Apart from the ex MPs travel perks, some interesting data in the annual report of The Parliamentary Service.

• ICT customer satisfaction is 79% (+2%)
• New MPs were 94% satisfied with transition services
• Only 48% of returning MPs were satisfied with transition services
• HR satisfaction 70%
• Finance satisfaction 73%

These are not great figures. For a small well defined group of 120 MPs, satisfaction ratings should aspire to exceed 90%.

The satisfaction ratings for each area are:

1. Library 95%
2. Building services 92%
3. Travel services 89%
4. Relationship management 81%
5. ICT 79%
6. Reception 79%
7. Security 78%
8. Telephony services 77%
9. Finance services 73%
10. HR 70%

Stuff reports:

The man who called John Key “Shylock” has retracted his apology and accused the Labour Party of undermining him.

Steve Gibson, the unsuccessful Labour candidate for Rangitata in last year’s general election, said he had been reflecting on his comments since he lost the electorate contest last year.

Gibson, who has since disavowed any links with Labour, said he regretted apologising for his remarks about the prime minister.

Heh a year later he unapologises.

Gibson, who now works in Christchurch, said the election had been on his mind for some time. Voters returned National incumbent Jo Goodhew to the seat with an increased majority.

Gibson believed he could have won the electorate on a platform of stronger water quality measures and increasing trade with countries other than China’s “totalitarian dictatorship, which disappears thousands of people every year”.

He does know it was Labour who signed the FTA with China?

And was for winning the seat, well he lost by only 14,107 votes.

Gibson doubted Labour could govern again without making NZ First leader Winston Peters the Prime Minister for the first two years of its term.

That’s what Winnie wants!

“The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.”

– Thomas Jefferson

The quote of the week is brought to you by the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union. To support the Union’s campaign for lower taxes and less government waste, click here.

Tufts University has looked at how different countries have done with digital evolution. NZ is in the right quadrant, of the stand outs.

Also pleasing is we have been moving up the rankings since 2008.

The Herald reports:

New Zealander Peter Cooper has donated $74 million to a top American university in what’s been called an “unprecedented” act of philanthropy.

The Kaitaia-raised son of a truck driver, Mr Cooper made a fortune in real estate and private equity and developed projects including the billion-dollar, 6.5ha Britomart site in downtown Auckland.

This month, he donated US$50 million to Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. for the creation of a leadership program for the university’s student-athletes, and to fund a sports field.

Georgetown is an amazing university and I love walking around the area it is in, when I am in DC.

Many people think it is named after George Washington but it predates him. It seems it was probably named after King George II.

Mr Cooper, of Ngati Kahu, Ngati Kuri and Te Aupouri, spent his time between New Zealand and California’s Newport Beach.

A real Kaitaia boy.

Mr Cooper practiced law for 11 years. He also established the Britomart Arts Foundation, setting it up with an initial $1 million donation, and developed rural property in Northland.

In 2007, the Environmental Defence Society praised his development at Kerikeri’s Te Puna Inlet for its commitment to ecological restoration and protection of heritage sites.

Nice.

The Govt has announced:

Police Minister Michael Woodhouse and Associate Transport Minister Craig Foss today announced stronger penalties for fleeing drivers and those who withhold information on fleeing drivers.

“Failure to stop when required by a police officer represents a calculated and deliberate attempt by offenders to evade punishment. They deliberately put the public at risk and too often their actions result in serious consequences,” Mr Woodhouse says.

There are around 2300 fleeing driver incidents every year and in 2014/15 this resulted in 460 crashes, which averages more than one a day.

And the blame for these crashes are with those fleeing, not the Police.

Changes announced today to amend the Land Transport Act 1998 and Sentencing Act 2002 will increase existing mandatory driver licence disqualification periods for failure to stop offences to six months for the first offence, 12 months for the second, and 24 months for third and subsequent offences.

Mandatory vehicle confiscation for second and subsequent failure to stop offences within a four year period will also be introduced, and courts will be given the ability to confiscate an offender’s vehicle for any first offences.

Sounds good.

John Sargeant at Taranaki Daily News writes:

At the moment Labour have all their eggs in Andrew Little’s basket as the leader to take them ever towards the General Election in 2017. A while away admittedly but with the annual conference coming up in a few weeks’ time it’s about celebrating success and setting a strategic direction for the future. This will also be a time of reflection for Little it also marks the first year of Little as Labour’s leader.

As far as reflection goes there is little to celebrate. I’m sure there will be the rah-rah of empty vessels but the reality is that Little has spectacularly failed to get any traction in any of the polls in his tenure to date. The party itself is woefully behind on just 31 percent, hardly breaking any ground since the disastrous times of David Cunliffe.

They are up on their election result, but are polling worse than they were three years ago (were polling 33%). They’re under the 34% they lost office on and well off the 40% they need to govern with the Greens.

They simply haven’t made any progress in Little’s first year, none at all. It’s more than a weak signal Labour need to be aware of. After a year of listening and getting some major policies out such as the much vaunted ‘Future of Work’ there is still little to celebrate and you have to wonder if there’s any talk of whether Little should remain in the job. After all, he’s on the same miserable 8 per cent as preferred prime minister as when Cunliffe was apologising for being a man and Labour’s Trevor Mallard was crowing about bringing back the Moa but delivered a turkey.

Cunliffe a year ago was on 12% and Shearer three years ago also on 12%.

We need a strong and credible Left wing party to put up some decent opposition. Something more than just a machine to regurgitate the same old messages we are all sick of hearing. If not, voter boredom will be their biggest enemy. Let’s hope Little has a better second year or his third may be his last.

And then will it be Jacinida’s turn?

There is an article at Stuff called Ten things you never knew about New Zealand’s birds.

As a bird lover I was interested in it, and read it. It’s an interesting article.

I then noted the author was Kimberley Collins, and I realised (as I knew Kimberley worked for Forest & Bird) that it is not an article by a journalist, but an advertorial by Forest & Bird. But nowhere is it disclosed.

Now Forest & Bird and Kimberley have done nothing wrong. And the article is just promoting their Bird of the Year competition (and I have promoted it myself). But what is wrong is the Fairfax didn’t put a statement on the article saying Kimberley is the online communications coordinator for Forest & Bird. If you did not happen to know this (as I did), then you would assume it is an article written by a Fairfax journalist called Kimberley Collins.

Now in this case it is fairly innocuous, but my friends at Radio NZ Mediawatch always go on about the dangers of advertorials posing as journalism, or embedded content. And the key is it is fine, so long as it is disclosed that the author is not the newspaper. But in this case it wasn’t. And if it was say an article by a comms person for Bank of New Zealand on ten things you never knew about insurance, then I’m sure Mediawatch would be up in arms.

Photo from NZ Herald.

Submit your captions below. As always, be funny not nasty.

I was at Twickenham for the NZ semi-final and for most of the match it reminded me of the 2011 final against France – terrified we would lose.

It wasn’t the best game in the world to watch. I grew to hate the referee as he dished out nine penalties almost non-stop to the All Blacks in the first half.

The Springboks never got ahead by more than seven points, so was always optimistic NZ would come through, but the South African defence and tackling was very impressive first half – so much so NZ started kicking as they couldn’t break through most of the time.

Dan Carter’s conversion seemed the turning point. To only be two points behind had us within striking, and then the second try. But it was only around minute 78 when the Springboks were nowhere near the halfway line, that the All Black supporters in the crowd started to relax. The nightmare of scoring two tries to zero but losing against six penalties and a possible drop goal receded. And much celebrating and just relief at half time.

The All Blacks performance didn’t seem that impressive at the time, as the scoreline dominates your thinking, but looking at the match stats does indicate that it was a strong, even if undisciplined, performance:

• 387 metres vs 149 metres
• 20 defenders beaten vs three
• Only three missed tackles vs 20
• 96% rucks won vs 90%
• 100% lineouts won vs 77%
• However 14 penalties vs six

Did I mention how much I disliked the referee again?

Great to see the All Blacks make the final – the first time since 1995 away from home.. In fact we have never won the Rugby World Cup away from NZ, so this is NZ’s chance to do so. I’m hoping Argentina beats Australia of course. In a NZ vs Argentina final we’ll have the entire English crowd cheering for us 🙂

So was great to see an All Black victory, but also to see them play at Twickenham. They have moved the entry gates to include the area next to the stadium so there was great pre-game hospitality with tents and entertainment.

Impressed with the overall organisation. Getting to the game was a tube to Richmond, then shuttle to a few hundred metres from the stadium. Hundreds of volunteers to guide you. Did get soaked after the game, but by then didn’t care. And the tube trip back into London saw great conversations between All Blacks and Springbok supporters – no sore feelings, lots of congratulating both teams, and lots of hatred for the referee from both lots of supporters!

Can’t wait for the final!

News.com.au reports:

A WOMAN claiming to be the victim of a “VIP paedophile ring”, which involved three former prime ministers, has alleged she was prostituted to “paedophile parties” at Parliament House in Canberra.

The moment I saw the allegation involved three separate prime ministers, I knew it was loony tunes.

Speaking to media in Sydney, Fiona Barnett detailed her alleged abuse by the alleged elite paedophile ring 40 years ago.

The 45-year-old said she was abused by the ring, which included high-ranking politicians, police and members of the judiciary, at the age of five and claimed there were thousands of other victims.

“My experiences were horrific beyond words,” she said. “But the way I’ve been treated for reporting the crimes I witnessed and experienced has been far worse than my original abuse experiences.”

Actually I don’t think people not believing you would be worse than being raped as a five year old.

The northern NSW woman went on to detail “hundreds of crimes” she claimed she had witnessed, including child abduction, torture, rape and murder.

She’s obviously crazy, so why are the media reporting this?

Ms Barnett said she had taken the allegations to multiple health professionals in the 1980s, NSW Police in 2008 and approached the Royal Commission in 2013. She said she and other victims of “VIP” perpetrators were “stonewalled” by authorities.

ACT Police release a statement this afternoon after Ms Barnett’s press conference.

“The matter was thoroughly investigated by ACT Policing’s Operation Attest and there was no evidence to substantiate the complainant’s allegations,” the statement read.

If she claimed to have been to the moon, would the media report it?

David Seymour has put together a website in support of his End of Life choice bill.

There are a number of personal stories on there which are very moving.

USA Today reports:

Rep. Paul Ryan won a majority of support from the arch-conservative House Freedom Caucus on Wednesday, putting the Wisconsin Republican a step closer to becoming the next House speaker.

The rebellious Freedom Caucus — a powerful block of about 40 House conservatives led by Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio — made the decision to support Ryan after huddling behind closed doors for more than an hour Wednesday night.

The caucus will not officially endorse Ryan, because he fell short of snagging 80 percent of votes from the group’s members — the caucus’ internal threshold for taking official positions.

Bu it’s likely enough to satisfy Ryan’s own demand that he secure broad support from the GOP ranks before he is willing to take on the leadership job.

Paul Ryan would rather not be Speaker, but there is no one else who can do it. It looks like he will get the widespread backing he needs to become Speaker. However that doesn’t mean he have an easy time in it.

The Herald has interesting data on the proportion of NZers who have married someone of a different ethnicity. In order they are:

• Asian females 8%
• European females 12%
• European males 13%
• Asian males 22%
• Pacific males 36%
• Pacific females 48%
• Maori males 71%
• Maori females 73%

I think intermarriage is a good thing in society, Without it you run the risk of non-integration and segregation. Of course on an individual level it should be about whom you love, but it is good to see at a societal level there doesn’t appear to be huge resistance to marrying people of a different ethnicity.

200 heads of state and/or government have been rated in order of hotness here.

This is No 1 – Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, King of Bhutan. He is aged 35.

And at the bottom No 200 is Kim Jong-un, Supreme Leader of North Korea. He is aged 32.

A guest post by Katy Hendrikse:

Last week the Green Party decided, in their infinite wisdom, that because I am a woman I couldn’t possibly be capable of earning a place in cabinet on my own merit. I feel so lucky to have a big strong man like James Shaw there to look out for me, and make sure that we can point to a Greens Cabinet and say we are doing well as a country because half of them are women.

Controversially, I prefer that we can point to our Cabinet and be proud of the hard-working, qualified men and women who are working to make New Zealand the best it can be. That the Ministers running our country are chosen on their merits and experience, rather than whether or not they have a penis. That we judge them based on the results they produce rather than their gender.

To have a man say that we need a gender quota to achieve an even gender split in Cabinet is condescending and insulting. I am confident that we will have increasing numbers of female Ministers, but it won’t be because we have been gifted these spots by men. It will be because we have plenty of driven, qualified women in Parliament, and beyond, who are perfectly capable of beating a man for a position.

Under our human rights law, I have the same protection as every other person. The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender, amongst other things. I do not need my hand held, to get to achieve the same things as a man achieves. Gender quotas only encourage the outdated perception that women are less valuable employees than men. If we want to reduce the gender pay gap, encouraging this perception is not the way to do it. The women we have in Cabinet today have proven that they are every bit as hard-working and skilled as the men in Cabinet – and they didn’t need a gender quota to get there.

James Shaw, I don’t need your condescension or your hand-outs. I am a strong, independent woman who doesn’t need a man to save me a spot in Cabinet, or anywhere else – I’d rather earn it for myself.

Katy is the Vice-President of NZ Young Nationals.

An author at The Standard writes:

1981 marks the point where – for good reason at the time – the left ceded the idea of sport to National.

We still begrudge it. We begrudge it even more than the flag debate.

We hate it because it’s full of mean-old competition, winning and losing, and injuries.

We hate it for its pervy sexism, male media dominance, and macho muscle over mind.

We hate it for its self-glorification, commercialization, and wealth focus.

We hate it for its patriotism, corruption, and taxpayer and ratepayer subsidies.

We hate its regulated violence, alcohol dominance, and sheer meaninglessness.

So they hate sport, competition, winning, losing, muscle, commercialisation, wealth, and patriotism!

But there is hope:

It’s 34 years since those dark days. Time to figure out how to complain about sport less, and learn to win with it more.

We could love it for the proud communities that sustain the clubs.

We could love it because it’s something we do well.

We could love it for the wives, girlfriends, boyfriends, husbands and children that help them up there.

We could love international sport as a good substitute for war.

We could find who among the athletic elite are also Progressively inclined.

We could love it as we can our country.

We don’t have to cede the whole enterprise of sport to the right.

And now, in the middle of Rugby World Cup, we can grind our teeth watching the apotheosis of Key with Saint Ritchie into the global heaven of sport.

Or we can get out to the nearest RSA, to the televised bars. Be with the people. Yes, sink pints.

Recognize that actually sport is as good as education for class mobility.

Actually, sport can be a unifying community force for good.

Sport can focus male teenage energy away from petty crime: into sport, out of court.
Sport is where the common people are, as well as the elite.

Until the left learn how to love sport as well as the right, we will continue to cede massive territorial ground before the game has started.

The Daily Mail reports:

In-flight television screens are to be axed from long-haul flights in and out of the UK with carriers streaming content to passengers’ mobile phones and tablets instead, it has emerged.

WestJet, a low-cost airline which will launch transatlantic flights out of London’s Gatwick Airport next year, will be among the first to remove entertainment systems from the back of airline seats for long-haul flights.

The move comes in favour of allowing passengers to stream content directly to their own devices, with a superfast wireless internet connection set to be provided to each plane by satellites. 

The scrapping of in-flight entertainment systems by WestJet, which will fly from London to six Canadian cities from May 2016, will reportedly remove more than 1,500lbs of weight from each plane.

This will allow hefty fuel savings to be made, meaning other airlines could be set to follow suit.

Richard Bartrem, the vice-president of WestJet, told The Times: ‘Today, more than 80 per cent of our guests are boarding with a device. The new system will allow us to provide a better, more relevant service to our guests while continuing to offer low fares.’ 

I think this is a great idea. I’d much rather have Internet on board allowing me to view my own choice of movies or TV, than the limited supply on board.

The Herald reports:

Vice President Joe Biden will not run for president in 2016, he said Wednesday, ending a months-long flirtation with a third White House campaign and setting him on a glide path toward the end of his decades-long U.S. political career.

Biden’s decision finalizes the Democratic field of White House candidates and likely bolsters Hillary Rodham Clinton’s standing as the front-runner by sparing her a challenge from the popular vice president.

Almost certain Clinton will be the nominee. If Biden had won it would have damaged her, but hard to see him beating her unless her e-mails turn up a smoking gun.

Biden has net favourability of +12%. Clinton is at -8%.