Kiwiblog

New Labour MP Louisa Wall has basically already conceded she will not win Tamaki Makaurau off Pita Sharples, saying she is campaigning for the party vote only.

I say kudos to her for being realistic that she can’t win it.

Things are looking better for toddler Lucy Laws with the prognosis a lot healthier, even though still very serious. Let’s hope things keep going well.

A very significant development in the Owen Glenn story today, in Fran O’Sullivan’s column.

Readers will recall how the Owen Glenn said he had all but been promised Honorary Consul to Monaco, and he was just waiting for Winston to get off his arse about it.  Weknow Mike Williams lobbied Clark about it, and Glenn lobbied Peters and obviously he received no negative indications.

Now Fran reveals that the Government has refused to appoint an Honorary Consul repeated times in the last few years.  And not because the person suggested was inappropriate, but because they kept insisting there was no need for one. They even turned down a request which was backed by Monaco’s ruler, Prince Albert.

So after years and years of saying there is no need for a Consul, sugar daddy Owen Glenn says over breakfast he would like the role, and it seems people are falling over backwards to arrange it and give him the impression that it would be arranged.

This also suggest to me that Peters and Clark did not talk to Phil Goff about Glenn’s proposed appointment. Goff presumably would have said “you can’t appoint him - we have said on the record there is no need for a Consul”.  Or maybe they did talk to Goff and he is even more cunning that we’ve suspected.  Personally I don’t think he is that cunning, so hence assume they failed to talk to him.  They may have saved themselves a lot of trouble if they had.

It is somewhat disconcerting that the media and defence lawyers seem to be so far ahead of the Police in working out who stole the medals.  HoS points to the ring leader.

Heh this screenshot is from Facebook.

I blogged earlier today on the story of the boss who sacked one of his staff while recovering from a heart operation.  A lot of people have actually defended the boss who did it.  They seem ignorant of how one should handle a situation like this, so let me spell out how it should be handled.

First some important facts:

• It is not a choice between sacking someone and paying them a full wage while they recover.  Once their sick leave entitlement is up, you can have them on unpaid leave.
• The employer made the decision with no consultation or discussion. He just turned up with the dismissal notice.
• The employer turned up to tell him, without even giving notice that he was coming in to discuss work issues- hence not giving the employee time to consider a response.
• The employer expressed a medical opinion which he was not qualified to express, and which conflcited with the actual doctor

Here’s what a far better, fairer and legal process might look like:

1. Visit employee in hospital just to see how they are doing, after the operation.
2. Visit employee again, and say that you are glad to see them recovering, they are missing you at work and consequential to that they need some idea of how they will be placed in terms of resuming work, and whether there will be restrictions on what they can do.  Ask them to either allow their doctors to talk to you, or preferably to prepare a report on what is possible.
3. Receive the report and consider it. Verify with the employee that they agree in terms of the timeframes mentioned, that this is the earliest they could return to work.
4. Look for good faith options where the job can be held open, while they recover.  Can other staff work more shifts.  Can you get a temp. If they can be back in a month (for example) would a new employee even be able to start by then. Does the experience you will lose if you let that employee go make it worthwhile holding the role open.
5. When you have formed an initial opinion, pop in and see them (and also put it in writing to the employee) and discuss options such as part-time work, whether other staff can cover.  The employee may be able to propose an acceptable solution.  Explain why you may be unable to keep a job open past a particular date.
6. Make no decision on the spot.  After the meeting give the employee time to make a formal response in writing if they want - make sure they have had full ability to have their point of view considered.
7. Then after you have all the facts, and the employee has had the ability to make representations to you, make a decision.

Employment lawyers might be able to add some extra steps to the above, but regardless the way it was done with a pre-determination based on assumptions not facts and with zero employee input is just wrong wrong wrong.

That is just so spot on.  Hat Tip: Larvatus Proveo

John Tamihere has hired Donna Awatere-Huata to work for the Waipareira Trust.  Good on Donna for getting back into work, but personally I’d not want to be the Financial Controller there

Good God, read this story in the Herald about the boss who sacked one of his staff, while he lay in hospital recovering from a heart operation.

I would be talking to employment lawyer Peter Cullen about this one, if I was the employee.  Sounds like one could set a record for damages.

The Sydney Morning Herald reveals the influence of big money in Australian politics - the $10.1 million spent by the trade union federation against John Howard.

Other left wing groups spent sums of up to half a million dollars.  The only spending by an employer group was the WA Master Builders Association who spent $32,000.

Obviously the results of the last election are invalid, as according to the rhetoric of the left in NZ, Kevin Rudd purchased the election.  They will no doubt call for John Howard to be returned to office as Interim PM until new money free elections be called.

The bad news for Labour is the Morgan poll taken from 4 to 17 February which has National’s lead grow from 9% to 19%.

The worse news is the Fairfax/Neilsen poll taken from 13 to 19 February which has National’s lead grow from 5% (in Nov) to a staggering 23%.

Key also leads Clark as Preferred PM by a huge 15% - 44% to 29%.

Also worth noting that most of the damaging Owen Glenn stuff happened after these polls concluded!

The Dom Post is saying Clark’s leadership must now be under serious scrutiny.  While it will be scrutinised I do not believe there is any prospect at all of a coup before the election. Apart from her power throughout the party, Goff wouldn’t want the job at the moment.  And the time for a voluntary handover has passed.  There was a small chance if the polls had been this bad say all of the latter half of next year Clark may have thrown it in over Christmas, but National’s stumble in October gave them hope.

Of course things are not over - a lot can happen in nine months - but it would seem to be very much National’s election to lose.  And Labour’s problem may be that voters simply are not listening to them anymore, and not listening to Helen especially.

Had a good night catching up with people last night.  Checked into City Life a bit after midnight and found they had upgraded me to one of the two Director’s Suites on the top floor.  What a waste - a huge lounge, three bedrooms, and I just use it to sleep in and shower. If I had known about the upgrade I would have hosted a party in my room!

Travelled west this morning by mini-coach to Waiuku, where the NZBR Retreat is - as I mentioned I am a guest panelist on a media and public policy discussion.

We are staying at Castaways, which is in a wonderfully isolated location on a hill overlooking the Tasman Sea on the West Coast.  Not that sunny today but still a magnificent view.

It is so remote here there is no cellphone coverage at all - either Telecom or Vodafone.  So don’t bother calling me today.

Murray McCully writes in his weekly newsletter:

Remaining Mysteries
A week of excruciating embarrassment has been endured by our Prime Minister and her Government.  She, who last year climbed onto such a high horse on the subject of campaign finance disclosure, has been caught leading a party that misled New Zealanders over a $100,000 loan made by Owen Glenn.  Mr Glenn will by now have departed these shores, but one small mystery remains:

In a 2005 interview with “Unlimited” magazine, Mr Glenn made reference to “my friend Bill Lloyd,” with whom he hoped “to build some luxury yauchts up here in Hobsonville.”  Mr Lloyd, readers may recall, had been the controversial recipient of assistance from one Jim Anderton in the procurement of Defence land at Hobsonville.

Mr Glenn told his 2005 interviewer that Mr Lloyd had been “badly dealt by” in the matter.  “…but it’s all been resolved through the good services of Mike Williams, the President of the Labour Party, who’s done a mammoth job,” said Mr Glenn.

So, just what sort of “mammoth job” was that?

Mr Williams does indeed seem a tireless worker on behalf of his donors. And as it was taxpayer money given to Mr Lloyd, I think we would all like to know the nature and extent of this mammoth job done by Labour’s chief fundraiser.

NZ Herald:

Speaker of the House Margaret Wilson will not be standing in the general election this year.

Ding dong ….

From NZPA:

A spokeswoman for Miss Clark said the pair would not pose together for media, and their lack of contact was “just what happened” and had not been planned.

Oh yes, just a coincidence that you know the guest of honour didn’t even shake hands with the PM who was opening the building.  Can anyone think of a single comparable occassion where the presenter and the guest of honour don’t shake hands, let alone pose together for photos.

Now hell, if I was 9th floor I might have put Trevor onto bodyguard duties also.  Hopefully I would have picked someone more subtle, but regardless.  But please please don’t transparently lie about it, and say the lack of contact was not planned.  Just avoid the question rather than tell porkies.

The gallery do not like press  secretaries who tell porkies.  They may have a grudging respect for those who skillfully dodge, change the question, give an evasive answer, or even give a totally different answer to what the question was.  But never ever tell them a flat out lie.

From the Times:

Tom Buffenbarger, the president of the machinists’ union, put it more bluntly at her rally in Ohio on Tuesday night, telling the crowd: “I’ve got news for all the latte-drinking, Prius-driving, Birkenstock-wearing, trust-fund babies crowding in to hear him speak! This guy won’t last a round against the Republican attack machine. He’s a poet, not a fighter.”

Heh that is a great quote.  He might also be right.

The Broadcasting Standards Authority has ruled, in two decisions, that coverage of the Electoral Finance Bill broke broadcasting standards.

Now before everyone in Labour breaks out the champagne, I have bad news for you.

The complaints of inaccuracy are about the fact TVNZ and TV3 said the initial Bill would outlaw secret and big donations. As most will know it did no such thing - there were no changes at all in the initial bill to donations to parties.

Now to be fair to TVNZ and TV3, they made the mistake of trusting the Minister, Mark Burton, who gave that impression at his press conference.  But regardless they should have checked.
I am amazed the broadcasters didn’t plead guilty - they tried to argue  that their story about big donors was referring to third parties, who are donors in some sort of generic sense.  It was a pathetic defence. In fact they should have run a correction at the earliest opportunity.

Big kudos to Steven Price who laid the complaint, especially as Steven became a supporter of the revised Bill. It’s a great example of putting the interests of accuracy first.

He also has an Press Council complaint in about the NZ Herald, complaining they didn’t make clear that the registration regime for third parties only is required if you spend over $12K, or over $1K in an electorate.

I should have thought of this straight away but someone suggested it to me on the bus this morning. Fire away with best captions for this NZ Herald front page photo.

Captions can be for Owen, Trevor or even Helen!

Keeping Stock is taking captions also.

A story in the Courier Mail reports:

AN Israeli parliamentarian says several earthquakes felt in Israel recently were a consequence of gays and the parliament’s acceptance of them.

Shlomo Benizri, of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish Shas Party, said the way to stop the tremors was for parliament to reverse its trend of liberalising laws concerning homosexuals.

Two quakes originating in neighbouring Lebanon shook much of Israel last week, the first coming two days after Israel’s attorney-general ruled that same-sex couples could adopt children.

“Why do earthquakes happen? One of the reasons is the things to which the Knesset (parliament) gives legitimacy, to sodomy,” Mr Benizri said during a parliamentary debate on earthquake preparedness.

A cost-effective way of averting earthquake damage, he added, would be to stop “passing legislation on how to encourage homosexual activity in the state of Israel, which anyway brings about earthquakes”.

This might give Brian Tamaki campaign ideas!

Cactus Kate has a copy of the course outlines for the new Owen Glenn Business School. Some extracts:

PROPERTY 100: Introduction To Super Yachts

During this paper you will learn all the basics of Super Yachts including brokering a deal, registering it in an effective offshore jurisdiction, designing offshore consulting contracts for your employees, the impact of oil prices to your Super Yacht and the meaning of carbon credits and advice on how to minimize them in the future.

PROPERTY 101: Super Yacht Essentials

Upkeeping your Super Yacht is crucial. This paper will teach you how to select your guests to maximize your outlay. From hiring staff, calculation of the optimal male to female guest ratio, selecting flooring to avoid damage from high heels, taking photographs, ordering the right alcohol and food and fitting all those high-tech specs that make your yacht better than the competition.

ECON 201: Special Topic: Advanced Relationships

A special topic with limited entry for men only. With all your new found wealth you will need advice on how to “select” and “protect”. Let our expert lecturers teach you some basics about members of the fairer sex. Topics will include special skills taught to young girls about how to generously offer to permanently look after your wealth. Watch in total awe as we take you through more advanced case studies and learn from the mistakes of others including how to use the diplomatic protection squad to your advantage when it all goes horridly wrong and how to say “no” effectively. We also discuss replacing contingent liabilities as they arise and how to make sure these contingent liabilities all get along fabulously as to bring peace and harmony to your life.

Lecturers: Deborah Hollings and Mrs X, Deborah Coddington, Jonah Lomu, Barry Colman.

ACCTG 101: Introduction To Offshore Companies, Banks and Trusts

Details of the paper have been suppressed at time of print. This paper will be taught off campus.

Lecturer: Lecturer: Mr/Ms/Miss/Sir Anonymous.

POL 201: Politics for Business

This paper will advise you on how to best influence the political process to your advantage including close examination of at the Resource Management Act, Electoral Finance Act and an introduction to the mechanics of Local Councils. Learn from the mistakes of others in this practical case study based paper. Case studies will use practical examples where corporate directorships and union contacts can be used to your advantage.

Lecturers: Winston Peters, Dail Jones, Mike Williams, Visiting Lecturers: Peter Davis and Helen Clark.

EGO 405: Advanced Topic: Public Relations and You

The most important yet complex paper and a must for any budding entrepreneur as based on the Founder’s advice there is nothing more important than how you are perceived despite your wealth. Learn when to shut up and when to speak out. Learn who to play nicely with and who to bury. Learn about how to manage the media with experienced BloJo’s Audrey Young and Fran O’Sullivan taking you through the process of just how the media work to discredit you or assist you.

Lecturers: Steve Fisher of Baldwin Boyle Group (subject to current performance review), Michelle Boag, Bill Ralston, Richard Griffin, Audrey Young, Fran O’Sullivan.

I’ve also heard a rumour that if National wins the next election, John Key plans to rename Auckland University as the Sir Owen G. Glenn University, in recognition of his contribution to New Zealand Politics.