Posts by Kyle Matthews
Last ←Newer Page 1 2 3 4 5 Older→ First
-
I guess it just seems weird to me that never once in my life have I spoken to anyone who is poor, elderly or disabled who has actually got anything useful from approaching the local MP.
My parents are a long way from poor now, but in Helen Clark's first term they were with three kids and struggling and went to see her a couple of times over issues and found her very helpful.
Yes, there is always the chance that one of these 60 people serving the entire country might be able to help you in some random way. I just don’t see how that should give them half of the executive power.
I think we need to remember that most of those electorate MPs would get into parliament either by winning their electorate or via the list. Most of them have more electoral legitimacy than a list only MP, not less.
but is it really important to the local community groups that they got to press the flesh with someone who will then go back and vote in Parliament for 90 day fire-at-will law?
I've had many years experience with a community group based in Dunedin North. Pete Hodgson was often helpful to us to elevate things and get them up into the Labour heirarchy, or to raise the profile of our work. I wouldn't have said he was great at it, but having a supportive local MP was useful.
-
Anyway. I DID enjoy the closeup TV shots (certainly would have missed from our seats) of the Tongan front row giving the French stick in the last few minutes. There was no doubt, no doubt at all they realised the significance of what they had achieved.
That was fantastic. Shame they lost to Canada.
Despite the upsets, the semi-finalists all looked pretty likely before the tournament. The only real unknowns were whether Argentina would go over Scotland and Samoa over Wales. The upsets that happened just changed some rankings around, they didn't really mean a team missed out that looked likely to get through.
-
Ross, very sorry to hear about your loss, did you try the police in case someone had handed them in?
Did you try and find out if anyone was sitting in the seats to see if someone had stolen them, or found them and not done the right thing?
-
(Well, they don't, which is why I spent really far too much of my childhood thinking my father's eyebrows were made of tiger skin and that you could be caught out in cricket if the ball bounced once but the fielder caught it with one hand.)
Very common rule at primary school cricket when I was young.
And I am reminding myself that it's okay to not like chocolate, for any reason, and we can always find other things to eat.
I'm very happy with people not liking sex, but I refuse to accept people that don't like chocolate. We all have to have standards after all. Weirdos.
-
My facebook status from 22 July: "My world cup picks: Ben Smith to play in the final on the wing, Dan Carter to be injured well before the final and hardly play in the tournament at all."
One out of two isn't bad :(
-
I think we've had this discussion with Graeme before - no that doesn't justify torture I think is his answer.
Probably more interesting is "does a personal have a fundamental human right not to be injected with truth serum" in such a situation. Surely we have the right not to be injected with drugs which aren't for our benefit?
-
But for a threat to have any effect as a negotiating position, it needs to have a possibility of being carried out.
There's no possibility of them carrying it out, so the possibly reasonable thing that they're saying ("this costs us money") is lost behind the incredibly stupid statement ("we're not coming").
They'll get more money going to the world cup, because the returns will be more than the costs of going.
-
I can’t speak for every university, but, at Victoria:
At Otago the Student Union was built using student association funds, and the building is half owned by OUSA. The gym is 40% owned by OUSA, but supported by a university levy. The bar is a joint operation between the university and OUSA. OUSA also own the University Bookshop 100%. And it built and supports the Clubs and Societies building.
AUSA owns their whole union and bar.
Perhaps it would have failed, but then at least Labour would have made a positive attempt to fix the well-documented problems within student associations.
They're not well-documented. There are a bunch of media stories which continue to circulate, and every time a new one happens it gets good coverage and is pushed by Act activists. That's not documentation, it's slightly above urban legend.
Find me any independent report on financial mismanagement in student associations in NZ. Research done by an academic or postgraduate student? Any sort of analysis of the proportion of mismanagement in student associations compared to other organisations.
The only people that have done it are people in student associations, and the results indicate that the rate of it is no higher in student associations than other similar bodies, just that when it happens it gets a much higher profile because of the contentious nature of their structure and the fact that act and their activists get all over it.
I thought they were the only association to own their own building/site? Gave a foothold in the property market to leverage. Solid income from venue hire and catering over the years, I recall.
Both Auckland and Otago own their own buildings.
I’m pretty sure those will still exist. Indeed, the Vic Debating Society is older than the Vic Students’ Association.
The debating society will be fine. The rowing club however has much higher needs. The Otago club has helped develop a couple of recent world champions. If the institution doesn't take these things over (and if the government lets them with the current debate about what institutions can and can't levy students for) student sport and culture is in real trouble.
-
I really want to throw something at both Tew and the media for this stupid All Blacks will boycott the world cup story.
Apart from the fact that clearly they won't...
If the All Blacks were to boycott the world cup to try and get back their 13 million - all the other teams that they could play will be at the event. The Tri-nations won't be longer just because the All Blacks are available. No inbound tour. Sponsors are going to reduce their contracts with the All Blacks, not increase them if the All Blacks aren't going to the biggest rugby event in the world.
Stupid story that needs a reporter to tell Tew he's an idiot.
-
I seem to remember a speedboat went missing from the waterskiing club, with no signs whatsoever of forced entry. $30,000 odd worth of equipment just disappearing isn’t a good look for anyone wanting to force people to join their organization.
AUSA has a tremendously difficult history, they've had tremendous problems with a couple of life members who have been incredibly destructive. I believe several years ago one of them refused to leave an executive meeting when asked and urinated during the meeting. There's been assault charges brought against them. The speedboat comes from one of their time on the executive.
Ironically, they're also VSM advocates.