Asset Referendum November this year.

These words are very real.

As was predicted, the asset sales process has been an expensive mistake. [So far almost a hundred million] and its your money being washed down the river…

The Government spent $125 million dollars selling half of Mighty River Power and just 2% of Kiwis bought shares. The public is losing $2 million a week in dividends, much more than we are saving in interest on Government borrowing.

Now the Government is selling the largest energy company, Meridian. In a desperate attempt to drum up sales they have introduced a crazy "buy now pay later scheme", giving away interest free loans to buy shares - at a huge cost to all of us.
 

These assets and those that have not been sold yet must stay in New Zealand ownership to secure a strong, economic future. Be part of the movement to get that message to all corners of New Zealand.

The Keep Our Assets referendum will be held as a postal vote in November - December this year.

John Key has already packed a sad…he has stated that he will simply ignore the outcome of the referendum…this is typical behaviour of a dictator in drag… but seriously folks Key considers himself a world famous salesman, and you are the actual owners of what he is selling off. He treats you as simply pawns, in his ego driven obsession to remove public ownership for many aspects of our Kiwi way of life. 

If he is successful at fooling the public over our already owned power and airline companies, the next step will our schools which he has already started privatising, by introducing Charter Schools. And after that maybe our public hospitals will appear on the list.

This is the wee chap who refuses to exempt first home buyers from a twenty percent deposit level to allow them to get their first home. And he bullshits us that its to stop interest rates rising…this is just grap of the highest order. 

He changed the law so Sky City could make millions from pokie machines; he gave a $30 million gift to Rio-Tinto, 40 Million to MediaWorks, and 60 million to Hollywood.

A winning margin will introduce a clear direction to both the Labour Party and others to join with the front line effort of the greens and stop the privatisation and introduce sound and solid policies to reverse the mass privatisation plans of the present Government, and thereby put a large dent in the pockets of the few from the pockets of the many. 

What can you as individuals do to be a part of the massive collective force, needed to drive back into their black holes those that would rip away the nations wealth and pocket the profit. This referendum vote gives you a chance to fight back and defeat the billionaires who are running our nation for their gain.    

Sign up here to join the campaign to win the referendum to stop asset sales:
http://my.greens.org.nz/civicrm/profile/edit?reset=1&gid=164&id=14738&cs=fe5b2e6a9592c8e623b28e85bd0e1fa2_1380516982_168

This from the Greens:

“Earlier this month we got confirmation that we had successfully collected 327,224 valid signatures, thousands more than needed to trigger a referendum on asset sales.
Now we can make it crystal clear to John Key that he does not have a mandate to sell our assets, by winning the referendum.
Can you help us to mobilise the vote against the sales?

So come on and do your bit. Key hopes that you will be too busy with Christmas planning, prove him wrong.

Victory for Unite and the disabled.

From:
http://norightturn.blogspot.co.nz/2013/09/a-victory-for-workers-rights.html

"Over the weekend we learned that KFC hates the disabled, having a policy of systematicly sacking their disabled workers. Now, thanks to Unite, that policy has been reversed and its victims offered their jobs back:

Unite Union has reached an agreement with Restaurant Brands over the dismissal of 17 workers at KFC with disabilities that includes offering them the chance to get their jobs back.

Over the past year and a half the company has been carrying out store “restructures” that involved demanding staff with disabilities meet an impossibly high bar of being able to do every job in the store to stay employed. The agreement with Unite Union provides for the establishment of a “limited duties role” that can be done by disabled workers once minimum health and safety training has been completed. These roles will be offered to all the dismissed staff even if they have received a settlement when the dismissal was challenged by Unite or their advocacy group.

There's an obvious lesson here: unions work. There's another: so does the threat of bad publicity. But there's also a clear problem: the laws intended to protect disabled workers from discrimination and dismissal clearly did not work in this case. Parliament needs to look at why, and tighten them".

Mana Movement and all progressive political parties thanks the Unite Union for their quick and effective action over this vital issue. The Unite union here in Palmerston North is represented by Bonita Moyes, an organiser who is making her mark. 

Being a CEO is better than being a cleaner,

At 5.30pm on the same day as cleaners  appeared in front of a select committee at parliament a public meeting was being held here in Palmerston North on the same issue. 

Helen Kelly President of the CTU presented the case of why the Nat's industrial relations  amendment bill should not be passed. 

But first here is what went on at the select committee. After the hearing ended Tau Henare a National Party List MP who is well known for his flapping tongue couldn't help himself and voiced comments on the national news, "that if Mrs. Sinota, one of the cleaners making a submission, didn’t like her job, she should leave and let someone else do the job"…this idiotic statement was typical of the kind of thoughtless and big headed statement often made by this National Party Lap-dog.I think Mrs. Sinota was very brave indeed to appear in front of the committee...she deserved a medal not an insult from an idiot supreme.

Cleaners have made a tearful plea to MPs not to pass an employment law change that could see contracted workers lose their jobs if small businesses take over cleaning and other contracts.

Mareta Sinota was one of three cleaners who appeared at Parliament's industrial relations select committee on Thursday to submit against part of the Employment Relations Amendment Bill which would exempt small companies from having to provide continuity of employment when they take over a contract.

The law would exempt cleaning, catering, orderly and laundry businesses with fewer than 20 employees from having to offer work to the previous contract company's workers.

Mrs. Sinota is one of about 30 Spotless cleaners who clean Parliament's toilets, vacuum floors and empty the rubbish late at night.

"It's a hard job, a dirty job, but we don't mind being cleaners. We are proud to clean the most important house in the country," she said.

The cleaners, who are contracted by Spotless, received $14.10 an hour - just above the minimum wage of $13.75 - and Mrs. Sinota says she spends about $100 on transport for work each week, making it a struggle for her and her family to survive on a cleaner's wage, and the threat of losing her job if a smaller business undercuts Spotless' price is an added concern.

Sosefina Masoe and her husband have worked as cleaners at the Police College in Aotea for eight years.

In that time, Spotless cut their hours, before losing the contract to OCS - which kept their jobs, but cut their hours further.

She says they are worried the contract could change again and - if the law passes - they could lose their jobs.

Mele Peaua, a Spotless cleaner at Hutt Valley High School, said small, cheap companies will drive down the quality of cleaning, and if the cleaners lose their jobs, they have no redundancy protection.

Tau Henare’s stupid and degrading comments brought this response from one on line reader, and I quote:

“Tau Henare's comment on national television that if Mrs. Sinota didn’t want her job under Nationals proposed legislative changes she should find other employment is typical of the sick, cynical, inhuman and out of touch mindset of the National Party and their many supporters in NZ business.

An absolutely disgraceful comment from a politician who leads a privileged life on the back of the NZ taxpayer while the likes of Mrs. Sinota clean up after his bowel motions!

What a pig of a "man" (if you can call him that) and what a pig of a Party he represents! Imagine what this Party is doing to hard working NZers behind their backs if they have the gall to insult toilet cleaners on national television! Despicable and unacceptable behaviour from a government politician - the last National politician who denigrated a waiter for doing his job was forced to resign - the same fate should befall Tau Henare! What a dog!

Murray Georgel DHB CEO

Since I had to leave the Palmerston North Helen Kelly meeting to attend another event, I wasn't there for the discussion, but the Leisure Centre was pack out, but I realised just how badly treated our cleaners and care givers are and how favorably employers are being treated by this government.

One could be forgiven for thinking that workers are now being auctioned off by the government to the lowest bidder and I agree completely with the statement about Henare. Its no wonder that Labour, the Greens and the Mana Party are rising in the polls.  And one last word, the Boss of our District Health Board has just received a ten thousand dollar wage increase...taking him to five hundred and fifty thousand dollars per year...while the hospital cleaners who work for Spotless receive a wage you can not even live on...

Labour Greens Mana could govern new poll shows

The Nat's sent Steven Joyce off to San Francisco so that he could shake a few hands when Team NZ won the America Cup…but like everything Steven Joyce touches it all turned to custard, a multi million dollar rerun of the Novo pay debacle, or a exact copy of the Sky City stuff up where Sky City got every thing and NZ got the crumbs. So Joyce will hang around lapping up photo ops and pretending he is intelligent about the sport of yachting when he knows stuff all about anything other than getting cheap loans for Media Works etc. 

Meanwhile back in the real world, of struggle and pain the Labour Party has forged ahead in the latest poll, narrowing the gap between them and the National Party, and it was at the expense of the Nat's.  Amazingly it was the Herald DigiPoll that revealed the truth, this poll is one that almost always favours the Nat's, and the Herald is no friend of the Labour Party or the left of politics in general.

Cunliffe starts well............ Key takes a fall.

"Labour's support has jumped under new leader David Cunliffe to the extent that he could form a coalition government and become Prime Minister, if today's Herald-DigiPoll survey figures were translated to an election result. It is the first political poll conducted entirely since he became leader.
The poll also shows a marked dive in the popularity of John Key, to the lowest level since he became Prime Minister.
Labour has gained 6.8 points to 37.7 per cent of decided voters which would give it 48 seats.
With the Greens' 14 seats and the Mana Party's one seat, it would be able to form a government of 63 seats in a Parliament of 124 seats.
Polling began two days after Mr Cunliffe won the leadership contest against Grant Robertson and Shane Jones.
From the moment David Shearer resigned on August 22 to the declaration of the new leader on September 15, the contest was conducted in a blaze of publicity.
The rise of Labour appears to be mainly at the expense of National, which is down 5.1 points since the June poll to 43.7 per cent support.
National would not have enough support to form a government with present support partners Act holding the same number of seats as they do now.
And even if its other support partner, the Maori Party, kept its present three electorate seats, National's 56 seats plus five for its support partners would still not be enough to form a government.

PREFERRED PRIME MINISTER

Mr Key's support as preferred Prime Minister has fallen 9.4 points to 55.8 per cent.
Since becoming Prime Minister he has been in the 60s and sometimes 70s. He has never been down to the 50s.
Mr Cunliffe scored a respectable 16.8 per cent in his first appearance as Opposition leader in the preferred Prime Minister stakes.
His predecessor's rating in June was 12.4 per cent. A total of 20.4 per cent of those polled said they were more likely to vote Labour next election with Mr Cunliffe as leader than before, 14.4 per cent said less likely, and 63 per cent said it would make no difference to their vote.

JOHN KEY SPIN: POLL REFLECTS LABOUR LEADERSHIP COVERAGE
Mr Key said the poll was a snapshot in time, and reflected the focus there had been on Labour over recent weeks.
"Labour have had extensive coverage over the past six weeks as they've gone through their change of leadership. The polls move around a lot and I've always thought that the election in 2014 will be very tight. This poll indicates that."
He said closer to the election, people would start to look at the possible coalition options.
"Voters will start to look at what sort of Government they want to lead us beyond 2014.
What we do know with Labour is it will be a Government that will have to be formed with the Greens and given the public statements of David Cunliffe, it's going to be very much a far left Government on offer versus a centre-right government that has led New Zealand over the last five years."
He said he did not really have much to say about Mr Cunliffe's result in the first full poll under is leadership.

New Zealand First gained 4.4 per cent support in the poll, putting it below the 5 per cent threshold. This means that unless it won an electorate, it would have no seats.
Leader Winston Peters gained 6.2 per cent support as preferred prime minister.
National may see the poll result as the result of saturation attention on Labour but it also highlights one of National's biggest electoral problems - the lack of support partners.
The seat calculation figures assume - as have other polls - that electorate seats held by Act, United Future, Mana and the Maori Party are retained. But that is not nearly as certain as it has been for previous elections.
National has faced fewer controversies in recent months than it did at the start of the year, but the Opposition has been accusing it of "crony capitalism" over issues such as the $30 million payment to Pacific Aluminum Smelter, possible help for Chorus through internet pricing and the SkyCity convention centre deal.
National has passed the GCSB legislation, faced uproar over limits to snapper catches, and has made progress on its next part-sale of state-owned energy company Meridian.
The drop in National's support is also reflected in the poll question about whether the Government is moving in the right direction. The percentage answering "yes" dropped 5.5 points and the "no" response increased 5.9 points.

PARTY VOTE
National 43.7 (down 5.1)
Labour 37.7 (up 6.8)
Green 11.3 (up 0.8)
NZ First 4.4 (down 0.7)
Maori Party 0.8 (down 1)
Mana Party 0.7 (up 0.2)
Act 01. ((down 0.1)
United Future 0 (down 0.3)
Conservatives 1 (down 0.5)

PREFERRED PRIME MINISTER
John Key 55.8 (down 9.4)
David Cunliffe 16.8 (up 14.6)
Winston Peters 6.2 (down 0.2)
Russel Norman 3.7 (up 0.1)

SEATS IN THE HOUSE
National 56
Labour 48
Greens 14
Maori 3
Mana 1
Act 1
United Future 1
TOTAL 124
 
•Assumes that Mana, Maori Party, Act and United Future retain their electorate seats.
* The poll of 750 eligible voters was taken between September 17 and 23 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 per cent. The party vote result is of decided voters; 8.6 per cent of respondents were undecided.

The Queen and Philip chat about Keys Visit

The prime minister and his wife Bronagh and children Stephie and Max this weekend was holidaying with the Windsors at the most intimate of royal residences, Scotland's Balmoral Castle, at the invitation of Her Majesty. While there will be some photo opportunities available to the MSM, Wheeler’s Corner was very much closer to the real action.

Wheeler’s Corner Eavesdropper employed by the GCSB security team just happened to hear what the Queen and Prince Philip thought about the visit…Eavesdropper was working with MI5, viewing and listening in via the monitoring system used by Balmoral Castle. The British secret service is closely connected to our GCSB via the five eyes agreement.

Here is a reported conversation between the Queen and Prince Philip which was made available to the US, English, Australian, Canadian and NZ security services.

“He’s a funny fellow, that Key Chap isn’t he Philip dear”, said the Queen.

“Oh I agree, but all those chaps are like that, it sort of goes with the profession I suppose”, said Philip as he scratched his nose.

“What sort of chaps darling cuddly bun”, muttered the Queen sounding very royal in a motherly kind of way as she checked her latest bank balance.

“You know car salesmen and money pushers, you remember that Larry Summers chap from America…he talked the same way as wee Prime Minister Key, John is it not”, said Prince Philip.

“Oh I see what you mean, Summers’ tried to sell us a few derivatives products and wee John tried to get us to sell him 49% of Balmoral Castle…he thinks old dear that we could make millions on the deal and we could use that money for a new royal yacht”, said the Queen, proving that even in her nineties her memory is excellent.

“I’ve never been one to believe all that finance stuff, I mean really old dear, how can you sell what you already own and using that money to buy something you don’t really need, and what if the 49 percent decide they want to sell their shares to others living off shore…My God Liz we might have foreigners on our Castle management team”, uttered Prince Philip moving his scratching from his nose to his elbow.

“Oh Philip I love it when you call me Liz, takes me back to the old days in the 1950’s, but I agree I think we should give Key’s. John isn’t it, schemes a miss, I’m mean the Americans have just sacked that Larry Summers chap because his plans have turned to custard…I think Key [John that is] may be gone next year”, said Liz Queen of England and NZ.

The MI5 listening in ceased when they heard Prince Philip snoring and saw the Queen pull out her calculator as she worked on her bank statement…

Note:

The tape was forwarded to the five eyes team because of the words underlined above triggered the automatic process.     



Top public servants get huge pay rise.

Money is short, wages are static, pensions and benefits are being reduced in real terms for prices are rising, buying a first home is simply a dream, Home-care workers and young workers along with students are really struggling. Even low charging community health services are on the verge of closing or chopping services. But hey…that’s life in modern day New Zealand. This is neo-liberal economics in action and the PM says we should be proud of this.

Surely this can’t be correct, CEO’s salaries are zooming toward the heavens, banks are making huge profits, farming is booming for some and Fonterra is making massive profits, the top rate of tax has been reduced and government has given away billions to private companies. Our Ministers travel the world to watch boat races or visit the Queen for a weekend holiday. Some of our top public servants are paid millions for not performing the latest example is the fumbling, muddling CEO of

 

Tony Marryatt gets huge payout.

Christchurch City Councils Tony Marryatt who received hundreds of thousands in fact close to a half a million for basically but not officially being sacked. Hospital Board CEO’s are also inline for massive increases while services are being cut. Of course the flow on effect means that others in the management area will also receive proportional increases.    

The latest round of automatic salary increases has been announced for top public service figures. Also a few of the pay outs to sacked or replaced heads of departments. The government has at the same time been hiring its friends to fill top slots within the Public Service commissions, people like MP Jackie Blue etc. But hey this is New Zealand crony capitalism it’s the in thing: This from Fairfax Media. 

Heads of some of the major government departments pocketed inflation-busting pay increases this year, while the state sector also saw a string of substantial severance payments.

The State Services Commission quietly added its review of senior public servant staff to its website this week, breaking the tradition of releasing it with its annual report.

While the commission said the pay increases were lower than the private sector and in line with changes in recent years, several high-profile bosses got increases of more than 10 per cent.

During the period - the year to June 30 - inflation was less than 1 per cent.

Wayne McNee, who quit as director general of the Ministry for Primary Industries in July, had a pay packet jump of about $50,000 in the year to June 30 to about $510,000.

During that year the super ministry was criticised for its preparedness for a foot and mouth outbreak and was blamed by the minister, Nathan Guy, for its handling of a block on New Zealand meat products into China.

Sean Hughes, chief executive of the Financial Markets Authority, saw his pay packet surge by $50,000 to $500,000, at a time when the financial regulator was being criticised for its failure to uncover Ross Asset Management, a massive Ponzi scheme.

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority chief executive Roger Sutton had a pay rise of about $50,000 to about $560,000, while State Services Commissioner Hugh Rennie's salary went up $40,000.

Most of the chief executives covered in the survey, which includes the bosses of district health boards, universities and polytechnics, moved up, although a few had falls.

Adrian Orr, chief executive of the New Zealand Superannuation Fund, saw his pay packet - likely to be linked to the performance of the fund - drop by $70,000.

The figures also reveal a number of severance payments, with former ACC chief executive Ralph Stewart walking away from the agency with $171,567 after quitting in the wake of the Bronwyn Pullar affair.

Other agencies had major payouts associated with the formation of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. The figures show the Department of Building and Housing, then headed by Katrina Bach, paid out more than $183,000, while the Ministry of Science and Innovation's severance cost was almost $250,000.

When do lies become dangerous to your health,

Truth is a very important element within a democracy; it is the corner stone to our justice system, our education system and our social system. Truth is something we teach our children so as to ensure their acceptance in the world that awaits them. But alas sometimes parents fail and a person slips through the checks and balances and progresses to the top job.

For a while we developed a pattern of lies that led some to grow fat on half truths and even outright lies told on a massive scale via public relations fed propergander.

That time has arrived yet again here in New Zealand. First we had the lie about our GCSB and their illegal spying on Kim Dotcom, and then we had the lie about John Banks in regard to campaign donations from Dotcom and Sky City.

Next we had the huge fibs about meetings between Government and Sky City Bosses, and then we had the phone call to Rio-Tinto’s boss and the sudden gift of thirty million dollars so as to improve the possible sale of shares of Meridian Energy. Earlier we had a quick visit to Hollywood followed by a massive hand out to Warner Brothers. Each of these events together amounted to tens of millions of dollars, but now we have the mother of all lies attached to a corporate-welfare grant to Chorus, an overseas owned company once owned by telecom. Let’s look at the latest Q and A relating to that massive porky,

September 17^th 2013: [Question time]

Hon David Cunliffe: Speaking of submissions, does the Prime Minister agree with Vodafone that the unbundled bit stream access (UBA) pricing proposal delivers “unnecessary corporate welfare to Chorus, at the expense of all consumers who will pay more for telecommunications services,”; if not, why not?

Rt Hon JOHN KEY: No, because under every scenario, consumers will pay less.

Hon David Cunliffe: Given that the Prime Minister’s actions have overridden both the contract entered into by his Minister Steven Joyce and the regulatory process of the independent regulator to provide a $600 million subsidy to one of New Zealand’s most powerful corporates, would he agree that this smells and tastes of crony capitalism?

September 17^th 2013: [Question time]

Hon David Parker: Did the Government’s deal giving a $30 million subsidy to the smelter, which overrode Treasury advice that said it had no economic justification, come before or after a telephone call between the Prime Minister and the smelter boss?

Hon David Cunliffe: Another phone call.

Hon STEVEN JOYCE: It is outrageous that people use telephones! I am not aware of that particular time line, but I can tell the member that if he wants to back Treasury advice, then he should see Treasury’s advice on his NZ Power proposal.

Hon David Parker: Did the Minister for Economic Development seek the approval of the Minister of Finance before he pressured Vodafone, Federated Farmers, and 2degrees not to join the “Axe the Copper Tax” campaign; if so, is that the same Steven Joyce who refused a base price for copper when the ultra-fast broadband contract was tendered to Chorus and now wants to put in place a base price, which economists say is worth hundreds of millions of dollars to Chorus?

Hon STEVEN JOYCE: I do talk with the Minister for Economic Development from time to time. I find him particularly agreeable. We tend to agree, particularly today, on most things. I disagree with the member’s characterisation of my friend the Minister for Economic Development and his conversations with those three parties. The Minister for Economic Development explained to those three parties what was actually involved, because the “Axe the Copper Tax” campaign is actually not honest, there is no subsidy proposed for Chorus, the Chorus contract is not being changed to increase its revenues, and the Government is not introducing a copper tax.

Now there one common factor in all the events above and that is that both John Key and Steven Joyce have both been involved in telling porkies, not accidentally but intentionally, both are experts at telling fibs, in fact both their past employment history almost demanded that they be well versed in that art form…But like all behaviours such as the use of mis-truths there comes a time of revelation and that time has arrived for these two highly promoted car salesmen.

Winston Churchill said, and I quote: “The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is”. Quote ends. And we now have the truth: Massive corporate welfare being dished out at your expense, but what the heck you are simply pawns in a huge Ponzi Scheme run by a couple of experts in the field.  

If you would like to listen to Wheelers Corner Radio programme:

http://www.accessmanawatu.co.nz/Shows/Show-Details.aspx?SHOWID=8c464e43-cbed-43d9-842c-e0458fc75424 is my show page on access website. It has all of my available on-demand episodes. Or you can also use this link: http://www.accessradio.org/media/ondemand/play.asx?uid=1216772083-629 to play the latest on demand episode at any time.



Labour votes this weekend.

Well, three weeks has passed and the three labour party leadership candidates have gone head to head…and the party now makes its choice…

The main stream media and the Nats bloggers have all spun their tales, created disharmony where little existed…that failing Auckland News Paper the Herald…has filled its pages with endless crap by so-call political experts and half baked journalists, who represent Neo-Liberalist failed policy have all expressed their blinkered views, but their opinions are not worth the paper on which they are printed. Why, because they can’t vote on the issue. Right now they must be asking themselves a question, how come we can’t vote for Nationals leader? And the answer is simple, because the National Party is undemocratic in shape and process; leaders in the Nats structure buy their way to the top and have done so for years

Toby Manhire put it this way:

"If I were a member of the Labour Party, I'd be, on balance, pleased with the road show of the last few weeks. If I were a member of the National Party, I'd be wondering: how come I don't get to vote on the leader of my party? "

Inequality under National is a planned strategy, it is not an accident of the economic times, it is a highly developed and organised process of wealth transference. This from the Alliance Party tells it like it is:

John Key is not just some affable buffoon – he is ruthlessly carrying out the true function of the National Party which is to suck up as much wealth as possible for the richest 5-10% of the population... carrying with on the transfer of wealth from the majority to a tiny elite that accelerated under Rogernomics and continues today.  (That’s why I think the term “inequality” is inadequate – it sounds like some kind of condition which just exists rather than being the result of a vicious process).

Following his latest gift of $30 million dollars of our money to the shareholders of Rio Tinto Zinc (the Queen is a big shareholder BTW) against Treasury advice he has now over ruled the commission which is charged with regulating the price charged for the monopoly copper wire network (owned by Chorus, a Telecom company) with the result that consumers will pay over time some $600 million more than they should for phone and internet connections. The reason (not a justification) for this is that Chorus is afraid that if copper wire is significantly cheaper than the new ultra fast fibre optic network not enough people will take up the more expensive option!

Small in comparison is the $2 million (but may be doubled) that is being taken out of our pockets to help businesses affected by the Fonterra “botulism” debacle. Why is Fonterra not paying this? [Quote ends]

Why is it that whenever business stuffs up, the tax payer bails them out, we’ve seen it with Keys’ gift to Hollywood, South Canterbury Finance, AMI, Sky City. While at the same time changing the law to stop care givers being paid a fair wage and even changing the law to prevent the Prime Minister, police, GCSB and SIS from being prosecuted for breaking the law in a half-a-dozen different ways. If you or I did what they’ve done we would be in court in a flash.

If you'd like to listen to Wheeler's Corner go to:

http://www.accessmanawatu.co.nz/Shows/Show-Details.aspx?SHOWID=8c464e43-cbed-43d9-842c-e0458fc75424 is my show page on access website. It has all of my available on-demand episodes. Or you can also use this link: http://www.accessradio.org/media/ondemand/play.asx?uid=1216772083-629 to play the latest on demand episode at any time.



Dunne Maori Party discover their spine

The Maori Party and United Future have at last found the belated will power to resist National’s obvious wish to water down the RMA to suit their big time backers, the developers and bankers who are growing fat on the back of our never-ending property boom and bust market.

While the press release below offers a tiny hope that National could lose out on yet another change favouring their major supporters it may be too soon to celebrate. Last time things got tight [The Asset Sales] National found the means to force United Future into a change of heart by the use of illegally gained information to [what could be called] blackmail Peter Dunne, by connecting him and Andrea Vance.

From the Maori Party perspective this gives them all the chance to vote against the RMA changes…but we need to stay awake to the fact that many times they have used only two of their thee votes against, which has in reality meant that National would still succeed even if Peter Dunne voted against the government. I and thousands of others can only hope that the Maori Party MP’s [3] remain steadfast and clearly display the Mana and fortitude needed to combat the pressure that will most certainly be applied by John Key and his team of bullies. I’m sure that should they desire to achieve real change Hone Harawira would be only too willing to assist them. Below is the PR:     

Māori Party, United Future: RMA changes strike a rock

Wednesday, 11 September 2013, 10:07 am

Press Release: Joint Media Statement 

EMBARGOED UNTIL 10:00 am, WEDNESDAY 11 SEPTEMBER 2013

11 September 2013

RMA changes strike a rock

The Māori Party and United Future have decided that they cannot support the government’s latest proposed changes to the Resource Management Act, and have written to Environment Minister Amy Adams to outline their concerns.

“The changes do far more than rebalance the Act to make consenting procedures more efficient. We say the changes to remove emphasis on the ‘maintenance and enhancement of the quality of the environment’ fundamentally rewrite the Act and put a spanner in the works of the legal system, that will take years of litigation to fix up,” said Tariana Turia and Peter Dunne.

“The Resource Management Act was designed to ensure that our use of natural resources is sustainable. Changes to Part Two, which enshrine the driving principles, undermine the whole purpose of the Act,” said Mrs. Turia.

Te Ururoa Flavell said “Sections 6 and 7 reflect the Maori principle that people are recipients and therefore stewards of the natural environment, rather than owners. The legislation should not be dealing with proprietorship, and we understand and support tangata whenua groups who believe merging these sections will undermine their role and responsibilities as kaitiaki to maintain and enhance the quality of the environment.”

“In the 20 years since the Act was passed, the environment is in a worse state by almost every measure, and the government’s proposed changes to facilitate development will make matters worse,” said Mr Dunne. “I do not accept that commercial interests should override the environmental principles of the Resource Management Act.”

“While we both agree that there could be useful improvements made in tidying up the process issues within the legislation, the changes to Part Two will create a level of uncertainty which will be counter-productive,” Mr Dunne said.

“We have written to Minister Adams to inform her that we cannot vote in support of the legislation as it currently sits.”



The end of Neo-Liberalism

On Thursday, September 05, 2013 at: http://norightturn.blogspot.co.nz/2013/09/cronies-appoint-cronies.html

The following appeared:

"Cronies appoint cronies

Last April, National appointed its crony, former MP Georgina te Heuheu, to the board of Māori Television. While Te Heuheu might be qualified, the appointment process was pure cronyism - the position was not advertised, and instead Te Heuheu was shoulder-tapped by her former colleagues. So it’s hardly surprising that now that she is in the job, she is doing the same thing herself, shoulder-tapping a friend with a shady history to serve as Chief Executive, despite a serious conflict of interest:

Clare Curran: [asked Bill English] Is he aware that the lead contender for the position of Māori Television chief executive, Paora Maxwell, was not considered suitable for the position by the recruitment company engaged to oversee the process and was not included on the shortlist, but that this decision was overturned by his close friend and board chair Georgina te Heuheu, and does this meet his test for an appropriate appointment process?

[...]

Clare Curran: Is he aware that Paora Maxwell has been in long-term debt to Te Māngai Pāho, which is the major programming funder for Māori Television, for money owed from his own production company, Te Aratai Productions; if so, does he think it appropriate that the board would appoint a chief executive in long-term debt to the station’s programme funder?

(Yesterday we learned that that same Paora Maxwell left TVNZ "under a cloud of financial and staff mismanagement" and that Māori Television apparently refused a briefing on him offered by TVNZ)

So, a crony appoints a crony, using the same practices which appointed her. It’s hardly surprising, but we deserve better when public servants - and public money - are involved. Quote ends: 

The public pressure on ex list National Party MP Georgina te Heuheu, chairperson of the Maori TV board was simply too great and she back tracked at a rapid rate and decided that Paora Maxwell was simply not up to the job…so it would appear that Maori TV will not be sold off to one of Steven Joyce’s mates for a while yet. This is a bit of a kick in the bum for national party strategists who have slowly been bringing our News Media outlets under their control.

Various right-wing bloggers have been used by main stream media as so-called political experts. Kiwi blog owner David Farrar is being used by MSM to push the neo-liberal line and along with other neo-liberal pushers like ex labour party chairperson Mike Williams and his best mate Mathew Hooton they even used dumped Labour and Act party creator Richard Prebble to comment on the labour party reintroduction of a democratic system to elect its leader.

Just as these same manipulative bunch wanted David Shearer as Labour party leader because Key could act the bully-boy while David Shearer was in charge. They are now suggesting that Shane Jones should inherit that role, why, because he is most easily beatable at the next general election in 2014.

The reality is that John Key is really nervous about David Cunliffe and the word has gone out…to stop Cunliffe from being Labour’s leader at all costs. And people like Farrar, Hooton and most elements of the MSM are willing to, for a payment go along with this PR strategy. When Key wants something he simply buys it…always has and always will.

But out there in the real world democratic forces are uniting, parties like the Greens, the Mana Movement and even NZ First are developing the ways and means to turn the tide. And now that the real membership of the Labour Party has had a taste of freedom they too are seeing the truth. Neo Liberalism is collapsing from the bottom up; oh it’s not dead yet because it’s wealthy backers knows that they have to spend billions to continue to receive the billions they receive via the taxpayers. Neo Liberalism is and always has been a Ponzi scheme, where the mass gets poorer and the few get richer, and a policy of greed.



Come and meet a hero

There are people who work their guts out each and every day not only to achieve what some would consider unachievable goals within the society in which we live.

Of late I’ve been spending some time working with two wonderful young people who have both a clear and highly active vision of the future. What makes their individual efforts so outstanding is that they are doing this not for their own financial gain but because they clearly understand that collectively as social beings united we can improve the lot of those presently at the bottom of the heap.

Each has a story to tell, and their story is without doubt one that is shared by thousands of others throughout Aotearoa who in their own way represent all that is good within our society.

One was working in the fast food industry where the staff is treated like slaves in many respects…their working conditions are absolutely shocking at best and mind blowing at worst. Jobs where you’re working hours are changed daily; sometimes even hourly, where you don’t know what you can earn on a daily basis. Where you can’t even plan to save, or plan and develop a working model in which to bring up a family with some sense of security.

After a period she challenged the management to act as a good employer and to create and introduce a working model that had some sense of fair play and wage that was agreed as realistic and one on which one could live. She and a few of her fellow workers joined a new and progressive union named ‘Unite’ and together they challenged the neo-liberal government backed idiotic employment systems and won. They developed new collective agreements and slowly changes have been brought about that means that at least some of these ripped off and mainly young employees gained a degree of self respect. She now works for that union as a organiser assisting the delegates’ and members make some headway in achieving economic wellbeing. Her name is Bonita she is a young Maori woman who gives her all; to lift all those in need and who are being ripped off by unscrupulous big corporate fast food outlets.   

I read a text to the local paper in answer to a letter I had published relating to the creation of a livable wage. The writer was unknown, but he or she stated, ‘that you can’t just create a livable wage because if you do then employers would lay off thousands of staff’.

That is simply crap of the highest order…once upon a time and not too long ago a person earning a wage could save and get married and raise a family, even buy a home. Once upon a time the government dictated a yearly increase in hourly rates and during those times we had negative unemployment.

The government can should it so desire; dictate both the minimum and maximum wage or salary rates. Yes it did and it worked. We had little or no poverty back then.  

Right now the government is subsidising thousands of employers via the taxation and benefit system, by direct payments to hundreds of thousands of families. By doing this huge overseas owned companies have been able to keep their workers salaries low, while paying their CEO’s, top managers and Board of Directors and share holders massive salaries. No CEO of a hospital board is worth 400 thousand dollars per year, the CEO’s of banks are paid millions and millions, like wise financial rip-off artists.

So Bonita battles on, arguing on behalf of Unites members and other low paid employees…she is a hero…and she deserves better as do all like her.

Bonita will be speaking at the following event if you can attend please do so, we can all learn.

Peter

Can you please email out to your wonderful network

Thanks Dion Martin

From: Lawrence O'Halloran [mailto:Lawrence.O'Halloran@teu.ac.nz] Sent: Wednesday, 4 September 2013 10:53 p.m.

Subject: FW: Catholic Social Justice Week public seminar - “Walk Alongside: Meaningful work for the young worker"

Kia ora Palmerston North and Manawatu Christian Churches & organisations

Local churches, Christians, their families and friends are invited to attend the 2013 annual Catholic Social Justice Week public seminar from 10am – 1pm on Saturday 14 September 2013 at the Palmerston North Diocesan Centre 33 Amesbury St, Palmerston North.

The theme this year is “Walk Alongside: Meaningful work for the young worker”. We have a full programme with a key note speaker, panel of young people, parliamentarians and politicians, questions from floor, and shared lunch.

We would be grateful if you would publicise this event in your church bulletin/notice this weekend, and send this email and attachments to any other networks you have please.

Yours in Christ

Lawrence O'Halloran

Chairperson Justice Peace and Development Commission

Palmerston North Diocesan

Phone: +64 6 350 5021



National Party vs NZ Maori Council yet again

Maori Wardens in Whanganui protect Bill English. 

The Maori Community Development Act 1962 Discussion Paper

Throughout the month of September various Hui are being held around NZ to discuss the proposed changes to this vital act.

It is often stated that if something is not broken then why change it? And that’s a fair question that needs asking when considering the Maori Community Development Act.

Presently the Acts basic purpose is to give effect and authority to the New Zealand Maori Council. It gives the Maori Council the leading role of protecting Maori interests across the whole of Aotearoa New Zealand.  And the Maori Council has been hugely successful in protecting proactively the interests of Pan-Maori concerns. In fact it has been so successful that the present government has threatened to remove some of its ability to represent its collective membership.

The latest clash between the government and the NZ Maori Council relates to the subject of asset sales and specifically those sales that revolve around water from both our rivers and our lakes.

National has pushed the usual popular brainless statement, “That no one owns water”, which goes down well with red-necks and anti-Maori groups. It’s simply the ignorant preaching to the ignorant…a typical neo liberal behaviour pattern used by semi-dictators like John Key’s National party and its weak kneed supporters like the Act, United and Maori party.

Divide and rule is a technique used by all dictatorial powers since time began and it was highly successful when used by the English a few centuries ago throughout its once powerful empire.

But now and then men and woman once free from manipulation of the wealthy created the local and national legal means to protect their heritage and traditions from a sustained attack by those who are deeply inclined by greed to take more and more unto themselves.

I thought that New Zealand / Aotearoa had grown up enough to see through the sham pretence that the British Empire once preached. New Zealand has for the most part developed a style of leadership and social acceptance than allows both Maori and Pakeha to work together to achieve fair and balanced goals.

A key acceptance is one that allows Maori Interests to be expressed, designed and practiced in a Maori context as of right and not as some sort of parental hand-me-down charity. In my view the New Zealand Maori Council is that vehicle. The evidence in this regard is obvious…Maori Opposition to asset sales linked and interlocked well with the anti asset sales views held by at least 65% if not more of all New Zealanders. The NZ Maori Council fought the good fight and saved our forestry from complete overseas ownership, The NZMC forced the Government into the area of Maori TV and Radio so as to protect and expand the Maori Language and as is clearly seen today, Maori Television is in reality the only public television left in NZ, only Campbell Live comes anywhere near the quality of what was considered good, honest public television.

The NZ Maori Council operates across the political spectrum and is not bound to outdated political neo-liberal, or fascist humbug as preached by various so-called head in the sand racists. What it is attached to is protection of Maori against the greedy financial fingers of international corperation’s.

In fact the NZ Maori Council could be considered one of the few collective organisations that offer some sort of protection for the lower paid and depressed working people of New Zealand as a whole.

The present Minister of Maori Affairs Pita Sharples is the Minister only because the National Party allows him to be…he is there at the pleasure and whim of people like John Key, Steven Joyce, and Bill English.

At the Hui held here in Palmerston North, a young woman Veronica Tawhai stated how sad she was to see that Te Puni Kokiri was spending so much time and money on conducting a review of the NZ Maori Council structure and functions when there were so many other more urgent things that need doing. Like feeding our kids, like paying a living wage, like preventing third world medical ailments from striking down our young, like making home ownership possible, like funding the Maori Wardens, the list is endless she suggested and she was correct. Hers was the voice of modern New Zealand / Aotearoa, intelligent, bright and willing to offer a better future not only for Maori but for all who can overcome the inbuilt preconceived notions that inflicted balanced and reasoned thinking.

I left the Palmerston North Hui with the feeling that the government allowed the Constitutional Review to go ahead as part of their deal with the Maori Party and that this discussion paper was Nationals usual claw back and that claw back includes the possible destruction of the most effective force for social change the New Zealand Maori Council.