Posts by Paul Williams
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Hard News: Gaying Out, in reply to Sofie Bribiesca,
This mightn't be the thread, but it does strike me that the next 12 months could be difficult for NZ with the trans Tasman economic cycles seemingly going in opposite directions. Net PLT departures was a big issue at the last election, Key made it so, and he might regret it soon.
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Now given the entirely reasonable closure of Keith's thread, where might we discuss PM Gillard's visit to NZ? I'd very much like to discuss the risk that she'll return with her luggage stuffed with kiwi talent.
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Curse the time difference:
Damn it. Going +4 is a bit like saying ‘me too’. Yeah, me too.
+5.
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It's very frustrating to debug:
for(turnip=potato;turnip<swede;turnip+=carrot) rutabaga[turnip]->parsnip %= turnip;
Companion planting? Delphinium, Larkspur, Mustard apparently.
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Hard News: Gaying Out, in reply to Angus Robertson,
This sort of reluctant leader schtick polls real well among the Right. There are quite a few GOP representatives who owe long careers to their promising to have short ones.
That's an interesting take, I'd not though of that approach.
The Standard keeping saying the same thing. I think Key really, really likes being an incredibly popular Prime Minister, and that he will stick with the job for the foreseeable future.
Sure, wouldn't anyone? By that logic, he'd go if he lost (and has said as much) or when it got unpopular being PM which is what I'm wondering about...
This idea that Key's just going to suddenly vanish is related to the common sentiment in the Labour Party that the public should just 'wake up' and vote them all back into power. It's magical thinking.
Perhaps, it's not what I've said however, and he might want to stop fueling the discussion by not talking about leaving (or the things you do when you leave, which presumably is when you've got time to write a book).
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Hard News: Gaying Out, in reply to Robyn Gallagher,
It also sounds like he's given up on being PM and is already started to fantasise about life outside of Parliament. That sweet life, where he doesn't have to live in Wellington, and can write books and serve on boards to his heart's content.
That's exactly what I thought!
Combine this comment with the earlier comment that he'd resign if National lost the election. It's increasingly clear that Key doesn't see himself in politics for much longer.
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OnPoint: Election 2011: GO!, in reply to Matthew Poole,
However, when people are coming from overseas and saying “It’s so expensive to buy a house” and “It’s so expensive to buy food” and “Your wages are so low”, that’s not encouraging high-quality long-term immigration. Quality of life only makes up for so much when you’re going from EUR or GBP250k to NZD90k and losing work variety to boot.
I personally relate to this scenario. The factors you consider obviously vary according to circumstances, for me with a young family it's about schools, parks, facilities as much as it is about career. I'll take a pay cut to do something meaningful, I want also to ensure my kids opportunities aren't unreasonably narrowed.
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On the quality argument, although I enjoy watching individual brilliance, its usually the closeness of the contest and the drama that I crave (which is also about some sense of connection). I watch quite a lot of sport, televised and in person, men's and women's, and if my team's not playing the fact that the best players are isn't enough to make me watch unless it's also a close or significant game.
I went to several of the ICC Women's cricket matches in 2009 and the quality of play was superb. Yes women will bowl a little slower (than Shane Bond but not necessarily Jacob Oram) and hit fewer sixes, but the margin isn't hugely significant and their skill is still far superior to even the better graded men. The games weren't terribly well attended as Gio but the trans Tasman Netball is as is the women's Basketball is (and both are televised).
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OnPoint: Election 2011: GO!, in reply to Lucy Stewart,
But, really, I just don’t think there is a solution to the funding vs. brain-drain problem that is entirely funding based. Even if you cut funding for students, you’d need to address the real question, which I think is – what do we want out of our university-educated population? Why do we want people to have degrees? Do we need this many people to do full degrees? Are we still willing to pay for anyone who wants a degree to go to university? Are we willing to set boundaries on who we’re willing to pay for? You can’t form solutions without addressing those issues.
Lucy, I'm not necessarily saying student support should be reduced though I am questioning the value of interest free loans (which is not quite the same thing). I agree a highly educated population is desirable and that the only metric shouldn't be wages.
And, as I’ve said before in similar discussions, there needs to be more of a willingness to accept that we are a tiny country at the end of nowhere and a bunch of our best-educated will always leave once they’ve graduated because they’re smart and curious and know there’s a big world out there. The trick is in making sure that “a bunch” is not “everyone”, that we can attract other countries’ best and brightest in return, and in ensuring that a significant portion of them do come back
This is fair too.
It's still worth thinking about what policies and practices could improve matters. You previously said, and I agree, that more people would be retained by better jobs (and possibly more still if they appreciated the benefits of living in NZ versus other places). Some more thinking about the bundle of expectations graduates have would be worthwhile since the cost of losing someone you've trained is bloody high. Ultimately though, I do think NZ will always lose a disproportionately high percentage of graduates who simply want to travel. Perhaps part of the solution is to do more to attract them back or at least network them more effectively. Kea does this to an extent.
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Play for little to no money while you study, work and have children but please do not expect recognition, not from the public, not from the media, not from your peers.
There's exceptions to this rule though, Netball being the obvious, but I agree with the thesis. I saw a number of the Women's Cricket World Cup games in Australia in 2009 which was a fantastic tournament (particularly the game where beat Australia) but wasn't televised (it did get covered by ABC though).