Castle Schallaburg – another popular place for tourists.

The SST reports:

Kiwis could soon be made to save for their old age, with compulsory savings back on the political agenda.

The government will put compulsory retirement savings on the table as part of a review to boost Kiwis’ retirement nest-eggs and reduce New Zealand’s dependence on overseas borrowing.

The fate of the Cullen superannuation fund, KiwiSaver and tax breaks for savings – which could halve the tax paid on some bank deposits and other investments – will also be in the mix.

A working group, based on last year’s Tax Working Group, is close to being finalised, and ministers plan to use its findings as a centrepiece of next year’s Budget, and for the election campaign.

Government sources said PricewaterhouseCoopers tax expert John Shewan would be part of the group, possibly as its chair.

I am not a fan of compulsory superannuation, as it forces people into superannuation funds, when a better investment for them may be paying off the mortgage or investing in their own business.

However KiwiSaver is close to de facto compulsory as it is opt out, and the subsidies are so great you have to be very poor or very stupid not to take them up.