How many protesters at Waitangi were not relatives of Hone Harawira? Any?

Matt McCarten writes in the HoS:

In two quick simple decisions John Key transformed this year’s election, turning the tables on his opponents.

Setting the election date for November 26 was signalled well in advance. But I can’t remember any time when an incumbent prime minister didn’t keep the opposition (and the country) guessing on an election date right up until he or she popped up to the Governor-General to resign.

This one small perk of power was to keep your opposition off guard about dates. As someone who has had to run a few campaigns, it matters.

Not knowing when you can book venues, travel and events does matter.

The assured manner Key has gone about his announcement shows a confidence that should unnerve Phil Goff. To most voters Key has merely made a practical and transparent decision without any apparent political advantage.

The ones who will most be grateful to Key for the early announcement will be the Electoral Commission – they get nine months to organise an election, instead of six weeks. It means venues for polling places can be booked with certainity.

But the real stinger that deserves high praise was Key’s kneecapping of National nemesis Winston Peters.

Over recent months Peters has been slowly but consistently gaining support in the polls to the point where he could quite possibly once again have become the kingmaker in any post-election negotiations.

In one swipe Key has almost certainly dealt Peters a mortal blow. More importantly he got Goff as well. It’s a bold and gutsy move. Key made his fortune by taking calculated risks and he’s made what I suspect is a winning chess move. …

In one swoop Key gives us two choices of government after the election – a government led by him or a Labour/NZ First/Greens alternative. Voters make your choice.

I was astonished Goff and Peters claimed Key was naive and arrogant. It was a masterstroke.

And even better it was the right thing to do.

Goff has no choice but to accept Peters as his ally and this will hurt him. Any votes NZ First now gets won’t come from anyone who wants Key as prime minister.

Indeed. A vote for Winston is a vote for Goff to be PM, and a vote for Labour is a vote for Winston to be a Minister.

Key is positioning himself as the forward-looking positive leader and Goff is saddled with the old bodgie. Given the fact Goff was first in cabinet 36 years ago, to say he’s looking a bit tired is an understatement.

26 years ago. But it has been 42 years since Phil Goff joined the Labour Party.

Goff’s cautious reshuffle of his frontbench reinforces the problem. Only one change in the front bench at the same time as every old Helen Clark hack keeps their job.

It signals Goff does not have control of his caucus, he is timid by nature or he hasn’t got enough talent in his caucus. I suspect it’s all three.

I think it is more the first.

The SMH reports:

Have you ever Googled your name and come up with a Canadian porn star, a Chilean accountant and a Scottish chicken farmer? And none of them was you?

These people are your googlegangers, a term named yesterday the Macquarie Dictionary word of the year.

It’s a noun, meaning ”a person with the same name as oneself, whose online references are mixed with one’s own among search results for one’s name”.

Dictionary editor Susan Butler said it was a neat and witty blend of the words Google and doppelganger.

I like it. I have a fair few Googlegangers. There’s the former English actor. Also the Provost of the University of British Columbia. And an Appeal Court Judge in Nova Scotia. Oh yeah sadly a David Farrar was also a murder victim a while back in the US.

And also in the news a bit, is the East Baton Rouge Parish Library Director.

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The Australian reports:

THE Commonwealth Bank has threatened its employees with disciplinary action, including dismissal, if they do not report criticism of the bank made by others on social media channels, including Facebook.

The Finance Sector Union yesterday demanded the suspension of the bank’s new social media policy, accusing it of trying to restrict freedom of expression.

Bank employees have been told they must immediately notify their manager if they become aware of “inappropriate or disparaging content and information stored or posted by others”, including non-employees, in the “social media environment”.

It says the content may damage the bank and its reputation.

“For example, your friend could post an inappropriate comment about the group on your Facebook page or create a blog about the group,” the policy says.

As well as notifying their manager, employees must assist the bank with any investigation into the material, and its removal.

This goes way way too far, and on this issue I’m all with the union. You absolutely should not slag your employer off on Facebook, but you have no duty at all to report online criticisms of your employer to them. Employees are not the Internet Police in their spare time.

I mean it really is so stupid to be almost laugable – requiring you to nark on your friends if they criticise your employer online.

Chris Trotter is very sceptical of a new left party:

No, the people I worried about (and I was not alone) were the 50 to 60 Trotskyites, Maoists, “Permanent Revolutionaries”, Treaty fanatics, hard-core feminists and uncompromising environmentalists who would climb aboard this new political vehicle like Baader-Meinhof terrorists boarding a jet-liner.

Chris is referring to the founding of the New Labour Party.

A crucial element in the success of Jim Anderton (ex-Labour) and Winston Peters (ex-National) was the large number of experienced election campaigners who rallied to their side. These people didn’t have to be taught how to fund-raise, organise a canvassing drive or run an election-day system – they already knew.

“No worries,” say the promoters of a New Left Party, “we’ll just game the MMP system by recruiting Hone Harawira. That way we can avoid the necessity of winning 5 per cent of the party vote. If it’s good enough for Rodney Hide in Epsom, it’s good enough for us.”

Hmmmm? Not sure that’s the slogan you’re looking for, Comrades. Besides, if you really think an electorally poisonous bunch of eco-anarchists, Maori nationalists, unreconstructed 80s feminists and hard-core Marxist-Leninists are going to attract anything like ACT’s vote in 2008, then you’re away with the fairies.

However they will have McCarten, who is a very good organiser.

Just consider the stats: The combined 2008 vote of New Zealand’s Centre-Left parties (Labour Party, Greens, Progressives) was 975,734 or 41.62 per cent of the party vote. Altogether, the Far-Left parties (Alliance, Workers Party, RAM – Residents Action Movement) attracted just 3306 votes or 0.14 per cent.

It’s nowhere near enough, Comrades. Even if he won every vote in Te Tai Tokerau, Hone would still be on his own.

I think Chris overlooks one key thing. The number of activists on the left who are dismayed by Goff-led Labour.

Famous in Kuwait, a chap named Mark, main author of the popular 248am.com blog, is being sued byJapanese chain restaurant Benihana for giving a bad review of the food.

http://www.248am.com/mark/kuwait/im-being-sued-by-benihana/

The offending blog post (http://www.248am.com/mark/kuwait/my-benihana-experience/) appears incredibly mild in comparison to what might be found in New Zealand (isn’t that right, WhaleOil?) –  he even praises the staff.  Reading through the comments, you’ll find fake posts lauding the restaurant, followed eventually by threats from the restaurant manager, one Mike Servo, including the bizarre and seemingly racist query “BTW, are you Lebanese?” (which, incidentally, Mark is).

Mark’s lawyer has advised it will take two years for a court decision, but it seems to me that’s an optimistic opinion.  I’m curious as to how things will go from a second point of view also – Kuwait’s legal system is a bit behind the times and will not  admit emails as evidence, so I’m wondering how they will deal with the admissibility of blog posts and comments.

It’s well known in Kuwait that you want to avoid publically critising the State, but since when did we have to keep quiet about a bad meal?  Even the attempt to sue sets a disturbing precedent, but it’s fantastic to see just how much support Mark has received from both blogs and mainstream media.

Friends who dine at my house, watch out!

3 News has a story on Julie Tyler who is facing the sack from Burger King after she said on Facebook “Real jobs don’t under pay and over work people like BK does!”.

They also have a copy of the official letters from BK.

Sometimes an employer can over-react to comments on Facebook, but in this case I don’t think Burger King is over-reacting. She directly slagged her employer off in a public forum.

If she had not named the employer, then that would not be an issue. Likewise if an employee just posts about a bad day at work, then an employer might be over-reacting to take action. But the comments made by Tyler undermine the good faith needed in the employer/employee relationship.

As it happens, she was also on a final warning for swearing and customer relations.

3 News has a copy of the Flavell complaint about Hone Harawira. Extracts:

Firstly, while it is totally acceptable that we as a caucus have different views about various matters within the Party or caucus, it is appropriate that these issues are discussed internally.

This is standard in all parties. Hone has done nothing but attack his own party and colleagues for several weeks – he can’t really expect there to be no consequences for that.

This statement is made by one of our members who actually shaped the Bill, contributed to the discussions, heard the debate, saw the briefing papers and had direct access to the Minister. When I questioned him myself about why he was against it, he raised issues which I suggested he should take to the Minister. He decided he would not, in fact he stated that he had no intention of seeking any answers. He went on to issue a statement about the short comings of the Bill some of the points of which were incorrect.   And to be quite frank, this Bill is our Bill – there is no question in my mind that unless we had negotiated as we did in our coalition agreement, that National would never have considered there to be any need to repeal the 2004 Act and develop an alternative legislative framework.

It is interesting that Harawira turned down opportunities to work within the system – he just does the easy option of mouthing off in public.

And Flavell is right that without the Maori Party asking for it, the Foreshore & Seabed Act would probably have not been reviewed or replaced.

I have lost trust and confidence in Hone to work as a part of our team and relationships have disintegrated to the disadvantage of our Party. For us to continue in this way is to see the situation worsen and have a huge impact on the long term future of our Party.

As Hone has shown not one ounce of compromise, I think it is inevitable he will be expelled – not because they want to, but because they have to. If he really wants to stay within the Maori Party, he has to gve them a reason to trust him.

Jo Gilbert in The Press reports:

Joelee Waszczak was excitedly preparing for the start of student life with a $5000 Emerging Leaders’ Scholarship from Canterbury University and UE under her belt.

But her plans were stymied, Waszczak said, when the university told the Christchurch 18-year-old she could not enrol as she had not fulfilled all entry requirements in 2010.

She hadn’t done a couple of literacy credits my mistake, but she then gained the credits in January.

When she spoke to the university, she said she was told she would now have to apply to enrol in the second semester, which would mean she would miss the benefits of her scholarship.

The UC Emerging Leaders’ Scholarship recognises secondary school pupils for their top academic achievement, potential leadership and sporting/cultural involvement.

Aside from the $5000 fee scholarship, students are involved in an 11-month leadership programme, which starts just before the academic year begins on February 21.

“I really want to start in the first semester and I need to because of my scholarship,” Waszczak said.

“That’s why I dealt with it [the credit gap] as quickly as I did.”

You’ve got a bright high achieving student who wants to start attending university in February. There are times where the strict procedures should be waived to do the right thing, and this is clearly one of those times.

Stuff has 62 photos here. Some of the costumes I like best are below:

Very cool butterfly costumes.

Very original.

One has to be hot in those costumes.

I think the Aussies have invaded.

Scoop also has some great photos – Part I and Part II and Part III and Part IV.

Some angels

and devils to counter the angels

And the NZ Herald also has a collection of 39 photos.

Trish and the Gingerbread Men.

Andrew Little was on Morning Report today. I can’t recall which of his hats he was on as, but anyway he was talking unemployment. He said the Government needs to invest mreo in infrastructure to create jobs, specifcally:

“It complains about debt, it doesn’t make a distinction between public debt and private debt, actually the Government does have the means to continue at least spending on infrastructure projects that are about building assets and that are about creating real work. It is the very role the Government should be playing at the time of an economic downturn and it appears to have stepped aside from playing that role.”

But this is exactly what the Government is doing. It has not put a lot of money into social spending programmes like in the US, but it has increased and acclerated its infrastructure programme. Specifically:

• The Government has embarked on the single biggest infrastructure investment programme ever over the next five to seven years.
• It is spending $7.5 billion through the Budget process over five years. In addition it has increased spending on State Highways to over a $1 billion a year and is spending more than ever before on upgrading the National Grid. All up the Government is spending about $6 billion a year and rising.

Without this unprecedented level of investment in infrastructure, the construction sector would be in a bad way.

Andrew is also quoted as saying by the presenter:

While John Key insists there is an improving economic picture, Andrew Little says there is little change on the horizon to a flat market for New Zealand’s products and he says that in the next few weeks between 200 and 250 will be made redundant from the manufacturing sector with employers reviewing other positions as well.

The manufacturing sector though is actually a growing sector. The HLFS has the total number of manufacturing jobs growing by around 12,000 in the last quarter and 17,000 in the last year.

The job losses are in the financial and education sectors, not manufacturing.

Bernard Orsman writes in the Herald:

Just one in four of Mayor Len Brown’s “100 projects in 100 days” are new projects initiated from scratch, according to a Herald analysis.

The mayor yesterday released a list of the 100 projects he promised in his first 100 days, which ticks over on February 8.

Mr Brown, who promised “we will see things really fly” when he began his programme, has acknowledged many projects were already in progress in one way or another.

The Herald has counted 25 projects that appear to have been initiated from scratch by Mr Brown. Of the 25, Mr Brown has made visible progress on five – removing graffiti from the historic Yates Building in Auckland, beginning regular Mayor in the Chair meetings at town centres, rotating council meetings around the region, establishing an Auckland First XV for the Rugby World Cup, and organising a bus tour of the region for councillors.

I think Len Brown has been silly with his 100 projects boast. There was no need to make the claim, and the end result has been that the areas in which he has made good progress, get overshadowed by the inclusion of the dubious stuff on the list.

I don’t think Len has done a bad job to date. Sure a couple of decisions I disagree with, but overall a reasonably solid performance. But if he gets a perception that he is more about the spin, than the substance, it will harm him.

Citizens & Ratepayers co-leader Christine Fletcher said nearly 100 days into the council, councillors and local board members were still waiting to know what the strategic priorities were for the council.

“I hope in the next 100 days, the mayor gives priority to establishing the role of our local boards and to establish what the key priorities of the council are going to be,” she said.

I have to agree with Chris. It would be great to get the role and powers of the local boards finalised – so most decisions can be made locally, not regionally.

The Taranaki Daily News reports:

A campaign urging Waitara people to boycott a new food outlet has backfired, with the business posting its busiest day yet.

Town and Country Food owner Hoyt Khuon said yesterday was one of his busiest days since the shop opened one month ago.

About 100 people had phoned him offering their support and apologising for Ms George’s behaviour, he said.

“I say `don’t worry about it. I’m just loving what I’m doing here’.”

I love it that this campaign backfired. It might make a more intelligent person reconsider the wisdom of what they are doing.

Mr Khuon, 31, came to New Zealand as a refugee in 1998 and lived with his grandmother in Hamilton before he moved to Waitara six weeks ago.

“I’m a Kiwi, I have a New Zealand passport.

This was the first time he had owned his own business.

I think it is great that someone who came here as a refugee, could become a small business owner. That is the Kiwi way.

Ms George said she apologised to the council and the community “for bringing them into disrepute”.

She also apologised for saying she would investigate the immigration status of Mr Khuon and his employees.

“It was in the heat of the moment. I’m not playing the race game.”

On Wednesday she accused Town and Country Food of being a franchise which was “sucking the community dry”.

Mr Khuon said that Town and Country was not a franchise.

Recently Mrs George spent $20,000 fitting out half of a shop she owned in Waitara for an Indian restaurant franchise Masala Express, which was owned by a New Plymouth resident.

So she is landlord to a franchise – while arguing against franchises.

I have an idea for Mr Khoun. Why doesn’t he stand for the District Council at the next election. I suspect he would romp in.

The PAP Blog has some great charts showing the correlation between high GDP and 17 measures ranging from corruption and poverty to resources and education. Their findings:

• low levels of GDP and high levels of corruptions are correlated
• poverty reduction and per capita income growth performances are correlated
• countries with lots of natural resources tend to do worse than countries with less resource wealth, both in terms of economic growth and in political, social and human rights terms
• economic freedom is correlated with income
• Rule of law is correlated to GDP per person
• There is only a partial correlation between democracy and economic growth but stronger correlation between democracy and level of GDP
• countries which have experienced a transition to democracy experience higher average growth after the transition
• GDP per capita and enrolment rates in secondary education are correlated
• As per capita income increases to around US$5,000 per annum, environmental quality falls, but then from around $8,000 per capita onwards, the environmental quality rises again
• GDP and happiness is correlated
• Unemployment is negatively correlated to GDP growth but not to GDP level
• Countries with more equal land distribution tend to grow faster
• GDP per capita is correlated to percentage of population who donate to charity
• GDP is correlated to individualism in a country
• Wealthier countries tend to have less income inequality
• GDP growth is correlated to incumbent Government’s being re-elected

The above is one reason I find it amusing when certain MPs rail against GDP and GDP growth. I guess they think it is call coincidental, and none of it causative.

Sarah Harvey at Stuff has done a profile and interview with Jami-Lee Ross, National’s Botany candidate.

In the past National has been perceived as having MPs who come from privliged backgrounds, ie Torys. This is less and less the case with each new intake of MPs, including John Key of course.

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Papatoetoe. I was raised by my grandmother. I have never met my father and my mother was quite young when she had me so my grandmother decided when I was baby that she would take me on.

Grandma did a pretty good job I’d say.

What about in your personal life?

I have a pilot’s licence. I don’t get much time to fly these days. I guess when I was starting out as a teenager that was the direction I wanted to go in and started off pilots training. But once I got on the council I found that it’s fairly intensive and a full time job so I haven’t had time to pursue that – it’s more of a hobby now.

I know Wayne Mapp has a pilot’s licence also. I wonder how many MPs do?

If I had a pilot’s licence and a small plane, then paradise would be also having a home on Great Barrier Island and commuting to work by flying yourself!

ICANN today issued the last five blocks of IPv4 addresses to the five regional address registries. Earlier in the week the Asia-Pacific registry was allocated the last two blocks to be allocated normally. ICANN policy was that once there are only five blocks left, then they automatically get handed one each to each RIR.

ICANN announced:

A critical point in the history of the Internet was reached today with the allocation of the last remaining IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4) Internet addresses from a central pool. It means the future expansion of the Internet is now dependant on the successful global deployment of the next generation of Internet protocol, called IPv6.

The announcement was made by four international non-profit groups, which collaboratively work to coordinate the world’s Internet addressing system and its technical standards.

At a news conference in Miami, Florida, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) joined the Number Resources Organization (NRO), the Internet Architecture Board (IAB) and the Internet Society in announcing that the pool of first generation Internet addresses has now been completely emptied.

The final allocation of Internet addresses was administered by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), which is a function of ICANN.

So what does it mean?

The new Internet protocol, IPv6, will open up a pool of Internet addresses that is a billion-trillion times larger than the total pool of IPv4 addresses (about 4.3 billion), which means the number of IPv6 addresses is virtually inexhaustible for the foreseeable future.

The best analogy in terms of the respective sizes is that if the total IPv4 address space is a golf ball, the total IPv6 address space would be the Sun.

The IPv6 address space is 2^128. There are almost 7 billion humans on Earth, so each of us could have around 48 thousand trillion trillion IPv6 addresses.

The allocation of the final IPv4 addresses is analogous to the last crates of a product leaving a manufacturing warehouse and going to the regional stores or distributions centers, where they can still be distributed to the public. Once they are gone, the supply is exhausted. In this case, the RIRs will distribute the last IPv4 addresses to Internet Service Providers, universities, governments, telecommunications companies and other enterprises.

“It’s only a matter of time before the RIRs and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) must start denying requests for IPv4 address space,” said Raúl Echeberría, Chairman of the Number Resource Organization, the umbrella organization of the five RIRs. “Deploying IPv6 is now a requirement, not an option.”

What will be interesting to watch is whether a secondary commercial market emerges for IPv4 addresses, as they become more scarce.

They won’t become scarce in countries like NZ for a couple of years, but it will still be very prudent to make sure that any new equipment you buy is IPv6 compatible, and to consider renumbering to IPv6 at some stage (while retaining IPv4 also).

Vernon Small writes:

The meteoric rise of Wellington Central MP Grant Robertson to Labour’s front bench will further fuel speculation that he could be a future leader of the party.

I’ve long said that I think Grant will become Labour Leader, and indeed probably even a Labour Prime Minister.

I don’t think he will be the next leader, but the one after that. He is young enough to be able to wait his time.

However, asked about his leadership ambitions before yesterday’s reshuffle, he said: “Every politician has got ambitions. Every politician … wants to be a minister but it is also really important to take one step at a time and not get too beyond yourself.”

Which is saying of course he wants to be Leader/PM, but one step at a time. Quite nice to have an MP not deny he has ambitions – after all most of them would like to be PM.

The Dom Post reports:

Maori cannot opt out of their tribal burial customs, the Court of Appeal has been told in the case of a man whose iwi buried his body without the consent of his widow and children.

Jim Takamore was buried in Bay of Plenty after his Tuhoe iwi returned him there under what they said was their customary right to decide on the resting place of iwi members.

He remains there despite a High Court ruling in 2009 in favour of the right of Mr Takamore’s widow, Denise Clarke, who is executor of his will, to have him buried near her and their two children in Christchurch, where he had lived for about 20 years.

Mr Takamore’s mother and two siblings are continuing their court case for formal recognition of what they say is Tuhoe tikanga.

Their lawyer, Jamie Ferguson, told the Court of Appeal in Wellington yesterday that Maori could not “opt out” of tribal burial customs.

Tikanga should trump an executor’s wishes if tikanga was proved and properly used.

Well I’m glad I’m not Tuhoe, as I’d rather not have my corpse stolen from my family.

If the Court of Appeal has a fit of madness, and decides tikanga does trump the wishes of the deceased and the executor, then my advice to those affected would be to arrange for viking funerals where your corpse is burnt, so it can’t be stolen.

James Weir reporrts in the Dom Post:

Unions said there was a risk of a “jobless recovery”. Farmers enjoying high commodity prices may simply pay back debt, while consumers held off spending and firms avoided hiring, the National Distribution Union said. “Many jobs lost in the recession will not be replaced,” its general secretary, Robert Reid, said.

He called for a lift in the minimum wage to $15 an hour …

Oh yes putting the minimum wage up to $15 an hour will create jobs.

Why stop there. Let’s solve unemployment and put the minimum wage up to $30 an hour.

Sticking with the birds today- an Australian fig eater- the bird has just started on its task of converting the fruit into digestible chunks. (I liked the way the bird’s colours matched the background)

Click for larger, higher res image

Hope everyone is getting some relief from the humidity today. Coffee is beckoning me now however…

Te Karere have released part 2 of their poll of 1,000 Maori voters.

They have asked “The new legislation replacing the Foreshore and Seabed Act is the Marine and Coastal Area Bill and is currently before Parliament. Do you support the new Bill?“. 24% said yes, 39% no and 38% don’t know.  so neither yes or no is the majority, but more are saying they don’t support it.

However when they are asked “Do you think the Maori Party should support the new Bill to become law?” it is almost a dead heat – 31% yes, 32% no and 37% don’t know. I think this sums up the challenge for the Maori Party – that there is a 50/50 split amongst those who have an opinion in terms of whether they vote for it.

There is a small difference by roll type. Those on the Maori roll are a net 3% against and those on the general roll a net 3% in favour.

Final question to Maori Party voters only was “Do you think the National and Maori Party coalition has worked in favour of your best interests? and 48% said yes and 46% no. Those on Maori roll were 4% net yes and those on geeral roll 8% net no.