April 8 2005

The sisterhood unmasked

John Tamihere (a former Labour Cabinet member) in a frank and hard hitting review has said that he despises many of his colleagues and Labour’s union and gay sectors, resents the influence of women in the party and suggests that Labour dupes its coalition colleagues in backing laws He is not prepared to recant from those views.

In a comment on the Labour Caucus he said “in this outfit it is all rosy on the outside, not the inside”.

His views shatter the image of unity that Prime Minister Clark has determinedly fostered in the build-up to the election and the party’s feel-good effects from its weekend conference.

Prince Rainer dies

Monaco’s Prince Rainer died on 6 April 2005. He was one of the worlds longest reining monarchs.

The principality is the second smallest country in the world and covers an area of two square kilometres. The smallest country is the Vatican.

The history of Monaco began in 1297 when Francois Grimaldi, a pirate, sneaked into a Genoese-controlled fortress on the Rock of Monaco by disguising himself as a monk. He let in his soldiers and quickly gained control of the territory by slaughtering its inhabitants. The House of Grimaldi has continued from that date.

The throne will now pass to Prince Albert, his only son, who was in New Zealand in February 2002.

How much do you really know about MMP

Here are three questions. Assume Parliament has 120 members:

1. If National wins no constituency seats and gets 40% of the Party Vote, how many seats does it get?
2. If National wins 10 constituency seats and gets 40% of the Party Vote, how many seats does it get?
3. If a minor party fails to win a constituency seat and gets less than 5% of the Party Vote, what happens to those party votes?

The answers will be published in the next issue.

“Now is the winter of our discontent” (Shakespeare Richard III)

In the first week of April the following union strikes and work-to-rule actions have occurred:

· Auckland bus driver strike
· Middlemore security guards strike
· Glenfield’s Morgan Furniture strike
· Petone’s Colgate-Palmolive strike
· Lyttelton port unions work-to-rule action

“There were more strikes in the first week of April than in the previous two months combined. This all kicked off with the EPMU demand for a 5% wage rise across the board.

Media watch

In a sample 17 day period, I have been reported in the following media

23 March - the Independent on court fees
24 March - the NBR on public access to the law
26 March - the NZ Herald on judicial activism
30 March - the NZ Herald on judicial appointments
1 April - the NBR on Lawyers & Conveyancers Bill
6 April - Williams-Up-Front – SKY TV on prisoners’ claims for damages
7 April - NZ Herald on Tamihere
7 April - Dominion Post on Tamihere
8 April - Dominion Post on name suppression orders

Political Quote of the Week

"A lower turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the polls"

George W Bush

ENDS

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