Kiwiblog

I’ve generally been a strong supporter of Helen Clark and Winston Peters with regard to Fiji – much to the dismay of some of my fellow bloggers. I don’t believe the ends justify the means, when the means is a coup.

But Clark was unwise to predict in advance of the South Pacific Forum that Bainimarama would be treated as a leper if he turned up.  Even I know enough of Pacific culture to know this was most unlikely.  And sure enough he has been given literally the royal treatment.

Peter Costello announced yesterday a massive plan of tax cuts. Every year over five years they will cut tax rates and move thresholds. It will mean that anyone who earns less than $1,090,000 a year will pay less income tax in Australia.

The first $20,000 of income will be tax free. Superb. Someone earning $40,000 will pay an average 20.2% in NZ and only 8.5% in Australia. Who wouldn’t you move there? You’ll pay almost $100 a week less tax if you earn $40,000

This table shows how much tax you will pay in Australia (once fully implemented) and in New Zealand. Almost painful to compare.

In Australia they will guarantee that for at least 45% of the population, the top marginal tax rate will be 15%. Yes 15% for almost half the population. In NZ only 21% pay 15% or less top marginal rate.

So by how much has Peter Costello cut taxes and how does this compare to Michael Cullen? Well Cullen has only increased personal tax rates, and has allowed fiscal drag to over-tax hundreds of thousands New Zealanders. So let’s look at Costello:

Yes Peter Costello will abolish income tax for those earning below $20,000, and slashed it by 75% for those on $30,000 and by 65% for those on $40,000. Even those on $50,000 face income tax reductions of 51% and the filthy nasty greedy rich on $60,000 get a 45% tax cut compared to a penalty tax in NZ.

And what level of surplus does Australia have? In NZ we have had surpluses as high as 7% of GDP and Dr Cullen has still insisted there can be no tax cuts. Well the surplus in Australia is around 1.3% of GDP.

And what about inflation. To quote Costello:

Mr Costello said the tax cuts would not be inflationary and were designed to increase workforce participation by giving people greater rewards for work. “By getting more people into the workforce you will be taking pressure off inflation because you will be adding to the number of workers, getting one of the big capacity constraints out of the way,” Mr Costello told Sydney radio 2UE. “One of the problems that business has at the moment … is they are reporting, in some parts of the country, not enough workers.”

Mr Costello also said the changes would make Australia’s personal tax system more internationally competitive.

Interestingly Australia Labour have not ruled out matching the promise with a tax plan of their own.

John Howard has announced the election date – Saturday 24 November.

Labor have led consistently in the polls for 15 months.  It is hard to see how Kevin Rudd can not win.  And to be fair to Rudd, his policies are not too bad and he may be a decent PM.

But a lot can happen in six weeks.  Time will tell.

On the issue of the ban on the Fijian soccer player, I’m with Winston and the Government.
For sanctions to work, they have to be effective and wide ranging.

Furthermore, if comparing the NZ Government to FIFA, I have to say that even Helen is a babe in arms when it comes to corruption, compared to FIFA.  They are the true professionals!

As many will have seen,  a British Judge has found
the Gore “documentary” has “nine scientific errors” in it.  No surprise, as Gore is a politician not a scientist.  Eight of the nine errors are:

1. The film claimed that low-lying inhabited Pacific atolls “are being inundated because of anthropogenic global warming” – but there was no evidence of any evacuation occurring
2. It spoke of global warming “shutting down the ocean conveyor” – the process by which the gulf stream is carried over the north Atlantic to western Europe. The judge said that, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, it was “very unlikely” that the conveyor would shut down in the future, though it might slow down
3. Mr Gore had also claimed – by ridiculing the opposite view – that two graphs, one plotting a rise in C02 and the other the rise in temperature over a period of 650,000 years, showed “an exact fit”. The judge said although scientists agreed there was a connection, “the two graphs do not establish what Mr Gore asserts”
4. Mr Gore said the disappearance of snow on Mt Kilimanjaro was expressly attributable to human-induced climate change. The judge said the consensus was that that could not be established
5. · The drying up of Lake Chad was used as an example of global warming. The judge said: “It is apparently considered to be more likely to result from … population increase, over-grazing and regional climate variability”
6. · Mr Gore ascribed Hurricane Katrina to global warming, but there was “insufficient evidence to show that”
7. · Mr Gore also referred to a study showing that polar bears were being found that had drowned “swimming long distances to find the ice”. The judge said: “The only scientific study that either side before me can find is one which indicates that four polar bears have recently been found drowned because of a storm”
8. · The film said that coral reefs all over the world were bleaching because of global warming and other factors. The judge said separating the impacts of stresses due to climate change from other stresses, such as over-fishing, and pollution, was difficult

Climate Change is an issue, but politicians and others often exaggerate the science, and go well beyond what the IPCC has concluded. And they try to make people forget the economics as well as the science.  We should be debating whether spending hundreds of billions on Kyoto is sensible, considering that by 2050 it will only reduce average mean temperature by 0.07 of a degree. Any meaningful action has to include China.

Some excitement and moral superiority feelings over the fact that we are backing a UN resolution asking for all countries to stop using the death penalty. This will have as much impact as most UN resolutions of course.

I don’t support use of the death penalty, but tend to think we have better things to do that tell other countries how to run their justice systems.  But anyway it is interesting to look at who does still use it, and how.

According to Wikipedia, 90 countries have totally abolished it, 11 only have it for incredibly rare stuff such as war time treason, 32 have it in theory but not in practice, and 64 still have it and use it. That’s around one third of the197 countries.

But six countries account for 91% of executions, and China alone accounts for 65%.  And if Amnesty is right the actual level in China might be a magnitude higher than officially reported.

NZ chalked up a fairly large 85 executions until they were abolished.  84 men and Minnie Dean. Also 84 of them were for murder.  Who knows what the other was for?

Also did you know one of the people executed in NZ murdered his pregnant girlfriend by burying her alive in the Mt Vic Tunnel site, where he was working?

Joschka Fischer was the German Foreign Minister for seven years, and Germany’s most popular politician during that time.

Like many Greens he started off as a communist.

Reason Magazine reports that his recent memoir he “has bitterly attacked the party, warning it would face collapse if it returned to its left-wing pacifist roots.

Since losing power in 2005, the Greens have become a minor opposition party. In an attempt to regain a higher profile, the party has shifted leftwards and begun a heated debate about the country’s military role in Afghanistan.

But Mr Fischer warned yesterday that the party would face “complete political collapse” if it continued on such a course. “If the Greens think they can restore their profile as a leftwing protest party without paying a heavy price, they are deluding themselves. Our support comes from the centre ground,” he said.

Fischer convinced the Greens to support NATO action in Kosovo to protect the locals from Serbia.

Iain Dale has blogged on the 25 most influential people on the right in UK politics.  It’s an interesting concept doing it by political alignment, so it isn’t so much about who is in Government, but about who has sway amongst their own side.

Of course all these power lists are subjective and more entertainment than serious.  I did note with delight that Tony Blair is listed at No 10 on the Right’s list. He was more a right winger than left winger in reality.

The top ten are:

1 David Cameron MP, Leader of the Opposition
2 George Osborne MP, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
3 Lord Ashcroft, Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party
4 Lady Thatcher, Former Prime Minister
5 Steve Hilton, Director of Strategy, Conservative Party
6 William Hague MP, Shadow Foreign Secretary
7 David Davis MP, Shadow Home Secretary
8 Michael Spencer, Conservative Party Treasurer
9 Michael Gove MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families
10 Tony Blair, Former Prime Minister

I can’t help noting that I’ve actually managed to meet five of the people in the top ten, thanks to my IDU forays.  Three of them have only been meet and greets for a few minutes at functions, but two of them have been through spending a couple of weeks together at conferences.

I was invited over to the Tory Party conference this year, which has just finished, and would love to have made it.   But far too busy.  Next year will be worse with our election but may aim for 2009.  Their conferences leave our ones for dead – amazing spectacles.

In New Zealand, republicanism is more associated with the left than the right. Much the same in Australia. The interesting thing though is that some of the most prominent republicans tend to be conservatives – Malcolm Turnbull in Australia and Jim Bolger in New Zealand.

Lewis Holden blogs that in Canada it is quite different though. The most left wing party, the New Denocrats, are most against a republic. And those most in favour are from the Conservative Party of Canada.

The reasons for this it is thought, is that some left wing Canadians think being a Republic will make them more like the United States. I always find it interesting how much of the Canadian psyche is about not being American.

Tim Blair reports that Transparency International has found Venezuela to now be the most corrupt country in Latin America.

The Government has said it will only impose economic sanctions on Burma, if the United Nations agrees to do so.

The Greens are urging the Government to ignore the UN and take unilateral action against Burma.

Is this the same Green Party which insists on UN mandates when it is the United States taking action on something?

The military Government in Burma is truly one of the most nasty and repressive ones about. This week there have been awful reports of their supression of pro democracy forces.

If you are in Auckland then show your opposition to the regime:

When: Saturday, 29 September, 14:00
Where: Aotea Square, Auckland.

Hat Tip: The Standard

I have to give kudos to Columba University for not giving the kid gloves treatment to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.  As Liberty Scott reports he was given a deservedly tough time.

There is a tendency to romanticise and overlook the flaws of foes of the United States, because one may disagree with US policy towards that country.  But one exchange served well to remind us of how bad things are.

Ahmadinejad was asked about the treatment of homosexuals in Iran and replied

“In Iran we don’t have homosexuals like in your country,”

“In Iran we do not have this phenomenon, I don’t know who has told you that we have it,”

They certainly do their best to make this statement come true by executing homosexuals.  Of course they also execute female victims of rape.  Yes the victims.

The local media reported the shoplifting charges against Shortland Street actor Adam Rickitt.

However they missed the more news-worthy angle that Rickitt is also one of the hand selected “A-List” candidates for the UK Conservative Party.  I e-mailed top UK blogger Guido Fawkes, and now a story in the UK.

Life is about to get interesting in France as President Nicolas Sarkozy looks set to tackle the unions over the special pension arrangements for some of their members.

Train drivers get to not only retire at age 50, they immediately get to continue on with their full wage for life.

72% of the public back reform of the pensions, but in the past the unions have paralysed the country in their fight to keep them.  It will be interesting to see if a compromise is achieved or  whether there will be a full head on confrontation.

Andrew Bolt looks at Bin Laden’s latest video:

• rails against capitalism
• rails against multinational corporates
• blames global warming on corporations
• embraces Noam Chomsky

And he concludes Bin Laden is a leftie. Now before people flame, this doesn’t mean lefties support Bin Laden anymore than righties support David Duke.

Drudge reports that Al Gore has been snapped taking a private Gulfstream Jet.  Remember changing our lifestyles to cope with climate change is only something the plebs should do, not the elite such as Gore, Madonna etc.

My entry is Alexander Downer waiting to greet Helen Clark

It has been inevitable that the silliness of the NZ hysterical position on nuclear power would clash with the desire to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

To try and have a rational debate, let us not talk about NZ but China.  There are actually reasonable grounds on which to say nuclear power isn’t necessarily a viable option for NZ (which is very different to saying it should be banned).

Let us talk about China, and their impact on the world environment.

China is the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world.  And a major factor in this is their coal mines, with a new one opening every week or so.

Now unless one wants to argue that China’s economy should not be allowed to grow and lift more people out of poverty, then you accept China needs more and more energy.

Now if it keeps building coal mines, then their greenhouse gas emissions will continue to skyrocket.  Plus around 5,000 Chinese citizens a year die in said mines.

If they build nuclear power plants, then there are basically no additional greenhouse gas emissions.

So does someone want to make a case that China should keep using coal instead of nuclear, that this will somehow be better for China and/or the world?

As Bush says:

“If you truly care about greenhouse gases, then you’ll support nuclear power. If you believe that greenhouse gases are a priority, like a lot of us, if you take the issue seriously, like I do and John [Howard] does, then you should be supportive of nuclear power.

“After all, nuclear power enables you to generate electricity without any greenhouse gases.”

Now the Greens would have us believe climate change is so bad we are faced with global extinction. So surely the relatively minor risks of a nuclear leak pale in comparison with
global extinction?

Now again I am not talking nuclear power in New Zealand.  I am talking about whether nuclear power should be endorsed generally as a preferable power source to coal.

Why would a Government with aspirations of carbon neutrality not endorse nuclear power as an option for other countries?

The good Commodore has decided that martial law must be reimposed because deposed prime minister Laisenia Qarase is in Suva speaking out against the coup that toppled him, for his court case where he seeks to have the coup declared illegal.

So what exactly is it that the Commodore wants banned:

Commodore Bainimarama said yesterday that Mr Qarase was “acting irresponsibly by making statements and participating in activities which have political orientation”.

Oh wait, I have a much better solution that martial law.  Commodore Baininarama should simply pass the Electoral Finance Bill!!!

This graph, taken from No Right Turn, nicely shows how hollowHelen Clark’s rhetoric of carbon neutrality is.

The situation is even worse than the graph shows. John Howard gets pilloried for not ratifying Kyoto, but even if he had, their target was an increase of no more than 8% from 1990. They have actually achieved their target. Our target was a 0% increase and we are at over 20%. NZ not Australia deserves to be the target of attacks of climate change activists.

I don’t expect it will have a big impact on how people vote, but the revelation that Kevin Rudd not just visited a strip club when he was on an official trip to the UN in New York in 2003, but allegedly was overly touchy with the staff won’t exactly be helpful (well maybe in Queensland it will be).

I have to say it was a bloody stupid thing to do when you are travelling on a diplomatic passport in an official capacity.  Voters not so much resent the strip club, as the taxpayer money going towards the trip.

Not that New Zealand MPs are immune from poor judgement.  I recall hearing in the 1990s how one Minister was due to speak at the UN, and on the day they were due to speak, still had not emerged from their room.  Finally one of the officials got a spare key, and entered the room to find not only the Minister much the worse for wear, but also a dancer from the nightclub they had been to the previous night!

Rudd’s defence that he doesn’t remember much of the night is one I can have some sympathy for.  I’ve only been to a strip club three times.  Once earlier this year at the insistence of some Young Labour girls et al (as the bars had all closed for Easter), and twice as part of a stag night for a mate getting married.  Now the two times that were on a stag night, I have no recollection of having been there.  If you asked me to describe the interior I would have no idea.  In fact I doubted I had even attended but for the testimony of others.

Hone Harawira should become an Australian MP if he wants to use his NZ taxpayer funded time to campaign over there.

There’s no shortage of aboriginal leaders to give their views on what Howard has done.  In fact I’ll be hearing from some of those leaders this afternoon, including Warren Mundine a former Labor Party President.  Not all leaders are oppossed to the intervention.

Interesting reading of a Wikipedia article comparing the Jewish population in 1900 and 2005. During that time global population increased from 1.65 billion to 6.00 billion or by 264%.

The Jewish population in 1900 was 11.2 million. At 264% increase it would have been 29.5 million. Instead it is 14.6 million.

More striking is looking on a country basis how even today – 60 years after WWII, the Jewish populations are a fraction of what they were. Examples:

• Algeria – from 51,000 to 100
• Austria/Hungary/Poland – from 3.4 million to 93,000
• Germany – from 586,000 to 107,000
• Netherlands – from 104,000 to 33,000
• Morocco – from 110,000 to 5,000
• Romania – from 269,000 to 6,000
• Russia – from 3.9 million to 717,000

We shall never forget.

Adolf at No Ministers blogs about Downer on the radio this morning:

Alexander Downer was asked this morning by Sean Plunket what he thought about the handful of protesters outside the Gnat’s conference.

“Well they are from the Socialist Alliance. These people are losers, you know. They lost the Soviet Union and they lost the Cold war. Yes I thought about them. It was raining and I thought the harder it rains the wetter they’ll get.”

Priceless

Australian politicians are so much more in your face. A NZ MP would talk about how they respect their right to protest yet disagree with them.