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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr
Daily Archives: November 23, 2011
Judge Oke Blaikie finally said it
The Judge has spoken out, well ahead of the Vice-Chancellor who remains officially ‘mum’. He’s not saying this out of left field – we’re ALL disgusted with the fires caused by the students’ lawless behaviour in our public streets; and with the lack of collective responsibility shown by the University of Otago and City authorities.
It is intolerable that Dunedin emergency services, performing their roles responsibly, are having to bear the major burden year in year out.
The University of Otago Council plonkers and senior ‘ivy-leaguers’ need a wake-up call. Too shrouded in their own mist and comfy salaries, every one an island? Precious loves.
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### ODT Online Wed, 23 Nov 2011
Fears publicity harming varsity
By Matthew Haggart
The University of Otago might face a decline similar to Otago’s sports teams, as a combination of regional demographics, tertiary underfunding, and ongoing publicity about student unrest hit home, a university council member has predicted. The comments from Judge Oke Blaikie came out of left field at a university council meeting yesterday during a discussion on the institution’s budget for 2012. Judge Blaikie, who is also chairman of the university’s disciplinary appeals board, said ongoing publicity about student unrest and fires was contributing to a negative perception among parents of potential students.
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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr
Filed under Hot air, People, Politics, Urban design
You (New Zealanders) already own the state assets. Why sell them to the rich and conniving?
### ODT Online Wed, 23 Nov 2011
Opinion
Asset sales likely nail in coffin of fair society
By Simon Cunliffe
Power generators are strategic state assets guaranteed to return consistent dividends. They deal in a currency not only necessary to underpin economic growth in this country, but also critical to the comfort and health of every citizen. They are also already in the collective ownership of all New Zealanders.
There is no doubt, as Prime Minister John Key is fond of pointing out, the mixed-ownership model that he and his party are proposing for their partial sale of state assets can work extremely well. You only have to look as far as Air New Zealand, a successful company majority-owned by the Government and partly in private hands. The problem is not with the model; it is with the targeted assets.
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• Simon Cunliffe is deputy editor (news) at the Otago Daily Times.
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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr
