Posted on 02/13/2005 3:29:14 AM PST by CfromNZ
From the NZ Herald :
12.02.05 by Brian Fallow In the strongest job market for a generation, the unemployment rate has fallen to 3.6 per cent, the lowest among developed countries and the lowest since comparable records began 19 years ago. In the last three months of 2004 the economy created 33,000 new jobs. Over the year, 87,000 jobs were created, Statistics New Zealand reported yesterday. The number of people in work increased 4.4 per cent last year, at the same time as the net inflow of migrants dwindled and growth in the population slowed accordingly. That is the strongest jobs growth for 10 years and its benefits are being felt by sectors of the community which sometimes struggle to find employment - people over 55, the long-term unemployed, women and Maori, all of whose employment statistics have improved. In the latest quarter, employment jumped by 1.6 per cent, a record. The increases were strongest in the service sectors - health, education and business and financial services. The number of unemployed fell to 76,000, down from 79,000 in September and 94,000 a year ago. But most of the increase in employment came from people previously considered not in the labour force. To count as a member of the labour force you have to be employed or available for work and actively seeking it. Most of the increase in employment in the December quarter was among people under 24 and over 55. "It would appear that more so than normal employers have turned to holidaying students to fill the gap between labour supply and demand," said Westpac economist Donna Purdue. The problem is that when the academic year resumes that source of workers will reduce again. Most of the growth in the latest quarter was in part-time jobs, a break from the pattern of previous quarters. That may be more a matter of necessity than choice from an employer's point of view. ANZ chief economist Dr John McDermott said: "The intensity with which employers are searching for labour is very strong. "We see that in the high levels of job ads. And there is a lot of evidence that employers are thinking about alternatives like job sharing. "There are a lot of experienced and qualified women out there who can't work full-time because of other commitments." Business New Zealand chief executive Phil O'Reilly and Employers and Manufacturers Association chief executive Alasdair Thompson agreed that some of the increase in part-time employment reflected employers becoming more flexible in their requirements in the face of such a tight market. Council of Trade Unions president Ross Wilson said it was time to focus on improving the quality of the workforce by "upskilling" and investment in training. Auckland's unemployment rate is below the national average at 3.3 per cent. Coming on top of evidence of a second wind in the housing market, yesterday's figures increase the risk of another round of interest rate rises, but most economists think Reserve Bank Governor Dr Alan Bollard will keep his nerve and leave rates on hold. The job figures are reflected in the advertising pages of the Herald, whose sales director, Ken Leeming, said yesterday that the traditional post-Christmas settling-down period did not occur this year. "It's the biggest it has been in recent history, if not all history," he said of the thousands of jobs advertised in the newspaper.
,,, respect the cold face of diversity Chris - I see things a little differently.
Politics is an area where you can never please everyone. Majority rules and all that. All that we're seeing at present is Hell'n trying valiantly to retain composure and an air of confidence as Brash's crowd gain in the polls. She's going to have to oil some wheels with the Greens and Peter Dunne before September and she knows it. I bet there will be some palms greased like Derek Fox's was when he got too mouthy - oops, slide him into boss of Maori broadcasting! Remember that?
Anyway, back on track. Look at the interest rates, the amount of tax we're paying, the government's $NZ7,4b surplus and the general cost of living and tell me why 450+/- Kiwis a week are going to Aussie, not to return. Look at the immigration projections of 8,000 this year and tell me why people aren't jumping the fences to get in. Winston Peters is just fine with that, but what will happen with wage demands as skilled labour shortages worsen and immigration isn't an avenue we can rely on? Klark and Mikeee Cullen have quite a lot to juggle. There's a lot of hope pinned on this upcoming budget too - we know there's no tax cuts, so it's going to get harder because we can't have inflation generated from increased pay. Interesting times are ahead.
As for the Treaty, the living document, Don Brash could be right... it's really only serving lawyers well.
You're interested in opinions? That's great! Be contentious, don't keep quiet. Let us know what you're thinking. I'm interested in what you have to say, but don't worry about sticking up for Hell'n, she's man enough to look after herself.
I'm glad we agree that Helen Clark is a superior politician to Don Brash, and that she handled Derek Fox with particular style ;) (altough I doubt he will ever shut up totally) And by joining Freerepublic.com I am most certainly respecting that cold face. Icy, icy cold. I want a government that takes care of the needs of its citizens, and I do not believe at all that National can.
Try telling Ngai Tahu that the treaty benefits only lawyers! It is legal document signed less than 200 years ago that was instrumental is setting up NZ as a state. The US constitution is older, and from what I can see round here, held in considerably higher esteem than the Treaty of Waitangi. Granted, it has been amended, but amended in keeping with the original spirit of the constitution (as I understand it). That is what we need, we need to fully recognise tangata whenua as being literally that,and work forward from there. This doesn't mean that Tame Iti gets an independent Tuhoe state, it doesn't mean you can't go down to the beach, it doesn't mean that kids can't play with playdough anymore (how well would that go down here!). It means that Maori get treated more as partners with the crown isntead of as an eternal opposition. I think that the phrase 'I'm Pakeha because I live in a Maori country' sums it up for me. We need to grow up, together, and the treaty is the best place to start, because we have to finish its processes to move forward.
and on the subject of sticking up for myself, how long would I last if I decided to wax lyrical on my opinions of Gitmo , Intl. Crim Court etc? I suspect about 0.squat seconds. I have seen enough people literally damned and read enough pathetic death threats to those with opposing views to bother. Honestly, I'm a left-leaning, pro-choice , pro-drug liberalisation , pro-UN and decidely anti-bush person. Is there any point in me telling freerepublic that?
,,, that's way left of the "left leaning" disclosure you started out with on this thread. See, socialists have a basic honesty problem and you're an example right here! Did I give you confidence in something I said? LOL!!
Now, the preciuos Treaty... New Zealand wasn't set up as a State. It was defined as a Dominion in 1910 and it's really stayed as that, with less and less dependence on Blighty, most notably after England joined the EEC and stopped ordering our butter and lamb in the quantities we enjoyed.
The Maoris would prefer we didn't know about the Morioris, but that issue conveniently aside, it has to be acknowledged that they've done rather well as a people who faced the colonial steamroller. We're in a constant state of finding ourselves and the guilt process is hanging over us under this government which maintains a bi-cultural, racial favouritism approach. There's no mileage in that. New Zealand has been built from the efforts of Maori, English, Chinese, Samoan and several other Pacific and European extractions. Would it be easier to calculate a non-government funded buyout rate for interested Maoris so they can buy the greater population out? I'd move to Aussie gladly on that basis.
Well, as a politically very conservative New Zealander and a migrant to this country, let me ask if you agree with the three pillars of conservatism (trust me, even 85% of thsoe described as conservative wobble on one or more of these points):
1) That a free market economic system is a better system than one that stresses equality by redistributive tax rates, labour regulations, and ownership of industries of "public interests" in public hands?
2) That on balance, the West has done more good than ill to the whole world, and there is nothing wrong to defend the West's interests in front of the non-Western world, even to the point of using military force?
3) That a society's legislations should be founded on the Judeo-Christian moral values because they are right?
The New Zealanders you meet on this boards are often moderates by US standards. I only know isolated examples of Kiwis that are true-blue conservatives who also aren't of the Pat Buchanan paleocon types.
Gordon King (aka NZPundit) is one example:
http://www.nzpundit.com
Gordon is in fact, one of the few examples of real conservatives here.
Leftists don't last long on this site. On average they spend about 40 days here probably in a way resembling a test of conservative temptation, according to them (they like to view themselves as Jesus though of course the true Son of God is not amused by this leftist arrogance). Then they move on to greener pastures and declare themselves victory that since they "can't win over us unsalvagable right-wing kooks" they are "saving efforts" to something more worthwhile.
1) Disagree
2) I'm wobbling. In terms of our progress as a species, the West has been instrumental in the recent rush of technology since the Industrial Revolution, we (to be more accurate - Americans) have been to the moon , and now countries of the West are in their own individual and varying ways trying to spread freedom and democracy. However, if the West's current attackers ideas were born out of institutionalised hatred and mistrust toward the west, then while military action is justified in protecting sovereign nations from attack, no amount of warfare will remove those feelings. Instead of speaking in terms of the West having to barricade the rest of the world's interests out, perhaps we could talk about how cooperation might be achieved in the future, so that human beings can at least live through to the end of this century. We keep getting better at killing each other and more willing to do it. Soooo, bottom line, if someone hits you, you hit him hard enough that he can't or won't hit you back. A military response is justified when violent action is taken on a sovereign nation. But I can't say I support the West protecting its collective interests to the detriment of the rest of the world
3) No. One may believe those values are right, when others do not. Both may be wrong, or there may be no correct answer. I believe that several significant civilisations were founded on moral values other than Judeo-Christian. As for a modern society, I believe that the focus should be on the application of those values (which are mirrored in many other faiths) rather than their enshrinement in constitution and law, especially as religious groups mix more now in large, modern cities.
So no , no , no basically. Sorry for the extended reply, but your questions were broad.
Congratulations, I will perhaps see you in the Greens election campaigns later this year. As for me, well, we differ on everything and I'm planning to support Act.
I will continue to read Freerepublic for news, it is a hugely useful resource. Maybe I will quit at posting after a while, this is a site for conservatives after all, and i am not one. Please don't flatter yourself, I am in no way testing myself and am not in the practice of spending much time trying to talk round those on the right. If asked my views I'll give them and apart from that , I believe I said it all in my first post .
cheers
See ya later, may you realize the real tide of history. ;-)
Re: But I can't say I support the West protecting its collective interests to the detriment of the rest of the world
How are Western ideas detrimental to the rest of the world? The standard of living has increased markedly everywhere that countries have joined the modern economic system.
Welcome Chris ~ we like paragraphs. :)
Go get 'em, shaggy!!
,,, good move.
,,, all I've really had from Chris so far is a telling off for not using correct names for people and the substance of the big paragraph at the top. Look thru the posts and he's happily convinced I've agreed to everything he's said. LOL!!!
Socialists only hear/see/read what they want to hear/see/read.
Then they rearrange it to fit their lunatic left agenda. :):)
15 February 2005
By TRACY WATKINS and SOPHIE NEVILLE
The Government wanted hundreds of NCEA scholarship papers re-marked – only to discover that Qualifications Authority officials had returned them all without keeping copies even as serious problems began to emerge.
As Government fury over the NCEA debacle mounts, Prime Minister Helen Clark yesterday joined those questioning the credibility of the scholarship exam, in which hundreds of students were robbed of elite marks – and stopped just short of labelling authority staff incompetent.
"I won't use that word at this stage...but I think students who compete at the top level are entitled to know they are sitting an exam which is credible and has a proper marking system and I'm not satisfied that occurred."
She also hinted that scrapping the scholarship component of seventh form NCEA might be one option. "People might want to ask, `Do you have a separate scholarship exam on top of (seventh form NCEA)?' Teachers are generally teaching to NCEA. Scholarship has been something quite different."
Miss Clark moved to distance the Government and education ministers from the NCEA fallout, saying they were not informed till "quite some time" after it should have become apparent there was a problem.
"My first reaction when I heard of the wide range (of results) was that the papers should be called back in, re-marked and moderated. When I heard that the papers had all been sent back to the students and no copies kept, that was not a practical option...It is not acceptable."
The Government has since announced an extra "distinction certificate" for those students affected.
But Miss Clark made it clear she considered the affair to have been bungled. "It means finding out what went on, why, who knew, why action wasn't taken and getting to the bottom of it."
She defended the integrity of the rest of the NCEA.
But schools are sounding a warning over interim exam results. Information obtained by The Dominion Post shows national pass rates in some subjects have dropped by more than 20 per cent from 2003.
* The Government has extended by a week the deadline for papers to be returned by scholarship students who want their marks reviewed. The original deadline was today.
A Christchurch woman bashed unconscious by a prisoner on home detention plans to seek compensation from the Government for the life-altering injuries she suffered.
Carole Marfell believes the Government should compensate her because she was attacked by a serving prisoner who had escaped from his State-funded home detention facility.
The incident has again cast doubt on the merits of the home detention scheme where some prisoners are allowed to serve their sentence at home rather than behind bars.
"I'm just devastated. This shouldn't have happened," Ms Marfell said yesterday.
Ms Marfell's attacker, Michael Desmond Coles, 24, was jailed for two years and seven months on Friday for the violent robbery which occurred in September last year.
The court was told Coles sat waiting for a victim at an automatic teller machine (ATM) in Eastgate Mall then approached Ms Marfell from behind and punched her to the ground. He took the $80 she had just withdrawn and fled to a waiting vehicle.
Coles had absconded from a residential treatment programme and reoffended the next day after using alcohol and drugs. He admitted the robbery, taking a car and two counts of driving while disqualified - all just six weeks after he was released from prison on home detention.
Ms Marfell, an invalid beneficiary, was left with a broken elbow, concussion and a cervical spine disorder.
The 33-year-old said she was horrified to find out at Coles' sentencing that he should have been under home arrest.
"If the people paid by the government had done their job this wouldn't have happened to me," she said. "The home detention system is a joke. It should be outlawed. Look at what happened to me - it just doesn't work."
Sensible Sentencing Trust spokesman Garth McVicar labelled home detention a "disastrous social experiment" and said the attack on Marfell made a mockery of the scheme.
"Violent criminals and sex offenders should never be considered for home detention, the safety of the community and law-abiding citizens must be the utmost priority. These thugs had a choice and they made it, they should now be held accountable and suffer the consequences," Mr McVicar said. Coles was originally jailed for stealing a car and driving drunk through an intersection at 190kmh while fleeing police.
Ms Marfell told the Christchurch District Court the brazen afternoon attack had knocked her confidence as well, leaving her with partial agoraphobia, on anti-depressant medication, and suffering a relapse of chronic fatigue syndrome.
"I doubt that I will ever be free from this," she said. She suffered extreme pain from a spinal condition aggravated by the fall to the ground, and was still a day patient at Burwood Hospital.
Lawyer Richard McGuire said Coles could only offer the explanation he was affected by drugs taken the night before, which might have been contaminated. He felt very sorry for the consequences to the victim, and offered reparation.
The Coles assault is the latest in a string of incidents that have bought home detention under the microscope. Two weeks ago, convicted drug dealer and home detainee Tania Breitmeyer was allowed to fly unsupervised to Christchurch from Wellington without an escort or anklet monitor.
In January, convicted kidnapper and serial escaper Sean Broderick walked away from his residential prison wearing his ankle monitor.
Last year, conman Brian Te Huia went on the run for four months, wearing his monitor, stealing wallets and credit cards.
In April 2003, former Nomad gang member Maunu Te Toko Nichol son died of a methadone overdose after being released on home detention from serving seven years for manslaughter.
The Department of Corrections and Minis try of Justice have already begun an informal review of the home detention scheme, which was first introduced in 1993.
One of the things the review will consider is whether home detention should be handed out as a stand-alone sentence rather than as an alternative to jail.
National justice spokesman Tony Ryall said the Coles incident highlighted yet more problems with the controversial home detention scheme.
"When the scheme was first brought in, it was for low level offenders. Now rapists can get early release. It's ridiculous."
Ha! You couldn't pay me a million dollars to vote Green. We'd all have to ride bicycles and wear sackcloth. I suspect I will probably vote Labour until I pop my clogs. Unless, and this'll really crack you up, Jim Anderton forms a decent alternative (my first ever vote was Alliance).
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