Hard News: Little pieces of a big picture
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Why isn't the EQC funded out of a rate surcharge instead of an insurance levy? That would ensure everyone was covered.
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Graeme, Graeme, you know better than that. Yes collective responsibility means a lot of things. Including Wot I Said.
Rich, we were asking ourselves that a few minutes ago.
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I'm sorry but I couldn't help myself...
Our mate Snail oil, otherwise known as the Internet warrior really should do something about his public image..."I'm one of the few bloggers that's branded," Slater explained to the Sunday Star-Times. "I'm in the process of trademarking it; it's tattooed on my fricking shoulder. I've gone from being Cameron Slater to being Whale Oil. Walking around parliament the other day, no one was calling me Cameron. It was Whale, Whale Oil, the Whale."
And I'm sure we can think of a few other things.
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This makes me happy. Students, without a working university, have self-organised a 1300 strong (and counting) clean-up group.
A real (good news) story.
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Why isn't the EQC funded out of a rate surcharge instead of an insurance levy?
We would have to change the way rates are calculated. At the moment rates are calculated on the total value of the property, not just the buildings. The EQC is really just there to counter the possibility of mass homelessness rather than replacement of your previous holdings, that is what insurance is for. If you choose not to have insurance then there will be provision, hopefully, of shelter through Government and Community. This is not about "Getting back to Normality" it is about surviving and alleviating suffering in a natural disaster.
I don't think it takes much imagination to see how local authorities could not cope with a major disaster and that's before we start asking questions about the security of such funds under local government control. The fact that EQC came out of the War Damages Commission places this sort of thing in the National category rather than local Govt. -
Why isn't the EQC funded out of a rate surcharge instead of an insurance levy? That would ensure everyone was covered.
That's a very good idea. I've posed the question to Clare Curran on Twitter, might be worth sending emails to relevant Labour people and asking it more formally. (I can't see National deigning to upset their mates in the insurance industry, sadly. ACT would never allow it either).
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Steve, you obviously have a wealth of knowledge about EQC type matters.
I think however you may be bundling up a few things.
Certainly Councils have the data (land value plus improvedvalue) to be able to calculate an EQC levy to add on to rates. I was thinking that this would be collected by Councils and passed to EQC, replacing the current system of the levy being collected by insurance companies and passed on to EQC.
I need to read some more before commenting on 'what EQC is there for'. It has been a while since the 1993 Act was implemented.
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Lucy, thanks for that link to the UC page. Horrendous pics of the library. I am still wondering if that was the best earthquake protection a library could buy? Will Wellington library stacks do the same domino topple, in the event?
Also answers our questions earlier about the Logie collection, too :-(
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And mine - had wondered what Australian telly awards possibly had to do with Canterbury University
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(I can't see National deigning to upset their mates in the insurance industry, sadly. ACT would never allow it either).
On the other hand I'm sure Rodney Hide would have loved to have got his hands on that pile of local cash, or Rodney Council for that matter.
It may seem incongruous for me to be seen as standing up for the Insurance industry, they are, after all the scum of the earth but it comes down to an "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" sort of situation. In terms of natural disasters laying off the risk is best done on a very large scale, as large scale is what these things tend to be. Leaving it in the hands of empire builders would be a mistake in my opinion.I was thinking that this would be collected by Councils and passed to EQC,
If you are referring to the small number of people not covered under the existing system then I think you have to take into account that a lot of renters have no insurance but their landlords do and so the housing stock would be replenished, looking after your antiques and knick knacks should never be the business of the State, that would, inevitably in my opinion, lead to conflicts of interest and abuse.
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Also answers our questions earlier about the Logie collection, too :-(
On the plus side, it's actually bloody hard to break a book. Let's hope it looks worse than it is once all the shelves are back up.
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On the plus side, it's actually bloody hard to break a book
And you can fix them. Granted they stop being as 'authentic', but barring flood or fire they are pretty much indestructable. Other, more temporal mediums much less so, as you've previously noted.
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Someone needs to call ACT and their New Right cronies over what New Right attacks on public sector capacity under the Republican House of Representatives and Bush Presidency meant for their Federal Emergency Management Administration in the context of Hurricane Katrina.
http://www.gaynz.com/blog/redqueen/archives/933
In fact, someone needs to ask ACT, the Business Roundtable, the Centre for Independent Studies, Centre for Political Research and their fellow travellers and apologists precisely what their stance on disaster relief policy is. As well as the Welfare Working Group. According to Sue Bradford, their report time has been rolled back. Oh. I wonder why...
Craig Young
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On the plus side, it's actually bloody hard to break a book.
Yes, but considerably easier to break ancient Classical pottery and artefacts. (The first scene of the novel I'm writing takes place among the glass display cases of the Logie Collection in the 5th floor Classics department. I'm kind of weirded out about it.)
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On the other hand I'm sure Rodney Hide would have loved to have got his hands on that pile of local cash, or Rodney Council for that matter.
You have a point. I quite like for NZ's antiquities to be protected in indestructable cabinets. Given the procilivity of the new-right has been to loot after any "disaster", civil defense is the right posture.
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WHAT'S ALL THE EXCITEMENT...NEW ZEALAND'S ON "THE RING OF FIRE" AND DOOMED TO DISAPPEAR UNDERWATER, SOONER OR LATER...
Ah, it's that rare beast in the world of fail: the epic geology fail (as distinguished from its more common cousin, the epic geography fail.)
I am still wondering if that was the best earthquake protection a library could buy? Will Wellington library stacks do the same domino topple, in the event?
I imagine you could build earthquake-resistant shelving, but given that books are pretty hard to destroy by throwing them on the ground and that the books are all going to fall off anyway, unless you use barriers which would make day-to-day use impractical, on a cost-to-effort ratio it's probably easier to just make them sturdy and set them upright again when they fall over.
There's also the mobility issue - if you're going to want to move the shelving or have the option of doing so, it's hard to fix it against earthquakes. Maybe by weighting the bottom shelf? There must be someone who's an expert on this sort of thing...
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MOre aftershocks approx 3.09pm and 3,15pm
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(The first scene of the novel I'm writing takes place among the glass display cases of the Logie Collection in the 5th floor Classics department. I'm kind of weirded out about it.)
And such a beautiful collection it is.
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@Craig Young:
What if Hurricane Katrina struck Mangere & Otara? I suspect the SAS would be sent in, instead of disaster relief workers. And not for relief efforts either.
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What if Hurricane Katrina struck Mangere & Otara? I suspect the SAS would be sent in, instead of disaster relief workers.
Flying in to Hamilton. It doesn't bear thinking about.
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On the plus side, it's actually bloody hard to break a book
Thankfully there were no students in the library at the time or we would be talking "Flatmates" here. Whoever was responsible for that setup needs a bit of a talking to, those shelves should have been anchored but unfortunately they rarely are. A friend of mine, a few years back, was doing some renovation work in a large filing room come library and stacked a few sheets of Gib Board against what he thought was a secure wall. The wall turned out to be a screen screwed to a bookshelf, the whole roomful of filing cabinets and shelves dominoed taking desks, chairs, computers and workers with it. Luckily it was lunchtime and only a couple of people were injured. He hasn't said anything against ACC since, after all, it was their office.
ETA. Maybe we should re-write the Dewy Decimal system to classify books by weight so's the big ones go on the bottom shelves.
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Maybe we should re-write the Dewy Decimal system to classify books by weight so's the big ones go on the bottom shelves.
;-)University libraries are Library of Congress, not Dewey Decimal. </pendant>
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Flying in to Hamilton. It doesn't bear thinking about.
Whatcha mean by that? Hamilton has a perfectly fine, international airport.
The discussions over the weekend has been fascinating and bring to mind places where I used to live in Chch--the old wooden mansion on the bend of Carlton Mill Road, in particular. But I have hesitated to make any commentaries as it seems rather impertinent. Such stories come best from those living through the experience.
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Flying in to Hamilton. It doesn't bear thinking about.
Whenuapai
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University libraries are Library of Congress
Once you learn it, you never forget it eg I know what I will find at PR1995.3. Still, I wonder if there has ever been a study of usage in respect of where books are situated on shelves ie whether books at eye level have a greater turn-over, whilst those of the bottom shelf seldom stir.
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