The incompetent Leader of the Opposition, Simon "Bill" English is saying goodbye to the New Zealand Parliament. Finally, we are free of this man who has insisted for so long everyone listen to him. He offered nothing, delivered nothing and led his party to two staggering defeats; the first just about destroyed his party and the second was a magnificent effort in clutching defeat from the jaws of victory.
For me though, with English it was all about the poor people and how much he hated them. Every chance he got he kicked them. It's hard to know why he was like that but he did a lot of social damage to his country. Personally I don't trust a man with the first name Simon, using a name like Bill. What's up with that? And then there was his faux Southland accent.
We can all let out a collective sigh of relief. He's gone, finally.
Showing posts with label Bill English. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bill English. Show all posts
February 13, 2018
June 26, 2017
That Weak New Zealand Prime Minister
The events over the last few days illustrate what I've been saying for a long time, the New Zealand Prime Minister Simon "Bill" English is weak. He can't even get his story straight over the Todd Barclay matter. Who cares about what Todd Barclay did? No-one is the answer, but it does matter that the PM lacks a spine and can't stand straight. Do we have to put up with him for another three years? Please National Party caucus, overthrow him and let's move on.
June 21, 2017
Pike River Latest
The latest video footage from inside the Pike River mine is interesting to say the least. There is at least one wooden pallet still intact which means the temperatures inside the mine weren't that hot after all. It's quite likely there are bodies down the mine. There really is no reason for the continued refusals to enter the mine.
Has there been a cover up? It certainly looks that way but I don't see what exactly is being covered up.
The very weak and ineffectual New Zealand Prime Minister Simon "Bill" English should finally do something. New information and all that. But then with English's performance this past week regarding the Todd Barclay matter, I wouldn't be holding my breath.
Has there been a cover up? It certainly looks that way but I don't see what exactly is being covered up.
The very weak and ineffectual New Zealand Prime Minister Simon "Bill" English should finally do something. New information and all that. But then with English's performance this past week regarding the Todd Barclay matter, I wouldn't be holding my breath.
February 28, 2017
Bill English and Employment Drug Testing
Once again we see why Bill English is unfit to lead New Zealand. He thinks workers are lazy and drug addicted. >>See Labour's reaction here<< On top of that, he doesn't even know what the law is on drug testing. Here's a guide from the government he leads:
https://www.employment.govt.nz/workplace-policies/tests-and-checks/drugs-alcohol-and-work/
It is the employers responsibility to deliver a safe workplace, and it is better to work on prevention rather than trying to manage the effects of drugs and alcohol. This is the official line.
What do employers need not do? They do not have to test prospective employees nor do they have to randomly test all employees. They cannot even target an individual for a test if that is not provided for in their employment agreement. I score the Prime Minister a D- on this effort. Not only is he a bigot, he's uninformed and stupid as well.
https://www.employment.govt.nz/workplace-policies/tests-and-checks/drugs-alcohol-and-work/
It is the employers responsibility to deliver a safe workplace, and it is better to work on prevention rather than trying to manage the effects of drugs and alcohol. This is the official line.
What do employers need not do? They do not have to test prospective employees nor do they have to randomly test all employees. They cannot even target an individual for a test if that is not provided for in their employment agreement. I score the Prime Minister a D- on this effort. Not only is he a bigot, he's uninformed and stupid as well.
February 21, 2017
Adrian Orr is worth it
Adrian Orr is the CEO of the New Zealand Super Fund. It is colloquially referred to as the Cullen Fund, so named after the Minister of Finance Michael Cullen who established it. The fund was set up to help offset the escalating cost of retirement faced by the New Zealand government. The baby boomers are starting to retire in increasingly large numbers and everyone in NZ is entitled to an income from the age of 65. The entitlement is not means tested. Baby boomers are generally considered those born after the Second World War, up to about 1966. They comprise a bubble or boom in population and all of them qualify for this universal superannuation.
The story behind the fund is that it has been remarkably well managed. Adrian Orr is the latest Chief Executive Officer and he has performed outstandingly. Through GFC's and various global meltdowns that have wiped out some economies and seen large financial institutions destroyed, the 'Cullen Fund' has returned 9.67% growth.
Its performance is one of the better out there and Adrian Orr is to be commended. But instead what we see is the Cullen Fund and Orr becoming a political football. Criticism has been vocal from the the current and likely temporary Prime Minister, Bill English, who is notable for having done nothing apart from be a professional politician and faux Southlander. The criticism is backed by the State Services Commission who oversee state sector salaries. They're a bunch of time-serving bureaucrats who struggle to balance their own cheque books, let alone juggle the complexities of the likes of the Cullen Fund.
Their complaint is that Adrian Orr earns too much and that the board that supports him agrees with what he is paid. Shock, horror, a CEO that does his job superbly and a board that knows he does. The critics know nothing about money and so should, to put it bluntly, shut up and let them get on with it.
But wait there's more; the Prime Minister and his lackeys have threatened to not re-appoint the board. I presume this is intended to bring the board into line and reduce or throttle Mr Orr's salary. And why would anyone want that? Oh wait, would it be jealousy, he's good at what he does, and proves it year in year out.
The downside is Orr takes off to deliver his skills to some other country or corporate, and NZ sits there and the Cullen Fund loses money. People like Mr Orr don't come cheap. If they do then they're no good. You pay handsomely to get the job done right. Orr is probably worth twice what he's getting, shh, don't tell him, he seems to like living in NZ.
Don't vote for National this election. NZ has to get rid of this Bill English fool, he's going to break the country. That means NZ is going to end up broke with him at the helm. Yes I know he was Minister of Finance but he had John Key looking over his shoulder, his stupidity was reined in then.
I got the idea to comment on this matter yesterday. I had two brake pads on the rear of the Subaru replaced by a man who comes to your house or workplace to do the job in twenty minutes. He has a successful business and he's run off his feet doing brake jobs all over town. He's had two brake businesses previously and both have done well, but for the mobile service he got the idea from Australia when he was there. Talking to this chap about things (such as would you trust your car to one of the franchise car mechanic outfits from Australia (never) and what were the most reliable cars - Subaru, they are actually made in Japan), I was able to work out what he made on his own with his one van. About $200,000 a year. Not bad eh, 10 to 12 hour days but few overheads. Are you seeing where I'm going with this?
That's right, my brake repair chap makes money and do I begrudge him that? Hell no, he's not the most expensive, nor is he the cheapest, he just has the very pleasing habit of doing the job right. So why does the Prime Minister complain about someone competent like Adrian Orr doing the job right and making money doing it? Hasn't Orr, like my brake repairer, earned the rewards? Well yes he has, now Bill English, grow up and remove yourself from meddling in things you don't understand. There's a job of work to be done by people who know what they're doing.
The story behind the fund is that it has been remarkably well managed. Adrian Orr is the latest Chief Executive Officer and he has performed outstandingly. Through GFC's and various global meltdowns that have wiped out some economies and seen large financial institutions destroyed, the 'Cullen Fund' has returned 9.67% growth.
Its performance is one of the better out there and Adrian Orr is to be commended. But instead what we see is the Cullen Fund and Orr becoming a political football. Criticism has been vocal from the the current and likely temporary Prime Minister, Bill English, who is notable for having done nothing apart from be a professional politician and faux Southlander. The criticism is backed by the State Services Commission who oversee state sector salaries. They're a bunch of time-serving bureaucrats who struggle to balance their own cheque books, let alone juggle the complexities of the likes of the Cullen Fund.
Their complaint is that Adrian Orr earns too much and that the board that supports him agrees with what he is paid. Shock, horror, a CEO that does his job superbly and a board that knows he does. The critics know nothing about money and so should, to put it bluntly, shut up and let them get on with it.
But wait there's more; the Prime Minister and his lackeys have threatened to not re-appoint the board. I presume this is intended to bring the board into line and reduce or throttle Mr Orr's salary. And why would anyone want that? Oh wait, would it be jealousy, he's good at what he does, and proves it year in year out.
The downside is Orr takes off to deliver his skills to some other country or corporate, and NZ sits there and the Cullen Fund loses money. People like Mr Orr don't come cheap. If they do then they're no good. You pay handsomely to get the job done right. Orr is probably worth twice what he's getting, shh, don't tell him, he seems to like living in NZ.
Don't vote for National this election. NZ has to get rid of this Bill English fool, he's going to break the country. That means NZ is going to end up broke with him at the helm. Yes I know he was Minister of Finance but he had John Key looking over his shoulder, his stupidity was reined in then.
I got the idea to comment on this matter yesterday. I had two brake pads on the rear of the Subaru replaced by a man who comes to your house or workplace to do the job in twenty minutes. He has a successful business and he's run off his feet doing brake jobs all over town. He's had two brake businesses previously and both have done well, but for the mobile service he got the idea from Australia when he was there. Talking to this chap about things (such as would you trust your car to one of the franchise car mechanic outfits from Australia (never) and what were the most reliable cars - Subaru, they are actually made in Japan), I was able to work out what he made on his own with his one van. About $200,000 a year. Not bad eh, 10 to 12 hour days but few overheads. Are you seeing where I'm going with this?
That's right, my brake repair chap makes money and do I begrudge him that? Hell no, he's not the most expensive, nor is he the cheapest, he just has the very pleasing habit of doing the job right. So why does the Prime Minister complain about someone competent like Adrian Orr doing the job right and making money doing it? Hasn't Orr, like my brake repairer, earned the rewards? Well yes he has, now Bill English, grow up and remove yourself from meddling in things you don't understand. There's a job of work to be done by people who know what they're doing.
December 25, 2016
Israel recalls ambassador from New Zealand
Background to the issue:
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/12/passes-resolution-israeli-settlements-161223192709807.html
The UN Security Council has voted in favour of a resolution demanding the halt of settlement activity by Israel on occupied Palestinian territory with the United States notably abstaining.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11772739
The Israeli Government has recalled its ambassador from New Zealand after the UN Security Council passed a resolution condemning Israel's continued settlements.
New Zealand co-sponsored the resolution, which said the settlements violate international law and undermine a two-state solution in Israel's conflict with Palestine.
My thoughts, good on you New Zealand, about time something was done. The UN, what a bunch of time serving bureaucrats, they've finally passed a resolution that amounts to something.
I wonder how NZ's Prime Minister is going to handle the fall-out? This will be his first test in international diplomacy. Not bean counting now there Bill.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/12/passes-resolution-israeli-settlements-161223192709807.html
The UN Security Council has voted in favour of a resolution demanding the halt of settlement activity by Israel on occupied Palestinian territory with the United States notably abstaining.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11772739
The Israeli Government has recalled its ambassador from New Zealand after the UN Security Council passed a resolution condemning Israel's continued settlements.
New Zealand co-sponsored the resolution, which said the settlements violate international law and undermine a two-state solution in Israel's conflict with Palestine.
My thoughts, good on you New Zealand, about time something was done. The UN, what a bunch of time serving bureaucrats, they've finally passed a resolution that amounts to something.
I wonder how NZ's Prime Minister is going to handle the fall-out? This will be his first test in international diplomacy. Not bean counting now there Bill.
December 18, 2016
Bill English: Housing Denier
It didn't take long for the incompetence to emerge after John Key resigned as Prime Minister. The new PM, Bill English, has a bee under his bonnet about housing. He wants to sell off the state housing stock to private investors, a staggeringly stupid idea. New Zealand can be proud of its past policies which have seen affordable housing built by the government. Whole suburbs such as Naenae, Wainuiomata, and Upper Hutt were built by the state (or the greater part of them) from one end of the country to the other.
The way they used to do these suburbs, was on one side of the street they'd build State Advances housing, these were houses the occupier would own, the money being lent by the government through State Advances (later becoming the Housing Corp) on favourable terms. Then the other side of the street were state rentals at a reasonable rate. They did it this way to mix the areas up with tenants and owners, they didn't want to create ghettos.
You could always tell which houses were rentals as they never had a garage. The state helps out and houses people, it doesn't provide a place for them to park their car, if needing state assistance then they should be taking the bus or train, ride a bicycle or use Shanks's pony.
On the side of the street that was State Advances, they could have a garage and houses could be altered at the design stage. I have a story about this, to give the reader an idea of what the pace of development was like. A few years ago the son of the state architect in charge of Wellington rang me to discuss things and in this conversation it came up that my uncle was one of the builders contracted to build the state houses in Lower Hutt. He said my uncle was building houses so fast his architect father asked him to slow down, he was building houses so fast they couldn't produce the plans quick enough.
Now fast forward to today, few state houses are being built and we have a PM who not only wants to sell those state houses off, but in his Cabinet line-up just announced he's scrapped the title of Minister of Housing. This is nothing short of outrageous and all New Zealand should be up in arms.
Quite why English hates state houses is a mystery. Does this go back to when he was young and denied housing because someone more needy got in first? He lives in a state house himself of course, with his many kids. Yes, he's a total hypocrite.
This will just be the start, Bill English with his faux Southland accent (note he's dropping it lately) and born to rule ways must be defeated at the box office, he's nothing but a menace.
December 16, 2016
Kaikoura Earthquake: Sate Highway 1 Repairs
It's been announced that the road from Christchurch to Kaikoura will be open soon, so it will be possible to drive to Kaikoura without having to go the inland route. That's fine, but why has there been no work on the massive slips north of Kaikoura?
The locals are fuming and justifiably so: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11767842
You know what I think has been going on in the background? Figuring out whether they'll even bother with it. That's right, they were thinking about closing SH1 north of Kaikoura and the rail line as well, maybe even closing all rail in the South Island.
C'mon people, this is a bunch of bean counters running the country, they've run the defence force into the ground, why would they not want to do that to the South Island as well?
I resent Gerry Brownlee resented deeply. Get off your lard arse Gerry and get diggers working. Is it that simple? Well it is actually, there are millions of tonnes to move and no time like the present to start, the job won't finish itself.
They say the job north of Kaikoura will take a year. My calculation says two years, and I've done a lot of earthmoving, so two years likely, possibly three or four if things go wrong, like major bank stabilisation being needed.
Kaikoura farmers and contractors, word of advice, scream your tits off. Demand action. They're the National party right? That's the farmers party, right? Little Bill English pretends to be a Southland farmer, they should be looking after you. Well wise up Kaikoura, they're only interested in the Auckland party vote, not the farmers, and English isn't a farmer, he'd struggle to turn a tractor on.
The locals are fuming and justifiably so: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11767842
You know what I think has been going on in the background? Figuring out whether they'll even bother with it. That's right, they were thinking about closing SH1 north of Kaikoura and the rail line as well, maybe even closing all rail in the South Island.
C'mon people, this is a bunch of bean counters running the country, they've run the defence force into the ground, why would they not want to do that to the South Island as well?
I resent Gerry Brownlee resented deeply. Get off your lard arse Gerry and get diggers working. Is it that simple? Well it is actually, there are millions of tonnes to move and no time like the present to start, the job won't finish itself.
They say the job north of Kaikoura will take a year. My calculation says two years, and I've done a lot of earthmoving, so two years likely, possibly three or four if things go wrong, like major bank stabilisation being needed.
Kaikoura farmers and contractors, word of advice, scream your tits off. Demand action. They're the National party right? That's the farmers party, right? Little Bill English pretends to be a Southland farmer, they should be looking after you. Well wise up Kaikoura, they're only interested in the Auckland party vote, not the farmers, and English isn't a farmer, he'd struggle to turn a tractor on.
December 06, 2016
John Key Success or Failure?
I believe history will not be that kind to John Key, New Zealand's now retired Prime Minister. When he came into office he had a lot of potential, the previous nine years had been competently led by Helen Clark but her Labour party reign had been typified by Nanny state trying to control Kiwis everyday lives.
John Key promised to reverse that and give Kiwis their lives back. He failed to do it. About the only thing I can recall him doing to stop this creeping intrusiveness was his National party let us have our incandescent light bulbs back. That's about it.
National promised a lot but delivered very little. They were going to get all school children into sport, this was a top priority they said. What happened to that idea? It sank.
Soon after taking office, Key made speeches up and down the country about unleashing NZ's mining potential. They surveyed the country for rare earth elements, it was all go. Then the Pike River mine disaster happened and Key became jumpy, he was like a possum caught in the headlights. So mining was now off the agenda.
Then we had the GFC. He's credited with doing something for NZ there but the reality is the GFC did not impact Kiwiland all that much. So on that score, Key gets a free pass.
Then the earthquakes happened, starting in September 2010. All of a sudden real leadership was needed and Key did not seem to warm to the task. The mayor of Christchurch stood up, as did Gerry Brownlee Minister for earthquake recovery and Roger Sutton, most importantly Roger Sutton who headed CERA, the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority. When it suited the government, they unceremoniously dumped Sutton in what can only be described as an appalling act of betrayal.
Don't forget Key has blood on his hands over Allan Hubbard, the highly reputable, honest businessman, and tireless benefactor who was put into statutory administration by Key's toady, Bill English. Hubbard was an old man forced to defend himself and he died in a car crash while returning to Timaru after seeing his lawyer in Dunedin. The only way to describe this shameful matter is he was treated shabbily. Scales Corp was one of his companies and it is now listed on the NZX in some nightmare scenario.
Then just to confirm how selfish John Key is he's doing a runner before the hard work on rebuilding Kaikoura and the main trunk rail line and State Highway 1 begins. Key is all about window dressing, he can't face Kaikoura as he must be running out of mugs to do his work for him.
Under John Key, New Zealand continued to drift and it's worse off now than when he took over. He's running away, and that has to be considered failure.
John Key promised to reverse that and give Kiwis their lives back. He failed to do it. About the only thing I can recall him doing to stop this creeping intrusiveness was his National party let us have our incandescent light bulbs back. That's about it.
National promised a lot but delivered very little. They were going to get all school children into sport, this was a top priority they said. What happened to that idea? It sank.
Soon after taking office, Key made speeches up and down the country about unleashing NZ's mining potential. They surveyed the country for rare earth elements, it was all go. Then the Pike River mine disaster happened and Key became jumpy, he was like a possum caught in the headlights. So mining was now off the agenda.
Then we had the GFC. He's credited with doing something for NZ there but the reality is the GFC did not impact Kiwiland all that much. So on that score, Key gets a free pass.
Then the earthquakes happened, starting in September 2010. All of a sudden real leadership was needed and Key did not seem to warm to the task. The mayor of Christchurch stood up, as did Gerry Brownlee Minister for earthquake recovery and Roger Sutton, most importantly Roger Sutton who headed CERA, the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority. When it suited the government, they unceremoniously dumped Sutton in what can only be described as an appalling act of betrayal.
Don't forget Key has blood on his hands over Allan Hubbard, the highly reputable, honest businessman, and tireless benefactor who was put into statutory administration by Key's toady, Bill English. Hubbard was an old man forced to defend himself and he died in a car crash while returning to Timaru after seeing his lawyer in Dunedin. The only way to describe this shameful matter is he was treated shabbily. Scales Corp was one of his companies and it is now listed on the NZX in some nightmare scenario.
Then just to confirm how selfish John Key is he's doing a runner before the hard work on rebuilding Kaikoura and the main trunk rail line and State Highway 1 begins. Key is all about window dressing, he can't face Kaikoura as he must be running out of mugs to do his work for him.
Under John Key, New Zealand continued to drift and it's worse off now than when he took over. He's running away, and that has to be considered failure.