Hard News: The Honours
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And who does the nominating?
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My guess would be that those who put their lives on the line at the cool store would be up for one of our bravery awards, rather than a service award. They rank higher than the QSM, and aren't awarded only twice a year, but when needed.
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Craig - apologies. Yes, Margaret Wilson did get honoured, in the last list compiled by the previous government.
As for Helen Clark's services to the National Party - she and her government were responsible for creating New Zealand's high international standing which is something that John Key in particular has benefited from. I remember the Muldoon days when it was so embarrassing to admit to being a NZer as he caused an Olympic boycott by African nations. Labour-led administrations seem to take more care about our international citizenship responsibilities - eg Fraser helped set up the United Nations, Kirk recognised China, Lange made NZ anti-nuclear.
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I think Graeme's right, which explains the "timing" issues mentioned at the tail of the story. Something amiss with internal comms management perhaps?
there are plenty of firefighters, police officers, medical professionals etc. who get injured in the course of their duties who don't get QSMs.
And plenty of managers who don't get them because their staff got injured either.
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As for Clark, surely it's pretty straightforward to honour a New Zealander achieving high international office, which doesn't happen that often. I doubt a government of any political stripe would be churlish enough to decline an award.
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Bravery Awards are few and fare between. I know two guys with them and their stories about how they got them.
Both events lasted just a couple of minutes, both normal soldiers on Peace Keeping operations and both have never made the media.If they had made the media, maybe the firefighters getting bravery awards would be more common place, but the bar is so high that they don't, which is a shame.
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It's clear that Lion were giving money to yachting purely for the purposes of community spirit. I mean, what could they possibly have got out of getting to name the boat "Steinlager" and making the sailors where this shit...
http://www.sail-world.com/photos/Med_Image3-20.jpg
I wonder what Emirates are getting out of their deal with Team New Zealand aside from the immense satisfaction of helping NZ achieve sporting glory. Adidas with the All Blacks, Vodafone with the Warriors, Heinekin with the upcoming tennis and Harvey Norman with the Breakers being other community spirit enhancing organisations. I guess Seripisos can lock and load his knighthood now.
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Without the help of those guys, kids in Takapuna might grow up never having the chance to become wealthy international yachtsmen who sell their services to the highest bidder.
Think of the children.
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What is it in the national psyche that some Kiwis cannot celebrate, if only for a couple of days each year, the achievements of outstanding New Zealanders?
Well I can't speak for New Zealanders as I am Canadian but from what I see the objection NZers have to Doug Meyers being honoured is the idea that he is an "outstanding NZer" or that he has any "achievements".
Lesley Max is very deserving on an hounour, and all the respect and adulation that goes along with it. Her work for children and NZers in general has been outstanding and she has not turned a profit or in any way tried to do anything other than further the health, happiness and welfare of NZers in general and children in particular.
The problem with Doug Meyers being put in the same category is that his profiting from the sale of alcohol and the insidious linking of his alcohol brands to what should take pride of place in the national psyche - well that rankles. And his lobbying for a lower drinking age, given his motive for profit would have raised considerable ire in my country and no doubt he would have been barred (on the obvious grounds of conflict of interest) from any lobbying related to something that has as profound an impact on public health as the drinking age.
And Helen Clark lead a government that was quite happy to profiteer off addicts to the tune of billions of dollars in excise tax on tobacco and alcohol, so I'm wondering if that moral high horse is about ready for the knackers yard.
Craig, it's not profiteering if the coffers you fill are not your own but the public's coffers. And if you take the time to read the actual statistics published by the WHO, CDC, and other public health agencies, you will see that the taxes charged for tobacco and alcohol do not begin to pay for a fraction of the cost that these drugs iincur .
For example my step-mum Jeanne is dying of emphysema at the moment - she has a message for all of you by the way: - "Don't smoke". But her illness is taking a long time to kill her and her suffering is affecting a lot of lives and using a lot of resources. Quite apart from her physical suffering - which is enormous and into its 5th year - the flow on effect has been tremendous. The physical suffering of one person can cause enormous suffering in those who have to witness that - I won't go into detail, but there are many, many other consequences besides the cost of her medical care. She is serious about the message - she reminds me every time I talk to her to pass that along. "Don't smoke".
Anyhow Craig, my point was the cost of applied to tobacco or alcohol will not begin to pay for the effects. Tax the manufacturers I say.
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Thanks very much for last night, R&F. It was a pretty excellent night for me, all up; three parties back-to-back over the course of 10 hours, and home by 6 full of beer, lamb, cherry tomatoes, strawberries, chocolate cake and whiskeys.
You're very welcome. I am amused that the people who swore they were going to have a quiet one (Hi Sofie!) got home at 7am, and I ended up being very well behaved. Well, by my standards, anyway.
Here's that tune, of which we spoke.
Hmm, still not quite getting that. But, then, you spoiled Metric for me by bringing up Avril Lavigne ;-)
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Out in the blogosphere it is a different matter. Right-wing blogs are apoplectic over Clark's honour. Some lefties are out-raged that Myers has been elevated.
As I said, I'm fine with sirs and dames -- these are, after all, people we are according high public honour -- but there are a small handful of people I'm not going to applaud, and Myers is one of them.
His behaviour in the Radio NZ interview after the announcement tended to underline that judgement.
If it it were within my power to withdraw Sir Michael Fay's honour, I would, but I'm not sure there's anyone else I'm that bothered about.
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3410,
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Hmm, still not quite getting that.
It's all about the release for the last two choruses. Total pop, of course, but it works. What's the name of the Jenny Lewis track?
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Happy New year t'yall.
Just for a bit of holiday geekery I thought I'd try tethering my new phone, Samsung GT S5603T, to an eeepc 701 via Bluetooth.
So, here I am sitting in the bush at the top of Fern Flat sending messages to all and sundry via Telecom's 3G goodness. For once I can say good on ya Telecom, this 3G really flies. I tried doing the same thing with Voodoofone and it was as sluggish as a sluglike thing.
Anypoo, 3410, I've been racking my brain thinking of Jerry Lewis tracks only to discover that I misread your post.
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You might be able to hear Harawera's radio station from there, Steve.
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Was it this Jenny Lewis number? - I recall something about Elvis Costello:
and here he is in a more comedic setting: -
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Peter Jackson with folk instruments;
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Yes, awards went to senior desk-jockeys rather than those who actually got injured fighting the coolstore fire.
This has been a bit of a contentious issue on a volunteer fire fighter mailing list I'm on. The matter of the Queen's Service Medal being for, well, service has been pointed out. The contribution of two of the recipients to the welfare of the injured, in terms of long-term actions, is being recognised, but for the other three it very much looks like getting a medal for doing their job - taking command at a major incident and getting it done. That's what they're paid not-inconsiderable sums of money for, having spend decades working and training to reach those positions. They may well have earned a QSM for their service to the Fire Service, but that's not the same as what they did at Tamahere.
Graeme's observation about gallantry awards is well-made. The actions of the fire fighters who pulled their injured colleagues from the debris and carried out CPR, sent the priority message to advise of the explosion, and coordinated the emergent response by locals are not service in the sense that a QSM is given. Rather they are the acts of people in the immediate aftermath of a devastating event, and that is the stuff of awards for bravery. Similarly many of those who ran over from the fair and, at risk to their lives, offered aid. If none of those involved in the first minutes after the explosion are honoured, that is a true travesty.
there are plenty of firefighters, police officers, medical professionals etc. who get injured in the course of their duties who don't get QSMs.
No, but those involved in deadly incidents where their own lives are placed at risk while preserving the lives of others tend to be recognised. Tamahere was extraordinary, and it is the extraordinary for which bravery awards are given.
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Point of information Samuel: those "folk instruments" appear to be part of a musical automaton controlled like a player piano.
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You might be able to hear Harawera's radio station from there, Steve.
Nah, but I can hear crickets and bees and later I will have to put up with those bloody moreporks and kiwis. Still, better than Harry Harawera or wotever his name is.
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a musical automaton
Hence Jackson's interest? :)
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while the other ran a successful billion dollar corporation that profited from people's propensity to drink large quantities of alcohol.
While like Russell, I'm pretty dubious about Myer's knighthood, I can't buy it as some sort of 'like tobacco', sold alcohol, poisoned our future type angle.
Tobacco companies knew they were killing millions and people and lied about it to make profit. I don't think there's any great debate about what alcohol does/doesn't do, which the alcohol companies knew the answers to but hid from us. Our modern history of alcohol use and abuse has all been state sanctioned and relatively transparent.
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Nah, but I can hear crickets and bees
I guess those Fern Flat workers in clay must be having a holiday break then.
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Our modern history of alcohol use and abuse has all been state sanctioned and relatively transparent.
It's certainly transparent in the sense that our hopefully 'brightest young stars' can be seen stumbling down drunk into St John's ambulances all over the country during New Year's Eve celebrations. And the scary stat that the majority of heavily intoxicated youth at R&V were young women. Earlier in this blog (or was it elsewhere?) it was mentioned about the ALAC Lisa ad. Are we in a society where the victim is held solely responsible for their actions? That's a bit libertarian for my liking. Surely the Alco-pop industry, their clever marketing strategies, and lobbyists, like Myers, for lowering the drinking age, have some responsibility for it all.
Personally I think if we all stand back and watch, and that includes the government, we are in some way either condoning, or complicit, in the inevitable outcomes of excessive drinking. And just so it's clear, throwing drunken people in prison for ignoring a liquor ban is not going to fix it.
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This sucks, by the way. Row over cool store medals and compensation.
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Personally I think if we all stand back and watch, and that includes the government, we are in some way either condoning, or complicit, in the inevitable outcomes of excessive drinking. And just so it's clear, throwing drunken people in prison for ignoring a liquor ban is not going to fix it.
Exactly.
And between that and the fact that alcohol fuelled consequences are very expensive to clean up, it seems a travesty to lump an honour for someone like Doug Myers with an honour for someone who actually deserves it, like for public service - in just about any field - but not for making money at the expense of public health and with clean up put on the public's tab.
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