NZ Govt prepares for Foreshore and Seabed legislation and other matters...

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Govt clears decks pre-Easter on foreshore and seabed, ECan, and CRIs . The State should own and manage all land below the highwater mark...



The government's preferred solution for resolving the foreshore and seabed issue will be issued as a discussion document before Easter, along with decisions on whether to sack the regional councillors on the board of Environment Canterbury, Prime Minister John Key said today.



Speaking after Cabinet, Key said the government would allow four weeks for consultation on the foreshore and seabed document, which follows a ministerial review last year. Legislation to fix the vexed issue remains targeted for introduction to Parliament in August.



Repeal of the previous government's 2004 Foreshore and Seabed Act is part of the coalition agreement between the National and Maori parties, but exactly what form the government is proposing for resolving the issue remains unclear. Indications from Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson suggest a pan-Maori approach to resolving the issue is not favoured, and that capacity for local iwi solutions to local issues will be possible.



The Maori Party "seems happy with progress", said Key, who promised a "thoughtful" document which would offer a "credible way forward". The issue has polarised because of its perceived threat to rights of access to the foreshore for non-Maori, and Maori anger over the theft of entitlements relating to foreshore and seabed created by the previous government's legislation.



Meanwhile, Key said Cabinet had made decisions relating to the future of Environment Canterbury at Cabinet today, and these would be announced by the environment and local government ministers Nick Smith and Rodney Hide "in the next few days".







A review led by former National Cabinet Minister Wyatt Creech recommended sacking theECan councillors, replacing them with a commissioner, and the creation of a new special water authority to deal with water allocation and storage issues in the stressed catchment.



Key also announced today that the government would implement all of the key recommendations of the Crown Research Institute taskforce, including a greater proportion of non-contestable funding, and a move to more meaningful measures of Crown science contributions to national outcomes. This includes a "financial viability" test rather than a commercial return test for the CRIs' financial performance.

If the National Government cannot sort out this mess, the incoming government of the left will do it for them once and for all!  The State should own and mange all land below the highwater mark - end of story. As an immigrant people Maori are entitled to what they can settle for in the Waitangi Treaty settlement process. There will be a change to republicanism in this country and Maori would need to sort out their problems during the next few years, because the majority in this country are losing patience with minority interests.











Businesswire.co.nz

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Bailey Kurariki driven to despair - B.S he is a little A-hole...

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Bailey Kurariki driven to despair - B.S he is a little a-hole...



Rethinking Crime & Punishment group claims media and public attention making Bailey Kurariki's life "utterly miserable.


A group promoting debate on prisons is concern the country's youngest killer could seriously offend again.



Twenty-year-old Bailey Junior Kurariki has been back in court this week, facing four new charges relating to indecency and assault.



Kim Workman from the group Rethinking Crime and Punishment says Kurariki came out of prison full of hope and purpose, with plans to study, but within days he was hassled and photographed at home and at court.



"The sense that he had of hope and planning originally was dissipated by the treatment he got from the media and the public."



Mr Workman says the media is making Kurariki's life utterly miserable and he is concerned he could be driven to commit another serious offence.



"He's in a very bad way. He's quite disturbed and angry and this is not the boy that came out of prison."



Mr Workman claims that if something serious happens everyone will be a part of it.



Kurariki is just a little a-hole. The country has been watching the development of a criminal the last few years. Mr Workman's claims are an exaggeration - from a well- meaning man.


He'll be back in spades, will be involved in a very serious crime before long.







Acknowledgements: © 2010 NZCity, NewsTalkZB

The Court found David Bain not guilty at his retrial - they didn't find him innocent...

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The David Bain saga continues.  One of New Zealand's (alleged) worst  family mass murderers was found not guilty at his retrial. It was a legal point that eventually set him free, but much of the original evidence was lost and unavailable at the retrial  His lawyer has put forward a claim  to the Ministry of Justice for compensation for illegal arrest and imprisonment, or words to that effect. This claim will be heard by the Prime Minister, the Minister of Justice  and a Cabinet committee. Is it warranted, many people will ask? He was found not guily, not innocent!

After the original trial found him guilty and sentenced him to eleven or more years imprisonment, I was one of those who sat on the fence and thought, yes he could be guilty. But later I read a number of books about the trial, David Bain and his slain familty. From thereon I was convinced of Bain's guilt, and I still believe he was and is guilty of the mass murder of his parents and siblings -  two sisters and a younger brother. I did not read his supporter, Joe Karam's books, because they were in my opinion  just biased spin doctoring.

So now it is up to John Key and his Cabinet to decide if David Bain is innocent and deserves compensation. Political consideration is not a point here - they represent the Government and the people of New Zealand. I don't envy their task.

However the souls of the slain Bain family cry out for justice. Would compensation for a freed David Bain be just?

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The beneficiary bashing express has just pulled in to the station - send them down the mines...

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The beneficiary bashing express has just pulled into the station. The National Government is right on cue!

 Where are all the jobs the beneficiaries are expected to get? The Nats said our welfare sysytem is too generous; they have been overseas to get the latest news from Wisconson I suppose. Welfare looks like it may get rationed.  After 12 months they will need to have a good case to get it back again.

Multi-millionaire John Key and former beneficiary Minister Paula Bennett would have to be two of the biggest hypocrites in New Zealand!

What with the mining debate and all, unemployment can be wiped out in one foul swoop -  give them a pickaxe and shovel and send them down the mines. They are just the unemployed -  I mean they will never vote for the National party, will they?

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Mining is not the answer John key - tourism is...

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The National Government is digging its own political grave with this mining debate that is not built on any outstanding need, but its rhetoric will help NZ catch up with Australia? Bollocks! Australia has a far greater population, is a richer country and has far greater supplies of mineral wealth around the country.

Nothing wrong with a stocktake, but New Zealand's economic  future is bound up with its greatest potential - tourism! Mining will defeat that very purpose in many parts of the country where mining is proposed. Coal supplies can remain until they are needed, not at present Mr John Key. Its money in the bank for a rainy day, and it isn't raining today!

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We know the Tories will be crapping on the conservation estate very soon...

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Anti-miners "jumping the gun" claims John Key. Yeah right!



PM Key says mining opponents jumping the gun by assuming plans for mining conservation land set in stone



The Prime Minister says people opposed to mining conservation land on the Coromandel Peninsula are jumping the gun by assuming a leaked document sets out the government's plans in stone.



Forest and Bird has released what it believes are the government's intentions to mine conservation land, raising concerns about ruining the environment and increasing the risk of flooding in the area.



John Key says Forest and Bird is wrong to assume anything has been decided.



"Cabinet hasn't even made those decisions yet. They've jumped to conclusions. What we are going to do is get a balance between our economic opportunities and our environmental responsibilities." Its obviously been discussed previously and is just a matter of signining it off officially. Does Key think we are all stupid like his colleagues?.


Mr Key says Forest and Bird is being typically hysterical, but he concedes a small piece of land will be opened up, if it is warranted, and will be mined using modern techniques. Hysterical?  Favourite comments of the powerful!



Forest and Bird believes the land planned for mining includes:



- Te Ahumata plateau on Great Barrier Island (about 700ha) - Otahu Ecological Area (396ha) and Parakawai Geological Reserve (70ha) near Whangamata and 2500ha near Thames township - Eastern Paparoa National Park, near Inangahua (3000ha). Probably a reasonable list built on knowledge of the subject.









ACknowledgements: © 2010 NZCity, NewsTalkZB

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Minister admits poor choice of words - backed down over Super Gold card attack...

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Minister admits poor choice of words - backdown over Super Gold Card attack!


Steven Joyce, Transport Minister, admits his comments on SuperGold Card poorly chosen and he didn't mean entitlements would be axed. BS - he backed down and everbody knows it

The Transport Minister admits his choice of words may have contributed to the outcry over potential cuts to SuperGold Card transport concessions. And what did he expect? Another incompetent Gnat minister!



When he announced a review of the free off-peak public transport component of the card, Steven Joyce said officials would be looking at how off-peak should be defined. He also threw a question mark over the eligibility of high cost services including Auckland's Waiheke Island ferry.



Mr Joyce is now keen to assure senior citizens he did not mean their entitlements would be cut.



"It possibly wasn't clear enough but I think also there was definitely some political desire to create some concern and fear."



Mr Joyce says services will continue, but denies opposition claims he has backed down because of the angry reaction. And I believe in the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus and the tooth fairy!

Diplomacy the quickest way to rid whaling, maybe yes maybe not...

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Diplomacy quickest way to rid whaling, maybe yes, maybe not...

Government still prefers diplomatic action over the International Court of Justice to eliminate whaling in Southern Ocean.

The Foreign Minister says the Government still wants to eliminate whaling in the Southern Ocean.

Australia is threatening to take Japan to the International Court of Justice over its whaling, but New Zealand is not prepared to take that step just yet.

Murray McCully believes a diplomatic response is the quickest way to go about it, as International Court of Justice action could see the issue locked up for five years.

Mr McCully says if the diplomatic process does break down, we will know by mid-June and the Government has taken some preliminary advice on court action if that happens.

Diplomacy hasn't helped much in other areas recently.




Acknowledgements: 2010 NZCity, NewsTalkZB

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Sterilisation of parents could reduce the numbers of rightwing MPs...

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New Zealand Act MP David Garrett reportedly promoted compulsory sterilisation of parents.

I would strongly suggest that this would result in a reduction of rightwing MPs, and that could only be a good thing for the future of New Zealand politics.

I wonder if Mr Garret will also promote a private members bill to bring this about. A reduction in idiot members of parliament would benefit NZ for decades to come.

The stocktake voters take every three years the most important...

Mining proposal a "stocktake" says PM
John Key PM says mining proposal always only a stocktake of minerals, says govt reflecting on what is right and achievable
2 March 2010
Prime Minister John Key is denying claims the government is worried about a public backlash over exploring mining opportunities on conservation land.

The government is due to release a stocktake of the mineral possibilities of the land and the Greens say National is scaling down after realising a majority of the public are not in favour of the idea. But Mr Key says that is not the case.

"When the minister first mooted the idea he indicated quite clearly that we shouldn't read too much into it. That it was genuinely a stocktake. We'll be working our way through it and reflecting on what we think is right and what is achievable."

Mr Key believes the Government has the balance right and he expects a discussion document to be released in the next few weeks.

But John Key will find little public support for his stocktake. It is the stocktake that voters take every three years which is the most important.