So you think you can dance

Watch the s*** hit the fan on this one tomorrow. My kids have been watching this TV3 dance competition for the past few weeks and tonight was the first time that the TV audience could vote by phone. Unfortunately some of the phone numbers given on the programme don't match the contestant (at least one and three have been transposed). So you spend your dollar voting for Leonid and find you have voted for Justin. Couldn't they just count the intentions? Well, no, because when you think you must have pressed the wrong button and ring back, you waste another dollar on the wrong contestant, further skewing the votes.
I think they will have to refund the calls.

Corruption of thought

Here James Bartholomew comments on a UK TV programme called "On The Fiddle". He looks at how benefit fraud officers take a very lenient line with sole parents and makes this observation,

In all jobs, there is a tendency to 'go native'. This is true of diplomats, people sent to Brussels to work for the EU, journalists, lawyers and on and on. People in many jobs start thinking in terms themselves and of the people with whom they come into contact. Those who visit prisons often come to be more concerned about the prisoners they come in contact with than the victims of their crimes, whom they never see. I wonder whether benefit officials come to be more sympathetic to benefit frauds than to the taxpayers these fraudsters are stealing from?

I was making a similar point in this letter published in the Hutt News last week. It responds to a woman who advocates for beneficiaries.

I recently read a quote which went something like, just as thought can corrupt language so can language corrupt thought. There is an example of this in last week's Hutt News. Speaking about the looming abolition of the Special Benefit, which is a top-up on a main benefit, Teresa Homan said, "The Government has done away with the safety net."

It was always my understanding that any benefit is a safety net. But Ms Homan's words reveal that people who advocate for beneficiaries see main benefits as entitlements, with any extra assistance forming "safety nets". That is the viewpoint they impress on their clients.

Hence, being on welfare has morphed into a permanent lifestyle for thousands of people. Even the Labour Government has grown concerned about this state of affairs, especially when the newspapers are packed with job opportunities for both skilled and unskilled people.

Perhaps even a few hours work could be considered to replace any lost top-up, although I note the main thrust of the article was to urge beneficiaries to get in now before it is too late - in other words, anticipate your hardship.

US unemployment rate falls

The Washington Times reports, Jobless rate dips to 4.7 percent. Unemployment declined to 4.7 percent last month, approaching a five-year low, as the economy churned out 211,000 new jobs -- a sign of steady economic growth and good news for cash-strapped consumers.

In the US "jobless" and "unemployed" are interchangeable terms but not so in New Zealand - a mistake journalists commonly make.

NZ's unemployment rate is 3.6 percent but our jobless rate is 6.4 percent.

Unless people are actively seeking work they are not officially unemployed.

The US gathers its employment statistics in the same way as New Zealand - through a Household Labour Force survey. Their unemployment rate measure is comparable to ours. However, they do not measure a separate category and call them "jobless".

And isn't it interesting that a country with a population 72 times the size of New Zealand can get their stats out quicker. Our March statistics have yet to appear.

Aussie unemployment

The Aussies beat us to it as well. Their March 2006 unemployment rate is also out and good news for them down to 5 percent.

Nuke 'em

As a born and bred Mancunian I know what I'm talking about.........AMEN!
(...although, in its defence, historically Manchester was known for its strong adherence to free trade and laissez-faire doctrines.)

(Thanks to James for the photo).

Daycare decisions

PARENTING GURU SAYS DAY CARE BAD FOR BABIES
Australian parenting guru Steven Biddulph has done an about-face on day care and decided it is bad for babies. Biddulph, a psychologist with 30 years' experience and 4 million books sold, has spent five years examining the results of international studies on the subject.

This issue continues to be highly controversial. I am not convinced one way or the other because children are all different and standards of care vary, be it that of the daycare or that of the parent. But debate is good. We need information.

My problem is that the debate drives social policy. If the politicians can be persuaded daycare is bad for babies then they decide all mothers should be paid to stay home. The collective pays based on government edict. One person is forced to pay for another's decisions, over which he has no control.

What should happen is the individual(s) makes their own decision about what is best for their family and takes full responsibility for enacting that choice. That's freedom.

Up to a quarter million paid to Ngai Tahu

The Otago Daily Times is pursuing information about money paid to Ngai Tahu for advice and other help to Corrections in setting up a new 335 bed prison in Milburn, near Balclutha.

The department is obligated under the Resource Management Act to work with iwi in the construction of prisons. It pays iwi $45 an hour and up to $350 a day for this collaboration, which it said was consistent with rates paid in the public sector for the kind of work.

In a statement, new facilities development project manager Catherine Hall said it was vitally important the department involved Maori in the service provision, development and operation of the prison because Maori were overrepresented in the criminal justice system making up about half of all prisoners.

150 visits a day

This guy is getting more visits than me. Then again, he's got a better product.

Richard Worth on suppressed information

National MP Richard Worth is considering drafting a Private Member's Bill to change the law regarding suppression of evidence. He needs caucus approval. Names of victims should be suppressed but not names of accused. He quoted a US Supreme court judge who said, sunlight is the best disinfectant.

A simple person like me thinks that the accused is still just that though.

A pointer to the future

Here is one of the tables from the Family Court Statistics just released;

Ethnicity Distribution of Children in Care and Protection Cases in 2004

New cases Reviews
% European 42 45
% Pacific 10 7
% Māori 45 45
% Asian 2 2
% Other 1 1

There were 5,983 cases involving 8,165 children.

I tend to take the view that "grown-ups" are big enough and ugly enough to look after themselves. But what of the children? A lot of these kids will move around in foster care and end up as statistics on other tables, very likely to do with crime.

Hard to see the ethnic make-up of our prisons changing much in the near future.

Hot off the press

For those of you interested in these things, for the first time Family Court Statistics have just been released.

According to the Minister; Key findings within the report are:

- The number of guardianship cases has decreased between 2003 and 2004.
- The number of domestic violence cases dealt with in the Court has decreased.
- Care and protection case continue to increase but at a slower rate than previously.
- Mental health and relationship property cases are increasing.

Govt, liberty and such matters

These quotes are from Peter McWilliam's book "Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do" which explores the absurdity of consensual crime.

The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt. Bertrand Russell

I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones. John Cage

I don't make jokes - I just watch the government and report facts. Will Rogers

It is hard to fight an enemy who has outposts in your head. Sally Kempton

No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programmes, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan

Bureaucracy defends the status quo long past the time when the quo has lost its status. Laurence J.Peter

If a nation expects to be ignorant and free....it expects what never was and never will be. Thomas Jefferson

Government is like a baby. An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other. Ronald Reagan

Award-winning IRD

Shouldn't be surprised that the Best Government Website coincides with what they do best - take our money off us.

Pathetic

From the ODT; "Gareth Morgan earlier this week he would be giving away his share of the sale.

I have had thousands and thousands of letters, and 90% are basically asking for help with their mortgages, he told The New Zealand Herald.

Amongst that, there are some genuine needy cases, but I wonder if New Zealanders should look at themselves hard.

It’s no wonder the Government has such a job sorting out the benefits and has to employ armies to sort out the genuine cases from the freeloaders, he said.

He was shocked by people coveting his new-found millions after the Trade Me deal was announced. I am a bit surprised by the self-centred nature of it."

KiwiSaver scrutinised by the Wall St Journal

The Wall St Journal says KiwiSaver is a lemon. Here the NCPA identifies why;

More worryingly, KiwiSaver does little to address the root cause of New Zealanders' atrocious savings habits; namely, the country's generous welfare system:

* Today, Wellington guarantees 65 percent of the national average wage upon retirement at age 65.
* These payments aren't income or asset tested, meaning everyone receives the same treatment, regardless of wealth.

Observers ask: Why would New Zealanders save today if the government will look after them in their old age?

And, in the meantime, why should New Zealanders earn too much and accumulate assets when they'll lose their state benefits or be forced to start paying child support or paying back their student loans?

What happened to promised "transparency"?

I mentioned the other day the seemingly precarious disposition of Pete Hodgson, Minister of Health. This is a shocker. ACT MP, Heather Roy, has referred a directive from him to the Auditor General. He wants MPs to seek his permission before meeting with DHBs and to be provided with a meeting debrief from the DHB.
Whatever happened to the "transparent and accountable " government Clark promised us?

Times have changed

Here Jim Peron describes his experience of trying to deliver a lecture on political economics to an American high school class. It raised my eyebrows. Does anybody know how this would compare to a NZ high school?

How big is a billion?

A billion hours ago, our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.

A billion minutes ago, Jesus was barely dead.

A billion seconds ago, it was 1974.

A billion dollars of NZ government spending ago was just 7 days, 2 hours and 24 minutes ago.


(adapted from the Adam Smith blog)

Update; My most cringing apologies. A reader has pointed out that a billion minutes ago Jesus would have been dead 105 years and a billion seconds ago it was 1974!
I did get the bit about govt spending right.

Once the cat is out of the bag.....

Further from the Hansard debate on the Social Security Amendment Bill which introduced the DPB (reading historical Hansard is preferable to listening to Parliament today).

Dr Wall (Labour); "Step by step we are moving to the situation where financial provisions, quite rightly, are being based on the economic requirements of the people who are being supported by our pension schemes of one form or another; but unless there is very close supervision we will see the economic considerations gradually producing economic pressures to alter the social structure of our community, particularly in the family sphere.

We see this overseas, particularly in Sweden, where some very drastic and far-reaching changes have occurred in the pattern of family life, and when one looks at the processes by which these developed one finds they are largely due to the step-by-step increases in benefits along the path we are now treading."

So some of the members knew they were taking a risk, that they might be letting a cat out of the bag. The "close supervision" never happened.

And look! We are still following in Sweden's footsteps.

Famous last words

Here is the low key, Evening Post, page 16, Dec 1, 1973 press clipping that announced the introduction of the DPB.


"The new benefit will provide all solo parents, irrespective of the cause of solo parenthood, with defined benefit criteria; rates and income exemptions," said Mr King (Minister of Social Welfare).

The next is the Hansard from 25 October, 1972, which shows Hon. L.R. Adams-Schneider, Minister of Social Welfare (soon to be replaced by a Labour government Minister as per above) detailing the expected cost of the DPB.



"The cost of the proposed domestic purposes benefit is estimated at up to $250,000 a year."

Adjusting for benefit inflation, that's around $4 million by today's standards.

So what is the bill for today's DPB recipients? $2.3 billion

The goings-on of Christchurch gangs

Women and children of Aoteroa gang members who are in prison are being victimised by Mongrol Mob members. This makes my skin crawl frankly. There will be very young children and babies involved, quite probably the crimes won't just be against property.

A mother speaking to the media says; "I suppose the women's role is really to look after our kids – we are mothers. It's (gangs) a male thing – I don't see women with patches on. We might be around the gang scene but we don't get told anything. We are just the ones who get s... from it". The whole gang scene was "s... really", but it was a case of sleeping in the bed you made for yourself, she said.

A detective involved says, "Unfortunately, kids are being exposed to things they should not be seeing when they are kids. If these women believe they are the victims of crime we are quite happy to help them.

"In some ways they are victims of their own involvement. If they broke away from the people then they would not be subject to this type of intimidation from the other chapters. The trouble is, they find it hard to break away."

And you know who's funding all this misery don't you.

Thank God for Working For Families

From today's DomPost;

Benefit cheat spared prison

A young mother fraudulently pocketed thousands of dollars in benefit payments despite receiving generous financial support from her husband - and taking holidays to America.

Her lawyer says she can repay the $27,000 in domestic purposes benefit because she is now eligible for the Government's Working for Families welfare assistance.

I kid you not.

Lynley Hood

Lynley Hood, author of "A City Possessed", has written about the appointment of Howard Broad as Police Commissioner. She is not happy.

Are Facts Obsolete?

Is the question posed by Thomas Sowell in this excellent column

"People who have made up their minds and don't want to be confused by the facts are a danger to the whole society. Since the votes of such people count just as much as the votes of people who know what they are talking about, politicians have every incentive to pass laws and create policies that pander to ignorant notions, if those notions are widespread."

Poodle promotes his adopt-a-greyhound campaign

"I thought I was the lap dog around here."

Police on trains

Scoop reports, Police are going to start travelling in train cabs.

From today motorists who try and race trains across level crossings could well find out their act of stupidity has been witnessed by police.

This is apparently to deter would-be racers. How? If anyone is that damn fool to play "chicken" with a train is the fact a cop's on board to see them do it going to make a blind bit of diference. Actually I think it might encourage them.

Do nuns drive cars?

Just wondering as the spokesman of the Police Association, Greg O'Connor wants muslim women wearing burkas banned from driving. He says if their belief is that strong they should stay out of cars. Driving in a burka is just plain dangerous, he said.

Baby Boomers threat to road safety

This article misses an important point. While the growing number of ageing baby boomers will crowd the roads, and their accident rate is higher, even higher is the accident rate of young drivers and there will be fewer of them.

Scalping the scalpers

Re the Rolling Stones show - Initially fans were told all the tickets had gone. I missed out after a morning spent just trying to get onto the Ticketek website. Then about two weeks ago a radio news report said more had been released. Forget the internet this time. I rang immediately and got 4. The cheapest at that stage, "gold", were $150. I notice in the paper this morning that more tickets have been released for the Wellington show. These are "diamond" at a cost of $350 each. This must be the new strategy for beating the scalpers.

Let the Private Sector in (2)

Heavens. Another. New Police Commissioner Howard Broad first hit the headlines when he devised a plan for a private police force. He says he will continue to think outside the square.

Let the Private Sector in

The Dompost reports on board member Peter McCardle's suggestion that the Hutt Valley DHB pays up to thirty percent of people's surgery costs if they go private. "I believe our hospitals and clinicians are doing a great job but the reality is across the nation that there is great need, particularly for people on active review. We must do better and we need to look at other ways of trying to help these people."

Peter is an ex ACT man (as well as being a former Minister of Social Welfare in the National govt and NZ First MP). Hutt also has two councillors who are both former ACT staffers. All good people pushing it up hill.

PM - We're all in this together

In this week's Listener the Prime Minister says,"The post-Orewa period was very unpleasant, but, in a sense, it was therapeutic. A lot of people were able to get a lot of things off their chests. Eventually, a period of reflection sets in and people think,'Okay, all these things have been said, but at the end of the day, I go to work with Maori, I live in the same street as Maori, I'm in the same community organisations, the kids go to school with Maori, aren't we all in this together?'"

Absolutely. So why the Maori seats? Why the separatism?

Violent Crime

Not the best graph but it illustrates well the Labour spin.

Left side shows total violent crimes (from zero to 50,000)

Right side shows offences per 10,000 population (from zero to 140)

The lower line has flattened. Violent crime is steady.

The top line continues to grow. Violent crime is up.

Alice Springs Hospital

Came across this story about a NZ nurse's experience working in Alice Springs in the Taranaki Daily News. Dreadful state of affairs.

Two jokes

This is the "joke of the day" from the Adam Smith blog:
A man awoke one evening to discover prowlers in his storage shed. He immediately called the police, giving his address, to report a possible burglary. The operator at the other end asked "Are they in your house?" He replied they were not, only in his storage shed in back of the house. The operator said there were no cars available at that time. The man thanked the operator, rang off and waited 30 seconds before calling again.
"I just called you about prowlers in my storage shed. Well, you don't have to worry, as I just shot them all dead!" Within seconds there were 3 police cars, an ambulance and fire engine at the scene. After capturing the prowlers red-handed, the policeman asked the caller, "I thought you said you had shot them all?" The man answered, "And I thought you said there were no police available."

And is the "joke of the day" from the DomPost:Man hunts down car thief while police busy. John Creser is not surprised crime has risen in New Zealand – when his car was stolen, the Titahi Bay man had to investigate the theft himself.

Tertiary "education"

Michael Cullen will today announce new funding plans for the tertiary sector. They want to clamp down on low grade courses (think Wananga).

Ministry of Education figures show about 38,000 domestic students completed non-degree courses in 2000. By 2004 that number had risen to more than 80,000.

But institutions are largely funded on enrolments and those figures do not take into account the vast numbers of students who fail to complete a course.

Labour are now entering a new period where they can no longer blame a previous administration for the problems they face. Watch the numbers on the dole start to rise.

DBP Interview with the Jobs Letter

Excerpts from an interview with DBP in the latest Jobs Letter (my comments interspersed).
On WINZ offices; They're quite positive places. I joke that even the security guards smile and when we don't need them it will be even better.

When we don't need them? When we will that be?

But they are very welcoming places. And they've integrated Housing in a lot of those offices, and are now trying to convince IRD they want them there as well for obvious integration with taxation and the Working for Families issues. So that model now is going to Cabinet with a view to rolling it out across the whole country. It's called the New Service Model for want of a better name.

Convenient. Like a grand state redistribution one-stop-shop. I hope they have drive-through. And I guess they can all share security guards.

On the biggest challenge for the next three years; The biggest challenge for MSD is not in employment related matters, but the issue around the reintegration of Child Youth and Family. In the wider social sense I think that's a critical thing for the country. Cabinet took that opportunity because the chief executive went back to Canada unexpectedly and suddenly there was an opportunity and I guess it's a compliment to the operational level and delivery level of the Ministry right now that we felt they were able to do this. So I think that's their biggest challenge.

There are no problems - only opportunities. But hang on. What happened to the introduction of the Single Benefit?

Does he trust himself to do the job; I'm constantly touching base with my colleagues who have been there and know where we got to, so I don't go off on a harebrained idea that's mine and not appropriate.

Remind me again what is the point of this guy? It must be DBP's worst nightmare, doing something that's not appropriate.

On why do we need more young Maori and Pacific Islanders in work; I think when we realise the demographic change that we've got with the huge change in the percentage of young Maori and Pacific Peoples in this country, you and I need them to be working, to be purely selfish, to fund our superannuation in three or four decades.

Don't tell me we are going to have this guy around until he's in his nineties! Labour really are convinced they are the party of government.

On why we still have skills shortage; I think the first thing is the reliance, in the 90s on the free market to provide the training..... which — in typical free market fashion — didn't deliver. I'm not being trite or simplistic when I say that when no one's got the responsibility for work force supply, you end up with the problems we've inherited.

It's official. Benson Pope can do a better job than the market.

On preparedness to work; The simplest way we can enhance people's choices around getting involved in the workforce is to have places where their sons and daughters can be properly supervised and looked after. There are big social issues here and we're certainly not trying to force anyone in to work who doesn't want to work.

Run that by me again.

We don't actually try to make people do things, what we do try to do is make sure they have a freer choice about what they do — whether that's opportunity for young people to get schooling or opportunity for you or me or a carer who would like to work to be able to do so because the options are available. So no one's being forced off to the workforce. That's not to say we're not going to support people who need it … because we're the Labour Party, that's what we do.

Hello. Around two million working Kiwis are forced to pay tax so your clients won't be forced to get a job?? That's the Labour Party - that's what you do.

And (eventually) on Steve Maharey's grand plan, the single core benefit; while I can't say that we will be delivering a single core benefit certainly the system is going to be hugely simplified.

After all the song and dance, the media, the seminars, the hoopla, they are quietly dropping it. Be careful Mr Benson-Pope. Are you sure that's appropriate?

Unwarranted whinging

According to Stuff a new study released by the Human Rights Commission shows there are still too few women in leadership jobs.

Equal Employment Opportunity commissioner Judy McGregor said she "surprised and incredibly disappointed. . .the results show dismal progress".

The survey showed:

A total of 63 of the top 100 New Zealand companies had no women on their boards (46 women out of 645 directors), compared with the total workforce being 47 per cent women.

But women only make up 37.5 percent of the full-time workforce.

Full-time Part-time
Men 1,025,400 (90%) 113,800 (11%)
Women 617,400 (64%) 349,000 (36%)
Total 1,642,800 462,800
Overall % 78% 22%

"I'm not hard on it having to be 50-50, but I would ask why is half of New Zealand's potential ignored in terms of governance?"

Well clearly half of NZ's potential is not being ignored. 37 of 100 New Zealand companies had women on their boards and 32.2 per cent of Members of Parliament are women. Given thousands of women take time out of the workforce to raise families I would have thought these figures looked pretty good (if you care about gender representation anyway.)

What does Tariana mean?

Stuff reports; The Maori Party is warning National against continuing with its campaign to abolish the Maori seats in Parliament.

National leader Don Brash is worried about the number of Maori seats increasing and says getting rid of them is an important policy for his party.

Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia said today Maori were "sick to death" of political opportunism.

I don't know what she means. Genuinely. I don't. Do you?

Support for prohibition

A TV3 poll found fifty percent support for banning tobacco. Maori Party MP Hone Harawira is apparently delighted. Many have obviously forgotten (or never learned) their lessons about prohibition and its effects.

"Expert" would turn back the clock

It was not enough to tell people to change their diet. The Government should change food pricing so that unhealthy foods were more expensive and "good" food was cheaper.

So says an overseas "expert". So all the people who eat "unhealthy" food in moderation should be penalised because some people stuff themselves with it. Come to think of it, who will decide which foods should merit higher taxes because they are "unhealthy", when they are only "unhealthy" when consumed in large quantities day in and day out?

Apart from which this guy doesn't understand that the international trend is towards economic liberalisation and away from govt intervention in markets. The answer lies in persuading individuals to eat better by making them responsible for their own health - not in govt market manipulation.

On the Money , Don

Newsroom reports, National Party Leader Don Brash has attacked an Electoral Enrolment Centre campaign to sign Maori onto the Maori Roll as "state sanctioned separatism ... that ultimately encourages a racially divided electoral model."

I have no doubt that one of the reasons 100,000 Maori live in Australia is our increasingly separatist, cultural-identity politics. They are destructive politics. Mercifully we have a high profile politician prepared to say so.

Addicted to welfare

Muriel Newman refers to a new book which compares the rates of teenage pregnancy, cohabitation, divorce and sole parenting across the continent;

In Britain, where an anti-marriage agenda is being strongly promoted by the public service, universities and government funded social agencies, family problems are rife, with Britain topping the league tables in several of the most worrying indicators of breakdown, including divorce and teenage pregnancy. In Sweden, where a comprehensive social engineering programme has transferred many family responsibilities to the state - to a degree unseen outside of the Soviet bloc - there are even higher rates of out-of-wedlock births and cohabitation than Britain.

Italy, however, has effectively had no government intervention into the family, and is still the home of the traditional family unit. Divorce rates and out-of-wedlock births, including teenage pregnancies, are extremely low. Cohabitation is so rare as to be difficult to measure. Young people live with their parents until they get married, and, for most women, marriage will represent their first living-together relationship.

But what about the role of Catholicism?

James Bartholemew addresses that; Benefits influence behaviour in a big way. I suggest that the different benefits policy on lone parenting in Italy has been the primary reason for the low incidence of lone parenting there.

It will be said that no, it is all because the country is Catholic. But I believe, though I have not got the figures to hand, that Ireland has a much higher incidence of lone parenting, even though it, too, is Catholic. Also it is wrong to suggest that Sweden did not previously have a strong tradition of protestant religion and a culture of marriage and 'upright' behaviour. That culture has been undermined. Cultures, even ones heavily influenced by religion, can be changed and have been changed very dramatically around the world in the past 100 years.

Then a commentor on Bartholomew's blog points out that the fertility in Italy is very low at 1.2 (The replacement rate is 2.1) Who will pay for pensions, he asks?

See the bind we are in. Where sole parenting is subsidised birthrates are higher (but not necessarily the quality of parenting). So once again the welfare state perpetuates itself. The more of it we have, the more of it we need. The western world is addicted to welfare.

Support for Rodney

Good to see some support for Rodney Hide in this editorial from the Gisborne Herald. I disagree with Roger Douglas that ACT would have won 7-8 percent of the vote if it had stuck to policy. The election was a two horse race. The public has reverted to first past-the-post mentality. That is where the battle lies. But if Sir Roger wants to run post mortems what might have made a difference was Rodney being supported to go for Epsom in 2002.

The tail wagging the dog

At a public meeting last year I unintentionally caused considerable offence to one lady (and maybe others who weren't prepared to say so) when I said, "The poor in this country are the tail wagging the dog." Of course, if you were mindful of everybody's sensitivities nothing would ever be said.

What I wanted to convey is, because some people can't afford to pay we have designed our entire system, with government as the middle man, around that premise. But we should let those who can pay sort out their own requirements and treat the needs of the poor as an entirely separate issue.

Everybody would benefit.

The Welfare State We're In

James Bartholomew has a website under the same name as his book, with regular updates pertinent to the welfare state.

Health reform

There is a highly readable article at Adam Smith which outlines the problem with the NHS (which pretty much reflects New Zealand's public health system). Unusually it also proposes a solution.

According to Doctors for Reform taxation-funded healthcare can never meet demand and compulsory insurance in Europe works much better. “The NHS as we know it has had its day”, said the founder of the group, the oncologist Professor Karol Sikora. He added, tax finance is simply no longer fair because people with a healthy lifestyle have to subsidize people, who knowingly damage their health in a variety of ways. Indeed the NHS provides incentives not to bother about one’s health and even to remain ill in order to get the most out of the NHS. It is another example of the welfare state that actually encourages people to the opposite of what it seeks to achieve.

Verdict not guilty

NEWSFLASH: Not Guilty - Assistant Commissioner Clint Rickards and his two co-accused have been cleared of sex charges involving Louise Nicholas.

Just one thought. Given the history, is this the end of it?

Imposter

Just reading about the Tamsin vs Trelise court case being delayed.
And the thought crossed my mind that I am so important somebody is bound to be trading off my name. And I am paranoid enough to check...
Horrors. Look what I found!
Oh no. She's a babe. Half my age and much better looking. Where's my lawyers phone number...

Greens on WFF

"While the Green Party supports the extension of Working For Families, we would also like to see the Government cease to discriminate against beneficiaries," Ms Bradford says.

Gee Sue. I'd like the government to cease to discriminate against people without dependent children. The result of that discrimination will be far more harmful for the country.

Jail for DPB fraud

This woman has been sentenced to twelve months jail for ripping off the DPB. But see how long she was on it? Thirteen years and no questions asked. That's a moral crime. She started on the benefit at 18. She probably grew up on a benefit and now she will cost the taxpayer even more as a B & B guest of the state.

And her side of the story - She said she hadn't advised the change in her circumstances because she and her husband needed the money. They had debts and were poor budgeters.

Most of us have debts and many of us are less-than-wonderful budgeters but we don't commit crimes.

They came for the dogs and then....

NZ workers could be microchipped, according to Stuff this morning.

It isn't often I find myself agreeing with Andrew Little from EPMA but I wholly endorse this sentiment.

"When measures are taken that diminish the foundation for trust and respect then the working relationship starts to sour and people feel affronted,"Mr Little said.

The use of video cameras in the workplace raised "fraught issues" and the union remained opposed to the use of random drug tests, he said.

OECD report card on taxation

The Herald reports, Kiwis do better on tax.
Looking forward to some expert analysis on this and will post anything I spot (and certainly welcome any comments). The relatively low tax wedge seems to reflect our high level of income redistribution. Although the many other taxes we pay are not accounted for in calculating the tax wedge, a further finding shows NZ with the third highest percentage of total tax take being personal income tax. Suggesting that other taxation isn't comparatively high either. I wonder if local government taxes are accounted for. Their revenue is around ten percent of central govts.

Tau in trouble

National MP, Tau Henare is in hot water after saying he couldn't stand Tony Blair and calling him a "liar" on the Paul Holmes talkshow yesterday morning.....while the British PM was in the country no less. Watching Blair on John Campbell last night I'd have to say I rate him somewhat higher than Tau Henare. I was impressed with Blair's communication style regardless of whether I agreed with his comments.

The people must be protected

According to Reason
Chinese authorities have banned films and television shows mixing animation with real people. The ban is part of an effort to boost local production and reduce the amount of foreign content on Chinese TV. But media regulators also have a history of wariness regarding material than smacks of the supernatural or fantasy. The talking-pig movie "Babe" was banned several years ago, according to Variety, "on the basis that animals can't talk and some viewers would be confused."

I guess there's not much hope for Animal Farm then.

Liberal Conservatives or vice versa

This is an excerpt from Colin James' NZ Herald column Tuesday (premium content so no link).

"Last week he (National MP, Chris Finlayson) won approval from the party's board to set up a new group -- he is toying with calling it "liberal" or "liberal-conservative" -- with a formal place in the party structure and a role in delineating broad policy parameters and directions.

Finlayson's group succeeds an anaemic "classical liberal" group, which held a breakfast meeting at the 2004 conference but seemed unsure what it stood for. "Classical liberal" is more ACT's style (it calls itself plain "liberal") than National's, except for ACT's "tenth MP", Brash, and a handful of other caucus survivors of the 1990s."

Which word comes first must hold the key. Are they going to be liberal conservatives or conservative liberals? Or 50/50? Does anyone care? They should just call themselves the "compromisers" and have done with it.

Go The Poodle!

The Poodle has a new cause - far worthier than his usual pursuits - finding homes for retired greyhounds.

"I have no doubt that Greyhounds As Pets will provide huge benefits to the greyhound industry and to the people who adopt these dogs as pets," concluded Mr Peters.

I hope there is a home standing by for the Poodle in 2008. Go Winston!

Taxed to the max theme

The Working for Families jingle, the touchy-feely, very-quickly-getting-on-everybody's nerves musical phrase telling you that twittish family will soon be in your living room too, was especially commissioned by our beloved government at a cost of $16,500.

I guess that's a drop in the bucket compared to the total campaign cost but it focusses the mind on the deadweight cost of redistributing income.

Hate mail

Trevor Loudon has a post about his "best ever threat". Which reminded me about the hate mail I received when I launched the petition calling for a Parliamentary review of the DPB. Here's one postmarked South Auckland. (Nice sort of Mum to have.)

Dumb law

Yesterday's big issue in talkback land was compulsory micro-chipping of all dogs. There is almost unanimous opposition to this move because people cannot see what it is supposed to prevent or achieve. Occasionally an issue like this acts as a catalyst for a lot of other dissatisfaction. Clearly many people are sick of pointless legislation...just not sick enough to vote out the major protagonists. But Labour shouldn't underestimate this one. If the farmers march on Parliament it will be a bigger affair than the fart tax protest. I'll be doing my bit to urge other dog owners to join them.

The Timaru Herald has a good editorial about the matter today, "The microchipping law, AS A WHOLE, is dumb. If anything it will make the dangerous dog problem worse, not better.

Weird

I had a dream about Princess Diana last night. She had on a blue dress and was singing in her debut musical. I woke up thinking maybe Diana is going to feature in the news today. But what's the connection to singing?

Just now I heard Paul Holmes talking about a new book which claims singer Barbara Streisand slept with Prince Charles and Dodi Al Fayed. So did Princess Diana. Weird.

Hodgson strained

Listening to question time Pete Hodgson, Minister of Health, sounds perpetually on the edge of hysteria. Yesterday he issued a statement slating Don Brash's earlier comments on the health system.

He quoted Brash as saying,"…if you offer something for free, the demand will be enormous, and that if you don't use price to limit that demand, you will soon be unable to meet the demand."

"No matter how much is spent on health, there will always be queues unless price or some arbitrary political decision is part of the rationing process."

What's to argue with there (bar the misnomer "free")? But Hodgson uses these self-evident principles to accuse National of wanting to charge people for elective surgery - as if they don't pay now!

Pete Hodgson is thrashing a dead horse. No wonder he is in such bad shape.

Tax breaks?

Thousands of families to get tax break
Mr Benson-Pope visited a Wellington call centre handling Working For Families inquiries today where he met call centre worker Nigel Ritchie.

Mr Ritchie is married with two children, one aged three and the other nine months, and earns $37,500. From Saturday his Family Assistance under the Working For Families package would increase to $334 per fortnight, up more than $200 a fortnight.

When the Childcare and Accommodation Supplement components of the Working For Families package are added, Mr Ritchie's family will get around $270 per week -- making them $110 a week better off from Saturday.

If I understand this properly Nigel is getting $14,040 pa from Working for Families. His tax would be $8,336. He is not getting a tax break. He is getting a hand-out. To boot, he is produces nothing of value to add to the wealth of the country (nothing personal Nigel). Some will argue he has produced two children. But there is no guarantee they will stay in NZ - unless all the state benefits make it irresistable.

What a prospect. The multitudes seduced with hand-outs and a Labour government with an insurmountable number of voters....

The size and nature of the welfare problem

A question I have been trying to answer for a long time is, how many children growing up in benefit-dependent homes are at risk of experiencing health or developmental problems? I came across a report at the Ministry of Social Development website that sheds some light on an answer. Here is a piece I wrote about it last week. This links in with the discussion Judge Boshier has sparked today.

Criminogenic programmes

There are around 7,500 people in NZ prisons.

According to the Corrections Department, "For many inmates drug use is a factor in their offending. The Department provides interventions, programmes and special treatment units, designed to help inmates understand the link between their addiction and patterns of offending and to stop using or distributing drugs."

So how are they doing?

Simon Power to the Minister of Corrections (13 March 2006): How many inmates started the 100-hour Alcohol and Drug criminogenic programme in each financial year since 2000/01; what are the numbers for the 2005/06 year to date?

These are the numbers of starts on all criminogenic programmes including alcohol and drug programmes.

2001/02 109
2002/03 233
2003/04 159
2004/05 103
2005/06 80

Impressive isn't it. And how many Psychological Service staff are employed by Corrections?

* Staff (2004/05 full-time equivalent): 116

More staff than there are inmates entering programmes.

Lost in tanslation

According to Newstalk ZB, Australian tourism officials have had to make a few changes to the "Where the Bloody Hell Are You" advertising campaign, because it does not make sense in Japan.

The word "bloody" doesn't translate, so the message has been changed to simply read "Why Don't You Come?"

It took a long explanation about Australian mateship for a conference of Japanese travel executives to understand the campaign.

And elsewhere.....

Doctor's office, Rome:
"SPECIALIST IN WOMEN AND OTHER DISEASES."

Dry cleaners, Bangkok:
"DROP YOUR TROUSERS HERE FOR THE BEST RESULTS."

On an Athi River highway - the main road to Mombasa, leaving Nairobi.
"TAKE NOTICE: WHEN THIS SIGN IS UNDER WATER, THIS ROAD IS IMPASSABLE."

Hotel, Japan:
"YOU ARE INVITED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE CHAMBERMAID."

Hotel, Zurich:
"BECAUSE OF THE IMPROPRIETY OF ENTERTAINING GUESTS OF THE OPPOSITE SEX IN THE BEDROOM, IT IS SUGGESTED THAT THE LOBBY BE USED FOR THIS PURPOSE."

In an Alpine mountain inn:
"SPECIAL TODAY - NO ICE-CREAM."

(Hat tip Adam Smith blog)

Fudging the issue

Despite the statistics, she believed NZ was still the best place to raise children, but "we can do better".

That's Annette King, Police Minister, commenting on the high number of domestic killings happening in NZ.

She is reacting to Peter Boshier, Family Court Judge, who said yesterday;

"We used to say of ourselves that New Zealand was the greatest country in the world to bring up children. If that was ever true, we cannot be so proud or complacent now.

"As judges, we see the damage daily. What is done to one is done to all. Domestic violence has become an issue for all New Zealanders."

I tend to find for Mrs King. Why? Because she is taking an individualist approach. Many families have decided NZ is still the best place to bring up kids. For them the statement is true.

Treating domestic violence as a collective issue will never change anything. I don't accept that it is spread evenly across cultures and socio-economic class. That is a myth the apologists push. And I don't know what the Judge really means by, what is done to one is done to all. That is empty rhetoric. If somebody says a problem has "become an issue for all New Zealanders" you can bet they want to put their hand in your pocket to try to sort it out.

What joy

Defining the opposite of "synergy".....

Policy Sharing Plan - The Labour governments of New Zealand and Britain plan to formalise the way public servants in both countries share policy development during this week’s visit by British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

NHS Doctor Blog

"State sponsored shag" is a post from a frankly highly disturbing but also very funny blog.
"Dr Crippen is angry. He has worked for over 20 years in the NHS. He watches and weeps as the Health Service, slowly but inexorably, is destroyed. He takes a sad, sometimes humorous, sometimes cynical, look at the health care from the inside."

Carping over Commonwealth Games "failure"

In the aftermath, the predictable whining about insufficient government funding has begun. But what ever got better because government threw money at it?
I say abolish SPARC and sack that Jonah, Trevor Mallard!

The Maori Party and Welfare

The DomPost reports today; In her speech to ACT's annual conference in Wellington yesterday, Mrs Turia stressed the similarities between ACT and the Maori Party on issues such as the foreshore and seabed and welfare reform.

She said the Maori Party wanted provision of welfare to be decentralised and all those receiving a benefit to be required to work.

The NZ Herald reports; Mrs Turia said one of the four Maori Party MPs had been opposed to her giving the speech, but she declined to name the person.

Perhaps that MP is her co-leader.

Pita Sharples has said; The Working for Families package does not sufficiently address poverty, or child poverty, in Aotearoa. This package, along with the government’s Single Core Benefit system, rolls out the expectation that all beneficiaries should be in or moving towards paid work (often low-paid work) - regardless of being full-time parents or living in areas of job shortages.

This is at odds with Tariana's proclamation.

The Maori Party has also aligned itself strongly with the Greens on the matter of the Child Poverty Action Group's campaign. Mrs Turia said;
"253,000 children are in households supported by a benefit. It is these children that stand to gain most from the action of CPAG in being granted access to the Human Rights Review Tribunal for its case alleging discrimination in the Child Tax Credit, and the proposed In Work Payment". The Maori Party want non-working beneficiaries with children to receive the same extra payment as those who go to work.

Increasing payments to beneficiaries to a level on par with workers is going to make it harder to get people interested in jobs.

The huge problem for Maori is intergenerational dependency. At the heart of the problem is children growing up in non-working homes. If Tariana is serious about tackling DPB dependency I wish her well. But I am not convinced she is. I hope I am proved wrong.

Question

Dangerous inmates fly around country. If the only female passengers on the plane were an inmate and her guard, who would the unaccompanied child passenger be placed next to?

Kahlua

Here's a dog portrait I'm working on - a chocolate Lab pup.


I've updated my artist blog

www.lindsaymitchellartist.blogspot.com

News of the day

"Women who want to delay having babies until their thirties are being urged to think again after stunning new research which reveals that infertility rates nearly double after the age of 26".

That's pretty alarming. But the findings could be expressed differently.

After 26 the chances of being fertile drop from 90 percent to 80 percent.

I wouldn't use this as a reason for rushing into parenthood with the next twit that comes along.

The Chancellor's Budget Speech

This is delightful.

"It is gratifying to be able to report that taxation has risen to such an extent that the average citizen now works until June 3rd for the government, showing what I am sure my fellow members will agree is a touching patriotism and faith in government."

With a little tweaking here and there I am sure Mr Cullen could deliver much the same speech later this year.

Cigarette banks

If you saw a bin at the supermarket labelled "Cigarette Bank donations" would you throw a packet of fags into it? You see, I sat outside a foodbank for over an hour recently and observed how many of the 'clients' smoked (no, I wasn't spying - just waiting for someone who I had given a lift to). People had money for cigarettes but not for food.

Now, given the logistics of packing and stacking food items, the difficulties of storing perishables, wouldn't it just be a damn sight easier and more efficient to have cigarette banks?

Not a soul in Christendom would support the idea.

And that's why we have state-funded welfare. Money to fund welfare would never be given over voluntarily if people saw directly how it was being used. So the money has to be forced out of people through taxation.

One child, two homes

The Families Commission funds research. One study has suggested we don't know enough about how children spend their time between two or more households. More information should be collected and we need new terminology to reflect changing family life - terms such as 'two-home child' and 'separated child'. NZ Herald social issues reporter, Simon Collins asked me what I thought about this proposal and has included part of my response in this piece.

Shane Jones

Interesting interview with Shane Jones here.

Admits to having a big ego. He didn't need to. Says he finds himself, "reaching for the cane whenever Rodney opens his mouth..... The only way to escape Rodney Hide's penchant for making mischief is to live a hermetically sealed life."

And much more about the Maori Party, National and Shane Jones, a self-described "larger than life personality."

"Economy stationary as Govt fails to prepare NZ"

I dyslexically misread this headline from John Key as
"Economy stationary as Govt prepares to fail NZ"
then I thought, it amounts to the same thing anyway.

stick friends

(Thanks James - he should have commissioned me instead :-))

Pooh Corner

Not what you think. Wonders will never cease. A city council with a sense of humour.

Libertarianism

"Libertarianism does not require society saying 'Yes' to everything an individual wants to do. But libertarianism does require that the individual be allowed to say 'No' to anything."

I found this at http://decnavda.blogspot.com/2005/04/self-ownership.html
Very interesting blog about Libertarianism. Unfortunately it looks to be defunct but some of the archives are available.

Also; Libertarian Views of Government

There are three different "levels" of possible government compatible with libertarianism. Libertarians will usually be discovered arguing for one of these as "the" appropriate libertarian view, but all are compatible with self-ownership.

1. Anarchy. Zero. Government is evil. If less is better, none is best. Government commands are not voluntary suggestions; all government is the use of coercion, and all coercion is morally wrong or ineffective (zero or negative sum games as opposed to positive sum games in voluntary cooperation).

2. Minarchy. Government is a necessary evil. A monopoly on force is needed to protect individuals from violations of their rights by other individuals. In minarchy, the purpose of government is to prevent government.

3. A Rights-Respecting Government. Government can be good. There is no imposed limit on the size or functions of government, but it must respect the self-ownership rights of individuals just as any other entity. If I am forbidden from using a piece of property, it does not matter whether that property is owned by Bob Smith, Intel, or the government. Likewise, I cannot be abused, killed, enslaved, or deprived of my rightful property by either Bob Smith, Intel, or the government.


I hadn't considered 3. If self-ownership and property rights were strictly observed such a government would in any case be small because the private sector would crowd them out. No?

Tariana sounding tired on "gangs"

Maori Party co-leader, Tariana Turia, has got nothing new or original to say about gangs. She is no doubt right that banning patches in Wanganui won't make any difference but....

She said gang criminality and violence were linked to issues of unemployment, poverty, alcohol and drugs.

We aren't going to get employment any lower than it is; gangs are not poor and prohibition would play into gang hands. Which only leaves drugs. Legalise them and deprive the gangs of a major reason for their existence.

Part of the problem

This is part of the problem New Zealand is also experiencing. From Switzerland;

Mental health problems are driving increasing numbers of young people towards a lifestyle dependent on state benefits......The psychologist says it has become more acceptable to see problems in the individual, either in the form of a social phobia or panic attacks.

The government insists that much of the increase in incapacity benefits is due to the ageing population. It is more complex than that.

Benson-Pope and creative statistics

Mr Benson-Pope said New Zealand has seen a steep decline in the growth rate of Sickness and Invalid’s Benefits, but there is always more work to be done.

“Under the National government the Sickness and Invalid’s Benefits grew at a rate of 69 percent and 84 percent respectively. Under the Labour-led government this rate has dropped right down to 2.7 per cent in the latest year to December.”


Combined total for invalid and sickness benefits;
1993 63,686
1999 84,836
2005 121,366

Put any spin on it you like but the numbers speak for themselves.

Impotence good - impotence bad

The drug-buying monopoly Pharmac isn't very keen on the 'medicalisation of ageing'. The advertising of drugs like viagra, direct to the public, isn't very helpful. Too much consumer encouragement of unneccessary treatments that keep you young might raise expectations about government subsidies. Impotence is not life-threatening. Get over it.

Umm. But another arm of the state, the Ministry of Health says impotence is awful. It's the worst thing that can happen to a man. And given that smoking can cause it, cigarette manufacturers should put impotence warnings on packets (Don't anybody mention brewer's droop, for heaven sake).

Initially I thought the state was confused but now I see this strategy makes perfect sense.

John Key - Jim's man

Yesterday Kiwibank bought a controlling stake in New Zealand Home Loans. Here's John Key using strange logic to justify National's support for state-owned banks.

National Party finance spokesman John Key said the deal appeared to be an extension of a strategic plan by New Zealand Post to engage in joint ventures with private companies.

National supported joint ventures between the public and private sectors, he said.

"It makes sense for Kiwibank to engage in that way."

Getting private sector provision into an area which has been monopolised by the state is good. The state extending itself into areas to compete with the private sector is bad. Key's equivocation must be an anathema to Don Brash.

ID cards continue to be resisted

According to the Scotsman, The House of Lords once again defeated the government last night. Peers backed a joint Conservative and Liberal Democrat amendment that would prevent ministers making identity cards compulsory until at least 2011.

(A)former MI6 agent will be a key part of that resistance.

Baroness Park, who was made a peer by Margaret Thatcher, passed a withering verdict on the proposed cards, ridiculing ministers' suggestions that the system will make people safer. In fact, she said, the complete opposite is true.

"The very creation of such an enormous national identity register will be a present to terrorists; it will be a splendid thing for them to disrupt and blow up," she said.

On the back of the proposal to tag and number children earlier this week I could not believe the clamour from callers to NewstalkZB for an ID card for everybody! Lambs to the slaughter.

Public education

Bill Steigerwald, from the Pittsburgh Tribune says, Being forced to buy food in a depressing, pathetically understocked East Berlin government supermarket was a bit like being forced to buy public education in America.

Most people don't question our system of public education. But it's not only absurd and consumer-unfriendly, it's creepily un-American. Imagine if we had to get our groceries this way. Imagine a state Department of Groceries. Imagine a public food system where citizens are assigned defined grocery districts.

No thanks. Real estate agents might like the idea but nobody else would. Why we put up with it when it comes to our children's education I will never understand.

Standing ovation

It says a lot about parliament that "Labour MP David Parker got a standing ovation from his colleagues in Parliament today after explaining to the House why he had decided to quit Cabinet altogether."

I'm surprised they didn't haka.

Seriously - standards must be pretty low when doing the only decent thing merits rapturous applause.

Opting out of fatherhood

A US Men’s group is calling the feminist bluff with regard to “reproductive choice”. They say that if women have the “right” to abort any pregnancy without a man’s consent, the same right should exist for men who want to opt out of fatherhood.

This case is attracting a lot of attention but nowhere have I seen mention of the role of the welfare state in creating this dilemma. And it is a dilemma. What say should a male have in whether or not the female progresses with a pregnancy by him?

Most will disagree with me but as long as the state is going to fund single child-rearing, as of right, the father should be able to opt out. Having said that, it would be far better to just avoid the situation by taking responsibility for his own fertility.

If a female wants all the control over becoming a mother and the future of the child she should also have all the responsibility. That's tough on the child but it is the only way forward I can see.

If the state wasn't paying welfare then, on proof that the male is the biological father, the court should order he pay realistic child support, not simply a percentage of his earnings. In any case, the incidence of this happening would greatly reduce once the welfare incentive was removed.

My argument has always been that subsidised single-parenthood has lessened people's committment to each other and their children. It has made moving in and out relationships that have produced children, far too easy. It has created far more problems than it ever solved. Problems like this.

UPDATE; Cathy Young has written a column about this subject at Reason. She says, Sometimes, male complaints about women who get pregnant and ensnare men have strong overtones of misogyny—just as female tirades about men who cut and run easily turn to male-bashing. But not all women, and not all feminists, think alike. Feminist attorney Karen DeCrow, a former president of the National Organization for Women, has written that "autonomous women making independent decisions about their lives should not expect men to finance their choice."

One can hardly castigate men for treating an unwanted child as a burden to be avoided unless one recognizes that prochoice feminism has fostered such a mentality. Given the biological differences between the sexes, there may be no way to find a balanced approach to reproductive rights that would be equally fair to women and men. But the issues raised by Feit's lawsuit deserve consideration.

PM scoffs at charge of political bias

This headline, from the ODT, caught my attention. I had to think about why. Then it came to me that "scoff" is the perfect word for Helen Clark's attitude. There is none better. We are seeing her "scoff" more and more and nobody likes it. Even Labour supporters. In this respect Don Brash is the perfect foil for Clark. Mr Brash never "scoffs". With Don we are "scoff-free". Hang in there Dr Brash because the PM's star is on the wane.

Once a Meathead....

Remember the character who played Meathead, Archie bunker's son-in-law? The Wall St Journal has a good piece on his political "robin hood-type" campaign to get the taxpayer to fund universal pre-school for all Californian children, regardless of whether that is actually a desirable thing.

Mr. Reiner's ad campaign mentions neither the indifferent results of universal preschool nor its budgetary consequences. This, in itself, would not be a problem, because a democracy counts not on any one person's script, but many partial ones from numerous interested parties, to get the full story across to voters. But there is a problem when someone has unfair access to taxpayer dollars to bankroll his script over others.

Don't believe everything you read

Callers to NewstalkZB today were aghast that Nelson, coined the stress capital of New Zealand by Judith Collins, has 15.6 percent of its working-age people receiving a sickness benefit because of stress. Host Tim Dower said he didn't believe it.

He's right. The NZPA had somewhat mangled Judith Collin's press release which actually said, "15.6% of working age people receiving a sickness benefit in Nelson are on that benefit because of stress."

In fact the Nelson region has a lower beneficiary to working-age population ratio than the national average. ONLY one in ten of their working-age population (15-64) is on some sort of benefit.

GP workforce in "crisis"

Newstalk ZB reports, Alarming signs are emerging that New Zealand's GP workforce is aging, stressed and diminishing. A study released today by the Royal New Zealand College of Practitioners says 30 percent of GPs intend to change their work arrangements in the next five years.

The Health Minister believes the Government can stop the nation's GPs from burning out as its Primary Healthcare Strategy will ease the workload of GPs. (GP Council Chair) Dr Foley is unconvinced by the Government's assertions its Primary Healthcare Strategy will ease the problem.

Let me quote two GPs in my electorate who gave up their practices;
Dr Wijewickrama, in the face of advancing PHOs, "politicians don't generally improve things - they generally mess things up."

Dr Yeen Chan, "Every few months we have changes coming our way from different sources. You are so busy but it's not related to patient care." Dr Chan had seen the bureaucracy sponging health dollars skyrocket.

I'm from the government and I'm here to help you. I don't think so.

"Plan to give kids ID numbers"

The Government is examining a proposal to have all children tagged and numbered in a central database to stem abuse and failure at school.

What I want to know is, will the tags go through their noses or ears? And why not microchip them while they're at it.

Government mouthpiece

Came across a letter in the Sunday Times Magazine which entertained me no end. It was entitled "You can't choose your family" and written by Nick Hill, CEO of SPARC, in response to an article by his sister, Deborah Hill-Cone, published in an earlier edition.

As far as I can ascertain she had written about how hateful and humiliating PE was at school. He says he "fought a number of emotions" when he read it and she shouldn't let her experience put her off an "important part of being a human being." Eeeek.

I couldn't resist and sent the following;

Nick Hill wrote, March 19, "Sport - love it or hate it - binds this nation together and is at the heart of our identity."

As the CEO for Sport and Recreation New Zealand, a Crown agency, sport is at the heart of Mr Hill's identity. He makes a living being paid, in part, by those who couldn't care less about sport, to persuade them otherwise.

The thing is, thousands of New Zealanders are individuals seeking their own identity and meaning which may or may not lie in sport. They couldn't give a monkey's about collective identity. (I could go further and suggest that some athletes at the Commonwealth games get heartily sick of nationalists riding on their success.)

Using his letter to run the gamut of the government's current 'nation-building' kick through to the 'fight obesity' offensive, Hill finishes by nagging us yet again to, PushPlay for 30 minutes a day.

Some quiet time spent thinking for ourselves might be more useful.

NZQA - more problems

This report poses more questions than it answers.

The Qualifications Authority admits last year's calculus scholarship exam was far too difficult. Nearly a quarter of all students who sat the exam got zero, and a mark of only 18 percent was considered a pass.

Why is the exam setter so out-of-sync with the syllabus, and if he or she isn't, is the problem student ineptitude? Whatever the answer(s), parent's confidence is undermined yet again. These kids don't deserve to be mucked about like this.

Greens pleased with school walk-out

A group calling itself "Radical Youth" is organising a school walk-out tomorrow to support Sue Bradford's youth rate bill. They describe themselves as "anti-capitalist".

They believe,"The government should be working to end child poverty in New Zealand. Welfare benefits should be raised, as since the heartless 1991 benefit cuts they have been at a level unfit to survive on. Forget about ‘free trade agreements’, we should be trying to create decent jobs for people in New Zealand. In the past we used to employ people making things, not stacking the shelves of the Warehouse."

We need to get through to these kids that at the heart of the socialist alternative is force and compulsion. I tried explaining this to a bunch of students last year. Capitalism equals the voluntary redistribution of wealth whereby both parties benefit. Forced redistribution by governments will always disadvantage one party, very often, both. It appeared to go over their heads I'm afraid. Partly because my powers of verbal communication are not that hot. But partly, I suspect, because they can't conceptualise. And, not to be discounted or under-estimated, being "anti-capitalist" is cool.

But I still feel this message, govts = force and compulsion, is the best way to combat their left-wing delusions. Kids hate being made to do anything.

The truth about student loans

The Sunday Star Times has a good piece by Ruth Laugensen "dispelling myths about student loans". In summary;

1/ There is no obligation to pay back a loan until your earnings get above $16,500

2/ New information reveals women repay their loans a bit quicker than men.

3/ Higher education is not necessarily the path to riches. Of 20,000 who left tertiary study in 1994, by 2000 a quarter were earning less than $10,000 a year.

4/ Students aren't all slack about money. Of any group there tends to be two extremes. One large block will have make no progress on repaying and the other will clear their loan quickly.

5/ The poor do not have the biggest loans. Those coming from high decile homes tend to enter the "expensive" fields of study.

6/ It doesn't take most students decades to repay their loans. The median time taken is 6 years and 7 months.

7/ The interest-free policy will be open to exploitation with some planning and where students have wealthier parents.

(My comment) It's quite obvious that the current scheme, combined with the benefit system, produces the worst of incentives. These will be exacerbated when people don't have to pay any interest.