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Category: Analysis Assessment
MIL-Evening Report: Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – January 22 2019
Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – January 22 2019
Editor's Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.
The Beehive and Parliament Buildings.
Today's content
Geoff Simmons (Spinoff): New Zealand is losing at housing. How could we win?
RNZ: Morning Report: Watch: Chris Hipkins on housing affordability
Bryan Bruce (Daily Blog): Our housing is severely unaffordable
Katie Bradford (1News): Drop in housing market predicted, and soon – leading economist
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): NZ house prices are among the most unaffordable in the world: survey
RNZ: Housing in all main NZ markets now 'severely unaffordable'
Anne Gibson (Herald): Tauranga outstrips London – 8th least affordable housing market: Global study
Zane Small (Newshub): Tauranga world's eighth most unaffordable housing market
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Auckland needs to spread out to make housing affordable, says councillor
1News: Accommodation supplements nudge $30m a week, put pressure on welfare system
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): Labour will lose in 2020 without more progress on housing affordability: Pavletich
BusinessDesk: Indications emerge about resignation of KiwiBuild head
Gareth Kiernan (Stuff): Resignation another step to KiwiBuild failure
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): New Year, same old KiwiBuild stuff-ups
RNZ: Industry expertise key in search for new KiwiBuild boss – expert
Newshub: Mayor 'confident' KiwiBuild will succeed, despite boss' departure
Jason Walls (Herald): KiwiBuild unit head Stephen Barclay resigns with immediate effect
RNZ: KiwiBuild head Stephen Barclay officially resigns
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): KiwiBuild boss stands down after months of absence
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): KiwiBuild boss resigns after reports of dispute
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Latest property management scandal shows regulation overdue
Inequality, welfare
Belinda Feek (Herald): NZ's richest men gain as much wealth as the poor have lost
Bonnie Flaws (Stuff): Oxfam report says inequality is deepening
Tom Hunt (Stuff): Tax more: Oxfam calls for wealth tax to tackle growing inequality
RNZ: The rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer – new research
Eric Crampton:Oxfam – again
Richard Swainson (Stuff): Stepping into struggle street offers a new perspective on wealth and poverty
RNZ: Advocate hits back over National's call for more benefit sanctions
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Benefit sanctions need to be harsher – Simon Bridges
1News: More people on job seeker support benefits under Labour 'just not good enough', says Simon Bridges
RNZ: Government benefits still not enough a poverty action group says
Sarah Robson (RNZ): Hardship grant rise 'related to housing cost'
Mike Yardley (Stuff): Government running up a wellbeing deficit
PM in Europe, Brexit
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern secures post-Brexit agreement with UK, warns of dangers of 'No-Deal' Brexit
RNZ: UK pledges trade continuity with NZ after Brexit
Lucy Bennett (Herald): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern inks deal with British PM Theresa May
Zane Small (Newshub): Post-Brexit deal: Jacinda Ardern, Theresa May agree to protect New Zealand businesses
1News: New Zealand and UK sign trade continuity agreement as Jacinda Ardern and Theresa May meet in London
Fran O'Sullivan (Herald): It's Jacinda Ardern's chance to shine — but can she show substance too?
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): World Economic Forum: What Jacinda Ardern and the world will discuss
Stuff: Jacinda Ardern expresses admiration for UK PM but says a no-deal Brexit would be 'very, very difficult'
Lucy Bennett (Herald): Ardern acknowledges hard Brexit could be difficult for New Zealand businesses
Lloyd Burr (Newsroom): Post-Brexit deal: Ardern offers no assurances for Kiwi exporters
Herald: Ardern: Whatever Britain decides about its new place in the world, NZ stands with you
1News: No-deal Brexit would be 'very damaging, very difficult' for New Zealand – Jacinda Ardern
Lucy Bennett (Herald): PM Jacinda Ardern to meet Theresa May during time of Brexit tumult
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Post-Brexit deal: Ardern in the right place at the right time
Jo Moir (RNZ): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to meet embattled British leader Theresa May ahead of summit
Bruce Munro (ODT): Global Insight: The Brexit train wreck – Part 2
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Is NZ business ready for Brexit?
Moana Makapelu Lee (Māori TV): How Brexit could affect NZers
Jason Walls (Herald): Foreign Minister Winston Peters says British MPs need to prepare for a 'hard Brexit' scenario
Zane Small (Newshub): Davos: PM Jacinda Ardern to challenge 'false protectionism and isolation' on Europe tour
Megan Sutherland (Newshub): Clarke Gayford gives inside look at Jacinda Ardern's insanely packed Davos schedule
Robert Ayson (Newsroom): A China chip on New Zealand's shoulder?
Matthew Hooton (Herald): Is Jacinda Ardern on board with the Winston Peters Reset?
Pattrick Smellie (Stuff): Is Winston Peters playing the PM on foreign policy?
Jason Walls (Herald): Canadian PM Trudeau calls Jacinda Ardern to shore up support in escalating diplomatic feud with China
Michael Reddell: Cowering and contemptible
RNZ: China intelligence law a 'known concern' in Huawei 5G ban – GCSB Minister Andrew Little
Mitch McCann (Newshub): Australia plans further deportations of New Zealand criminals
Matthew Theunissen (RNZ): Detainees at three more centres join Yongah Hill hunger protests
RNZ: NZ detainees in Australia involved in hunger strike – advocate
Audrey Young (Herald): Expansion and renewal part of NZ's footprint on the world
Herald: CPTPP nations meet in Tokyo for first commission meeting
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Parker: CPTPP 'vision' vital in tough trade year
Catherine Harris/AP (Stuff): Consensus reached on expanding CPTPP trade deal
1News: CPTPP meeting agrees on guidelines to expand trade agreement
1News: Slow down in China could have 'very big impact' on New Zealand economy
United Nations human rights review
Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): Andrew Little to UN: New Zealand is failing women and our justice system is broken
Derek Cheng (Herald): UN to scrutinise NZ's human rights record
RNZ: NZ human rights to come under scrutiny from UN
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Why Saudi Arabia is about to judge NZ's human rights record
NZ intelligence agencies
Keith Locke (Spinoff): Spy chief's apology to me reveals scandalous truth about the SIS
RNZ: SIS apologises to former Green MP for past treatment as a 'threat'
Suzie Dawson (Daily Blog): They Spy With Their Little Eye – NZ Spy Scandal: The Elephants In The Room
MBIE, public service
Richard Harman (Politik): How the Christchurch earthquake shook up the public service
Jo Moir (RNZ): Ethics code may see mega ministry contracts lost, lobby group says
Bryce Edwards (Herald): Political Roundup: Will the Government fix spying in the public service?
Newshub: Privacy watchdog concerned about MBIE's online sleuthing
Lucy Bennett (Herald): Quake Minister Megan Woods seeks SSC advice on OIA payments to security firm Thompson & Clark
Lucy Bennett (Herald): Megan Woods seeks answers on Southern Response's use of private investigators
Lucy Bennett (Herald): MBIE reviewing training for staff, preparing briefing for ministers
Herald: Can public servants snoop on social media? Only if they ask first
RNZ: Lawyer of woman forced to pay likely abuser says decision will have 'chilling effect'
Alison Mau (Stuff): Mariya Taylor case: Outcome 'huge barrier' to justice, lawyer says
Anna Loren and Alison Mau (Stuff): 'A stab in the chest': Air Force servicewoman must pay almost $28k in court costs to man who harassed her
Grace Cocker (Newshub): Outrage after assault victim ordered to pay offender costs
Herald: Victim of convicted 'groper Roper' ordered to pay almost $28,000 in legal costs
RNZ: Woman ordered to pay 'likely' abuser $28k despite 'heinous' attack
Alex Braae (Spinoff): Roast Buster ringleader 'trying to make amends' just started crowdfunding a music career
Luke Kirkness (Herald): Roast Busters ringleader Joseph Parker's appeal on social media to help fund music career
Katie Scotcher (RNZ): Roast Buster interview 're-traumatising victims'
Harrison Christian (Stuff): Roast Busters' victims face further trauma from TV interview, says Louise Nicholas
Stuff: Roast Buster's victim says she was constantly lied to by her abusers
Karen Rutherford (Newshub): Watch: Extended interview with Roast Busters ringleader Joseph Parker – Part 1
Karen Rutherford (Newshub): 'I'm trying to make amends': Roast Busters' ringleader Joseph Parker breaks five-year silence
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Roast Busters ringleader tells his story
Anna Leask (Herald): Roast Busters: Second 'ringleader' speaks out about underage sex allegations, scandal
Bryce Edwards (Herald): Political Roundup: Should rodeos be banned in New Zealand?
Gareth Hughes (Newshub): Why it's time to ban rodeo from NZ
RNZ: Animals 'tortured' pointlessly in depression research, says NZ group
Stacey Kirk (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern faces conundrums over Cabinet reshuffle
Jo Moir (RNZ): Job vacancies arise in the prime minister's office
1News: Jacinda Ardern wants Clarke Gayford to 'agonise' over marriage proposal, says she won't pop the question herself
Jo Moir (RNZ): Labour Māori MPs face demands for action as PM misses Rātana celebrations
Paul Gorman (Stuff): Speaker Trevor Mallard's turbulent Twitter exchange with WeatherWatch boss
Richard Harman (Politik): Once were radicals. The Greens in government
Jason Walls (Herald): $350,000 donation to the Greens, from late party member's estate, the largest to a major political party in almost a decade
Shane Te Pou (Newsroom): Reflections of a former Labour activist
Guy Williams (Stuff): Was David Cunliffe's 'sorry' ahead of its time
Sophie Bateman (Newshub): Simon Bridges vows to 'scrupulously ignore' Jami-Lee Ross in 2019
Anna Bracewell-Worrall (Newshub): Department of Conservation confirms staff member removed from Maggie Barry's office
Jason Walls (Herald): National MP Alfred Ngaro asked more than 1000 written questions in just one day last year
Jason Walls (Herald): 'I'm open for business' – National's Paula Bennett becomes a marriage celebrant
RNZ: Move carefully on cannabis law reform, academic says
Sally Caswell (Herald): If we legalise cannabis we must keep business at bay
1News: Community and non-profit models of cannabis regulation preferred by public – study
Zane Small (Newshub): What if cannabis profits went back to the community?
Scott Palmer (Newshub): 2020 cannabis referendum would easily pass, poll says
RNZ: NZ company gets licensed for high THC cannabis
Sophie Bateman (Herald): NZ cannabis company gets green light to import stronger strains
Catherine Harris (Stuff): Hikurangi Cannabis gets nod to import high THC cannabis strains
Ben Leahy (Herald): Greenfern Medicinal Marijuana predicts cannabis sales to boom
Praveen Menon (Reuters): New Zealand's deteriorating water raises a stink
Anusha Bradley (RNZ): Residents say wastewater leaking onto Whirinaki Beach in Hawke's Bay is 'illegal activity'
David Williams (Newsroom): Illegal heli landings continue
CJ Iorns (Newsroom): Time to overhaul NZ's pesticide rules
Listener Editorial: Why the SPCA aren't completely wrong about 1080 poison
Cate Macinnis-Ng (Newsroom): 1080 debate: time to face reality
Nina Fowler (RNZ): 'Mega mast' prompts biggest ever DOC 1080 drops
Steve Urlich (Stuff): Conservation is at a crossroads, and we have to pick the right path ahead
David Williams (Newsroom): NZ's rarest bird on the brink
Amber-Leigh Woolf and Liz McDonald (Stuff): Harsh penalties for bag ban rule-breakers
Jason Walls (Herald): Tuariki Delamere, former NZ First immigration minister, says the parent visa category should be canned
Jason Walls (Herald): The Govt will soon decide if it will reopen the parent visa, which has been closed since 2016
RNZ: 'Missing' boat of Indian migrants may be heading to NZ
Graham Adams (Noted): Immigration: Winston Peters has the tiger by the tail
Michael Morrah (Newshub): 12 foreigners investigated by Immigration NZ over weapons of mass destruction fears
Michael Morrah (Newshub): Immigration New Zealand pressured to give Chinese workers alternative visas
Jamie Ensor and Michael Morrah (Newshub):Desperate plea to accommodate Chinese workers evicted and allegedly left without pay
Michael Morrah (Newshub): Chinese workers in New Zealand allegedly left without passports, food, toilet paper
Karel Sroubek residency decision
Derek Cheng (Herald): Karel Sroubek case: Richie Hardcore's text to PM Jacinda Ardern revealed
Dan Satherley and Vita Molyneux (Newshub): Karel Sroubek: Richie Hardcore's text to Jacinda Ardern revealed
Jo Moir (RNZ): Texts to prime minister about Sroubek released
Junior doctors' strike
Bryce Edwards (Herald): Political Roundup: Behind the junior doctors' strike
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): Silence Of The Lambs: Why Is The CTU Saying So Little About The Resident Doctors' Struggle?
Bryan Bruce (Daily Blog): Let's support our Junior Doctors
Lucy Bennett (Herald): Health Minister David Clark warns DHBS over financial performance
John Tamihere (Herald): Everyone has the right to dream
Ruby Macandrew (Stuff): Very few Kiwi doctors disciplined for inappropriate prescribing
Herald: Don't pee in the pool: Sign labelled 'casual racism' by Labour MP
Tema Hemi (Māori TV): Coffey speaks out about Auckland Council posters
RNZ: Shortage forces rationing of popular contraceptive pill
Leigh-Marama McLachlan (RNZ): 'A tobacco-free Māori nation is important'
Benedict Collins (1News): Government launches heat health plan as Kiwis are warned to start preparing for more hot weather
1News: 'Getting too hot is a serious risk' – New guidelines address health impact of climate change
Charlie Dreaver (RNZ): Hep C drug to help thousands, but the disease is still stigmatised, advocates say
Chris Keall (Herald): TVNZ boss's pay rise to $1.43m dwarfs staff bonus
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Another bumper pay rise for TVNZ's CEO Kevin Kenrick sees packet rise to $1.4 million
RNZ: Stuff up for sale by new Australian owner
Rukuwai Tipene-Allen (Māori TV): A new path for Māori Television
Māori TV: A fresh outlook with Shane Taurima
Mark Jenning (Newsroom): MediaWorks brings in the grumpy old men
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): 'I'm completely squeaky clean': an interview with Matthew Hooton
Whaleoil: 'Where the hell is Cam?'
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): Whale Oil blogger Cameron Slater laid low by serious stroke
Simon Collins (Herald): Six-monthly school reports to parents look set to be axed
Josephine Franks (Stuff): School donations: Top schools get millions in donations while others get $0
Pat Walsh (Herald): Radical education shake-up comes with risks
Rob Stock (Stuff): The lucrative relationship between schools and business
Charlotte Carter (Stuff): Parents struggling to cope with tech costs should get tax rebate, says ex-principal
Natalie Akoorie (Herald): Why sponsoring a child through Variety means the difference between learning and not
Zane Small (Newshub): Education Minister Chris Hipkins believes teachers' strike 'unjustified'
RNZ: Learning support specialists to start month-long industrial action
Peter Lyons (ODT): Govt's hands tied over teachers' pay claims
Piers Fuller (Stuff): Low student numbers and mounting debts sank Taratahi Agricultural Training Centre
Piers Fuller (Stuff): Taratahi staff and students in limbo in the wake of financial collapse
Katie Todd (RNZ): 'Sense of hopelessness' as uncertainty surrounds Taratahi Agricultural Training Centre
RNZ: Funding call for Telford training farm campus staff
Mary-Jo Tohill (Stuff): Mayor and MP rally support for Telford staff in SIT takeover
Tema Hemi (Māori TV): Help Cerebral Palsy sufferer Beauche McGregor become a Social Worker
Justice, corrections
Laura Walters (Newsroom): The report Corrections withheld for three years
Harrison Christian (Stuff): Corrections withheld report linking double bunking with gang activity
Sally Blundell (Noted): Sir Kim Workman on his fight for criminal justice reform
RNZ: Fewer people diverted away from court for drug charges – report
Bryce Edwards (Herald): Political Roundup: New-look Pride Parade under threat
Melanie Earley (Stuff): Auckland Pride Board reincarnates parade as walk
Kate Newton (RNZ): White Noise
RNZ: Head for Auckland city centre to airport light rail project announced
Herald Editorial: Auckland Council picks ugly route to pine removal
Ngāpuhi Treaty settlement process
RNZ: Far north hapū form alliances for future negotiation
Raniera Harrison (Māori TV): Major Ngāpuhi protest "fully on the cards"
Cleo Fraser (Newshub): Hundreds meet to find way forward with Ngāpuhi's stalled treaty negotiations
Primary industries
Maja Burry (RNZ): Researchers to study human impact of Mycoplasma bovis
Heather Chalmers (Stuff): No "over the fence" spread of Mycoplasma bovis, says MPI
RNZ: Failure to find M bovis source frustrates agriculture minister
RNZ: Horticultural industry and union at odds over migrant workers
Laura Wiltshire (Hawkes Bay Today): Average picking pay of $23 an hour is not 'exploitation', Hawke's Bay growers say
Lawrence Yule (Herald): Opinion: Government has role to play in finding horticulture workers
Newshub:Unemployment 'so low' there aren't enough people to pick apples
RNZ: Sheep outnumber New Zealanders by just five to one
Richard Wagstaff (Stuff): It's not enough to grow the pie, workers need a bigger share
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Here's why no-one wants to plant trees for $400 a day
David Cormack (Herald): The crappiest gig
Bonnie Flaws (Stuff): Work breaks: What are your rights?
Liam Dann (Herald): Female tradies earning 20pc less than males
RNZ: Demand for workers remains strong
Hamish Rutherford (Stuff): Vocal critic of coalition policy admits 'sky hasn't fallen' as business confidence lifts
Gyles Beckford (RNZ): Business confidence up but profit squeeze worries
RNZ: Manufacturing sector ends year on strong note
Transport and roading
Stuff: Will cheaper ticket prices attract more public transport use or better bus routes?
Scott Palmer (Newshub): Auckland Transport increases public transport fares
Herald: Auckland bus, train and ferry prices hiked by up to 7 per cent
1News: Public transport users in Auckland to fork out more for using bus, train and ferry services
RNZ: Cost of Auckland public transport to go up
Catherine Hutton (RNZ): Interislander ferries to be replaced with rail ready fleet
Katarina Williams (Stuff): Three Interislander ferries to be replaced by two rail-ready vessels
Ryan Dunlop (Herald): Only a matter of time' before lasers cause serious air crash, Pilots' Association says
Nick Truebridge (Stuff): Police could be asked to enforce Lime speed limit on footpaths
Southland Times Editorial: They won't entirely neuter the e-scooter
Dave Armstrong (Stuff): Come on Wellington, it's time we had a twist of Lime
Newshub: State highway upgrades revealed
Derek Cheng (Herald): Govt announces $20 million to make rural highways safer
Tamsyn Parker (Herald): Govt declines calls for compulsory employer KiwiSaver for over 65s
Brian Gaynor (Herald): Why Aussies are winning the retirement race
Stuff: Where's Wellington's mayoral race? Justin Lester's challengers in hiding as election year gears up
Max Christoffersen (Stuff): O'Leary for mayor – next please
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): $735 income tax cut in return for capital gains tax would be 'hypocrisy', says National
John Cuthbertson (Stuff): Capital gains tax: What's fair for one person may hurt another
New Zealander of the Year
Vita Molyneux (Newshub): Top three finalists for New Zealander of the Year 2019 announced
Regan Paranihi (Māori TV): King up for New Zealander of the Year
Joseph Plunket (Spinoff): The government's solution to the racing industry's woes? A lot more gambling
Te Kuru o te Marama Dewes (Māori TV): Calling for a pokie-free Tairāwhiti
Dan Satherley (Newshub): NZ's electoral process the best in the world – report
Bryce Edwards (Herald): Political Roundup: Pundits predict the year ahead in NZ politics
Anne Cotton (Stuff): Dangers for the vulnerable in End of Life Choice Bill
Mitchell Alexander (Newshub): More than $1 million splashed on New Zealand anti-money laundering billboards
Astrid Austin (Hawkes Bay Today): Where are the women? Fire and Emergency wants more diversity in firefighters
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Military brass refresh 'chance for greater diversity' – Mark
Adam Beam and Brian Melley (Herald): Mocking students 'performed the haka', says Native American witness
Julia Amua Whaipooti (Spinoff): When Nathan Phillips stood up to white supremacy he stood up for our people, too
Mitch McCann (Newshub): Troy Skinner: Father's final plea to get his son back to New Zealand
Catherine Harris (Stuff): The competitors that could lower NZ's supermarket prices
Jo McKenzie-McLean (Stuff): More than 350 foreign sex workers turned away at New Zealand border
Michael Neilson (Herald): Hemp gives small Māori community of Ruatoria a chance to redefine itself
Laura Dooney (RNZ): New plans for quashed Shelly Bay development lodged
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Police involved in fatal shootings would get instant name suppression under proposed Bill
RNZ: NZ's first professor of social policy dies aged 78
MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –
MIL-Evening Report: Bryce Edwards'Political Roundup: Behind the junior doctors' strike
Political Roundup: Behind the junior doctors' strike
by Dr Bryce Edwards
Dr Bryce Edwards.
Get ready for more industrial action in public hospitals this year. The junior doctors' dispute with the District Health Boards is set to continue, with acrimony ramping up, as well as some rather bitter infighting between trade unions. One political commentator is even comparing the significance of the hospital battle to the infamous Waihi Miners' Strike of 1912.
The 48-hour doctors' strike last week was the first major industrial action of the year, and the next round is due in a week's time, with another 48-hour strike scheduled for 29-30 January. And a month after that, on 28 February, the existing employment contract between most junior doctors and the District Health Boards (DHBs) is set to expire, which is at the centre of what could be a long-running and nasty dispute.
There's a prediction of "more mediation, strikes, facilitation or even lock-outs" at hospitals if the doctors and DHBs aren't able to resolve the stalled negotiations which started ten months ago – see Katarina Williams' What happens if the junior doctors' contract dispute isn't resolved?
At the crux of the matter is a major disagreement about the work rosters for junior doctors in the hospitals. The DHBs want to weaken some of the conditions that the main doctors' union say prevent them from over-working in an unsafe way. The DHBs disagree, and argue "that they want local clinicians and hospital managers to make decisions about rosters, not the union's head office" – see RNZ's District health boards reject claims made by striking doctors' union.
But there's much more to it than this. According to the Resident Doctors Association (RDA), which is the union that the overwhelming majority of junior doctors belong to, the DHBs are actually attempting to avoid settling the dispute so that they can use a provision in employment law to automatically start shifting doctors onto an inferior employment contract.
Some of this is explained in an editorial in The Press, which says: "The forthcoming strike by junior doctors is more complicated than most because there are not one but two unions in play, each with different perspectives on what junior doctors want" – see: Divided unions drive doctors' strike.
The editorial explains that back in 2017, the main junior doctors' union, the RDA, managed to negotiate what it saw as a much safer roster system, but that led to a breakaway union being established: "The new deal that followed said junior doctors could not work more than 10 days in a row, reduced from 12 days. But not all doctors agreed, with some claiming that the new rosters were inflexible and had been "imposed" and "enforced" by the RDA. They argued that important training time was reduced, leading to the formation of a breakaway union, the Specialty Trainees of New Zealand (SToNZ), which emerged about six months ago. That group agreed to work 12 consecutive days in order to have more training time".
Due to the existence of the small breakaway SToNZ union, which the RDA say has negotiated a vastly inferior employment contract, the DHBs can effectively force new doctors, and those shifting between hospitals – which is highly common for training doctors – to go onto the inferior SToNZ contract.
Another union is involved – the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS) – which supports the junior doctors. ASMS executive director, Ian Powell argues that the DHBs have set out with this "cunning" plan to effectively snooker the junior doctors and therefore just "bludgeon their way to victory" – see his opinion piece, Blame DHBs, not the unions, for the junior doctors' strike.
Ian Powell says that "The DHBs have foolishly embarked upon a bargaining strategy that requires a 'winner takes all' outcome, which is disastrous where there is an ongoing employment relationship between the employers and their captive employees".
But Powell also argues that the situation is much more complicated than might be immediately presumed, because some doctors – essentially those who have broken away from the RDA – do not actually want their working week restricted, as they rely on these longer hours for their training and advancement.
Hence, the ASMS tried to broker a deal with the hospitals and junior doctors: "We invited the DHBs and RDA to meet with us to explore how we might do this, as the issues are too complex to address through the blunt instrument of collective bargaining. The RDA responded positively to our initiative, but the DHBs declined, preferring an adversarial process. ASMS and RDA are progressing this work on our own, but it is disappointing that the DHBs have abrogated their responsibility. Had they agreed to participate, the industrial confrontation could have been avoided."
The picture gets even more complicated with union rivalries given the involvement of the Public Service Association (PSA) in the various disputes. It turns out that the PSA has played a key role in fostering the small SToNZ breakaway union. And so, although other unions, such as the Nurses Organisation, are supporting the junior doctors' industrial action, the PSA – together with the Council of Trade Unions (CTU) – have held back any public support for the strikes.
In fact, an email from the PSA to Ian Powell was leaked to the media last week, which suggests strong hostility from New Zealand's biggest union towards the junior doctors' struggle. You can read the leaked email here: Email from PSA secretary Erin Polaczuk regarding the RDA.
In the email, PSA secretary Erin Polaczuk makes the case against unions supporting the junior doctors, because their union isn't affiliated to the CTU, and she accuses the RDA and associated unions of free-loading and poaching union members. This is covered in Stacey Kirk's article, As junior doctors strike, leaked email shows bitter rivalry between unions.
As reported by Kirk, the RDA has responded to these claims by accusing the PSA of undermining an existing union by supporting a breakaway new union, which for some in the union movement is tantamount to "scabbing" (or betraying other employees in their struggle against employers).
The national secretary for the RDA, Deborah Powell – no relation to Ian Powell – is quoted as criticising the PSA for encouraging and assisting the rival junior doctors' union: "The PSA was supporting them. The rest of the trade union movement did not believe the PSA should because they perceived StoNZ to be an employer's union – too close to the employer… The problem with unions that are too close to the employer is that it leads to employment agreements that disadvantage employees. That's exactly what's happened. StoNZ has settled a collective agreement with the District Health Boards, with vastly inferior terms and conditions to that of the RDA collective".
Longtime leftwing commentator and unionist Chris Trotter has also reacted with astonishment at what has been going on, suggesting that the PSA has been essentially playing into the hands of the DHB employers, because legally they can now use the existence of the PSA-created union as a way to refuse doctors the ability to retain their existing working conditions – see: Silence of The Lambs: Why Is the CTU saying so little about the Resident Doctors' Struggle?
Trotter's blogpost from Friday condemns the facilitation of "the formation of a minority union which employers later use to break the industrial resistance of the union representing the overwhelming majority of workers in dispute". He argues that "Union rivalries should not be allowed to obscure the very real threat posed to the New Zealand trade union movement by the DHBs' divide-and-rule strategy."
To Trotter, what the DHBs are doing is similar to what happened in the infamous Waihi Miners' strike: "The strategy adopted by the DHBs' negotiators bears an alarming similarity to that adopted 107 years ago by the Waihi Gold Mining Company. Step 1: Encourage the establishment of a small rival union. Step 2: Use it to undermine the position of the much larger union resisting the employer's demands. It was a strategy which led directly to one of the most bitterly contested industrial disputes in New Zealand labour history."
The concern for unions is that other employers will end up emulating what the DHBs are doing: "employers in other sectors of the economy will not be slow to follow the DHBs' lead. The precedent established at Waihi: establishing a 'scab' union to facilitate the crushing of a real one; instantly became the template for the destruction of militant unionism in New Zealand."
Trotter also wonders if the apparent refusal of the CTU to intervene or to even show any solidarity with the junior doctors "has anything at all to do with the fact that the current CTU President, Richard Wagstaff, is a former National Secretary of the PSA."
For a similar analysis, but with more in depth background on what has led to the junior doctors' dispute with the DHBs it's worth reading Peggy Stewart's Why resident doctors are striking. She bemoans that "established public sector unions may be using this opportunity to settle old scores, making resident doctors pay the price in significantly-reduced conditions and less employment protections."
This article also draws attention, not just to the PSA's alleged hostility to the doctors' union, but also that of the CTU, pointing out that in 2009 the CTU came out against the then strike actions in hospitals, with Helen Kelly arguing that striking doctors might "give unions a bad name".
The article raises further questions about whether the current DHB strategy against the junior doctors is endorsed by government officials or indeed by Labour in Government: "It seems likely that the DHBs collective bargaining strategy has been given at least tacit approval by the Ministry of Health. The degree of involvement of Labour's Minister of Health, David Clark, in directing this strategy is unknown, but he cannot be unaware. It is appalling that public sector workers are facing such a clawback in their hard-fought for working conditions, under a supposedly worker-friendly Labour-led government."
Finally, although the PSA itself organised strikes last year at MBIE, Inland Revenue and the Ministry of Justice, it may be that the nature of modern unionism means there is less inclination to show solidarity with other striking workers. In this respect it's worth reading last year's Listener feature on the head of the PSA: Union leader Erin Polaczuk opens up about the future of the movement. In this, Polaczuk explains that the union movement is "smarter now" than it was in the 1970s, that the "feminisation of the union movement has changed things", which means "We are not guys coming in and having a punch-up", and strikes are a "last resort" in this "mature era".
MIL-Evening Report: Bryce Edwards' Political Roundup: New-look Pride Parade under threat
Political Roundup: New-look Pride Parade under threat
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has always been an enthusiastic supporter of and participant in Auckland's annual Pride Parade. This year, however, she seems inclined to give the controversial "new-look" event a swerve.
New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, at the APEC leaders' summit, November 2017 (Image courtesy of APEC.org).
Last week, the organisers of the Pride Festival finally announced what they have planned for next month's festivities, with the customary central event – the Pride Parade – taking a much smaller role in the week. And although the event is being promoted as being more political in nature, it seems likely that many political people and politicians will be actively avoiding it.
Jacinda Ardern did her best to keep out of the controversy last year over whether uniformed police could march in the parade, saying simply that she believed the experience was "at its best when it's an inclusive event". But she seems unlikely to attend herself, telling the Express magazine that "We haven't set the schedule for 2019. I am hoping to participate in Pride week in some form" – see her interview: Mother of the nation: Express talks to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
Ardern made a highly-diplomatic statement to the magazine that is, no doubt, designed to carefully appeal to both sides of the dispute about police involvement in the parade: "I would be happy to see a time when Pride Parade organisers feel happy to include them… For me, the Pride parade is a celebration of diversity and equality for all. It's also rightly been a place where history – how far we've come and what work still needs to be done – has been acknowledged too."
The magazine reports that Ardern is unlikely to attend this year's pride parade: "when asked if she would be participating in 2019's scaled down march, she appears less determined to be involved with this year's effort". Furthermore, in a move reminiscent of John Key avoiding Waitangi for Waitangi Day, the Prime Minister appears to be getting around the problem by "removing her gaze from purely being focused on Auckland Pride and looking to support celebrations around the country."
The "new-look" pride parade was announced on Thursday as an "inclusive" walk replacing the previous celebration. The organisers who have, controversially, banned police from marching in uniform, have come up with a very different event to the traditional one after some confusion about whether the event would even take place, and whether it would be a celebration or protest march.
Many of the details are still unannounced, but the organisers have made the key decision to shift the event from Ponsonby to downtown Auckland. According to Melanie Earley, "The walk will take place on February 9, beginning at Albert Park in the central city and ending at Myers Park" with organisers explaining that "although the parade was traditionally held in Ponsonby many Pride members felt alienated from the suburb" – see: Auckland Pride Board reincarnates parade as walk.
Ponsonby is viewed by some as too mainstream and affluent. Hence, "The decision was intended to encourage all members of the rainbow communities to feel safe and included in the event." Significantly, the traditional backers of the Parade, the Ponsonby Business Association, had withdrawn their support for the event in light of the ban on police.
The new walking event is being promoted as more engaged with the queer community than corporates, and generally being more "edgy". Auckland Pride board's Zakk d'Larté has said the focus would be on getting people to participate, as it would be "less of a spectacle, with floats, for people to watch from the sidelines". And as well as being "queer, rainbow, beautiful and gayer than ever" the organisers say "It's going to be a grassroots-led parade".
But will there actually be much participation? Given the radical change in orientation of the event, together with the loss of corporate sponsorship, and the controversy over uniformed police being banned, some are predicting that it will be a flop. For instance, blogger Martyn Bradbury predicts that the walk "will be poorly attended and media coverage will be deeply negative." He says that this "could all have a terrible backlash", as many in the queer community and supportive public might be alienated by the organisers' actions.
Bradbury has derided the organisers as producing an event for a liberal, politically correct elite rather than for everyday people. In one blogpost, he reflects: "so this is what woke politics leads to, a walk for pride with the Green caucus, half a dozen reporters from The Spinoff covering it and a handful of Action Station activists from Wellington coming up in a bus? This could be the first pride parade in history that actually goes backwards!" He sees "an enormous boycott of the event" taking place.
In fact, broadcaster Duncan Garner has called on the queer community to boycott the event. In an interview last month with Rainbow NZ chair Gresham Bradley (who said there had been a "political takeover" of the Pride Parade), Garner claimed that the current organisers retained their positions through undemocratic means – see: 'Farcical stitch-up': Calls to boycott Auckland Pride parade after board wins vote.
In another blow to the new-look parade, it was reported last week that the Auckland Council is forbidding its staff from attending in anything that might identify them as council employees – essentially a different sort of "uniform ban" – see Express' news report: Auckland Council employees not to participate in official capacity at pride march.
Here's the key part: "Auckland Council employees have been told they will not be participating in the February 9th March in any official capacity. Auckland Council employees have been told the Council will not be participating in next month's Pride march which has replaced the traditional parade. Council employees are still able to participate but it must be in a private capacity with no council logos to be displayed."
The same article also confirms that the parade is no longer being funded by the Auckland Council: "The news follows Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) pulling their funding for the event as the new format of a 'march' did not meet Auckland Pride's previously agreed outcomes with the council authority."
It seems that the overall Pride Festival still has official Council support, but the new-look parade is now officially separate from the week of celebrations. On the Auckland Pride website all references to the parade have been removed, and when the Pride Festival publicity was released on Thursday, it contained nothing about what is usually the main event.
A separate coordinator has now also been hired for the new-look parade – former Green Party activist, Richard Green. Additionally, following ongoing resignations, the board has now been through the employment of two organisers for the main festival, and a third has just been hired – see Express' Auckland Pride appoint new festival coordinator – the second in less than a month.
The Auckland Pride organising board has clearly been through a difficult time. But in December they survived an attempt to get them removed by a vote of no confidence. Discussing this, the board chair, Cissy Rock, told TVNZ Breakfast that the backlash on the police-ban had been stronger than she had expected: "I expected it to have repercussions but I didn't think it was going to be like wildfire through the whole community" – see 1News' After surviving coup, Auckland Pride Board chair remains defiant on police uniform ban, corporate backlash.
The same news item also gives the views of an opponent, Stacey Kerapa, who had previously been on the board organising the Hero Parade, and had worked as a sex worker and transgender advocate for decades.
Her experiences and opinions are also covered well in a very interesting article by Julie Hill: 'They're about to destroy nearly 35 years of gay progress with the police'. According to this, "Kerapa has bitter first-hand experience of how brutal police are capable of being to Māori trans people, but the progress made over the years means that the decision to ban uniformed cops is a huge mistake".
Other members of the queer community have also been vehement in their condemnation of what's happened to the Pride Parade. For the most furious, see Levi Joule's How extremists hijacked the Auckland Pride board, railroaded a community and demolished our parade. And for a more unity-orientated critique of what has happened, see Michael Stevens' Representing a real rainbow.
There have also been plenty of activists standing up for the new-look parade and the right of organisers to ban police. For example, PR professional David Cormack has written about the "commodification of the rainbow culture" and "sickening corporate ownership" which has attempted to pressure the organisers not to ban the police – see: The price of Pride.
And for a sympathetic account of the background to the decision to ban uniformed police from the march, see Sarah Murphy's Pride and police: The history, issues and decisions behind the debate. She emphasises that this is about long-existing issues coming to the surface of the queer community, including: racism, transphobia, safety concerns, and "pinkwashing". She points out that much of the debate has excluded young generations in the movement, "with those speaking out generally being older community members and people who are accustomed to having a platform".
Finally, for one of the best accounts of the whole controversy, see last month's 20-minute TVNZ item, The Story with John Campbell: The Pride Divide.
MIL-Evening Report: Bryce Edwards' Political Roundup: Will the Government fix spying in the public service?
Political Roundup: Will the Government fix spying in the public service?
The week before Christmas was dominated by what may actually have been the most important political issue of the year in New Zealand – revelations that government agencies have spied on New Zealanders through the use of private investigators. The matter ended up being somewhat buried in the end-of-year chaos, and perhaps conveniently forgotten about by politicians with an interest in the issue remaining unresolved.
Yet the story isn't going away. Today, the Herald published revelations about how the private investigations firm Thompson & Clark was previously employed by government-owned Southern Response insurance to review Official Information Act answers about the use of the private investigations firm itself – see Lucy Bennett's Megan Woods seeks answers on Southern Response's use of private investigators.
Here's the key part of the story: "In January 2017, when Woods was the opposition spokeswoman on the Christchurch quake recovery, Thompson & Clark Investigations Ltd (TCIL) invoiced Southern Response $2070 for reviewing a response to an Official Information Act request from the Labour Party research unit on its use of TCIL."
The article reports on how "TCIL also appears to advise Southern Response on how to circumvent public scrutiny." For example, Thompson & Clark gave the following advice to Southern Response's chief executive: "to get around disclosure, privacy and OIA issues, we normally set up a discreet email address for you – in Gmail or similar … do you want us to set up a discreet email account for you – or do you want to?"
The original "explosive" SSC report
Despite the State Services Commission report being released during the busy period just prior to Christmas – leading to what some see as a lack of media coverage and scrutiny of the issues – there have been some excellent articles and columns published about it.
Andrea Vance produced some of the best coverage of the report and the aftermath. Her first report, Security firm spied on politicians, activists and earthquake victims, detailed the full extent of what had been uncovered by the report into government agencies using private investigators. Overall, she said that the "explosive report details a slew of damning revelations".
Vance followed this up with an in-depth article, Public service bosses ignored warnings about Thompson & Clark for years, which revealed that "for a decade public service bosses ignored the warnings about Thompson & Clark. Their tentacles were everywhere. Dozens of ministries and agencies used their services – and yet no-one in the upper echelons of the public service questioned their reach or influence."
According to Vance, "officials became drunk on the power of the information offered up by security firms like Thompson & Clark. It allowed them to keep tabs on their critics and stave off any reputational damage." She also argues that "A cavalier attitude to personal and sensitive information, and a troubling disregard for the democratic right to protest, was allowed to flourish within the public service over 15 years and successive governments."
Hamish Rutherford produced some excellent analysis, explaining: "In an age where the use of contractors is already under scrutiny, a string of government agencies have effectively outsourced snooping, in some cases for highly questionable reasons. In some cases this was done with a lack of clear contracts, creating a fertile atmosphere for mission creep" – see: Use of private investigators exposes carelessness about role of the government.
Rutherford writes about how remarkable it is that public servants weren't aware (according to the report) that what was going on was unacceptable. He therefore concludes: "we are reading about public servants who appeared to be seduced by private investigators, who decided to make their job easier without considering the implications for democratic rights, or the need to remain neutral. Weeding out improper behaviour may take work, but it seems the report exposes examples where public servants need to be told what their job involves, which would be a far more fundamental problem."
RNZ's Tim Watkin also has some strong analysis of what occurred, saying that the report on the state snooping "is a bit of a page-turner and a terrifying read for anyone who cares about the integrity of the public sector" – see: Heart of Darkness in the public sector.
According to Watkin, the situation is perplexing, given the risk-averse nature of the public service: "My concern is what this says about the culture at the heart of our public service. How did leaders who are by the very definition of their roles meant to be servants of the public decide that this level of covert surveillance was a good idea? Government agencies are typically so risk averse these days that they have multiple managers signing off press statements and an inability to make a decision on which pencils or toilet paper to buy without first clearing it with the minister's office. Yet they are willing to subject those 'ordinary New Zealanders" to secret surveillance."
Possibly, Watkin says it's the very risk-averse nature of the current public service that has caused them to be more open to snooping on citizens: "there seems to be a deep-seated sense of butt-covering and paranoia". This is the very point made by Gordon Campbell in his blogpost, On why Thompson + Clark are just the tip of the iceberg.
In recent years, according to Campbell, the public service has become politicised, meaning that public servants have become more sensitive to the political needs of their ministers rather than the public good. This means that snooping on citizens and protestors starts becoming sensible, and to dissent against breaches of ethics in the public service has become much more dangerous for your career.
Not surprisingly, some of the strongest condemnation of state snooping on citizens has come from those organisations known to be affected – especially environmental groups. Former Green co-leader, and now Greenpeace head, Russel Norman emphasises the anti-democratic nature of what has been going on: "The chilling effect of being under constant and intrusive surveillance for simply campaigning on important social issues, fundamentally corrodes what it means to live in a free and democratic society. We've learnt that under the previous government, no-one was safe from being spied on if they disagreed with government policy" – see: Rotten to the core: The chilling truth revealed by the SSC report.
Norman concludes: "The State Services Commission (SSC) investigation may well be one of the most important examinations into the inner workings of the state that we've seen in New Zealand. I'd go as far as to call it our Watergate moment."
If that sounds like the expected complaints of an activist, then it's also worth reading what former United Future leader Peter Dunne had to say in his column, Only a first step in the data battle.
Dunne explains what has occurred as being "a gross breach of that implicit covenant between the Government and its citizens", and he raises serious questions about how much more privacy is being curtailed by government agencies. In particular: "Was any information provided, formally or informally, to the intelligence services by Thompson and Clark, and was any information gathered at the behest of the intelligence services?"
Newspaper editorials have also condemned what has been uncovered in the public service. The Otago Daily Times has a strongly-worded editorial about the dangers to democracy uncovered in the report: "It blasts a warning about the insidious nature of state power and the need for vigilance and protection. Those who would disregard civil liberties for what they might think is the greater good should think again. Big brother and big sister are an ever-present threat. This is even more so in the electronic age. It was first thought the internet might lead to more freedom and more opportunity for dissent. But the massive losses of privacy, the ease with which data is collected and modern data analysis all hand more potential power and surveillance ability to big business and big government" – see: An 'affront to democracy'.
In Christchurch, The Press has been asking important questions about what the report has revealed – see the editorial: More questions about spies and the public service. Here are the concluding questions: "The public needs to know more about this scandal that is so contrary to the way we expect our public servants to behave on our behalf. The public wants to know who approved of this surveillance, why it was considered necessary in a democracy and, perhaps most important of all, how much was really known about it by the ministers in charge."
Will anything actually be done about the spying scandal?
The biggest risk to arise out of the controversial investigation into government agencies' misuse of spying on citizens is that nothing further will now occur. So despite new stories being published about the state surveillance, there's a danger that we are coming towards the end of the scandal, with no significant reform being offered to correct the problems.
Although the Thompson & Clark firm has been discredited by the scandal, many are arguing that they are not actually the real problem. For example, Andrea Vance says: "although they took advantage, Thompson & Clark aren't responsible for public service culture and the undermining of democratic rights. That lies with Peter Hughes. For public confidence to be fully restored, the public service must demonstrate accountability and accept culpability, starting from the top down."
Perhaps it's time for a proper official and independent commission of inquiry into the spying problems in the public service. Security analyst Paul Buchanan has been arguing for this. And Gordon Campbell agrees: "given that the Thompson+ Clark problem is a by-product of the politicisation of the public service, security analyst Paul Buchanan is dead right in calling for a public inquiry. Only a wide-ranging investigation can address the attitudinal issues and power relationships between ministerial staff and public servants, of which Thompson + Clark are merely one of the end results."
Tim Watkin has also argued that more needs to happen: "The proper response to this report is not a few hours of tut-tuting, the Prime Minister expressing formulaic concern that the spying was "disturbing" and the symbolic resignation of a single chair. No, the proper response is a change to the public sector culture. So who will lead that?"
Long-time political activist Murray Horton also proposes an inquiry – see: Thompson & Clark just tip of spyberg. Let's have an inquiry into whole covert world of state spying. Horton explains the significance of the latest changes in state surveillance of citizens, saying that there's been two major changes: contracting the spying out (perhaps deliberately in order to escape rules), and expanding the targets beyond just activists.
Other activists – especially those affected by the state spying – put forward proposals for reform in Jessie Chiang's article, Environmental groups call for change after security firm revelations. For example, Russel Norman calls for prosecutions of those involved, and for the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment to be broken up. And Kevin Hague from Forest and Bird says: "I'm encouraging state services to go back to [learning] how to operate as a state service… and your obligations to the public and not just to the government of the day".
For more thorough reform suggestions, also see blogger No Right Turn's A private Stasi. He says "Businesses like Thompson and Clark, whose service is explicitly anti-democratic, need to be made illegal and put out of business."
Finally, there's the issue of the breaches of rules by Crown Law when working for the Ministry of Social Development – which Andrea Vance has described as "one of the most shocking findings". The chief executive of MSD at the time was Peter Hughes, who of course is now chief executive of the State Services Commission, and therefore in charge of the whole of the public service. There will therefore be suspicions of conflicts of interest in terms of resolving that issue, and Hughes has handed the ongoing task to his own deputy at the SSC. For the best discussion of all this, see Aaron Smale's Hypocrisy at the highest levels.
MIL-Evening Report: Bryce Edwards' Political Roundup: Should rodeos be banned in New Zealand?
Political Roundup: Should rodeos be banned in New Zealand?
The Summer rodeo season is in full swing. And so protesters are, once again, drawing attention to what they regard as the cruel and archaic nature of this "entertainment sport". This is leading to clashes between rodeo supporters and protesters.
Rodeo, steer wrestling. Image sourced from Wikimedia.org.
A few days ago, the group Save Animals from Exploitation (SAFE) revealed that two animals had recently died at a rodeo in Gisborne. Rodeo organisers had already acknowledged that a bull had been killed, but a whistle-blower alerted the animal rights group to the fact that a horse had also been killed at the event – see Karoline Tuckey's Second animal death at Gisborne rodeo 'freakish'.
SAFE accused the rodeo of a cover-up over the death and claimed that, in general, it "highlighted a lack of transparency" in rodeos. But the president of the New Zealand Rodeo and Cowboys' Association (NZRCA), Lyal Cocks, explained the silence over the death, saying that his organisation "has understandably become cautious [about] speaking out in an environment of extreme negativity towards rodeos, which appears to be promoted by most media organisations."
Cocks also explained the horse's death at the rodeo: "After it competed it went out into the yards out the back, and for some inexplicable reason it went into a post and died, it was instantaneous – it was very strange, freakish." Similarly, when another bull died at a Martinborough rodeo last year, after breaking its leg, at the time Cocks described this as "freak accident".
Latest rodeo protests
Tensions are rising between supporters and protesters of rodeos, with an altercation taking place a few days ago at a Whangarei event – see Esther Taunton's Protesters 'assaulted like the animals' at rodeo, animal rights group says. Some of this tension revolves around animal welfare activists attending rodeos and filming events, with organisers trying to ban the use of cameras.
One of the organisers of the Northland rodeo, Dianna Bradshaw, explained: "The camera ban was due to the possibility of footage being used out of context". She added: "These people have an agenda, they're not coming to these events with an open mind."
According to one of the activists, Josh Howell, "There was particular emphasis on not being able to film the roping event – the calf roping event – because they acknowledge that it's particularly controversial… They said we don't want you filming at all even on your phones the calf-roping because one image can be taken out of context" – see RNZ's Rodeo protesters consider police action after supporters confront them at event.
A number of other rodeos and protests have occurred in recent weeks. For example, about 24 people from the Queenstown Animal Activist group picketed outside a Wanaka event at the start of the month, calling for an end to "legalised animal abuse" – see Michael Hayward's About 5000 attend Wanaka Rodeo despite protests.
Call for a rodeo ban
Animal rights activists are demanding that rodeos be outlawed in New Zealand. However, this demand has already been considered by the current Government and rejected. Until she was sacked for alleged mistreatment of staff, Meka Whaitiri was the minister responsible for animal welfare (as the associate Minister of Agriculture), and she made a decision not to introduce a ban on rodeos.
The decision was announced in March of last year, with Tess Nichol reporting that "Whaitiri didn't believe rodeos were harmful enough to justify a ban" – see: Government won't ban rodeo, animal welfare Minister says. According to this report: "She acknowledged public concern, but said rodeos were popular in many communities. The Ikaroa-Rāwhiti Māori electorate MP grew up on the East Coast of the North Island and said rodeos were common there – she had attended several herself."
In lieu of a ban, the minister announced that she would work to strengthen regulations, and said she had asked the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee "to fast track further advice on rodeos this year". It's unclear, however, if this came to anything, and after Whaitiri was dismissed as a minister the Prime Minister decided to leave the ministerial portfolio of animal welfare unfilled.
Animal welfare organisations have been unimpressed with the Government's lack of action on rodeos. The SPCA has responded by saying that "more needs to be done" and reiterated its support for a rodeo ban. The SPCA has also reminded the Government that it promised to do more: "They need to take this very seriously and uphold their election promise, which was to ban the use of animals under 12 months, flank straps, rope burning and the use of electronic prods" – see Newshub's Govt won't ban rodeos but will look into improving animal welfare.
The Government and then-minister, Whaitiri, were also criticised for allowing rodeo organisers to attend a hui that was supposedly "described as solely for animal advocates" to discuss how to improve animal welfare – see Nicole Lawton's Animal welfare meeting ends in walkout after rodeo boss attends.
This article also draws attention to corporate sponsors pulling out of involvement with rodeos: "Foodstuffs, LJ Hooker New Zealand, Saddlery Warehouse, Stuff, Meridian Energy, House of Travel, Bayleys, and Harcourts, all withdrew sponsorship in relation to the animal cruelty claims made by advocacy groups."
There has, however, been some reform of the rules and regulations governing how rodeos treat animals. According to Michael Hayward, reporting in September, "The New Zealand Rodeo Cowboys Association announced four key changes to improve animal safety, which were confirmed at their recent AGM", and he details these – see: New rodeo animal welfare rules 'crisis management', critics say.
Rodeo debate heating up this summer
This week Green Party MP Gareth Hughes has written an opinion piece making the moral arguments against rodeos: "Do this to a companion animal like a cat and a dog and you would be jailed. Do this on a farm and you could be investigated and prosecuted. Do it in front of a crowd at a rodeo and it is called entertainment. This summer in New Zealand, animals are being terrified, hurt and killed for fun" – see: Rodeo is animal cruelty dressed up as entertainment.
There is a growing sense of inevitability in much of the debate about rodeos being eventually consigned to history. Much of this escalation of concern started towards the end of last summer, with plenty of articles and opinion pieces forecasting a rodeo-free future. For example, the Hawkes Bay Today newspaper ran an article last February reporting on the growing activism following on from animal deaths at rodeos – see: Rodeo in the spotlight: Could Hawke's Bay incidents be the beginning of the end?
In this, SAFE campaigns manager Marianne Macdonald is quoted saying "Year by year more and more people are speaking out strongly against rodeo. It's really not something that New Zealand, in 2018, wants. It's something that really needs to be consigned to the history books." She adds: "Rodeos are banned in the UK, the Netherlands and parts of Australia, the United States and Canada. It's time for New Zealand to make a change."
In contrast, however, the Rodeo Association's Lyal Cocks points out: "Judging by the increased crowd sizes this season… there are many more people who would like to see rodeo continue as a sport in NZ than those who would like it banned."
In fact, the Rodeo Association estimates that about 100,000 people attended events last summer. And the sport has been fighting back against bad publicity, even employing former MP Michael Laws as a spokesperson, and getting Government MPs and ministers along to events – last February New Zealand First MPs Ron Mark and Mark Patterson were special guests at rodeo events.
This escalating ideological battle was well covered last year by Philip Matthews in his feature article, Cowboys and injuries: The end of rodeo? In this, he points to changing societal attitudes to the use of animals in sport, and cites survey evidence: "a Horizon Research survey commissioned by Safe and the SPCA found that 59 per cent of people wanted an end to animals in rodeo, 63 per cent wanted calf roping banned and 66 per cent wanted an end to use of flank straps, which cause animals to buck."
Last year, newspaper editorials also weighed in on the issue – with the Dominion Post asking "Is this really how we want to have fun in a supposedly civilised country in the 21st century?" – see: Rodeos pitting humans against animals belong in the past. In contrast, the Otago Daily Times sat on the fence on the issue, pointing out the right to protest and right to participate in rodeos, and emphasising that both sides need to acknowledge the rights and concerns of the others – see: The rights of rodeos and animals.
For an indication of the turning tide on rodeos, it's well worth reading Rachel Stewart's mea culpa on the sport, in which she declares that "As a kid, I rode steers at my rural district sport's day" but "we all know in our hearts that rodeo is wrong" – see: Rodeo doomed to bite the dust.
Stewart concludes: "Rodeo is on the way out. It's on the wrong side of history, and the likes of Michael Laws won't save it. In fact, unwittingly, he's likely the best thing to happen to the anti-rodeo movement. Because "the truth of the matter is" that rodeo is toast. Yee-ha!"
Similarly, another columnist from the provinces, Tom O'Connor, says "In my brash youth I rode bulls at various rodeos around the country" but "I have come to question the attitude of my youth" – see: All the fun of the rodeo not worth any animal's pain. He concludes "Like bull fighting, rodeos belong to history, as enjoyable as they might have been."
For a counter to all this, writing a year ago, Michael Laws argued that concerns about rodeo animals are misplaced: "The science suggests animals suffer no long-term harm. And rodeo injury rates for participating animals are less than for many other animal events. Therefore, NZ Rodeo believes that animal activists are fundamentally misinformed and misguided" – see: Rodeo's critics ignore findings that it's not cruel.
Finally, for those wanting to enjoy the rodeo, or to protest its existence, the Rodeo and Cowboys' Association has listed its upcoming events here: 2018/2019 Rodeo Dates.


Marilyn Lyn (Mick) Wolff, age 60, of Caldwell, Idaho, passed away on Tuesday, May 2, 2017.
Funeral Services will be held at 2:00 P.M., Tuesday, May 9th at St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Hampton, Nebraska. Pastor Jim Gruber will officiate. Interment will be in the Aurora Cemetery. Visitation will be 5 – 7 P.M. Monday at Higby-McQuiston Mortuary in Aurora. Condolences may be e-mailed to the family through the mortuary website at www.higbymortuary.com. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to Stringfield Law Office (PO Box 777 Caldwell, Idaho 83606) to be held in trust. The family is working to establish a memorial fund to provide financial assistance to help children participate in community activities.
Marilyn Lyn (Mick) Wolff, the daughter of Arnold and Naomi (Adams) Mick, was born in Henderson, Nebraska on May 9, 1956 and died in Meridian, Idaho on May 2, 2017, at the age of 60.
She grew up on a small farm outside of Hampton, Nebraska with seven sisters; Kathy, Carmen, Sharon, Regina, Lori, Bonnie and Sandy, and one brother, Thomas. She graduated from Hampton High School in 1974.
Marilyn was united in marriage to Gearld Linn Wolff on June 5, 1982 at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Lincoln, Nebraska. The couple made their home in Caldwell, Idaho.
Marilyn dedicated her life to her husband and daughters. She spent her time watching gymnastics classes, organizing Girl Scout trips, helping with marching band, coaching and organizing volleyball and softball. Since 1997, Marilyn has been the secretary/treasurer for the Caldwell Girls Athletic League Softball (G.A.L.S.). She shared her love of softball with thousands of girls and families in the Treasure Valley.
Marilyn was a great friend, and had the gift of making you feel that you were someone special. She was gentle and courageous. She shared your happiness and your sorrow. She never spoke an unkind word about anyone, and could do no harm to anyone.
Marilyn is survived by her husband, Gearld of Caldwell, Idaho; two daughters, Amber Wolff of Lincoln, Nebraska, and Ashley Wolff of Caldwell; and other family and friends.
Marilyn was preceded in death by her parents, Arnold and Naomi Mick, her infant brother, Robert Kent Mick, and her father-in-law and mother-in-law, Wesley and Edith "Peggy" Wolff.
A celebration of Marilyn's life will be held at a later date in Caldwell, Idaho.


text:
P. Pandi, also known as "Attack" Pandi, is a gangster from the Madurai area of Tamil Nadu, India. He was an aide to former Union Minister M.K. Alagiri. He has at least 20 cases filed against him. He was leader of the Dinakaran attack in 2007, and the murderer of "Pottu" Suresh. He was sentenced to life in prison for that crime.

His nickname came from his haircut, which was very sharp. "Attack" is a word used for "awesome" in Madurai and Chennai slang. According to urban legend, he was skilled at Kabbadi and was known for aggressive play.

Crimes

Dinakaran attack
Dinakaran conducted a survey that showed most people wanted M. K. Stalin to succeed Karunamidhi as DMK leader. Elder brother M. K. Azhagiri was sidelined. This led Pandi, as Azhagiri's aide, to rally his supporters and attack Dinakaran's Madurai offices. They firebombed the offices, killing 3 employees. Later he was acquitted in the case.

'Pottuu' Suresh murder
Later, Pandi felt sidelined by Azhagiri's family, and by Azhagiri's personal secretary 'Pottu' Suresh. He thought Suresh was not letting him see Azhagiri. This caused Pandi to plan murder. The killers made Suresh get out of a car near the Azhagiri residence and hacked him to death in January 2013. According to sources, Pandi negotiated with police through his lawyer, saying he would give himself up if they arrested the DMK bigshot as well. He later absconded to Mumbai, where he was arrested in 2015.

He was convicted of Dinakaran attack and was sentenced to life. His appeal is currently before Supreme Court.

References

Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
People from Madurai
Indian people convicted of murder

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Q: how to add button on navigation bar IOS swift My goal is to add a button in the middle of navigation bar

override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
        // What should I add here?
    }

A: Use
let button = UIButton(frame: CGRect(x: 0, y: 0, width: 30, height: 30))
button.setImage(UIImage(named: "ur_image.png"), for: .normal)
self.navigationItem.titleView = button

Make sure your VC is embedded in UINavigationController :)

A: Swift 3.0
hope will help you. And don't forget to add target to UIButton.
    let headerView = UIButton.init(frame: CGRect(x: 0, y: 0, width: 30, height: 25))
    headerView.setImage(UIImage(named: "btn_image.png"), for: .normal)
    headerView.addTarget(self, action: #selector(self.powerButtonTapped(_:)), for: .touchUpInside)
    self.navigationItem.titleView = headerView

Add button action like this:
func powerButtonTapped(_ sender: UIButton) {

    //Do your stuff here
}

A: You have to set navigation item title view to your button object
let powerButton =  UIButton(type: .custom)
powerButton.frame = CGRect(x: 0, y: 0, width: 100, height: 40)
powerButton.setImage(UIImage(named: "power.png"), for: .normal)
powerButton.addTarget(self, action: #selector(self.clickOnPowerButton), for: .touchUpInside)
self.navigationItem.titleView = powerButton

When clicking
func clickOnPowerButton(button: UIButton) {
   // do your stuffs
}

A: let imageView = UIImageView(image: UIImage(named: "myImage"))
    imageView.contentMode = UIViewContentMode.scaleAspectFit
let titleView = UIView(frame: CGRect(x: 0, y: 0, width: 30, height: 30))
    imageView.frame = titleView.bounds
    titleView.addSubview(imageView)
self.navigationItem.titleView = titleView

A: Use titleView property of UINavigationItem to display a customview in the center of the navigation bar.
Custom Views can be buttons so you would need to create a UIButton and set it to titleView.
Code required for this is given in other answers, I would point you to the documentation. It is always better to read documentation before implementation.

A:   let lButton = UIButton()
        lButton.setTitle("Test Button", for: .normal)
        lButton.frame = CGRect(x:20, y: 0, width: self.view.frame.size.width - 50, height: 50)
        lButton.backgroundColor = UIColor.green
        lButton.setTitleColor(UIColor.red, for: .normal)
        lButton.addTarget(self, action: #selector(self.locationChangeAction), for: .touchUpInside)
       self.navigationController?.navigationBar.addSubview(lButton)

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