Posts by Sacha
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Ae
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He was at a wedding
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It is a little bit symbolic of the NZ film industry, after all. A beast hidden on a remote island, worshipped only by the locals, is captured by an American film magnate, and displayed in chains for the pleasure of the crowds. But then it busts free, and heads straight for the nearest symbol of American Awesome Hugeness.
Gold
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It's lack of competence as much as confidence
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Chris, to be fair I don't think anyone is concerned at the prospect of losing a lush natural feature - it's a nondescript scraggy lug of rock.
Their civic dignity on the other hand..
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It's a case of stick to what you're good at it, i.e being bushy and beautiful.
What's most useful to emphasise - unless we see ourselves as nothing more than a service economy overrun by tourists - is that we're really smart and practical. That's exportable, and it's what expat New Zealanders are already known for in many industries.
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Even John Banks' former right hand man Cameron Brewer is wary of business associations being positioned under CCOs or even.. gasp.. their area's Local Board. Also unamused at being kept in the dark (though it seems he has since scored a direct meeting with Mark Ford).
We don't even know who will be collecting the targeted rate that funds our very existence. It is outrageous, given we're six months out from local body elections and given the huge number of Auckland businesses we collectively represent.
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We believe business associations should not report directly to their local council, or to a CCO, but rather have direct access with the Auckland Council itself.
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Herald story about Pacific Fibre's business prospects says it's a long-term play involving future demand increase and returns over many years. Uncertainty might be reduced by signing 'anchor tenants' like Google (and maybe even Weta, in time), but it still seems the challenge is signing up enough confident customers to underpin financing the build.
Brett O'Riley, chief executive of technology industry association NZICT and one of the original architects of the Telecom-backed Southern Cross cable said financing will be one of the challenges for the project, with a lot depending on the financial model.
A pure infrastructure play offering capacity on a cost plus basis - prices set to cover the cable rollout and operation costs, with some margin on top - would appeal to investors with a longer term investment horizon, said O'Riley.
Listen to Pacific Fibre strategic advisor Lance Wiggs talking about the plan on RNZ (streaming 19 mins).
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More from the "it's not fair" 53-house landlord, and her export software business neighbour, Grant Straker.
He said his business, which had sold website translation systems to the European Union, provided jobs, export dollars and big growth potential. Yet it could not get money from banks and had been forced to Britain for $2 million venture capital.
Property investors, however, had easy access to capital, got big tax breaks but did little for New Zealand.
"Here I am in business for 10 years, employing 18 people on PAYE tax and paying company tax. Yet the overdraft for our borrowings still has to be secured against our house because the banks won't lend against a business, especially software where you don't get any real money from the company until you sell it. All Pat Baker is doing is taking away houses from young people who could have bought them."
Many readers demanded to know how much tax Mrs Baker was paying. She refused to say but she wants people to acknowledge that landlords provide a social service and tax rules should not be changed.
She also seems ignorant of the difference between maintenance (deductible anyway) and depreciation, but then that's hardly a surpise judging by her previous utterances.