Kiwiblog

Fleggaard is a retailer in Germany that sells cheap stuff to Danes. Their commercials have become legendary amongst Danes and the one above has been subbed by some the best commercial ever made!

NSFW but very amusing.

And just to be even handed, this one may appeal more to female readers.

A nice story from Christchurch. First Ngaire Button has been elected Deputy Mayor:

Christchurch City councillor Ngaire Button has no illusions about the hard task ahead of her after being elected deputy mayor.

Button beat fellow councillor Chrissie Williams to the role by 10 votes to four yesterday at the first meeting of the newly elected council. …

Button won the vote after a personal and passionate speech to councillors, holding her nephew, Jayden Hitchens, on her hip for most of it.

She spoke of her years as a solo mother raising five daughters and how she disappointed her father when she told him she was pregnant at the age of 17.

“My dad said to me I have ruined my life … He was so disappointed in the life choices I had made.”

However, she was determined to rebuild and succeed.

“I struggled on the domestic purposes benefit and raised them while I studied law.”

Raising five daughters as a solo mum, while also studying law is damn impressive.

And the daughters seem to have turned out okay. This is Ngaire and her daughter Anna:

For as The Press reports:

Anna, 18, has been given her first taste of local government politics by being voted on to that ward’s community board.

Also impressive to win an election at so young an age.

From the Herald political diary:

Political correctness is still alive and well in the Labour Party. In a remit relating to Labour’s prisons policy, the word “inmates” was changed to the more anonymous “people”.

Was it because mates implies males?

Brian Edwards blogs:

In the Campbell Live poll 90% of respondents thought Actors Equity was to blame for the Hobbit fiasco and 10% thought the film company was to blame. Even given the statistical unreliability of this sort of poll, that’s a resounding and deserved indictment of the appalling PR of Actors Equity, the CTU and in particular CTU president Helen Kelly. I have seldom seen groups so out of touch with public sentiment or so incapable of getting across the message they wanted to convey.

Danyl blogs at the Dim Post about the next CTU media campaign:

CTU launches charm offensive, desecrates grave of Sir Edmund Hillary

In the wake of sharp public criticism over its handling of contract negotiations around The Hobbit the Council of Trade Unions has launched a public relations campaign aimed at rehabilitating the organisation’s image. CTU President Helen Kelly has promised New Zealanders they will be ‘wowed’ by a series of industrial strikes planned to disrupt the rugby world cup next year and has violated the grave of revered mountain climber Sir Edmund Hillary during a live press conference.

Heh this is of course Danyl’s normal satire. However he hits a bit close to the bone. Numerous Auckland industrial agreements have been timed to expire just before the Rugby World Cup. watch this space!

‘This shows the public that the union movement is about more than being a voice for working people, conducting fair and equitable negotiations between equal parties and destroying the capital owning parasites like Hillary and Jackson, and also Hayley Westenra who has it coming to her,’ Helen Kelly announced while digging, pausing to pose for cameras and spit on the grave.

‘Like most Kiwis we have nothing but contempt for Hillary and his achievements,’ Kelly said hitching up her skirt and squatting on Sir Edmund’s skeleton while onlookers and supporters cheered and sang We Shall not be Moved. ‘This sends a signal to the public that we share their values.’ …

‘Although Hillary did support the labour movement for many decades let us not forget that he also lived in Remuera,’ Kelly added, spray-painting a picture of a penis on the tombstone. ‘Fairness! Respect! Solidarity!’

Subsequent to the desecration Kelly and senior union delegates burned a huge pile of five dollar notes, which bear Sir Edmund’s image. According to a statement released by the union the bonfire was unrelated to the Hillary protest and is customary practise at CTU events.

This is again one of the ironies. Sir Peter Jackson could have made so much more money if he had moved to Hollywood. But it was is desire to create jobs for New Zealanders that has seen him remain here.

Also Lee at MWT highlights this comment made on the Dim Post:

“What kind of country do we live in if union bosses can’t meet at Matterhorn to decide the future of 22,000 people’s jobs over a few $42 Mains and some cocktails, without being harangued by smelly jobless proles?”

Actually I quite liked that Simon Whipp who featured in the video. I’m thinking he’d make a great candidate for Parliament – he should seek selection for a safe seat somewhere.

The Herald reports:

Most parents of secondary students believe the Government should agree to at least some of their teachers’ claims for a 4 per cent pay rise and smaller class sizes, according to a Weekend Herald readers’ poll.

But a majority still disagree with the teachers’ strike action.

A Nielsen Consumer Research non-scientific survey, conducted online for the Weekend Herald, asked nearly 400 parents of high school-aged children whether they agreed with the decision to strike.

More than half of the parents from the APN reader panel (comprising readers of the Weekend Herald, NZ Herald, Herald on Sunday, nzherald.co.nz, Listener, NZ Woman’s Weekly and APN regional papers) said they “disagreed” or “strongly disagreed” with the rolling strikes, which will continue for the rest of the term.

I hope the Herald keep the story as a template for how they report online panel surveys. The online panels are a valid way to get some idea of opinion on an issue, but they should not be reported as “poll findings”. All too often I see results from online panels reported as if they were scientific random selection polls.

What I like in the story is that the Herald has called it a readers poll in the lead paragraph, giving early indication it is not a random poll.

Then they specifically call it a non-scientific survey, tell us it was conducted online and how many parents they asked.

Later on they also tell us who makes up the panel.

Overall a really good example of how to correctly report on the results of an online panel.

The Herald reports:

A former police officer and MP says he was pressured by the police commissioner of the day to change important evidence to the Crewe Royal Commission to suit the police case.

The moment I read this paragraph I worked out who the person is, and my first instinct is not to place any reliance on what he says.

Ross Meurant told the Weekend Herald that on the morning he gave evidence to the 1980 commission, Police Commissioner Bob Walton tried to persuade him he had not thoroughly searched the Crewes’ garden. …

Mr Meurant said the duty inspector, Phil Keber, saw him come out of the meeting.

“Phil said to me, ‘Geez, you’re white, Meurant, what happened there?’ and when I told him, he was as disgusted as me.”

Mr Keber told the Weekend Herald he had no recollection of the matter Mr Meurant describes. Mr Walton and Mr Wilkinson have died.

People can come to their own conclusions.

The Dom Post reports:

New Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown has nominated Ian McKinnon to be her deputy for the next three years.

This is a very good call in two respects.

The first is that Ian has been a good Deputy Mayor, and will continue to do so.

The second is that it should lead to a more harmonious Council. If Celia played favourites with who is nominated for Deputy Mayor and Committee Chairs, then she would have a grumpy minority.

So a good start.

My home phone goes off at 1230 am this morning. I stumble out of bed and answer it as it will either be something really important or the drunk Hungarian girl who called from Strasbourg earlier that day.

It is neither. It is someone called Rev Jones calling about my e-mail. He does not have great English and I am half asleep so it takes me a while to comprehend. I don’t know what e-mail he is talking about, and say so. He repeats his name and I say I really don’t recall an e-mail and anyway it is past midnight so can this wait until tomorrow.

He remains insistent, and finally he says something about the $5  million money transfer. It slowly dawns on me he is a (probably) Nigerian scamster. Hell – I didn’t know they were now calling random people to try and con them.

I politely but firmly tell him that I have never e-mailed him and that he is either mistaken or someone else contacted him. I tell him I am going to hang up now and being unfailingly polite I even say I regret if there has been any confusion.

Ten minutes later the phone rings again. I ignore it. He phones back ten more times over the next half hour. Finally I go stick the fax machine in, hoping a loud buzzing will drive him off. Sadly, the fax is too smart for my own good and won’t pick up on a phone call. So instead I just take the phone off the hook.

Around half an hour later – close to 1.30 am now, and my mobile phone goes. I reach over for the phone (which I keep next to the bed in case Andrew Williams is texting) and I see the number is an international one, starting with +234.

I ponder briefly. It might be the Hungarian girl. She did call on my cellphone. But the timing is suspicious so I turn my cellphone off. I check on the iPad what country +234 is from, and what a surprise – it is Nigeria.

So far, he has not called back again. If he does I will just transfer him to the talking clock or something.

I feel a bit sorry for the little old ladies who fall for these scams. This guy was very very persistent. I also slightly regret that I did not try and have some fun with him – such as ask him to send me a photo of him holding up a sign saying “Nigeria is sad that Chris Carter is yet to visit us”. If the call had been during the day I might have been quick enough.

But I also reflect that someone out there must have forged an e-mail from me to this guy, giving him my home phone and mobile phone numbers. Unless it was one of my mates, this irritates me somewhat.

1. Go to watch my favourite programmes and find that the MySky decoder has had a record failure for the last day.
2. Reboot the decoder, and then it comes up with updating listings and freezes there
3. Reboot again and comes up with atmospheric conditions are interfering
4. Ring Sky
5. Sky tell me to reboot decoder – despite having already done it. No change
6. They then say that perhaps the frequency the decoder is on is wrong and give me the code to change it. Do so but no fix.
7. They then say they will send a technician out
8. The next day they call to say that there have been several calls from our apartment block so probably a fault with our building aerial.
9. Local company checks it out, and finds the power supply to the aerial has died. replaces it.
10. Everyone else in building gets Sky back but me.
11. Am stuck between sky saying it was a building fault and the body corporate saying it has now been fixed. Now been four days with no TV or Sky. Try rebooting decoder several more times.
12. Finally decide will have to pay out of own pocket for a technician and ring one up. He confirms that there is no fault at the building end.
13. I prepare to ring Sky again, but luckily mention to him that their previous advice had been to change the frequency. He rants about how they are morons and they should never ever advice customers to do that – there is one setting for commercial premises and one for residential and should never swap them.
14. Luckily he knows the code to change the frequency (or whatever its technical name was) and yes hey presto after four days I have television again.

The moral of the story is the next time Sky stops working, do not ring Sky for help!

More developments today. First the Dominion Post editorial:

Talk about biting the hand that feeds you. The full stupidity of the Actors’ Equity members who arranged an international boycott of The Hobbit is now apparent.

They used the nuclear bomb option in industrial negotiations. And nuclear bombs always have fall out.

What makes New Zealand unique in terms of film-making is that it is where Sir Peter lives and where, despite the blandishments of Hollywood, he has chosen to build his empire.

A film set is not like a meatworks or an old-fashioned cotton mill where workers are interchangeable. It is a place where individuals have a chance to make a difference and to be rewarded for their talents.

Members of the Australian-based Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance and its local offshoot, Actors’ Equity, who do not back themselves to shine are under no compulsion to offer their services to Sir Peter. If they prefer, they are at liberty to deliver one-person shows in empty provincial theatres. But they should not seek to deny others the opportunity to build film careers or to experience the excitement of working on a project that will be seen around the world.

I love the line about empty provincial theatres!

… the Government has no choice but to step in to try to repair the damage done by the actors’ union. It is not just the future of The Hobbit that is at stake, but the future of the industry that has grown up around Sir Peter. If that requires the Government to bump up the 15 per cent tax break already available to the producers of The Hobbit, Finance Minister Bill English should get out his chequebook.

The purity of the tax system be damned. The consequences of losing an industry that has revitalised Wellington do not bear thinking about.

Losing the film will lead to a massive loss of jobs, and the taxpayer will probably end up paying even more through lost tax income and higher welfare costs. Having said that, I would much prefer the tax break not be increased.

Some lunatics think that this was all manufactured so they could get a tax break. I’d really love to meet the evil geniuses that managed to infiltrate MEAA and get them to arrange a global boycott, just so that Warners can use it as an excuse to get a bigger tax break.

Perhaps the shortfall could be made up by cutting Creative New Zealand’s theatrical budget.

Is that on top of the $44,000 I already want to cut?

John Drinnan at the Herald looks at the media handling of it and notes:

To challenge a national icon you would think you would lay on a bit of charm – or just show some respect.

Kelly said: “There are still New Zealanders out there who believe that people have a right to negotiate.”

Maybe the handling of the Hobbit dispute will win the MEAA and CTU an activist award at the next Socialist International prizegiving.

But in this country they have turned a lot of people off.

Helen Kelly calling Sir Peter Jackson a spoilt brat was incredibly stupid. Peter Jackson has created more jobs for New Zealanders than possibly any other person. Once upon a time the CTU said they cared about jobs.

Tom Cardy in the Dom Post has the latest updates:

A furious Sir Peter Jackson will “fight as hard as he can” to keep The Hobbit in New Zealand – but is already listing key Kiwi staff to take if the two-part film goes overseas.

And the director hit back at Council of Trade Union president Helen Kelly’s claims that he had set up the actors’ union to take the blame if the US$500 million (NZ$667m) movie is lost.

“I couldn’t believe it. It was the first time I really got very angry.”

Asked if it was fingers crossed that The Hobbit would remain, Jackson said: “I don’t know what to cross any more. I’ve just got to get some sleep. I haven’t had much sleep in the past few days.”

It was unlikely he would be able to take more than 150 Kiwi crew – compared with a minimum of 2500 he could employ here – but did not yet “have the heart” to choose who.

Sir Peter is an unlikely target for the CTU to try and make out as the super villain. Almost everyone who has worked for him raves about him, and I would speculate that he probably routinely votes Labour/Greens.  He is not some uncaring distant Rupert Murdock type. So he is speaking very honestly when he says it would be heart-breaking to choose just 5% of people to take overseas.

I understand from those a bit closer to the action that he is personally very hurt by what has happened, as he has spent so much of his life creating jobs and getting better pay for NZ workers. He could have become far far richer by moving to Hollywood.

Ms Kelly cited a belief Warner had already decided to move the films for bigger tax incentives and lower wages, and Jackson – a “spoilt brat” – was trying to set the union up to blame.

Yes Sir Peter masterminded the MEAA into an international boycott to move the film overseas, despite having already spent tens of millions on preparing for the films to be shot in NZ.

With all respect Helen Kelly’s belief should be given as much weight as the beliefs of Scientologists.

Jackson described her as clueless. “Why do people like Helen Kelly have to be driven by rhetoric and playing some kind of role where she’s always got to be the victim and everyone else is to blame?

“She has tried every possible conspiracy theory. I’m expecting to be told I was on the grassy knoll in Dallas any moment now.”

Can he prove he was not?

Outrageous Fortune star and Actors’ Equity committee member Robyn Malcolm said yesterday she could not believe a request for a discussion around conditions was enough to derail the project. “We’re not even the coffee budget. Nobody wants Cate Blanchett’s salary …”

Oh you silly person you. You did not “request” a discussion. You initiated a global boycott. Do you not know the difference? It is rather huge.

Incidentally how many people were aware that the taxpayers have sunk over $48 million into keeping Ms Malcolm and others employed on Outraegous Fortune?

I’m a fan of the show, but I prefer them to do what Shortland Street does – become self sufficient after the initial years.

Remember those stories about lynch mobs and needing Police escorts. Well this video shows the lovely Simon Whipp in action, refusing to even talk politely to a questioner – definitely a violent lynch mob.

And finally the Young Nats ask about why the Wellington Mayor is missing in action. It is incredible that the new Mayor of Wellington has not been out to the media saying how crucial it is that the Hobbit be filmed here, and demanding that any obstacles to it be removed. The only person who has been even quieter than Celia has been Phil Goff.

The Herald reports:

New Zealand’s largest education union says te reo Maori should be compulsory in all schools to ensure it’s kept alive.

After the release of a Waitangi Tribunal report calling for urgent action to turn around a decline in te reo, the New Zealand Educational Institute said it was everyone’s responsibility to ensure the language survived.

Yeah, this is definitely so important it must be compulsory. Now of course we hear from teachers there is already too much curriculum to teach in too few hours, so another subject will have to be dropped to make way.

How about maths? I think counting is way over-rated and who needs to know how to multiply 12×12 when you have Excel anyway.

If you want to help persuade Warners to keep The Hobbit in NZ, you’ll be able to do so next weel:

Mark Harrison, an Auckland actor and founder of the Keep The Hobbit Film Shoot in NZ page on Facebook, is leading the call for actors, all other related trades and the public to join in a show of support for keeping The Hobbit production in New Zealand when executives from Warner Brothers/New Line arrive in NZ next week.

Rallies are called for in the main centres and other towns, such as Matamata and
Queenstown, to show support for keeping the production centered in NZ.

“We want to show Warners and the other producers that there is a groundswell of
support for filming the Hobbit here, and that the actions of a small group should not in any way have the potential to disrupt the production.” Says Harrison.

With over 2,800 supporters, the Keep The Hobbit Film Shoot in NZ Facebook page has
been a focal point for those directly affected by the threat to The Hobbit.

“Our planned ʻShow of Supportʼ rallies are intended to be focused on positively
persuading Warners that they should produce the films here. Weʼre not looking to vilify any unions, but rather to positively show that the whole of NZ is behind the production, whatever it takes. We donʼt want this to be a protest against anyone, we want this to be a rally in favour of the New Zealand film industry and Sir Peter Jackson – we want so many New Zealanders to turn out, that it will make it impossible for Warners to think of moving Hobbiton from Matamata to Europe”

The rallies are provisionally planned for 1 pm Wednesday 27 October. Confirmed
venues, date and time will be released as soon as possible.

So keep your lunchtimes free on Wednesday.

iPredict have launched a range of stocks on who will be the next Breakfast host. As of this morning the favourites are:

1. Tm Wilson 35%
2. Oliver Driver 17%
3. Tamati Coffey 11%
4. Sean Plunket 10%
5. Greg Boyed 9%
6. Mike Hosking 8%
7. Paul Holmes 7%
8. Jack Tame 6%
9. Jeremy Wells 6%
10. Dominic Harvey 5%
11. Matty McLean 2%
12. Peter Williams 1%
13. Mark Sainsbury 1%

If you think anyone is over or under priced, then make some money if you are right and buy or sell some stock!

One of the several introduced birds to NZ is the chaffinch. The male has a distinctive blue-gray hood and russet saddle.

Looks like a fine Spring day here in Auckland, so I think I’ll be grabbing some cameras and heading off. After a decent coffee of course

Hope everyone else has a pleasant Friday also.

Acting Attorney-General Judith Collins announced:

Acting Attorney-General Judith Collins announced that Justice Wilson today resigned as a judge of the Supreme Court.

This is a good outcome. Personally I’m slightly disappointed that I won’t get to observe and report on a judicial conduct panel, as what is effectively an impeachment trial of a supreme court justice would be a once in a lifetime event.

But the judiciary is spared the spectacle of what would have been a very messy public (effectively) trial, and a very costly one.

The terms on which the Judge has resigned are:

• His existing entitlements, which include untaken sabbatical leave and retiring leave. The exact amount has not yet been calculated.

• One year’s salary, of $410,000, which will be taxable.

• The Crown will pay Justice Wilson’s solicitor-client costs which to date have been calculated at $475,000.

The costs of Justice Wilson must be paid by the Government, by statute – s27(1) of the Judicial Conduct Commissioner and Judicial Conduct Panel Act 2004 states:

The Judge’s reasonable costs of representation in respect of the inquiry must be met by the office of the Commissioner.

So that is the law as passed by the last Labour Government.

The one year’s salary will grate with a few people, but the reality is that it saves the taxpayer a lot of money. You see if Justice Wilson did not resign, he would remain getting his salary on full pay – plus all his further legal expenses would also be a debt to the taxpayer. The real loser in this deal is probably Colin Carruthers QC, who has ably represented Justice Wilson!

The High Court said that the JCC had to reconsider whether to recommend a JCP for Justice Wilson. Then after that the Government would have to appoint one all over again. Then there would be scheduling of it, and preliminary arguments, and then effectively the trial itself. Plus the possibility Justice Wilson may seek more judicial reviews.

And finally the JCP would have to come to a decision make a recommendation to Parliament, and Parliament decide whether to remove him.

I think it is impossible that this could occur within six months. It could indeed stretch out to a year.

So during those 6 – 12 months Justice Wilson would be receiving his full salary anyway.

On top of that we would be paying for his legal costs. If he has spent $475,000 so far – before it even gets to trial, I would be surprised if his costs would not come to at least that much again.

Also add on that the JCC was assisted by a former Australian Chief Justice – his costs would be considerable.

The Counsel assisting the JCP was to be a former Australian state solicitor-general – his costs would be in the hundreds of thousands.

And then add on the costs of Crown Law and the Ministry of Justice.

This is a ballpark guestimate, but I would say that if no deal was done to have Justice Wilson resign, then he would have still ended up with close to a year’s salary and the legal costs to the taxpayer would be quite easily a further million dollars or more on top of that.

So I have no problems at all with the agreement negotiated.

And while my sympathy for Justice Wilson is limited as he largely has his own intransigence to blame, it is worth noting he is barred for life from ever appearing in court again as a lawyer. He was formerly a top civil litigator, so his ability to earn money in future is seriously diminished.

It is a sad end to what was a highly regarded career as a lawyer and potentially as a Judge. His lack of full disclosure as a Court of Appeal Judge was IMO not a hanging offence. But his grudging co-operation with his own colleagues on the Supreme Court was what did him in. He embarrassed them, and he he substituted his own opinion as to what he thinks they need to know, for letting them decide that for themselves.

The Herald has the statements from Peter Jackson and the CTU here.

I was going to fisk the CTU statement, but Russell Brown has done it far better than I could. And yes, that is not a typo.

I do want to first touch on one aspect, quoting the CTU:

Facts on Hobbit

Helen Kelly, CTU President, said today that it is important that some facts about the union stance on the Hobbit are placed before the public.

• The union is seeking basic terms and conditions such as hours, breaks, overtime payments etc.

• The union has always been prepared to agree those conditions as an industry standard rather than a collective agreement.

This is both false and misleading.

First of all the union is not just “seeking” basic terms and conditions. It arranged a global boycott of the film. This is the nuclear bomb when it comes to negotiations.

And like any nuclear bomb, you can’t lob one into battle, and then say afterwards “Oh we’ll try and pretend we never did that and promise not to do it again”. The damage is done the moment it has happened.

The studios want certainty even more than lower cost. It may actually end up in a country where most actors are covered by a union. That is preferable to NZ, because they actually have certainty.

But a union with only 86 or so members that arranges a global boycott of a film is the opposite of stability. It signals run, run away from these lunatics.

Secondly let me quote from the global boycott:

Resolved, that the International Federation of Actors urges each of its affiliates to adopt instructions to their members that no member of any FIA affiliate will agree to act in the theatrical film The Hobbit until such time as the producer has entered into a collective bargaining agreement with the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance for production in New Zealand providing for satisfactory terms and conditions for all performers employed on the productions

Now re-read what the CTU says:

The union has always been prepared to agree those conditions as an industry standard rather than a collective agreement.

What bullshit. The global boycott was explicitly got a collective agreement. This is not just spin or distortion – it is a total lie.

Now let me quote Russell Brown:

Instead, since its takeover by the Australian Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance, Equity has been so feckless that it failed to file reports for three years, until it was struck off the register of incorporated societies. New Zealand actors have a decent case for greater power and security in their industry. Their union – and the Australian union that was supposed to bring in a new era of professionalism – has failed them.

Eighteen months ago, Equity refused an offer from the Screen Production and Development Association (Spada) to renegotiate the “Pink Book” code of conduct which covers actors’ pay and conditions and has been untouched since the MEAA moved in. Its precondition for any talks with Spada was that the existing system, which does generally work, be scrapped and replaced with collective agreements.

This shows the lies told by the CTU up even more. Not only did MEAA not seek an update to the industry standard, they flat out refused to negotiate such a thing.

There were other things wrong with the union’s strategy, if it can be called that. The way the first meeting in Wellington was run was a disgrace – while anyone who turned up and called themselves a performer was allowed to vote in Auckland, the rules were changed in Wellington after the vote had begun to exclude non-Equity members. One actor trying to read a statement from Jackson (who had been refused permission to address the meeting) was shouted down and couldn’t fnish.

Most notably, statements from organiser Frances Walsh clearly indicated it was seeking to negotiate a national agreement via The Hobbit (why else talk about wanting to negotiate rules on nudity in a film which features no nudity?) and Robyn Malcolm managed to say in successive sentences to John Campbell that they wanted “a fair deal for New Zealand actors working on the Hobbit”, but an agreement that was “not Hobbit-specific”. I’ve explained before why it would have been unethical for Jackson to put himself in that position.

And this is the real game – to try and force all NZ productions to pay the same as The Hobbit.

By the time they’d settled for far less – and finally agreed to talk to Spada without showstopping preconditions — the damage had largely been done. Yes, if Ireland gets the gig, it will be because of its more-generous-than-the-others tax breaks. But the film was going to be made in New Zealand. The door for other countries was opened when MEAA executive Simon Whipp authorised the SAG member alert that brought the production to a halt by banning actors from working on it.

If Warners thinks the industrial relations environment in New Zealand has become too risky and unpredictable, it has some cause for thinking so.

Again, it is not about the lowest cost – it really is about stability. Remember there are two films to be produced – they don’t want to finish one, and then have an unstable union call another boycott or strike to ratchet up demands on the second film.

Some people have a conspiracy theory that it is all about the tax credit, and that this issue is just an excuse. They should consider how much money has already been spent by Jackson and Weta preparing for filing it here – Hobbiton re-established etc.

But it was telling that the CTU’s Helen Kelly said on Nightline last night that the Equity meeting had been called for members to discuss “what they wanted in terms of terms and conditions”.

You’re saying that after all this — you still don’t know what you want?

Amazing.

It’s also generally not a good sign for a union leader, as Kelly did, to refer to the 1000-plus working people who met and marched in Wellington last night, most of them members of their own guilds and unions, as being in a “lynch mob” mood.

So Helen managed to insult hundreds of union members.

None of the other screen guilds have spoken in support of Equity, and they have privately assured both Spada and the government that they are on the side of the producers in this case.

They are the real victims. I’ll be minorly affected in that the NZ economy will take a dive, and that means more debt to be serviced by us as taxpayers. But the 1000s of people who will end up out of work are the ones I really feel for. It’s one thing to lose your job when it is semi-inevitable – in a fading industry etc. But to work in what was a growing healthy industry with a bright future, and to lose your job because of the actions of a few dozen individuals would really piss you off.

Even if the film can be hauled back here – and that’s the state of play – this will have badly damaged relations in the industry. And if the film really is lost, it will damage a lot more than that – the trade union movement included.

This is the part puzzling me. Putting aside ideological differences I have always regarded Helen Kelly as a pretty smart operator, and someone who does try to do the right thing.

But her involvement with this dispute has been disastrous.

Almost everyone involved with this fracas has said that MEAA’s Simon Whipp is the problem – the NZ Actors involved are lightweights. So Whipp is the Aussie bad boy that everyone was blaming (and fairly).

But what Helen has done is change the focus of anger from being the head of an aussie union, to the head of the CTU. She is associating all NZ unions with Simon Whipp’s campaign, and as loath as I am to give advice to the NZ union movement on how to protect their reputation, I have to say that this is a spectacularly bad thing.

The CTU has put out a press release which is factually incorrect and made themselves the target. Why on Earth did they not just assist behind the scenes (where they have done some good I hear), rather than become the de facto spokesperson for the MEAA?

How will the CTU have credibility about protecting Kiwi jobs, if the movies do go overseas?

Oh, and finally, on a related note – I’ve heard nothing on this matter from the temporary and future Labour Party Leaders – surely some journalist has asked Phil Goff and Andrew Little if they support the CTU’s defence of the global boycott against the Hobbit?

Youth Rates

Sir Roger makes an excellent point. Young inexperienced first time job seekers are being priced out of the market. Sure no one wants to stay on $10/hour for long, but hell if it will get you your first job, it is worth so much more than that as you then get actual work experience.

I started work at 12 as a paper boy and occassional dairy assistant. At 14 I was working every day after school. There is no way I would have got those jobs if they had to pay me full adult wages.

The massive increase in youth unemployment is partly because of young people being priced out of the market. And sadly, Labour wants to make it even worse – they want to make it impossible for any young job seeker to take a job for under $15 an hour.

Went to The Birthday Boy at Circa on Tuesday evening.

I wasn’t sure whether I would like it. It was billed as “What happens to long-term friends when life takes them in completely different directions?” which didn’t seem like a source of great comedy. And one of the five cast was Geraldine Brophy whom I have an irrational antipathy towards because of the character she used to play on Shortland Street. Yes I know there is a difference between an actor and their part, but hey I did say the antipathy was irrational!

As it turned out, I greatly enjoyed the play. There was plenty of humour, and a nice twist to the story at the end.

The two couples are Stuart & Elizabeth and David and Kathy. They are best mates until David and Kathy have children – an emo type brooding artist and then twins who are nicknamed the two horseman of the apocalypse due to their antics such as pouring oil into a swimming pool and setting it on fire so they can ride their bikes down the slide into it.

Kathy writes children’s tales about a dog. Her career blossoms and she is rarely home, leaving David to care for the kids. He grows increasingly resentful of the dog character and this plays itself out hilariously later in the play. He copes badly at being a near solo Dad with three difficult kids, and envies Stuart who is care free and much the same guy at 50 as he was at 21.

By contrast Stuart and Elizabeth are loving life and doing well. Stuart is the wise cracking joker who provides much of the great humour in the play. His foil is Stuart’s mother who takes everything he says literally, and she also provides many smiles.

Stuart loves being a slightly irresponsible god parent to the kids as he fills them up with energy, and then the parents have to cope with them.

You would think there is not a lot of humour at seeing two friends drift apart, and a marriage fall apart – but in fact the smiles came often.

The play is two and a half hours long, and while normally I find that challenging, it worked well with this production as there was a natural progression of birthdays to get through from age 40 to 65.

The final scene has some surprises in it, and provides some nice food for thought.

Overall it was a very well produced and enjoyable play that kept you in laughter but also made you think about the pros and cons of having children. An ideal play for couples to go and see, but not exclusively. In the audience on Tuesday there were a lot of young women there also, and they seemed to like it as much as anyone else.

The NZ Herald editorial:

A call by district health boards for the Government to review the right of health workers to strike is, therefore, most timely. They made it clear yesterday that they have had enough of patient safety being compromised.

The chief medical officers of all 20 boards have written to the Health Minister, Tony Ryall, urging him to make disputes over pay or conditions in the health system subject to compulsory arbitration, as is the case with other public safety workforces, such as the police.

The freedom to withdraw labour should never be eliminated lightly. But, whatever the rights and wrongs of the present strike, there is good reason to believe the time has come for compulsory independent arbitration in the sector.

Hospitals provide an essential service. They are the only port of call for the ill. There is no alternative supplier of their services. As it is, sick people must wait impotently as disputes wind their way to a conclusion.

What I find interesting with the current compulsory arbitration for the Police is that the arbitrator can  not choose a compromise. He or she must choose the employer offering or choose the union request.

So what does this do? It encourages reasonableness. The more extravagant or unfair your demands/offer and the less chance there is of it being selected. So you often get the two parties quite close to each other.

During the junior doctors’ strike of 2008, the Medical Council suggested the time to move to compulsory arbitration had come. Unsurprisingly, a Labour Government was unmoved.

Now, the push by district health boards has substantially raised the ante. So, too, has health workers’ increasing penchant for industrial action. If the Government acts, as it should, there will surely be no complaints from the public.

I think there is a case for considering hospitals an essential service akin to the Police.

The Herald reports:

Weta Workshop’s boss Sir Richard Taylor last night said the New Zealand film industry was “at some level of peril”.

He said a $670 million US-backed production of Tolkien classic The Hobbit could be produced elsewhere if a union boycott of the project was not lifted.

“We are deeply concerned it may [go overseas].

“Our industry is being put in a very dire place by very few people who have nothing to do with the film industry in New Zealand.”

It is worth remembering that MEAA represents only around 80 actors in NZ – less than 5% of the total acting workforce.

Up to 1500 workers marched from Weta’s Miramar studios into central Wellington to picket an Actors’ Equity meeting being held at St John’s Hall.

Their jobs are at direct risk. This Australian union doesn’t care about how many people may end up out of work.

The Equity meeting – which was to discuss unrelated matters – was cancelled after union bosses learned the march was on its way.

Equity spokeswoman Frances Walsh said the union had “no choice” but to call off the meeting “because we are not going to expose our performers to harm”.

What? Did she think Sir Richard was leading a lynch mob that would burn the church hall down? Or did they just not want to talk to all those people whose jobs are at risk?

The Dom Post reports that things look grim:

The Hobbit seems set to be taken offshore, with the film’s producers due in New Zealand to begin preparations next week.

Sir Peter Jackson and the producers have been in a standoff with actors unions who have boycotted the Lord of the Rings prequels as they have agitated for a collective agreement.

There has been speculation that production could be taken overseas. Other countries had offered a one-off deal that is double New Zealand’s 15 per cent tax rebate for films.

Sir Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh said last night the lifting of the actors union’s blacklist “does nothing to help the film stay in New Zealand”.

“The damage inflicted on our film industry by [the actors unions] is long since done.”

The move has undermined Warner Brothers confidence in the industry “and they are now, quite rightly, very concerned about the security of their $500m investment”.

“Next week Warners are coming down to New Zealand to make arrangements to move the production offshore. It appears we cannot make films in our own country even when substantial financing is available.”

And remember it is not the fault of the unions:

Ms Kelly said union members would not be at fault if The Hobbit moved overseas. Instead, it was Warner Brothers seeking to gain greater tax breaks and lower wages.

Sure. Nothing to do with us at all. Helen sounds like the Vietnam commander – we had to destroy the village in order to to save it.

But Council of Trade Unions president Helen Kelly said the crowd was “in a lynch-mob mood thanks to Richard Taylor, who has obviously wound them up like springs” and actors had to call the meeting off. “It was too dangerous.”

That nasty awful Sir Richard Taylor. How dare he organise a protest march. The CTU condemns people who organise protest marches and make fiery speeches to them. Such marches should be illegal – unless organised by the CTU of course.

I’ll make a prediction. If The Hobbit moves overseas, there will be another protest march. Not with 1,500 people in it, but 15,000 or more. And if you think you have seen anger already, you’ve seen nothing yet.

People should be angry when their jobs are at risk. NZ Actors should be angry that they will lose the chance to earn $5,000/week. Wellingtonians should be angry that a decade of investment into building a film industry here may all be wasted.

At Backbenchers last night there was a discussion on lifting the retirement age from 65 to 67. They asked one table how many years off retirement they are. One girl said 46 years so I guess she was 19. Then they asked the more elderly gentleman how many years from retirement he was, and he responded that as he was 89 I guess I am already retired.

A round of applause for him, as people impressed that at 89 years old you’re coming to the pub, having a beer and watching Backbenchers.

At the end of the night he came up to me when he left and said how much he enjoys the blog, and reads it pretty much every day. Pretty thrilled to get such cool feedback, and meet what may be KB’s oldest reader.

It got me wondering. Who is the oldest and the youngest reader of Kiwiblog? If you are over 89 or under 18 feel free to state your age – either in comments – or if you are shy, by e-mail.

The NBR reports:

The Serious Fraud Office served the notice on NBR yesterday, demanding documents and audio tapes relating to the paper’s investigation of South Canterbury Finance’s dealings over Auckland’s Hyatt Regency Hotel. The deadline for delivery was 9am today.

The Serious Fraud Act Section 5 notice requires NBR editor-in-chief Nevil Gibson to hand over all written and audio notes relating to Mr Nippert’s investigation of the Hyatt Regency, specifically the NBR exclusive story of how one-time meatworker Peter Symes came to own the hotel.

The NBR story by Nippert may be what led the SFO to focus on SCF. It was an excellent story about how the Hyatt in Auckland was officially owned by a retried freezing worker.

The SFO has incredible powers to demand documents. They were given them to use against the bad guys doing the fraud, not against the good guys who helped expose the alleged fraud.

A polite request to NBR for information would be more productive than a section 5 notice.

So far NBR has decided to risk adverse legal consequences:

The National Business Review is in a standoff with the Serious Fraud Office after the SFO this morning refused an invitation by NBR publisher Barry Colman to attend a meeting with the paper.

The SFO instead warned that NBR had been in breach of its statutory obligations under the Serious Fraud Office Act since 9 am today.

The SFO has demanded editorial files relating to NBR’s investigation into the collapse of the South Canterbury Finance group of companies and yesterday threatened its journalists with jail and fines for non-coperation.

The NBR called for the meeting to seek reassurances that its co-operation with the SFO would not lead to further fishing trips for information that could compromise the paper’s confidential sources.

It does look like the info demanded will eventually be provided:

The SFO’s request related to already published material that the paper has no objection to supplying as no confidential sources were violated.

But NBR is seeking an assurance from the Serious Fraud Office that it will not invoke its draconian powers of document seizure in return for NBR’s co-operation into the SFO’s investigations in the South Canterbury Finance collapse.

Mr Colman said today the initial information sought by the SFO had already been published and its release would not violate the confidentiality of any NBR sources.

So NBR are saying yeah we can give you that info but we don’t want to be seen to assenting to further info which will compromise sources.

Mr Colman said today the SFO’s blatant intimidation was appalling and counterproductive.

“We are not the enemies of the SFO. We want the bad guys investigated as well,” he said.

“However, no news service is going to be able to get crucial information from its sources or whistleblowers if they face public exposure. We have taken legal advice and been told the act is so draconian that it is impossible for us to refuse to co-operate without risking serious penalty.

“We have decided to hand over the material they are asking for today because it doesn’t compromise any of the sources of Matt Nippert, the reporter who carried out the investigation.

Good on NBR for not rolling over without protest. If Barry does end up in jail, I’ll smuggle in an iPad to him!