THIS WEEK ON PRIME TV’s “BACK BENCHES”: Watch Wallace Chapman, Damian Christie, the Back Benches Panel and special guests discuss the week’s hottest topics!

 

FONTERRA:  The company’s share price has taken a dive. So has the New Zealand dollar. New Zealand’s brand is suffering as countries we trade with ban Fonterra product. Can one rusty pipe destroy our economy? What can and should government be doing about it?

 

SNAPPER QUOTA: Snapper stock in the North Island is in trouble and the Ministry of Primary Industries has decided it’s time to do something about it. But it’s not targeting commercial fishers; it’s the recreational anglers who are most likely to take a hit. They could be going home with as few as three fish compared to the current nine. Anglers say the value of the New Zealand lifestyle is at stake while commercial fishers waste hundreds of kilos of fish a year. But the Ministry says it’s the recreational fishers doing the most damage. Who’s right?

 

SICK LEAVE:  When Bruce Taiapa took a sick day to go to the waka ama champs in Rotorua he got a medical certificate. When his employer caught wind of the truth Mr Taiapa was fired, a decision backed up by the Employment Court – not because he went to waka ama but because he lied. Now the Medical Council wants to toughen up on medical certificates by putting more detailed information on them which will make it harder for employees to get them willy-nilly. But is that a breach of doctor-patient confidentiality? And should the employer decide how an employee might want to recuperate from illness?

 

BRINGING BACK ROUGH PLAY: If a child breaks their arm at the local playground, is it a right of passage or a health and safety issue? A long, steep slide in a West Auckland playground has been shut temporarily after two children were injured bruised and grazed flying down it. Efforts to have the slide shut down permanently have failed after the community pushed back against years of safe swings and rubber mats. Are they right?

 

QUIZ:   We have a small quiz at the end of the show. It is a couple of questions on the shows topics. It is meant to be quick and fun. Plus, if you’re the winner you get a prize.

 

LAST WORD: We are giving each one of the panellists 30 seconds to say what is on their mind. You may talk about whatever is on your mind. It could be about a personal story you would like to share or a particular piece of legislationthat you are working on…or it could be a final word about one of the previous topics…or it could be about a pet project you would like to see come to fruition.  You have 30 seconds to say whatever is on your mind! You will be timed for fairness.

 

Our panel : Labour MP Annette King, National MP Alfred Ngaro, New Zealand First MP Andrew Williams

Stuff reports:

A prime minister you can trust, or an opposition leader who’s fair dinkum.

Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott have kicked off their September 7 election campaigns by making personal appeals to Australia’s 14  million registered voters.

Rudd made his pre-election pitch in the same prime minister’s courtyard at Parliament House were three years ago he tearfully stepped down.

He made it clear this election is about unfinished business.Borrowing a line from former Liberal prime minister John Howard,  Rudd asked voters ‘‘who do you trust’’ to deal with the challenges presented by a faltering global economy.

He portrayed himself as the election underdog with a ‘‘steady  hand’’ and a positive plan for the future.

In contrast, he said Abbott was negative, immersed in ‘‘old politics’’ and three-word slogans.

Rudd also blatantly borrowed from US President Barack Obama by appealing to supporters to donate a few dollars to Labor to counter  the ‘‘few millionaires’’ bankrolling the Liberal-National coalition.

Making his pitch surrounded by portraits of past Liberal leaders in the opposition party room, Abbott kept to the script he’s been spruiking for three years.

He harked back to the ‘‘faceless men’’ who ousted Rudd in 2010, then turned on Julia Gillard this year, contrasting it to his stable leadership and team.

‘‘It’s really about who is more fair dinkum. Who can you rely on to build a better future?’’ Abbott said.

The national polls will be interesting, but more interesting will be the polls in marginal seats – especially those with retiring Labor MPs. Labor could tie with the Coalition on nationwide vote but still lose enough seats to lose office.

The Press reports:

Labour is eyeing up four potential party candidates to replace long-serving Christchurch East MP Lianne Dalziel now in the running to be mayor.

The Press understands Ngai Tahu manager James Caygill, son of former Labour finance minister David Caygill, is emerging as a favourite among party members.

Nominations as Labour’s Christchurch East by-election candidate opened last week.

Caygill said last night he would put his name forward this week.

Labour was doing its “due diligence” and the party’s candidate needed to able to stand up “in front of the party and the public and advocate for Christchurch East in Wellington”.

Caygill was made redundant from the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra in January 2012 and is now acting general manager of tribal interests for Ngai Tahu.

He owns a house in Richmond that has been zoned Technical Category 3 and lives in Mairehau with his partner Serenity Thurlow, the orchestra’s principal viola player.

Can I just say that Serenity is a cool and somewhat apt name for a viola  player!

List MP Clayton Cosgrove, who was recently given the EQC portfolio, is also understood to be considering a bid, but said he had not given it “any serious thought”.

I doubt Cosgrove will seek the nomination unless he thinks he will clearly win. If he seeks it and loses, it will undermine his chances in Waimakariri. He also could struggle with a winnable list place, so the decision will be a critical one for him.

Will also be interesting to see if Tony Milne stands.

Stuff reports:

A single dirty pipe is threatening hundreds of millions of dollars of trade, as a block on New Zealand dairy products widens over fears of contamination.

Dairy giant Fonterra has been at the centre of an international storm over food safety since announcing that a single raw ingredient – a concentrated whey product – could contain a bacteria linked to botulism.

Russia has put a block on all New Zealand dairy product imports, despite not being one of the countries which imported the potentially contaminated product.

Australia’s dairy sector also appears to have been dragged into the issue, with China now blocking all milk powder products from both sides of the Tasman, Trade Minister Tim Groser confirmed.

In the year to June 30, New Zealand exported more than $11 billion in dairy products, with China the largest customer.

Fonterra was the biggest exporter.

Mr Groser said the responses of other countries were “entirely appropriate” and it was likely New Zealand would take a similarly cautious approach if it held concerns over food products. …

The botulism neurotoxin is one of the most potent, lethal substances known – it paralyses muscles and can be fatal.

Capital & Coast District Health Board infectious diseases specialist Dr Tim Blackmore said botulism was extremely rare in New Zealand.

Given the time since the contamination and that no cases had been reported, it was unlikely the bacteria would still pose a risk, he said.

“It seems to me it would be a storm in a teacup, but on a case for food safety Fonterra have done the right thing.”

Federated Farmers vice-president Dr William Rolleston begged people not to jump to conclusions.

“As far as we know no-one has got sick, it’s the testing that has brought this to the surface . . . and that has to be something that will help build Fonterra’s reputation.

Reputation is everything when it comes to safety. The major issue appears to be why nothing was said publicly by Fonterra for so long.

Stuff reports:

Gregory Hussey is wondering if “spooks” are monitoring him on social media after the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) demanded he remove a tweet just 20 minutes after he wrote it.

The Timaru man was working for a private company in Afghanistan’s Bamiyan province at the time and had only eight Twitter followers – two of them journalists.

Hussey said a friend, also in Bamiyan, contacted him on August 19, 2012, to tell him there was a gunfight happening 2km away and “not to go up there to the valley on your motorbike”.

Hussey tweeted : “Poor Kiwis under fire in Bamiyan :-(“.

Just 20 minutes later he was contacted by a member of the NZDF, told to remove the tweet and instructed to attend a meeting immediately at the NZDF base in Bamiyan where he was told he was a “security risk”.

A defence force officer had contacted one of Hussey’s friends in New Zealand, asked for his number and phoned him with instructions to remove the tweet.

“I was told that there would be widespread panic from the families of soldiers back in New Zealand if it got out,” Hussey said.

“I thought that was entirely reasonable, I don’t want the families of service people needlessly distressed, and I took the tweet down and apologised.”

So this happened a year ago. So why is it news now?

Yesterday, a NZDF spokesman denied Hussey’s communications had been monitored.

Jesus Christ, it was a tweet! They are public. Are we not getting a bit precious now when we do news stories about NZDF responding to a tweet, as if that is a bad thing?

The NZDF spokesman said over the Hussey incident: “Twitter is a public forum and any member of the public is able to see information posted there.

“This is how NZDF was made aware of Hussey’s tweet – not through any monitoring of him or his communications, as he suggests.

As to how they discovered the tweet, well has anyone heard of “search”. You can set up searches that update you with tweets mentioning particular words. I imagine Bamiyan was a search term they use.

Hussey said he had forgotten about the incident until recently with the GCSB in the news.

“Now I’m wondering if what they did to me was legal,” Hussey said.

OMG, it was a fucking tweet. Of course it was legal. This story is beyond a beat-up.

I’ve sometimes had Government Departments contact me after I blog something about them. This is an outrage – the Government is monitoring me. Is it legal for government departments to read my blog?

The 7th Youth Parliament was held on 16th and 17th of July, where 121 Youth MPs and 20 Youth Press Gallery members converged upon Wellington for two days. I blogged previously a preview of the 2013 Youth Parliament. What follows is an account of my personal experience, a review of the event as a whole, and a defence of the event and the use of taxpayers’ money to fund it.

Some Youth MPs, including myself, were fortunate to travel up to Wellington on Monday, one day before Youth Parliament began. (NB: Unless made necessary by flight schedules, the extra cost of this personal decision was met by the Youth MP his/herself and not by the taxpayer). In Wellington on Monday I received a tour from a member of my MP’s staff. This tour, whilst interesting in itself, was also a reminder about the staff who work for and with the Members. These staff are often naturally neglected or ignored by the public- short of “Hey Clint” moments. I will come back to the merits of Youth Parliament, as I see them, later on in this post but an understanding of the way MPs work (and Government works) is certainly beneficial to New Zealanders, regardless of any desire of one day to be an MP.

In Wellington, I along with some other Youth MPs from Dunedin, also met with staff at Save the Children, and the White Ribbon Campaign. We later encouraged all Youth MPs to wear white ribbons for the duration of the event as a statement condemning violence in all forms. If any of you have seen photos or video of Youth Parliament you will see that this was taken up by almost all MPs.

Tuesday morning began with a Powhiri and Official Opening by HE the Governor General. Many will have seen some controversy around the Powhiri with Sasha Borissenko reporting:

Labour MP Annette King said she was not comfortable with the “segregated nature” of the welcoming.

“In no way would this have happened during Helen Clark’s day,” she said.

Ms King said she would strive for gender equality for future Powhiri’s so that they could “accurately reflect” the House of Representatives.

“A change is long overdue, in my opinion,” she said.

“It was wrong. Some of my colleagues will disagree with me on this one.”

The Official Opening was much less controversial with speeches from the Governor General, Speaker, Minister of Youth Affairs and Deputy Leader of the Opposition.

Sir Jerry remarked that:

In conclusion, you have been given a unique opportunity to learn and to show leadership.  You – our rangitahi – represent our nation’s hopes and ambitions for the future.  One day you will inherit this beautiful country and it will be people like yourselves who will sit in our Parliament and make decisions for the future of our nation and our democracy.

To close, I want to give credit and recognition to those who came to this land; to those who have departed and merged as stars in the heavens; and to those who built the tikanga of our democracy.  In doing so, I will quote from the maiden speech of one of the first women Legislative Councillors, Mary Anderson.  Her quote focuses upon her responsibility in being here, and it applies to MPs otherwise and you Youth MPs:  “I do not look upon myself as a woman in this Chamber … I claim to represent the people”.

Following the official openings Youth Members moved to the Select Committee Rooms. I have already outlined what the Select Committees were to discuss but it is interesting to note what my Select Committee, Commerce, discussed with regards to our inquiry in to online purchasing. There was much contentious debate, and indeed sometimes I appeared to be alone in my views. It was debated whether GST should be applied to online purchases of a value less than $400 (the current minimum level). Whilst it was broadly agreed that it would be nice if GST was applied to all purchases made by New Zealanders, it was seen as difficult to collect. Some argued that Banks should collect GST on online purchases on behalf of the Government, as their objections to this are similar to that of retailers at the time of the introduction of GST. Others argued that the online retailers should collect the GST on behalf of the New Zealand Government, though issues of lack of jurisdiction and authority broadly counted this out. Internet safety was also discussed. Despite my suggestions that the burden of responsibility should be on the consumer, or the retailer if they desire to offer the service, the committee agreed that the Government should fund an advertising campaign to promote safe online practises.

Youth MPs also attended the caucus rooms of the Party whose MP selected them. In the Government caucus room, we discussed the role of MPs from the city and country, decisions around conscience issues, and Paul Foster Bell enlightened us as to what it was like to be a new MP.

In the evening, a “social event” was held. This received live coverage from Seven Sharp (something that I will mention shortly). Speeches were given, including from the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister for Youth Affairs, and it was generally a chance for Youth MPs to ‘get to know’ Adult MPs.

On the Wednesday, the real business of the House took place. I have made the Hansard of the day available here, so there is no point summarising exactly what happened at the event- although I do want to point out some aspects.

The Electoral Law Reform Bill, was much more controversial than I expected. Perhaps the most controversial aspect was the section that compelled all eligible New Zealanders to vote. Seamus Barnett from Palmerston North summarised this as:

Democracy lies at the heart of what it means to be human. The ability to choose your leader and to have freedom of choice is something that can be taken for granted, yet it is what differentiates us as people. We must have this inviolable right to choose, whether it be to choose a Prime Minister, a local MP, or to choose not to vote. New Zealand, as a progressive nation, must be seen to be upholding this freedom to choose. I believe that enforcing compulsory voting violates this right and therefore must not be allowed to occur. Voting epitomises freedom of choice, and compulsory voting is the antithesis of our democratic ideal. People must be allowed to choose not to vote, for whatever  personal reasons, and the Government cannot interfere in what can be a very personal decision.

Peniata Endemann  argued however:

We all have that friend who does not vote but who always moans aboutJohn Key and thinks it is OK. It is not OK. We must introduce compulsory voting to help these people. This way it will require them to go to the polling booth, have their say, and make it OK for them to moan about the Prime Minister.

Many YMPs (including me) voted against this Bill despite supporting some aspects. I am strongly in favour of a 4 year term, and not completely opposed to electronic voting as an option over time; but did not support the lowering of the age or compulsion to vote. The Bill failed 80-35 (with 3 abstentions).

Following the Legislative Debate, the General Debate was held. As with Parliament, the General Debate speeches could be of any topic of a YMP’s choosing. Jordan Brown, the Youth MP selected by Hon. Pita Sharples, delivered his speech completely in Maori.

I stand in this House as a representative of your people and of the youth as well. Like that leader Martin Luther King, I have a huge dream. My real passion is that the indigenous language of New Zealand is able to be spoken regardless who you are or where you are from. In time I want to go from my mainstream school to the Te Kōtuku secondary school to talk to my science teacher, history teacher, all my teachers. I want to go to the supermarket and to speak to the staff there in the chiefly language. Despite the Māori language being the indigenous language of New Zealand and a treasure of this land, very few people know how to speak Māori. What a repulsive situation that is.

A truly forceful speech!

Hanna Deal, from the Port Hills, delivered her speech completely in New Zealand Sign Language (with the aid of an interpreter):

It is very important for New Zealand youth to be aware of the Deaf community. I hope some of you would like to learn New Zealand Sign Language and get to know a variety of different cultural elements. Remember that technology can assist communication between me and you. I am Hannah. I am deaf and I am proud of it.

Immediately following that speech, Jay Evett, Youth MP for Hutt South, gave one of the most controversial speeches of the day when he called for the abolition of the Maori seats in Parliament. The speech ended in a walk out staged by some Maori members of Youth Parliament, (presumably) in protest over Jay’s own personal views.

JAY EVETT: No, not Labour. However, this was withdrawn at the request of the Māori Party. A referendum was promised in 2011 on the matter, but, like many things in politics, it was never fulfilled. I implore on behalf of New Zealanders everywhere that the current Government follows through with the promised referendum, if not the integration of the seats.This member fully believes in the importance of Māori traditions and culture. However, positive discrimination is not the way forward, and it is worse when it is endorsed by central government—

Eru Kapa Kingi: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I would just like to let everyone know that he is not of Māori descent, so what he is saying—

Mr SPEAKER : Order! That is not a point of order. If we are going to get points of order raised, I will listen to them, but if they are frivolous points of order designed to interrupt a member’s speech, I will have no hesitation in asking that member to leave the Chamber for the rest of the debate. Jay Evett, you have an additional 30 seconds if you require it, in view of the fact that you were interrupted.

JAY EVETT: It is time that we took the bold first step to addressing constitutionalracism in this country. Governor Hobson, upon signing the Treaty of Waitangi, madehis intentions for our nation well-known: “He iwi tahi tātou.”—we are one people. Let the Government finally honour this message and readdress the issue of separate Māori seats within the next parliamentary term. Thank you.

Disabled people face social barriers in schools, in workplaces, and in public. In 1988, Tītewhai Harawira, Hone Harawira’s mother, was found guilty of physically abusing a mental health patient in a health unit that she was in charge of.

Michael Fryer: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. He is referencing a member of Parliament. That is insulting.

Mr SPEAKER : No, no. The reference was to a person around a conviction. It is not a matter now before the court. The member is quite in order to make that reference that he has made.

CALLUM LO: I will resume. It was a mental health unit that she was in charge of.How she justifies this to herself and how she sleeps at night I have no idea.

I was (am) a Youth MP, and will be blogging more fully on my experience on Monday morning. Despite(?) being a strong supporter of Marriage Equality and submitting to the Select Committee on the Bill, I did not walk out. I thought the walk out was immature and pathetic. Without falling in to the cliche of quoting Voltaire, she was just as entitled to hold her views against the reforms, as I am to hold views for the reforms.Despite strongly disagreeing with what she said, I participated in applause for her afterwards. She showed determination and a willingness to speak up for her views, something that did not deserve a “walkout” over. This is what makes Youth Parliament a better event than what too many people think. Strong and passionate debate about issues that matter- not just to youth, but to all New Zealanders.

TIM SHIELS (List): It gives me great pleasure to rise in this distinguished Chamber today to talk about something that is very important to me, and something that I hope will soon be very important to you. It is time New Zealand had an open discussion about the issue of organ donation. For too long there has been some sort of taboo around discussing this, and I hope this will change.

I have a particular passion for organ donation awareness, as last year my beloved 20-year-old sister died whilst on a waiting list for a donated liver. I tell this story not to elicit sympathy or to pull the grief card, but merely to explain the dramatic effect that organ donation, or a lack thereof, can have on people.

The rate of deceased organ donation in New Zealand is appalling, and it is much lower than in many other countries in the world. Something needs to be done about this.Although many people think that selecting “donor” on their driver’s licence means that the organs will be automatically donated upon their death, this is not the case. It is thed eceased person’s family who make the decision. It is time we had a discussion, as a nation, about this.

There needs to be further support for live organ donors, as well. This is something that the Financial Assistance for Live Organ Donors Bill, the member’s bill formerly in the name of my adult MP, the Hon Michael Woodhouse, would do. This is something that I urge all my fellow youth members of Parliament to talk to their adult MPs about,in order to get more support.

Wales has recently introduced an opt-out system of organ donation. This is where allWelsh citizens are automatically organ donators unless they opt out, which is something many people will want to do for spiritual or cultural reasons. Such a system in NewZealand would change attitudes towards organ donation and further increase the number of people who choose to donate their organs upon their death.

I strongly hope that some fellow honourable Youth Parliament members will join me in my call for a change in Government policy on this matter.

I was one of those who strongly opposed the recent attempt to increase the alcohol purchase age from 18 to 20. A hysteria had been generated about drinking in NZ, and especially youth drinking – and many blamed the change in the purchase age in 1999.

The reality is that a number of surveys had shown that youth drinking had declined, not increased, since then. Once these facts got out to MPs, I think it helped the majority of them make the sensible decision not to scapegoat 18 and 19 year olds.

One of the significant pieces of research is a study done by Auckland University every few years of almost 10,000 secondary students. Their 2000 and 2007 studies showed a significant decline in youth drinking during that period.

Well last week the 2012 study came out, and the data was fascinating. It showed beyond any doubt that there had been significant drops in the number of school students who drink, and who drink regularly or binge, since 2000.

That is a seismic shift. It totally blows away the myths about youth drinking having got far worse, based on anecdotal stories and media horror stories.

• The proportion of students who have drunk alcohol has dropped 25%, or around a third from 2000.
• The proportion of students who are current drinkers has dropped 25%, just over a third from 2000
• The proportion of students who drink regularly (weekly) has dropped 9%, just over one half from 2000
• The proportion of students who have binge drinked (five or more in a session) in the last month has dropped 18%, or just under a half from 2000

Also of interest:

• The proportion of students who have driven after drinking has fallen from 7.8% to 3.9% – a drop of a half.
• The proportion of students who have been in a car with a driver who has been drinking has fallen from 27.8% to 18.4% – a drop of one third.

On the non alcohol side:

• The proportion of students who have smoked cannabis dropped from 38.2% to 23.0%
• The proportion of students who smoke tobacco weekly dropped from 6.7% to 3.2%
• The proportion of students who have had sex dropped from 31.3% to 24.4%

The latest One News Colmar Brunton poll is at Curiablog. The summary is Labour static, National down, Greens up and Maori Party would hold the balance of power.

Spent most of Friday (Sat NZT) at Central Park cycling around it, and then walking much of it also. Was a sunny hot day, so spent most of it there, deciding to leave museums for a more cloudy or rainy day.

Cycling around the park is brilliant fun. Nice and peaceful most of the time, but a couple of hills to make you work a bit. The biggest danger was me crashing as I admired certain joggers 🙂

The statue of Christoper Columbus at Colombus Circle, where most people enter Central Park. The statue was made in 1892, 400 years after Columbus landed in America.

In winter this is an ice skating rink, and in summer an amusement park. I love the skyscrapers in the background, so you have the park.

Auckland Girl with Big Bird and Emo.

The view from on top of the rocks near the rink.

Some of the many tables at the Chess & Checkers House.

There is a literary walk, with several statues of famous literary figures.

This is the Bethesda Terrace and the Angel of the Waters Fountain. A beautiful spot.

A close up of the fountain.

This is the Conservatory Water.

A statue of Hans Christian Anderson, author of The Ugly Ducking (and many more).

Also by the water is this statue of Alice in Wonderland. It is roped off as it is being sprayed with some sort of preservative.

A view of Uptown, across the waters of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir. It is 43 hectares in size, and holds almost 4 billion litres.

This is also an ice staking rink in winter. In summer it is a free swimming pool, so very popular.

The main road around the park is six miles long and you get walkers, runners, cyclists, horse and carriages and more They have separate lanes for runners, cyclists and vehicles.

This is the Great Lawn. It’s, well, huge.

Belvedere Castle was built in 1869 and for almost 100 years has hosted the US Weather Bureau.

A statue of King Jagiello of Poland. No idea why it is in Central Park, but it seems he beat the Germans up a lot in the 1400s.

Turtle Pond – not for swimming in.

This is the view from the top of Belvedere Castle. How many cities in the world would have a view like that?

Walking through The Ramble.

Enjoying a cycle around. So great to be able to cycle without a helmet (as you are in the park). You can hire cycles from half a dozen places nearby – but not in the park itself.

Central Park is a big part of what makes New York so beloved.

Of interest, it is not actually run or maintained by the City of New York – but by a private charitable trust.

Stuff reports:

Peter Dunne should withdraw his support for the prime minister’s controversial GCSB Bill in the wake of the widening spy scandal, Labour leader David Shearer says. …

“I find it extraordinary that he would still support the bill given the Government has actually gone behind his back and tried to access his emails.

Actually the Government is on record as saying the e-mails should not be released without Dunne’s permission.

But Dunne is sticking to his guns, yesterday saying the two issues were unrelated and he will vote for the bill.

“Saying that the GCSB Bill should not be passed because of this is like saying that because some people jaywalk, we shouldn’t build more motorways.”

That appears to be exactly the Labour (and Green) view on transport!

The Economist reports:

WHEN Estonia regained its independence in 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, less than half its population had a telephone line and its only independent link to the outside world was a Finnish mobile phone concealed in the foreign minister’s garden. Two decades later, it is a world leader in technology. Estonian geeks developed the code behind Skype, Hotmail and Kazaa (an early file-sharing network). In 2007 it became the first country to allow online voting in a general election. It has among the world’s zippiest broadband speedsand holds the record for start-ups per person. Its 1.3m citizens pay for parking spaces with their mobile phones and have their health records stored in the digital cloud. Filing an annual tax return online, as 95% of Estonians do, takes about five minutes. How did the smallest Baltic state develop such a strong tech culture?

The answer follows

The foundation was laid in 1992 when Mart Laar, Estonia’s prime minister at the time,defibrillated the flat-lining economy. In less than two years his young government (average age: 35) gave Estonia a flat income-tax, free trade, sound money and privatisation. New businesses could be registered smoothly and without delays, an important spur for geeks lying in wait. Feeble infrastructure, a legacy of the Soviet era, meant that the political class began with a clean sheet. When Finland decided to upgrade to digital phone connections, it offered its archaic 1970s analogue telephone-exchange to Estonia for free. Estonia declined the proposal and built a digital system of its own. Similarly, the country went from having no land registry to creating a paperless one. “We just skipped certain things…Mosaic [the first popular web browser] had just come out and everyone was on a level playing field,” recalls Toomas Hendrik Ilves, the president. Not saddled with legacy technology, the country’s young ministers put their faith in the internet.

A nationwide project to equip classrooms with computers followed and by 1998 all schools were online. In 2000, when the government declared internet access to be a human right, the web spread into the boondocks. Free Wi-Fi became commonplace. Rubber stamps, carbon paper and long queues gave way to “e-government”. The private sector followed: the sale of Skype to eBay in 2005, for $2.6 billion, created a new class of Estonian investors, who made tens of millions of euros from their shareholdings—and have been putting their experience, and their windfalls, to good use. Today Tehnopol, a business hub in Tallinn, the perky capital, houses more than 150 tech companies. Given the country’s tiny domestic market, start-ups have been forced to think global, says Taavet Hinrikus, Skype’s first employee and co-founder of TransferWise, a peer-to-peer money-transfer service whose customers are spread across Europe and America. According to the World Bank, over 14,000 new companies registered in Estonia in 2011, 40% more than during the same period in 2008. High-tech industries now account for about 15% of GDP.

A good model for other countries, including NZ.

Stuff reports:

Former Prime Minister Helen Clark has confirmed the GCSB executed intercept warrants for the SIS during her Government but spying on New Zealanders “wasn’t their remit”.

Clark, speaking in advance of the release of her new book At The UN, about her first four-year term as Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, said she was always “loyally and diligently” served by the intelligence services.

Clark said the Government Communications and Security Bureau acted within the law “as it was understood to be” and this included executing warrants for the Security Intelligence Service.

“I can assure you that I was always advised that what was being signed was legal.”

Yet Labour and Greens are opposed to the GCSB doing what it did under Helen Clark – assist the dSIS. The problem is the law passed by Clark does not make it clear if the clause saying it will not monitor NZers over-rides the clause saying it can assist other agencies such as the SIS.

She rejected that the Government Security Communications Bureau routinely spied on New Zealanders as that was “not part of their remit”.

And still will not be, despite the hysteria. In fact the bill will provide greater transparency than in the past over what work the GCSB does do.

Her book, At The UN, is a collection of speeches Clark has given in her first four-year term at the UN.

Am sure it will be a best seller. Sadly not yet available on Amazon.

Took the Acela Express from DC to New York. So much better the flying. Total travel time of two hours 45 minutes is around the same, when you include airport transfers and queues – but you spend all of it in a much more comfortable seat – and can work on the train with free wireless. Also get to see some good scenery.

Staying at the Empire Hotel. It is on 63rd street, so at the lower end of Uptown, just one block from Central Park and a 20 minute walk to Times Square.

Fans of Gossip Girl may recognise the hotel, as it has appeared often in the TV series. This is the downstairs bar.

Then headed to Times Square, where we tried to get tickets for a show. We missed out on the lottery for Book of Mormon, but got some discounted tickets for Chicago which were in the third row, so really good seats. I love Chicago – the musical is so much better and funnier than the film – and the film was pretty damn good also. Absolutely worth seeing.

The (in)famous naked cowboy. He happens to also be running for President. He’s been doing his gig for 16 years or so. He is also a registered marriage celebrant.

Then headed back to the Empire Hotel, where we went up to the rooftop bar, which is very hard to get into if you are not a hotel guest.

Nice to have some drinks with some great views of the city. The world needs more rooftop bars!

They also serve breakfast up on the roof top, so this was the view this morning.

And a little lap pool up there also.

The Greens have put out a statement:

The Green Party would like to congratulate Talley’s strong and consistent position against Foreign Charter Vessels operating in New Zealand’s waters, and it is great that the National Party has decided not to progress the exemption for Settlement quota, which was also opposed by Talley’s.

In regards to the story broadcast on TV One News on 30 July about FCVs, the Greens would like to make clear that we didn’t mean to suggest that the Talley’s Group or family was involved in lobbying for any exemptions. If anyone gained that impression, it was wrong and the Greens apologise.

Talley’s clear position has always been to oppose any exemptions to the proposed ban on FCVs operating in New Zealand’s waters, a position the Green Party whole-heartedly supports.

I didn’t see the news item, but the left attack Talleys all the time, so it looks like the Greens just smeared them on the issue of FCVs (and anyone who knows a miniscule amount about the industry would know Talleys have strongly supported ending FCVs), and even suggested they were lobbying for an exemption that they in fact actively opposed.

The Greens would hate apologising to Talleys, but I guess they were facing a large defamation suit if they didn’t.

My worst score ever. Just 5/10 in 46 seconds. To be fair I have been reading less news while travelling in the US, but some of the questions this week seemed very obscure. How did others do?

Quiz is here.

This should be the major political story of the week. Business Day reports:

The American academic whose work underpins the Labour Party’s electricity policy says New Zealand’s existing market arrangements are starting to work better and should be improved further.

In a wide-ranging interview with BusinessDesk, Professor Frank Wolak of Stanford University described the Labour-Greens NZ Power single buyer policy as “a sham that might make me feel a bit better”, but was the wrong weapon to attack “runaway” retail electricity tariffs, which he says are the real problem in current market arrangements.

Now again, Wolak’s work lies at the heart of Labour’s policy. The quote him time and time again on what is wrong with the current system. For him to call their policy a sham is a disaster for them. The reality is that the only people who can be found to say that their policy will work are people they pay to say that, or some retired academic who thinks no one should earn more than three times the minimum or living wage.

Wolak was in Wellington this week as a guest of the Institute for the Study of Competition and Regulation at Victoria University and caused a stir at a heavily attended Minter Ellison talk on Wednesday evening.

In that talk, he made it clear he did not calculate the $4.3 billion figure which critics say are proof of excessive power company profits and a consumer “rip-off”.

“That certainly attracted a lot of attention, most of it unwarranted,” he said.

Wolak says the NZ Power policy, which would unpick a 25-year-old experiment in electricity market design in favour of a centrally planned model, “may not even solve the problem, which is runaway retail prices.”

So what does he recommend?

Wolak urged more competitive reform in electricity generation and retailing and far tougher regulation of the monopoly parts of the system: the Transpower national grid and local electricity distribution networks.

“It may look good, but it’s got lots of challenges,” said Wolak of the Labour-Greens policy. “You’re throwing the entire baby out just to get rid of the bathwater and you’re going to start over, as if you have all these problems.

“My argument is that some of the changes since 2009 are pushing in the right direction,” 

So the guy whose work has been used by Labour and Greens to justify their nationalisation policy has said their policy is a “sham” and that the post 2009 changes made by National are pushing in the right direction.

I call that game, set and match.

“You want to be extremely cautious. Make incremental change at best,” the experienced Californian market regulator and globally sought-after electricity markets expert says.

And Labour/Greens are proposing the most radical change in 30+ years.

However, Wolak believes moving to a cost-based, single buyer model could be a disaster.

“If what they are going to try and do is say ‘we are recovering costs and allowing you a fair return’, then oh my god, it’s just a can of worms that you wouldn’t believe that’s going to get opened,” Wolak said of Labour’s plan to calculate rates at every power station in the country on a cost-plus return basis.

“They are going about it in a kind of bass-ackwards (sic) way and saying ‘we’re going to say what each guy’s price can be in terms of generators selling’. That’s just a nightmare.”

He’s also called their proposed pricing model a disaster!

“What’s simplest is to say we’re going to make this thing as competitive as possible.”

Exactly. I want more competition. Labour and Greens propose ending competition with generators, and scrapping the supply market.

Wolak is no fan of New Zealand’s vertically integrated industry, where electricity companies own both generation plant and retail businesses – a reform Parker described in a statement as “a patently necessary step.”

So again he is at fundamental odds with the Labour/Greens policy – despite his work being claimed as the reasons for it.

“But the single buyer can’t say no, they are just buying on behalf of existing inelastic demand. If you’ve got no ability to say no, you’ve got nothing,” he said. “Single buyer is just a sham. It might me feel a bit better, and it probably creates a new administrative office for the government, which costs money, but it doesn’t do anything for you.”

Again, this should be a major political news story in all media. The significance of Wolak’s damnation of Labour/Greens policy can not be under over-stated.

The Herald reports:

United Future leader Peter Dunne is considering legal action and Fairfax Media is alleging a “cover up” after it emerged yesterday that Mr Dunne’s emails with reporter Andrea Vance were sent to an inquiry investigating the disclosure of a sensitive report.

The latest twist in the Henry Inquiry saga follows earlier revelations that Vance’s phone records were sent to the inquiry, along with logs of her movements around the parliamentary precinct recorded by a swipecard.

The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet released all emails relating to the Henry Inquiry late yesterday. One included an attachment containing emails between Vance and Mr Dunne, which was sent to the inquiry by Parliamentary Services on May 21.

About 40 minutes after the message was sent, Parliamentary Service officials tried to recall the email and asked the inquiry to call urgently.

The head of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet Andrew Kibblewhite said the file was deleted immediately and could not have been opened because the email system was incompatible with that used by DPMC.

Unbelievable. And note it was not authorised:

 Parliamentary Services told the inquiry on May 20 it believed it had the “necessary approvals” to release ministers’ emails. However, the next day, Mr Thorn emailed Chief of staff Wayne Eagleson to ask about Mr Dunne’s emails, adding “I am happy to provide the information as requested.” Mr Eagleson said he told Mr Thorn he was uncomfortable about authorising that because Mr Dunne was not a National Party minister, and Mr Dunne would have to give permission himself.

Which he did not.

The Henry Inquiry had asked for calls made “to and from” the ministers’ phones and Miss Vance’s but specified “we do not want the call logs for (Vance’s phones)” as it was outside conditions of the inquiry.

So twice Parliamentary Service provided private communication details, despite explicit statements that that information was not to be included!

People will try to blame this on the PM or his staff, because that is the nature of the politics game. but really, it looks pretty clear to me that the PM’s Office was very careful not to over-step the mark. The problem lies with Parliamentary Service.

However there is a political management issue here, that may involve both. This info should not be coming out piecemeal. Once it was known such information was sent by mistake, it should have all been disclosed together. But it seems DPMC (seperate to the PMO) only mentioned the e-mail incident yesterday to the PM’s Office.

The Herald reports:

In an unprecedented move, the Police Association is calling for an independent inquiry into the conviction of Teina Pora, who is now into his 21st year in prison for the rape and murder of Susan Burdett.

President Greg O’Connor told theWeekend Herald that the request was the first in the 16 years he has led the association, which represents rank-and-file police officers, but he believes it is justified on this occasion.

It should not be run by the police but could be a ministerial inquiry conducted by a Queen’s Counsel. “It’s a justice-sector issue. It’s not a police issue. The police can’t walk up to the prison and say, ‘Let him out’.”

Mr O’Connor said there were sufficient issues that raised the prospect that a miscarriage had occurred, and significant disquiet among police.

“This is a case that really does need a review. There are enough experienced police from the time and even from now who are uncomfortable with the fact that Teina Pora is in prison for this crime.”

I think what we need is some sort of Innocence or Miscarriage of Justice Commission that can on its own initiative investigate alleged serious miscarriages of justice, and make recommendations to the Government. That is preferable to having a special request go to the Ministry of Justice each time – who can sometimes be a bit conflicted.

Justice Minister Judith Collins said last night that it would be “completely inappropriate” for her to intervene while Pora’s legal team were preparing an appeal to the Privy Council.

Absolutely there should be no involvement until the appeals are exhausted.

This is almost too funny to be true. The Daily Mail reports:

San Diego Mayor Bob Filner has launched an extraordinary defence against allegations he sexually harassed a former employee – by claiming he never received sexual harassment training.

The 70-year-old has been accused by his former communications director Irene McCormack Jackson of sexually harassing her multiple times. 

She is one of eight women who have come forward recently with allegations of unwanted sexual advances.

Jackson sued the mayor and the city on July 22, alleging the mayor asked her to work without panties, demanded kisses, told her he wanted to see her naked and dragged her in a headlock while whispering in her ear. 

But it has now emerged that lawyers representing Filner have claimed that if San Diego had provided mandatory sexual harassment training, then Jackson may never have filed the case.

The claims suggest that if Filner is found liable in the claim, he could blame his own city council.

As reported by NBC 7, in a letter, Filner’s lawyer Harvey Berger, said: ‘The City has a legal obligation to provide sexual harassment training to all management level employees. The City failed to provide such training to Mayor Filner.

‘This is not an excuse for any inappropriate behavior which may have occurred, but I have learned that many – if not most – people do not know what is and what is not illegal sexual harassment under California law.’

I really don’t think you need training to know it is not a good idea to ask an employee to come to work without panties on!

Filner is 70, and was a Democratic Congressman for 20 years, and has been Mayor since November 2012.

And a 9th woman has just come forward:

A ninth woman has emerged to accuse San Diego Mayor Bob Filner (D) of sexual harassment.

Emily Gilbert, who was hired to sing at a fundraiser days after Filner took office in December, told Fox5 that Filner grabbed her inappropriately at the event.

“He grabbed me a little too tight, then proceeded to slide his hand down my arm and then did a little grab on my derriere,” Gilbert said. “I didn’t want to make a scene, there were kids around.”

He is refusing to resign, so a recall attempt is underway.

Coming up this week

• The Henry Inquiry – who knew what when?
• What are the implications for the Government and the press gallery
• The China Choice – confrontation or co-operation?

Broadcast on TV3 at 9.30 am, repeated on Sunday at 8 am

Stayed on Tuesday night in Virginia, around 30 miles from DC at the Bull Run Regional Park. It is the closest park to the Cruise America depot where we dropped the RC off on Wednesday morning. Then headed into DC.

I’ve been here a few times before, but this was the first visit for Auckland Girl, so we did the usual tour of the monuments. Staying at the Hotel George by Union Station, so first sight was of course the US Capitol. An iconic sight.

The statue is of US Civil War General and later President Ulysses Grant. He faces the statue of Lincoln, with the two allies gazing at each other.

In one sense the opposite to what they had in Monticello, where strangely Jefferson had a bust of  Alexander Hamilton, his arch-nemesis. The guide explained that he had it opposite his own bust to demonstrate they would be enemies for eternity.

I’ve never been to any of the Smithsonian museums, including this one (the Smithsonian Castle). There are 19 of them in DC, and all free to view. I reckon I need a spare ten days to do them all!

The Jefferson memorial from the edge of the water. I like how you can see his huge statue between the pillars from afar.

Jefferson himself.

Parts of the Declaration of Independence, which he wrote. They left out my favourite part which is:

That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

And great words on freedom of and from religion.

The memorial from the other side of the tidal basin. If you visit it make sure you look up at the roof to read “I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man“.

A statue of Eleanor Roosevelt, in the FDR Memorial, also by the tidal basin. She had a lot in common with FDR – they both had affairs with women 🙂

FDR and his dog Fala.

This quote is from Martin Luther King at his memorial. A good quote.

Also a good MLK quote – our loyalties should be global, as in all human beings – not divided up by nationality, race, tribe or class.

The MLK statue, with some work being done on it.

This is at the Korean War memorial – each country that participated  on the side of the UN forces has one.

The Korean War memorial. So cleverly done – my favourite of the war memorials.

These are tributes from Korean groups who have visited. A nice reminder that if not for the US and UN involvement, they would all probably be slaves in North Korea.

Also part of the Korean memorial. They have sandblasted on 2,500 images of troops.

The famous Lincolb memorial.

Lincoln himself – the man who saved the union. Most historians rate him the greatest US President.

The Washington Monument as seen from the Lincoln Memorial, with reflection in the water.

Part of the Vietnam War memorial.

The main memorial has the names of around 59,000 troops who died inscribed on it.

And this represents the women who served in Vietnam.

The WWII memorial.

The White House, of course.

And this is the National Christmas Tree! No Mike Smith with a chainsaw to cut this tree down. It has been the national Christmas tree since 1923, and normally the President lights it up.