David Farrar notes with some alarm a story on Jury Trials in Auckland, where the claim is made that very few people bother to turn up (1 in 10), others never make a contribution (and there is doubt that they...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 11:31 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Black Caps have beaten Australia in the cricket again, winning the series 3-0. After letting Hayden smash 181 not out and get Australia to a total of 346/5, the New Zealand middle order batsmen rallied brilliantly to chase down...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 7:09 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

New Zealand has just won the second game in the Chappell-Hadlee series, thus giving them the series 2-0 with one game to go. A dismal bowling performance saw Australia get 336/4 off 50 overs, but brilliant batting from Taylor (117...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 3:58 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

After winning the toss and bowling first in the first Chappell-Hadlee Trophy game in Wellington, NZ have dismissed Australia for a miserable 148. The last time Australia had a ODI first innings run rate of less than 3 (total of...

Continue reading "Well done the Black Caps" »

Posted by Dave Bryant at 2:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

So the New Year's Honours List has been published today, and Lloyd Geering has been made a member of the Order of New Zealand. However, I have to ask, what has he actually done to make him worthy of New...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 8:47 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

So the Government has announced that they prefer a new stadium on the waterfront rather than an upgrade of Eden Park. While a well-designed new stadium there may be great, I have a number of concerns about this proposal: 1)...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 8:06 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Alan seems to be somewhat worried about the Human Rights Commission drafting a national statement on religious diversity. While I share some of his concerns, I think that he is a little off the mark with others. HRC: New Zealand...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 11:32 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

A couple of JPs in Hastings supressed their own names during a routine court hearing this week. One of them later stated to the Herald that the order was made to ensure their own personal safety in the courtroom, although...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 11:25 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

So says the president of the PPTA in a statement opposing performance pay for teachers. And of course we all know differently. Anyone who has gone through our schooling system can testify that some teachers were simply much better than...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 11:50 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

If you're into the habbit of watching early morning TV, you may have seen a short segment on Orion Health on Wednesday morning. You can watch the clip here (10MB AVI). It relates to Orion winning a contract with the...

Continue reading "Orion and the USDA" »

Posted by Dave Bryant at 1:25 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

A few weeks ago, a child who had completed the meningoccal B vaccine program, died of meningitis. Whaleoil implies that the $200m spent vaccinately children was wasted. I think that this is rather naive. It has never been claimed that...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 5:10 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Harmeet Sooden has a bit of a rant in the Dominion Post today against the New Zealand government and press for their involvement in Afghanistan and coverage of Iraq respectively. But he appears to be no better at spin than...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 6:09 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

TVNZ has started screening series 7 of The West Wing. The first episode was last Friday night at 11pm, not the most friendly of hours. I had fortunately just got home and noticed it was about to start. Mind you,...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 4:20 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A bit of shocking story on Fair Go tonight. A guy on an invalids benefit lent his car to a friend whose car had broken down. The friend had some unpaid fines and so the Court Baliff came around to...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 6:47 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

According to the NZ Herald, Transpower is unhappy at suggestions from an independent report that it should give special treatment to sites where a failure would have a bigger impact. Specifically they are referring to the Otahuhu substation, which is...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 8:52 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It was a much improved performance from the All Blacks last night, in the first test of the Tri-Nations and Bledisloe Cup. I must admit that I thought that there was a reasonable chance that Australia would win it -...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 8:13 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

No wonder everyone seems to hate the IRD. A group of people managed to invest in a scam run by a man called Donald Rea, where (as per usual) large rates of return were promised. However, Rea simply paid them...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 12:41 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I've avoided blogging on the Kahui twins tragedy thus far but when it seems that some politicians just don't get how our justice system works, and why it works that why, I think I need to say something. What happened...

Continue reading "The right to silence and the Kahui family" »

Posted by Dave Bryant at 5:56 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Telecom has announced that they are going to separate into independent retail and wholesale operations. They seem to have released few details so far but have investigated how this has been done by both British Telecom and Telstra. This is...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 5:00 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The New Zealand government is contributing $500,000 to shutdown a Soviet-era Russian nuclear reactor, and to help create a replacement fossil fuel power plant instead. So, we have power cuts and shortages here, but instead of fixing them, we fund...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 9:49 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The All Blacks have beaten Argentina in Buenos Aires by 25-19, but it was not at all convincing. There were way too many dropped balls by the ABs - admittedly it was drizzling a little, but I would have expected...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 3:13 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Sutff reports that Wellington Zoo is hiring out its pair of cheetahs for events - obviously under controlled circumstances. A few animal rights activists are rather upset about this, claiming that the Zoo is putting money ahead of animal welfare....

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 11:53 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

From the NZ Herald: A bomb scare at Auckland University yesterday morning disrupted several examinations. Police said they received a report of an explosive device in one of the university buildings around 9.15am. A sniffer dog found a small package...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 1:27 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The All Blacks have beaten Ireland by 27-17 in the second and final test. But it was far from convincing. They had a brilliant start, and got out to a 17-0 lead early on (one try probably shouldn't have been...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 9:11 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

So there's a massive power cut in Auckland at present due to a fault in Transpower's network (probably weather related), meaning that a large part of Auckland has no power. We've just sent pretty much everyone home from work, as...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 10:55 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The sedition trial of Tim Selwyn begins tomorrow in the Auckland District Court, relating to him smashing a window of the Prime Minister's electorate office back in 2004, which was unoccupied at the time. However, this is not for the...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 8:39 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Whale Oil has come up with some brilliant pictures of Tana:...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 9:55 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

So Xtra's network was down a few weeks ago for about four days, making the internet inaccessible for all their customres (a significant portion of NZ internet subscribers) for quite a while. So they said that they would refund all...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 6:06 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

So the Crusaders have won the Super 14 final. Again (well, sort of). They bet the Hurricanes by 19-12 at Jade Stadium in Christchurch. But the final was not exactly the best game of rugby to watch - and that's...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 9:27 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The new captain of the All Blacks will be announced on Saturday - it will be a major surprise if this is not the current vice-captain, Richie McCaw.The announcement is at the Christchurch Rugby Club, so it seems unlikely to...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 7:58 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

As you probably heard, there was a tsunami warning for Gisborne for yesterday morning after an early morning earthquake near Tonga. The center in Hawaii issued a warning around 4am after the earthquake, which was of course picked up by...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 12:17 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Well, I must say I am very pleased with the package of broadband changes announced by the Minister on Wednesday afternoon. While it may still be another year before they are implemented, it will definitely provide much better competition, as...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 3:10 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

There's a suggestion in the Herald this morning to demolish the Auckland Harbour bridge. It's from the chairman of the Auckland City Council's transport committee.Well, that's one way to solve congestion problems - until everyone on the shore moves back...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 1:07 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

That's right. A carpark in central Auckland sold for $78,000.About the same price as a reasonable house in Invercargill.Fortunately I get a free car park at work.Hat Tip: David Farrar...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 3:00 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Herald has an article about Auckland Mayor Dick Hubbard and his support for tolling despite huge objections to it. He is quoted as saying: "there are times in leadership where one has to be prepared to take the people...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 12:57 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Auckland City Council has voted to do further research into tolling Auckland's roads. However, Citizen's and Ratepayers Now member Scott Milne managed to get through an amendment that would prevent any implementation of road pricing until all vehicle fuel...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 12:50 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Today is Anzac Day when we remember those New Zealanders and Australians who died at the Battle of Gallipoli in 1915 and in other conflicts. There were cermonies around the country today, and it was very moving watching the ceremony...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 12:32 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Law Commission under their new President Sir Geoffrey Palmer, has called for Truth in Sentencing, saying that the amount of parole at present (eligible after serving a third of the sentence) is too much.Sir Geoffrey said that the current...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 12:22 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Former Indian High Commissioner, Harish Dogra, is set to return to India soon according to his lawyer, and will not claim asylum in New Zealand. However, his wife and son have apparently decided to settle down in New Zealand as...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 11:22 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

As you may have heard, the Father of a girl who was being bullied at school has been found guilty of assault on the bully, and been fined $500. He grabbed the bully by the scruff of the neck, poked...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 8:12 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Well, the Indian High Commissioner has now been sacked after previously defying a recall order from the Indian Government. His successor is on his way and expects to take up the office around the middle of next week.There is now...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 1:14 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Indian High Commissioner, Harish Kumar Dogra, has been in the news quite a bit recently. He has been recalled by the Indian Foreign Ministry, but has so far refused to return home, claiming that he has been given no...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 12:24 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A man gets drunk at a bar, and tries to steal someone's cellphone, ripping their jacket pocket in the process. The (almost) victim was an off-duty police officer, who promptly arrested the would-be thief.While walking him back to the station,...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 8:47 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Lewis Holden has written an article about New Zealand's Prime Ministers. It's fairly interesting (for those actually interested in that sort of thing) and he rates them each on various characteristics....

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 3:32 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

As previously rumoured, we now have a new Governor-General, Anand Satyanand, who will take office sometime after Dame Silvia Cartwright's term ends on 4 August.I'm sure this is the cue for a rant from Lewis Holden about why the Governor-General...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 4:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We live more or less across the road from the Auckland Central Playcentre. My wife, who is currently working at home writing up her PhD, had noticed that it had quietened down recently.Maybe this is why....

Continue reading "No wonder the day-care centre has quietened down..." »

Posted by Dave Bryant at 11:31 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Herald on Sunday reports how Auckland City parking wardens now work around the clock, issuing 27,000 a year between midnight and 7am.As David Farrar points out, this is rather ridiculous. The reason for having parking regulations is ensure that...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 11:14 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Herald on Sunday has an article today about a drug house in Otara. There had been weeks of calls to the police telling them exactly where the drug house was operating. People had visited the police station to tell...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 11:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The NZ Herald has an article this morning about further rate rises in the Auckland area, all of which are well above inflation (currently running at 3.2%). The lowest increase is in Manukau (4.9%), with the highest in Franklin (9.5%)....

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 8:08 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Herald on Sunday today has an article examining problems with the scholarship exams this year (after the debacle last year). Scholarships are awarded to the top 3% of students in the exams - in the calculus exam, scholarships were...

Continue reading "An Exam Farce" »

Posted by Dave Bryant at 2:37 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

That's right - former All Black and NZ Maori player Bill Bush (1974-79) has called for the Treaty of Waitangi to be extended to rugby. He wants a 50% Maori quota in the All Blacks. In addition, he wants a...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 1:17 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Ministry of Transport has come up with a number of tolling options for Auckland to try and improve the traffic congestion situation. Some of them are fairly decent ideas, but all have potential drawbacks.However, I have two main objections...

Continue reading "Tolling in Auckland" »

Posted by Dave Bryant at 7:48 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

New Zealand has won the first test against the West Indies in Auckland. They cleaned up the last two wickets this morning fairly quickly, with Bond completing his 5 wicket bag.It ended up being a fairly exciting match to watch....

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 12:25 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Economist Intelligence Unit has just released a study claiming that a 50% increase in the broadband uptake rate within 10 years would add $7.2 billion to GDP over the long-term, and doing the same within 5 years would add...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 10:35 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The NZ Herald has a number of articles today about Sam Morgan, TradeMe, and its sale to Fairfax. One of them in particular focuses on TradeMe's so called secret - its numbers. It has more users than any of its...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 3:34 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Dame Silvia Cartright's term as Governor-General comes to an end in August, and so of course the government is currently looking at a replacement. In our system, the Governor-General is appointed by the Queen of New Zealand on the advice...

Continue reading "New Governor General Rumours" »

Posted by Dave Bryant at 9:51 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

The Libertarianz have organised a fire-breather to incinerate their census forms this evening at the Botanical Gardens in Wellington. They claim that it is a gross violation of privacy and should not be tolerated.While it may be a pain to...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 4:11 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Stuff reports about a problem with rates being written off on Maori freehold land. Freehold land cannot be sold, and so the local councils are not able to force the land to be sold to settle the debts. An estimated...

Continue reading "Freeloaders cash in on Maori land" »

Posted by Dave Bryant at 7:36 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Well done to Sam Morgan for managing to sell off TradeMe for a cool $700 million to Fairfax (of the DominionPost, The Press, Sunday Star-Times, etc.). He remains as CEO for at least another few years, but should be well...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 10:28 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Stuff reports that an Auckland Catholic Priest is attempting to prosecute CamWest to broadcasting the 'Bloody Mary' South Park episode under section 123 of the Crimes Act - the blasphemous libel section - which I didn't know even existed.Of course,...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 11:13 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The NZ Herald has a report this morning about a really dumb robber.He first robbed a bank in South Auckland in December, but didn't get much money. So he called the bank manager, identified himself, and complained that he didn't...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 10:57 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

As many have heard, the New Zealand Warriors rugby league franchise has been fined over $400,000 and had 4 competition points deducted due to salary cap breaches over the past few seasons (of over $1 million).The board and owners are...

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Posted by Dave Bryant at 10:12 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Internet NZ has now released its submission to the minister on Reforming the Telecommunications Framework, and the need for local loop unbundling. It looks pretty good - hopefully cabinet will not be scared off this time by Telecom and will...

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