“I am in favor of cutting taxes under any circumstances and for any excuse, for any reason, whenever it’s possible.”
– Milton Friedman
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.
The Electoral Commission has published the spending by political parties on their party vote in the 2014 campaign. I’ve put them into a table to analyse how much each party spent in relation to each vote they got.
It is no surprise that Internet Mana had the worse result for its spend. A massive $1 million for just 34,000 votes. Great proof that money has relatively minor influence on elections.
After two of the joke parties that got under 2,000 votes, then the next worse was Conservatives who spent $1.9 million for 95,000 votes.
ACT spent $17.64 per vote.
Of the four larger parties, the Greens spent the most per vote at $5.02, followed by National at $2.26, Labour $2.10 and NZ First $1.29.
Just looking at the actual spend, National spent the most followed by the Conservatives, the Greens and then Labour. Yes the Greens spent more money than Labour! Labour really were near bankrupt.
Internet Mana was only the fifth largest spender. That is because much of their spending wasn’t on advertising, but paying candidates to stand for them etc.
This table takes into account the taxpayer funded broadcasting allocation each party had to advertise on television or radio.
The two joke parties has the worst result for their spend, when you take this into account.
Internet Mana and Civilian had around the same return at $32 a vote.
I’ve been rather tied up by ‘real life’ to read any of the goings on here at Kiwiblog over the last week let alone post but here are couple of cartoons that tickled my funny bone.
The first relates to the US State Department spokesperson Marie Harf saying that one issue with the ISIS terrorists is that they’re unemployed. They do have a job, it is killing anyone who doesn’t agree with their fanatical ideology.
© Michael Ramirez: found at Real Clear Politics
The second cartoon is about Vice President Joe Biden getting over friendly with the new US Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter’s wife at an event in Washington DC last week. Whatever his motivations this did have a bad look.
© Gary Varvel: found at Real Clear Politics
Wake Up Tomorrow is on for a week at Circa as part of the Fringe Festival. It is far removed from traditional theatre, as you might expect from the Fringe Festival.
Wake Up Tomorrow is primarily set on a plane and and a large cast entertains you with multiple scenes and plot threads. Some of them are related, and some are just there for fun.
The production is in collaboration with Active, a service for youth with an intellectual impairment. They provided the ideas for the plot, and make up the vast majority of the cast.
The 60 minute show was very heart warming, with many moments of laughter. The central plot was focused on whether Agent 009 would identify Spyfox before he could cause harm.
The show was a bit disjointed. While probably deliberate, some scenes did not seem to mesh well with others. This was probably a creative tension between letting the cast explore what they could do, but it did somewhat diminish the viewing experience. In the end it wasn’t so much a show with a plot, but rather a show about imagination. The Olympics scene at the end I found especially amusing, due to its ridiculousness.
All of the cast did well in bringing their vitality to the stage, and pulling off a show that both they and the audience enjoyed. Janiece Pollock, who played Bella and Kwame Williams-Accra as Spyfox were especially good.
The show also made good use of four dancers who performed dual roles in moving props on the stage, and helping move the show along.
Overall it was a cute and inspiring performance which I’m glad I got to see.
The Herald editorial:
The four years since the Christchurch earthquake is more than enough time for a discussion about New Zealand’s system of disaster insurance. The system might charitably be called a public-private partnership – the state’s Earthquake Commission pays up to $100,000 for damage caused by natural disasters, private insurance covers costs above that sum. But as many insured households in Christchurch discovered, it’s not much of a partnership in practice.
They had to make separate claims to the commission (EQC) and their private insurance company and the response was not always harmonious. Many heard from one agency that their house needed replacement and from the other that it could be repaired. Until they could get the public and private insurers to agree, nothing could be done. Since the EQC paid out readily on claims under $100,000, the least serious damage in Christchurch tended to be repaired reasonably quickly while households needing more extensive work suffered confusion and frustration.
The status quo is not satisfactory. I believe the best way forward would be to have EQC being a reinsurer to the frontline companies, supporting them in the case of a major disaster.
Private insurers such as Vero want to retain dual claims management yet none of them want to cover hazards on the scale of earthquakes and floods. But the company believes customers would be better served, or at least less confused, if their private insurer dealt with the EQC on their behalf. That would be more in tune with the way customers are charged as the disaster fund comes from a levy on private household insurance.
Few private insurers could handle a major earthquake without the state through EQC involved. However that doesn’t mean that EQC should deal directly with customers.
Two polls out over the weekend. The time and size weighted average is shown above.
Details of the polls are on Curiablog.
Labour have announced Sarah Stuart as their new head of media and communications.
Sarah is a former Deputy Editor of the Herald on Sunday, during its start up phase when it went from no customers to winning many awards. Since then she went on to be managing editor of the APN regional and community papers and then two years editing NZ Woman’s Weekly. She has a formidable media background, as both a journalist and an editor.
I think this is a strong appointment for Labour. Her background in both hard and soft news will be useful as they try to get Little’s brand set as a positive one. She should also be able to manage relations well with the press gallery. I’ve not had any dealings with Sarah for many years, but all my experiences has been she is very pleasant and likeable (which helps in dealing with a diverse caucus).
Social media may be a challenge for her, but that is what you have staff for.
Little has also confirmed former EPMU staffer Neale Jones as the party’s political director in Parliament and Martin Taylor as their research director. A good staff team don’t win you an election (the leader does that), but a non performing team can stop you winning. Little’s picks are looking quite sound.
The Herald reports:
Food giant Sanitarium appears to be safe from an ongoing Government crackdown on charities that has some sporting bodies worried they may lose their charitable status.
The maker of Weet-Bix and Marmite has a controversial exemption from paying tax on its business earnings as a result of its ownership by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in New Zealand, a registered charity. …
The Internal Affairs spokesman said no sector, sporting or otherwise, was being specifically targeted, but organisations that “no longer meet a charitable purpose” or fail to comply with their obligations will be deregistered.
There were no issues with Sanitarium’s registration, the spokesman said, as “advancement of religion” was considered a charitable purpose under the Charities Act.
That rationale harks back to archaic British law, which some critics argue is no longer relevant in a secular, 21st century democracy.
It isn’t. You should not get tax exempt status because you promote belief in a supreme being, or multiple supreme beings.
The relief of poverty, widespread community benefit and advancement of education are also considered charitable purposes under the Charities Act.
Many churches do worthy things which do help the poor and benefit the community. And they may qualify for charitable status on the basis of their activities. But they should not qualify because they promote religion.
The Herald reports:
A price gap of up to $60 has emerged between taxi companies travelling from Auckland Airport to the city.
The Herald reported on Saturday that an undercover survey of four taxi companies travelling the same route found a difference of up to $40. One company, Black Cabs, charged $91.60, while the cheapest, booked through the app CabChooze, charged $50.83.
The Herald received feedback from readers after the story pointing to much cheaper deals, leading to a bigger difference of nearly $60.
A reporter yesterday took a pre-booked trip from the airport to the city with Cheap Cabs, costing only $33.
The company’s website lists flat-rate fares to and from the airport.
Another company, Discount Taxis, quoted the Herald a cash fare of $40 to travel from the airport to SkyCity.
This is a good thing that there is such a wide range of prices. Some customers are price sensitive and will want the cheapest fare. Others go for quality and will always go for Auckland Combined or Corporate Cabs.
Apps will play a major part in allowing people to choose the cab they want.
Stuff reports:
ACT wants a binding referendum on the future of New Zealand’s superannuation and raising the retirement age.
Leader David Seymour says a public vote would end the “Mexican stand-off” between National and Labour, as pressure on the system grows. He believes it is untenable to keep paying out super from aged 65.
In a speech to his party’s annual conference yesterday, Seymour pitched the idea of an independent body to oversee a series of referendums on future of superannuation. And he pointed to an upcoming public poll on changing the flag.
“National won’t address the issue, Labour tried and are now backing away. This is a political Mexican stand-off, with the guns pointed at the younger generations,” he said.
I’m very supportive of the ACT proposal, especially because it is not just about the age of eligibility.
The idea of a two stage referendum, as we had with MMP and upcoming with the flag, is very sound.
Let an expert panel put up say four different future superannuation schemes, each fully costed. Then New Zealanders can vote on which of the four we prefer and have that go up to a final vote against the current scheme (which is unaffordable).
A key aspect is the current scheme would remain in place for current retirees, and those near retirement. A new scheme would apply say to those aged under 50 only.
When King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia died, some on the left complained about the fact NZ had flags at half mast to mark his death. It is of course standard procedure to do half mast for the death of any reigning head of state, and none of them complained when the same happened for Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, despite his terrible human rights record.
I got curious about how often in the last decade NZ flags have flown at half mast and why, so I asked the Ministry of Culture and Heritage. It has occurred 38 times.
I’ve split them into categories.
Death of Foreign Head of State
Of interest is that flags were lowered in 2005 for King Fahd, and as far as I can see not a single person complained. However when there is a National Government in power, it becomes a major media story!
Death of New Zealanders
Others
The Herald editorial:
Cricket followers were introduced to a new practice, court-siding, during the opening Cricket World Cup match between New Zealand and Sri Lanka. The attempt to stamp out this activity, named for its initial use at tennis tournaments, saw police officers, some in plain clothes, patrolling the Hagley Oval in search of spectators using lap-tops or constantly on their cellphones. Later, they revealed that “several” people caught court-siding had been interviewed and removed from the ground. This for an activity that is not actually illegal in this country.
Given that, there is every reason to question the police involvement. This has been highlighted by AUT senior law lecturer Craig Dickson. Court-siding’s only offence, he noted, was that it breached the terms and conditions of World Cup tickets, as prescribed by the International Cricket Council. On that basis, it seems reasonable to conclude that any transgressions should be left to the security staff employed by the ICC.
Absolutely. It is not a criminal matter.
This week’s Steve Braunias is rather good. An extract:
Just as I sit down for breakfast the phone rings and it’s Sky CEO Nigel Morrison demanding I come over right now and go through new costings for the convention centre or the whole deal is off. No problem. I grab toast, sausages, tomatoes, hash browns and a lamb chop to go, and scamper across town.
He presents the figures and draws up an architectural plan and says that without government funding the conventional centre will be minus windows, light bulbs and women’s toilets on the third floor.
I tell him if you carry the two and divide by six and move that column over to the left and this column over to the right and shake it all about then it’s entirely possible to make an allowance for three windows and five light bulbs on the second floor.
“Tell you what, sport,” he says. “Gizzus that toast in your pocket and we’ll throw it in the women’s toilets on the sixth floor.”
I weigh up the toast and figure I can always get my hands on some more down the line so I narrow my eyes and say to him, “Deal.”
It’s only when I get back to the office that I remember the convention centre doesn’t have a sixth floor.
Heh.
And:
Just as I sit down to microwave yesterday’s breakfast the phone rings and it’s my mole in the America’s Cup syndicate saying that Dean Barker is in for the chop and without him any chance of winning the next series is lost. No worries. I grab sausages, tomatoes, hash browns, and a lamb chop to go, and head for the waterfront.
I figure that if I delegate one or two minor responsibilities to the Prime Minister then I’ll be able to find the time to helm the black boat to victory, but first I just need a bit of practice.
Stuff reports:
A transgender prisoner with a taste for arson is taking legal action against the Corrections Department to get access to hormone treatment.
Brendon Forrest, who identifies as a woman, has taken a case to the Human Rights Review Tribunal after being denied expensive medical treatment in prison.
After a policy change last year, transgender inmates can request a transfer to a different prison matching the sex they identify with, instead of that on their birth certificate.
Factors to be considered include any risk the prisoner may pose to the safety of other prisoners, and vice-versa.
Sensible Sentencing Trust founder Garth McVicar described the situation as “nuttiness”.
“If he wants to sort himself out, or find out what gender he is that’s fine, but let it be on the outside. It shouldn’t be on the taxpayer. That’s what happens with these bush lawyers, they play merry hell with the system.”
I agree.
Forrest has a record of arson, threatening and setting a car alight with a person in it. If he stops committing crimes, then he’ll be out of prison and free to pursue treatment he desires.
The Herald reported:
Aucklanders now have their very own man in London, at a cost to ratepayers of more than $230,000.
Auckland Council’s economic development arm has created a special contract in London for one of its senior executives, Grant Jenkins, who has moved his family to England.
His English-born wife, Kate, was homesick and had been longing to return home for several years, according to a former council staffer.
The Jenkins have set up home with their two children outside London in the village of Bourne End in Buckinghamshire.
As well as paying about $196,000 for a 12-month contract, ratepayers are picking up Mr Jenkins’ work expenses and office costs at New Zealand Tourism’s headquarters in New Zealand House near Trafalgar Square.
Ratepayers have paid an administration fee of about $15,000 for his contract and contributed $19,841 to the family’s relocation costs.
Here’s how you can tell if this is just jobs for the boys. Was this position advertised or tendered? No. An existing employee decided to move back to London, so ATEED created a new job for him there.
Outrageous. Was this signed of by the ATEED Board? Did they ask questions?
News.com.au reports:
THE Islamic State may be harvesting the organs of victims to finance its terror operations, Iraq’s ambassador to the United Nations says.
Ambassador Mohamed Alhakim said today that in the past few weeks, bodies with surgical incisions and missing kidneys or other body parts have been found in shallow mass graves.
“We have bodies. Come and examine them,” he said, referring to the UN Security Council.
“It is clear they are missing certain parts.”
Ambassador Alhakim also said a dozen doctors had been “executed” in Mosul for refusing to participate in organ harvesting …
And still some people say this is nothing out of the ordinary and NZ should not do anything to stop this except make speeches at the UN.
Olivia Carville, formerly of The Press, writes of her first anniversary of the quake away from Christchurch. I won’t try to summarise it, just to say it is well worth reading.
The Herald reports:
Education Minister Hekia Parata has issued a formal warning to the troubled charter school in Whangaruru which now has a month to show it can rectify its problems or it could face closure.
Ms Parata has released her letter to the trust which runs the Te Pumanawa o te Wairua School advising it was now on notice over its performance and would be audited in a month. The letter said it had failed to meet criteria for truancy and the size of the school roll and there were indications of under achievement.
She would use the audit to decide whether the school had any hope of fixing its problems before making any decision on its future. The letter warned that if the trust did not take immediate action to address the problems, it could face closure.
This is a great example of the enhanced accountability that comes with charter schools. When was the last time you heard of a state school facing closure because it is under achieving and having too many truants?
Four out of the five initial charter schools are doing well, and producing what look to be some great results. One of them is not. But again, this is why the charter school model is useful – the sucessful schools prosper, and the unsuccesful ones close down.
When a state school is unsuccessful, it gets more funding, its neighbours are told they have to shrink their zones to stop parents leaving it, and after around five years of under-achievement, there might be some government intervention.
The Herald reports:
Electoral returns out next week will confirm that a National Party MP received $25,000 from a controversial businessman after Prime Minister John Key had a private dinner with him – at the man’s home.
The PM has always maintained that he met Donghua Liu at a National Party fundraiser but would never say where. Today, the Weekend Herald can reveal that the fundraiser was actually a private dinner at Mr Liu’s $4.75 million home in Remuera, where a smiling Mr Key and Jami-Lee Ross, the MP for Botany, were photographed alongside Mr Liu and his young family.
Afterwards, Mr Liu donated $25,000 that same month to Mr Ross’ election campaign. But the following year, Mr Liu became a political embarrassment for the Government after a Herald investigation revealed the impact of the property developer’s links to the National Party.
Shortly after the election, Mr Ross refunded the large donation from Mr Liu’s company – 15 months after it was given. Mr Ross has since disclosed the donation in candidate returns for the 2014 election due to be released by the Electoral Commission next week.
Mr Liu is upset that Mr Ross refunded the $25,000 cheque, which he regarded as a “slap in the face”.
The 53-year-old pleaded guilty to the domestic violence charges in April last year, but was in the Auckland District Court this week seeking to withdraw those admissions. He was successful and the case is likely to now head to trial.
Last night, Jami-Lee Ross said he did not intend to insult Mr Liu and any negative publicity associated to the businessman was not the reason the $25,000 was returned.
He said the Liu donation was given to be used in the local Botany campaign, but was not spent as a $24,000 donation from the National Party covered his expenses.
“So when the [donation and expense] returns were being put together after the election, it was decided the $25,000 should be returned to the donor because it was not used.
I think there is a useful lesson in this for National. I’m all for people donating to parties because they think a party’s policies will be good for NZ. But if a donation appears to be about influence, then parties should be wary.
Returning the $25,000 was the right thing to do, especially after the court case became known.It was of course not known at the time the donation was received.
The suggestion that it was returned because it was not used or needed is somewhat laughable. I’ve never known a party or candidate to return a donation on the basis they didn’t use it. Normally a party holds onto a donation as tightly as a crocodile holds onto its prey.
It is a good thing we have electoral laws that require transparency around donations. It allows the public to judge if they think a significant donation is appropriate or not. In this case, I think National’s concern was rightfully that it would not.
Philip Mathews reports in The Press:
“We bent over backwards to follow the letter of the law,” says Canterbury Museum director Anthony Wright.
“I’m not surprised or offended by anti reactions at all,” Wright says. “Museums are about sparking courageous conversations and I’m proud that we do that. We don’t kowtow to undue pressure.”
Really? Courage would be showing the Charlie Hebdo cartoons. Actually courage would be showing any depiction at all of Mohammed, even a benign one.
Between unpacking the offensive shirt in December and applying for an exemption to show it in January, the Charlie Hebdo shooting happened in Paris. Wright says that did not give him pause.
“I can’t imagine any context in which we would be doing anything on Mohammed,” he says.
Of course not.
But the hypothetical question is obvious. If one of Charlie Hebdo’s obscene drawings of Mohammed had been on a T-shirt that Zammit submitted, would the museum show it?
“You can make anything a hypothetical,” Wright says. “It’s just light years different. I was personally shocked when connections were made with things like that.”
Wright should have the courage of his convictions and spark a “courageous conversation” about the purported Quranic ban on depictions of Mohammed. Hard to argue it is not topical issue.
But of course he won’t. Because that would in fact take courage.
The Dom Post reports:
Cheaper bus fares and a free service on Saturdays have been proposed for Wellington, but the ideas could hit ratepayers in the pocket to the tune of $20 million.
The Green Party wants to see a three-month trial of “zero-fare Saturday”, as part of a five-point plan to reduce bus fares across the Wellington region.
Why just on Saturdays? Let’s just wave a wand and have free fares every day of the week. Even better, let’s pay people to use the bus!
But bus users were keen on the idea, when asked yesterday.
In stunning news, people who use a service like the idea of other people paying for it on their behalf.
Paul Swain, the regional council’s transport portfolio leader, said some of the Greens’ proposals were already being considered by council staff as part of the long-term plan process.
But the entire package could cost up to $20m, which would be roughly a 20 per cent rates hike, he said. “In my view, that’s unaffordable and the ratepayers would react very negatively.”
So remember that next local body elections – the Greens want a 20%rates hike.
I suspect it would be far more than that. History tells us that you make something “free” and the costs rise almost exponentially.