*don’t freak out that this is a tad edgier than DPF – yes, it is Jadis!

So, we are months out from an election.  Labour are doing ok but need to lift their game a bit in the polls.  They’ve released a couple of policies that they thought were great only to find the support for them isn’t as strong as expected (partly due to poor rollout).  Labour have a couple of strategic decisions to make.  They can create a ‘new’ Labour with a ‘new’ direction and ‘new policy – albeit more to the Left.  Or they can get a bit pragmatic in some policy areas and work the middle ground.  Bizarrely, with just months to the election Labour have firmly decided to go Left, very Left.  So Left that the last Colmar Brunton poll shows Labour losing ‘middle’ vote to National and gaining ‘very Left’ vote from  the Greens.  Today’s appointment of Matt McCarten confirms just how Left they will go.

I think we need to get one thing out of the way… could someone please put to bed the  rumours that the UNITE union donated heavily to Cunliffe’s leadership campaign?  I’m just thinking of caucus unity here.  Imagine how Robertson and Jones might feel about the idea that the head of UNITE is now Chief of Staff.

Matt is as Left as they come.  Let’s not kid ourselves that Matt has some special ability to be pragmatic or go after the middle ground.  He wants to tax as hard as he can and he’s said many a time that while he thinks Key is clever he’s also said that Key is too pragmatic and has no ‘big ideas.

So, Matt is there to do ‘big ideas’ just like Cunliffe – big ideas mean big tax and big government.

Matt doesn’t play nicely with others.  McCarten will not be some wonderful uniting influence within Labour.  We’re all aware of the history between McCarten and Jim Anderton.  Some might think “What’s the big deal?  Anderton is a retired MP and not in Wellington any more.”  Here’s the wee problem.  Anderton, along with Ruth Dyson’s lovely husband run Christchurch (and the wider Canterbury area).  Some reports say that Anderton has give Cunliffe his blessing for McCarten to be employed while Duncan Garner’s sources suggest that Anderton is pretty wild about McCarten being in the mix.  The only way I can see Anderton giving his blessing would be with the proviso “as long as that prick doesn’t step foot in Canterbury.”  Well then, that’s a lovely start to that relationship.

Matt is talented at divide and rule.  The last thing Labour needs is another ‘divide and rule’ player.  Labour should be looking at a Heather Simpson or Wayne Eagleson type.  Both stayed in the background, worked with everyone, had great political instincts and insights, knew when to tell some to pull their head in and knew when to make deals within the caucus.  They also always had their Leader’s back.  Always.  The whole idea of McCarten in a room with Tim Barnett, Moira Coatsworth, Cunliffe, Talbot and ‘senior MPs’ fills every right winger with delight.   Matt won’t be a team player.  He’ll want it his way and he’ll get very upset if someone wants to take the pragmatic path.    I predict now that he may well walk out of a meeting before the election and never return.

Why should it matter though? Matt is Chief of Staff.  With clearly defined boundaries he won’t be involved in Party business.  Except that we know this isn’t the case when Cunliffe himself extols the virtues of McCarten’s organisation skills at the grassroots level.  The mainstream unions have been in a fight with UNITE over members for years so don’t go thinking that the union angle is going to be all lovely.  We know now that the CTU’s Helen Kelly had no idea of Matt McCarten’s appointment.  Oh dear, so she isn’t in Matt’s circle is she?

The Greens should also be worried about this.  Going this far Left means their ground is very unstable.  What will they do to compensate?  The Greens know McCarten well so they know what a threat he is to them.

The Herald reports:

Rising economic confidence and “aggressive” marketing techniques are the driving factors behind an 8.9 million litre rise in alcohol availability last year, says one concerned health organisation.

Latest figures from Statistics New Zealand, which compared figures over the last five years, show the total volume of alcohol available in New Zealand rose to 466 million litres last year – the equivalent of 2.1 standard drinks per person aged 18 and over per day.

It represents an increase of almost 9 million litres from 2012, according to Statistics New Zealand.

How shocking! But Stats Chats points out the story neglected to mention this fact:

The volume of pure alcohol available per person aged 15 years and over was unchanged, at 9.2 litres. This equates to an average of 2.0 standard drinks per person per day.

So real story is level of alcohol available is unchanged per capita.

The total level of alcohol available is in fact still lower than in 2008, and much lower per capita.

In terms of the last year, wine is up 3.6%, beer up 3.2%, spirits up 1.0% and spirit-based drinks (RTDs) down 6.2%. What this means is the actual amount of pure alcohol available for consumption has actually dropped, and has done so for three years. The level is 4.4% lower than three years ago.

The Press editorial:

Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull is defending the agreement under which former Dunedin North MP Pete Hodgson was paid by Cull’s council to lobby the Government to retain the core functions of AgResearch at Invermay. Hodgson was paid $3400 for duties which included advocating on the council’s behalf, contributing to a letter to Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and writing a 10-page report for the board of AgResearch.

The council says that Cull was its main point of contact with Hodgson, but it could not locate a single email, contract or any other document relating to the agreement. Cull said: “I could describe it as a gentleman’s way of doing business in the south.” …

In matters involving public money, it is absolutely essential that the principles of transparency and accountability are upheld. There are sometimes good commercial reasons for withholding some information, but they don’t apply here. Cull has done Dunedin ratepayers a disservice with this handshake deal and his cavalier attempt to explain it.

Also an editorial in the Southland Times:

Could you smell the port and stale cigar smoke on Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull’s breath as he defended the “gentleman’s agreement” under which his council paid former MP Pete Hodgson for lobbying?

Mr Hodgson was paid $3400 for his work helping the council advocate that Invermay retain its core Ag Research functions. He was plausibly the best person for the job. But it was done on a handshake with nary a contract – and all that tedious accountability that goes with it – in sight. …

Mr Hodgson says the fact that nothing was written up “would probably reflect their trust in me”.

As far as the public is concerned, what this should reflect is the untrustworthiness of all involved.

A council, a mayor and a former minister of the Crown should collectively and individually know full well that this was dodgy and then some.

The Taxpayers’ Union, while acknowledging that it isn’t an eye-watering amount, detects that the council isn’t applying the most basic internal controls.

It is the principle, not the amount. But when it involves public money with one politician awarding it to another politician, you need to be absolutely transparent.

The good news is that while there was no contract, there was at least an invoice. The Taxpayers Union is pleased with this, but asking the question who then authorised the payment. The Mayor keeps insisting it had nothing much to do with him, while the Council says he was the primary point of contact. So who signed it off?

The ODT reports:

Chief executive Dr Sue Bidrose said yesterday invoices should have been included in the OIA response, but the staff member writing the response ”was simply answering the question ‘was there a contract?’ and the answer seems to have been no”.

It was also a ”mistake” not to write a contract for Mr Hodgson’s services, she said.

”It appears that there have been more than one of these mistakes and it appears that there is a small number of managers who were not aware [of council policy].”

The council did not use ”gentlemen’s agreements” and had reiterated to staff all employment transactions, no matter how small, should be covered by contracts.

Good to see.

As readers will know, I helped found the Taxpayers’ Union. On a modest budget and limited resources we’ve already made a lot of impact with both local and central government in attacking wasteful or sloppy spending, including the $19 million spent by ACC which by their own accounting was at best returning 14 cents in the dollar.  You can join the union for just $5, subscribe to newsletters for free, and/or donate to help keep us going. The board members are all volunteers. As we head into election year expect more of a focus not just on wasteful spending, but making the case for taxes to be reduced as the crown accounts head back into surplus.

Most people know what privatisation is, which is the sale or transfer of a publicly owned asset to the private sector.

Labour is so upset that National has completed its asset sales programme, that Chris Hipkins decided to invent new meanings of privatisation:

“The Government is busy privatising facilities across the entire government sector.

“In education alone there are five charter schools opening this year and the Government is now taking applications for a second round of new privately run schools.

So a new not for profit publicly funded school, but privately managed, is now a privatisation. That is like saying that a new medical centre is a privatisation.

“The Government is also using the reconstruction of Christchurch schools as an excuse to privatise school facilities through the use of public-private-partnerships (PPPs).

Now Hipkins claims PPPs are privatisation. This is hilarious as he worked for Helen Clark when she was promoting them all over the place.

“National is also privatising our roads. A PPP for Transmission Gully has become an endless vacuum for taxpayer funding.

Even more hysterically Hipkins claims building a new road that doesn’t even exist yet is a privatisation. And he ignores PPP sees the road end up in state ownership. The level of hysteria and bullshit in this release is beyond belief. To quote NZTA:

While a private sector consortium will be responsible for financing, designing, building, maintaining and operating the highway for up to 25 years, Transmission Gully will remain a public asset.

And to add to his hysteria:

“In the health sector private hospitals and clinics are being used for elective surgery because the public system lacks the capacity to address our growing health service needs.

Hipkins knows that private hospitals performed elective surgery when Labour was in power. It’s so disappointing to see someone argue against using surplus capacity to treat more patients.

Bill English has announced key details:

• The shares will be priced at the start of the offer period, rather than at the end as occurred with the previous share offers.
• The Government expects to sell between 30 per cent and 49 per cent of the shares in Genesis.
• The Government will offer a loyalty bonus scheme to eligible New Zealand retail investors

Also no shares will be offered to US institutions as it creates too much paperwork and hassles under US law.

The Herald reports:

The chief executive of a legal firm stepped down soon after it was discovered he did not have the law degree he claimed to have.

Michael Vukcevic left Auckland firm Baldwins, which specialises in intellectual property law, for “personal reasons”, according to a press release in November.

The 43-year-old is an experienced business leader who has worked closely with government ministers and agencies negotiating free-trade agreements in the Middle East.

A Herald investigation can reveal that Mr Vukcevic does not have a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) as stated on the curriculum vitae he submitted for the job two years earlier.

Pretty embarrassing that a major law firm didn’t check a claimed law degree for its chief executive.

Mr Vukcevic was previously on the board of Transparency International New Zealand, an anti-corruption agency dedicated to promote transparency, accountability and integrity in government and civil society.

Oh, the irony.

Stuff reports on another fake lawyer:

A serial conman with 184 convictions has been told a jail sentence is likely after he was found guilty of deception by impersonating a lawyer.

Brian Hunter, who was described by his own lawyer as a fantasist, yesterday clocked up convictions 183 and 184 after being found guilty of two charges of obtaining by deception in a judge-only trial in Napier District Court. …

Brian Damian Hunter, 55, now has 184 convictions. Nearly all involve dishonesty offending.

He was first convicted in Wellington in 1974.

He has received many non-custodial sentences, and was jailed in 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997 and 1998.

I think our three strikes law is set appropriately so that only serious violent or sexual crimes result in a strike offence, where your third strike is the maximum sentence without parole.

But I do wonder if we need something similar for the recidivist criminals who don’t beat, kill and rape – but do create victims and misery.

Maybe not three strikes for them, but 30 strikes or even 50 strikes? Basically a realisation that they have decided to remain a criminal permanently, so that any future offending will be an automatic jail term in order to protect the community.

Anne Tolley announced:

Police Minister Anne Tolley has announced the appointment of current Deputy Commissioner Operations, Mike Bush MNZM, as the next Commissioner of Police.

Mr Bush, who has a wide range of operational experience both in New Zealand and overseas, has been appointed for a three-year term which commences on 3 April 2014.

Mr Bush has been Deputy Commissioner Operations since April 2011, and through Prevention First and Policing Excellence has managed a change programme in Police which has contributed to a 17.4 per cent drop in recorded crimes over the past three years.

He has held challenging roles in rural, provincial and urban areas, and as District Commander in Counties Manukau he pioneered the implementation of Neighbourhood Policing Teams, which have successfully been introduced across the country.

Mr Bush was responsible for planning and operations for the 2011 Rugby World Cup, and also led the rollout of smartphones and tablets for frontline staff which has contributed to an additional half a million frontline crime prevention hours each year.

As Police Liaison Officer for South East Asia, Mr Bush was the first New Zealand official to reach Phuket following the devastating 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, and was awarded the MNZM for his work during the operation.

Bush is very popular with rank and file police, and I place great store in their opinion. He also produced outstanding results at Counties Manukau District Commander.

His comments on Bruce Hutton as Hutton’s funeral, was a error of judgement and he has apologised for them. But I am glad they did not stop him getting the job. 35 years of excellent service should not be over-shadowed by one eulogy.

Retiring Commissioner Peter Marshall was also a popular top cop with the rank and file, and he produced some good results during his tenure. I hope Mike Bush will be able to do the same.

The Daily Blog has announced that Matt McCarten will be David Cunliffe’s Chief of Staff.

As I said earlier, this will be great when Labour say people should pay more tax, when their chief of staff ran an organisation that owed $150,000 to the IRD in unpaid taxes – and even worse most of it was tax deducted from employees and not passed on.

Imagine if John Key hired a chief of staff who had run an organisation that spent employee’s taxes on political projects, rather than paying the IRD, He’d be crucified by the left as condoning tax avoidance.

McCarten is a very skilled operator, but he is from the hard left. This is a clear signal that Labour is going to go even more hard left.

Danyl at Dim Post notes:

Can Matt McCarten turn things around? If you’re seeking to unify the party then the answer there would be a massive ‘No.’ The last thing Labour leads is a Chief of Staff with a big personality, big profile, big ego, talent for skullduggery and a strong left-wing political agenda that’s totally at odds with those of his leader’s enemies within the party.

But if you’re Cunliffe and you’re looking at Goff, Mallard, Cosgrove, King et al and coming to the conclusion that unity with them is impossible, war is inevitable and the best thing to do is try and win it then McCarten would be a pretty great choice

So McCarten’s appointment isn’t to help Labour win the election, but to help Cunliffe defeat his enemies in caucus.

UPDATE: Looks like the misappropriated tax payments have never been paid. The documents for UNITE Support Services show it was finally liquidated on 29 May 2013 with no funds available for creditors.

An earlier report showed that the IRD was owed around $101,000 by the shell company.

The SSC has done a very funny (I hope it was intentional!) video on the need for public servants to maintain political neutrality – especially in election year. Much better than a dry old memo.

Even a section on responding to comments on blogs!

In the US Jimmy Kimmel has an excellent segment on his show where well known Americans read out incredibly nasty tweets that others have said about them. I thought it was quite a good way to shame some of the more awful abusers out there.

In the wake of the Charlotte Dawson suicide, TVNZ Breakfast did similar with various staff reading out incredibly horrible things that people have said about them.  I recommend people look at the video and consider if any of those making those comments would dare to do so to their face.

This has led to quite a few other media staff tweeting or facebooking some of the more vile things said about them. Some are almost comical (Kerre Woodham being called a communist lesbian) to some that are so nasty that you wonder about the mental stability of the person saying them. The worst was the young journalist who had someone comment on her blog:

“If you ever get pregnant, I hope your husband shoves a coat hanger up your vagina and aborts it”

She actually knows where the person who said it works. If it was me, I’d expose them to the world.

It’s very easy to get worked up about people in politics or the media. I can do it myself. But there is no excuse for saying such vile things. It says far more about the person who says it, than the target.

If some good comes from Charlotte’s very sad death, it might be that people pause for a few seconds and don’t say anything online about someone that they would not be prepared to say under their own name, to their face.

Vernon Small writes:

Labour is poised to announce lead roles in David Cunliffe’s office and a new election campaign manager, with former Alliance president Matt McCarten tipped to be in the running for a top post with his old rivals.

Oh I do hope this is correct. If so, I can’t wait for the next time Labour campaigns on tax avoidance and people or companies not paying their fair share of tax.

Other names mentioned in party circles for the pivotal role, as Labour tries to regroup after a run of bad poll results, included Mr Cunliffe’s top electorate official Greg Presland and a number of former MPs from both Labour and the Alliance.

So it may be a choice between someone who blogs at The Daily Blog or who blogs at The Standard. A choice between the far left and the far far left. Wonderful.

They saw him as a good fit for the party, combining parliamentary experience, Left-wing credentials and the ability to deal with the tensions between the party and caucus members – a key cause of stress for Ms Brandon.

Matt’s a good operator and I rate him. It is worth mentioning though that when he was Alliance President the tension between party and caucus led to a split and the death of the Alliance. To be fair to Matt though, I blame Anderton 95% for that as he wanted to become effective dictator.

Meanwhile, former Labour researcher Dave Talbot, who works for the party’s pollsters UMR Research, is set to be named as the party’s general election campaign manager.

Talbot worked for Labour under Phil Goff, off memory.

News.com.au reports:

QANTAS is gearing up to axe 5000 jobs and sell its terminal at MelbourneAirport to prove to the Abbott Government it can make the tough business decisions required to obtain federal assistance.

The airline may also take the razor to its budget offshoot Jetstar, slashing jobs and routes, as it lobbies the Government to provide it with a lifesaving debt guarantee.

Job cuts, previously forecast to be 2000, are now expected to be closer to 5000.

They have around 33,000 employees so that is a massive one in seven or so to go.

With the airline already forecasting a loss of $300 million, a radical overhaul of operations is being finalised, with the company determined to show real reform in order to secure the debt guarantee it has been seeking from Treasurer Joe Hockey.

Their revenue is $16 billion so the loss is only around 2% of revenue. However many of their costs such as depreciation and fuel can’t be reduced. They have 50 million passengers a year so to break even need to reduce the cost per passenger by at least $6.

Air NZ in 2012 made a $70 million profit on $4.5b revenue so close to a 2% profit on revenue. With 12 million passengers that is a profit of around $6 a passenger.

In an interview with Radio New Zealand, David Cunliffe said:

“We all know the Government is going to change. It’s either going to change this time or next time. I think it’s more likely to change this time, and if it does, the question in front of New Zealanders is what is the composition of that new government going to be?”

To have the Leader of the Opposition basically say they may not win this election is in itself unusual.

But what makes it even more interesting is that for a couple of months there has been talk coming from some in Labour about how they are going for a two election strategy – to do well enough this time, to win in 2017. Others might call that a strategy to lose!

Even more interesting is that it seems some of the ABC club have worked out that this may be the strategy, and this is posing them a dilemma. They definitely want to win this time, and get into Government. But they are unconvinced they can. They think a loss is most likely.

The issue for them is if Labour loses, is it better if they lose narrowly or lose badly? Their concern is that the worst result would be a very narrow loss. Because then Cunliffe would remain leader for three more years (and then if they win in 2017, maybe six more beyond that).

The view that very reliable people have been putting around is that some in Labour have decided that while they want a win if a loss is inevitable then they want a big loss, rather than a narrow one. Why? Because then they can not just replace the leader, but convince the party to return the selection of the leader to the caucus. That could happen, if the leader forced on them by the activists and unions leads them to a worse result then even Goff got in 2011.

I wasn’t planning to blog at this stage on the maneuvering going on within Labour, but Cunliffe’s explicit mention of winning in 2017, if not 2014, suggests that he is aware of the issue, and he is also looking to shore up support for a two term strategy so he doesn’t get rolled if they narrowly lose in 2014.

The next couple of months will be essential for Labour. If the left doesn’t improve in the polls, then some MPs will decide a big loss is preferable to a narrow loss and the go slow will become a strike. However if the left do improve in the polls, then the scent of victory will keep them united.

Kensington Swan have announced:

Lawyer, public policy expert, and political commentator Linda Clark is joining the Kensington Swan’s Public Law team as a Special Counsel. 

“I am a public affairs junkie and am looking forward to helping solve clients’ problems through a range of public law, strategic communications and dispute resolution tools” she said.

Chief Executive Alastair Carruthers said, “Linda’s combination of political, strategic and legal experience is unique and her networks in Wellington and across NZ are extensive. She has an extraordinary range of skills and her appointment strengthens our ability to find practical and rigorous solutions to any client problem.” 

Partner Hayden Wilson added “In Public Law, you often need more than either legal or public or government relations skills to get results. Linda has them all.”

Prior to becoming a lawyer Linda held some of the most prestigious positions in New Zealand journalism.  She was TVNZ’s Political Editor throughout the 1990s, and later was host of Radio New Zealand National’s Nine to Noon programme. As a political reporter Linda covered five elections. Since 2006 she has been a sought after political commentator and election night panellist while studying and now practising law. 

That’s a real coup for Kensington Swan. Linda’s one of the sharpest people I know.

Sent in by a reader. It makes a very valid point, the higher you force up wages for certain jobs, the more likely it is that they will be replaced by technology. That may actually be good for the economy eventually, but very rough on those who find themselves without a job.

Talking of the minimum wage, some useful analysis on Stats Chat:

From April 2008 to April 2013, the minimum wage increased 14.6%. Inflation (2008Q1 to 2013Q1) was 11%. So, the minimum wage increased faster than inflation, and the proposed change will keep it increasing faster than inflation.

From whole-year 2008 to whole-year 2013, per-capita GDP increased 9.7%.  Mean weekly income increased 21%. Median weekly income increased 18.8%. Average household consumption expenditure increased 7.8%.

Increasing the 2008 minimum wage by 18.8%, following median incomes, would give $14.26, so the proposed minimum wage is at least close to keeping up with median income, as well as keeping ahead of economic growth.

As I said yesterday, I think it would be sensible to link it to the median wage.

As a final footnote: the story also mentions the Prime Minister’s salary. There really isn’t an objective way to compare changes in this to changes in the minimum wage. The PM’s salary has increased by a smaller percentage than the minimum wage since 2008, but the absolute increase is more than ten times that of a full-time minimum wage job.

Of course a higher wage will always have an absolute higher increase. That is why percentage comparisons are done. I didn’t realise however that the relative movement in the PM’s salary has been less than the movement in the minimum wage.

The Herald reports:

A review into the misuse of TVNZ company resources and alleged political bias will get underway this week with the involvement of media law expert Steven Price and respected broadcasting figure Bill Francis.

Shane Taurima, head of the state broadcaster’s Maori and Pacific unit, resigned last week over his ties to the Labour Party.

The panel will investigate the inappropriate use of TVNZ resources for political means over the last year, and also determine whether any “obvious political bias” can be identified in the department’s programmes or in Q+A interviews conducted by Taurima.

I hope the investigation is thorough.

The e-mails showing the activities of four or more staff to assist Labour were revealed only because an external recipient presumably leaked them. The first thing I want to know is how many more e-mails were sent from or between TVNZ staff discussing how to help Labour.  The inquiry should at a minimum inspect all e-mails to and from those staff over the last year.

I understand that TVNZ has a rule that staff in their news and currents affairs section can not be a member of a political party. This seems a sensible rule. Will the inquiry look at how many staff are in breach of that rule?

Taurima only told TVNZ in the last week or two that he was considering standing for Parliament again. Is there any evidence to show that he has intended standing for long before he declared his intention?

How did such a high proportion of the Maori unit end up active members of a political party. Did Taurima recruit them?

It is rumoured another TVNZ news and current affairs staff member is about to declare their intention to be a Labour Party candidate. Are they currently a party member?

The Herald editorial:

In terms of fundraising, few organisations are in such a favoured position as the Westpac rescue helicopter service. Such is the high profile and obvious value of its work that Aucklanders respond readily and generously whenever money is sought. This degree of public goodwill should never be taken for granted, however. There will always be the strong risk of a backlash when ratepayers learn they can expect a $500,000 legal bill to defend a court case brought by the helicopter service.

That situation has arisen because the Auckland Regional Rescue Helicopter Trust is challenging plans to cut its annual operating grant from ratepayers from $900,000 to $450,000. Both the Auckland Council and the council-funded Auckland Regional Amenities Funding Board, which determines the grants allotted to 10 rescue, safety, arts and cultural groups, are standing firm. The helicopter service, they say, has been incredibly successful at fundraising and is in an exceptionally sound financial position. It is ready to stand more on its own two feet.

I don’t have a particular view on what the level of funding should be. But I do have a strong view that this is effectively a donation, and that the recipients of a donation should not go to court to try and force a higher level of donation.

The Trust provides a valued service and does much good. But this lawsuit risks a lot of goodwill.

The Herald reports:

The White House warned Russia to keep its troops out of Ukraine, amid fears that Moscow may step in with military force following the overthrow of the President, its ally.

Tensions also mounted in Crimea, in Ukraine’s southeast, where pro-Russian politicians are organising rallies and forming protest units demanding separation from Kiev. The region is now seen as a potential flashpoint because of its deep strategic significance to Moscow.

US President Barack Obama’s National Security Adviser, Susan Rice, said it would be a “grave mistake” for Russian President Vladimir Putin to send soldiers into Ukraine to restore a friendly government after the upheaval. Nobody would benefit if Ukraine were to split apart, she said. “It’s in nobody’s interest to see violence return and the situation escalate.”

Who knows what Putin will do. Obama has warned of consequences if Russia invades, but as one (left leaning) commentator said, “Not even the President’s daughters fear him, when he talks of consequences”. This is in relation to his strong talk of the use of chemical weapons in Syria crossing a red line, and then nothing happening when they did use them.

The biggest thing holding Putin back may be the Ukranians themselves. While Russia may be welcome in the Crimea, the rest of the Ukraine would resist them strongly. The most likely outcome is the country splits in two. But this would then mean the rest of Ukraine would then be a country very hostile to Russia.

Katie Chapman at Dom Post reports:

The Cuba St Carnival is back – but not as you know it.

Five years after funding woes ended the carnival, a new festival will be launched as one of two new events designed to bolster the capital’s events calendar.

As well as putting $250,000 towards a new Cuba St festival next year, the Wellington City Council is planning a New Year’s Eve celebration.

The announcement of the two events comes on the back of criticism that the council was not putting enough focus on boosting the city’s economy.

The last Cuba St Carnival was held in 2009, but the loss of council funding and spiralling costs saw the event canned in 2010. The Creative Capital Arts Trust was set up in 2011, with rejuvenating the event a key purpose.

Yesterday, the trust and the council confirmed a new festival would launch next year. The basic premise of an event celebrating Cuba St would stay the same, but the event would be different, trust chairman Tim Brown said.

The new annual event – called the Cuba St Festival for now – will run for two days in late March or early April.

The old carnival had become too big in both size and budget, Mr Brown said. The new event would cost about $500,000 for the first year.

I’m not against the ratepayers making a modest contribution to key events in Wellington. But $1.25 million over five years is a huge amount of money, and represents half the total cost of the festival. That’s too much.

The announcement comes after Kirkcaldie & Stains managing director John Milford’s criticism of the council last week for failing to help boost retail activity.

Mr Milford welcomed news of the two events yesterday, saying it was exactly what was needed to help bring vibrancy to the city.

If the event is to help retailers, should it not be funded from their rates, rather than everyone’s rates?

Stuff reports:

But for two agencies that prefer not to spill their secrets, the SIS and GCSB have racked up a hefty bill for communications advice.

A hefty bill? How many millions have they spent?

In the 2012/13 year a contractor was paid $10,155 for three months’ work.

$10,155 for three months? That must be the most lowly paid contractor in the history of contracting.

The SIS also spent over $8000 printing three brochures since 2009, including ”A Guide to Weapons of Mass Destruction.”

Around $2,700 per pamphlet. $8,000 over five years. Frugal, not hefty, is the word that comes to mind.

The Herald reports:

Prime Minister John Key has confirmed the Government will go ahead with the partial privatisation of Genesis Energy over the next month or so but has underlined the sale will be the last one under a National Government.

Finance Minister Bill English would give further detail about the Genesis sale including a broad timetable in a speech on Wednesday.

Mr Key said Genesis would be the last state owned enterprise (SOE) floated by his Government under its Mixed Ownership Model either before or after this year’s election.

It is good to see Genesis go ahead.

It is also no surprise that no further sales are planned. The five companies selected in 2011 were the obvious ones. They were all commercial trading enterprises, with competition. Other SOEs would be more problematic to sell.

My hope is that the partial asset sales have broken through the obsession that the Crown can never ever sell an asset, and can only acquire assets. Decisions should be made on a case by case basis. One can have a view that the Government should own Transpower, but now own Orcon – one of around 50 ISPs.

Mr Key again underlined the Genesis float would be the last asset sale under his Government.

“The truth is there aren’t a lot of other assets that would fit in the category where they would be either appealing to take to the market or of a size that would warrant a further program or they sit in the category that they are very large like Transpower but are monopoly assets so aren’t suited.”

I agree Transpower is not a great candidate for sale. However I would make the point that what matters more is that it is price regulated by the Commerce Commission, than it is owned by the Government.

Here’s the SOEs and Crown entities we do have left, and my thoughts on their potential for sale:

• Airways – no, monopoly
• AsureQuality – could be sold, but has some strategic importance to Govt
• Landcorp – keep company, but farms should be sold to private sector where possible
• MetService – too small to bother selling
• NZ Post – I’d sell it on the basis its core business is disappearing and it may become unprofitable in a decade or so
• KiwiRail – stuck with it – no one would pay a cent for it
• Solid Energy – sell when market recovers, if it does
• Transpower – no, monopoly
• Kordia – some strategic importance for communications
• Animal Control Products – never even knew this was an SOE! Sell before someone notices it
• Quotable Value – sell, no need to own a valuation business
• Public Trust – sell, almost all their functions have many competitors
• TVNZ – sell while we can get money for it. Future business model looks shaky

What do others think? Which, if any, would they sell?

Simon Bridges has announced:

Labour Minister Simon Bridges today announced the adult minimum wage is to rise to $14.25 an hour.

The current adult minimum wage rate is $13.75 an hour.

The Starting-Out and training minimum wages will increase from $11 an hour to $11.40 an hour, which is 80 per cent of the adult minimum wage.

“Setting these wage rates represents a careful balance between protecting low paid workers and ensuring jobs are not lost,” says Mr Bridges.

“The increase announced today balances the needs of both businesses and workers and will have minimal impact on the wider labour market and inflationary pressures.

“This increase will keep the minimum wage at around 50 per cent of the average hourly rate, which is the highest rate in the OECD.

A lot of people do not realise how high our minimum wage is compared the average wage. And the linkage is important, because if the minimum wage gets too close to the average wage, then it can have huge distortionary effects on employment.

To use an example, a shift in the minimum wage from say 25% of the average wage to 35% may have little impact on employment. But a shift from 50% to 60% will definitely have an impact.

I actually think it would be sensible to formally link the minimum wage to the median wage, so the focus goes on lifting wages through productivity, which would them automatically assist those on the minimum wage.

The minimum wage will soon be $14.25 an hour, and if the same increase happened next year it would be $14.75 an hour. This means that Labour’s policy may be to simply hike it a further 25 cents. Sadly I guess this means they will now pluck another number out of the air, and say that this is the level the minimum wage must be at. They’re effectively saying all Government employees must get paid at least $22.89 an hour, so why not that for all employees!