I LOVE NEW ZEALAND

A friend of Lambcut's was in the National Bank branch that is nearest the Parliament end of Lambton Quay, today. Bill English happened to be there too. Apparently, our Deputy Prime Minister fronted up to the teller, as one does, regarding whatever transaction he had in mind. The teller asked him for ID. I love New Zealand.

NZ ECONOMICS 101

Nobody does it better than Rob Hoskings at the NBR. He does a down to earth, laced with humour, easy to read step by step guide to debt mountains and double dip inflation.

Brilliant. It is behind the paywall ( Yip we happily pay for the NBR paywall content).

Sorry about that - market forces and all

CACTUS'S BEST YET - SOUTH CANTY FINANCE - READ AND WEEP.

Cactus really should take more time off. Everytime she ceases blogging for the while - she comes back with a show stopper....

Todays marathon effort is about South Canterbury Finance.. Read it.. but set aside some time - its a big fulsome read.

Well done her

NO BAILOUT

We think that bailing out South Canterbury Finance is a crock. Then again we thing the whole deposit guarantee scheme is a crock. No-one has yet adequately explained why we as a taxpayer are forced to subsidise a bunch of people who took risk with their money for higher returns.

Its like the government paying out everyone this week who doesn't get a lotto payout.

We realise that if South Canterbury Finance and Hubbards associated interests go belly up, and its looking increasingly like that, that the impact on the South Island economy will be substantive.

But that is no reason for a bail out.

PUSSIES

Now we have been gobsmacked by the lukewarm reception that Brash's 2025 Taskforce report has received. It was the viagran policy we have been waiting for. The one that was going to make us look all fiscally flash like Australia. It was a big hard and very, very exciting in a big swinging economic dick kinda policy way.







But what did we get?

Lets have a look see? Nah
Ohh that's exciting stuff Nah
Holy - that looks interesting ? Nah
By gum that's bold ? Nah
Hmm - we will have to give this some thought? Nah.
Lets have a play with that and see what happens? Nah.
Might hurt a bit to start with but then it will feel real good? Nah

We got - "Its bloody scary and its tooo big for us to swallow - and anyway what would people think of us!


Pussies they are. Pussies.

ON BILL ENGLISH

Its all about Bill this morning.... Kiwiblog has a analytical take on the English accomodation issue.

Cactus on the other hand has a fascinating take on the deputy Prime Minister.

And Home Paddock thinks Bill has been exonerated.

We think that Labour will still chip away merrily on this issue for some time to come.

A GAME OF TWO HALVES - NZ A WINNER ON THE DAY

Today has been an extraordinary day in NZ history. We have never made any secret of the fact that we believed that the last election offered our country the first real chance to unite our nation. John Key delivered our aspirations when he brokered a deal with the Maori Party.

Now it was never going to be a case of happy families. It was more of a blended family unit. Step brothers and sisters. Both parties were from different backgrounds but they were essentially " good people"and they wanted to get on together.

Now in any family you get scraps, arguments and in as with any close relationships, you tend to take things for granted. You say stuff and expect that everyone understands everything instantly.

That's pretty much what happened with the Maori Party Maori Television bid for the rugby world cup delayed coverage. They thought their step bros had understood what they were up to.

Problem was their step bros didn't pay as much attention to the bid as they should have.

Then when things got all pear shaped - arse covering was the default play. Chuck in obfuscation,
and stir in a bit of " it was their fault not ours " and then there was sand flying, and a bit of biffo.

And the uppity wankers from down the road - TVNZ and TV3 saw there was a chance to look like the good guys.

In walks dad ( Key) who has an antenna for natural justice.. He sees through the arse covering , the obfuscation and blame game and makes the only call he can, foul against the Maori Party.

He give them advantage and says Play On.

Shit.

We are left in thrall.

We have had a cock up . Fibs.

We have a leader who acknowledges the cock up.

He applies natural justice and sorts it.

Egos are dented. Behind the scenes there have been tears, and stamping of feet.

But the good thing, the very best thing, is that everyone is still playing in the sandpit.
Finally, in John Key we have a leader, who despite the worst of arguments can sort out the shit and get everyone working together for the sake of our nation.

Is that good or what!

JOYCE - THE DE FACTO DEPUTY???

We have spent the afternoon lounging about in the provinces, checking on the lamb chops, and the river, as you do in the provinces. And we got to thinking.

We think that while Bill English is doing okay as Finance Minister, it is clear that Joyce is the De Facto Deputy Prime Minister. We haven't seen a bad word written about him or his policy decisions and strategies for some time. He is setting the economic transformation agenda. Patrick Gower says he is Keys right hand man but we think that he is more than that. He is a leader. He is inspiring many business leaders by his pragmatic approach and easy manner. He is not just a politicians politician , he is a businessman's politician. And he is not a gloaty noter. Just a very smart, slightly nerdy good bugger. He, like Key know all about the real world and business and it has created a very strong bond between them , on an intellectual, social and political level. And they like each other. Partnerships like that are rare.

We reckon odds on, he will one day lead the country..

WIRED

We have been having a crap day. Age is a bitch that rides in on a menopausal wave and knocks you flat on your soft spreading saggy arse.



The day started badly. The weather was crap.
It did get better this afternoon though.

Now we always said that Bill English is an honourable man and we were delighted but not surprised to see he is paying all his allowance back. It was legally his but he was having difficulty climbing the moral high ground. So three cheers for the boy from Dipton. He might spend a fair bit of time in Wellington but his proud bones , like ours, are from the deep south and down there honour is everything.

When we heard that news - we cracked a smile.

However the day ended on a bad note. We have pleaded in the past for Consumer Magazine or Fair Go to examine the woeful state of the Bra industry. Simply the bra wires do not last like they used to. Today our lefty wire snapped as we were getting into a taxi ( we paid for it not the tax payer).

Went off like a .22 rifle. And it poked a hole in our booby. Ouch...

So we want Bra wires to meet certain standards. We want bra manufacturers to be forced to use wire for Bra's that are tested to meet certain bounce tests.
Pleeease ...
Menopause, which means being constantly at the mercy of the 7 menopause dwarfs is bad enough without having to put up with faulty engineering.

So today was mainly crap and then we got home to find we had oversold 20kgs of whitebait and have none left for us.... sob....

SOUTHERN HONOUR

We concurred yesterday with Rob Hosking that Bill English is an honest bugger. Today we saw just how honourable he is. He is paying back half of the $24k accommodation allowance he claimed.

Now we are aghast that Whale Oil called for Bill to step down - there would be no need for him to do that unless he has misled his boss.

And we there is no way an honourable Southland bred bugger like Bill would mislead his boss.

ROB HOSKING

Remains one of our snappier incisive commentators and his piece today on the MP allowance issue is a gud ' un.

We cant copy what he said but we can say we agree with the premise that English is an honourable and honest bugger. After all he is a Southlander.

Its the system that needs sorting - not him.

With quality writing like this we can see why NBR's helmsman Barry Coleman has put a value on it. And we are happy to pay.

PUBLIC SERVICE SHAKE UP - NEEDS MORE THAN THE WILL OF THE BOSSES

We are home with the snuffles after a 12 day break in Oz( party up with about 30 under fives and you are bound to get a bug!) so we were all ears and snuffles as we listened to the Treasury boss John Whitehead on RNZ this morning give the Public service a prod about productivity.

He is right and now Bill English has followed up saying the govt has given the public servants a year to get their shit together and deliver some efficiencies and productivity.

Anyway, we have been talking to others in the civil service and we are all of the same opinion. The boys at the top have been making some interesting decisions but its apparent some of them have lost touch with their departments and Ministries and its time they got out of their offices , walked the floor and had a bit of a chat with some of the staff who would be able to give them some pointers of how to improve things.

Most of the staff in the public service are well aware how well lubed the machinery of state has become and it is time that they be given the chance to add their two cents worth as to how savings and efficiencies can be made. Have a little faith guys and listen to people who work for you. They will give you answers you are looking for.

ACC SHAKEUP

This morning we are feeling very old - in 1992 -1993 ( thats nearly twenty years ago....) we were involved in a team that looked at carving up ACC. The team, made up of consultants and ACC staffers, pretty much concluded that a fair chunk of it could be sold off. We spent 8 months commuting to Wellington from Invercargill. Anyway the team was devastated to have all their finding chucked out by the CE a weird aussie twat who liked to fly planes - he was charged with fraud but got off.
We then spent the next few months introducing case management. We all believed there was an opportunity lost and a looming headache for successive governments. We reckoned that this day would come. Good on ya Bill and Nick. Make it better

JOB SUMMIT AND FRIDAY ROUND UP.

We have been involved , one way or another in enough talk fests to sink a Cook Strait Ferry.

So despite staying positive we did harbour a few niggling doubts about the Job summit.
However we think some really good stuff has come out of it-
Bollard and English made it clear how bad things are. The problem is 390 time the size of the NZ economy.

And there was some very cool off the wall stuff. Weirdly we like the bike track idea. Creating a Bike track from one end of the country to the other But then with ma and pa resting up in Alexandra, we have first hand knowledge of the micro economy that surround the Rail Trail bike way.

We reckon little communities along the way can replicate the Central Otago Rail Trail. And we wonder if it can be linked to any projects increasing the reach of broadband.

So we quite like that idea - despite the fact that bike seats are swallowed whole by BB's ample derriere and are never seen again, biking is a good thing.

And we have already blogged extensively on four day working weeks. So the nine day fortnight gets a tick.

But the best part of the summit is that the economic crisis is a bit of a slow moving Tsunami and we have a bit of time ( not a lot but a wee bit ,) so the Summit has been a good starting point to get our economic shit together.
Everyone needs to play their part and the public service is no exception.
We think that the best thing the bureaucray can do is unravel all the regs and rules that stifle business and everyday life and quick smart. However we had heard that work is well underway on such stuff. We will report when we know more.

And for the round up.

• We have heard that four Labour backbenchers would have bailed from Parliament but the tight job market is holding them back.
• Should the poultry and seafood industries be grumpy that only beef sammies were served at the Job Summit?
  
• Will Dockside get a full house for the annual Bluff Oyster Lunch next week?
  
• What is the exciting new fishery the Seafood industry is exploring that will have foodies in ecstacy?
  
• Is there really a big problem with the Marlborough Blue Cod fishery?
  
• And Twits and Tweeters (Forest and Bird) is is sealing their reputation by carrying out a weird protest next week. We hear they will get a chilly reception.
  

BILL GETS THE BLOG BASH

First Cactus gives Bill English a broadside, then Whale oil takes exception to Fran O'Sullivan's column where Bill dribbles on a bit. Bill and John are shaping up to be the ying and yang of National. Is that a bad thing? We think not. It is clear from Fran' s column that Key leads and English then sets about giving his ideas legs. That's got to be good. So unlike Cactus and Whale we are pleased that Key is okay with English's gentle chiding about his creativity. Every ideas man, every visionary needs a solid bugger in the engine room to do his bidding and that's where English shines.For once we see a team that is so solid that they can gently take the piss out of each other in public. That is very cool.

A BOG, SOME WATER SPRINKLES AND FAMILY

Yip the economic outlook is crap. It has even shaken the Nats to the core. Its a perfect storm of the very worst type. But we refuse to be pessimistic. BB got an early Xmas for the block in the Wairarapa from the Aussie Rock. A toilet and shower - real ones - no more porta pottie and boiling up water and filling up a solar shower bag. I can't describe how wonderful it is to have a shower and a toilet - real ones. Bliss . Nothing else will give me more joy except perhaps the fact my family will be with us for Xmas. Even more bliss. We don't know what next year will bring - but its already looking promising. The prawns talents are being recognised. Extra bloody fantastic bliss.
Today we are lunching - all afternoon. On Monday we are lunching some more and Tuesday we just might fit in another wee lunch. Wednesday we start holidays in earnest.

BILL PLAYS SANTA

NBR says Bill English has outlined his economic stimulus package ( does anyone else think that sounds mildly sexual???!!) And its a pretty big stimulus -$ 7 billion. Noice.

OUR HUMBLE APOLOGIES BILL

Ok we fess up - the red wine fairy hovered above us last night as a result of a big win on the Melbourne cup. We had another look at what Bill English said about Obama and well quite frankly its not all that bad. So we kneel at the feet of the Dipton dynamo and ask for forgiveness for calling him a dork. Beers on me Bill.

CLARKS A HYPOCRITE -TV3 TAPE

First Clark sez the tapes a cracker then she denies that she knows anything about it.

Its a lame tape but Bill needs a slap for being a mouthy dork. He needs to be tied to a post and John Key should be allowed to chuck kinas at him.

But the reality is his comments are hardly earth shattering.

Labour might not have more but maybe we do.