New Zealand - Political Test Lab

Posted on 31st August 2016 to the Dominion Post Newspaper Wellington NZ

 Looking away from the Politics of the US Presidential Election Cycle overwhelming our media for a moment...

What is wrong with our Political System that is causing so much grief in NZ ? It is simply time for a systems upgrade ?

Political Leaders are just managers wound up in  Party “Brands”. What if we made up a new Progressive One-Stop-Shop Party ?
One that has permanent foundation concepts  Justice for all, HEALTH for all, WORK for all, Basic HUMAN NEEDS for all, taking on other
Political priorities as “Foundation Ideals” such as Greens Environmental concerns, Labour’s right to question, The Maori Parties care for our past & uniqueness,
National’s care for the Competitive Spirit and good Luck.  And of let’s not forget Winston Peter’s tireless scrutiny of wrong-doers.

New Zealand is an Ideal country for a true progressive 21st century Government, If Humanity can’t do it here easily , It can’t be done at all.
All we need now is a Bernie Sanders of our own ‘cause I am certain we are so much better than the sum of our political parts today.

And that goes for local government as well, it is almost medieval in nature if you look at it with undue attention.. 

Manic Tourism in New Zealand 2016

Posted Aug 16th 2016 to Nine to Noon on Radio New Zealand National

Thanks for your discussion with Rod Oram on tourism in 2016
I suppose the big problem with the John Key tourism model if that it is brainless..

As usual we are not thinking about what we want or where we are going  but we do know
Someone will benefit at the expense of someone else if we leave thinking to the “invisible hand”

AS it stands at the moment Air New Zealand is “dumping” passengers on this country without thought to where they will all go.
And they have encouraged other airlines to follow..

The Department of Conservation is a bunch of New Age Hippies thrown into the Tourism business there structure is not set up
to deal with business and there are no internal incentives for them to change. And... any money they make is stripped from them
by the Beehive.

Kiwis are not able to get into the tourism game as they did in the past unless they have a war-chest to set them selves up for that is a fickle
Industry.

Airline carbon footprints and Chinese middle class desires are not set in stone at this point in the narrative...
nor is our exchange rate.

If we want to make use of this boom we can only manage it on a government level ... It is not a good private investment portfolio because it is all based on
windfalls of incompetence.

Even the “High Stake” private companies (like Real Journeys) are riddled with Paranoia about the future to a point where they live in fear of shadows.

AS for the HUGE campsite of the Eglinton Valley Fiordland, The NZ taxpayer is footing the bill basically subsidizing the Milford Tourist Boat Companies early boat departures
at the expense of the Local Motor Park Industry 

 

Garry Tong's - Mayoral Can of Worms

Posted 23rd August 2016 to the Southland Times Newspaper Invercargill NZ

 I can’t help feeling that the Around the Mountain Headache could have been avoided if the Mayor Tong was not so insulated from the general public and friends by his people.

I use to be able to share news & observations with Mr Tong before his ordination as Mayor but sadly could not communicate directly with him afterward.

I tried to pass on serious reservations about “The Around the Mountain” Cycle-way project that our previous Mayor had missed due to mortality concerns at the time, clearly Mr Tong’s inner circle filtered community feedback
That could have saved rate payers Millions of Dollars.

The District Council will need to be mindful that they can not rely on investigative journalists to save them from stuff ups these days as they are now very thin on the ground as is money for legal advice when cans of worms are opened up in pursuit of uncomfortable truths.

Southland could have saved and restored the Kingston Flyer 10 times over for the price of this mess and that WOULD be a true unique tourism icon to the region.

Oh Sorry, that is another unopened can of worms caused by blind faith gone wrong from the Otago Southland Border Region.

America's Paranoia Bunker - 2016

Posted 16th August 2016 to the Otago Daily Times Newspaper Dunedin NZ

The US election of 2016 is another crossroads for humanity.
We tend to look at the world as a collection of solid nation states founded in stone to stand forever
but that is clearly wishful thinking. In 2016 the reality is we are a global community held together
mostly by descendants of the former British Empire and European Allies..  Though it appears the United States will
carry with the grand plan without the will of nearly half of it’s population. If it fails and looses it’s bottle who can step up and carry the
flame?

Mr Trump may leave the “heat” of the kitchen and head for a paranoia bunker. His supporters might go crazy and fancy themselves as Isis for Jesus,
run amuck, declaring a fatwa on thinking.

Yes It might seem like a far fetched farce but the rest of the World might need to brace themselves.

America and Europe of 2016 are awash in unwanted people displace by globalization and they are looking for a spark as the light of hope grows dimmer.

Worse yet the most UNWANTED people are not refugees but elected politicians like the putrefied US Congress and the hated European Parliament.  
Capable of doing “more than a little” mischief. 

 

FIX AUCKLAND PLEASE - YES WE CAN

Posted 29th July 2016 to the Otago Daily Times newspaper Dunedin NZ

 Not a day goes past without Auckland dominating the Nations news with it housing crisis.

Every day it is harder not to see Auckland as a city of dystopia sucking the life blood out of the rest of the country,
one hope is for Helen Clark to instigate a new united nations of the world that is human & nature based seeing as
19th century nation states and medieval institutions are fading into oblivion with the globalization movement onset.

Cities even now are joining together as central governments weaken.
Cities, it is believed will once again become like little states and will have to buddy up with each other and those built on pondzi foundations
will fail.

Also it seems a world government is badly needed to save the planet. Whether the UN, USA or the cities of the old British Commonwealth could
pull that off depends on if there are enough adults left to run it and if anyone will vote for them.

However right now capital gains and transaction taxes would be a smart move forward to prepare us whatever happens next .