Kevin Rudd is having a shocker, he was boo’d at the vaunted home of Queensland Rugby League, Lang Park, then had Shakespeare’s Sonnet 94 read to him in the parliament by a mocking Tony Abbot. To insult to injury the Lizard of Oz came out and attacked Abbott giving him a big ups, as anyone the Lizard of Oz hates must actually be a good bloke.

Just as John Howard’s damaging characterisation of Kim Beazley as lacking “ticker” captured a vague public unease with his Labor opponent, Abbott’s epithets for Rudd such as “Prime Minister Blah Blah” and “All talk, no action” have had more cut-through than any number of debates about the fine points of economic stimulus or carbon trading. “I think that people are starting to see the inner bully in Mr Rudd,” is Abbott’s latest simple message.

Abbott also had the good fortune this week to be attacked by Paul Keating, who described him as a “poor man’s John Howard” and an “intellectual nobody”, thus reminding everyone of a day when the electorate loved Howard and hated Keating. With enemies like Keating, who needs friends?

Could it have got any worse for him? Turns out it could.

And then, in what has been dubbed Rudd’s Latham moment, voters saw for themselves last Friday a side of the Prime Minister that belies his “aw shucks” Milky Bar kid persona, and which suddenly gelled with all the stories about temper tantrums, hair dryers and how he made a young female RAAF flight attendant cry when she brought him a disagreeable meal.

In front of photographers and TV cameras recording a meeting about health reform with the Premier, Rudd was bizarrely rude. As Kristina Keneally, a civil and attractive woman still on her training wheels, tried to engage him in polite routine conversation for the benefit of the whirring cameras, Rudd pointedly ignored her.

He did not meet her gaze or acknowledge her courtesies, but busied himself fussing with the ring binders and folders on the desk in front of him, pursing his lips, even as her voice faltered and grew less certain, and her eyes implored him to look up. Keneally may be the head of a broken-down government but she is personally popular and voters have continued to warm to her engaging personality and plucky style.

Treating any woman with such withering contempt would be bad manners but treating a woman as well-liked and unthreatening as Keneally was beyond the pale.

Anyone who watched the performance would have heard the same sound of pennies dropping as there was with the infamous election eve image of Mark Latham trying to stand over the smaller, older John Howard with a power handshake in 2004.

A hundred small impressions of Rudd coalesced in those few excruciating moments before he lightly slammed his fist on the desk. There was more information in the subtle play of body language between the two politicians in the video footage which has been running all week than can be readily explained, but it will haunt him until election day.

Popularity: unranked [?]

You don’t realise how non-racist New Zealand is until you go live in Australia or spend some time driving around Northern Territory or North Queensland.

SOUTH AFRICA sings its anthem in three languages, New Zealand in two, but the practice of government ministers acknowledging Australia’s traditional landowners remains a moot point in some quarters.

The Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, stoked the fires yesterday, suggesting Labor had a tokenistic habit of preceding ministerial utterances with politically correct acknowledgments.

I guess they are talking about some foot stamping and didgeridoo playing by Aborginals at official ceremonies.

Western Australia’s rabble-rouser and Liberal backbencher Wilson ”Ironbar” Tuckey didn’t miss his cue, declaring it should not be done at all.

”I never have thanked anyone for the right to be on the soil that is Australia. Those that have come here have done everything in their power to improve it,” he said, describing Canberra’s Aboriginal tent embassy as a ‘’slum” and indigenous dancers as ”grossly overweight” performers who added nothing to official functions.

Cool nickname, “Ironbar”, but as for the rest there is no-one in this country that could get away with comments like that except perhaps Honest Hone.

Mr Tuckey angered the Indigenous Affairs Minister, Jenny Macklin, who said his comments were appalling.

”Welcome to country acknowledgment plays an important role for many Australians,” she said. ”Mr Abbott needs to show some leadership and pull Wilson Tuckey into line and make him apologise.”

No rule requires federal ministers to acknowledge traditional owners, but Ms Macklin’s department has guidelines for welcomes to country which are encouraged among staff.

Federal Labor denied it had a protocol on the issue. NSW Labor said it encouraged the practice where appropriate, but stopped short of censuring the Lands Minister, Tony Kelly, when he skipped over an acknowledgment in a speech to the Urban Development Institute delivered in the not-so-traditional confines of the Ivy.

Good grief I can’t believe that theyare even having an argument over whether there is a rule or not over Aboriginal welcomings. New Zealand moved on from this sort of stuff years ago. Australia, where men are men, sheep are nervous, women are silent and blacks live outback.

UPDATE: “Ironbar” is a pig. Tuckey is one of the most controversial figures in Australian federal politics. In 1967, while a publican in Carnarvon, he was convicted of assault after striking an Aboriginal man with a length of steel cable. It was alleged that the man was being pinned to the ground at the time. He has had the nickname “Ironbar” ever since.

Popularity: unranked [?]

Youth target in knife-crime review
New Zealand Herald
In sentencing the attacker, who has name suppression, to life imprisonment, Justice Raynor Asher suggested a parliamentary review of knife possession laws. …

Bizzarely in this case the Ministry of Justice has come out and said that the Government consider a proposal to limit the sale of knives to young people amid concerns over the number of knife crimes. The option is suggested in a Ministry of Justice review of knife possession, released yesterday, which looks at ways to address knife violence.

What drugs are FIGJAM’s officials on? ban this, ban that, increase penalties there, again here. The suggestion to ban the sale of knives to children must be an idea out of the Retard Unit, especially with regard to the above case. It was a kitchen knife, next thing the Government will be requiring householders to put locks on their knife drawer in case someone takes a knife out of the drawer. FFS we need less laws not more! This retarded idea won’t stop a single stabbing, FIGJAM should tell his officials to pull their heads out of their arse and have good hard look at the real world that exists outside of the their cubicle.

Pair fight to keep name suppression
Stuff.co.nz
Name suppression for her and her husband was due to be lifted at 5pm today pending an appeal. Auckland District Court records show an appeal has been lodged …

This is a ridiculous case. The man is so well known that when his is named there will be outrage that he could even get a look in at name suppression let alone be able to amble out of the courtroom away from media throughthe judges door.

Meanwhile the NZ Truth has a front page article about a senior cop who is on charges of incest with his daughter who has name suppression. The NZ Truth has named the person and thus becomes the first media outlet to man up and support my campaign. There isn’t an online version so go support them by buying a paper. I suppose it would be to hard to expect the Solicitor-General to apply the same standards to the media as they are to me.

Labor MP’s son accused of sex assault – Clearly not from new Zealand because they don’t have name suppression.

POLICE have charged the son of the long-serving NSW Labor MP John Aquilina with the sexual assault of a 22-year-old woman.

Jeremy Aquilina, 25, has been charged with five counts of sexual assault and one count of an act of indecency.

The alleged assault occurred on Saturday night in a park near Jeremy Aquilina’s house in Raleigh Place, St Clair.

Police said the woman had told them she visited the house that night and was later assaulted in a park.

Mr Aquilina was arrested at home on Sunday.

He was granted conditional bail by police and is due to appear in Penrith Local Court on March 29.

John Aquilina is the leader of the house and a former minister for education and training, and fair trading. He is the longest serving state MP.

A spokesman for the leader of the house confirmed yesterday charges had been laid against Mr Aquilina’s son. ”The details of the case are on public record … Mr Aquilina will not be making any further comment.”

Jeremy is the second of Mr Aquilina’s three children.

Once again this is proof that victims do not get named. How much evidence do the fools at the Law Commission and the Justice Ministry need to realise our law is out of step and impinges on our BORA?

Popularity: unranked [?]

Look at how the Aussies have handled the exact type of case that the hand-wringers say name suppression is needed to protect the victim. That premise is complete tosh of course and here is why.

A BENDIGO man charged with serious child sex offences including making child pornography with a minor has failed in his bid to have his name suppressed.

Michael Peter Smart, 34, was arrested last Thursday morning after police searched his East Bendigo home.

He has since been charged with sexual penetration of a child under 16, making and producing child pornography, possessing child pornography, procuring a child to make child pornography and blackmail.

See…not hard is it. Bendigo is not that big, only 76,000 people. To get an idea of size the population is in between Palmerston North and Hastings in size. So the argument about protecting the identity in a small town goes out the window too. You can hardly call Bendigo, Palmerston north and Hastings cities, more like provincial centres. Hell more people live in manukau than live in Wellington.

Now onto why name suppression wasn’t used in this case. Note the victim in this case is under 16.

Police allege the offences relate to the sexual assault of a young girl during the past five years.

They say more charges are expected to be laid.

“We believe there are more victims out there who will come forward,” a police spokesman said.

In an out-of-court hearing before a bail justice on Thursday night, Smart, a former train conductor, was denied bail.

He appeared via video-link in the Bendigo Magistrates Court yesterday morning. Smart was not required to enter a plea and no application for bail was made.

Good. He is in the slammer and they don’t need his sorry ass in Court when a video-link will suffice. Now you see why it is so important to name the accused, to find other victims. This is what we should have here. No suppression of the accused, name suppression of the victims, which the media wont publish anyway as you can see here.

During the brief hearing, defence lawyer Luke Docherty asked the court to grant a suppression order prohibiting the media from publishing his client’s name and employment details.

He said if made public it could bring undue stress and embarrassment to the victim as well as Smart’s family.

The prosecution opposed the suppression order.

Leading Senior Constable Jeff Lavery said the public should be made aware of such court proceedings, particularly if there are other victims involved.

“Police may need the assistance of the media to track down further victims.”

The suppression order was not granted and Magistrate Richard Wright remanded Smart in custody.

Bloody good judge. As for the undue stress and embarrassment, well boo-f**king-hoo, cry me a river of tears. How about the embarrassment and undue stress placed on the victim because of his actions? huh? huh? Yeah in new Zealand I et you he would have name suppression for sure where we care more about crims than their victims.

Naming the accused can and is normal in many countries around the world, and the media never seem to name the victim or identify them in any way, and why would they anyway, the public is more interested in the accused. Change the law FIGJAM, change the law and don’t listen to the defence lawyers or Sir Geoffrey Palmer, listen to the public.

Popularity: unranked [?]

The Australian Censor has banned:

small breasted women in adult publications has been made by the Australian Classification Board allegedly on the grounds that such images could be construed as child pornography, even where those publications comply with American law and keep certification that performers are over 18.

Female ejaculation has been banned on the incredible grounds that “the depictions are a form of urination which is banned under the label of ‘golden showers’ in the Classification Guidelines” and/or “Female ejaculation is an ‘abhorrent’ depiction.” Notably here male ejaculation is completely legal under the same guidelines, attracting an X rating in Australia.

It’s an outrage, what the hell am I supposed to jerk off to now?

Clearly any pretense from the Australian Government that its proposed internet filter will not extend to millions of sites has died with news that the Government has banned small breasts and female ejaculation in adult material.

It is draconian and ill-informed censorship.

Popularity: unranked [?]

So, you’re in business. You have a choice between situating your company in a larger, more diverse market which may be more competitive, depending on your industry, and a 25c in the dollar tax on your profits, and a smaller market that may be less competitive but with fewer expansion opportunities, and a 30c in the dollar tax on your profits. Which market would you choose to locate your business in?

This may be the choice facing many New Zealand businesses if the Australian Federal government lowers company tax rates. While Australia and New Zealand currently have parity in rates of company tax at 30% each, the Australian market is still bigger with more opportunities and has been attracting a number of New Zealand businesses. Decrease the company tax rate and it becomes even more attractive for businesses to hop the ditch. If they don’t, they’re faced with competing with better-funded Aussie businesses, who already benefit from stronger capital markets and a more diverse consumer market.

This is what Marty at The Standard needs to understand. It’s about competitiveness.

Popularity: unranked [?]

In Australia this weekend the reverse of conventional thinking has happened. The Liberals have won two by-elections to fully endorse Tony Abbott’s stance against the b.s. that is Climate Change.

There were small swings against the Liberal Party to the Greens in both seats, but at no point did they threaten to unsettle the Opposition’s hold on the seats.

Former Optus executive Paul Fletcher comfortably held on to Bradfield, formerly held by Brendan Nelson, where the Liberals’ margin dropped only slightly.

Mr Fletcher said the result was evidence that climate change was not at the top of voters’ agendas.

“My experience … during the campaign was that people were concerned about private health insurance, overdevelopment, economic management and so on. Climate change came up as an issue, but it wasn’t the number one issue.”

Sure they were solid Liberal seats but the public as unmoved by the leadership coup this week by Abbott and his stance on the fraud of Global Warming.

Tony Abbott himself has gone on the offensive against Kevin Rudd challenging him debate climate change anywhere, anytime.

Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has challenged Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to a series of public debates on climate change.

The government plans to re-introduce its emissions trading scheme (ETS) legislation into parliament when it resumes in February, after the bills were defeated in the Senate last week.

Mr Abbott says most people want more information on the scheme.

“That’s code for saying that they don’t understand it,” he told the Nine Network today.

“I’d like to challenge the prime minister to a series of public debates on this subject before parliament comes back.

“This big emissions tax, it’s going to be not just for this year or next year, it’s going to be forever if it comes in, and it shouldn’t come in with(out) the public understanding exactly what it means.”

Mr Abbott said the debates could be in a town hall and broadcast to the public or beamed live from a television studio.

“We’ll debate it up hill and down dale, we’ll debate it once, twice, three times, four times, however many times is necessary until the public feel that they have had their questions answered to their satisfaction,” he said.

If only we had been able to generate such a debate here inNew Zealand, where first Helen Clark’s government then john Key’s deceived the public and rammed ETS legislation down our throats despite the overwhelming evidence now flooding out that the whole Climate Change myth is based upon fak and dodgy science. A fraud in fact.

John Key could learn a big lesson here and destroy the Warmenisers at the same time, the problem is that he is a limp dick so we won’t be seeing that happen unless there happens to be a big smacking in the polls.

Popularity: unranked [?]

It has finally been scientifically proven that Rob Muldoon’s statement thirty years ago when questioned about increased levels of emigration from New Zealand to Australia,  that these migrants “raised the average IQ of both countries”

A new study has confirmed a long-held Australian belief – less-skilled Kiwis have migrated there at a higher rate than skilled professionals.

The research, by Wellington demographer James Newell, has found New Zealand-born workers are 4.3 per cent of all machinery operators and drivers in Australia, and 3.4 per cent of all labourers, but only 2.4 per cent of professionals.

Maori are also more likely than non-Maori to have crossed the Tasman.

Another study, by Waikato University demographer Jacques Poot, says one in seven Maori now lives in Australia, compared with one in eight non-Maori New Zealanders.

There you go, two confirmations that by sending our unskilled thickies to Australia the average IQ rises on both countries.

Popularity: unranked [?]

Cactus Kate asked an interesting question this morning on her post about taxpayer subsidies for the Maoritocracy, the select 5 iwi with special treatment under Nick Smith’s secret deal over the ETS.

How many staffers that influence Maori Party policy have direct links to these Iwi? Show us the conflicts.

Sources around parliament tell me that the deal is so secret that other senior members of cabinet were not even aware of the deal as late as last night. Those same sources tell me that the $100 billion woman, so to speak, is Sacha McMeeking. I took the liberty of applying the tried and true blogger technique of Googling her.

She is a university academic, a high-ranking Ngai Tahu exec, the secretariat for the Iwi Leadership Group and is now being paid amongst others by the Maori Party to negotiate with National!

How can one person have so much power over whether a $100 billion policy goes ahead or not????

Sacha McMeeking is of Ngai Tahu descent, and is aged in her early thirties (either 31 or 32). Ms McMeeking is the General Manager Strategy and Influence with Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu, having returned after lecturing in law at the University of Canterbury and consulting for iwi and the Treaty Tribes Coalition.

The foreshore and seabed issue brought together her academic and advisory interests, enabling her to support Treaty Tribes Coalition advocacy in the United Nations, resulting in the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination finding that New Zealand was in breach of international human rights standards.

In her current role, Ms McMeeking has moved far beyond her legal background into a range of areas including providing political advice, brand and reputation management skills, and the integration of tikanga to incorporate governance arrangements. She is also on the Council of the University of Canterbury.

Other details gleaned from Google include:
In 2004, Ms McMeeking was co-spokesperson of “Te Mangaroa” organisation that occupied New Brighton Pier in Dec 2004 in opposition to foreshore and seabed legislation. Following the end of the occupation, she commented that:

“We welcome a summer-long protest movement, signalling to the Government that they will be held to account at the polls….We believe that Mahara Okeroa will receive his dues at the next election. He maintains that the legislation improves recognition of Maori customary rights, because it is a clear and certain statutory framework. He is simply wrong. The only certainty is that Maori property rights have been extinguished, and that there will be no recognition of customary rights because the statutory framework is the most restrictive and reductive in the Commonwealth. He turned his back on his electorate when he voted for the Bill, inevitably, his electorate has turned their back on him”

In November 2005, Ms McMeeking joined a voluntary ad-hoc Maori organising committee formed to ensure Maori participation in the visit to New Zealand by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights and Funadamental Freedoms of Indigenous Peoples

Ms McMeeking spoke as an “expert” at a forum organised by the Green Party on “Protecting the RMA” in March this year.

Ms McMeeking was keynote speaker at Amnesty International’s AGM in Auckland this year. Her speech focused on the legal system and the need to balance Maori human rights with protecting the rights of other New Zealanders.

In July this year, Ms McMeeking delivered a presentation at the Indigenous Legal Water Forum (an international conference at Otago University)titled “Navigating the National Landscape”

Ms McMeeking spoke at this year’s Hillary Symposium on the role of Ngai Tahu in addressing climate change.

She has a reputation in some quarters as a role model for young Maori women aspiring to future success

In 2006, Ms McMeeking was awarded the Ngata Centenary Doctoral Scholarship at Canterbury University

That is a brief summary of what I found on Google about Sacha McMeeking, the woman holding New Zealand’s economic fortune in her youthful hands. The $100 billion woman is a woman of many hats and one can only wonder how she manages to maintain professional standards representing so many different organisations as well as being on the payroll of multiple organisations.

What is The Prime Minister’s go-to man, Wayne Eagleson, to think when Ms McMeeking walks in for a meeting. Is she there representing Ngai Tahu? perhaps it is the University of Canterbury? Maybe the Maori Party? OIr some of her former activist organisations? Certainly this capable woman is a woman of many hats. Just which hats she wears at any one time is anyones guess.

The worse proposition though is that she speaks on behalf of the unelected Iwi Leadership Group, which is a largely secret grouping of the elite Maoritocracy, who have seemingly negotiated a secret deal that not even senior members of cabinet are yet aware of to committ the greatest robbery of public assets in the history of New Zealand and hand them over to a select privileged group of Maori in an undemocratic, and unchallenged manner.

Question 1 today certainly looks to be interesting from John Boscawen and one wonders how Nick Smith will weasel his way out of that one. This is an issue that stands to cost this coutnry dearly while every other country resiles from Copenhagen. Nick Smith is plunging us headlong into economic oblivion to solve a problem that does not exist and the woman whipping us along that route to detruction is a veteran protestor and maori protagonist in the pay of many paymasters.

Popularity: unranked [?]

At a  national conference of the Australian Hotels Association,  the general managers of Cascade Brewery (Tasmania), Tooheys (New South Wales), XXXX (Queensland), CUB (Victoria) and Coopers (South  Australia) found themselves sitting at  the same table for  lunch.
When the  waitress asked what they wanted to drink, the GM of  Tooheys said without hesitation, “I’ll have a Tooheys  New.”
The  head of Carlton & United smiled and said, “Make mine a  VB.”
To which  the boss of Coopers rejoined, “I’ll have a Coopers, the King  of Beers.”
And  the bloke from Cascade asked for “a Cascade, the cleanest  draught on  the planet.”
The General  Manager of XXXX paused a moment and then placed his order:   ”I’ll have a Diet  Coke.”
The  others looked at him as if he had sprouted a new  head.
“Well,”  he said with a shrug, “if you poofters aren’t drinking beer,  then neither will  I.”

Popularity: unranked [?]