ELECTION OPENER - KEY ON POINTS.

For those oldies who, after being skinned out by finance companies, are looking for somewhere safe to tuck their savings other than under the kapok, the Government partial asset sales offer a good investment.

THe media initially tried to run the story as a wholesale sell down but its not. It offers ordinary New Zealanders a chance to make a pretty safe investment in the future of New Zealand while the government maintains control.

Thats a "win - win " as they used to say. "Mixed ownership" says John Key and that sums it up nicely.

While the flag ship power and energy companies are in the mix - we would have liked to have seen the net cast wider.

The other upside is that while the SOE's currently have one reasonably demanding shareholder - they can look to a future of more shareholders and with that comes the risks and rewards.

And lets face it the voting punters are going to be turned on by this more than Phil the Dill dying his hair.

So while Goff offers up enhanced individual elegance via the dye pot, offers up an elegant solution that's good for the country and good for Mr and Mrs Zealander.

So

Round 1 of the 2011 election bout:

Phil the Dill vs Pretty Boy Key

UNANIMOUS DECISION ON POINTS to KEY.

NATS BEHEADING ACT

ACT is toast.. We said yesterday that ACT was in parliament only at Nationals favour and it seems that that Key has had enough of the silly buggers and their appalling infighting.

The guillotine blade has been dropped by Key. Thats it. The partnership is over.He has signalled they will be standing a National candidate in Epsom. A good one.

Sad really we think ACT was important to give economic policy a little more of a lean to the right.

Sadly when all the details finally come out - we are confident that it will be revealed that this is all the fault of an egotistical political advisor and a desire for some utu.

ACT FALLING APART AT THE SEAMS?

And gone by Christmas Lunch?

Well that the theory proffered by commentator Matthew Hooton in this weeks paper edition of NBR...

Hooton is of the belief that Act will have its key policies done and dusted by Xmas and then it will make a stand and distance itself from government on the basis he will have points on the board and those who feel that the National Agenda is a bit too centre right. And its fair to say that there will be at least 5% of the population in that camp.

Mr Hide no doubt feels an obligation to see through his important Regulatory Responsibility Bill and the Auckland supercity reforms but, after that, his best strategy is to strongly differentiate himself from National – if necessary by leading his party out of government before Christmas.

By then, if he feels he needs them, he will still have achievements about which to boast – but he’ll also be able to lead the opposition to National’s timidity, its half-hearted tax reforms, its failure to embrace the private sector in infrastructure, its loony Emissions Trading Scheme and its unprincipled so-called “elegant” solution to the foreshore and seabed.

It’s a strategy that surely has 5% written all over it, if not more.

We think that he is right but the internal bullshit that has the Act party falling apart at the seams is likely to cause a much earlier split than that.

Sad really but the quicker the rest of the Act MP's realise that for better or worse that the party IS Rodney Hide - the better.

But our money is on them falling apart about October....

EXCLUSIVE - TRANSMISSION GULLY TO GET GO AHEAD FROM FROM JOYCE

We are expecting the Minister of Transport Steven Joyce to make an announcement tomorrow (Tuesday) that the Transmission Gully roading project is going to get the go ahead. Apparently Joyce let it be known that was what he was supporting at a Rotary meeting.

And try as we might we cant access Transit NZ site about the project - they must be updating the site.
We think its a great news for Wellington, jobs and better infrastructure.

BROWNMAIL - A FISCALLY F**KED ENVELOPE

For some reason we couldn't sleep last night and instead of counting sheep - we resorted to counting trees.

Now we said that there was no way we were going to blog about Ngai Tahu and associated iwi sneaking around in back rooms trying to work out a deal with the government for support for the ETS.

But this issue is too big.

Once New Zealand mums and dads people cotton to the basic premise - hand outs for noisy Maori - there will be a public outcry.

We have in the past suggested that Ngai Tahu needs to get out of grievance mode and get on with doing good works and making money with what they have.
In other words they have had their settlement, its up to them now to show their beneficiaries and indeed the rest of New Zealand that they can add value to their assets.

National is in thrall of the global green chalice. An ETS scheme...

So Ngai Tahu, who has a bevy of lawyers, who after a decade know how to press government buttons - raises the spectre of legal action.

National folds and tries to work out a deal that will placate them and buy their support. So they chuck them a bone in the shape of unused Doc land where they can plant a few beech trees and claim the carbon credits.. Which is fine, plant trees , sell the credits, bank the money, live off the interest..

Looks good. Apart from the fact that there is no way that the trees can be cut down without incurring a liability. They have to buy back the credits. so a contingent liability exists and according to Smith in Fran O'sullivans excellent column on the issue, iwi will own that liability.
So its a crap deal.

Based on a weak kneed government that wants to sip from the Green Cup so its willing to sell its soul.

And an iwi that rather than concentrating on becoming a business with dividends for beneficiaries goes back again to the biggest trough of all - free government money.

Its a deal not available to other foresters, so it is race based. As Fran so rightly puts it - its brownmail. We reckon that term will become part of the NZ lexicon.

We are ashamed of our iwi for being so venal. If they had joined the pre 1990 forest lobbyists and fought to keep those forests out of the ETS, there would not have been an issue and that deal would have benefited all Maori, not just a few iwi, who are being manipulated by their lawyers for a very short term gain.

LEFT RIGHT

We could hardly believe our eyes.. the caustic communists over at the Standard have for once got it right ... Its probably one of the best reasoned and well written issues on the Foreshore and Seabed issue apart from Hootons NBR column. Well done them.

Good STuff - HOT GOSSIP

You hear the darndest things when you are in the provinces. We are in a secret location in the Bay of Plenty. Anyway - the gossip running throught the accountancy world is that an increase in GST is pending. - Up from 12.5 to 15 percent. We hear that some bean counters are warning businesses to get their systems ready for the increase which they think will happen pretty soon.

DEMOCRACY IN ACTION

We watched with interest and dismay that Wira Gardiner was not elected as President of the National Party.

Whale is gleeful that Wira didn't get elected. Cactus reckoned that Wira has been a bit of the fair weather friend.
We were with some high profile and well connected Maori on Friday and they were pretty sure that Wira was a shoo in and they were very proud of their Toa.

We first met Wira when he was head of Civil Defence in the early eighties. He is a good bastard.
Tough and uncompromising and I salute Michelle Boag for for having the courage and foresight to back him. He is the homogenised face of the new New Zealand.

Yes as Cactus rightly points out there would have been conflict issues with having a wife as and MP. But they could have been managed.


We are saddened that he did not win let alone did not make it on the board.

Now we can see that Peter Goodfellow has his merits. He comes from one of the most powerful families in this country and its a family that enjoys being puppeteers. He will marshall funds and support for the party and that is a good thing. But will his presidency be remembered for uniting and growing the support base of the party to give it a stronger future ? Sadly we think not.

EMAILS AND POWERFUL TRUTHS

We are expecting some news on the stolen Don Brash Email saga in the dead tree publications tomorrow...

WORTH A READ - NOT A JOB.

Cactus has some pithy comments about Richard Worth. Now among the VRWC she has been a pretty strong supporter of Dr Worth, honorary consul and worldly business fixer, but not any more.

Seems he has formed an up close and personal relationship with the Sikh Taxi Driver who was attacked pretty recently. Why? because he was a business fixer for India ? Or a mate of the parents of the little arsewipes who attacked the taxi driver?

You decide.

Remember the National benches are deep with talent. Time to give a Newbie a swim in the tide and put Worth up the back we think.

SCOOP - GREENS COSY UP TO NATS

We have it on good authority that the Greens are about to become new best friends with National. An MOU will be signed. Today.
Home insulation is on the agenda.

So that leaves Labour as the Nigel No Mates.
Even their beloved rats like Cullen are deserting the sinking ship.

WHY?

We don't get this - Tamihere has been annointed by the Maori Party. We have already blogged on it - we reckon its the first time the Maori Party has seriously wrong footed on an issue.
This morning Tamihere says he was sidelined by Labour and he is getting " much more " under National - We ask why? Nothing has changed. The guy is a dork.

Labour didn't want him so why would he suddenly be annointed by the Nats and the Maori Party. We remain dumbfounded.

SO TUFF

We bet these guys are so tough that if they came to NZ they would vote National

We need immigrants with the right stuff

GOVERNMENT WASTE

We spend a bit of time lurking in govt departments and we see so much waste , stupid jobs, stupid strategies. We know there are also people in the public service who are committed to what they are doing and really want to make the country a better place.
But its time for teh public service to take a good hard look at what it does and how it does it. It has got so bloody fat - becoming an economic jabba.

Key has said that he wants to reduce government waste - yee bloody ha , we say.

We have seen thousands and thousands of documents in store rooms and even in off site warehouses that go nowhere - publications that should never have been published - companies on " preferred supplier contracts" that have not felt the cold chill of competition for years.
Or stupid campaigns ( like the multi million dollar campaign to get us to change to better lightbulbs. )

It must change - If you have any evidence of waste - email us anonymously at bustedblonde@gmail.com. We will print all the best ones.

WE WISH WE WERE PRIME MINISTER

We fly a lot - BB's, son flys helicopters, There is a flying vet in the family as well, but today we were very very jealous of John Key. The lucky bugger got to ride in the Jump seat of a 737 from Auckland to Wellington. Journos up the front of the bus ( and BB ) were hoping the new PM may end up sitting in one of many empty seats but no - he ended up in the front, front seat with the pilots. We have long harboured a secret desire to fly with the fly boys.

He looked good, fresh and alert. We hope he picks a good fresh alert cabinet as well.

HIVE SAYS WASHINGTON FOR CLARK

We think that this would be an inspired move. She is a lefty, hes a lefty and we know how comfortable she is around Maori - Just ask Tariana. So she wont have any problem dealing with Obama.

And whats this? Jones up to his old tricks - the wily dali maori boy is doing the numbers - no surprise there, anyone of the Maori intelligensia will tell you that backroom politics is Jones forte.
And remember we still have the Bill Liu scandal to play out yet as well.

It is going to be an interesting week.

PAUL EAST CALLS FOR NATIONAL TO WORK WITH MAORI

Great stuff - we will be getting a lovely bottle of Hill of Grace if National and Maori work together. We reckoned all along Maori will be with National.

And No more corrupt politicians in parliament Winston is stuffed and has conceded- And if there is ever another sniff of corruption by any MP we will hunt them and roger them until they are gone too.

To the scampi rebels - Well done. We expect there are still a few more stories to tell and we will be happy to help telling them.

Damien O'Connor is gone - and he is so low on the list he may be out altogether.
Mark Burton has lost his seat to Louise Upston
Darren Hughes has lost to Nathan Guy
Mahara Okeroa is also looking stuffed - ye ha -Its about time that Te Tai Tonga had a decent MP.

And the Greens still scare the shit out of people - they didn't make double figs as some predicted.

And to the VWRC - see you tomorrow...

WE PREDICTED IT

Auckland Central has fallen to Nikki Kaye.

Excellent work! ...

And Paula Bennett is looking to take Waitakere from Lyn Pillay.

More Excellent work!

Going Blue

Its all looking good National and Act and Winnie is toast.

Phew .

WE PREDICT NIKKI KAYE WILL TAKE AUCKLAND

The young ones get strategic voting - and Nikki will do well out of that .

The Herald reckons the electorate still favours Tizard.