Stuff reports:

The Government’s KiwiBuild programme could add as few as 9200 extra properties to New Zealand’s housing stock over the next four years, an economist says.

KiwiBuild has been touted by the government as a key part of the solution to the country’s housing woes. It aims to deliver 100,000 houses over 10 years, over and above what the market would have produced otherwise. Half will be in Auckland.

Remember all the ads, promising 100,000 new homes.

Data released by Treasury showed that, including the existing Crown building programme, 29,000 houses will be completed between now and 2022. The existing programme, including redeveloping and reconfiguring Housing New Zealand’s portfolio, will account for almost half of those homes.

Another 22 per cent of those homes will be off-the-plans purchases.

The Government has argued that these developments would not otherwise have obtained funding, so the houses can be counted in its “over and above” target.

“We accept that government backing for these projects will provide greater certainty and is likely to accelerate the development process,” Kiernan said.

“But the assumption that the projects would not have gone ahead at all, and that finance is the limiting factor on construction activity, is questionable given the strength of demand for housing and the labour capacity constraints currently being experienced.”

Without those two components, the net increase in construction was just over 9000 dwellings, he said.

Just another grossly inflated promise.

“And that figure makes no allowance for the crowding out of private sector work by the increase in central government activity – something that we see as being a substantial risk in the near term.”

So it may actually end up being even less.

⏯ @nzlabour General Secretary @andykirton say he didn’t tell the Prime Minister, police or parents about sexual assault at a young @nzlabour camp. “We wanted to make sure we did a survivor-led, or victim-led response.” https://t.co/v4ezN4cFzt

— Checkpoint (@CheckpointRNZ) March 12, 2018

Labour’s handling of this makes the legal profession look good by comparison.

How could they not tell parents about this? They had 15 and 16 year olds there. All parents (not just those of the victims) should have been told.

There’s a number of questions that Labour needs to answer:

1. Did they have written consent from parents to supply alcohol to those under 18?
2. Do they believe the supply of alcohol was done in a responsible manner as required by law?
3. Were those assaulted informed they could lay a complaint with the Police? If not, why not?
4. Were those assaulted pressured not to lay a complaint?
5. Who decided not to tell parents of minors what had happened?
6. Who decided not to tell the party leader that there were complaints of sexual assault at a Labour Party event she had spoken at?
7. How did anyone think that trying to keep it all quiet and sweep it under the carpet was going to work in the post Weinstein world
8. Will Labour try and claim this was not an official Labour Party event and blame it all on Young Labour or Matt McCarten!

Newsroom reports:

The Labour Party has been hit with claims that four young supporters were sexually assaulted at one of its annual ‘Summer School’ camps near Waihi last month.

The four – two males and two females – are all 16 and were allegedly assaulted or harassed by a 20-year old man during a wild party on the second night of the camp.

Newsroom has been told the man was intoxicated and put his hand down the pants of at least three of the four young people.

That’s a real shame that one bad egg misbehaved at the camp, especially with such young people attending. Youth political events are normally lots of fun, but it goes without saying that the reported behaviour is inappropriate and illegal.

Labour Summer Schools are open to supporters of all ages including those under 18 and this year’s camp in the Karangahake Gorge ran from late afternoon on Friday, February 9 to Sunday, February 11.

More than 50 people attended the camp and about a third of those were 18 or under.

The Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, spoke at the event but was not present at the time of the incident.

So this is very recent, not historic.

Newsroom understands that the man involved was removed from the camp on the Sunday morning, the same day those attending heard a talk on feminism by Angie Warren-Clark – a Labour list MP and manager of the Tauranga Women’s Refuge.

If he was removed after complaints, that seems a reasonable course of action.

According to witnesses, a large variety of alcohol was available on Saturday night and many people, including a 15-year-old boy, were drinking.

The “mountain” of alcohol included rum, vodka, cider and a large array of RTDs.

Under the most recent changes to alcohol law, this would appear to be illegal. It is now an offence to supply alcohol to someone under 18. The Police could well take an interest in this. The Act says that you need the express consent of a parent AND you must supply the alcohol in a responsible manner.

Newsroom has seen videos of drunken scenes and at least one man stripped to the waist dancing on a table.

Videos and photographs appeared on social media as the party raged into the early hours of the morning.

Nothing wrong with young people drinking and having fun and even dancing half naked. But they should be aged at least 18. If a third were aged under 18, there should have been steps taken to ensure they were not drinking.

Gwynn Compton blogs:

For most people the experience of putting something through the spin cycle is to have your clothes shrink in the dryer. But for Wellington City Council, an attempt to spin the merits of reducing a potential 7.1% rates rise down to 3.9% has ended up with an announcement that they’re reducing rates down to 3.9%, which would be a 96.1% cut!

I can see how this has happened. It’s hardly new for politicians to try and be too clever by half about announcements, especially when they know it’s news that isn’t going to be universally popular.

In this case, the words “rise” or “increase” appear to have been omitted from the article. To illustrate the importance of those two words, 1News’ story about the announcement has interpreted the press release as meaning Wellington City Council will be reducing rates by 3.9%.

Yes WCC tried to spin a huge 3.9% rates increase as a decrease.

Note Justin Lester pledged in 2016 he would not vote for any rates increase over 3%.

Stuff reports:

High-profile economist and entrepreneur Gareth Morgan is about to get $20,000 of taxpayers’ money, but he doesn’t want it.

The former leader of The Opportunities Party (TOP) turned 65 on Wednesday and wants Kiwis to decide what to do with the superannuation allowance he’s now entitled to.

Morgan has set up a poll asking whether he should use his pension to buy a new motorcycle every year or two, give it to charity, let the government keep it or some other option.

TOP campaigned in the lead-up to last year’s election to means-test New Zealand superannuation.

Gareth is right to highlight the superannuation should be means tested (so longs as costs of doing so were much lower than the money it would save). Welfare should be for those in need, not an entitlement.

Jo Moir reports:

There’s one hell of a stoush brewing in Cabinet over freshwater rights.

If there’s one thing water-related that Labour and NZ First will never agree on it’s giving Māori ownership rights to freshwater, and as for the Greens – they won’t have a bar of continuing any large-scale irrigation schemes.

So Labour want to give Maori ownership rights, but NZ First do not. And Greens are against any irrigation, while the other two parties are not.

Parker’s policy allows for a royalty on commercial water consumption, which will help with the cost of cleaning up waterways and resolving long-standing Treaty water claims.

It’s understood there’s huge tension between Parker and Crown/Māori Relations Minister Kelvin Davis, who is feeling sidelined by Parker’s determination to make progress on water rights quickly regardless of whether that’s the right approach for iwi.

The tension must be spilling over for the media to be aware of it. I wonder which Minister is briefing against the other?

Davis is said to be furious about the pace in which the OIO changes were pushed through, leaving no time for genuine iwi consultation, and is warning Parker the brakes need to go on before he opens the floodgates on freshwater rights.

Davis doesn’t want to lose his seats. He knows the Maori vote has left Labour before, and will again – if it feels sidelined.

The Greens are sitting on a supply and confidence deal with Labour that says no new irrigation schemes will be funded and the existing ones will be wound down.

Irrigation scheme operators are crying out for clear information on what that means but the advice seems to be almost non-existent as Labour tries to work out how to keep them and the Greens happy.

The Greens basically don’t seem to like anything that interferes with Gaia.

But that’s where Davis’ frustration grows further.

He was made deputy leader of the Labour Party during the campaign and to his credit helped unite the Māori vote behind Labour.

But he’s not in the inner circle in the same way Peters, Robertson and Parker are and it’s understood those feelings of being sidelined on issues like freshwater (where iwi relations are crucial) led to words between him and Parker ahead of Cabinet’s meeting on Monday.

Ardern and Peters were both in the Pacific leaving Davis as acting Prime Minister and chair of Cabinet committee.

But it’s understood things were delayed on Monday as Davis, Robertson and Parker had words about the way some issues were being progressed without fully considering the impact it would have on Māori.

Sounds like Robertson and Parker don’t see Davis as important, despite him nominally being their Deputy Leader.

So now we have an opposition lineup, who is battling who in the key portfolios. The major ones are:

• PM – Ardern vs Bridges
• Foreign Affairs – Peters vs McClay
• Finance – Robertson vs Adams
• Housing – Twyford vs Collins
• Education – Hipkins vs Kaye
• Justice – Little vs Mitchell
• Social Development – Sepuloni vs Upston
• Health – Clark vs Coleman
• Economic Development – Parker vs Goldsmith
• Regional Development – Jones vs Goldsmith
• Labour – Lees-Galloway vs Woodhouse

Of these 11 areas I’d give the Government Minister the edge in five of them and the Opposition Spokesperson the edge in six.

The Herald reports:

Student numbers have jumped at three regional polytechnics – but the Government’s frees-free policy appears to have had no impact on universities, wānanga or apprenticeships. …

But Universities NZ director Chris Whelan said Canterbury was only returning to its share of students before the region’s 2011 earthquake, and nationally university rolls were flat.

“We might be looking at about 1 per cent [up] on average, but it could still be as little as zero,” he said.

Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, which already offered fees-free courses to most students, said the Labour Government’s policy of free fees for all students in their first year of tertiary education had had “no real impact” on it.

Industry Training Federation chief executive Josh Williams said there was also no sign of any jump in apprenticeships.

“Nobody is seeing any patterns of sign-up significantly different from what they would have otherwise anticipated for this time of the year,” he said.

Labour claimed their policy would mean more people enrolling in tertiary study. They insisted the fees were a barrier to entry (despite the fact you get interest free loans to cover them). So they took $380 million more off taxpayers and have given it to people who were always going to enrol anyway.

That $380 million could have been spent on mental health, or better early childhood education or subsidising more medicines. But instead Labour have given it to the future wealthy (average lifetime income is $1.6 million higher with a degree).

It is arguably their most wasteful policy. $380 million for no extra enrolments.

Simon Bridges announces:

National Party Leader Simon Bridges has unveiled his new caucus line-up, saying it reflects his intention to make the most of the party’s considerable experience as well as new talent – and to recognise hard work, new ideas and success.

“The National Party caucus is brimming with energy and enthusiasm and a willingness to work in the best interests of New Zealand. This new line-up reflects that.

“It is a strong mix of former Ministers and senior MPs alongside emerging ones who have proven to me they have what it takes to hold this Ardern-Peters Government to account, to listen to New Zealanders and to develop new policies for the 2020s.

“This means the energy of all 56 of our MPs – Parliament’s strongest and most diverse caucus – is focused on the role of Opposition, ensuring every MP has a chance to directly contribute to taking on the Government and driving innovation and policies in the best interests of New Zealand.

“The team I have announced today also reflects the strength and talents of the women in our caucus, with three in the top five positions, and eight in the top 20. And they are there on merit.

“Unlike our opponents who believe in quotas and catering to special and competing interests, the National Party believes in rewarding hard work and success – in Parliament and out of it.

The full list is here. The top 20, with changes from the last rankings) are:

1. Simon Bridges, Leader (+4)
2. Paula Bennett, Deputy Leader, Social Investment Services, Tertiary Ed, Women (nc)
3. Amy Adams, Finance (+3)
4. Judith Collins, Housing, RMA reform (+5)
5. Todd McClay, Foreign Affairs, Trade, Tourism (+8)
6. Jonathan Coleman, Health (+1)
7. Mark Mitchell, Justice, Defence (+14)
8. Jami-Lee Ross, Infrastructure, Transport (+19)
9. Paul Goldsmith, Economic Development, Revenue (+5)
10. Nikki Kaye, Education (+2)
11. Gerry Brownlee, Shadow House Leader (-7)
12. Nathan Guy, Agriculture, Biosecurity (-1)
13. Michael Woodhouse, Immigration, Labour (-3)
14. Louise Upston, Social Development (+1)
15. Alfred Ngaro, Children, Community, Pacific (+5)
16. Chris Finlayson, Shadow AG (-8)
17. Scott Simpson, Environment (+9)
18. Jacqui Dean, Local Govt, Small Business (+5)
19. Melissa Lee, Broadcasting, Comms (+12)
20. Sarah Dowie, Conservation (+19)

The biggest movers up are Dowie, Lee, Ross, Simpson, Mitchell and McClay.

Next Big Future reports:

Starving Venezuelan oil workers are growing too weak for heavy labor. They are too fatigued to act quickly which leads to more fatal accidents. Crude oil makes up about 95% of Venezuela’s exports. The country has no other source of foreign income.

Nextbigfuture predicts that the Maduro government will be overthrown in a military coup by the end of 2018. North Korea has terrible but stable conditions. Venezuela conditions continue to worsen at an unsustainable level.

Venezuelans reported losing on average 11 kilograms (24 lbs) in body weight last year and almost 90 percent now live in poverty, according to a new university study on the impact of a devastating economic crisis and food shortages.

Prices in Venezuela rose 4,068 percent in the 12 months to the end of January, according to estimates by the country’s opposition-led National Assembly, broadly in line with independent economists’ figures.

The study showed that 87 percent of people in Venezuela, one of Latin America’s wealthiest nations back in the 1970s, were living in poverty last year, rising from 82 percent in 2016 and 48 percent in 2014.

87% of people in Venezuela now have income equality, they just have 13% to go. A triumph for socialism.

Some 3 million Venezuelans – or a tenth of the population – have left Venezuela since late leader Hugo Chavez started his Socialist revolution in 1999.

Socialism often leads to a mass exodus, despite the claims of nirvana from its supporters.

Graham Adams reports:

The same day submissions closed, there was an announcement with great significance for the euthanasia debate but it failed to get attention. The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners — which has 4800 members, representing nearly 90 per cent of GPs — announced publicly in its submission that it had adopted a neutral position on assisted dying.

Unfortunately, you’d never guess from the headline on its press release — “College of GPs does not endorse euthanasia” — but when Noted asked the college it confirmed it was, indeed, neutral: “We are not taking a position either way. Our board decided it was a decision for members to make as individuals.” 

The spokeswoman conceded that the headline could be misleading “if that’s all someone read. It could be [incorrectly] construed as us being against euthanasia.

The biggest medical college in New Zealand taking a neutral position in public is momentous. As Auckland health lawyer and end-of-life researcher Pam Oliver told Noted: “That’s a major move by the college and will have considerable influence. The research evidence is pretty clear that a neutral or supportive stance by the relevant medical association, or college, is pivotal in doctors feeling comfortable to engage in providing assisted dying services. Anecdotally, it also appears to have a strong influence on whether politicians will vote in favour of legal AD.”

This is a very significant development. To have the largest medical college move from opposition to neutrality is a big thing.

The Press reports:

Christchurch Pride Week organisers say barring transgender people from a sex venue is about protecting them, not phobia.

Christchurch’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex and asexual (LGBTQIA+) community are preparing for 10 days of pride events. 

Christchurch Pride Week, which launches on March 15, will include an art show, a drinks night, yoga and karaoke, and the No Place Like Homo closing party. Last year, more than 1000 people attended the various festivities, including at Shirley Boys’ High School, which ran its own Pride Week after a student came out to his peers during a school assembly.

Volunteers met on Friday after patrons expressed outrage at the cisgender (people whose gender identity corresponds with their birth sex) only rule at the Menfriends Jocks Party – a “sex on site” venue hosting a 14-hour “marathon” party on March 22, Christchurch Pride chairperson Jill Stevens said.

A 14 hour sex party. You have to be impressed by the stamina.

The R18 event specified it was only for men whose gender corresponded with their birth sex – a slap in face from an event that prides itself on inclusiveness and celebrating a diverse range of gender and sexual identities, Kayla Collins, who is a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, said. 

Oh no, someone is excluded.

Menfriends declined to comment, but its website said: “If you have a penis, you qualify for access to Menfriends.”

Seems a fair enough rule.

Others said the exclusion was “quality bulls…” and reinforced that it was “OK to exclude some parts of our community”.

“Will they be checking for penises at the entrance?”

Ummm, I think that is exactly what they will be doing!! Okay maybe not at the entrance, but sure sounds like it won’t be a party where you won’t keep clothes on all night!

It seems Putin’s Foreign Minister is also the NZ Foreign Minister. An extraordinary interview with Winston Peters in which he claims Russia is innocent of everything and compares them to Australia.

Is this the principled independent foreign policy that Labour and Greens boast of – being a toady to the Kremlin?

Newshub report:

Foreign Minister Winston Peters has defended efforts to get New Zealand a free trade deal with Russia, saying there’s “no evidence” it was involved in the shooting down of a passenger jet in 2014.

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down over Ukraine, with 298 fatalities. A Dutch-led investigation determined a Russian-made missile fired from pro-Russian rebel territory was to blame.

“It was a former Russian missile, true – but who was responsible for setting it off?” Mr Peters asked Newshub Nation host Lisa Owen.

Well the Dutch investigation found the Buk missile system was transported from Russia on the day of the crash, fired from a rebel controlled area and returned to Russia after it was used to shoot down MH17.

And of course this is all related to the wider aggression by Russia against its neighbours.

Also worth noting that Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution to prosecute those responsible for shooting down the plane.

He also questioned widely accepted claims Russia meddled in the 2016 US presidential election.  

“We have a lot of allegations, but we do not have the facts laid out clearly,” said Mr Peters.

Winston could work for Putin with such lines. There has been a huge amount of factual evidence that Russia meddled. The Russia Embassy even had wire transfers that were marked with a subject line of 2016 election!

Just last month a US grand jury was persuaded there was enough evidence to indict 13 Russian nationals and 3 Russian entities with criminal offences in relation to the US elections.

“When you start talking about those moral judgements, you might not be trading with anybody very quickly. A lot of countries we deal with would not survive a serious human rights issue, or gender equality issue or an ethnic issue debate – but we still trade with them.”

Mr Peters said trading with Russia was comparable to trading with Australia, even though it’s deporting New Zealand-born criminals to a country many of them haven’t called home for decades.

“This is wrong, but we trade with Australia because we hope one day to vastly improve the circumstances.”

And now our foreign minister compares Russia to Australia! Bet that goes down well with the Aussies.

He is right that you still trade with countries that don’t have perfect human rights records. But that is not the issue with Russia. Russia is under global sanctions because it has invaded neighbouring countries. It is actively trying to destabilise Western countries elections such as France and the US.

Mr Peters also said New Zealand has “a chance” of being exempted from US President Donald Trump’s new tariffs on steel and aluminium.

He wasn’t aware if the Government has formally asked to be exempt yet, saying that was up to Finance Minister Grant Robertson.

Mr Trump’s move will see 25 percent tariffs on foreign steel and 10 percent on aluminium, as a protectionist measure to save Americans’ jobs.

But rather than oppose the move as detrimental to free trade, Mr Peters said Mr Trump was reacting to unfair deals.

And now Peters is defending the US imposing tariffs on New Zealand steel. Great to have a Foreign Minister who thinks his job is to defend Putin and Trump, rather than New Zealand.

Peters speaks officially on behalf of the New Zealand Government. I can’t wait for the House to resume and National MPs ask the Prime Minister if she stands by her comments of the Foreign Minister that there is no proof that Russia tried to meddle in the US election.

The Herald reports:

Millie Tapusoa’s son punched a girl in the face soon after he started at the South Auckland Middle School. But he wasn’t punished.

The charter school recognised that the boy, Jaydon Solouota, had Asperger’s Syndrome. Before he started in Year 7 in 2015, the school worked with his case manager at Idea Services to train staff “to get to know Jaydon from Jaydon’s world view”.

It gave Jaydon coloured cards so that if he got angry or anxious he could give his teacher the appropriate card and leave, no questions asked.

That didn’t stop incidents at first.

“Jaydon punched a girl in the face because she had come into his space and he had said to her ‘Go away’ three times,” Tapusoa said.

“I picked him up from school, and over the next two days the school did a session with his class on what sorts of things made Jaydon happy and what made Jaydon sad. The school didn’t punish him, but what they did was they educated his class.”

The school’s approach was unlike anything Tapusoa had experienced before. A former nurse, she pulled Jaydon and his older brother Tama, who has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, out of a Porirua school where she felt their needs were not being met.

“In the state system the word ‘inclusive’ is just lip service,” she said.

Yet this kind caring Labour Government is forcing kids like Tapusoa into the state system which failed them.

Tapusoa believes that what made the difference at South Auckland Middle School was its policy of only 15 students in a class.

“Because of that, there is a lot more personal contact with the parents,” she said.

“In partnership schools it is a partnership. It’s me, the teachers, the kids and the community. The children at partnership schools get to enjoy everything. You are not excluded if you are not good enough.”

Partnership schools have no zones. No one is forced to go to them. Parents send their kids there because they think it will give their kids a better chance.

The partnership schools are bulk-funded, enabling Poole and his wife Karen, the Villa Education Trust‘s chief executive, to hire more teachers by spending less on property and administration.

The bulk funding flexibility is key to these schools, and that is what the unions and their servant party insists must be abolished.

The article also lists the ethnic backgrounds of the 1,300 students at 11 charter schools. They are:

• Maori 815 (63%)
• Pasifika 351 (27%)
• Other 134 (10%)

So 90% of the students are Maori and Pasifika – two groups that do very badly in the state system. And Labour’s answer is to force them back into the state system.

West Auckland father Preston Brown, who has brought up his Māori son as a solo dad since the boy’s mother was jailed, said the boy was “let go from a few schools” for misbehaviour.

After he was expelled from his second school, he was placed in the Westbridge residential school, but he had to leave there last year because his behaviour improved. Brown then put him into Middle School West Auckland, where the boy “has gone way back up again” academically.

That will end soon.

Stuff reports:

She’s already completed her parliamentary induction, after being elected last year, but National Party MP Nicola Willis will be joining the ranks for real this time. 

Willis was unlucky to be booted out after special votes were tallied following last year’s general election, but will now heading back to parliament replacing outgoing MP Steven Joyce.

Willis, who turned 37 on Wednesday, ran as a list MP in the Wellington Central electorate and narrowly missed out on gaining a seat in parliament being number 48 on the list.

The former John Key adviser and Fonterra executive said her agricultural background and passion for education will be key areas of focus for her time in parliament.

Willis, a mother of four and businesswoman, said it was exciting to be back at parliament – this time for good.

I’m very pleased Nicola is about to become an MP. I’ve known her since we were staffers together in the early 2000s and she’s always been impressive.

She spent five years working in Fonterra,receiving three promotions in that time – while also having or raising four children with Duncan.

Her final role was as General Manager of Nutrient Management. This was a third level position reporting to a member of the executive team. She was responsible for around 23 farms (with around 100 staff) that Fonterra directly owned with a focus on irrigation and sustainability. 23 farms with 100 staff

In her previous role as Director of Global Stakeholder Affairs, trade strategy was one of her areas of work. So she has a strong business background, as well as political experience. She has also shown you can have a top business career and be a great mother.

The Willis-Small family!

The Guardian reports:

Almost 250 BBC staff including stars such as Victoria Derbyshire, Mariella Frostrup, Naga Munchetty and Dan Snow have challenged the corporation to publish individual salaries and benefits of staff if it is serious about tackling pay inequality at the corporation.

The group, which comprise on- and off-screen staff from across the BBC, have co-signed an open letter calling on the BBC director general, Tony Hall, to deliver on his promise to make the corporation the “most transparent organisation when it comes to pay”.

The signatories argue that Hall’s new strategy to tackle pay inequality and discrimination will not solve the problem, and claim that management is dragging its feet.

Hall announced a five-point plan in January following the publication of a review by PwC of pay for on-air staff, which prompted a major backlash by concluding there was no evidence of gender bias in pay decision-making.

“It’s time for full pay transparency at the BBC,” the letter states. “Transparency about what everyone earns, about how pay is decided, and also about promotion and recruitment across all areas of the corporation. Our pay structure is likely to flatten as very high salaries become harder to justify. It’s the fastest, cheapest, fairest way to begin to tackle unequal pay at the BBC.”

The Government here has said it wants to get rid of the gender pay gap in the public sector. Will it force the state owned broadcasters to publish salary details of staff? Are the Morning Report hosts paid the same salary? Should they be?

You can now set up an e-petition on the parliamentary website – a long overdue feature. Good to see it finally happen.

The subjects of the six petitions to date is, umm, interesting. They are:

• That the House of Representatives conduct an inquiry, with submissions open to the public, on difficulties completing the 2018 census.
• That the House of Representatives pass legislation making marijuana accessible to all Kiwis for medical and recreational use.
• That the House of Representatives pass legislation establishing a “right to be forgotten” in a similar vein to that in action in the EU.
• That the House of Representatives pass legislation to tax all religious institutions.
• That the House of Representatives amend the law to decriminalise adult consensual incest for over 21s, cancel previous convictions, end existing sentences, and legalise consanguineous marriage.
• That the House of Representatives repeal the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act 1989, and pass new legislation to move the New Zealand Dollar to a gold standard with a 1:1 reserve ratio.

I’d support four of the six petitions.

The Telegraph reports:

Britain is now running a current budget surplus as tax revenues cover all day to day spending, for the first full year since 2001.

This surplus, which excludes capital investment by the Government, came in at £3.8bn for 2017, the Office for National Statistics said.

George Osborne set this as a target in 2010 and hoped to achieve it two years earlier in 2015.

They’re catching up to us. Well done. Their first surplus in 16 years!

Research published by the International Monetary Fund said Britain set an example for other countries to follow in slashing the deficit by cutting public spending, rather than raising taxes.

“Following the financial crisis, the two countries that adopted spending-based austerity and did better than the rest of the sample were Ireland and the UK,” said economists in the IMF’s Finance and Development publication.

“The result: growth in the United Kingdom was higher than the European average.”

It is increasingly important that other countries copy this approach, the researchers said, as Governments around the world have racked up too much debt which will harm growth and stifle productivity when interest rates rise.

 

The SSC reports:

The latest statistics cover 111 different agencies who collectively completed 21,232 requests between July and December 2017, a 1.1% increase on the 20,996 requests for half of 2016/17.

Agencies responded to 20,236, or 95.3%, of these requests on time. This represents a 2.3 percentage point improvement on 2016/17 and is 7.7 percentage points better than 2015/16.

That is a significant improvement and good to see. I’m hearing that under the new Government lots of deadlines are being missed, so it will be very interesting to see the 2018 data.

While responding to OIA requests on time will remain a priority, Mr Hughes said agencies could now put more emphasis on proactive releasing information and publishing completed requests on their websites.

“New Zealanders expect government agencies to be open and transparent,” Mr Hughes said. “The spirit of the Act is about making official information more freely available, which promotes good government and trust and confidence in the Public Service. I expect agencies will increase their efforts to proactively release information and publish their completed requests.”  

Only 16 agencies published OIA responses on their websites. 

I’d like all agencies to do so, or the Government to set up a central site such as oia.govt.nz where all responses are published a week or so after being sent to the original requester.

71 complaints were effectively upheld, where decisions were found to be deficient. That is of 218 that went to a final decision so around a third of contested decisions are successfully appealed to the Ombudsman.

The Washington Post reports:

North Korea’s belligerent leader, Kim Jong Un, has asked President Trump for talks and Trump has agreed to meet him “by May,” South Korea’s national security adviser said at the White House Thursday after delivering the invitation to the American president.

Kim has also committed to stopping nuclear and missile testing, even during joint military drills in South Korea next month, Chung Eui-yong told reporters in Washington.

After a year in which North Korea fired inter-continental ballistic missiles capable of reaching all of the United States and tested what is widely thought to have been a hydrogen bomb, such a moratorium would be welcomed by the U.S. and the world.

This is a big deal, and a certain amount of vindication for Trump’s strategy of talking tough in order to get negotiations.

There is no guarantee of a good outcome from the negotiations, but just the fact they will occur is a really good step in the right direction.

Since he took over the leadership of North Korea from his father at the end of 2011, Kim has not met any other head of state. Discussions are now underway to hold a summit with Moon in the Demilitarized Zone between the two Koreas at the end of next month.

This would be the third inter-Korean summit but there has never been a face-to-face meeting, or even a phone call, between the sitting leaders of North Korea and the United States. Former presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton met the then-leaders — Carter met Kim’s grandfather Kim Il Sung and Clinton met his father, Kim Jong Il — during visits to Pyongyang after they had left office.

So again this is a big deal. The first meeting Kim has had with any head of state and the first meeting any North Korean leader has had with a US President.

Trump has a very transaction approach to foreign policy, as opposed to a principles based approach. In this case the transactional approach may work best.