ROUND UP

Has to be Cactus's almost scholarly take on the finance companies debacle.

Best Column has to be Frans here on her sagely advice to John Key

And Matthew Hooton's excellent take on the unlocked potential of SOE's - as a columnist he is going from strength to strength.

And we were delighted with TransTasmans excellent assessment of Clare Curran. She is an ex PR Hack but according to the literary scribes on the TT team her press releases are incomprensible. Apparently she is loathed by the Labour caucus. If she thinks we are making that up - a question for Clare. Where do you think that TransTasman gets its info? Oh yes thats right - your colleagues! Sucks to be you Clare.

GOFF GOTTA BE OFFED?

That venerable publication Trans Tasman is well known for having the best insiders knowledge on the weird workings of politics. Its annual scorecard is always smack on. The politician who must be the most worried is Goff. He scored lower than King. Now in this annual summary much intel is gathered from within the ranks of the politicians. So its pretty clear that to get such a crap rating that many of Goffs colleagues must have a very dim view of him.

So where will the 17 meet in the next few weeks?

A FINE COMPANION

We were delighted that our occasional lunch mate and wise counsel Ian Templeton has been made a Companion. We think that Ian is a very fine companion and that it is a very well deserved honour.
Templeton has seen out a few decades in the Press Gallery and he is still considered to be one of the finest journalists ever to have plied his craft in the hallowed halls of power. His knowledge and ability to gain the trust of politicians has made him a powerful figure on The Hill.

He is a gentleman to a fault and delightfully, mischief still sparkles bright in the eyes of the most senior of press gallery journalists as he and our monthly lunch mates consider the politics of the day and yesteryear.

TRANSTASMAN BACKS ROARPRAWN STANCE OVER MAORI TV RUGBY BID

We have watched with great interest the comments on Roarprawn after we let loose our support for the Maori TV bid. We scratched the underbelly and as predicted the fleas did jump.

So it is with much pride and satisfaction that we learned today , when we opened our copy of the venerable Transtasman, the organ of sense and sensibility - that they see it our way.

Jeez, those cheeky Maoris, eh?Chuck them their own TV channel and next thing you know they’re bidding for the free-to-air rights for the Rugby World Cup.With taxpayer funds! The sheerbloody cheek!! Except... well, let’s just calm down a bit here. Firstly,Maori TV is carrying quite a bit of content which is not specifically Maori-focused but which is nonetheless quite high value. There is the complaint Maori TV doesn’t reach everywhere but the International Rugby Board says it will reach 90% of the population and it is fine with that. It is pretty close to the main channels. The big advantage Maori TV seems to have is it doesn’t have the same prime time commitments TVNZand TV3 have. Those are usually the big channels’ commercial

strengths, but this time they have counted against them. This is hardly unfair.

Yip thats pretty much our view.

And they conclude,

A few more general points: firstly, we always have a row overbroadcast rights for the free to air games when a Rugby World Cup looms. The reason is simple nostalgia: many of us still regret the demise of true free-to-air rugby games. They are in the same class as free parking in cities, the original Heards Barley Sugars, and good old fashioned rucking. They’re all part of a world which has now gone. And we resent being reminded of this. The other thing is the Brash-at-Orewa factor: the niggling feeling Maori are getting an unfair advantage. This doesn’t seem to be the case

here though. Maori TV isn’t getting any more of a hand-up

from the taxpayer than TVNZ. And, come on now. How many

dedicated rugby fans in NZ don’t already have Sky Sport?

Oh and if you want to read Transtasman first and in depth - you have to, like dedicated rugby fans, subscribe.

TRANSTASMAN HAS A PLAN

We think that its also the governments plan . We have for some time believed, like TransTasman, that we are as a Nation, are on the cusp of a period of extraordinary transformational change.

The paper says our future centres on our relationship with Aussie, Using energy as a transformational platform for economic growth, planting more trees , leading the development of sensible environmental policy, sorting out the Pacific, sorting out our fragmented research industry, broadband, and digging ourselves out of a fiscal hole quickly.

It is a well thought out White Paper and gives a voice to the thoughts of many.

What it needs to light the fire , the paper says is for the government to make some bold moves soon. We agree, we have seen some evidence that the government has a good plan, the broadband option that stopped the Telecom monopoly that could have crippled the competition needed to give customers the best deal. Groser is leading some fascinating policy ideas on climate change and agricultural emissions.

And the government has started the debate on what lies beneath and how best we can harness it and protect our environmental values.

So we reckon much of the white paper is in train. What we need now is for the government to articulate that grand plan and make it the catchcry of all New Zealanders. New Zealand the future today.


A Road Map for Transforming Nz Inc

NZX - COMMAND AND CONTROL ?

We like Cactus think that there is a fair degree of whiffiness about the purchase of CountryWide Rural publishing by NZX. Yesterday we put up a post about the concerns Australian regulators are having over the merging of advertorial and editorial, the greying of the media. Trans Tasman is asking ComCom to take a look a the purchase.

Fran O'Sullivan has done a very considered piece on the NZX media purchase but she too wants ComCom to take a look at just what they are on about after leaked memo indicates that NZX is heading towards " world dominance" of rural information.

We think that the last few paragraphs of this story are the most pertinent. Fran asked Weldon if the new stable of publications would have editorial independence - of course says Weldon. Then she asked him about the feisty Alan Robb who has written some pithy articles in Diary Exporter about Fonterra and NZX's wimpy attitude to some disclosure issues.

""One intriguing factor is that NZX Rural will now own NZ Dairy Exporter, which has published some vigorous articles by accountancy expert Alan Robb questioning why the exchange did not compel Fonterra to restate its recent interim accounts to directly marry up with the 2007 financial year interim result.

Robb has taken a gutsy approach on this score.

Weldon maintains that Fonterra disclosed the nature of the changes to the market, and the NZX had communicated with the co-op and was comfortable that there was sufficient disclosure to meet the needs of bond investors.

Herald: "Would the exchange protect the editorial integrity of its publications?"

Weldon: "The answer to that is, without question, yes. There is, I have to say, a fair degree of disappointment from myself and internally that we've got this person Alan Robb whom we now pay who apparently has issues with presuming what our level of integrity about editorial is."

Speaks volumes.""

Yip we agree, ComCom needs to have a look and it reiterates our point in running the post about the merging of editorial and advertising. If Weldon doesn't get it then he has no business buying an independent media stable.

CLARK GETS UN JOB

According to Trans Tasman -

For Immediate Release

Clark Gets UN Job

The Trans-Tasman Political Letter reports Helen Clark, NZ's Prime Minister
from 1999 to 2008, is to be named as head of the United Nations Development
Programme.

This is the highest international post held by a NZer since a former Prime
Minister Mike Moore held the post of Director-General of the World Trade
Organisation.

Highly placed sources have told Trans-Tasman the UN Secretary-General Ban
Ky-Moon is confirming the appointment within the next few hours.

The NZ Govt strongly supported Clark's nomination for the job, and John Key
lobbied other leaders as well as insisting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
and Trade did everything within its means to carry the message of support in
its chain of diplomatic missions abroad.

Earlier, Clark gained a place on the shortlist of three but then major
donors to the UNDP threw their support behind her.

Clark's credentials include not only her experience as Prime Minister but
her leadership on many international issues and the recognition of her role
in the evolution of NZ's anti-nuclear policy.

It is expected she will take up the post later this year. Her departure will
signal the need for a by-election in the Mt Albert electorate which she has
held since 1981.

TRANSTASMAN HAS A GOOD TAKE ON SOME OF THE WEEKS BIGGER ISSUES

Transtasman

Winston Peters claims he has been “cleared” by three separate, independent investigations. But, let’s face it, NZ First filed false returns in 2005, 2007, and probably 2006, Peters filed false pecuniary interests returns in 2006, and 2007, he was found not to have told the truth, and personally benefited by $140,000 through private donations, and may have sold policy for cash. So is that vindication?…

We agree - its not vindication - we still say he is a corrupt prick.

…

TV3 was being disingenuous this week when it tried to justify running new excerpts from conversations covertly taped at a National party social function in August. It said the tapes had been passed to it “exclusively,” and it had a duty to publish them. But did it test whether the tapes were authentic or doctored, give the context, or even name the source, which has been all over the blogs? Media’s claim to objectivity is undermined when it’s seen to be acting as a tool of political interests trying to damage their opponents. If something was obtained under false pretences, doesn’t re-broadcasting it extend the false pretence? No wonder people distrust this kind of shoddy journalism…

Yip - it was very lame journalism and we expected more from TV3 - we were deeply disappointed in the way they handled this story. It has been the blogs who have gone the extra mile to find out who the taper was.
…

And was the PM being just as disingenuous when she described the latest tape as a “cracker,” and then later said she had no knowledge of how it was obtained……The normally garrulous Labour Party President Mike Williams who trawled through Court documents in Melbourne to uncover what was going to the neutron bomb demolishing National’s John Key has been remarkably silent this week. Has he been gagged, or just lost his cell-phone? There’s been speculation in Wellington about how lo

ng he will retain his various lucrative Govt appointments if there is a change of Govt……
not long - not long at all - but then he's old and tired so retirement probably looks good.