NZ's Incumbent Politicians Hell-bent on Encumbrance

The Commerce Commission has ruled that wholesale broadband prices should be cheaper. Such a move would go some way in bringing our pricing closer in line with other OECD countries. Our Government has acted against the Commission's ruling and has gone against the 2011 Amendments to the Telecommunications Act which it passed into law.

John Key has stated that overriding the Commission is needed to protect Chorus's profit margins and its ability to deliver broadband and the UltraFast Broadband rollout. It would seem Chorus's profit margins have been hamstringing the development of NZ's internet to a larger extent than already thought.

Insiders from Chorus subsidiary contractors have informed the Pirate Party that there has been massive issues with the UltraFast Broadband rollout with Chorus underpaying regional contracted businesses allowing them not enough time to complete jobs and payments being based on minimal possible time to complete jobs. Technicians are having issues and some regional contractors are finding the UFB contract is not the golden goose it once seemed.

The problems with Chorus, the UFB rollout and the Government's handling of the project from tender to today seem to be systemic and nothing looks set to change in the near future as the UFB rollout continues to drag on. From something the National Party campaigned on 5 years ago, to something which many kiwis still have no access to today, it is such shame that a core infrastructure project like this could have been handled so badly. A lot of NZ'ers are not aware of the benefits of UFB and the Government has done little to educate them on the importance of the uptake of the service.

Pirate Party President Daniel Bertinshaw said today "As internet users in NZ we have been paying too much for too little for far too long and the ruling by the Commission recognised that. To put the profits of a private company before the citizens and other businesses of NZ seems short sighted and will have far reaching adverse effects on the way we use the internet and peoples capacity to do so."

It is not without sadness that the Pirate Party of New Zealand looks at the currently elected MP's of this fair country and wonders how the people could not be served better by someone that knew what they were doing and had the peoples best interests at heart. To the Internet! Supporters of this message spread the word, it's time for someone who knows what they're doing!

The Pirate Party of New Zealand

ENDS

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Gordon Campbell: On Failures Of Care For Those With Mental Disabilities

Hard to imagine a more disturbing insight into the treatment of the vulnerable than the Health Ministry report on Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau. The Ministry has found that the country’s only kaupapa Maori intellectual disability residential care provider has been “seriously dysfunctional.”

The ministry says the business has failed to recruit and retain quality staff – and says the kaimahi (caregivers) that have been employed are seriously unsuitable for the job, lacking basic knowledge. But Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau doesn’t get all the blame. The report says there’s a significant gap under disability laws to ensure there’s oversight by qualified clinical professionals. More>>