Posts by Paul Williams
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And the 'primary research' point is not totally true either. The commentators on blogs are numerous, and they will often talk directly about what is going on inside their own domains.
This is a well made and important point. There's little demand for investigative journalism and therefore limited employment in this genre. Some blogging represents an evolution in investigative journalism and commentary - I venture there's a very broad range of expertise represented by the PA readership which regularly provides for insights not otherwise available in the MSM... however with expertise and direct engagement also comes the some restraints not necessarily experienced by journalists.
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from chatting with david farrar the other week you'd think that the TEC is in the headlights
I'm aware that TEC's not performed as well as people hoped - myself included - however simply cutting it and returning to the Ministry may well be a false economy. Obviously, it'd depend on what National tertiary funding policy is, but if it is anything like their previous demand-driven voucher system, any savings from reduce salaries will not match the blow-out in funding wasted on courses with little or not labour market value. The tertiary reforms may not be a complete success but they have at least repositioned and reorganised the tertiary sector closer to the needs of the labour market and industry. If this is an example of the thinking that's gone into National's policy, it's worrying and shows they've learned little since last time.
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I missed the broadcast but am distinctly underwhelmed by Ralston's insistence that journalism is some sort of a closed shop. I've met/know more than my fair share of journalists, and have a few very accomplished ones in my family, and the profession is as variable as any other. I'd've thought Ralston was a little past slagging someone off on air simple because they criticised his work. Given the MSM rush to blog-format news and commentary, you'd think they'd be prepared for constructive criticism... must be frustrating when the equivalent of letters to the editor appear instantly and without editorial oversight.
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I have to be a little careful here, but I'd like to respond to the few reactions to my earlier comments.
Mind you, Oz does have an 3rd layer of Govt (State, in addition to Federal and Local) compared with NZ's 2-layer system.
Agreed and it's hard for someone who spent most of their life in a unitary and unicameral system to understand the merit of state/territory governments (perhaps it would be clearer if I lived in Darwin or Perth). The IR reforms of the last Liberal/National Coalition proved that the Cmwth could do anything they really wanted (the High Court took a very broad view of corporations head of power in the Constitution) and I suspect that, had they had the chance, they would have reduced states/territories to little more than service providers. What the new government will do is less clear (where it is clear however, I suspect it's pretty boring to most) and I've not yet seen what Nelson announced today (5 point plan including reform of the Federation).
LOL, yeah, I got a mate who got a job recently working as a lawyer for the Govt over in Sydney. He said after 3 months he hadn't actually been asked to do any work whatsoever. When it came time for his review, his boss said she was really, really pleased with his work. And he's getting paid damn good money too.
I'm surprised by this as most of the government lawyers I know are relatively busy if only on contract work... oh and the occasional bit of corruption
And as for Llew's concern that crazy expats might return... well this one would like to someday soon...
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I'm a little surprised that Ansell acknowledges the negative reaction in blogs at all - I guess Ben's point is that Hard News is the leading brand; I'd not be too upset about that.
The fifth year anniversary of the Iraq invasion is having an interesting impact in the Australian media - almost negligible! The fact that Australian 1,540 troops are still there seems to have been overlooked in preference for pronouncements that they'll soon be leaving... for Afghanistan.
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Compared with the the Australian public sector, NZ's is very efficient. I'm astounded at the size of some state's public service, NSW being particularly large. And, to echo Rob's post above, the professionalism in the NZ public sector is also comparatively high. Perhaps I'll leave it at that however.
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I've linked before to the remarkable YouTube work of Amanda Baggs, a non-verbal autist, but Wired's story on her is occasion to do so again. Her In My Language video offers a profound truth about difference. If you haven't seen it before, take eight minutes and 35 seconds minutes and watch it. Quite seriously, you will never think the same way about thought again.
I know it's a cliche, but I'm almost lost for words having watched the Baggs video. I guess like many, I've not had a lot to do with people with autistic disorders and so have very limited insight into their thinking and this is quite a revelation. Not only is Baggs highly intelligent, but she's wise - wise enough not to be embittered by the failings of others however I feel somewhat humbled having seen this.
Thanks for reposting this Russell, I'd not seen it in previous posts and it's one of the more profound insights/experiences I've had in quite a while.
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I have a great deal of respect for people who'll talk about their health, and particularly mental health, in a public way. I've had a few friends struggle with mental health challenges and am certain that they'd have found it easier if there was less stigma attached. Craig, Joanna I'm sure you're not fishing for respect, but you have mine.
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I wouldn't rule out a National Government bringing in one currency with Australia (with much rhetoric about New Zealand taking its place in the wider world).
I doubt this. The Australian economy is increasingly dual speed and traditional macro-economic tools are struggling. I'd doubt it would be in NZ interests to have a single currency unless there was first a lot of thinking about the roles and devices available to central banks and other economic regulators.
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If the new model really is only differentiated by trim and a handful of extras but is otherwise essentially the same model... that certainly appears to be National's campaign strategy which is why I think the two situations are in fact not so comparable.