Posts by Luke Williamson
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Agreed but still pretty quick to be PM is it not? I guess the analogy I'm looking for is whether John Key is the leader of the country for his experience in politics or for his vision/charisma/enthusiasm (again, whether or not you agree with his politics).
Could Simon be a worthy mayor with no prior experience in local body politics. I think yes. He's worked hard to make the Auckland Festival happen and that can be no mean feat of financial and political management.
Does his lack of experience make his less appealing than the experienced alternatives? -
Yes, I understand that experience is a very helpful thing in the down and dirty world of council politics but that doesn't mean we have to disqualify someone straight away because they haven't been there before. One could argue that John Key is brand new in his job and he seems to be managing pretty well - whether or not you like his politics. Simon at least brings a true love of Auckland and its unique characteristics that isn't just focussed on economics. And it also doesn't have to be a bad thing if he doesn't identify (or is identified with) either of the main national political parties. His may be the politics of Auckland.
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No mention of Simon Praast for mayor? I am so glad he has joined the race cos he brings something very different compared to the other two. I said from the beginning that one of the rules for Super Mayor should be that you can't be an existing or past mayor of greater Aucks. Go Simon!
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Based on the logic that we are all on the verge of moving to Australia (or farther afield) because we can earn more money, what is it that makes anyone come to NZ in first place? Why do we get immigrants or kiwi OEs returning to NZ? It has been made painfully clear by our gummint that it isn't for money. The reason our population continues to increase is because it's a f@*#ing cool place to live, even if you do earn a bit less. So why not forget about tiddling around with + or - a few bucks on tax cuts and put money into what makes the country truly appealing - outdoors, first-world health and education, relatively safe cities, multi-cultural, arts, politically stable, blah blah blah. That's what makes people want to live in NZ - that's our point of difference. Stick your tax cuts where the sun don't shine.
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"But ... those who pay the top personal rate fit into some core and critical categories for our economy. They include doctors, entrepreneurs often, scientists, engineers, lawyers, accountants, school principals, nurses," he said.
Ah, hello . . . I'm married to a nurse and therefore know quite a few of them. Show me the nurse that falls into the income bracket of any of these people (excl school principals who might go over 70k in big schools). JK is so fundamentally out of touch with anyone earning less than 250k pa that it makes me sad to think of him calling the shots.
Between my incredibly well-paid part-time nursing wife and I, we bring in just under 100k total and our tax break will be 3.67% of sweet FA. We don't struggle but we don't get ahead either. On the last tax cut, when JK suggested that I put the extra into shares, my tax actually went up by $9 a fortnight because of a change in ACC. However, they are doing what they said they would do when voted in so can't complain about dishonesty. Just getting a bit sick of all the platitudes around tax cuts that are meaningless to those that need them - that's folks earning less than I do. -
| it's my understanding tuhoe accepted money from crown for lake waikaremoana 3 times, 1919, 1940 and then in the 60s or 70s.
Easy. If I owe you a million bucks, but I tell you all I'm going to give you is $100, take it or leave it, maybe you'd take it but keep coming back too. It's not a negotiation between equally powerful parties, so one solution for the weaker party is to keep chipping away.
Quite right. And JK saying, "No, sorry" doesn't magically make the issue go away or resolve once and for all. It merely delays the process of sorting this claim out. Tuhoe have waited 150-odd years and a few more won't matter.
I do find it disturbing that they were obviously given the impression that the deal was done and they would get Te Urewera back, only to have it pulled at the last moment, thus making the situation worse rather than better.
Was this going to be treated in the same way as the return of land around Okahu Bay where it was returned to Maori then gifted back to the people of Auckland? -
NZ On Air also does things like Nick Ds excellent travel/music show (forgive me, I'm hopeless on names) doesn't it? That represented a good mix of modern media at work.
With respect to the unit cost of the albums - surely the point is that you can't predict who will be successful and who won't. The Gin Wigmores bring down the average cost for everyone else. Are you trying to say that it is SO obvious that some of those funded won't make a return on the investment that they shouldn't have received grants in the first place? -
To a hip hop beat . . .
"He's got to go!
We all know dis,
We all know dis,
Only difference is,
He's not my mate,
Or someone i need to curry favour with,
So I scream it from the hilltops
But whats the point,
If no one else echoes it through the valleys of power.
(Fading) He's got to go,
We all know dis." -
I have a gut feeling that Burkhard Heim may yet be proven to be correct. Now that would be very interesting.
Great link thanks.
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Also, I have an urge to make a joke around the phrase "Higg's Bosoms". But I feel that would be an adolescent thing to do.
I resisted and resisted and then you did it for me Russell. Had something in mind like, "I hear Mrs Higgs' Bosons are enough to put one in a spin".