Stuff reported:

Shane Jones has a stern word of warning for foreign-owned forestry companies looking to undermine him: “Political utu is a dish best served cold”.
He said the people who tried to undermine him would learn this lesson closer to the next election. 
Jones made the remarks after he was publicly rebuked by the Prime Minister for trying to solicit votes for NZ First at the Northland Forestry Awards.

Once again he ignores the PM. How many times has she publicly rebuked or chided him? Five? Six? Could you imagine him behaving that way if Helen Clark was PM? He obviously has no respect for her of the office of the the PM.

It was reported that Jones told attendees to vote for NZ First or risk missing out on Provincial Growth Fund money. 

Give us the money, or else.

A number of attendees contacted The New Zealand Herald, saying they felt Jones’ remarks were an example of the hot-mouthed MP buying votes. 
But now Jones is firing back. He wants the attendees to know he’s aware of who they are, and their relationship to the National Party. 
“They were playing a dangerous game,” Jones said.
“I know them. A handful work for international forestry companies,” he said. 
“It is wrong for overseas-owned forestry companies to have their staff briefing the media and using the same language as the National Party against me.”
Jones rubbished the leakers, saying that the rest of the people at the event had already reported their identities to him.

Except Jones was full of shit, as usual.

The Herald reports:

It’s not about politics, minister, it’s about you and your behaviour.
That’s the stinging retort from frustrated forester Pat Cox, who was one of those who criticised Minister of Forestry Shane Jones for electioneering at an industry awards ceremony.
“If he wants to have a scrap with me, then bring it on,” said Cox. “Bring it on Mr Jones, I’m the bushman you are looking for.”
Cox – and others – had told the Herald they were angered by Jones’ behaviour at the Northland Forestry Awards, during which he told the 550 people attending they needed to remember to vote for NZ First if they wanted continued access to funding its policies had brought.

Cox was appalled that an awards dinner turned into a political shakedown for money. Yet Jones thinks Cox is the bad guy, not him.

One News reported:

NZ First law and order spokesperson Darroch Ball said drug testing could legitimise and encourage drug use.
“We’re acting at the wrong end here. We’re being very reactionary if we think it’s okay to start saving lives or to start protecting people after the drug has been taken or after it’s been purchased,” he said.

So yes a NZ First MP is arguing against saving lives.

The Sun reports:

A WOMAN who claims she is allergic to WiFi sleeps in a £400 copper sleeping bag and is terrified that the rollout of 5G will kill her.
Rosi Gladwell, 70, a self-diagnosed radiation sufferer has spent thousands of pounds protecting herself against WiFi over the years.

A copper sleeping bag. That will make the mere tinfoil hat wearers jealous.

Rosi, from Totnes, Devon, has managed to cope by spending thousands of pounds to protect herself, but she said that she fears that 5G might literally kill her.

Wait until she hears about 6G –

Stuff reports:

A radical feminist banned from Twitter for violating its hateful conduct policy will panel a ticketed event hosted by Massey University in Wellington.
The event has attracted so many complaints that on Friday the university put out a public statement, acknowledging concerns, and reiterating it had a security plan and risk assessment in place. “We are closely monitoring the situation in the event of any potential issues,” the statement said. 
Meghan Murphy, a Canadian feminist blogger who believes transgender rights “nullifies women’s rights”, has been invited to speak at the campus’ theatrette in November.
She told Stuff she was pleased the university was protecting the group’s right to free speech and free expression.

This is the correct response from Massey – having a security plan in place, rather than cancelling an event because some people don’t like it.

Sounds like they have learnt a lesson.

Tallulah Farrar, College of Creative Arts Representative, said “concerning information” about the event had pushed her to lay a complaint. She “worried about the wellbeing and safety of students” if the event went ahead.

No relation of course.I love how “safety” has become the new code word to silence views people disagree with.

In the 2018 census, 48.2% said they had no religion and 6.7% objected to answering. The top 10 religions (as % of all NZers) is:

1. Anglican 6.7%
2. Christian 6.6%
3. Roman Catholic 6.3%
4. Presbyterian 4.7%
5. Catholic 3.7%
6. Hindu 2.6%
7. Islam 1.2%
8. Mormon 1.2%
9. Methodist 1.1%
10. Buddhist 0.9%

Also worth noting:

• Jedi 20,409 followers
• Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster 4,248
• Wiccan 1,482
• Satanism 1,149
• Yoga 327
• Druid 189
• Marxism 12
• Libertarianism 9

The list of candidates for Wellington Regional Council are here.

If you think the Regional Council has been doing a great job, then voting for incumbents is sensible.

However personally I can’t think of a Council that has failed more badly in the last three years, than the Wellington Regional Council. The busastrophe was an unforced error which has caused huge problems for tens of thousands of commuters.

Also it has been revealed that regional rates may need to increase by 15% next year. Who can afford that, if this is what the status quo means.

Some problems are not of a Council’s own making. For example you can’t blame WCC for the closure of the Central Library due to earthquake damage. You can blame them for not having plan to rebuild or replace it, but not for the initial problem.

The busastrophe was entirely caused by the Regional Council. The bus system was actually working very well, and they introduced changes which were a disaster. And since then it has got worse with services cancelled. They seemed to have agreed to a contract where the bus operator can’t be sacked for non performance. They haven’t sacked any senior staff responsible. Basically there has been no accountability.

Sacking the incumbent Councillors is the only way the public can show that their performance has been unsatisfactory and send out a message to other Councils that if you do this badly, you’ll lose your jobs also.

So even though some of the individual Councillors are people I like and respect, I still think they all have to go. You can’t pick and choose when it comes to such a monumental failure. Only a clean sweep will send the right message.

Three of the five Councillors for the Wellington Ward have seen the writing on the wall and bailed. Roger Blakeley and Daran Ponter are standing again. A vote for them, will mean a vote for the status quo.

The five candidates I will vote for are as follows.

1. Glenda Hughes. Glenda is just what the Regional Council needs. She is skilled in crisis management (and the buses are in crisis) and can drive change, and make sure staff are accountable. If she is elected, I hope she is appointed Chair (she is an experienced Chair). I would be confident about a turnaround under her leadership.
2. Phil Quin. Phil is a former Labour staffer who quit Labour over the racist Chinese surnames fiasco. Why I’m endorsing him is because he is a skilled political operator, and that means like Glenda he knows how to work governmental bureaucracies to get things done.
3. Gavin Bruce. The Regional Council does a lot of work in the environmental area, especially impacting our rural land. Gavin, as a farmer, has first hand experience of what is and is not practical, and that experience would be invaluable to the Council.
4. Lesleigh Salinger. Lesleigh has been Chair of Karori Residents Association, the area most affected by the bus disaster. I think she will be an effective Councillor focused on fixing our broken transport system,
5. Anand Kochunny. Anand has spoken well at MTC meetings and the values he expresses of transparency and accountability are much needed.

Also worth considering are Troy Mihaka and Philip O’Brien who both seem credible candidates.

For those in wards outside Wellington City, my advice is to not vote for the incumbents unless the alternatives are truly dire.

Next post will be on the Capital and Coast DHB.

Rosemary McLeod writes:

What goes through the mind of a convicted paedophile who hangs out at the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care as if he’d be welcome?
More to the point, what goes through the mind of his partner, a member of the commission’s survivor advisory group?

Very good points. How could either of them think that was appropriate. Hey I’m a convicted pedophile, so I’ll just hang out with a group of survivors of sexual abuse.

Commissioner Paul Gibson learned in May that the man had criminal convictions. A more curious person in that delicate setting might have asked a few questions about the nature of those convictions.

Absolutely. He should have asked for details immediately.

Instead the man disclosed the fact in August, and the minister responsible for the inquiry, Tracey Martin, seems to have found out this week. She declined to express confidence in the commission. To put it elegantly.
Some survivors may pull out of the inquiry, seeing the lapse in the commission’s judgment as a breach of their trust, and a shadow has fallen on Gibson’s handling of the matter. The now indignant survivor group found out through media.

I think the Royal Commission should be closed down. It was of dubious value to start with, and the series of mishaps has meant it will never deliver what the survivors want.

Save the $80 million and spend it on support services for survivors instead,

The Victoria Greens are of course quite correct.

An interesting report card from Stuff civic reporters on the Wellington City Councillors. Their ratings are:

• 9/10 – Iona Pannett
• 8/10 – Diane Calvert, Brian Dawson, Andy Foster
• 7/10 – Nicola Young
• 6/10 – Fleur Fitzsimons, Peter Gilberd, Justin Lester
• 5/10 – Jill Day, Sarah Free, Malcolm Sparrow, Simon Woolf
• 4/10 – Chris Calvi-Freeman, Simon Marsh
• 2/10 – David Lee

Interesting that the Mayor and Deputy Mayor are ranked relatively lowly.

Stuff reports:

New Zealand will lead a five-way trade talks with Norway, Iceland, Costa Rica and Fiji to try to use trade to combat climate change by slashing fossil-fuel subsidies and abolishing tariffs on environmental goods.
Work on the deal was announced in New York on Thursday morning (New Zealand time) by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg, Costa Rica’s Vice minister for Foreign Trade Duayner Saver Chaverri, Icelandic Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir and Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama.

I’m all for abolishing all subsidies and tariffs, so the initiative is a good thing.

But let’s look at the five countries taking part. What proportion of total greenhouse gas emissions do they represent?

• Norway 0.10%
• Iceland 0.01%
• Costa Rica 0.03%
• New Zealand 0.17%
• Fiji 0.01%

So the five countries are responsible for 0.32% of global emissions. Not really going to make a dent.

Stuff reports:

Waikato health bosses desperate to be first with a new virtual doctor tool sidestepped warnings from staff and procurement rules designed to safeguard public money.
The finding is one of many in a damning report released Thursday into Waikato DHB’s dealings with US start-up company HealthTap, and its SmartHealth product. 
SmartHealth was designed to ease workflows for doctors and allow people to consult medics remotely, but the two-year contract was canned after costs blew out to $25.7 million, nearly $9 million more than anticipated.

About 3100 consultations were made through SmartHealth, with each consult effectively costing taxpayers $8300 before it was axed.

It’s so easy to spend other people’s money.

The Herald reports:

Controversial Cabinet Minister Shane Jones told a forestry awards ceremony they needed to vote for him or miss out on the billions he’s handing out for provincial growth, it has been alleged.
One person present labelled Jones’ comments as an inducement to “bribery” and another thought the minister – responsible for forestry and the $3 billion provincial growth fund – was “buying votes”.

So this makes it crystal clear that the PGF has nothing to do with provincial growth. It is a bribery fund.

A third person who objected to Jones’ comment said it detracted from the intent of the evening, which was to celebrate excellence in forestry.
“It should never have been a political rally, which is what he made it. He was saying ‘if you don’t vote for me, you won’t get any share of the billion dollars’. He said you’ve only got a few months of me here, so you’d better vote.
“It’s just bribery. I thought that was pretty disgusting.”
Another person present said: “It wasn’t a political forum. He didn’t do himself any good. He just made a complete idiot of himself.”
Those interviewed did not want to be named, citing the influence of Jones’ Provincial Growth Fund and concerns speaking openly could have a personal and financial impact.

Lovely country we live in where people are too scared to be named.

Trevor Mallard was quite right in 2017. I look forward to him leading the charge to remove these from Standing Orders.

The media re reporting that 170,000 NZers have taken part in marches today demanding more be done on climate change.

I look forward to the Government announcing immediately they will remove restrictions on genetic engineering (which has huge potential to reduce methane emissions and emissions from crops) and scrap the ban on nuclear power (which has 1.5% the emissions of coal, 2.5% the emissions of gas and half the emissions of hydro).

After all if this really is an emergency, you wouldn’t quibble about using all the tools available to reduce emissions.

So I look forward to James Shaw introducing those law changes under urgency to Parliament next week.

Pretty terrible racism. I doubt he or she would be writing this to a migrant from the United Kingdom.

Shazly Rasheed is a hard working small business owner. She has come here and created jobs. From her website:

Shazly opened her first Salon in 2005. In 2009 the Salon won the Best Small Business award at the Business Excellence Awards hosted by the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce. Shazly Boutique was also opened in 2009. The following year, in 2010, Shazly won the Most Inspirational Role Model award at the HER Businesswoman of the Year Awards and Shazly Salon & Boutique was nominated as a finalist in the Best Small to Medium Enterprise category.
 
Also in 2009, Shazly Salon was recognised as an Industry Training Champion by the Hairdressing Industry Training Organisation (HITO). This was presented in a book published by HITO and titled Champions. This celebrates an elite group of New Zealand businesses committed to apprenticeship training to ensure a skilled future for the New Zealand Hairdressing Industry.

Sounds like she’d be a great City Councillor to me. A good profile of her here.

Her billboards have also been defaced with swastikas.

Stuff reports:

No-one knows what to do with Mohyadin Farah, a Somali refugee with a history of sexually assaulting women.

I know what to do. It’s quite simple. Keep him locked up, so no more women get sexually assaulted by him.

His record includes:

• 2019: Grabbed breasts of 78 year old women in a walking frame
• 2013: Raped a woman
• 2011: Grabbed breasts of woman on bus and threatened rape
• 2004: Indecent assault
• 2002: Indecent assault

So what lengthy jail term did he get for his latest action? Did he get preventive detention? Did he get a lengthy sentence?

Judge Jan Kelly had to reflect his previous offendings in her sentence as well as take into account his multiple issues.
She considered a jail term of about six months but acknowledged it meant he would be released almost immediately.
The judge identified that the most serious part was making sure he did not reoffend and to do that he needed to get targeted help.
“The issue for me today is what sentence would best enable meaningful rehabilitation and would enable Mr Farah to receive counselling and oversight to reduce his risk of reoffending and to balance that against the interests of the victims and the need to protect the public.”
She imposed a year’s intensive supervision to try and get him specialised treatment.

Sadly this just means more women will be sexually assaulted by him.

Stuff reports:

The Speaker has cracked down on the use of edited Parliamentary footage for social media attack ads.
National immediately attacked the ruling from Speaker Trevor Mallard as “censorship in the extreme.”
Speaker Trevor Mallard made the ruling before Question Time on Thursday, specifically instructing National leader Simon Bridges to stop using Parliamentary TV footage for edited attack ads. …

He said it was an enforcement of existing rules around official Parliament TV footage not being used for ads, unless permission by the member speaking was given.
“Mr McAnulty’s letter highlighted the existence of a range of videos posted by different parties that use footage of members’ for political advertising. I would be very surprised if those members had given permission, as the rules require.”

The Speaker is correct the Standing Orders require permission by an MP for footage to be used.

But this rule has basically never been enforced before. Labour and Greens in the past ran ads against National MPs using such footage. National never complained.

But now that it is on the other foot, Labour ran crying to the Speaker.

It shows the ads must have been effective for Labour to demand they be banned.

The End of Life Choice Bill has now had all four parts gone through Committee of Whole House stage and all that is remaining before third reading is committee stage for the preliminary clauses and schedules. This will include consideration of the amendment to have a referendum.

The committee stage has been more extensive than most comparable bills. I don’t think you can claim it has been rushed.

In the four sessions to date, the House (as a committee) has spent 28 hours debating and voting on the details of the bill.

There have been a total of 111 speeches during the committee stage from 39 different MPs.

David Seymour has spoken the most on the bill (as expected as sponsor), doing 11 speeches during committee stage.

Other multiple contributions have been:

• Simon O’Connor 10 times
• Melissa Lee and Alfred Ngaro seven times
• Chris Penk and Louisa Wall six times
• Maggie Barry, Simeon Brown Paula Garcia and Nick Smith five times

It is right and appropriate that such an important law change gets extensive scrutiny. This is on top of the select committee process of course.

So the committee stage should conclude at the next members’ day on Wed 23 October and then probably a third reading on the 13th of November.