John Key hopeful the worst is over in Christchurch

In a report on NZ Herald on Christmas Eve - John Key is reported to be hopeful that the worst is over in Christchurch - the report reads:

"John Key is hopeful the worst is over in Christchurch, so he can spend Christmas in Auckland with his family.

The Prime Minister was considering heading south after the new swarm of aftershocks, but decided the city is in good hands and there is not much he can personally do.

The Prime Minister will stay in Auckland for Christmas, before heading to Hawaii with his family next week."

LINK

Asset Sales and Bankers

State-Owned Enterprises Minister Tony Ryall announced at a media briefing in Wellington that the proposed asset sales, will cos "around $100million" in bank fees - as he confirmed that Mighty River Power as the first electricity generator and retailer to go to market, with a sale flagged for the third quarter next year, with the sale expected to raise $1.8million; but the government hopes to raise as much as $7 billion by selling down minority stakes in Meridian, Genesis, MRP, coal miner Solid Energy, and Air New Zealand.

The government seem keen to keep re-iterating that the assets will 'remain kiwi owned' like that is somehow good news. Bill English said he expects the companies will have New Zealand ownership of between 85 per cent and 90 per cent. But this is a deceptive rhetoric that the assets remain "kiwi owned" - they are ALREADY OWNED by the government as representative of the entire population - in other words we, you and me, as NZ citizens ALREADY own them - and this rhetoric that "they'll still be owned by New Zealanders" is a cynical and deceptive mis-truth - they will now be owned by WEALTHY New Zealanders; not by everyone. Don't expect your annual power company dividend in the mail again; cos you won't, as a NZ'er be a shareholder anymore because the government that got elected is selling YOUR shit for you; and telling you the lie that "kiwi mom's and dad's" will own it instead.

Oh, and the banks get a nice fee out of it too.

Cut jobs / play golf

Yesterday National made two announcements. Firstly announcing more public service job cuts with the merger of the back-office functions of three government departments. Treasury, the State Services Commission and Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet will amalgamate their human resources, information technology and management and finance functions from March.

Three jobs will go immediately – and another 13 in a year – with the creation of the Central Agencies Shared Services business unit. Since 2008, almost 2400 public service jobs have been slashed and projections suggest a further 500 public service jobs would go over the next two years, as the government does it's bit for unemployment.

But, it's not all doom and gloom, as the government yesterday announced it's commitment of $1/2Million to Michael Hill's new Pro-Am Celebrity golf tournament; a sum which just so happens to be equal to the prize money being offered. But don't worry the measly $500,000 is likely to only be the beginning - in its first year the NZ PGA Pro-Am will be part of the Australasian PGA Tour, moving to the higher profile One Asia Tour from 2013. Tournament director Michael Glading said "This is a five-year term with an option of another five. In other words, the real intention is to secure this event long term"

Prime Minister, John key also confirmed that his name was among a number of "celebrity amateurs" who hoped to play in the inaugural Arrowtown event in late March; but it just depends if he can clear his diary of, y'know, running the country (into the ground) for the week March 29 to April 1.

I'm not sure if John Banks has been invited to play yet.

LINKS
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6096829/Merger-leads-to-more-public-servant-job-cuts
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/golf/6096835/PM-says-he-may-tee-up-in-new-look-tournament

Charter Schools cont... "That's MMP for you..."

In defending the introduction of charter schools under a deal with ACT despite National never campaigning on it, John Key said, today "that's MMP for you, isn't it?" on a Radio NZ interview.

Only, of course, it was only a few weeks ago that John Key was making a public spectacle of a cup of tea with John Banks as a public endorsement, while the National candidate for Epsom made it perfectly clear that he wasn't actually wanting the constituents votes.

Expect to see much more of this over the next three years as John Banks and Act become the scape goat to push through policy after policy that the public don't actually want - and MMP painted as the root of the problem as John Key continues his crusade to put an end to MMP. Don't be fooled!

LINK
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/6091158/Key-defends-charter-schools

Further Welfare Changes Slipped In

Under the cover of the confidence and supply agreement with Act yesterday further changes to the welfare system that go beyond changes already announced by John Key and Paula Bennett prior to the election.

Namely, National and ACT intend to implement recommendations 27, 28, 30 and 34 of the Welfare Working Group report.

These proposals include:

- Employment services will be based on ‘contestable, outcome based contracts’, with contractors incentivised to ‘achieve positive outcomes for those with greatest risk of long-term dependency.’

- If parents on welfare fail to meet certain parenting obligations, or can’t manage their budget to the point that children are ‘at risk’, their income will be compulsorily managed by a third party, not themselves.

- Income management may be provided by way of a ‘payment card’ programmed for use only on items the Government considers essential.




Sue Bradford of Auckland Action Against Poverty commented :

‘National and ACT clearly see the solution to unemployment as a business opportunity rather than as an economic problem to which Government should be applying positive solutions, such as full wage job creation schemes doing socially and environmentally useful work.


‘Contracting out assistance for the unemployed has been a disastrous failure in the UK and it will be the same here. If we follow the same pattern as they have we will see jobseekers being forced to work for nothing for large companies like supermarkets that should be paying proper wages.


‘The main reason beneficiaries struggle to raise their children is that Work & Income does not provide enough money to live on.


‘Widening state – or other provider – control to the point where people have no choice or self-determination left in their lives will not magically solve this problem.


‘We can expect to see some very dodgy organisations to suddenly appear to cash in on this golden opportunity to get rich at the expense of a very vulnerable group of New Zealanders.’

LINK
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1112/S00051/the-unemployed-as-just-another-business-opportunity.htm

Charter Schools

Yesterday, as part of forming a coalition deal with Act, National has agreed to a radical development in the education system - charter schooling.

Charter schooling is, fundamentally the privatization of education. Schools will now be able to be run by such as private businesses, church groups, iwi organisations, charities, or existing schools.

John Banks was also made Associate Minister of Education.

NZ Educational Institute president Ian Leckie said the Government had no mandate for charter schools. Indeed, Charter Schooling was not discussed by any party pre the election.

"Overseas experience shows they can take students and money away from existing schools, undermine communities and increase social segregation. They are also less accountable.

"New Zealanders should be very concerned that Act is suddenly shaping and dictating key education policy." said Leckie.

Sue Moroney, Labour's education spokesperson has called it "bulk-funding in drag" which exposed National's true colours.

Personally, I think this is the first example (of many to come) of National using the Act scape-goat to push through a more right-wing policy that may not be popular with the more central National supporters. Also, the inclusion of allowing Iwi to run publicly funded schools privately is, in my opinion, a cynical carrot being offered to woo The Maori Party who are still considering their options as to whether to go into coalition with this National led government.

LINKS

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10771212
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10771320
http://gordoncampbell.scoop.co.nz/2011/12/06/gordon-campbell-on-charter-schools/

Mining public conservation land

On the first day back in office, in fact before a new government was even formed, Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson told NZ Forest & Bird that the government will break its promise to give New Zealanders a say about whether an open-cast coal mine on Denniston Plateau public conservation land can go ahead.

Kate Wilkinson and Gerry Brownlee said on 20 July 2010 that “significant applications to mine on public conservation land should be publicly notified”. Kate Wilkinson confirmed that the government has reneged on this promise in her letter sent to Forest & Bird saying that as there was currently no legal requirement to consult the public on the mine, The Government would not do so.



LINKS
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10769949
http://www.forestandbird.org.nz/what-we-do/publications/media-release/government-ramps-mining-agenda-on-first-day-back-in-office