Posts by Steve Barnes
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V8 Supercars, Bathurst...
Who remembers "Godzilla", banned from racing because it was just too good compared to other "supercars".The racing GT-Rs not only ended the reign of the previously all-conquering Ford Sierra Cosworths in Australian touring car racing, but their incredible success ironically led to their demise. For 1993, the ATCC rules were changed to exclude four-wheel drive turbocharged cars, ushering in today’s two-make V8 Supercar series and closing a spectacular chapter in Australian motor sport history.
But the Nassan could well be coming back after its win at the Bathurst 12 Hour race win.
Not since Jim Richards called the crowd a “pack of arseholes” in 1992 have Nissan drivers stood on the top step of the Bathurst podium, and the GT-R made its move with only minutes remaining in the race.
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Soap operas are one of the few genres that can entice viewers to watch regularly at 5.30. TV3 has backed the US-owned production company Warner Bros NZ (formerly Eyeworks) to make it a new soap for the timeslot.....
.......A commitment to subsidise a daily soap - with taxpayers paying about 75 per cent of the budget - would be valuable for Warner Bros and for MediaWorks' Los Angeles owner Oaktree Capital, as it looks to find a buyer for its Kiwi broadcasting asset.Good grief...
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I just hope its nothing like this.
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Polity: A week on from the housing controversy, in reply to Ian Dalziel,
There is another take though - as 'Bluey' is also slang for...
The trespass notice you get when being banned from a pub.
I know this because I was once banned from a "Prominent Auckland Pub" for, in his words... "Interfering in his business".
In my words... "offering advice to an abused employee"
Needless to say... He is a staunch National supporter.
But, as usual, I digress.PS. Superbly parried Ian, even though unnecessary.
;-)
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Polity: A week on from the housing controversy, in reply to chris,
we had used different denominators and had placed some variables in different tenure categories for different reasons.
I had a problem with the "home ownership" seemingly conflated with "owner/occupier".
A picky point it may seem but if we assume all houses are owned and see the problem as a demand side problem. I thought it may be a simple thing to count the houses, subtract how many empty ones there are then go from there. Owner occupier, rented, gifted accommodation, I would consider all work related accommodation to be counted as rental, the IRD would, as FBT.
The unoccupied list would be an interesting one to study, I bet. -
Polity: A week on from the housing controversy, in reply to BenWilson,
watching and withholding. I can’t prove it, though – it’s a conspiracy theory.
I am with you here Ben, I really can't believe that National do not have data even if "The Government" does not collect it.
I believe it has something to do with hats and anyway, if National released that data, would it still be racist?. -
Kiwirail says it turned to the overseas firm because New Zealand workshops were not competitve and could not complete the contract on time.
...because they have been run down over the years for ideological reasons..
But then, surely, there is something to be said for spending the money "Locally" ? more jobs, better for the balance of payments, the tax on wages/profit comes back to NZ, we can showcase our workmanship, cost of repairs (shipping, fares for overseas engineers)
Perhaps we could have allowed overseas investors to finance local workshops...
I could go on but I feel I am wasting my time here. -
Polity: A week on from the housing controversy, in reply to Katharine Moody,
That the local tax regime does provide non-owner occupiers (some of which might be speculators) certain incentives/deductions not available to owner-occupiers was/is a problem, and that capital gains were not taxed was/is a problem. But we as a society can address these imbalances internally through our political system.
Or not...
The current set of politicians will continue to do what the Previous set mandated to achieve x until the result is reduced to a negative value ( x=<1 for the statistically minded).
The current set will then claim that the current value of x is the product of the lower value of the previous set, thus increasing the probability that the previous set will not achieve a value Cs1>Ps 2.
The effort (e) to achieve this will always be e=<0 -
Polity: House-buying patterns in Auckland, in reply to Swan,
Nailed?
I think what he has nails is the real problem with the foreugn investmet problem. Property is not a good investment for the country. We need real investment in industry and technology, not property, unless you want to be a tenant in your own country like Maori have mostly become.
At the real risk of being called a racist or worse? Xenophobic. I really think foreign ownership of land is the wrong way to go,for any sovereign state.
We need more housing in Auckland for sure but perhaps we should be looking for foreign investment in the provinces to create employment and wealth for more than just the “well heeledThia needs a forward looking Government,not the financial clowns we have to put up with until the next election. -
Polity: House-buying patterns in Auckland, in reply to Sacha,
#knarley.
Hands that do dishes....
With respect of course.
☺