True or False you decide [Satire]



Eavesdropper and PR operation. 



Eavesdroppers come in various shapes and sizes, they can be the person sitting next to your table in the local coffee bar, or the taxi driver, even one of your family.

This eavesdropper works in a flash office in the Beehive. He is surrounded by portraits of people like Sir Walter Nash, Sid Holland and Norm Kirk.

The major temporary incumbent was inside his office discussing an upcoming event with his two press sectaries. One was a fifty plus gray haired ex TV1 male news reader and the other a not so young female ex-editor of the NZ Listener. Unfortunately the intercom was left turned on and our brave eavesdropper was a party to the discussion…here is what he heard.

“I agree, you can’t just take off for Bangor USA without covering your backside, the public will not accept you not attending the national service for those two brave lads who died fighting on the nations behalf”, judging by the voice that was the fifty plus PR man.

“What do you think”, asked the boss.

“Oh, I agree”, said a female voice, [I presume it was the female PR agent.] “Women are a big part of your support base and that base has been declining of late”, she added.

“I don’t care I want to go to Bangor Maine”, said the boss firmly.

“Don’t panic, we’ll workout a plan and with just an ounce of luck also turn you into a hero at the same-time”, said old PR man.

“In fact we’ve already designed a strategy that will achieve our goal into the future”, said woman PR. [Don’t PR people love using words like…into the future and looking forward.]

“Right then put me in the picture and give me a timeline”, said the boss sounding a little more cheerful.

“OK, here it is, one: Go visit the parents of the two soldiers and personally offer your condolences”, said male PR man.

“Done”, said the Boss.

“Then”, said the Female PR, “We will release a press statement about how hard your job is and how you’ve sacrificed your family life for your country, you know working 24/7 for getting the nation into work and pulling us out of our dire financial predicament and back into the blue”, she added sounding very proud and confident.

“So you reckon that its now safe to go and watch my boy play baseball in the USA and then take a short holiday at my home in Hawaii”, Boss asked sounding really happy.

“Don’t worry boss, we’ll wrap this up by getting out a press statement and we’ll drop a hint to the media about visiting those grieving parents, so just relax and we’ll get the ball rolling”, said male PR man.

Oh, one last thing boss, if you talk to the press in the USA don’t mention the death of the soldiers, talk about your hard work, you know 24/7, your sacrifice for your country and perhaps your time on Wall Street. Troop losses in the US is now... just sort of ho-hum in that neck of the woods”.

Eavesdropper slipped out of his office before the three left the inner sanctum…it’s a small country is New Zealand and it is almost impossible to keep secrets…  

PM's Sacrifice, a tale of two tales

There has been much debate about John Key attending a baseball game in the USA and not attending the special service for two NZ soldiers killed in action in Afghanistan two weeks ago. Below is a press release Key gave to the Bangor Daily News. It is interesting for what it doesn’t say but also for Key’s comments about government backing for baseball in NZ.



While the Nation cries...others cheer. 



“The Right Honorable John Key, Prime Minister of New Zealand, and his wife, Bronagh Key, cheer on the Asia Pacific team from Auckland, New Zealand on the first day of the Senior Little League World Series Sunday evening at Mansfield Stadium in Bangor, Maine.

The Keys are watching their son Max, who plays right field on the team.

Auckland, New Zealand's right fielder Max Key warming up before Sunday evening's Senior Little League World Series game against Houston, Texas at Mansfield Stadium in Bangor, Maine.

John Key’s major job challenges these days aren’t much different from those of every other world leader.

“It’s the economy, the global impact of the economy,” said Key, the prime minister of New Zealand. “We’re just coming through the recession like everyone else.”

But for a few days this week, at least some of Key’s concentration — and his physical presence — is a world away, at Mansfield Stadium, where his 17-year-old son Max is an outfielder for the Bayside Westhaven Little League team of Auckland, New Zealand, that is playing in the 2012 Senior League World Series.

“It’s huge,” said Key Sunday night moments before the New Zealand team’s first game of pool play against U.S. Southwest champion West University Little League of Houston, Texas. “You feel immensely proud of your children and you realize they’re growing up and defining their lots and doing wonderful things.”

The 51-year-old Key has served as prime minister of the island nation of 4.4 million located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean some 900 miles east of Australia since 2008. It’s a job that leaves him little time to follow the pursuits of his son or daughter Stephie.

“I’ve been prime minister for four years, and it’s really 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, so there are a lot of things I just can’t go to and can’t see,” he said.

But once Max Key and his Bayside Westhaven teammates won the Asia-Pacific SLWS qualifying tournament in Guam last month, his father the prime minister pledged to join him in Bangor.

“I couldn’t go [to Guam],” said Key, who has a background in investment banking and was a member of the Foreign Exchange Committee of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York from 1999 to 2001 before returning to his native New Zealand to pursue a political career. “In fact, I’ve been hugely busy, but I promised him if they got to the World Series I’d come, so I’m keeping my word and I’m here.

“I saw him play in Hong Kong once, I literally flew up for the day when he was on the Little League side, but this is the first time I’ve taken a week off to go and see him play.”

Key said the fact his son’s team — the first from New Zealand to qualify for a World Series at any level — has reached the SLWS is big news back home, and it may spur additional growth in a sport that, while lagging far behind such local staples as rugby and cricket, is gaining momentum.

“You’re apt to see a whole lot of players willing to join the sport and participate,” he said, “because we always see that when we see a New Zealand team doing well, whether it’s basketball or whatever it might be.”

Key adds that anyone anticipating an instant baseball boom in New Zealand may have to be patient.

“It’s an emerging sport, so it’s quite small but growing reasonably rapidly,” said Key. “Softball’s been the predominant ball sport along with cricket. Softball’s a sport we adopted in the ’50s and now baseball’s really starting to take over, so you see a merging of softball players starting to play baseball and I think over time there’s a chance baseball might be a much bigger sport relative to softball in New Zealand.

“But competing with big sports like rugby I think is a long way down the road.”

Still, Key said the last few years have seen an increased amount of investment in New Zealand baseball, with more infrastructure and bigger diamonds being built to complement an increased knowledge base in the sport coming in part from the United States.

Baseball also is attracting more government support, he said.

“Historically it’s been based on how big the sport is, so obviously a game like rugby gets a massive amount of funding in New Zealand while a lot of the smaller sports have struggled,” said Key, whose own athletic background was in squash and rugby but now is centered on golf. “We’ve been putting a lot more money into sport as a government over the last four years, and we’ve really been trying to encourage some of the newer sports.”

One of those sports newer to New Zealand is baseball, which Max Key discovered while watching American major leaguers play on television.

Unemployment up yet again. Nats support down.

Do you remember the words:

“Unemployment will decline in 2012 as work in Christchurch cuts in” Well that public relations crap pushed by hand picked media has been washed out to sea on a tidal wave.

Unemployment has risen yet again and now stands at 6.8% up from 6.5%. This has taken place while over 50.000 people fled the country as a clear vote of no confidence in National / Act / Maori Party and United Future.

Their inability to have a visible plan to create jobs is causing massive hardship among our land. The departure of over a thousand people each week has failed to give hope to those who remain.

Look at the government’s efforts in this vital area of its own backyard: It is cutting teacher numbers, community & public health workers, Adult education teachers and programmes, military personnel and their support staff, Railway engineers and staff, hospital support staff. Over four thousand public service personnel have been tossed on the scrap heap. Only the Prime Ministers office staff has been massively increased.

For three and a half years we have sat idle and watched the public service being decimated when the real problem was with private debt, this was the major problem we faced and the government gave the highest earners over a billion dollars worth of borrowed tax cuts each year and are now planning to sell off our assets in an attempt to pay this bill. Thy hope to sell our way out of trouble. Of course this approach is simply crap, we tried it before and it failed. When will we ever learn?

Most of our right wing moguls have fled the country or are in prison or awaiting sentencing by the courts. Some were even knighted before leaving the sinking ship like rats. Strange as it may sound some still believe that some of these greedy individuals were national heroes when in fact the reality was and still is that they were Ponzi schemers of the highest order. I’m not the only blogger sending this message, this from ‘Bombers blog site:

“We continue to see vast numbers of NZers with no job, we continue to see large numbers becoming 'invisible' to official jobless stats meaning our real unemployment rate could be far higher and we continue to see no plan whatsoever from National to address these unemployment issues other than selling assets and tax cuts for the rich”.

Sometimes I get the feeling that we are simply waiting for some one to appear who will magically fix our self induced problems. To many, the view that National and Labour are both rightwing and that they are locked into more of same.

There are also those who believed that a multi millionaire jetting in from Wall Street will be our saviour because of his so-called economic know-how, when what we got was a smooth talking salesman. These last three and a half years have proved that to be so true. Today’s New Zealand Roy Morgan Poll shows a drop in support for Prime Minister John Key’s National Party 44% (down 3.5% since July 9-22, 2012). Support for Key’s Coalition partners changed slightly with the Maori Party 2% (up 1%), ACT NZ 0.5% (down 0.5%) and United Future 0.5% (unchanged).

Support for Labour is up 2.% to 32%, Greens are 14% (up 3%), New Zealand First 4% (down 1.5%), Mana Party 1% (up 0.5%), Conservative Party of NZ 1.5% (down 1.5%).

If a National Election were held today today’s New Zealand Roy Morgan Poll suggests an election result would be ‘too close to call’.  

Kim Dotcom Terrorist or benefactor?

Kim Dotcom:

Is he a dangerous terrorist or kind benefactor? That is the question yet to be answered…

Eavesdropper was behind the scene at the High Court; I was serving the tea, coffee and gingernuts and I overheard some interesting conversations that throw a bit of light on the issue.

Conversation one: Police Lawyer and black suited guy wearing dark glasses:

“What am I meant to say to the judge about the FBI during the armed raid on Dotcom” asked the Police lawyer.

“Nothing, you know nothing”, said Dark Shades.

“But you were there, I can’t deny that fact”.

“Was I, I don’t remember if I was or not”, just do a John Banks, muttered Dark shades.

“And is it true that you thought about ‘Water-boarding’ Dotcom until you saw his size”, said the lawyer”.

“No way that interrogation method was only to be used on his security chief”, and besides that, your so-called special squad hasn’t had any special training as yet, its due to be introduced next month”, he added as an afterthought.

“But the search warrants were illegal and you had no right to be there”, said Lawyer trying to win the high moral ground. [If there is such a thing in the FBI]

“Come-on, we don’t need legal warrants we are the FBI, don’t you watch Television”’ said Dark Shades.

“No we don’t have FOX news here”, said the lawyer as he took his coffee and gingernut and departed.

I moved to the next room pushing my trolley as I thought, what was that all about…and why was the guy with the American accent wearing sun glasses inside.

Conversation two: Between another American accented agent and his cell phone listener…so you are only getting a one way conversation, sorry about that.

“It’s not going so well chief…

“Yes, the judge is allowing too many questions from the defence…

“Yes, the police are following instructions…but they are a bit slow.

“Oh you are correct our chances are not looking good.

A long period of silence took place, before he said:

“Yes Sir, I understand that the Hollywood Division is unhappy but the NZ Police used their 70 strong anti-terrorist police officer airborne assault team on the dude’s mansion and you can’t get more God Dam Hollywood than that chief”

The cell phone user suddenly spotted me and slammed his phone shut and said to me, “you heard nothing did you”,

I didn’t get to answer because a young woman came into the room, and asked if she could have a cup of tea…I offered her a gingernut, which she took saying, “since the FBI is paying…thanks.

Well so much for the Trial, but all the workers at the High Court think that Kim Dotcom is really neat, they like his style and I might add so do I.

Afghanistan takes its toll...

Two dead and six wounded three seriously.

Our Prime Minister quickly dons his black suit and says how brave our boys are.

He says that he won’t pull out before the planned date sometime in 2013, he doesn’t mean ‘he’ he means the soldiers on the ground. He will steer clear of any danger.

The main stream media now has more horror, murder and mayhem to fill its front page headlines; it will print the gory details, the family grief, and the agony with unrestrained commercial delight coated with plastic elasticity.

As an ex-soldier I have a small understanding of the agony of the family and friends of those killed or wounded. I more fully understand the guilt felt by the members of the unit and sub-units to which they belonged. Many questions relating what could have been done better or differently will bring extra pressure on those remaining. The last thing the unit needs are the platitudes written by public relations guru’s and mouthed by the PM or Defence Minister.

There is lost amongst the stupidity of the media behaviour of making money from the public grief some real issues.  Likewise the absolutely idiotic reason for the troops being there in the first place, is crowded in myth and PR spin. The Government of Afghanistan is corrupt and the intervention of US forces ensured that any intervention plan would fail sooner or later. Anyone who works with them or fights with them are tarred with the same brush and shares their crimes.

New Zealand lost its innocence once it brought into the ‘seek and destroy’ attitude of US military policy, put simply it was a kill first and worry later. Of course it hasn’t worked and it never will. It didn’t work in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan.  

Now we will spill real heartfelt tears and sadly heaps of crocodile tears as the country mourns its loss yet again. So be prepared for wonderful speeches in and out of Parliament, but also be prepared for more of the same shallow sympathy. What we need over this next short period is empathy and plan to move ourselves clear of the murderous strategic approach of others.     

Is this the performance we want?

A new reward system being introduced…

This letter was sent off to our local paper

Dear Sir

With regard to the threatened cuts to the Ministry of Social Development and staff performance criteria tied to getting long term “beneficiaries” off their income support, the effect will be even worse than the similar targets applied to ACC officers, which raised such a storm not long ago.

With ACC pushing people onto the dole and Work & Income pushing people off the dole,  while the government is shedding significant numbers of its jobs, with living wage jobs going into the mincer and even $2 dollar shops closing, where are the “liberated” beneficiaries meant to go?

They already go to foodbanks.

Are they meant to suicide and take their families with them?

This seems to be a recipe for disaster of scary proportions including increased family violence and crime in addition to the suicides.

Of course I am assuming that the largest long term ’beneficiary’ group, superannuitants, will be left alone, but that may not be the case and the same results would apply.

Ian Ritchie

Lets look a little closer at this issue.

Based on the working conditions now being introduced into our various government departments it would appear that if you want promotion or extra income you must ensure that someone else loses income or assistance.

This introduction of performance style rewards is a direct steal from banks and financial institutions and salesman style salary methods. ‘You make dollars for us and will give you a share’,,, This 1990’s style of bribery used by greedy corporates is now being introduced and used by the government to blackmail staff to get rid of difficult cases off the books.

Just think about it for one minute. If you worked for say, the Ministry of Social Development as a case manager and one of those you were managing committed suicide you could actually get a reward… The government has a name for this… ideal performance… in fact if enough of your clients committed suicide the minister could invite you to parliament and issue you with a high performance certificate signed by our part time Prime minister. Whereas in education suicide could have the opposite effect because teachers are meant to achieve an 80% pass rate, a suicide would make it difficult to achieve the required pass rate.

Of course, you may [As I hope we all are] be opposed to encouraging suicide and may actually prefer to help your clients, which may mean that you would have to forgo your rewards both monetary and status wise. You may feel this way because all your education and training has given you an understanding of ethics, responsibility and caring. But alas they are not the ethics’ that the present Key / Banks government espouses now days. ACC proves this; Housing New Zealand also demonstrates this fact and John Banks proves it on an individual basis.

Of course, we here in New Zealand are lucky, 50.000 of our younger people are fleeing the country each year and if these people are beneficiaries and you can increase the numbers going overseas you may increase your salary without needing to resort to suggesting suicide.

Now I know, at least I think I know, that most people wouldn’t drive their clients to suicide, but history tells a different story. In Germany from 1936 they did just that, they started removing those with mental health problems and disabilities into camps where they suddenly disappeared from sight. Later we found out they were murdered. Their government not only supported this weeding out of those who were a drain on the nation but encouraged it, they rewarded those who performed these shocking acts for them with both promotion and money.

Now I’m not suggesting that is what is being planned but we should never forget that it has happened. The economic conditions today are not dissimilar to those existing back in the mid-thirties. The fact is that driving people to suicide is murder, and ignorance is not a defence in my view.        

Part Time Rider Falls at first jump.

Waitangi Tribunal interim finding...

Amongst the hustle of the Olympic Games the Waitangi Tribunal released its interim findings. It was announced around the time that Mark Todd had completed the dressage and was guiding his horse around the cross country course.

In the Tribunal Vs the PM, the horse is the New Zealand public, the rider is our Part Time PM but the event judge is our legal system.

The race to begin the controversial assets sales programme is in the hands of the PTPM and he has a problem, for while he can control the horse because he presently holds the reins that hold is tenuous, and grows more so by the day. 

Mai Chen, a lawyer for the Maori Council suggests that the Crown should be worried. The PTPM has changed horses a few times but is being driven down a path that he is not used to, he is a gambler his whole career has been based on taking a punt and if successful reaping the bonuses. But this case is different, for the processes must be followed and the payers are the people. Who will pay dearly for the selling off of their assets, of course it’s ironic that they are being asked to buy their own assets? In reality it is a tax on electricity that will be used to increase the incomes of those who can afford to buy into the PTPM’s concept of shares for his mates.

While the dressage, cross country and show jumping activities are separate medal events they make up the team event as well, and that is the problem for the PTPM he isn’t a team player. Mark Todd is a full time equestrian events practitioner and understands the need for strong connections between horse and rider.

The Maori Council too has strong connections to those they represent and are in it for the long haul. If John Key fails to take seriously their interim Waitangi Tribunal outcome then no doubt they will move into the courts for they are serious, very serious in fact.

The courts are not like talk back radio or the Sensible sentencing Trust, full of red necked nutters, no doubt there are some strange judges, but in the main they reach balanced outcomes. Mai Chen went on to say:   

"I'm not saying that it's easy, winning in the tribunal is not the same as winning in the courts, but . . . this opens it up, it doesn't shut it down,".

"If I was Maori I would argue that their vulnerable relationship with water has been because the Crown . . . allocates what are essentially property rights for water to others."

And she is correct; the interim report proves just that. For the fact is, that while our PTPM may say [for red-neck consumption] that no one owns the water, he is selling it, and that for him would be another feather in his salesman’s cap when he heads back to his old employers on Wall Street, which I believe is not too far off.   

Maggie Vs Jancinda

Maggie Vs Jancinda

Maggie Barry was sitting outside in her garden sipping a red wine and relaxing with her teenaged children when one of them asked.

“Mom”,

“Yes dear”

“Who is Jancinda?

 “Where did you hear that unbearable name? Maggie said.

“At school” the daughter answered.

“They used her name at your school, well I never; private schools should know better, I hope it wasn’t a teacher”, she muttered.

“It was my best friend and she thinks that Jancinda is rather neat…you know with it”.

“What do you mean, neat, with it, what sort of language is that? Maggie snapped.

“Oh, come on Mum, you know, up to date, fashionable, you know up with the play”, said the daughter frowning.

Just at that moment Maggie’s son called out, “Mom can I have a break from trimming the edges of the lawn”.

“No not yet you’ve missed a bit and I want the lawn edges perfect, John K is coming around soon and I want him to see my garden at its best”, she shouted sounding rather stern.

“Mom, my best friend said that Jancinda is really slim and has a smile that just beams”, said the daughter.

“For heavens sake, that woman hasn’t had any children so she still has her shape, that’s all nothing else”, said Maggie and it was her turn to frown now.

“Are you saying Mom that 'having' me caused you to gain weight? She asked seriously.

“Well sort of, but I love you dearly”, she said realising she put her foot in it once again.

“I’m not going to have any children if it means I’ll lose my shape”, said the daughter looking rather glum.

Oh you have to, otherwise how can you later talk about matters like maternity leave and all that kind of stuff”, Maggie snapped back.

“Mom”, shouted her son, are the edges straight enough now”…

“Oh alright that will do”, anyway I’ve noticed that John may not be a straight as he makes out”, with his support for the Gay marriage bill, she thought.

Just then the daughter’s cell phone rang, “Hi, your Mom’s on Facebook, really and Jancinda too…sounds cool…they said what…really, truly, they did…

The daughter rushed inside to get on line; she was due to get her I pad next birthday.

The conversation ended so I carried on weeding the rose garden, no one notices me I’m just one of the gardeners…you shouldn’t believe that the 'Maggie' of the ‘Garden show' really does any gardening…

Go Jancinda.

John Banks saved by the bell.



If I show you mine, will you show me yours...sure but not for six months. 



John Banks walks free…

So John Banks can come out of hiding. Not for him a trial by jury, or a mad screaming mob of lynching Sensible Sentencing Trust pleading for his execution or the PT [Part Time] PM demanding his resignation on the grounds of naughty behaviour unbefitting a cabinet Minister and ex-minister of Police. But he gets a simple rap over the nose with a wet bus ticket and a note to take home to his mother from the Assistant Commissioner Malcolm Burgess acting as if the Commissioner was Head Master of an elite Auckland Boy’s School.

In fact the press release below lets John Banks once a Minister of the Crown, Mayor of Auckland and still leader of the sunken ship wreck known as the Act Party off the hook because his crime was not complained about earlier. He did know where the money came from but blamed his staff for not telling him. Strange that, he shakes the hand of the doner, thanks them and said he, "Couldn't remember"...yeah, yeah...

One could be forgiven for thinking that there is one law for the early caught and another for the later caught.

It’s almost impossible to consider that this character still helps write our laws, but he does and right now he is pushing for Charter Schools and pushing for privatising the education system. Putting women in their rightful place [where ever that might be], lowering the top tax rate, selling off our assets and selling off our health service. And Key made him a minister…I suppose now he will replace wee Bill English as Deputy PT PM…and shortly receive a knighthood for services to the police.

The police press release: Issued by the NZ Police Thursday 26^th July 2012.

“Outcome of Police investigation into electoral returns of Hon John Banks

Statement from Assistant Commissioner Malcolm Burgess:

Police investigating allegations that the Hon John Banks knowingly transmitted a false electoral return have decided there is insufficient evidence to consider a prosecution for an offence under section 134(1) of the Local Electoral Act 2001.

This follows complaints about returns filed relating to donations from Sky City Casino, Mr Kim Dotcom and a radio advertising donation to the 2010 Auckland Super City mayoralty campaign of Mr Banks.

The inquiry has established the return was compiled by a campaign volunteer who assured Mr Banks it was accurate before Mr Banks signed and transmitted the return.

In terms of Section 134 (2) of the Local Electoral Act relating to transmitting a false return there is a statutory limit of six months from the time of elections when complaints must be laid. Police first received the complaint for investigation on 27 April 2012, well after the expiry of six month period. Police are therefore unable to consider charges pursuant to Section 134 (2)”.

Maori water rights: Some facts

This item from the Herald will give all those who like to ring talk back radio and have a bitch about the NZ Maori Council going to the Waitangi Tribunal over the asset sales a little bit of information so as to understand the stance taken by Maori on behalf of all those New Zealanders who oppose asset sales: It also gives the lie to the various red-neck stance taken by John Key over the past week or so. I think he maybe a little bit upset that he can't act like a money trader over this issue.



Mai Chen: 



“Today, the Maori claimants will start to close their urgent claim into water and geothermal resources, which mean the next development, will be the Waitangi Tribunal's report and recommendations.

The tribunal will have to take account of past decisions, which include those recognising Maori rights to rivers and water.

In 1896, the

Maori Land Court

vested the Poroti Springs, in the Whangarei region, in six Maori owners. This was a significant recognition of Maori customary rights as it coincided with a period when lands were being alienated at a rapid rate through the

Maori Land Court

.

Then, in 1960, the Governor-General designated the springs and surrounding land as a Maori Reservation for the purpose of water supply for the common use and benefit of the local hapu.

In 1929, in a decision that the Waitangi Tribunal has revered as "one of the most perceptive judgments in the legal history of our country", Judge Acheson determined that Maori owned Lake Omapere and "that Maori custom and usage recognised full ownership of lakes themselves".

In 1998, the Waitangi Tribunal's Ika Whenua Report supported these precedents by finding that Maori ownership or property rights in rivers can be described as "being the right of full and unrestricted use and control of the waters".

In its 1999 Whanganui River report, the tribunal recommended the Maori claimant right of ownership in the river should be recognised in legislation without reference to the English legal conception of riverbed ownership. It reasoned that this was because the river, according to the Maori worldview, was a living taonga or treasure and an indivisible whole.

Comments of the Court of Appeal in the 2003 Ngati Apa case, which led to the Labour Government's controversial (and now repealed) foreshore and seabed legislation, support the findings that the law should recognise Maori customary rights in accordance with Maori custom.

Crown counsel's opening submissions last week were that Maori do have rights and interests in water; however this did not go so far as to extend to a property right or interest.

A Crown witness disclosed a 2009 letter where the Prime Minister had made an express promise to a small group of influential iwi leaders that the issue of "property" rights and interests in water would be on the agenda for discussions between iwi leaders and the Crown.

A further Crown witness from the Office of Treaty Settlements conceded that to sell down shares in the power companies, when Maori rights to water and geothermal resources had not yet been determined would be a breach of the Treaty.

The Crown has consulted directly with some, but not all, iwi and not with hapu. The interests of those Maori who already have balance sheets and those who do not start to diverge.

Yet the Paki case in the Supreme Court that I wrote about on July 9 found that the section of riverbed claimed by the hapu had not been vested in the Crown, leaving the door open for recognition of hapu rights and interests. This was a hapu and not an iwi. The crux of the issue is what is meant by "ownership" and how rights to fresh water are managed and allocated. In the tribunal, the Maori Council argues that the Crown has effectively assumed ownership of water by establishing and controlling the water use rights regime under the Resource Management Act 1991.

The Crown has assumed the right to grant resource consents for water permits. And now the Crown, as a non-owner, will commercially benefit from those control rights under the proposed partial sale of the state-owned power companies.

These energy SOEs hold various water consents relating to power generation. A 2005 High Court decision (Aoraki Water Trust v Meridian Energy) held in effect that water consents are akin to property rights in water because in many cases they grant exclusive rights to use that water resource. And these are consents that run for up to 35 years.

However the Crown decides to settle Maori claims to water, these existing consents will be difficult, if not impossible, to disturb.

Tribunal presiding officer Chief Judge Wilson Issac asked pointed questions of Crown witnesses about the reliance of the energy SOEs on these water rights. The fact is that energy SOEs, and their Government shareholder, derive significant commercial advantages from the consent regime. Yet the claimants argue that there is little quid pro quo for iwi and hapu that claim rights akin to ownership of these waterways.

You cannot challenge Parliament's right to enact laws such as the Resource Management Act in the courts but you can in the Waitangi Tribunal, as a breach of the Treaty.

The unenviable position for the Crown to navigate is that there have been acknowledgments by the Government, and a legal history that recognises various forms of property rights and interests held by Maori in water. Any recommendations the tribunal makes, even if non-binding, will likely force the Crown to deal with the existing legal precedent.

Mai Chen, author of Public Law Toolbox, is a partner in Chen Palmer which advises clients on Waitangi Tribunal claims.

TPP secret deal for the rich?



What's good for the US is good for us...says Hawaii resident John Key. 



The following was written from a US perspective but equally applies to New Zealand. I’ve highlighted in bold those areas that prove that we should steer clear of this TPPA. We should not forget that the government won’t tell us what they have agreed until they have signed the agreement…we are simply meant to trust them.

The dangers of an “Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement” (TPP).

This may be one of the most important stories ever ignored by the so-called "lame-stream, liberal" media. It's unlikely you're losing sleep over US trade negotiations, but the unfolding business agreement among the US and eight Pacific nations -the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) - should cause every US citizen, from the Sierra Club to the Tea Party to get their pitch forks and torches out of the closet and prepare to "storm the Bastille."

The TPP negotiations have been going on for two years under extreme secrecy, no information has been made available to either the press or Congress about the US position. But on June 12, a document was leaked to the watchdog group, Public Citizen, revealing the current US position and the reason for the secrecy. The contents are surreal, shocking and prima facial evidence for how corporations have become the master puppeteers of our government.

The leaked document reveals that the trade agreement would give unprecedented political authority and legal protection to foreign corporations. Specifically, TPP would (1) severely limit regulation of foreign corporations operating within US boundaries, giving them greater rights than domestic firms; (2) extend incentives for US firms to move investments and jobs to lower-wage countries; and (3) establish an alternative legal system that gives foreign corporations and investors new rights to circumvent US courts and laws, allowing them to sue the US government before foreign tribunals and demand compensation for lost revenue due to US laws they claim undermine their TPP privileges or their investment "expectations."

Despite the North American Free Trade Agreement's (NAFTA) failures, corporations are arm-twisting the federal government to pursue trade agreements as inevitable and necessary for economic progress. But 26 of the 28 chapters of this agreement have nothing to do with trade. TPP was drafted with the oversight of 600 representatives of multinational corporations, who essentially gave themselves whatever they wanted; the environment, public health, worker safety, further domestic job losses be damned.

Residents of the West should be particularly alarmed. TPP would allow the plunder of our natural resources by foreign corporations allowed to bypass US law. Disputes over Western land contracts for mining and timber, for example, would be settled by international tribunals. Even if you are oblivious to environmental concerns, you should be outraged at the total circumvention of national sovereignty. Foreign investors could bypass our legal framework, take any dispute to an international tribunal and pursue compensation for being denied access to our resources at fire-sale prices - with much of the West on fire as we speak.

It gets worse. Those tribunals would be staffed by private-sector lawyers that rotate between acting as "judges" and as advocates for the corporations suing the governments. American taxpayers could be forced to pay those corporations virtually unlimited compensation for trying to protect our air, land and water from much looser standards than current US law allows.

This agreement could directly affect efforts in my home state of Utah to hold the international mining giant, Rio Tinto, accountable to the Clean Air Act. A consortium of public health and environmental groups including WildEarth Guardians, Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, Utah Moms for Clean Air and the Sierra Club have filed suit against Rio Tinto for mining more - and polluting more - than the amount allowed by the Environmental Protection Agency via provisions in the Clean Air Act. This agreement would allow disputes about their pollution to be settled by foreign "judges" who don't live in Utah, aren't personally affected by the outcome, aren't even US citizens and could be attorneys for mining companies. Talk about putting the fox in charge of the chickens.

The original TPP nations were the US, Australia, Peru, Malaysia, Vietnam, New Zealand, Chile, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam. But Mexico, China, Japan and Canada are expected to be invited to join, so there is no comfort to be derived from the thought that only a few minor, foreign corporations will be given these extraordinary free passes to profit at our expense. Of course, American corporations will get the same opportunity to "invade" other countries, as if that makes this agreement any less grotesque.

TPP is much worse than NAFTA, which eviscerated middle-class jobs and wealth in the US. And this sellout to foreign corporations is not just a rogue brain cramp of President Obama. Mitt Romney demanded this agreement be signed months ago, and the notorious "climate change denying" US Chamber of Commerce can't get it signed fast enough. Romney has called Obama's the most hostile administration to business in recent history. If the TPP trade agreement is "hostile" to business, god help us if we have an administration, presumably Romney's, "friendly" to business.

If you thought that with Citizens United we had hit rock bottom in surrendering our democracy to the power of money, this TPP "trade agreement" would throw our democracy into free fall. Foreign corporations will be allowed to feast like termites upon America's natural resources, trash our environment and public health, violate our rights as American citizens and make us pay them if we try to protect ourselves.

Rain drops keep falling on my head, says Key

As was expected and planned Key is using the media to turn the eyes and ears of New Zealanders away from ‘Asset Sales’ and onto the discussion on water use. By doing this he thinks just maybe he can sell off our assets while red-necked radio talk back fans rave on about Maori claims before the Waitangi Tribunal.

Maori and most thinking New Zealanders don’t want their assets sold off, they never believed Keys crap about Mom’s and Dad’s buying the shares and they have been proven correct because Key now admits that stopping the bulk of the shares being sold overseas is impossible. So like any good money salesman he has switched tracks and now is attempting to convert the issue to one about who owns the water in the forlorn hope that this will take our mind off his real aim, of selling off assets.

Below is an interview with Hone Harawira broadcast on TV 3 this morning [11^th July 2012]  

“The Mana Party is calling for the Maori Party to walk the talk if the Government ignores any recommendations made by the Waitangi Tribunal over water right.

Mana Party leader Hone Harawira says if the Government were to ignore any recommendations that were favourable to iwi ownership, the Maori Party should walk away from their coalition with National.

However he told Firstline he doesn’t think they will.

“They have no intention of leaving,” he says. “They’re big on threatening to walk but they’re pretty weak when it comes to walking the talk.”

Mr Harawira says the sale of state assets is an issue that affects all New Zealanders.

“This is a claim about water and water is an essential element in the sale of state assets.”

He thinks Prime Minister John Key will get burnt by this water issue.

“When this gets to the high court and he finds out that the New Zealand Government does not have the ownership papers to a car they are trying to sell to private investors.” However Mr Key is standing firm on the Government's position around Maori rights to water - he says they don't own it.

He's also reiterated that the Waitangi Tribunal has no binding power over the Government, and that asset sales will go ahead.

Read more: http://www.3news.co.nz/Harawira-Maori-Party-all-bark-no-bite/tabid/1607/articleID/261026/Default.aspx#ixzz20MtVisON

For those who live in the Manawatu Region:

  

There is a lot going on this weekend for all you politicos and activists. We need to keep active in this cold weather!!!!

 

SATURDAY 14 JULY       

2pm     The Square      National Day of Action; Assets Sale Rally

 

SUNDAY 15 JULY

8.30am          Railway Station         Capital Connection Rally

 

MONDAY 16 JULY

7pm             Community Centre        Manawatu Keep Our Assets Public Meeting

Shares already owned vs beers and chips.



Victor Billot NZ Alliance Party

 Advice to mum and dad investors

by Victor Billot

I was impressed and excited to read a local finance broker's advice to potential "mum and dad" investors in privatized public assets in the Otago Daily Times (Friday 6 July 2012). 
Mr Chris Timms of Craigs Investment Partners says any complaints about ordinary Kiwis not being able to get in on the sale of the 21st century are misplaced.
It comes down to lifestyle choices and priorities. 
Cut out the cigarettes and takeaways, and you can be in to win. 
As Mr Timms says, you can save money, be healthier and buy some shares.
I agree. 
It is a well known fact that the working classes of New Zealand expend their lives in a haze of cigarette smoke, while simultaneously pouring jugs of beer down their throats and stuffing their ample jaws with burgers and chips.
It's amazing they actually find time to work full time and raise families.
In some cases, they linger on well into their seventies on superannuation (another drain on the economy.)
We need to buy back the assets we already own because we needed to give tax cuts to high income people, like finance industry high flyers for example. 
These tax cuts encourage them to work harder at buying the assets, that they are kindly selling for us, back to us.
If ordinary Kiwis wish to own the assets they already own, they need to understand in order to own them, they need to buy them back.
Confused? Don't worry. The hard thinking has already been done for us. 
But this process will need sacrifice. It will need hard times. There will be no gain without pain.
Our Prime Minister leads by example. 
For many nights, he lay awake in bed all night long wondering if shoveling millions of dollars of tax cuts to millionaires like himself was the right thing to do.
In the end he did it. 
He made the tough call on our behalf and we all benefited from it.
Some benefited more than others, but as they say, life's not fair.
As a result we are now in a position where we are being permitted to buy the assets we already own. 
Some of us just need some cash. (The rest of us, not the millionaires, that is.)
I believe Mr Timms is being too soft when he gently suggests cutting down on the smokes or turning away from the siren call of the cheeseburger. 
Like many he has been seduced into easy solutions.
I have a number of "tough love" recommendations to assist the average Kiwi "mum and dad" to get involved.
Firstly, do you really need that house? 
A shift into a tent at a local camp site could free up useful capital which you can then use to invest in your assets. 
Tents are flexible and can be moved to a cheaper site if required. 
Freedom camping is another possibility for the serious investor.
Secondly, examine your food budget. 
Food is over rated. It is well known that food is a major outgoing expense for many families. 
In economic terms, food comes with an opportunity cost. 
Every mouthful is literally eating into your potential investment portfolio. 
It is scientifically proven that a low calorie diet will ensure good health. 
Bread and water never hurt anyone, as long as you have an occasional vitamin pill to counteract the effects of scurvy.
Don't get too healthy though, as then you will hang around on the superannuation benefit. 
Thirdly, winter heating. Lots of savings to be made here.
Firewood is out of course and electricity can be reduced to a bare minimum. 
Go to bed early to keep warm – around 5pm. You won't be missing much as TV, stereo and a reading lamp are out, and dinner is a cold tin of baked beans. 
This is known as extra fast food because all you have to do is open the tin.
Fourthly, entertainment expenses.
Sadly as a nation we have not yet weaned ourselves off sport, music, cultural pursuits and hobbies. 
But go they must if we are to invest in what we are about to divest. 
Keep an eye on other family members and look for signs of frivolous enjoyment. 
Remember the best kind of fun is free. 
Take the kids down to the library and check out how your $1000 of mum and dad shares are going in the free newspapers (of course you have cancelled your ODT subscription as well).
But hurry up about it. The library will probably have to be sold soon to pay for the stadium.
These are only suggestions and you should adjust them to fit your own circumstances. 
Finance industry leaders do not need to worry about reducing restaurant meals, wine cellars, private schools, holiday homes, golf club memberships, Elton John concerts, skiing passes, Pacific island winter getaways etc.
Thanks to John Key's tax cuts and corporate perks, this group should already have enough money to maintain a more than comfortable lifestyle, and invest in assets as well. 
Indeed you will be able to have more of the above very soon, as a "gold class" mum and dad with $100 000 plus to invest.
It's what the finance industry call a "win win" solution. 
There is another option, however. 
The people of New Zealand could rise up and say, actually, mate, these assets are already ours and they were built and maintained by us for the benefit of all future generations – not just to line the pockets of the greedy and already prosperous by ripping off everyone else.
But that is unlikely. 
Us Kiwi mums and dads are a trusting bunch, and we want to believe what men in quality suits with nice smiles – like Mr Key – tell us. 
After all, they have our best interests at heart.