August 22 in history

On August 22:

565 St Columba reported seeing the Loch Ness Monster.

1851 the first America’s Cup was won by the yacht America.

1862 French composer Claude Debussy was born.

1864 12 nations signed the first Geneva Convention and the Red Cross was formed.

1893 US writer Dorothy Parker was born.

1934 Genral “Storman’ ” Norman Schwarzkopf

1969 The first Young Farmer of the Year contest was held. The winner was Gary Frazer.

Govt seeks clarification on Minaret Station ruling

The government is seeking clarification from the High Court on the Land Valuation Tribunal’s decision on the Minaret Station rent case.

Minaret Station took a test case to the tribunal after the previous government decreed amenity values be included in the value when rent was set on pastoral lease properties.

The Tribunal ruled in Minaret’s favour.

A media release from Minister of Land Information, Maurice Williamson and Agriculture Minister David Carter is quite clear they are seeking clarification of the ruling on a technicality not amenity values.

The Government remains supportive of the decision and is committed to implementing pastoral lease rents based on the earnings capacity of a property,” say Agriculture Minister David Carter and Land Information Minister Maurice Williamson.

“However, the Solicitor General has advised the judgment leaves an unclear definition of “capital value” which presents some complexities around valuing pastoral leases in the future.

“For this reason, further clarification is needed,” say Mr Carter and Mr Williamson.

“This is not about amenity values.  This Government has no intention of revisiting Labour’s policy of including amenity values in the rent setting process,” says Mr Carter.

“It is a case of defining a narrow technical aspect of the ruling.”

“We want to bring certainty to the application of our previously stated policy on pastoral lease rents.  Clarifying the decision will benefit both the Crown and leaseholders,” the Ministers say.

Any suggestion that the government was planning to relitigate the issue of amenity values would have been very disappointing for pastoral lessees. The Ministers have made it quite clear they aren’t going to go there so I don’t think this announcement will cause any concern. 

But the issue has been financially and emotionally expensive for lessees so I hope the technical issue is settled quickly.

Music, In A Foreign Lanugage

In the dim, dark recesses of my memory lurks a vague trace of a poem about foreign language which would be appropriate for International Languages Week.

Try as I might I can’t dig it out so went searching on the internet and found Music, In A Foreign Language by Andrew Crumey at famouspoetsandpoems.com

 - Music, In A Foreign Language -

In a cafe, once more I heard
Your voice – those sparse and frugal notes.
Do they not say that you spoke your native Greek
With an English accent?

Briefest of visions: eyes meet across the cafe;
A man of about my age – eyelids heavy,
Perhaps from recent pleasures.
I begin the most innocent of conversations.

Again I see that image;
Ancient delight of flesh
Against guiltless flesh.
Sweeter still, in its remembering.

Most innocent of conversations: once more, I am mistaken.
He leaves; the moment lost – and to forego
The squalor of this place, I read again your lines; those sparse and frugal notes.
In a taverna, you found beauty, long ago.

And when you draw, with your slim, swift pen
The image of that memory – time’s patient hostage;
Then how can I forget him, that boy whom you could not forget,
Or that music, in a foreign language?

- Andrew Crumey -

Who’s confused Sue?

The referendum on child discipline hasn’t closed yet, but Sue Bradford is already making excuses:

“Feedback I’ve received from the public over the last few weeks tells me a lot of people feel pretty angry at the confused nature of the referendum question and the waste of $9 million of taxpayers’ money this represents,” she said.

The waste of money started when the law was drafted badly in the first place. It continued when former Prime Minister Helen Clark refused to allow the referendum to take place with last year’s general election when it would have cost much less.

The referendum is badly worded but it’s not hard to work out what its intention. It is asking people if they support the law change which made it illegal to smack children for the purposes of correction. Those who do should vote yes, those who don’t should vote no.

That is much clearer than the law itself which even it’s architect doesn’t understand because she says:

“The `Yes’ vote is a vote for keeping the law as it is, providing children with the same legal protection from violence as adults.

She’s wrong.

The law for which she is responsible, the Crimes (Substituted Section 59) Amendment Act says:

 Parental control

• (1) Every parent of a child and every person in the place of a parent of the child is justified in using force if the force used is reasonable in the circumstances and is for the purpose of—

• (a) preventing or minimising harm to the child or another person; or

 (b) preventing the child from engaging or continuing to engage in conduct that amounts to a criminal offence; or

(c) preventing the child from engaging or continuing to engage in offensive or disruptive behaviour; or

(d) performing the normal daily tasks that are incidental to good care and parenting.

(2) Nothing in subsection (1) or in any rule of common law justifies the use of force for the purpose of correction.

(3) Subsection (2) prevails over subsection (1).

(4) To avoid doubt, it is affirmed that the Police have the discretion not to prosecute complaints against a parent of a child or person in the place of a parent of a child in relation to an offence involving the use of force against a child, where the offence is considered to be so inconsequential that there is no public interest in proceeding with a prosecution.

 Which bit of justified in using force if the force used is reasonable in the circumstances and is for the purpose of – preventing . . . don’t you understand Sue?

Smacking to correct is illegal, smacking to prevent is not.

The wording of the referendum could be better but its intent is clear. That is more than you can say about the law which criminalises parents who smack for correction but protects those who use the same amount of force, or more, providing they do it for prevention.

To misquote Blackadder, this law is so stupid you could pin a tail on it and call it an ass.

We’re still highly taxed

If  KPMG’s international tax survey was a school report, New Zealand would be told it has improved but could do better.

We’ve moved from 18th to 24th on the list which shows the level of personal tax paid.

The improvement is a result of dropping tax rates and increasing the top tax threshold from $60,000 to $70,000. However, as KPMG New Zealand partner Paul Dunne points out (in the NBR) that’s less than twice the average wage and a very low income to attract a top tax rate by international standards.

Australia is 34th on the list. Its top tax rate is 45% but that doesn’t kick in until personal income gets to $180,000.

Bahrain, the Cayman Islands, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates top the list with a 0 rate of personal income tax.

Is that what oil does for an economy? If so, what a pity milk and meat don’t have the same effect.

Holding hands across the water

A population of four million people isn’t a very big city by international standards and makes us a very small country.

When we’re so small we need good mates, and no relationship is more important for New Zealand than that with our closest and biggest neighbour, Australia.

The joint statement from Prime Ministers John Key and Kevin Rudd  commits to strengthening trans-Tasman economic integration; streamlining travel and trade between the two countries,;co-operation between our Productivity Commissions,;collaboration on the design, implementation and a linking of emissions trading schemes; and continuing very close defence relationships.

Both countries have a lot to gain from all of these but I am not convinced we should go as far as a common currency.

Using euros in several countries makes travelling in Europe much easier for tourists. But locals gave us the impression that the countries with stronger currencies had benefitted more and those with weaker ones had found it costlier. If that is so it might not be as good for us as Australia.

(That is based on anecdote, you’ll get a more scientific analysis at The Visible Hand where Matt Nolan has the pros and cons of a common currency).

While holding hands across the Tasman has benefits for both of us, the sporting rivalry will always remain. Both Prime Ministers have an extra reason to hope their team wins the rugby tomorrow because they’ve agreed the one whose team loses will wear the other team’s tie on Monday.

Doctoring assumptions

Listening to acting Prime Minister Tony Ryall talk to Jamie McKay on The Farming Show yesterday I was reminded of a conundrum which did the rounds about 30 years ago:

A father and his son were involved in an accident and both were very seriously injured. They were taken to a nearby hospital by ambulance and admitted to the emergency department. A general surgeon was summoned to treat the father and a peadiatric surgeon was called for the child.

The surgeon, took one horrified look at the wee boy and said, “That’s my son.”

Who was the surgeon?

If you can’t work it out, listen to Tony explain about the rural bonding scheme for medical graduates.

If you still can’t work it out, the explanation is after the break.

August 21 in history

On August 21:

1770 James Cook formally claimed east Australia for Great Britain and called it New South Wales.

1920 Christopher Robin Milne, who inspired his father to write the Pooh Bear stories, was born.

The real stuffed toys owned by Christopher Robin Milne and featured in the Winnie-the-Pooh stories.

1930 Princess Margaret was born.

1938 Kenny Rogers was born.

1958 Auckland became the first New Zealand city to introduce the Barnes Dance, stopping all traffic to enable pedestrians to cross in all directions at once.

Sourced from NZ History Online & Wikipedia.

Pictures speak every language

Buenas tardes, buona sera, and bonsoir.

That’s another token gesture towards International Languages Week and this a follow up from yesterday’s post about using pictures rather than words to get the message across to people who can’t speak your language.

When I put my card in the cashpoint machine today I was momentarily confused by what I saw on the screen.

Instead of the message I was used to, there were little dialogue boxes down the right hand side in English and an Asian script. The English said only use this if you want another language.

If you need another language it’s possible you can’t read English so how will you understand that instruction?

When we were in Europe, every cashpoint machine we used had flags denoting different language options. If you don’t understand what español, ingles,  italiano, alemán or francés meant, the flag beside the word told you it was Spanish, English, Italian, German or French so you didn’t have to understand the host country’s language to work out what to do.

How hard would it be to do that here?

A picture doesn’t just paint 1000 words, it does so in every language.

Apropos of International Languages Week:

 goNZoFreakpower shows us how Flight of the Conchords cope with French.

Jim Mora  interviewed Professor Cynthia White from Massey University’s School of Languages.

Does an accident of marriage make a woman powerful?

Forbes’ list of the world’s 100 most powerful women  is topped by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The rest of the list is made up of business and political leaders, a couple of Queens and one wife.

Michelle Obama whose position of power is listed as First Lady is regarded as the 40th most powerful woman in the world.

I can see how she could be influential, but is she powerful?

If she is, is that a positive indication about the status of a wife or a negative one because she’s powerful not in her own right but because of whom she married?

Furthermore, does it raise questions about how someone who hasn’t been elected could have so much power in a democracy?

And what does it say about the different way men and women are regarded? I don’t think a president’s husband would  be on the list of the world’s 100 most powerful men just because of whom he’d married.

Accidents of birth may make Royals powerful but can an accident of marriage make a woman powerful and if so, why doesn’t it also confer power on a man?

Hat Tip: NZ Herald.

Immigration system a big part of the problem

Some of the staff we encountered when dealing with the Immigration Department in recent years were helpful. Some weren’t and even when the people were helpful the system was not easy to negotiate.

At one stage I phoned Federated Farmers for advice. The bloke I spoke to said Feds was working at the policy level, but if he had wanted to get into individual cases he could easily have a fulltime job.

I can understand why because at its worst, navigating through the process required to get the paperwork which would allow someone to work for us was like trying to swim through syrup with gumboots on. 

This was when unemployment was so low that any New Zealander not in work either wouldn’t or couldn’t hold down a job. The maze through which you have to navigate won’t be any less convoluted now that unemployment has climbed.

If we found it difficult how much worse it must be for people from other countries who speak English as a seoncd language, if at all, and are used to different customs. It’s no wonder they seek help from immigration consultants and that leaves them open to exploitation from unscrupulous operators.

Any questions over the conduct of people dealing with potential immigrants ought to be investigated and where necessary referred to the police. I am sorry that allegations over National MP Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi’s immigration dealings weren’t settled earlier and hope they will come to nothing but I don’t question the action being taken.

However, like Macdoctor, I do wonder why other apparently more serious allegations aren’t being investigated.

I also wonder if it is possible to simplify the system. If people found it much easier to navigate  through immigration applications the process would be less open to abuse, applicants would be less vulnerable to exploitation and there would be less need for consultants to help them.

Agreeing to disagree

Political relationships are like personal ones.

Sometimes the people in them are in complete accord, sometimes they have to work to get consensus, sometimes they have to compromise and sometimes they can only agree to disagree.

If they are mature, principled and committed to the relationship they can do this without breaking up.

The Act and Maori Parties are showing they are mature, principled and committed to their coalition agreements with National in their stance on Maori seats in the proposed merger between Auckland local bodies.

Act leader Rodney Hide says he’ll step down from his role as Minister of Local Government if Maori seats are created on the new Auckland council but that won’t alter his party’s support for the government. Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia says she’s disappointed by this but her party won’t be withdrawing from its support for the government either.

You can’t always get everything you want in a relationship but you can agree to disagree without tears and tantrums and without threatening the relationship.

What goes round . . .

The proposed merger between PGG Wrightson and Silver Fern Farms riled some farmers so much they took their business from PGW.

That loss was Combined Rural traders’ gain and is one of the reason the co-operative did so well last year.

However, what goes round comes round. CRT’s purchase of a livestock company has upset SFF and prompted it to take its business away from the co-ooperative.

Business is business and any company has the right to enter the market. 

CRT has a large client base and will be counting on that to give them a good start. However, the livestock market is already crowded ansd success in the business relies on strong personal relationships between agents and clients rather than brands.

The challenge for CRT, like every other stock firm,  will be to employ the best people in the field.

August 20 in history

On August 20:

1000 Hungary was established as a kingdom.

1858 Charles Darwin first published histheory of evolution.

1923 US singer Jim Reeves was born.

1940 the New Zealand shipping freighter Turakina was sunk by a German raider in the Tasman.

1941 India’s 7th Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was born.

1991 Estonia seceded from the USSR.

 

Sourced from NZ History Online and Wikipedia.

You won’t find breaches of court orders here

A large number of people have landed here while searching for a name. It has been linked to a news item about a court case in which the judge has suppressed any information which will identify the people involved

Anyone wanting to find out news or views on the person or issue won’t find anything here.

I won’t pretend to be a media – or any other – law expert but I do understand and respect suppression. If a judge makes an order I’m not going to breach it directly or indirectly with cryptic links, innuendo or by joining dots between stories.

Comments on blogs about a recent court case while it was under way led to suggestions a test case might be made because bloggers were unaware, or careless of, the fact they are subject to the same laws as other media. Several posts on other blogs about a current case show some either don’t know, or don’t care, about the risk they are taking in breaching a suppression order.

I do which is why I won’t be writing anything at all about the case or the people involved in it.

Alan, Alan, Alan

Hat Tip: Paul Tremewan

Mid-week Music

Sir Howard Morrison  - because it was his birthday yesterday – in concert with new versions of some old songs.

Just what are we licking?

An ice cream judge proved that ice cream is better licked from a cone than eaten from a spoon but a school girl’s science project found we could be getting more than ice cream in the cone.

The ODT reports that Kim Shultz tested ice cream from 17 dairies for her entry in the Aurora Otago Science and Technology Fair and discovered that five of them were contaminated by E-coli bacteria. One of those was also contaminated by the staphylococcus aureus micro-organism.

Andrew Tagg, an Otago graduate, and also a judge at the fair, said the practice in some shops of allowing ice cream scoops to sit in warm, “dirty” water for much of the day could result in micro-organisms growing in the water and on the scoop.

This will be filed in the things-Iwish-I-didn’t-know-but-can’t-forget draw. But I’ll hide it under the memories of all the ice creams I’ve licked without ever (touch wood) having suffered ill effects.

Jim Mora interviewed Kim yesterday.

¿Comprende?

Buenos día, bon jour, boun giorno and bula.

Since it’s international languages week when we’re being encouraged to widen our linguistic horizons by branching out from our mother tongue, we might spare a thought for people who come here without being able to understand English.

A couple of women ahead of me in the queue at the airport bank were trying to pay departure tax.

The woman serving them asked for their passports. they looked blank.

She repeated what she’d just said, a little more slowly and a little more loudly.

They looked at each other then back at the woman serving them.

She asked for their passports again even more slowly.

It was obvious the women didn’t have a clue what she was saying.

I showed them my passport and the light went on in their eyes.

We can’t expect people working  at airports to speak every language they might encounter from their customers. But how difficult would it be to have a sign showing in pictures what was required when paying the tax?

Too young to drive?

When you live in the country you know your children will almost certainly leave home for further education or work when they finish school.

Ensuring they get a driver’s licence and get practice driving when we have a fair bit of control over them is one of the ways we prepare our teens for life in the big, wide world.

Most farm kids learn to ride motorbikes and drive cars, utes and even tractors in paddocks before they are old enough to get the licence which allows them to start learning to drive on the road.

Most are keen to get their licence as soon as they can and parents are generally supportive of that because it gives the adolescents some independence and frees the parents from playing taxi driver.

If the suggestion that the age at which people can get a licence be raised to 17 is acted on then rural people will be disadvantaged. We don’t have public transport and do have bigger distances to take our offspring to school, sports, cultural and social activities.

However, rural roads are dangerous and the evidence that adolescents don’t have the intellectual capacity required for safe driving is compelling.

However, inconvenience is better than tragedy. Taxiing  teenagers for longer is preferable to dealing with incapacity or death as the result of a vehicle accident.