KiwiSlaver Mk II: Another way to lose your money via extortionate FSC fees

the FSC advocates - to make it compulsory for people to spend part of their KiwiSaver funds on purchasing an annuity at retirement

Compulsory annuities?  Not content with their extortionate fees whilst you contribute to KiwiSlaver, Financial Services Council members now want to have a second bite of the cherry managing your KiwiSlaver Mk II annuity.

One can see your initially minimal KiwiSlaver asset nose diving into red terrority as the FSC vultures take their ongoing cut out of your capital.

When will the suckers wake up to doing your own money management is a much better option?  I'm just waiting for one like the Kiwibank KiwiSlaver to go belly up.

There's going to be a lot of well fattened FSC members, but some real grumpy voters.

The state is an institution of theft

Can't argue with that.  Coming to government near you.

Eh?

Anti-mining groups in Northland are planning to block State Highway 1

they were legally entitled to block the stretch of highway as it was on Maori customary land

Eh?  SH1 is now customary land?  How the f**k did that happen?  Have there been any other State Highways given over to natives? 

Next thing there'll be a bloody toll booth to pass into and exit the area.  Oh, that's right they've already got the money extraction bit operational - via the Waitangi Tribunal.  Nearly as bad as paying to access beaches.

The hordes are getting stroppy and need to be put their place.

National Standards are working as intended

An academic from that bastion of the arts and culture that is Waikato Uni says that National Standards are showing good results.

trends had popped up in schools since the standards for reading, writing and mathematics were implemented in 2010

subjects had become the focus for some schools who wanted to make sure its students were meeting national levels. 

This meant subjects such as art, history, social studies and other activities had been left behind

Well, that should get the critics exercised.   Who would have thought that wishy-washy arts type courses might lose currency in favour of actually teaching core real world subjects like reading, writing and mathematics.

Long may National Standards continue!

Pests and Environment Southland

Fallopia japonica, commonly known as Japanese knotweed

one of the world's worst invasive species 

 
The invasive root system and strong growth can damage concrete foundations, buildings, flood defences, roads, paving, retaining walls and architectural sites. It can also reduce the capacity of channels in flood defences to carry water.


It is a frequent colonizer of temperate riparian ecosystems, roadsides and waste places. It forms thick, dense colonies that completely crowd out any other herbaceous species and is now considered one of the worst invasive exotics in parts of the eastern United States. The success of the species has been partially attributed to its tolerance of a very wide range of soil types, pH and salinity. Its rhizomes can survive temperatures of −35 °C (−31 °F) and can extend 7 metres (23 ft) horizontally and 3 metres (9.8 ft) deep, making removal by excavation extremely difficult.
The plant is also resilient to cutting, vigorously resprouting from the roots. The most effective method of control is by herbicide application close to the flowering stage in late summer or autumn. In some cases it is possible to eradicate Japanese knotweed in one growing season using only herbicides.


Classed as an unwanted organism in New Zealand.

 Straight from Wikipedia.  A right nasty pest plant indeed.  

And here we have an Environment Southland councillor apparently actively growing Japanese Knotweed.  Not bad for one supposedly educated and knowledgeable in matters green so he often tells all and sundry.  

mostly I use it to terrify pest-plant officers

To give the local bio-security officer conniptions by his own words.

Some might say one pest growing another pest.

Keep on keeping on, Colin Craig, you'll get my vote

You know you're on the right track when both sides of the political divide are rubbishing you this far out from an election.  The attack stories have featured large these past couple of weeks.

One one hand, we've got an avowed liberal right wing blogger denigrating you as 'the cult of crazy' multiple times, whilst the other side has this morning delivered their attack piece referring to your party as 'a noxious political potpourri'.

I smell desperation from both sides. 

The rabid left see Winston First seriously bleeding votes and thus their chances of another MMP stitchup coalition doomed for another term.   And the right wing see their divine chance at a 100% mandate under MMP slip sliding to a lacklustre almost passed outcome, requiring negotiation with 'a Christian crazy'.

Yes Colin, you'll get my vote.  I would never vote anywhere left, period.  The current option of the Nats is not suitable for a lot of voters voting right as they've openly faciltated racism and sat on the fence, ditching long held principle for votes.

 Keep on keeping on, Colin Craig, you've got them rattled.

About bloody time

There's at least one JafaLand councillor ready to take on his boss.  A furtive, of late always missing in action, boss who saw fit to hide an 'official' trip funded by others leaving him open to allegations of corruption.

Auckland councillor Cameron Brewer wants a council review into Len Brown's affair with Bevan Chuang widened to investigate a trip the mayor made to Hong Kong

Are there any other councillor's willing to take a stand on this ineffective Mayor?

Greens want to regulate farmers out of existence

Our brief is to govern and regulate

We have clearly got to be strong, we have got an obligation to be strong

some councillors were reluctant to regulate the industry because they did not want to "upset" stakeholders

A councillor known for not toeing the council line gets his five minutes of fame.

the council used a mixture of education and regulation and encouraged best practice

His boss refuses to endorse his statements as her council is rightly more pro-active in educating the community whilst supporting local businesses.

I think the farming community and the farming industry have always had a significant influence over Environment Southland through industry-friendly councillors. I think that influence has grown significantly

Some councillors were holding the economy in "higher regard" than the environment

The balance is swinging towards economic development and the not the environment

At least his intent is now fully in the open.  To legislate farmers out of existence.


Nothing but feral greenies lurking at the farmer's fences, looking to get their backs up, ever ready to wreck the economy of this country.  Just as we've witnessed with their recent economy wrecking power manifesto and the anti-mining/oil ethos of late.  Why do people continue to vote these losers onto our councils?

Another taniwha that will require a bribe

Maori are threatening to issue a trespass notice on oil drilling company Anadarko nearly a week after its drillship the Noble Bob Douglas arrived in what they are claiming is customary fishing waters

Everywhere people are looking, there is a new mine or oil site. The whole country has been surveyed off

As usual, all can be fixed with a bribe. 

it's not the New Zealand way to gift our land for bugger-all

As an aside, I did note however that a prospective miner withdrew from the Whangarei region the other day.  Obviously they couldn't agree on the size of the bribe.

So Mr Key, yet another looming cost of pandering to natives.  How much will it be this time to quieten the taniwha?   And the next? 

Nothing but political whores looking to extract maximum dollar from the taxpayer for services.  Just the price needs agreement.

Peak oiler hypocrites have nice day at beach

More than 1000 people turned up at one of Auckland's famous west coast beaches to protest against deep sea oil drilling in New Zealand waters today

A nice day at the beach for the peak oilers by the look of the pics.  Some no doubt even flew nicely painted beach flags made of synthetics.  Some will have sat in nylon tents.  Others dressed in synthetic swimwear, will have ventured into the tide using plastic based swim aids.  And Twattered to the world their cause celebre on yuppie phones made of mined precious metals and yet more plastics.    

Meanwhile 4 million others who live in real New Zealand got on with life.   It was a nice day here too, 80 km from the beach.  Burnt a few hydrocarbons mowing the lawns and tidying up the garden.  At least I didn't have to put up with listening to feral deluded greenies trying get the rabble on board.

Protesters joined hands to form a human chain from the land to the sea, and a haka was also performed

Yep, resorting to a war dance, will really make the government take notice.

Bet 99% of them drove to the beach using vehicles fuelled from oil wells.  Lubricated by hydrocarbons, also from oil wells.  Most made of copious amounts of plastics and some might even have carbon fibre components.  And on roads nicely sealed with asphalt.  No doubt the food they ate at the each was processed by hydrocarbons and the like. 

You know the story.  Happy to have all the trappings of a hydrocarbon based lifestyle, never prepared to ditch the oil based products they consume and use daily.

What we saw today at the beach are nothing but effing hypocrites, beholden to the communists at Greenpeace.

"Won't someone think of the children" crock by strident greenie loons

The environment commissioner has just delivered a report for Southland and Canterbury on the future waterways and the potential long term effects of farming.  Note I say potential.

A damning report released yesterday has shown a clear link between dairy farming and the degradation of New Zealand waterways

Southland, along with Canterbury, is supposedly leading the way in destroying the ecosystems in its waterways.  But hold on, this report is only one end of a modelling exercise.

Ms Timms said the report was only as good as the information in it. "We have also got to be aware that this is just a modelling exercise." 

Councils and farmers country wide continue to improve their practices, particularly in dairy.  

Improving water quality is the council's top priority and has been for some time. We've been very clear about that

Anyone, townie or farmer, that hasn't got that message yet should be locked up.

Unfortunately like the climate change outright lies and GoreBull fed to the productive taxpayers of this world, there are those in our regions, including some on councils, latching onto this report and predicting an apocalypse of nitrates in our creeks.  Similarly ferals like the government funded Fish and Game want to utilise this report to regulate farming out of existence.  Why we continue to fund these economy haters and wreckers like F&G and EDS is beyond me, suppose it is part of keeping your enemies closer.

view was not shared by Fish and Game. Southland Fish and Game operations manager Zane Moss said the report was a "strident warning" for the path Southland was going down

Hold onto your waders Zane, it is only an initial cut of  a model that will be refined.  But the same goes for the luddites who won't have a bar of any other economy lifting activities like mining and drilling for oil.


The more strident, some might suggest loony greenies, that pervade our societies these days are predictably crying "Won't someone think of the children?".

from comments (sic) - I wonder waht stories you will tell your grandchildren about once pristine rivers and waterways where people used to go for picnics , camping , swimming and fishing

I wonder waht stories you will tell your grandchildren about once pristine rivers and waterways where people used to go for picnics , camping , swimming and fishing

I wonder waht stories you will tell your grandchildren about once pristine rivers and waterways where people used to go for picnics , camping , swimming and fishing

I wonder waht stories you will tell your grandchildren about once pristine rivers and waterways where people used to go for picnics , camping , swimming and fishing

I wonder waht stories you will tell your grandchildren about once pristine rivers and waterways where people used to go for picnics , camping , swimming and fishing

I wonder waht stories you will tell your grandchildren about once pristine rivers and waterways where people used to go for picnics , camping , swimming and fishing

I wonder waht stories you will tell your grandchildren about once pristine rivers and waterways where people used to go for picnics , camping , swimming and fishing

I wonder waht stories you will tell your grandchildren about once pristine rivers and waterways where people used to go for picnics , camping , swimming and fishing

I wonder waht stories you will tell your grandchildren about once pristine rivers and waterways where people used to go for picnics , camping , swimming and fishing

Things are being done, just not fast enough for some desperate to make political hay on these matters, including some councillors.

the council was well aware of the link between changes in land use and levels of nutrients and was working with farmers

We've got a responsibility, but we also want to live and have jobs in our communities ... we can have both economic growth and water that we can swim in

Unfortunately the loonies are in charge of the asylum these days, as always being very vocal on their soapbox, trying to wreck New Zealand farming.

Two choices, only one answer

YES,

is the ONLY answer

And if the question had been for 100%, the answer would be the same.

Do you support the Government selling up to 49 per cent of Meridian Energy, Mighty River Power, Genesis Power, Solid Energy and Air New Zealand?

Yes voting papers have arrived.  Time to deal to the rabid greenie ferals, make your vote count.  

The government has no right to be running private businesses.

 

Comment of the year!

But I'm fucked if I'm EVER going to support the fact that there are useless lazy bludging cunts in this society that feel they are entitled to live in a house provided by me and mine for the rest of their miserable woe begotten fucking lives!

Exactly!  From here.

That will be fun!

Cars that run on hydrogen and exhaust only water vapor are emerging to challenge electric vehicles as the world's transportation of the future

three automakers were unveiling hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to be delivered to regular people as early as spring of next year

Just wait till a Taleban suicide bomber looking for 72 virgins drives one of them into Times Square. 

It's only a matter of time before one of these H2 cars detonating puts any Chevy Volt or Prius electric car battery fires to shame.  The only thing required afterward will be a D9 dozer to fill the hole.

Pissed sportswoman "not happy with the result", plays her ace

very disappointed and very upset, ... We are not giving it up.

It will have real consequences against her career. She won't be able to travel and she competes in this sport, and travel is very important to her, to get to Canada and those types of places

Should have thought about that before she drove pissed. 

admitted she had been "unlawful and stupid" but asked for a discharge without conviction because she was having a bad time after breaking up with her boyfriend

Aah, the mitigation sob story.  But then she plays her ace.

Ms Insley had successfully argued for leniency, saying it was rare for a Maori woman from a poor upbringing to excel in sport

Really?  In this modern age, there's always the race card for your A game.

Making sure the whitewash is really dry

An Auckland Council review of any use of council resources by Mayor Len Brown in his affair with Bevan Chuang is taking longer than expected
 

undeclared freebies leave any politician open to the suggestion ... that they have been bought

The report will be lost in the late December pre-Christmas / Summer Hols dump.  In the New Year, Lenny the Liar will be deemed to have fully travelled the road to redemption.

By then the whitewash will have dried, E&Y will be paid handsomely from ratepayer funds with a Christmas bonus.  And Len's spin doctors will continue to suck from the ratepayers teat, always deflecting from the truth.

Unfortunately for JafaLand ratepayers, the stench of corruption will now forever pervade the Office of the Mayor.

Nepotism by any other name

nepotism [ˈnɛpəˌtɪzəm] 

n favouritism shown to relatives or close friends by those with power or influence

Another meritorious appointment at Silent T and Cunliffe.

What's Jim Hickey got lined up?

flotilla was a loose alliance who wanted to halt exploration

One hopes that a decent southwesterly blow will soon disperse the ragtag bunch of losers around North Cape. Come in Jim Hickey, we need a decent blow over the next week. 

The drill ship will remain on site, no doubt steadied with state of the art geo-positioning equipment.

Another Labour rort

Ms Mackey, recently promoted by Labour leader David Cunliffe, has an office in Customhouse St in Gisborne which property records show belongs to her mother Janet Mackey

could not remember the monthly rent bill but said it was below the market valuation

Charging rents below market valuation?  I'm sure the IRD would love to know that Labour is aiding and abetting  another rort on the taxpayers of New Zealand.

Only thing missing are the pitchforks [updated]

A modern day lynch mob baying for blood has been out and about today.  Thousands apparently.

There are "many parts" to the discourse, including whether rape took place, about victims' rights education and "to make sure that we don't see young guys engaging in behaviour which is just not acceptable.

Hung, drawn and quartered, before being tried, let alone accused.  The only things missing are the pitchforks and something or someone to burn at the stake.  I fear the roasting Messrs Tamihere and Jackson received in recent days for daring to comment will not suffice.

Prime Minister John Key says he understands protesters "feel very strongly."

Some will be seen to be doing something.  Anything.  But then I'm sure the alleged perps will get a fair hearing, should matters require a trial.  Only if the lynch mob doesn't get to them first.

[update]

A well known author dares to comment ...

Stead wrote the nation had become gripped by a collective hysteria

... and the Twitteratti lynchmob is let loose.

Hitler gets Obamacare

Hitler has his substandard health insurance cancelled...



"I suppose it could be worse, I could be young and healthy and get to pay for this crap"

Stuff stuffs the Friday Dump

Stuff regurgitates an old video that did the blog rounds three, probably four months ago to fill in a slow news day in their Fiday Dump.

Another Stuff stuff up.

The only news we want to see is that Lenny the lounge lizard has resigned.

Union bullies dispensing standover tactics in Northland schools

Northland teachers have been banned by their union from any interaction with charter school staff ... described as "bully tactics"

The principals [in Whangarei] are rattled. They are being stood over by the PPTA and they have no room to move

The government needs to show some mettle and put these union thugs in their place. 

Complete the job that should have been done 5 years ago Mr Key.

NSFW: Lily Allen bitchslaps Miley

A lot more NSFW detail here.

That should make the tart take notice.

Now, that's the sort of "ongoing significant change" I like

Deputy Prime Minister Bill English has warned of "significant changes" to the public sector

the Government was bringing corporate treasurer-style expertise to its balance sheet

the new attitude was going to create "ongoing significant change" in the public sector

I look forward to the rapid implementation of such "ongoing significant change".

governments had some "pretty bad habits". 

Those included thinking of capital as 'free', as taxes could simply be coerced from an endless supply of customers

the real challenge was managing the government's enormous property portfolio, including $17 billion worth of houses, $13b of schools and $8b of hospitals. 

All of these are poorly managed ... the benefit of PPPs was not so much cost savings, but because we learn so much ...  external parties who would be putting capital at risk are much more sensitive to the risks of the project and have a much better toolkit for those risks.

The sound you can hear is Labour, teachers and the unionised choking their last gasp.

That should put the faceless bureaucrats in central and local government on notice.  

"All part of a cunning plan"

Arise, Sir Baldrick!

We're getting to the real action at last

What was that the Reserve Bank was saying about expect an increase next year? 

Westpac is cutting its two year fixed rate to match that of rival ASB

More like rates will keep tracking down as banks seek to retain market share.  This LVR thing must be hurting their usurious trade.

The law of unintended consequence.  Must be time to look at some more investment properties while the first home buyers are out of the market.

Nanny desperate to get those that Darwin misses

Stopping the use of quad bikes in farming has been raised as a prospect by a coroner in his written findings into five deaths related to their use

Beware farmers! Nanny is afoot with another hoary old ban.

• overturned during weed-spraying ... had been smoking cannabis
• was spraying a hilly slope for weeds when his quad bike rolled
• died when trapped between her quad bike and an electric fence after trying to tow a trailer of silage up a hill
• weed-spraying when he was found dead ... had cannabis in his system consistent with smoking a single cannabis cigarette

Geez, Darwin got a few there.  Unfortunately, I fear that like ill thought out anti-smacking laws, Nanny will apply a blanket ban to a great farm tool.  A tool that is utilised by thousands of farmers daily without incident. 

Like legislating for a zero road toll, you will never save idiots from themselves, with any amount of training or guidelines.

Granny breaches privacy laws

The release of LINZ real estate data says that it is given iaw the Privacy Act 1993 which says:

Privacy Act 1993 Clause 59 Public Register Privacy Principles …
Principle 2 Use of information from public registers
 
Personal information obtained from a public register shall not be re-sorted, or combined with personal information obtained from any other public register, for the purpose of making available for valuable consideration personal information assembled in a form in which that personal information could not be obtained directly from the register.

That's the law.  No for the privacy breach.

More than 7.2 million property records were extracted from Land Information titles and owners' lists. These records were combined using cloud servers to create a searchable database of property records.

Since the property titles data do not include addresses, a piece of custom software was created to identify and locate each property, while another extracted MPs' trusts, companies and declared properties from the Register of Pecuniary Interest.

Combining all of these tools resulted in a map of properties owned by every MP, both personally and through trusts, superannuation schemes or companies. 

After telling the world that they’ve merged two public datasets to get at the personal info, I look forward to Granny explaining that to the Privacy Commissioner.

OSH would have a fit, but "Yes, Please!"

Yes!  A definite must-have on the farm for those 'with plenty of space in the top paddock'.

might look very loosely like a farm quad in a dream fuelled by mescaline or LSD

features a 3.0-litre Ferrari V8 coupled to a BMW M3's six-speed sequential gearbox

 
I can imagine explaining that to Mr OSH it's perfectly legal on the farm without a helmet, now bugger off, you're trespassing.

two distinct disadvantages: it doesn't carry dogs or straw bales

However getting NZ$300K past the IRD and onto the books as a farm tool might prove difficult.  I wonder if I could claim the GST?

But hey, dreams are free.

Len's Trainset: "A fiscal nightmare"

a fiscal nightmare that would only ever be undertaken by a government or council

The numbers just do not stack up*.

Let's take for example, the following:
250 seat trains
Three trains per hour
Six hours capacity per day
Two commuter train lines
$10 per round trip
246 workdays per year
Using these figures, rush hour commuting can only ever raise up to $22,140,000 of annual revenue.

Finally, some public transport figures that really make sense.

a fiscal nightmare that would only ever be undertaken by a government or council with

 a) too much cash and not enough assets,

 or b) absolutely zero oversight and a borrowing power which doesn't match it's own sense of responsibility

Not considered are the outgoings.

You've now got to pay the train station sh*thouse cleaners, conductors and the drivers a living wage, not to mention the six-figure salaries and perks for council wallahs to run the show. 

No doubt any debt repayments, including interest, for the multi-billion build comes from the same low income.  Sometimes maintenance and spares might be required.  Also there will be the local taniwha to pay on a regular basis to keep them quiet.

As well as the whole package is fuelled somehow.  Or maybe they run on all that free greenie type hot-air so prevalent round these public transport projects.

A lose-lose for poor put upon ratepayers who have to fund Len's fiscal nightmares into eternity.


*numbers are as proposed for newly taxpayer cash rich Village of the Damned, but I guess Len's toy trainset is modelled with similar fiscal restraint.

Retail faces of those on offer

I'm kind of the retail face

Seen the retail face of the Opposition?  Starting with Silent T, a whole host of half-sucked Throaties obviously chosen to fit a quota for their looks.  A retail face of two sides, one desperately looking for centre-right votes, whilst the other is lurching violently leftward to Communism.

No wonder John Boy remains Mr Popularity. 

Though, I still wouldn't waste my vote on the Nats without principles.

Bloody thieving socialists at it again

Len Brown will propose a "living wage" of $18.40 for all Auckland Council staff at a council meeting today

In an effort to divert from his repugnant actions of late, JafaLand's NightMayor is apparently to front today on his road to redemption with a diversion in hand.  Maye wrong choice of words there, as he has had rather a lot 'in hand' of late.

the wage would not have a big impact on ratepayers

an incredibly small amount of money in the multibillion-dollar budget that the council has

It's always "a little bit more, you will not notice"  The twisted line of thought of thieving effing socialists ever ready to further rape our wallets for more taxes to impose yet more unproven and unwanted social engineering.  That line of thought is exactly why we have council thieves extracting and squandering our multi-millions.

Someone has to clean sh*thouses for a pittance so that they will learn, like the rest of us have done so the hard way long ago early in our careers, to get off your backside and up-skill yourself for better wages.

As for the nightmare, stand down and resign.   You are now a lame duck, too scared to front.

A reminder

101 to go to 50,000

Have you signed?

The taniwha needs bribing before the white mofo dam proceeds

An iwi opposed to the Ruataniwha dam says if the scheme proceeds it should be scaled back by a third

Consultation on the proposal had been insufficient, the iwi says

That didn't take long.  A stone age mythical taniwha has reared its ugly head in the dam proceedings and is hungry for a bribe koha.

users charged a 5c per cubic metre levy to mitigate the ... cultural effects of the project

such monies to be used for iwi/hapu cultural monitoring and kaitiakitanga [guardianship] purposes

'We want our race based cut' is the cry or no dam.  Never ceases to amaze that money will assuage all matters cultural.  Was always going to happen, just the price of accommodating these cultural whores needed to be set.

Labour backtracks on another 'set in stone' policy

The Engineering Printing and Manufacturing Union had moved a motion wanting the party to oppose the TPP, in line with a position taken by the Council of Trade Unions conference last month.

would have posed a major shift in the party's position.

Stroppy unions flexing their new found muscle are having to be reined in.

Mr Cunliffe got a consensus to support a Dairy Workers' Union resolution to ''withholds support for the TPP until full details are made available and there is clear evidence that the agreement is in the best interests of New Zealand

Labour flip-flopping continues unabated as Silent T has a bob each way.

Cunliffe: Setting the tone for re-election in 2023 or further.

This government is tired, arrogant, and out of touch.

He launched into an attack on National, listing its "Hall of Shame" as Warner Brothers, SkyCity, Rio Tinto and Chorus

Dirty, personal, negative attack politics.   After wishing to sell Mr Key's dear long departed mother earlier in the week, his opening gambit in the speech to the slavering unionised is to play the man.

We have all heard about our current Prime Minister's own humble beginnings, his overseas success and his money trader's fortune

Yep, that should do it, about 2023 for the Labia Party is looking good.

Friday Dump: Another NZ business suffers terminally under the hand of Cullen

New Zealand Post says it will reduce its work force by up to 2000 staff

Cullen's fickle hand roots another Kiwi business.  The Kiwi Rail buyback gave the country a decade of deficits, now he's firing his own staff in a mass layoff.  That will go down well.

EPMU said the changes were "cruel" and came with little warning

The unionised would do well consider their choices at the Labia Party gabfest this weekend.  Daresay Silent T will have his hands full keeping his baying union hounds on the leash.  They'll get no sympathy from Joe and Jane Public, only got themselves to blame for chasing blue sky ideas such as living wages.  And the writing has been on the wall for years to reign in labour costs.


An excellent Friday Dump on the unions.