Rainy Day reading —The Spinoff : Ministry of Transport fraud case

The ever-deepening storm centred on the Joanne Harrison fraud case just became a hurricane. Yesterday’s State Services Commission investigation report is likely to trigger a new chain of events that could extend well beyond embattled Auditor General Martin Matthews, writes Peter Newport

### thespinoff.co.nz July 21, 2017
Politics
The Ministry of Transport fraud case: Why the rot goes deeper than Joanne Harrison
By Peter Newport | Contributing writer
The State Services Commission investigation, published yesterday, makes one thing very clear: Joanne Harrison influenced the exit of four fellow Ministry of Transport employees who tried to tell their bosses that she was a fraudster. She managed to hire friends and steal over $700,000 from the ministry despite numerous staff attempting to call attention to her actions. This all happened while she was reporting directly to then-chief executive Martin Matthews, who is now our auditor general – albeit on temporary leave. The Commission has now apologised and is offering compensation to those former staff members. Its report also highlights many other issues at the Ministry, arguing that the 17-year-old legislation that covers whistleblowers needs to be changed and improved.

A second investigation, into whether Martin Matthews is a suitable person to continue as auditor general, is due from Sir Maarten Wevers in the coming days. Matthews is currently constructing his response to the unpublished, but complete, Wevers investigation. He has been given until the end of this week to complete it.

The Harrison case has some similar dynamics to the Todd Barclay drama. It’s become less about the initial problem than how it was handled. Who told the truth and who tried to obscure or even bury the truth. The difference with the Harrison situation is that she is now in jail and the truth is coming out – fast.

The Spinoff has been looking at exactly who did what, and when. That job has been made easier by a new, recent MOT whistle-blower who has produced and provided to us a detailed timeline noting all the evidence, which we publish here, utilising material released by the Ministry of Transport and available to view here. The same whistle-blower has shared a bizarre insight into Martin Matthews’ statements during his time at the Ministry of Transport.

But first, a quick tour of the jigsaw puzzle of documents that reveal a picture of Martin Matthews being given not clues, or hints, but what appear to be multiple solid facts that highlighted Joanne Harrison as a Grade A con artist and thief.
Read more

Founded in 2014, The Spinoff is New Zealand’s fastest growing media startup, amassing a monthly New Zealand audience of over 500,000 in less than three years.
We’ve assembled a team of agenda-setting journalists and critics, working across text, audio and video to create a true 21st century media brand. In just two years, The Spinoff has been nominated for 24 Canon awards, winning six. Our growth has been driven by a creative editorial style and innovative business model, emphasising long-term relationships with like-minded brands and a close connection with a young, educated and urban audience. Duncan Greive won both NZ Marketing Magazine‘s Editor of the Year as well as the People’s Choice title for Editor and Media Visionary in their media issue, July 2017. The Spinoff also claimed the title for Digital Media Brand of the Year as well as the People’s Choice title for the same award.

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Comment received from russandbev
2017/07/21 at 10:52 am

The recent revelations about what happened to the whistleblowers in the Ministry of Transport have, I’d suggest, application in Dunedin. Think of the parallels. In the MoT case a manipulative person with a barely-hidden track record of fraud and vindictiveness as well as a well developed sense of entitlement goes about systematically defrauding a government department of close on 3/4 million dollars. Not through some incredibly complex fraud, but one of simply creating business that didn’t exist and creating invoices from them for services that were never provided. Not exactly something that would take a lot to investigate.

Whistleblowers blow the alarm whistles to their managers and nothing happens and the further up the chain the questions were asked, the more dismissive the denials became. Meantime the fraudster moves against the whistleblowers. The Head of the Ministry moves on to even more wondrous things as Auditor General (is that ironic or is that ironic?) and the Minister dismisses all suggestions of wrong-doing. Even the Speaker of the House who employs the Auditor General doesn’t want to get involved.

Now found that the whistleblowers were entirely vindicated by their concerns and they get private and public apologies and a confidential settlement to, in part, recompense them for their treatment by both a fraudster and by management and governance failures. The Protected Disclosures Act [2000] is supposed to protect whistleblowers in BOTH public and private sectors.

Now, I don’t think anyone is suggesting fraud in the case of Aurora/Delta and that should be made plain. However look at the track record of these companies. A fearful record of stupid property speculation costing many many millions which is still going on thanks to Yaldhurst. A willingness to go along with borrowing to supply dividends to the DCHL and the DCC. Decades of ignoring maintenance on the Aurora network closely linked to the governance requirements to minimise costs, maximise profits and supply dividends to build vanity projects by the owners and now the spendup of northwards of 3/4 billion dollars on urgent maintenance bought about these years of neglect.

And then think of the years and layers of denials that these things happened over. When Richard Healey found he could no longer keep working in the company because of all that was being hidden, he gets vilified by EVERYONE that should have listened. EVERYONE is in denial including his past Managers who continued to receive their grossly inflated salaries and those in governance – many of whom refused to even sit down with him and discuss his concerns.

Am I the only one to see the parallels in how a Ministry or a City company deals with whistleblowers? I wonder if we will ever see similar end results in the case of Richard Healey?

{Link added. -Eds}

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Reply from Elizabeth
2017/07/21 at 1:02 pm

Not involving Aurora:

Charges of Constructive Fraud have been brought, by joinder, against Delta Utility Services Ltd in the Christchurch High Court by the caveators (original property owners of the Noble Subdivision) at Yaldhurst. The case proceeds.

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[decisionmaker.co.nz] formatted by whatifdunedin

█ Transparency International New Zealand
http://www.transparency.org.nz/

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Related Posts and Comments:
19.7.17 Southern Police : Nothing changed since Tom Lewis wrote Coverups & Copouts
18.7.17 Delta | Infinity | CCC staff collude to defeat Yaldhurst residents (again)
23.5.17 Topical debates on Corruption in New Zealand
22.2.17 Some Councils/CCOs get cleanup from FRAUD and CORRUPTION #NotAll
9.12.16 Auckland corruption charges proved —ring any bells? #South
28.1.16 New Zealand local government T-shirt #haze #corruption
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14.9.15 Screening tonight: Paradigm Episode 2! Local Government Corruption in NZ #Sky #YouTube
23.7.15 Publicise: laudafinem.org
13.5.14 Stuff: Colin Espiner usefully defines Corruption

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

This post is offered in the public interest.

Topical debates on Corruption in New Zealand

At Twitter:

It shouldn’t be career ending to get done over by a crooked employee but it should mean you can’t be Auditor-Generalhttps://t.co/wvMn1dehUU

— Matthew Hooton (@MatthewHootonNZ) May 22, 2017

A convicted fraudster apparently headed an inquiry into workplace harassment just months before she was arrested https://t.co/FqTA5VgyRZ pic.twitter.com/fAKwp0hsuI

— nzherald (@nzherald) May 22, 2017

Other media items:
22.5.17 Can the Auditor-General be trusted to combat corruption?
21.2.17 NZH: Ex Ministry of Transport manager jailed for $726k fraud
26.8.16 Former Ministry of Transport fraudster denied bail

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Read Bryce Edwards’ full opinion piece linked below, and the associated reference links.

It’s Worth Your While Dunedin
Because you know instances of this bigger story, and you know them well.

The following is an abridgement.

This website has bolded some words provided by Mr Edwards and the commentators he cites. Words that bloggers increasingly have a ‘steam problem’ to include in everyday use of the English language.

So much for district heating schemes, eh.

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### NZ Herald 2:48 PM Tue May 23, 2017
Political Roundup: The unaccountability of elites
Politics
By Bryce Edwards
OPINION —How much accountability is there in New Zealand politics and public life? Not enough, it seems, going on recent controversies. Mistakes by those in authority can lead to disasters and misfortunes of various magnitudes. Yet a number of recent examples – ranging from the Pike River tragedy through to the Havelock North water contamination crisis – suggest that there is often a worrying lack of consequences or accountability for the authorities involved.
Following on from yesterday’s Political Roundup column about managers failing to prevent serious fraud in a government department (Can the Auditor-General be trusted to combat corruption?); an obvious question is whether New Zealand has a culture in which there’s a lack of accountability for elites who make serious mistakes.
This need for this question is further underlined by Peter Newport’s strongly argued opinion piece, Is fraudster Joanne Harrison’s old boss really fit to lead NZ’s top public watchdog? In this must-read piece published yesterday, Newport details all of the whistle-blowing attempts to alert Ministry of Transport managers to the crimes being committed in the government department, and how those whistle-blowers then lost their jobs, seemingly as a result. Reading Newport’s account, it seems that much of the fraud was entirely preventable. He asks: “Where was human resources? The Public Service Association? The police? The SFO? The auditor general? The chief executive? This all happened in a modern New Zealand government ministry. In the full light of day.”
He concludes that “the chief executive, and his successor, have consistently refused to properly investigate either what she got away with or the further systemic failings behind the scenes… It’s disgusting. Where does the buck stop and who gets the whistle-blowers their jobs back?”
….[break]
Part of New Zealand’s democratic deficit relates to a lack of a culture of accountability in public life and governance. According to Karl du Fresne, “Accountability, the long-established principle that someone should be seen to take responsibility for serious mistakes, is frequently talked about but rarely practiced” – see his column, Accountability the price of keeping the system honest. He makes some important points about the apparent decline in standards of accountability in political and public life in New Zealand, pointing out that the end result, is “public confidence in ‘the system’ continues to be steadily eroded.” This is a major democratic problem, says du Fresne: “If no one ends up accepting personal responsibility and incurring a penalty, there’s little incentive to make sure it doesn’t happen again. […] Part of the problem is that “genuine political commentary and critical analysis in New Zealand has been eroded almost to the point of non-existence over the past few decades”. This is the view of Bob Gregory of the Victoria University of Wellington, who links the decline of accountability to the decline of public debate and information…..
….[break]
So, does all of this lack of accountability mean that New Zealand is possibly more vulnerable to corruption than people assume? This is discussed by former parliamentary staffer Grant McLachlan in his opinion piece, NZ should raise the bar on corruption. McLachlan suggests that New Zealand isn’t well protected from corruption: “Our processes to deal with corruption are flawed. […] When a judge in our highest court doesn’t declare a conflict of interest, the Attorney-General shouldn’t offer the judge a golden handshake to save the taxpayer the cost of an inquiry. When a dodgy mine explodes killing 29, out-of-court payments should not influence the dropping of a prosecution. The Protected Disclosures Act was meant to protect good faith whistle-blowers when reporting ‘serious wrongdoing’. Poor internal processes, however, have resulted in witch-hunts and whitewashes.”
….[break]
Finally, does the culture of misinformation and opaque politics play a part in limited accountability? Graham Adams thinks so, and says that there’s good reason for being appalled by the deception that comes out of government these days. He says “Kept in the dark and fed endless bullshit, it’s difficult for even engaged citizens to make sense of much in New Zealand’s public and political life” – see: Information underload: We’re all mushrooms now.
Read more

█ Bryce Edwards, until recently a lecturer in Politics at the University of Otago, researches and critiques New Zealand politics, public policy, political parties, elections, and political communication. His PhD, completed in 2003, was on ‘Political Parties in New Zealand: A Study of Ideological and Organisational Transformation’. He is currently working on a book entitled ‘Who Runs New Zealand? An Anatomy of Power’. He is also on the board of directors for Transparency International New Zealand.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

This post is offered in the public interest.

[picdn.net]

Pollution in Chinese cities

City pollution [ddmcdn.com]

### stuff.co.nz Last updated 12:20, March 7 2015
Film highlighting pollution woes vanishes from China’s Internet
By Dian Zhang
A 104-minute film lecture that outlines the serious pollution in China has been removed from the nation’s internet, after receiving millions of views and raising hopes that the country’s leadership might tackle China’s widespread smog problem. The film – by Chai Jing, one of the best-known journalists in China and a well-known former state television reporter – was released right before China’s two most important political events, the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. Before the movie was censored, a story from Xinhua News Agency, China’s official press agency, praising the film was deleted online the same night the article was posted, offering a hint of the government’s real attitude.

Released last Saturday, Under the Dome had received 42.9 million views on Youku, a video-sharing website like YouTube, by 5 pm Thursday (local time). It prompted 530,460 posts on Weibo.

In the film, Chai gives a speech and shows data and interviews with government officials and environmental experts from China and abroad. The film shows striking images of the extent of air pollution in a number of Chinese cities, as well as rivers fouled by chemicals and littered with flotsam and dead fish. Chai also travelled to Los Angeles and London to gauge their experiences dealing with smog.
Read more

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█ Chai Jing’s documentary is well worth watching. Preamble via CNN.

CNN Published on Mar 3, 2015
China smog documentary goes viral
Director of China Environment Forum Jennifer Turner discusses a new documentary titled “Under the Dome” that discusses pollution in China.

Linghein Ho Published on Mar 1, 2015
Chai Jing’s review: Under the Dome – Investigating China’s Smog 柴静雾霾调查：穹顶之下 (full translation)
ENGLISH SUBTITLES ARE FULLY TRANSLATED
For more information: http://www.linghein.me/tr_u/
English Subtitles: FULLY UPDATED | Japanese Subtitles: update to 09:25 | French Subtitles: update to 31:06
Former celebrity TV anchor Chai Jing quit her job after her baby daughter was born with a lung tumor, and after a year of rigorous investigation, launched this 1 hour 40 minute documentary about China’s smog: what is smog? Where does it come from? What do we do from here? It is very powerful in many ways. English subtitles are now completely finished, and other languages are being added.
Music: “Brotherhood” by John Dreamer (Google Play • iTunes)

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[click to enlarge]
3 photo comparatives (*gif) taken by NASA’s Aqua satellite via gizmodo.com

Related Post and Comments:
23.3.13 Chongqing, Southwest China

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

ODT editorial pretty bang on, but News: MOVED ON ?

In the run up to the Northland by-election, today’s Otago Daily Times editorial claims: “Much was made at the time by Opposition MPs of when and how much Mr Key knew about the motives behind Mr Sabin’s departure but, by and large, the public has moved on.”

We, moved on?
Surely not, NOT with our readings and (mis?)understandings of Prime Minister John Key as they evolve. His Auckland-based polish and shininess, Kiwi/Maui-BBQ-golfing style, plastered over with Merrill Lynch effects of a pronounced nose — in corners it shouldn’t be — are, well, terribly hard to keep bolstering up or gaily smiling about.
[Add New Zealand’s lack of controls on foreign investment, circus chum Minister Nick Smith on RMA reforms, housing need, and his no-traffic with dodgy imported concrete…. Paula Bennett as new minister for the unholy mess of Local Government….]
We will be moving on, differently if not DEFENSIVELY. If, assertively.

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### ODT Online Sat, 21 Feb 2015
Editorial: Winston Peters – the waiting game
OPINION Prime Minister John Key will face an early litmus test of how his Government is tracking when the Northland by-election is held on March 28. The by-election is being held to find a new MP for the electorate after the sudden departure from Parliament of Mike Sabin, the former chairman of the law and order select committee. […] On paper, the by-election should be an easy win for National. The wildcard, however, is New Zealand First leader Winston Peters.

Mr Peters is the one MP who has any hope at all of getting enough media attention to pose a threat. His comments, for instance on SkyCity Casino, sending armed forces personnel to Iraq and drought support to farmers, generate newspaper headlines and lead news bulletins.
Read more

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

*Images: stuff.co.nz – John Key PM by Murray Webb; skykiwi.com – Winston Peters (interviewed by Jessica Mutch)

New Zealand: Salmond on abuse of democratic freedoms

### stuff.co.nz Last updated 10:57 13/01/2015 — Dominion Post
Erosion of democratic rights
By Dame Anne Salmond
OPINION In the wake of the shooting of cartoonists and journalists in Paris, political leaders in New Zealand have expressed shock and horror, and their support for those who uphold freedom of expression in other countries.
What about freedom of speech and thought at home, however?
Over the past decade or so, politicians seeking to uphold their own power have abused democratic freedoms in New Zealand. Journalists including Jon Stephenson (for reporting on New Zealand’s involvement in Afghanistan), Andrea Vance (over a suspected leak of a report about the GCSB spy agency), and Nicky Hager (for exposing scurrilous relationships between senior politicians and muck-raking bloggers) have been intimidated and attacked.
While our leaders do not shoot people, they work with others to try to ruin the lives and careers of those who disagree with them. The means may be different, but the intent is the same. One way or another, their critics (however valid their points of view might be) must be silenced.

It is not just outspoken individuals who are at risk. Institutions that are the bulwarks of our democracy have been undermined. Since the 1980s, the civil service, which is supposed to offer informed, impartial advice to politicians, has been brought under ministerial control, and instead of serving civil society now largely serves its political masters.

The freedom of the press has been compromised, for instance in the wake of the teapot tape scandal, when newspaper offices were raided in an effort to prevent the publication of those recordings, or when improper pressure is brought to bear on journalists and media outlets for partisan political purposes.
While H L Mencken defined good journalism as “afflicting the comfortable, and comforting the afflicted”, much journalism in New Zealand now does the opposite. Read more

█ Dame Anne Salmond is a Distinguished Professor at the University of Auckland. She was the 2013 Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year.

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Anthony Robins at The Standard says:
“Salmond goes on to cover attacks on “The independence of the judiciary and the rule of law”, “Independent statutory bodies”, “Freedom of thought and inquiry in universities and Crown Research Institutes” and “Radical extensions of the powers of the SIS and the GCSB” […] It’s an excellent article, and a depressing summary of the state of NZ.” Link

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16.12.14 Chief Ombudsman | OIA review
24.10.14 John Key’s Godzone and the OIA
20.9.14 Election Night
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● 13.7.13 New Zealand: Salmond on democracy
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26.7.12 ‘The Public’s Right to Know’ – OIA Review

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Clarke and Dawe: ‘We’re getting a lot of changes coming through….’

ClarkeAndDawe Published on Aug 6, 2014

Clarke and Dawe – An Exciting New Interpretation of The Text.
“An Important Government Functionary. One of many.” Originally aired on ABC TV: 07/08/2014

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ClarkeAndDawe Published on Aug 13, 2014

Clarke and Dawe – The Exceptions that Prove the Rules
“Mr Desmond Gruntled, Financial Projectionist” Originally aired on ABC TV: 14/08/2014

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ClarkeAndDawe Published on Aug 20, 2014

Clarke and Dawe – Who said that?
“Mr Tim Astraya, Asparagus farmer” Originally aired on ABC TV: 21/08/2014

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ClarkeAndDawe Published on Aug 27, 2014

Clarke and Dawe – Some Slight Difficulties in the Workplace
“An Extremely Senior Australian Treasury Official” Originally aired on ABC TV: 28/08/2014

http://www.mrjohnclarke.com
http://www.twitter.com/mrjohnclarke
http://www.facebook.com/ClarkeAndDawe

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Unhappy, ruined #overpoweredbythugs

Received from Anonymous
Sat, 19 Jul 2014 at 10:11 a.m.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Decisions . . .

Patriot Hawgrider (@dale42860) tweeted at 9:37 PM on Thu, Apr 24, 2014:
pic.twitter.com/Bs18b7LWHs

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Waitangi Day tributes

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr —with thanks to Source

*Image: porcupinefarm.blogspot.co.nz – John Key [imaged nicely | screenshot]

Clarke and Dawe —November/December 2013

Published 4 Dec 2013. ClarkeAndDawe.
Ensuring Certainty in The Seasonal Gift Delivery Business
“Declan Halls, Foreign Affairs Spokesman” Originally aired on ABC TV: 05/12/2013

.

Published 27 Nov 2013. ClarkeAndDawe.
Live from the Adelaide Oval
“Wayne Interruption, Cricket commentator” Originally aired on ABC TV: 28/11/2013

.

Published 20 Nov 2013. ClarkeandDawe.
Ministerial responsibility. Coming soon to Australia.
“Hugh Manrights, Mastermind contestant” Originally aired on ABC TV: 21/11/2013

ABCTV: For 25 years John Clarke and Bryan Dawe have broadcast a weekly interview in which prominent figures speak about matters of public importance. John pretends to be someone he isn’t pretending to be and Bryan behaves with grace under pressure. The interviews are broadcast on ABCTV on Thursday nights and are available online here, on mrjohnclarke.com and on YouTube. They are also available by prescription at selected retail outlets.

http://www.twitter.com/mrjohnclarke
http://www.facebook.com/ClarkeAndDawe

More Clarke and Dawe here:
17.11.13 Cull, MacTavish: (to borrow a phrase) “Have you fixed the debt crisis?”
9.11.13 Quiz on politics

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Not just in America !!!

Link from Martin Legge.

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### marketoracle.co.uk Oct 28, 2013 – 09:37 AM GMT
Politics / Social Issues
America’s Culture of Ignorance
By James Quinn

“Five percent of the people think; ten percent of the people think they think; and the other eighty-five percent would rather die than think.” –Thomas Edison

The kabuki theatre that passes for governance in Washington D.C. reveals the profound level of ignorance shrouding this Empire of Debt in its prolonged death throes. Ignorance of facts; ignorance of math; ignorance of history; ignorance of reality; and ignorance of how ignorant we’ve become as a nation, have set us up for an epic fall. It’s almost as if we relish wallowing in our ignorance like a fat lazy sow in a mud hole. The lords of the manor are able to retain their power, control and huge ill-gotten riches because the government educated serfs are too ignorant to recognize the self-evident contradictions in the propaganda they are inundated with by state controlled media on a daily basis.

“Any formal attack on ignorance is bound to fail because the masses are always ready to defend their most precious possession – their ignorance.” –Hendrik Willem van Loon

The levels of ignorance are multi-dimensional and diverse, crossing all educational, income, and professional ranks. The stench of ignorance has settled like Chinese toxic smog over our country, as various constituents have chosen comforting ignorance over disconcerting knowledge. The highly educated members, who constitute the ruling class in this country, purposefully ignore facts and truth because the retention and enhancement of their wealth and power are dependent upon them not understanding what they clearly have the knowledge to understand. The underclass wallow in their ignorance as their life choices, absence of concern for marriage or parenting, lack of interest in educating themselves, and hiding behind the cross of victimhood and blaming others for their own failings. Everyone is born ignorant and the path to awareness and knowledge is found in reading books. Rich and poor alike are free to read and educate themselves. The government, union teachers, and a village are not necessary to attain knowledge. It requires hard work and clinging to your willful ignorance to remain stupid.

The youth of the country consume themselves in techno-narcissistic triviality, barely looking up from their iGadgets long enough to make eye contact with other human beings. The toxic combination of government delivered public education, dumbed down socially engineered curriculum, taught by uninspired intellectually average union controlled teachers, to distracted, unmotivated, latchkey kids, has produced a generation of young people ignorant about history, basic mathematical concepts, and the ability or interest to read and write. They have been taught to feel rather than think critically. They have been programmed to believe rather than question and explore. Slogans and memes have replaced knowledge and understanding. They have been lured into inescapable student loan debt serfdom by the very same government that is handing them a $200 trillion entitlement bill and an economy built upon low paying service jobs that don’t require a college education, because the most highly educated members of society realized that outsourcing the higher paying production jobs to slave labour factories in Asia was great for the bottom line, their stock options and bonus pools.

Instead of being outraged and lashing out against this injustice, the medicated, daycare reared youth passively lose themselves in the inconsequentiality and shallowness of social media, reality TV, and the internet, while living in their parents’ basement. They have chosen the ignorance inflicted upon their brains by thousands of hours spent twittering, texting, facebooking, seeking out adorable cat videos on the internet, viewing racist rap singer imbeciles rent out sports stadiums to propose to vacuous big breasted sluts on reality cable TV shows, and sitting zombie-like for days with a controller in hand blowing up cities, killing whores, and murdering policemen using their new PS4 on their 65 inch HDTV, rather than gaining a true understanding of the world by reading Steinbeck, Huxley, and Orwell. Technology has reduced our ability to think and increased our ignorance.

“During my eighty-seven years, I have witnessed a whole succession of technological revolutions. But none of them has done away with the need for character in the individual or the ability to think.” –Bernard M. Baruch

The youth have one thing going for them. They are still young and can awaken from their self-imposed stupor of ignorance. There are over 80 million millenials between the ages of 8 and 30 years old who need to start questioning the paradigm they are inheriting and critically examining the mendacious actions of their elders. The future of the country is in their hands, so I hope they put down those iGadgets and open their eyes before it is too late. We need many more patriots like Edward Snowden and far fewer twerking sluts like Miley Cyrus if we are to overcome the smog of apathy and ignorance blanketing our once sentient nation.

The ignorance of youth can be chalked up to inexperience, lack of wisdom, and immaturity. There is no excuse for the epic level of ignorance displayed by older generations over the last thirty years. Boomers and Generation X have charted the course of this ship of state for decades. Ship of fools is a more fitting description, as they have stimulated the entitlement mentality that has overwhelmed the fiscal resources of the country. Our welfare/warfare empire, built upon a Himalayan mountain of debt, enabled by a central bank owned by Wall Street, and perpetuated by swarms of corrupt bought off spineless politicians, is the ultimate testament to the seemingly limitless level of ignorance engulfing our civilization. The entitlement mindset permeates our culture from the richest to the poorest. Mega-corporations use their undue influence (bribes disguised as campaign contributions) to elect pliable candidates to office, hire lobbyists to write the laws and tax regulations governing their industries, and collude with the bankers and other titans of industry to harvest maximum profits from the increasingly barren fields of a formerly thriving land of milk and honey. By unleashing a torrent of unbridled greed, ransacking the countryside, and burning down the villages, the ruling class has planted the seeds of their own destruction.
Read more

● James Quinn is a senior director of strategic planning for a major university. James has held financial positions with a retailer, homebuilder and university in his 22-year career. Those positions included treasurer, controller, and head of strategic planning. He is married with three boys and is writing these articles because he cares about their future. He earned a BS in accounting from Drexel University and an MBA from Villanova University. He is a certified public accountant and a certified cash manager.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

New Zealand: Salmond on democracy

Dame Anne Salmond says it is imperative that New Zealanders stand up for democratic freedoms … A quiet, obedient, and docile population; a culture of passivity and apathy; a meek acceptance of what politicians say and do – these things are not consistent with democracy.

### NZ Herald Online 5:30 AM Sat, 13 Jul 2013
Dame Anne Salmond: A warning to New Zealanders keep hold of democracy
By Dame Anne Salmond
In 2007, John Key, then Leader of the Opposition, gave a powerful speech to the New Zealand Press Club against the Electoral Finance Bill. He declared: “Here in New Zealand we often take our democratic freedoms for granted. We think they will always be there. We have a Bill of Rights which is supposed to protect our right to freedom of expression. What on earth could go wrong?”
I have a different view. I believe what Thomas Jefferson said – that the price of freedom is eternal vigilance. There are times when we have to stand up for our rights, and the rights of our neighbours and friends, and indeed the rights of people we totally disagree with, or else these rights will begin to erode away.
I agree with these sentiments, absolutely. New Zealanders must stand up for their democratic rights when they are threatened, or they’ll lose them.
Who could have imagined that in 2013, this same political leader would be presiding over an assault upon the democratic rights of New Zealanders? This is a matter of such gravity that last month, the Law Society felt impelled to report to the United Nations that in New Zealand “a number of recent legislative measures are fundamentally in conflict with the rule of law”.

When a body as authoritative and dispassionate as the Law Society feels forced to report to the United Nations that the Government in New Zealand is acting in conflict with the rule of law, all New Zealanders should be very worried.

Extraordinary though it may seem, this statement is no more than the truth. In its report to the United Nations, the Law Society lists a series of recent acts that have allowed the Executive to use regulation to override Parliament, that deny citizens the right to legal representation and cancel their right to appeal to the courts to uphold their rights under the law.
The Law Society also draws attention to the use of Supplementary Order Papers and urgency to avoid proper Parliamentary scrutiny of legislation. They express their concern that a number of bills formally declared by the Attorney-General to be in breach of the Bill of Rights have recently been enacted.
This report does not mention other key defects in the law-making process in New Zealand at present. These include the willingness of a minority government to pass laws that impinge on the rights and wellbeing of New Zealanders at the request of foreign corporations – Warner Brothers, for instance, or SkyCity and various oil companies. None of these deals, which amount to “legislation for sale”, can claim a democratic mandate.
Read more

● Anthropologist and author Dame Anne Salmond is the current New Zealander of the Year.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

*Image: tepapa.govt.nz – Dame Anne Salmond

Public Service and Integrity —Sunday Morning, RNZ National

Updated Post 7.4.13

Radio New Zealand National
Sunday Morning with Chris Laidlaw
Listen on 101 FM or online at radionz.co.nz
Link to Twitter page from their website: http://www.radionz.co.nz/sunday

7 April 2013
8:43 Suzanne Snively – Public Service and Integrity
The New Zealand public sector has long enjoyed a reputation as one of the least corrupt in the world. Suzanne Snively, from anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International NZ, talks to Chris about the 100th anniversary of this country’s Public Service Act – its importance to our democracy and how it affects the lives of all New Zealanders. (16′33″)
Audio | Download: Ogg Vorbis MP3 | Embed

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Related Post:
16.6.11 “Dunedin” – we introduce Transparency International UK

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

‘The Public’s Right to Know’ – OIA Review

Official Information Act (OIA)
“At present, the Ombudsman was in charge of investigating complaints under the Act, but did not have any wider responsibilities. […] An information commissioner could be created, who would perform a similar role to the Privacy Commissioner or Human Rights Commissioner.”

### ODT Online Thu, 26 Jul 2012
Review recommends broader scope for OIA
Source: NZ Herald
The Law Commission has recommended that all publicly funded agencies should be subject to official information requests, including courts, universities and boards of trustees. The commission has made more than 100 recommendations in “The Public’s Right to Know”, a review of the Official Information Act (OIA) which was tabled at Parliament yesterday. Lead commissioner for the report Prof John Burrows said main principles of the 30-year-old Act were sound, but it needed to be upgraded for the digital age.

“We think there’s a case now for saying if a body is receiving public funding and is performing a public function it should be accountable under the OIA.”

The review also recommended re-drafting some of the grounds for withholding information – such as “good government” and “commercial sensitivity” – which were unclear.

The Justice Ministry and Department of Internal Affairs would consider the recommendations, and were expected to act on them within six months.
Read more

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Detroit: “Make no little plans”

Detroit is struggling with the same chronic urban issues that many of our nation’s [USA] older postindustrial cities face—high unemployment, population loss, deteriorating infrastructure, and property abandonment.

People are using public art projects and community agriculture to transform entire neighbourhoods.

### architectmagazine.com Posted on: October 6, 2010
From: ARCHITECT October 2010
Planning
Can This Planner Save Detroit?
By Fred A. Bernstein
Toni L. Griffin has just accepted a unique—and daunting—job: the reshaping of Detroit. She talks to ARCHITECT about population decline, urban ag, downtown’s revival, and more.

By the way, there is still a good amount of affordable housing stock in rehab condition—we have an opportunity to strengthen the city’s traditional neighbourhoods as well as create new, compact, and more diverse neighbourhood typologies.

A Manhattan resident, Griffin spends most of the week in an office in Detroit City Hall. In an arrangement that reflects the strong interest of philanthropists in Detroit’s future, her salary is paid by the Kresge Foundation (which has an endowment of over $3 billion). Rip Rapson, Kresge’s president and son of architect Ralph Rapson, is also giving the city funds for Griffin to hire a team of local, national, and international consultants, from the private sector and four Michigan universities. Several other foundations are expected to provide funding to support both the technical and civic engagement components of the project.
Read more

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

National approach to sustainability fundamentally flawed

### ODT Online Thu, 3 Sep 2009
Warning of ‘catastrophic’ future

A think tank report on sustainability, released in Wellington today, calls for a radical overhaul of economic and environmental policies and practices to avoid a “catastrophic” future for the country.
Read more

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### ODT Online Thu, 03/09/2009 – 6:54pm.
Comment by Duke of Ban Phai on Sustainability and local body leadership

This is an authoritative, milestone report with major implications for individuals and both national and local governance. It’s downloadable for free from: http://www.phase2.org/documents/SSFNZ_web_310809.pdf
Read more

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### ODT Online Fri, 04/09/2009 – 4:04am.
Submitted by Al Bartlett on Sustainability

Dear friends, The new report on sustainability in NZ gives no hint of recognizing the First Law of Sustainability: Growth of populations and/or growth in the rates of consumption of resources cannot be sustained. Stopping population growth is a necessary, but not a sufficient, condition for achieving sustainability. Albert A. Bartlett Professor Emeritus of Physics [University of Colorado].

Another stadium spend for global TV

### ODT Online Tue, 12 May 2009
Govt puts $2.5m into Whangarei stadium upgrade

The Government is putting $2.5 million into the upgrade of Whangarei’s Okara Park to get it ready for the Rugby World Cup. The minister in charge of preparations for the tournament, Murray McCully, said today the upgraded stadium would leave a lasting legacy for Northland.
Read more

Govt lavishes stadiums

### Scoop Regional Thursday, 30 April 2009, 2:10 pm
Govt thanked for $15 million AMI Stadium funding

Press Release: Christchurch City Council
To: Chief Reporter
From: Diane Keenan – Communications Team

MEDIA RELEASE 30 April 2009

Government thanked for $15 million AMI Stadium funding

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker is delighted at the Government’s announcement that it will provide $15 million towards the $60 million redevelopment of AMI Stadium in Christchurch.

In 2007, Christchurch City Council agreed to a $20 million underwrite of the redevelopment to allow it to proceed and be completed in time for the Rugby World Cup 2011.

“The Government’s decision to invest $15 million in the project shows its commitment to making RWC 2011 a great success, and also acknowledges the leading role Christchurch will play in this event,” Mr Parker says.

“The Government’s move also fully endorses the Council’s decision to underwrite the project. It was important we provided the underwrite when we did otherwise Christchurch could not have committed to RWC 2011. A redeveloped AMI Stadium with a seating capacity of 45,000 was the basis for our bid to host two World Cup quarter finals, in addition to pool games.”

“I am absolutely thrilled that the Government has stepped up with this substantial assistance to Christchurch. We are on track to deliver a world-class stadium on time and budget.”

Vbase Chief Executive Bryan Pearson supported the Mayor’s comments and congratulated the Government on its decision and foresight.

“This development will have flow-on benefits throughout the whole community. I also want to acknowledge the Christchurch City Council and its visionary decision to support this redevelopment right from the start. Without that support and underwrite, we would not have been able to proceed and would not have played a leading role in RWC 2011.”

Scoop Link

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See comment from David.

"People: work very hard NOW"

MAINTAIN MOMENTUM

YOU SHOULD – everybody for or against the stadium – LOBBY HARD by going public at every opportunity there is to tell DCC, ORC, CST and (maybe) those in central government about the benefits or non benefits of the Otago stadium project.

Some of you are very vocal, you’re writing lots of letters, speaking to lots of people and working on other strategies in the greater city, continuously so. Thank you. Your energy is remarkable.

MORE WORK TO DO, because the stadium project is still fluid.

How does the stadium project affect you and the people you know or have responsibility for?
SPELL IT OUT

Your arguments should not be based on HOT AIR. Your arguments should be well stated: plainly stated and based on FACT or LACK OF FACT you have discovered about the project. Either way you will help to show what the exact status of the project is in your local community.

Do you feel you have been consulted properly on the stadium project?
SPELL IT OUT

If you haven’t stopped reading this, SAY WHY the stadium project will or won’t work practically, economically and or socially for the city.

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Special note to those against the stadium:
A rates revolt is possibly too slow and too late to make a difference to what will unfold at DCC before and after Easter 2009.

REPEAT QUESTION: StS are you heading to judicial review. If we ask often enough it could happen, right?

Never the twain

ODT Online comments, you have to laugh. Or cry.
At least note the mordant polarity.

Awesome!
By wingy1234 on Tue, 03/03/2009 – 6:37pm.

This is the greatest thing that has ever happened in Dunedin, Its awesome!!!

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Awesome indeed!
By Duke of Ban Phai on Tue, 03/03/2009 – 9:54pm.

I entirely agree. It’s the greatest mistake ever made in Dunedin, and the magnitude of the stupidity displayed by the DCC, ORC and the present Government is truly awesome.

Today, Bev to planet Mars…

Well, as good as…

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Public Forum Speech to ORC
Tuesday March 3, 2009

By Bev Butler

The Otago Regional Council’s mission and purpose is to protect and enhance our natural environment and resources. You should not even be contemplating borrowing $37.5 million to help fund a new stadium. Your own Chair has expressed the view that you should stick to your core business – but only after you fund the rugby stadium. The logic of this defies me! Put simply, you have no business in being involved in this project.

At the last Public Forum, Tony Borick, on behalf of the Ratepayers and Householders’ Association, spoke to you of his concerns regarding the legality of the Otago Regional Council donating $37.5 million to the stadium project. He outlined his concerns referring to sections of the Local Government Act 2002. There has been much debate as to whether the Otago Regional Council is going beyond their mandate of what constitutes core services for a Regional Council. As a follow up to these concerns, Stop The Stadium Inc is currently seeking legal advice from ChenPalmer (specialists in Public Law, Wellington) in relation to the legality of any decision of the Otago Regional Council to commit funding to the stadium project, and that depending on the advice received, Stop The Stadium may take further legal action.

You have ignored the views of the ratepayers who have indicated in the only independent professional survey to date that they do not support ratepayer funding for the project. I would like to now table this survey where 78.3% of citizens with an opinion are opposed to public funding of the stadium. This is overwhelming and the data for this survey was collected four months ago. Since then the economic crisis has worsened and I believe the percentage opposed has probably increased further. You are required by law to be prudent and conservative guardians of our resources. Should you vote to grant $37.5 million to the stadium project you would show yourselves to be the very opposite.

Recently, Stop The Stadium wrote to all leaders of political parties requesting an opportunity to meet with them to present the other side of the stadium story. Responses are just beginning to come in. We received a letter from Mr Peter Dunne, the Minister of Revenue and Leader of the United Future Party. In this letter, Mr Dunne states: “I have noted your comments about local opposition to this proposal the parallel which comes to mind is the development of the Westpac Regional Stadium, which occurred only on the basis of strong regional support. If that kind of support is not forthcoming in this instance, then I think that it would be inappropriate for the Government to be involved.” Mr Dunne rightly recognises that projects need community support, which is so lacking in this instance. It is a travesty of democracy in Dunedin when the overwhelming majority of citizens have persistently told both councils through public submissions during the consultation process, letters to the editor and the University survey that they do not support the stadium.

When I spoke in the public forum on 11 February 2009, I tabled a Stop The Stadium press release outlining that $8.7 million went “missing” from the Carisbrook Stadium Trust’s private funding commitments between May and November last year. This morning we read in the Otago Daily Times that a Dunedin City councillor has heard rumours that some of the private funding contracts are in fact dummy contracts. I wish to add to this rumour the following and in doing so if these rumours are unfounded I will not hesitate to give a full apology. Recently an unnamed Dunedin businessman told me that people were being approached to sign private funding contracts and being told they wouldn’t need to be bound by them – that they just needed to have signatures on the contracts. If this rumour is correct then this is scandalous. One way to lay rumours like this to rest is to insist that all the private funding contracts are independently reviewed. Why hasn’t this already been done? One wonders! Is it the same reason why the independent Davis Langdon peer review was not completed March 2008?

Today this scandalous project should be put to rest. Please, for the financial health of this city, lay it to rest. We are being gripped by a major worldwide economic crisis which is worsening day by day. Many in our community are already facing hardship. This proposal has deeply divided our community – as you well know. It is a localised version of the kind of division that occurred during the ’81 Springbok Tour. Incidentally, they both involve the game of rugby and its politics. Not only will the proposed stadium be a financial drain with predicted annual operating losses – it will drain our community spirit. It will always be a symbol of division if, God forbid, it is ever built. Dunedin does not need this stadium. Dunedin cannot afford this stadium. Please stop.

[ends]

{Link removed when STS website taken down. -Eds}

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr