Aljazeera reports:

Pakistan’s senate has unanimously passed a resolution condemning an anti-Islam cartoon contest planned by a far-right Dutch politician – one of the first actions taken by the assembly since last month’s general election. …

Physical depictions of God or the Prophet Muhammad are forbidden in Islam.

Pakistan’s blasphemy laws prescribe a mandatory death penalty for anyone found guilty of insulting Prophet Muhammad, and life imprisonment for those found to defile the Quran.

Yep a mandatory death penalty for blasphemy.

Think if a country had a mandatory death penalty for insulting Jesus Christ. There would be outrage around the world.

Following the 14-post series by John Stringer earlier in the month on the 2018 archaeology of historic Gath in Israel, and the features in ASOR 80 and 84 of the American School of Oriental Research (ASOR), that attracted a lot of interest amongst readers, here is a summation of the 21st season and the finds, by professor Aren M. Maeir of Bar-Ilan University.  

The 2018 Season of Excavations at Tell es-Safi/Gath

Introduction:

This year’s season of excavations at Tell es-Safi/Gath was conducted from June 26 to July 20, 2018. It was the 22nd season of the project and the 21st season of excavation. The team was comprised of archaeologists, students and volunteers from all over the world, including groups from Bar-Ilan University, Brigham Young University, Colorado Christian University, University of Melbourne, University of Northern Colorado and Yeshiva University.

In contrast to previous seasons of excavation in which we had always excavated in various areas in the “upper city” (and areas in the “lower city”), this season was the first season in which we only excavated in the lower city. As the project is now nearing its 25th anniversary, and is close to completion of field work, for the next few years, we will concentrate most of our efforts on the study of the lower city. While clearly, there is still much potential for the study of the archaeological remains in the upper city, we believe that what we have revealed over the last 2 decades provides a nice cross section of the cultural history of the upper city throughout its major phases of occupation. In depth, further study of the upper city will have to await new projects on the site, sometime in the future.

The reason that we have chosen to focus on the lower city is the fact that over the last decade, in the extensive excavations in Area D, and more recently in Areas K and K2, well-preserved remains of the Iron Age were discovered, immediately below surface, in various parts of the lower city. In addition to this, based on aerial and terrestrial photos from the first half of the 20th cent CE, as well as from the archaeological evidence from the survey and excavations, it appears that the lower city was hardly settled in modern times, and apparently, for the most part, was never substantially settled after the Iron Age IIA destruction of the city by Hazael, King of Aram Damascus, ca. 830 BCE.

This picture was further strengthened through remote sensing conducted in the lower city during the 2017 season. Following an extensive magnetometry survey conducted by Andrew Creekmore and his team, it was quite clear that there were many potential areas for further excavation (most likely of Iron Age dating based on their orientation) in various parts of the lower city.

All this indicated the very high potential, that a combination of excavations and remote sensing of various kinds, might enable us to understand the urban plan of and extensive portion of the lower city of Gath during the Iron Age, something that is rarely available in other large Iron Age cities in the Southern Levant.

With this backdrop, the objectives of the 2018 season were set as follows:

Define two new areas of excavation in the eastern portions of the lower city, based on several promising “anomalies” that could be seen in the magnetometry survey, to “ground truth” a sampling of the remote sensing survey.

Continue excavation in Area D East, to further define and understand the fortifications and apparent gate found in previous seasons in this area. Particular focus would be placed on confirming that in fact there was a gate, understand how it functioned, and more clearly define the architectural and stratigraphic sequence in this area.

Conduct small scale stratigraphic probes in Area D West, in the portion of this area where a metallurgical production zone was located in previous seasons. The aim was to define the borders of the metallurgical activity, and better define the stratigraphic and contextual sequence below it.

Results of the 2018 Season:

Area D West (supervisor V. Workman): Excavations in this area were limited to several small stratigraphic probes that were conducted in and around the metallurgical production zone that had been discovered in previous seasons. In addition to defining the phasing of several of the architectural features in this area, the stratigraphic phasing in this location was rechecked. A very interesting result relates to the dating of the metallurgical activities. Up until now, all evidence of these activities came from Stratum D3, the stratum destroyed in the “Hazael destruction” of ca. 830 BCE. And in fact, for the most part, this was the stratigraphic picture this season as well. But in one of the probes, portions of a crucible was found in stratigraphic layer below Stratum D3, most probably Stratum D4. This may very well indicate that the metallurgical activities commenced earlier. This in fact makes sense as it seems likely that the Stratum D3 metallurgical activities are connected to the cultic activities and temple situation to the west. As these cultic activities are seen in the earlier Strata D4 and D5, earlier metallurgical activities would fit in very well with this.

Area D East (supervisor J. Chadwick):

Excavations in Area D-East in 2016 and 2017 suggested that a gateway existed in the gully running from the tell to the stream bed. In 2018, the gate area was defined and identified. Additionally, the stone foundation of the Iron Age city wall was identified, as well as several rooms inside the wall line. Dramatic evidence of defensive actions taken by the inhabitants of Gath during the Aramean siege of the 9th century BCE was also discovered.

The segment of the Iron Age city wall excavated was some 14 meters long, and evidently continues eastward into unexcavated squares. Ceramics recovered from surviving portions of the brick superstructure of the wall suggest that it was built during the 10th century BCE, during early Iron Age IIA. At the west end of the excavated city wall length, a protruding gate pier foundation was identified. This northern gate pier was oriented on a slightly inward angle from the line of the city wall, and was built atop the foundation of an earlier north-south fortification wall which has not yet been securely dated. Access into the city through this gateway apparently involved walking up from the streambed, up the gully southward, along the earlier fortification line, and then turning sharply left (south-eastward) to enter the gateway opening. A small court or plaza seems to have existed inside the gateway, flanked by domestic structures which abutted the city wall’s inner face line. This gateway does not seem to have been the main gateway into the lower city, and probably served as the “water gate.”

A fortification tower with two interior rooms was built against the outside of the Iron Age city wall, just east of the north gate pier, sometime after the city wall itself had been initially erected. That this two-room tower was a later addition to the fortifications seems clear since its stone foundation extended higher than the outside line of the city wall foundation, and its stonework was not integrated into the stonework of the city wall foundation itself. The tower’s construction is dated to later Iron Age IIA, in the 9th century BCE. The tower seems to have been built to enhance the protection of the city wall and gateway at this vulnerable location where the gateway gully met the streambed. An earlier north-south stretch of fortifications, built of very large stones, over which the northern gate pier was erected, is provisionally dated to Iron Age I. The Iron Age I/II (or early Iron Age IIA) city wall system seems to have been built to enhance and strengthen the earlier fortification system in this area along the stream bed. It may be that the gateway in this area was previously in use as an entry in the earlier fortification scheme. 

During later Iron Age IIA, presumably during the late 9th century BCE Aramean siege of Gath, the gateway was closed in from the inside. Rooms south and east of the gateway, along the inside of the city wall line, were also filled with grey, ashy soil containing great amounts of LB and Iron I pottery sherds. These deep fills, which may have utilized soil from old LB/Iron I garbage dumps in the lower city, appear to have been a desperate effort to buffer and fortify the inside of the city wall line against siege breach efforts of the Aramean attackers.

Area M (supervisor M. Enuikhina):

The excavations in this area, situated in the eastern side of the lower city, were commenced this season, based on a series of linear anomalies, oriented east-west, north-south, seemingly looking like structures and roads, which were seen in the magnetometry conducted in the 2017 season. The excavations were aimed to “ground truth” the remote sensing.

Four squares were opened in this area with fantastic results. Mere centimeters below surface, rich remains of the “Hazael Destruction layer” were discovered. In all four squares, architectural remains of rooms filled with more than a half meter thick deposit of this destruction level, with scores of ceramic vessels (mostly smashed, but quite a few still whole). These vessels included a broad range of types, including small and large storage vessels, cooking and serving vessels, cultic related vessels (chalices), as well as vessels relating to various other functions.

Of particular interest were the two rounded stone basins discovered in two of the squares, very similar to stone basins previously found in Areas A and K. Most likely, these installations are olive presses, and perhaps serve as evidence of the importance of olive oil production in Iron IIA Gath. This is of importance as previously, some have suggested that olive oil production only commenced in Philistia in the 8th and 7th century BCE, centered at Philistine Ekron, and connected to the Neo-Assyrian Empire. If we are correct in the identification of these installations, it appears that olive oil production in Philistia was already important, at least as early as the Iron IIA (and perhaps earlier as well). It may very well be that the production and trade in olive oil was one of the economic strengths of Iron IIA Gath. And just as it has been suggested that Gath had a major role in the copper trade during this period, perhaps olive oil should be figured in as well.

Among the special finds from this season in Area M, several can be noted: a large jar that most of its body was covered in drilled holes – similar to several other jars found in Areas D and K in previous seasons; a chalice bowl with an application of an animal on its rim; and a complete, unbroken jar that was found in the last hour of the last day of excavation.

Further work in Area M will aim, inter alia, to expand excavations to understand the architectural contexts of these rooms, and to understand the function of the stone basins. In addition, we hope to be able to see whether additional features can be detected in the remote sensing, to enable to define more of these stone basins and related features, whether through excavation or only through remote sensing.

Area Y (supervisor J. Katz):

The excavations in this area, situated in the eastern side of the lower city, were likewise commenced this season, based on a series of five square shaped anomalies seen in the magnetometry, oriented NE-SW, seemingly looking like rooms or installations that had been exposed to high temperatures. As in Area M, the excavations here were aimed to “ground truth” the remote sensing.

To a large extent, the results in Area Y were quite surprising. As opposed to all other areas that so far have been excavated in the lower city (Areas D West, D East, K, K2 and M) where the Iron IIA remains were immediately below surface, in Area Y, Iron Age I remains were discovered immediately below the mixed upper sediments containing finds from modern through the Iron Age.

In fact, a large structure, built of thick brick walls were discovered in all the five squares that were excavated. In addition to this, three of anomalies seen in the remote sensing were excavated as  well, and they were concentrations of burnt bricks. One these concentrations, on the NE excavated square was of particular interest. Here, a built installation with a seemingly gabled roof made of burnt bricks was discovered. This installation’s function is not clear. While reminiscent of pottery kilns, the finds associated with this structure have so far not provided a clear indication of its function. Whatever its function was, large concentrations of burnt bricks were found in its vicinity as well, including in a pit dug on its SE side. Extensive samples were taken from this feature and its surroundings, and hopefully, the results of their analyses (by A. Behar) will help clarify this installation’s functions.

On the southern side of Area Y, another interesting feature was discovered. Here, an extensive area (major portions of two squares) with layers of chalky material was discovered, seemingly laid out in purposeful manner. These chalk layers, apparently deriving from the nearby chalk cliffs of the upper tell, might have been part of a production process of building materials. In other areas of the excavation, and in many periods, building materials made from this chalk material have been discovered, including used as a plaster like material, within roofing and mudbricks and other features. Perhaps, these or similar construction-related materials were produced at this location.

An important characteristic of Area Y was the very poor preservation of artifacts in general. While there was sufficient pottery to date the features, in general, there was very little pottery, bones and other materials.

Perhaps the most unique aspect of Area Y is the Iron I dating of the features that were discovered very close to surface. This is quite different from all other excavation areas in the lower city, including Areas K and M which are only a few score meters away (to the east and south). In addition, the orientation of the architecture in Area Y is completely different from the Iron II architecture in other parts of the lower city. The finds in Area Y indicate that already during the Iron I, the lower city of Gath was quite extensive. Previously found to the west in Areas D West and D East, we now know for sure that eastern parts of the lower city were settled as well during the early Iron Age.

An additional point is that of the relevance of the finds from Area Y, from a methodological point of view, as an example of the possible pit falls of insufficient sampling strategies in the study of a large scale site. If the study of the lower city of Gath would have been limited to only a small sample of excavation areas, very different results might have arisen. Based on a limited sampling from few excavation areas, one might have assumed that the lower city was only settled in the Iron I (as seen in Area Y), or, based on other areas, mainly in Iron IIA, with some earlier evidence below this. Clearly then, this stresses the need for large scale sampling, using survey, excavation and remote sensing, to be able to truly understand the character and history of a large site, such as Tell es-Safi/Gath.

Remote Sensing (A. Creekmore):

The original plan for this year was to continue and expand the remote sensing in the lower city, and to supplement the magnetometric analyses conducted last year with a Ground Penetrating Radar survey of the lower city. It was hoped that this would provide additional, supplementary information to the already very exciting results of last year’s remote sensing. Unfortunately, Andrew Creekmore’s GPR equipment was not released by the Israeli customs during his entire stay in Israel, so this equipment could not be used. Despite this, thanks for Prof. Amotz Agnon of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, we did manage to survey a limited portion of the lower city, with a GPR instrument that was provided by Prof. Agnon. Hopefully, this will serve as the first stage for an extensive GPR survey at a later date.   

Stuff reports:

Airport departure cards will be a thing of the past from November.

People will no longer have to fill out the cards before flying overseas, Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway announced at Auckland International Airport on Sunday.

“This will improve the experience of all travellers departing New Zealand, enabling a faster and smoother process ahead of the busy holiday period,” Lees-Galloway said.

“It will also save more than 100,000 hours of time currently spent by travellers completing more than 6.5 million departure cards per year.”

This is a good thing.

When you book your airline tickets, the airlines have all the info that goes on a departure card. I often wondered why they couldn’t provide filled in cards for you when you check in.

Presumably in future the airlines will share the data directly with the Government.

A guest post by Mitchell Palmer, a student at Auckland Grammar School:

New Zealand’s education system is fundamentally broken. We are failing our kids, especially those from the poorest families.  Whle our NCEA pass rates increase year-on-year, every year, our international performance has worsened. The Tertiary Education Commission found 40% of students who passed Year 12 failed international reading tests. No English-speaking country has a system which underserves poor children worse than ours. And as our system becomes more unequal, the Australian, Canadian, British, and American systems improve. As we head into a modern economy where manual labour is less and less a marketable skill, we need better education, not worse.

One of our greatest Prime Ministers, Peter Fraser said all New Zealanders “whatever their ability, rich or poor, whether they live in town or country” have a birthright to “a free education of the kind for which they are best fitted and to the fullest extent of their powers.” Most New Zealanders would agree with that. Unfortunately, we have failed to achieve it.

The problem lies particularly in the lottery of birth which determines where a child can go to school. In American politics it is a common plattitude that “a child’s future should not be determined by his zip [post] code”. In New Zealand, it is rather the size of the child’s parents’ paycheque which determines that future.

Wealthy parents can afford to move into any school zone in the country, to access the best public schools, or to send their children to private schools. For instance, the average premium charged for a property in the zones of Auckland Grammar School and Epsom Girls’ Grammar School is in excess of $500,000. Fees at Kings’ College are around $25,000 per student, per year. This is clearly out of reach of the average New Zealand family – whose average household income just breached $100,000 last year – let alone the poorest, who probably would benefit most from the upward mobility advantages of high-quality schooling.

The variety of choice avaliable to wealthy parents means there is significant compeitition for their education dollars. Schools compete with each other to outperform academically, culturally, and in sports. For instance, Auckland Grammar knows it must maintain high standards, otherwise many of its current and future students will jump ship to Westlake Boys’, Macleans, Auckland International College or King’s, in search of a quality academic education.

By contrast, look at the choices avaliable to middle- and working- class New Zealand families. Locked out of the best public schools by exclusionary zoning policies – which reach around the country; for instance, both Hamilton and Christchurch Boys’ High Schools have tight zoning requirements – and out of the private schools by the high costs, they must accept whatever their local school gives them. As much as local schools may profess to be interested in the futures of their students, they have no significant incentive to actually do so, because they have a captive audience. Instead their incentive is to meet Ministry-set targets, which they do by inflating NCEA grades and channeling their students through vocational courses, locking them out of many career paths.

This dichotomy suggests the solution to many of our woes: Give all parents – no matter their household incomes – the choice of where to send their children to school to introduce real competition.

We should begin by dezoning every public school and allowing them to choose their own enrollment scheme. We should also link the private school subsidy to parental income and increase it significantly, allowing children across the entire income spectrum to access that part of the system.

Next, we must allow more flexibility for public schools to structure themselves: Underperforming schools should be able to be purchased by high performers who can’t fulfill demand. New Zealand has already seen this flexible model in action. In the early 20th century, Auckland Grammar, already overcapacity, set up schools around Auckland following its system and sharing its traditions and, for a period, Board of Governors. These schools – places like Mount Albert Grammar, Takapuna Grammar, and Epsom Girls’ Grammar – are some of Auckland’s premier schools even today.

We should also end the government subsidy of NCEA. NCEA is a system which, with its unlimited flexibility, allows schools in low-competition areas to take soft options and lock their students out of opportunity. If it is to continue, it should be on an equal playing field with credible alternatives, like the internationally-renowned Cambridge and IB systems.

And lastly – and possibly most controversially – we should end the teachers’ unions’ monopoly on teaching. We should allow public schools to negotiate pay and conditions with teachers on an individual basis, rather than setting payrates nationally by negotiation between the Ministry of Education and the NZPPTA and NZEI (the unions). Schools are far more aware of their specific needs and situation than Ministry bureaucrats attempting to create a one-size-fits-all contracts. Such flexiblity would allow schools to attract top talent and pay their best teachers more, without having to take them out of the classroom and into management.

Michael Gove called it the “soft bigotry of low expectations”; I call it paternalism: New Zealand has systematically removed the power of less-well-off parents over their children’s educations and given it to Wellington. What have we got for it? Record truancy rates and a generation of children who have no opportunity to move up in society. That certainly doesn’t sound like the egalitarian paradise New Zealand aims to be.

We need to change it.

Mitchell Palmer is a student at Auckland Grammar School and much of this article draws from Briar Lipson’s excellent report from the New Zealand Initiative: Spoiled by Choice (https://nzinitiative.org.nz/reports-and-media/reports/spoiled-by-choice-how-ncea-hampers-education-and-what-it-needs-to-succeed/) and was inspired by her presentation at the 2018 ACT Conference.

Ruth sent me a copy of a recent speech, and I wouldn’t do it justice by editing it, so a great read for those interested.

Soon after Dr Rod Carr, a star in the Canterbury firmament, took over at the helm of UC a decade ago, he issued a business challenge.

The dare to create five new Canterbury companies worth over a billion dollars.

This week, SML, of which I am a foundation director, welcomed our new CEO Leon Clement.

Leon inherits a company that didn’t exist 10 years ago but is now worth $2billion and growing. Quite a legacy from the retiring CEO, Dr John Penno.

The first talent I worked with in dairy, Simon Challies, could talk in similar glowing terms about Ryman Healthcare.

And then there are the challengers – I chair two of those companies – NZ Merino making wool great again, or more accurately a natural fibre premium play, blending with friends. Think wool surfboards with eco-resin or wool and eucalypt shoes. 

And Syft, a University of Canterbury start-up, which after consuming vast amounts of investor dollars, so very nearly fell from its perch. Rescued by a relentless focus on sales, Syft is now one of the fastest growing and profitable companies in NZ.

Both have a billion dollars in their DNA.

I have had the fortune to straddle two worlds in my career; public policy and private business – the performance of both matters a lot to the prospects of success on a global stage.

Let me start with the prime driver which is business, not the government.

We can’t prosper by taking in our own washing so, strutting it on the global stage has to be our modus operandi.

And I mean strutting, not just selling low value stuff that rises or falls on the rise or fall of the NZ dollar.

Strutting starts with the daring of the ambition and is sustained by the ability to execute.

The CFO of NZ Merino has recently completed a PM’s scholarship at the London Business School.

His report to the Board singled out this formula for success captured in a former attendee’s quote:

“The recipe for a successful new business is 5% idea and 95% execution.”

Continue reading »

The Herald reports:

Property developer and brothel owner John Chow says he’s interested in running for the Auckland mayoralty.

Mayoral elections in the country’s biggest city are coming up next year. Incumbent Mayor Phil Goff is expected to run again.

But Chow – who owns the Chow Group with his brother Michael – has indicated his interest.

Chow said on social media site LinkedIn that one in four of Aucklanders were Asian.

“Is it time for the Asian community of Auckland to nominate a candidate for mayor? I could be arm-twisted to put my name forward, if there’s enough interest,” Chow said.

Chow is a very hard nosed businessman. If he was Mayor I’m damn sure he could find efficiencies beyond the 0.04% Phil Goff has managed.

“New Zealand has allowed me to dream big and I have taken that opportunity to work my way from running a fish n chip shop with my brother to running a multi-million dollar business spanning varied industries. It is for this reason I believe I know how to help Aucklanders be great again,” he said.

Make Auckland Great Again – I think one can get some caps saying that!

The Herald reports:

Police investigating allegations by Anihera Black that a paedophile ring has been operating in Tauranga say they have been unable to substantiate the allegations.

In July it was revealed that police had spoken to Te Awanuiārangi Black’s widow about allegations her husband was a paedophile.

Police said that based on the information available, they were unable to progress the matter further at this time.

The allegations seemed to be based mainly on some vibes from her spiritual advisor.

The Herald reports:

Speaking to the Rotorua Daily Post after a Q&A session at the Property Council New Zealand national conference in Rotorua today, Clark said heads would have rolled if Labour’s youth camp sex scandal had occurred on her watch.

She didn’t know whether she would have released the internal report into the allegations, which Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said has not been released because there are matters now before the court.

One of the victims involved in the incident has criticised the party for not releasing the report, saying there was no transparency.

When asked how she would have dealt with it, Clark said: “Draw your own conclusions, go back to how I dealt with things like this, people wouldn’t have kept their jobs.”

Clark would have had people sacked for such a monumental failure. Instead Labour have just done a wet bus ticket.

A guest post by Bryan Leland:

The New Zealand Climate Science Coalition have discovered that the Royal Society of New Zealand cannot support its contention that man-made global warming is real and dangerous.

Various exchanges between NZCSC and RSNZ revealed that the Society: has forgotten its roots; makes statements that it cannot support with evidence; is quite happy for its officers and members of the Society to make public statements that are against its own Code of Ethics; agrees that climate science is contentious but will not support open debate on it; wants to change its Code of Ethics to put cultural beliefs on equal footing with scientific evidence. 

It all started with a statement by the Chief Executive (CE) and two reports that made it clear that RSNZ supported the belief that that man-made global warming was real and dangerous and urgent action was essential. The NZCSC asked RSNZ to provide convincing evidence based on observational data that supported this belief. The Royal Society were unable to do so and passed the query on to Prof James Renwick who has close links with the IPCC. He too was unable to provide the requested evidence. It seems that the evidence does not exist.

The NZCSC then lodged a complaint with the Society on the grounds that statements made by the CE and authors of the report breached RSNZ’s Code of Ethics because, among other things, they had ignored the requirement that statements to the public should make it clear if there were uncertainties in the science and if other scientists held different views. The Ethics panel could have killed our complaint by providing evidence confirming the existence of dangerous global warming. It didn’t. Instead it claimed that the matter was “insufficiently grave” and anyway, they felt that members should be free to say what they liked to the public. Remarkable, to say the least!

The NZCSC responded by pointing out that the motto of the UK Royal Society was “take no man’s word for it” and the UK Royal Society was formed to promote open debate. As RSNZ was based on the UK Society it should be promoting open debate on man-made global warming. RSNZ did not reply.

In March 2018 the President of RSNZ claimed that the data showed that if the Paris agreement was ignored world temperatures would rise by 3° by the end of the century. NZCSC lodged another ethics complaint on the grounds that his claim was based on the output of computer models that had never made accurate predictions instead of observational data. The Panel did not provide any evidence that his claims were supported by observational data. It did claim that he was quoting the consensus view and that the President was acting on behalf of RSNZ so he was not bound by the Society’s Code of Ethics.

It seems of the Panel were unaware that observational evidence rules in science and consensus views are valid in politics. The beliefs of Galileo – and many others – were based on evidence, were against the consensus and were right. It seems that RSNZ has abandoned the UK Society’s ”take no man’s word for it” and substituted “take my word for it”.

Even though it cannot provide convincing evidence that a danger exists or the recommended actions will be effective, RSNZ has published reports that recommend that the government adopt hugely expensive and disruptive policies that, it is claimed, will reduce the risk of climatic disaster. What the Society should be doing is providing the government with scientific evidence that supports rational science-based policies.

The latest is that RSNZ have just released a draft Code of Ethics that puts cultural beliefs on an equal footing with scientific evidence. It ignores the fact that science is about evidence while culture is about beliefs.  Beliefs cannot, for example, stop apples falling!

“Lord how the mighty have fallen!” 

Bryan Leyland is a power engineer with an active interest in global warming.

Mike Hosking writes:

Labour is in a mess. …

James Shaw and Winston Peters have every right to be asking questions. So far, despite all 
the predictions, the coalition has held together well.

Policy differences have been smoothed over, calamity within the grouping has been avoided.

The weak link is Labour. They look ill-disciplined, sloppy, incoherent, and led by a woman who doesn’t want to be tough.

What Curran did was sackable, full stop. If Whaitiri shoved staff, that’s sackable.

It’s a two-fold problem: One is the crime.

Two is the lack of decisive action to deal with the crime and as a result the ongoing fallout.

Labour can’t run a summer camp, they can’t control ministers, they’ve got a former leader barking advice and the economy is in trouble. 

A rather pithy summary.

No Right Turn blogs:

The previous government was notorious for cronyism, running fake appointment processes for form’s sake before shoehorning their preferred cronies in at the last minute. That was pretty blatantly corrupt, but in less than a year the new government has managed to surpass them, with the appointment of former Labour MP Steve Maharey as chair of Pharmac. When Maharey was appointed, I submitted the usual OIA request seeking details on the process. The released documents show cronyism so naked that I have not seen it before in New Zealand.

Basically what happened is:

First, Health Minister David Clark received advice to reappoint the existing board chair Stuart McLauchlan to manage Pharmac through upcoming changes, or at least temporarily reappoint him so a proper process to find a replacement could be run …

This advice was ignored. Which would be fine if Clark had then run a proper appointment process to appoint someone on merit. Instead, he simply shoulder-tapped Maharey, on the basis of “skills and experience which are well known to the Minister of Health”.

No position description, no application, no interviews, nothing. Just $48,000 a year for knowing the right person. Its cronyism, pure and simple.

I’m not against former Ministers getting board appointments. But I’ve never before seen one appointed with no process at all – just on the whim of the Minister. No advertising, no consideration of other people.

The Herald reports:

US whistleblower and activist Chelsea Manning has been granted permission to apply for a visa to enter New Zealand for two speaking events in September.

Immigration New Zealand has confirmed a special direction had been granted Manning, meaning she could now apply for a specific purpose work visa to enter New Zealand for the events in Auckland on September 8 and Wellington on September 9.

Manning needed a special direction as she was subject to character provisions in section 15 of the Immigration Act.

Manning is a terrible person (read this article from someone who trained with her) but that doesn’t mean she shouldn’t be able to speak in NZ.

I guarantee you though there will be no violent protests against her, no demands she be banned from speaking on campus – unlike Jordan Peterson whose visit I am sure will spark calls for deplatforming.

Meanwhile a Green MP of course is all in favour of letting Manning (a convicted criminal and traitor) speak in NZ, but seems to want Nigel Farage banned.

It’s not about an unfettered right to speak. It’s about whether the person’s speech poses a risk (maybe read stuff I say first). During & after Farage’s dishonest & callous Bexit campaign hate crimes went up exponentially in the UK, including murder of a pro-diversity MP, Jo Cox.

— Golriz Ghahraman (@golrizghahraman) August 29, 2018

Here she basically argues in favour of banning Nigel Farage (an elected member of the European Parliament) from speaking in NZ, and absolutely terribly links his advocacy of Brexit to the murder of Jo Cox.

It seems very clear that the Greens favour free speech only for people they like.

If Whaitiri is sacked, then the PM has two vacancies – one Minister inside Cabinet and one outside Cabinet.

Filling these could be challenging due to Labour’s fixation on demographics. There are basically few female options for them to promote.

Assuming they don’t decide to shrink the size of the ministry (which would be a good thing), here’s what I would do.

The vacancy inside Cabinet should go to an existing Minister outside Cabinet. This means Faafoi, Henare, Jackson or Sio. None are women but all are Maori or PI. I’d say the obvious candidate would be Kris Faafoi. He is popular and moderate and seen to be doing a solid job in his portfolios.

The vacancy outside Cabinet should go to Michael Wood, a current Under-Secretary. Wood has good political smarts, and is clearly capable. If though, they can’t have it go to a man, let’s look at what women they have outside the ministry who are not first termers:

• Louisa Wall. Showed good political smarts in steering the marriage equality bill through Parliament. But seems to be offside with the leadership as she is the only experienced female MP without a senior role.
• Poto Williams. Currently Assistant Speaker. If you move her, you then need a new Assistant Speaker
• Ruth Dyson. Currently Senior Whip. Clearly capable of being a Minister but needed where she is, and probably seem as to much from the past.

So that brings you to the first term female MPs. It would be tough to become a Minister after one year in Parliament but I’d say Deborah Russell would be capable of doing a good job. You could either make her Minister of Revenue and Women’s Affairs outside Cabinet or if you promote Wood, make her an Under-Secretary to replace him.

Stuff reports:

The Government allowed Housing New Zealand to borrow billions to build new state houses despite advice from Treasury that such debt would be expensive and risky.

In May, the Government announced it would be building 6400 new state homes over four years.

The funding for this came principally from $2.9b Housing New Zealand were allowed to borrow independently, instead of through regular Government borrowing. …

In a February briefing, Treasury analysts wrote that borrowing directly through the crown would save $11 million per year. This was based on a plan to borrow $1.75b instead of $2.9b. A later analysis estimated an additional $3m-$6m in annual interest costs for every $1b borrowed by Housing New Zealand.

So it is cheaper to borrow money through the Government, rather than have Housing NZ do it directly. So why wouldn’t you. I mean why cost taxpayers more money by having a higher interest rate?

In essence, overseas credit rating agencies would not see this debt as separate from Crown debt given the agency delivered such a core service, and thus would just factor it into their decisions about New Zealand anyway.

Because of this it risked the credibility of the Government’s Budget Responsibility Rules – as it was essentially a loophole through them.

So basically Labour are unable to keep to their own rules they promised. So they found a loophole, which means taxpayers pay more in interest.

Stuff reports:

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has stood Customs Minister Meka Whaitiri aside while an investigation is carried out into staffing issue in her office.

Stuff has been told relations in Whaitiri’s office are toxic and she is understood to have been through an entire rotation of staff in the short time she has been in the job.

I also understand she went through five EAs in her last term of Parliament. Of course she isn’t the only MP who goes through a lot of staff. That by itself is not a reason to lose your job.

People who are close to the situation told Stuff on Thursday Whaitiri can be unpleasant and difficult to deal with, but it’s understood Ardern’s actions relate to a specific incident involving a single staff member.

NewstalkZB gives more details:

Barry Soper told Mike Yardley that there are allegations, currently unproven, that Whaitiri had physically assaulted a staff member, and that is what is being investigated.

If the allegations are correct, that would certainly be a sackable offence.

Off memory this is the first time a Government has had two Ministers facing action in one week – one demoted and one stood down for now.

The Herald reports:

An internal Labour Party report into allegations of sexual assault at a Young Labour summer camp has not been released because there are matters now before the court, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says.

Does that mean they will release it after the court has dealt with the issue?

Also they could release an abridged version which doesn’t includes details of the alleged assaults.

Meanwhile Newsroom reports:

One of the victims from Labour’s youth summer camp scandal has slammed the party for its “absolutely appalling” handling of a review into what went wrong, saying nobody is being held accountable.

A fair criticism. Labour did nothing for weeks until the victims went to a Minister and then the media.

However, one of the victims told Newsroom they were disappointed with how the party had handled the investigation into its failings, including the decision not to release the report publicly.

“Failing to release the report shows a blatant lack of accountability and from my perspective as a victim, is absolutely appalling.”

The report should have been released with the redaction of any information which could have identified people, they said.

Yep. The court case is an excuse.

Compare Labour’s response to Russel McVeagh. Russel McVeagh released their external report in full. Labour have released nothing but a bland assurance about policies and procedures being reviewed.

The Guardian reports:

The former chief rabbi Jonathan Sacks has called Jeremy Corbyn an antisemite, saying the Labour leader’s comment about Zionists at a 2013 conference was the most offensive statement by a senior UK politician since Enoch Powell’s “rivers of blood” speech.

Labour dismissed the comparison with Powell as “absurd and offensive”.

In an interview with the New Statesman, Sacks, who was the UK’s chief rabbi from 1991 to 2013, said Corbyn had “given support to racists, terrorists and dealers of hate who want to kill Jews and remove Israel from the map”.

Newsroom reports:

Giant Australian gambling companies are poised to take over the TAB’s role in New Zealand if a report into the racing industry is adopted by the Government.

The report, commissioned by Racing Minister Winston Peters, and kept secret from racing industry leaders, is due to be released tonight at a public meeting in Hamilton.

Sources familiar with the contents of the report says it recommends that race betting in New Zealand be outsourced to an Australian company, effectively meaning the end of the TAB.

I’m not a fan of the TAB monopoly. But rather than hand the monopoly over to an Australian company, why not abolish the monopoly?

Allow any registered company to do sports betting, under a common framework where a percentage of takings is paid to the sport in question (except I guess politics :-))

Sources have told Newsroom that the big gambling companies in Australia have proposed giving the industry an up-front cash payment and more money, said to be $100 million over 25 years, if they get the licence to control betting on NZ races. 

Will be interesting if the opponent of all things foreign turns out to support selling the racing monopoly to the Aussies.

A guest post by Rodney Hide:

We are all familiar with Lady Justice: her sword is her authority, her scales her weighing of evidence, her blindfold her impartiality to power, wealth and status.

In recent times, judges have slipped her blindfold.

In July High Court Judge Whata took a peek to see Ms Ratauhunga Puriri was Maori and wanting to be a teacher.  He accordingly overturned her conviction for aggravated assault and theft. The good Judge explained: “The woeful statistics of Maori underachievement on all walks of life, are testament to the difficulties confronting Ms Puriri as she embarks on this important phase of her life”.

There are only two possibilities for Ms Puriri confronting difficulties as a Maori: one would be endogenous which would make Judge Whata racist; the other would be exogenous, which would mean he is claiming the institutions of teaching are racist.

Presumably, Judge Whata is arguing the second.  But in doing so he has made a common but gigantic leap of logic that requires throwing away Justice’s scales as well as peeking under the blindfold.

The fact of Maori underachievement doesn’t prove that Ms Puriri confronts difficulties. The statistical result may well have nothing to do with Maoriness.  Indeed, there are hundreds, no thousands, of successful teachers who disprove Judge Whata’s prejudice.

There are also a great many variables that explain Maori underachievement better and more reasonably than racism. It’s a lazy prejudice to declare race the cause of statistical difference without regard to other more significant factors.  Indeed, the only evidence of discrimination in the case is Judge Whata’s in overturning the Ms Puriri’s conviction because she is Maori.

The Judge’s prejudice is highlighted by the very title of the academic Working Paper he cites in support of his judgement: “Indicators of Inequality for Maori and Pacific People”.  The Report is nothing but a summary of “Indicators”: there is nothing there to suggest Ms Puriri has an uphill battle because she’s Maori. The Report provides no analysis of the cause of inequality with race undoubtedly a confounding variable and the one indicator of direct relevance to teaching (tertiary participation rates) shows no racial divide.

Judge Wahta lifted the blindfold and tossed the scales aside to make inflammatory assertions without a shred of evidence.

He has also deliberately denied teaching authorities, schools, and parents knowledge of her aggravated assault.

It’s an extraordinary conceit on a Judge’s part to assume to know better than teaching institutions (and parents) what information is relevant to teaching and what is not.

For my part, I would want to know the following facts before Ms Puriri was ever to be responsible for my children:

“Ms Puriri went to a two-dollar shop. She stole a $4.50 mobile phone cord and left the store. Outside the store the shop owner tried to stop her. Ms Puriri slapped the owner twice to the head and pushed her to the ground. The shop owner got up and Ms Puriri kicked her multiple times causing the shop owner to fall to the ground.”

Ms Puriri is an adult.  She stole from a shop. When confronted,  she attacked a middle-aged woman multiple times including kicking her to the ground.  She’s proved herself dishonest and violent. I would not want her teaching my children. Not before she accepts full responsibility for what she’s done, demonstrates genuine contrition, and proves she has her life under control and on a decent path.

That to me is what Justice demands  And that is precisely what she escaped.

It’s also upside down that Don Brash gets de-platformed and accused of hate speech for wanting public policy and the law to be blind to race while our judiciary happily use their esteemed platform to make decisions precisely based on race.