The Constitutional Review Panel has made a number of recommendations to Cabinet. Mostly they are general stuff about further talking, but a few specific views emerge. They include:

• notes that although there is no broad support for a supreme constitution, there is considerable support for entrenching elements of the constitution
• notes the consensus that our constitution should be more easily accessible and understood, and notes that one way of accomplishing this might be to assemble our constitutional protections into a single statute
• notes the Panel’s advice that the current arrangements for the representation of Māori in Parliament should remain while the conversation continues
• sets up a process, with public consultation and participation, to explore in more detail the options for amending the Act to improve its effectiveness such as adding economic, social and cultural rights, property rights and environmental rights; entrenching all or part of the Act
• does not undertake further work on the size of Parliament 
• notes a reasonable level of support for a longer term
• sets up a process, with public consultation and participation, to explore a fixed election date in conjunction with any exploration of a longer term
• notes a level of concern about MPs leaving the parties they were elected with, especially list  MPs, but no consensus about a solution
• recommends the Government invites Parliament to differentiate between types of urgency and to minimise the use of the urgency truncating select committee consideration of bills

Some worthwhile stuff there on bringing the constitutional acts into one statute, and looking at a longer term with a fixed date. Including property rights in the Bill of Rights Act has appeal also.

Questions for Oral Answer – 2pm to 3pm

1. Hon TAU HENARE to the Minister of Finance: What reports has he received showing progress in lifting economic growth and creating new job opportunities?
2. TRACEY MARTIN to the Minister of Education: Does she stand by her statement “We know that great teaching and learning goes on in our schools, but having modern learning environments just makes the whole process of raising achievement for all our young people that much easier”?
3. Hon DAVID PARKER to the Minister of Finance: Has the asset sale programme met all five tests he set in Budget 2011; if not, does he accept responsibility for any of its failures?
4. Dr RUSSEL NORMAN to the Minister of Finance: Is he confident that more than 85 percent of Meridian Energy remains owned by New Zealanders?
5. Hon KATE WILKINSON to the Minister of Justice: What recent report has she received on New Zealand’s ranking on the corruption index?
6. JACINDA ARDERN to the Minister for Social Development: How many children has her Government lifted out of poverty since 2009, if any?
7. JONATHAN YOUNG to the Minister of Energy and Resources: What recent announcement has he made about Block Offer 2013?
8. CHRIS HIPKINS to the Minister of Education: Is she satisfied that the Government’s policies are providing every student with the opportunities they need to achieve to their full potential?
9. MARK MITCHELL to the Minister of Corrections: What recent announcements has she made on the number of hours worked by offenders on community work?
10. CLARE CURRAN to the Associate Minister of Finance: Does he still have responsibility for the “Day to day responsibilities, functions and powers of the Minister of Finance in relation to Chorus Limited” as Associate Minister of Finance?
11. JAN LOGIE to the Minister for Social Development: Does the Government intend to respond to the question in UNICEF’s report Kids Missing Out, “why has such a low priority been placed on implementation of children’s rights” in order to protect vulnerable children; if so, how?
12. Peseta SAM LOTU-IIGA to the Minister of Housing: What new developments in Christchurch and Auckland is the Government progressing to increase the supply of housing?

Today, National are asking five questions ranging on issues such as economic growth, corruption, block offer 2013, community work for offenders and housing supply in Auckland and Christchurch. Labour will be asking four questions ranging from issues such as asset sales, poverty, student achievement levels and Chorus. On the other hand, the Green’s will be asking two questions about asset sales and protection of children in New Zealand with New Zealand First asking one question about achievenment of children in New Zealand schools.

Patsy of the day

Today’s patsy question of the day goes to question 7 from Jonathan Young asking the Minister of Energy and Resources about block offer 2013.

Government orders of the day

1) Judicature Modernisation Bill – Hon Judith Collins – First Reading

The purpose of this bill is to implement some of the recommendations of the Law Commission’s  Review of the Judicature Act 1908: Towards a New Courts Act report. In addition, this bill is designed to speed up the court system and bring it into the modern day.

2) Taxation (Annual Rates, Foreign Superannuation, and Remedial Matters) Bill – Second Reading – Hon Todd McClay

This bill is designed to establish the tax rates for the 2013/14 tax year as well as make minor changes around tax rules in regards to New Zealander’s investing in overseas superannuation schemes. In addition, this bill also updates some of the rules for working out Working for Families tax credits and makes changes to tax laws relating to the insurance sector in New Zealand.

The Herald reports:

New Zealand Cricket boss David White knows the identity of the former players under investigation by the sport’s anti corruption unit.

However he cannot name the three players understood to be at the centre of the claims due to the ongoing nature of the International Cricket Council investigation. …

White spelled out key points from NZC’s perspective.

”Firstly no current New Zealand players are being investigated; no games played in New Zealand are being investigated; and lastly no matches under NZC’s jurisdiction are being investigated,” he said.

It is reassuring to know they are not current players. Hopefully the players out themselves to remove the suspicion from others.

The Herald reports:

Labour would raise the age of eligibility for New Zealand Superannuation to 67, make KiwiSaver compulsory for employees and increase the KiwiSaver contribution rate if voted into power.

Deputy Labour leader David Parker told members of the superannuation industry his party was not afraid to tackle the age of eligibility issue despite it being politically challenging.

“I am willing to deal with the age of eligibility for superannuation. This is not populist politics.”

Parker said the Census data released this week backed its decision. He pointed to the number of people in the 50 to 59 age group increasing by 22 per cent since 2006 to 989,000.

“Although the total population increased, fewer people are under 15 than in 2006 and this reinforces the need to address superannuation.”

Paying for superannuation cost more than all benefits combined and within two years he expected it to exceed the annual spend on education. Labour has proposed raising the age of eligibility for New Zealand Superannuation from 2020 increasing it two months at a time to reach 67 by 2026.

I back raising the age. It is worth noting that in the fine print of Labour’s policy is that they are not so much increasing the age, as applying a means test for those aged 65 and 66. So if you stop working at 65 and have few investments you will still get super.

The party would also make KiwiSaver compulsory for those in employment. It would be optional for the self-employed and those without an income.

This means a take home pay cut for those who can least afford it. If you make KiwiSaver compulsory, then you should over time cut the level of NZ Super to recognise that everyone will have private savings.

Stuff reports:

A tweet by Labour leader David Cunliffe on Saturday, the day of the Christchurch East by-election, has been referred to police.

Cunliffe published a message on his Twitter profile urging Christchurch East residents to vote for Labour candidate Poto Williams.

“If you are resident in Christchurch East don’t forget to vote today – for Labour and Poto Williams!” he wrote.

Under Electoral Commission rules, no campaigning of any kind is allowed on election day.

The Electoral Commission announced this afternoon it had referred Cunliffe to the police saying it believed he had breached the Electoral Act.

It said Cunliffe had allegedly breached the act because the message “was a statement published on polling day advising, or intended, or likely to influence electors as to the candidate for whom they should or should not vote in the by-election”.

I understand serial litigant Graham McCready has announced that he will do a private prosecution, if the Police don’t prosecute. This will be very embarrassing as it is an open and shut case, and Cunliffe would I think have to plead guilty as there is no dispute he sent the tweet, or that the tweet broke the Act.

The final day saw us up before 6 am, as we wanted an early start so we could get out in time to go to Kamarea ad have some whitebait fritters before our flight at 2 pm.

It’s a 16.5 km trek out to Kohaihai. Not quite as much variety as the other days, but still some great sights.

You cross over many streams heading down into the sea.

Luckily most of them have bridges.

At times the track lifts up from the sea level a fair bit.

But at others you are right next to the mighty ocean.

It’s a damn powerful sea and people have drowned there. During high tide the track can be impassable for a couple of hours. You can see from the power that a single wave could easily knock you down.

Towards the end, is this lovely beach.

Scotts Beach is around 50 minutes from the end, and fairly popular place to come into just for a day.

A drinking supply from the rock!

One of several waterfalls during the final portion when you climb up after Scotts Beach.

The view back to Scotts Beach.

Getting close to the end.

Back in the bush.

The final bridge.

And we’re out. The final party members literally walked out within 15 seconds of the shuttle turning up, so that was great timing.

We headed into Karamea for Whitebait Fritters (they were great) and then out to the airport to fly back. Putting on the life jackets in case we crash land on water!

We had joked to the pilot, who had also driven us in on Thursday in the shuttle, that a dozen beer in the plane for the trip home would be great. We were amused and pleased that he actually went out and did that. How is that for great service from Golden Bay Air. So got to fly home and enjoy drinks on the way.

Fortunately Tracey was just sitting there, but not actually the co-pilot. Even more fortunately the pilot turned down her requests to try flying the plane for a bit.

That cave on the right is huge. The pilot pretty much turned the plane on its side so we could see down it.

The end of the Heaphy Track, from the air.

We got back to Nelson around 3 pm and after much needed showers, headed to the Honest Lawyer for drinks and dinner.

Hugely enjoyed the tramp, and can’t wait for the next one. You can see why people travel from all over the world to come here and see our amazing sights.

Stuff reports:

Talk about a new right wing political party is being revived amid the latest body blow to ACT after leader John Banks was sent to trial over electoral fraud allegations.

Banks announced yesterday he would step down as leader in March and former leader Rodney Hide is being actively courted to step into his shoes by some high profile members, including the man who rolled him, Don Brash.

Brash confirmed last night he had tried to convince Hide to return to the national politics and said the former Epsom MP was the best chance of saving the party.

“From my perspective there are few politicians or former poiticians who can express the views of the centre right on economic issues moreNew  clearly than Rodney can.”

Party insiders confirmed there was support within the organisation for Hide to return. But Hide is less keen – he is said to have rebuffed all approaches so far.

Former British based right wing commentator Jamie Whyte, a rising star in the party, last night confirmed he was throwing his hat into the ring for both the leadership and he Epsom nomination.

There has also been speculation about lobbyist and right wing columnist Matthew Hooton, who confirmed he had been approached by a number of people yesterday who were “concerned”  about the state of centre-right politics.

But Hooton said he had other priorities currently including his family and business and sources said it was unlikely.

Hooton also writes on this issue saying NZ needs a new Bob Jones. The Herald canvasses a longer list of possibilities:

Catherine Isaac: The former party president is ruling out standing for Epsom. But she won’t comment on whether she would consider the leadership.

Jamie Whyte: The formerly British-based journalist made an appearance at ACT’s conference. He now lives in New Zealand and has confirmed he is in the running.

Matthew Hooton: The lobbyist has ambitions to be an MP and joked in his weekly column about standing for ACT in Epsom, where he lives. His natural home is National but he was uncharacteristically tight-lipped yesterday.

Cameron Brewer: The Auckland councillor and former press secretary to Jenny Shipley did not return calls yesterday. The 40-year-old ruled out standing for ACT at the 2011 election, saying he was in no rush to get to Wellington.

Chris Simmons: The former party president and management consultant was ranked seventh on the party list at the last election. Earlier this year he was said to be eyeing the blue-ribbon electorate of Pakuranga.

David Seymour: A policy wonk and former ministerial adviser to John Boscawen, ranked 6th in 2011. But the 30-year-old has built a successful career in Canada.

Rodney Hide: A former leader rolled by Don Brash. Brash said yesterday he would endorse Hide’s return, but the self-styled perk-buster is understood to be not interested.

It will be interesting to see who stands.

The Herald reports:

More than $120 million in drugs and assets have been seized during a record-breaking operation involving 330 officers from police, OFCANZ and Customs this morning.

Forty search warrants were executed at residential and business premises across Auckland and Waikato and 24 people were arrested at the conclusion of an 18 month investigation named Operation Ghost.

More than 330 kilograms of the Class B drug ContacNT was also seized in what police described as “the biggest haul of its kind in New Zealand history”.

ContacNT is manufactured legally in China but is used in New Zealand to produce methamphetamine.

The ContacNT seized during Operation Ghost is enough to produce up to 100 kilograms of methamphetamine which has a corresponding street value of $100 million. …

“Police and OFCANZ have eliminated a criminal network responsible for importing and distributing Class B drugs which are used to produce methamphetamine.

“Operation Ghost sends a powerful message to the criminal community that we will use every legal avenue at our disposal to target organised crime in New Zealand.”

It will be interesting to see who the 24 people arrested are, and if they have gang affiliations.

Stuff reports:

Kiwi students are falling behind the rest of the world in reading, maths and science, a global education report has revealed.

New Zealand’s education ranking has fallen from seventh to 18th in science, from 12th to 23rd in maths, and from seventh to 13th in reading, according to a report released by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) last night.

Just over 4000 15-year-old Kiwi students took part in the assessment, which is done every three years.

Opposition MPs say students are falling behind because teachers are too busy filling in government forms to concentrate on teaching.

But Education Minister Hekia Parata pointed the finger at issues to which the study group has been exposed, including the bedding-in of a new curriculum, under-investment in teachers, and a poor culture of behaviour in some schools.

“This Government is addressing all of these long-standing issues,” she said.

The students measured by the report were in the education system from 2001 to 2012, which meant they had never been caught by the national standards system, Parata said.

This should be a wake up call for those who resist change in the education system. Stagnation and decline is not acceptable. If you talk to secondary teachers, you’ll know that it is too late for them to do much with a student if they get to secondary school with inadequate literacy and numeracy schools.

We’ve had the bigotry of low expectations for too long, where the 15% tail are allowed to fail. Not everyone will be able to get good qualifications, but everyone must leave school with functional literacy and numeracy.

Colin Craig should be talking about Conservative Party policies, but instead he is letting himself be distracted by questions about his personal beliefs.

He seems to have adopted a stance of accepting conspiracy theories may be true, as they have not been proven untrue. That is not a sensible position. The nature of conspiracy theories is you can never prove they are not true. You need to use common sense. The latest is on the moon landings:

Conservative leader Colin Craig says he has “no idea” whether man has walked on the moon, adding it’s “what we’re told” and he is “sort of” inclined to believe it.

His comments this morning came after it emerged last week he has no formal position on chemtrails – a conspiracy theory that suggests the trails left by aircraft deliberately spread chemicals.

Mr Craig was asked about the moon landing conspiracy – which suggests the Apollo moon landings were faked by the US government – by Radio Live host Marcus Lush this morning.

“I don’t have a belief or a non-belief in these things, I jut don’t know,” Mr Craig replied.

Asked again, Mr Craig said he had “no idea” whether man had walked on the moon.

“That’s what we’re told. I’m sort of inclined to believe it. But at the end of the day, I haven’t looked into it. And I know there’s some very serious people that question these things.”

He went on: “I’m happy that they can think that. I’m not going to judge any of these things without the facts.”

What Craig should have done is laugh at the question, joke about whether Marcus is also going to ask him if the moon is made of cheese, and then start talking policies.

Neil Armstrong once said, in relation to the claims the moon landings were faked, that they could always head up to the moon themselves and grab the camera he left behind there.

Stuff reports:

In its heyday, Parliament’s Pickwicks bar was cheek to jowl with patrons including some of the country’s most influential politicians, journalists and lobbyists. These days it can barely pull $200 a day.

The sorry state of the third floor Beehive bar, known by workers as 3.2, was revealed in a survey of staff which asked whether it was time for for Pickwicks to pull its last pint.

It has been under threat of closure since a survey of catering services at Parliament earlier this year.

Most staff were in favour of keeping it open – but a surprising 40 per cent of staff were happy to see it close.

It is no longer the vibrant place it was. In the 1990s a couple of dozen staff at least would drop into it almost every night just before 6 pm to watch the news, have a drink or two, chat about the day, and then head back to work. Occasionally they may turn into all nighters.

My major achievement was getting the management to place a second TV in there, so we could watch both the TV1 and TV3 news.

Former patron, Carterton Mayor and former NZ First MP Ron Mark, said the writing was on the wall after the introduction of smoke free bars in 2004 forced the smokers among the MPs and journalists to go elsewhere.

Parliament was the worse for the loss of that regular contact between journalists and MPs over a beer, Mark said.

It gave both a chance to understand each others perspective.

”There was an old rule that what happened and what was said in 3.2 stayed in 3.2.”

That is indeed the rule.

Former TVNZ boss Bill Ralston, who worked as a parliamentary reporter in the 1980s and 1990s, said the bar used to thrive.

”It was one of those places certainly during the term of the Lange Labour government and the early years of Bolger and the late years of Muldoon, [where it was] a huge advantage for journalists to be actually to reach out and sit down and talk with the key politicians of the day.”

Pickwicks provided a more relaxed social setting where people from all parts of the political process could meet.

Media and MPs had less contact today and the relationship was more formal.

”It made Parliament a little, kind of gentler I suppose in some ways. Simply because you were going to be confronted by these people, should you go to that bar you would run a chance of meeting them. Whereas I suppose these days you can sit in the Gallery, write a story and go home and never actually see the politician that you might have described from the House or in any form of commentary.”

It will be sad if it closes, but if not enough people use it, then it shouldn’t be subsidised.

ACT have announced:

Today, Hon John Banks, MP for Epsom and leader of ACT, has announced that he will not be seeking re-election in the 2014 General Election.  John has decided, after 36 years of public service, that it is time for him to spend more time on his family and his private business interests.  In the meantime, John will continue as the MP for Epsom and Leader of ACT.

As part of its candidate selection process for general elections, the Board of ACT will shortly be opening nominations for candidates to stand for ACT in the 2014 General Election.  We have a number of very talented potential candidates and we expect to name our key candidates, including a new candidate for Epsom, by the time of our annual conference in early March.

An inevitable decision. I can’t see ACT able to hold Epsom unless someone with a proven track record of local support such as Cameron Brewer stood for them.

UPDATE: Banks has said he will stand down as Leader at the conference in March 2014.

The weather for the first two days had been great. Overcast, but only scattered showers. Meant you didn’t get too hot. But day 3 on Saturday was a different matter. How best to describe Saturday morning weather’s?

One of the girls asked the DOC ranger what it would cost to get a helicopter out, and the DOC ranger said there was no way a helicopter could land in this weather. It was raining hard, and low visibility. That made us wonder why we were going out in weather that was unsafe for helicopters.

We had 12.5 kms to travel to get down to Lewis Hut, which they estimate normally takes three and a half hours. The weather was so miserable that I decided to try and shorten the time and see if I could jog it. I managed to do the 12.5 kms in one hour 40 minutes, which was pretty good going considering I had a full pack on my back, I was in tramping boots and it was pissing down with rain. A group of Aussies I passed said they had never seen someone running along with pack bouncing, and poles flying.

Once I got to Lewis Hut, I left my pack there and went back to let the rest of our party know how far away they were and give those with blisters a help with their packs. So I ended up doing an extra 7 kms or so.

This is the last photo I took on my camera. It died after this from water getting into it. I only took three quick photos in the rain with it, but that was enough for it to get soaked. All photos after this are from my iPhone or Tracey’s camera.

After we dried out in Lewis Hut and had lunch, the weather cleared and we started the afternoon trek of 8 kms to Heaphy Hut. Very flat and nice.  A large bridge across the river,

A photo from the morning of the Heaphy River from above.

There were some huge trees in the bush.

Again I loved the variety of bush and colour.

One nice thing about the rain, is everything looks greener when wet!

One of the darker areas.

Scott taking a break with the Heaphy River behind him.

The bush opens up towards the end.

Those 1 km to go markers are so welcome you want to hug them. It can be really hard judging how much further you have to go. I would wan’t distance markers every km or so, but a halfway marker between huts would be a great idea as that would allow you to orientate yourself better.

A West Coast snail!

A great view to emerge to, of the Heaphy River joining the Tasman Sea.

The view from the Heaphy Hut.

I loved the Heaphy Hut. Built just this year and the location is superb, as is the hut. would be very keen to go back in at some stage just to spend a couple of nights in the Heaphy Hut and do some day walks.

Scott and I thanking Nick Smith for the nice hut 🙂

Again, this is so lovely for a back country hut.

Went down to the beach as it had mobile coverage, so I could rearrange the pick up for tomorrow. These birds are very territorial and fly directly at you swooping around your head.

The beach with the hut in the background.

Preparing dinner for day 3.

Despite getting drowned in the morning, was an excellent day. We had no whiskey left by now, so played 500 instead. By this stage we had tramped over 60 kms.

Punakaiki Beach at Sunset, West Coast, South Island. New Zealand landscape photography by Todd Sisson.

This week’s wallpaper was made during the middle of ‘winter’ over on the West Coast – it was barely worth wearing a jersey.  This balminess was quickly remedied with an 8 hour drive back to Central Otago 😉

There’s a little story about the making of this shot on the blog, including details of my questionable child-minding skills…

See you next week!

Cheers – Todd

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You may download the large version of today’s image from this link:   Password = wwp

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Thanks for your support!

Cheers – Todd [website]  [Blog]

Stuff reports:

Detroit is eligible for the biggest municipal bankruptcy in US history because the city is broke and negotiations with its thousands of creditors were unfeasible, a federal judge has said in a wide-ranging ruling that also said the city could cut retiree pensions.

The ruling by US Judge Steven Rhodes marks a watershed in the history of Detroit, once the cradle of the US auto industry and now a symbol of urban decay and mismanagement.

The state of the city today is bad:

Detroit is burdened by US$18.5 billion in debt as it struggles to provide even the most basic services to the city’s 700,000 residents. About 40 per cent of the city’s streetlights do not work and about 78,000 abandoned buildings litter the city, whose population peaked at 1.8 million in 1950.

Live within your means.

NewstalkZB reports:

Labour believes ACC levy cuts next year are timed to be an election bribe.

The Government has announced earners’ levies will be cut 15 per cent and the employers’ levy by 17 per cent.

Labour’s Iain Lees-Galloway says the cuts are overdue – and the timing is cynical. …

“There’s no doubt that the timing of this is designed to be an election bribe.”

Okay so in this paragraph Labour effectively says the reductions should not occur in an election year.

It’s disappointment for motorists, who’ll have to wait another year before paying lower ACC levies.

ACC had recommended cutting the motor vehicle levy by at least five per cent.

But the Government’s putting it off until 2015.

Mr Lees-Galloway says that means the least risky road users will continue subsidising the most risky.

While in this paragraph they attacking the Government for delaying motor levy cuts until 2015.

They’re not happy campers!

Stuff reports:

Taranaki-King Country MP Shane Ardern has announced he will retire from politics at the next election.

Ardern, who once drove a tractor up Parliament’s steps, said after 16 years it was time to retire in order to spend more time with his family and return to full time work on his farm.

“Family and farming is where my heart lies.”

Ardern said it had been a “privilege” to serve his electorate, saying he entered politics because he was passionate about representing rural New Zealanders and ensuring they had a voice in Wellington.

“As Chair of the Primary Production Select Committee, Chair of National’s agriculture caucus, and through my work on a number of other select committees, I have worked on policies that have helped drive New Zealand’s economic recovery,” he said.

“These have assisted our farming communities and the towns and businesses that rely so heavily on the success of our primary industries.”

Ardern was first elected in a by-election in 1998.

I have fond memories of going up to Taranaki for a few days and campaigning in Stratford for Shane during the by-election. Sadly one of the roads I was given to door knock was the one with the nurses’ residences for the local hospital – which was closing. Didn’t get the best responses, but was a fun campaign.

Shane has been a great advocate for rural New Zealand, and will be interesting to see who comes forward to contest the seat.

This brings the number of announced National retirements to eight – Chris Tremain, Chris Auchinvole, Kate Wilkinson, Katrina Shanks, Paul Hutchison, Phil Heatley, Cam Calder and now Shane Ardern.  While each individual departure is sad, the opportunity for National to rejuvenate is significant. The contrast to Labour is significant as their MPs who entered in the 1980s refuse to leave.

The Press editorial:

A recent decision by a District Court judge that the well-known, some would say notorious, Whale Oil blog is not a news medium highlights the difficulty. …

In a paper on new media published last year, the Law Commission observed that bloggers are often highly partisan, can be offensive and abusive and are not accountable to anybody.

The commission later modified that view to note that some of New Zealand’s 200 or more current-affairs bloggers have become a rich alternative source of information and commentary.

The Whale Oil blog run by Cameron Slater certainly fits the commission’s first description. His commentary on a wide array of topics is heavily tendentious and often gratuitously rude.

His campaigns can also be wrong-headed, the most notable being a wildly irresponsible campaign a couple of years ago against name suppression that resulted in his incurring convictions and stiff fines.

But he also attracts more than 1 million visitors a month, more than the next five New Zealand bloggers put together and he has broken stories that have been taken up with gusto by other media.

These facts, Slater argued in the District Court recently, were sufficient to make him a journalist and his blog a news medium as defined in the Evidence Act.

He made the plea in order to be able to claim a protection provided by the act so he would not have to reveal his sources in a defamation action that has been brought against him. The judge rejected the submission.

While Slater’s blog is miles short of what most people would think of as a responsible medium that should be entitled to the protection of the law, the decision is almost certainly wrong.

Very good of The Press to argue that blogs can qualify for media protection. An unthinkable view from them a few years ago.

The Herald editorial agrees:

Blogger Cameron Slater has been told by a Manukau District Court judge his “Whaleoil” website is not a news medium. This will surprise everybody aware of the Len Brown affair. Whaleoil broke that story and was almost alone among news media in covering the seamy details. Muckraking to that degree might not be to everyone’s taste but if anybody wants to rake it or read it, they have a right to do so. The ruling by District Court Judge Charles Blackie will not stop them but it denies Whaleoil a right asserted by all news media to protect their sources from discovery in court.

The case has nothing to do with the Brown affair. Slater is defending an action for defamation on a different subject. The judge’s ruling is important for its general application to news and comment online, and possibly for the future regulation of mainstream media too.

The ruling does have wide ramifications.

The right that Slater seeks is not particularly generous, or final. If a case goes to the High Court, news media may be forced to betray a confidential source to the judge, who will decide whether confidentiality overrides other considerations in the case. Other jurisdictions give media freedom higher protection. A blogger might not have the means to challenge this ruling in a higher court but it should not stand. News comes in many and varied forms and the courts should recognise it when they see it.

Again, very welcome to see the Herald take this view.

Maybe the Newspaper Publishers Association Media Freedom Committee could consider assisting with the appeal?

The Press reports:

Labour leader David Cunliffe might have fallen foul of the law with a message posted on his Twitter profile on the day of the Christchurch East by-election.

The Electoral Commission is looking into the tweet by Cunliffe on Saturday urging Christchurch East residents to get out and vote for the successful Labour candidate Poto Williams.

“If you are resident in Christchurch East don’t forget to vote today – for Labour and Poto Williams!” he wrote.

Under Electoral Commission rules, no campaigning of any kind is allowed on election day. …

He said he was not aware of the rules at the time it was sent. He would co-operate with the Electoral Commission if it investigated.

David Cunliffe has been a candidate in five general elections, and even the lowliest candidate knows you can not campaign on election day. The Leader of the Opposition can not plead ignorance of the law.

If the leader of NZ’s second largest political party can campaign without consequences on election day, then how could the Electoral Commission expect anyone else to take the law seriously?

The tweet may not have had a huge impact, but I can’t see anyway the Electoral Commission can not refer it to the Police without setting an awful precedent.

UPDATE: The Electoral Commission wrote to all parties contesting the by-election the day before, telling them what the rules are for e-day and they even specifically referred to not using Twitter to campaign.

Stats NZ have released a bundle of census data today. Some interesting extracts, first on Maori:

• Maori population up 5.9% compared to total population up 5.3%
• Of the 598,605 who identify as Maori, 292,938 (49%) also identify as European.
• Total who are of Maori descent is 688,724 up 3.8%
• Maori population up most in Selwyn with a 51.2% increase and Mackenzie District 60% increase. Biggest drop in Kawerau with 14.2% reduction.
• 50% more Maori have a bachelor’s degree than last census
• A small drop in the number of Maori who can converse in te reo Maori – down 4.8% from 131,610 to 125,352. 7,824 claim they can speak Maori only, and not English.
• 4,212 people claim to be Maori even though they also say they are not of Maori descent!

Wider ethnicity:

• Almost 1 out of 8 people living in New Zealand are Asian, up from about 1 in 11 in 2006
• In Auckland, over 1 in 5 are Asian
• Hindi now 4th most common language after English, Maori and Samoan

If NZ was a village of 100 people:

• 51 are female
• In 1981, we had only 74 people and in 1926 just 33 people
• The median age has increased from 28 to 38 since 1981
• 14 villagers are Maori
• 70 were born in NZ, 7 in Asia, 6 in UK/Ireland, 4 in the Pacific, 2 in Middle East/Africa, 2 in Europe and 1 in Australia and 1 in North America
• 21 have a tertiary qualification
• 36 are employed full-time and 11 part-time

Other stats:

• 24.3% of women have a Level 5 or higher qualification and only 20.9% of men
• The number of women earning over $40,000 increased 61.9% and the number of men 32.5%
• Male median income increased 15.8% and female 20.9%
• The number of households with a landline dropped from 87.8% to 81.1%