Thursday, December 21, 2006

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Well it's Christmas and this city girl is heading to small town surburbia for the holidays this afternoon. Where the weather will be fine, it will be warm and wind will not mean I get left highly embarrassed on the corner of a major intersection after my skirt blows up.

I hope everyone here has a very Happy Holiday and gets some relaxation in - I know I will be.

Have a great Christmas and Happy New Year - don't do anything I wouldn't.

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Goodbye

Marian Hobbs has officially announced that she will not be contesting the Wellington Central seat in the 2008, this is a sad lost for the Wellington Central electorate, as Marian is a fantastic MP admired by people from across the political spectrum, as she will stand up for what she believes in, even if that means getting the PM's back up.

I had the wonderful opportunity of working for Marian, she was a great boss. The way she dealt with things, and even in some really 'interesting'(the niceset way to phrase it) times she kept a cool head on her. She also offered lots of support and advice on work related things, but also in times of personal need.

Marian has been in Parliament for 12 years, been in Cabinet and then stepped back, she feels that she has gone in, worked her bum off, and now should take a step back to allow for rejuvenation, she was never a "career politician" unlike many others in Parliament.

Marian will be heading over to the UK to teach after the 2008 election, I wish her all the best and thank her for the way in which she has looked after the people of Wellington Central and for her work in Parliament as well.

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

More Money

Minimum wages are set to incerase by $1, from $10.25 to $11.25 on April 1 next year. This is great news for unions and workers who have long been struggling to get a wage increase.

Although, I would have preferred Youth Rates to have been abolished, I am pleased that they too will get an increase with an 80c wage rise to $9 an hour.

I am slightly worried about how businesses may react to this, and therefore not employ unskilled workers and young people. However, there are plenty of jobs which skilled persons usually do not apply for and therefore I do not feel that there is suddenly going to a massive increase in the unemployment levels - as some people believe this is what will happen.

Hopefully under the Labour Government we will get a minimum wage of $12 an hour at the end of 2008, because chances of that happening under a National Government are slim to none.

Friday, December 15, 2006

Police Protection

The New Zealand Police are being given protective body armour to wear to emergency calls. The first area to receive the gear is Counties Manakau. They will be followed by Auckland, Northshore and Northland.

I think it is a pity that NZ has come to a point where our police force need to be dressed in such gear, because the risk of being hurt or killed on the job has increased significantly.

However, even though the Police now have extra protection, they will still need to use their tactical training to deal with the criminal/s, as protective gear does not do that. Hopefully the extra weight will not impede police from being able to give chase if necessary.

I am pleased that the Police will now be better protected, I just hope that it also means that the people of New Zealand will be as well.

Thursday, December 14, 2006

Please report it and get help!

Here is a letter that one of the victims of the recent spate of date rapings in Taranaki wrote. It is sad and it certainly moved me to tears.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim to this, and not just in Taranaki, go to the police. It does not matter if you can not remember descriptions, times etc REPORT IT! Rape is not something you bring on yourself, the person who commits such offences should be in jail to prevent them hunting on innocent people.

While you are out partying, and especially at this time of year, be aware of your drink, your friends drink and people around you. Also keep an eye on the amount you and your friends are drinking, and if someone seems remarkablyl drunk for the amount they have to drink there is a warning sign and you should report is ASAP.

If you do fall victim to such a horrific attack go to a Police Station or dial 111, then get some counselling this can be sought from Rape Crisis or privately. People are there to help you through such an experience so use them, because keeping it inside will not help

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Not your typical request...

Durex are looking for people to help test their products.

I am intrigued as to how exactly this works, do people ring up on an individual basis and then get paired with someone, or do couples sign up, or does a person get given some magazines and a room and then they see if anything leaks though.

I always figured that Durex must have some way on testing their products, I guess i never really thought about how it was done.

Thursday, December 07, 2006

And the winner is....

The winner of North and South New Zealander of the Year is .... Gareth Morgan.

It was a lovely event, held at the Boatshed on the Taranaki Wharf, beautiful weather, plenty of food and alcohol.

A few brief speeches and it was a pleasant way to spend ones evening.

For more on the winner purchase the January issue of North and South.

Monday, December 04, 2006

Susan Wood

This is just a quick post that:

Susan Wood has resigned from being the presenter of Close Up effective immediately.

She has a lump on her neck and wishes to spend more time on her health and her family.

Mark Sainsbury and Paul Henry will cover the position until a replacement is found.

Why bother keeping the law the same???

So although it has been decided to keep the drinking age 18 and above, rather than raising it back up to 20, it appears that some bars are taking matters into their own hands.

Does this mean someone could open a bar and ban all over 40s, so as there are no seedy creepy older guys in the bars??? (see stereotyping is BAD) It is ridiculous. Even if 18 and 19 year olds are deemed to be less socially responsible with their drinking, they can always be asked to leave, or kicked out, if the bar staff or bouncers feel that they have had too much to drink.

I have also been told that there are a number of bars in Wellington that are refusing entry to people under twenty and have no doubts that this will be happening in most major cities.

I would appreciate if anyone knows of any bars which are doing this to list their name and city of location under comments.

Saturday, December 02, 2006

The stadium solution

Hahahaha. God this is funny. Nice one, Farrar.

Friday, December 01, 2006

Boobs beat safe sex

So, The Advertising Standards Authoirty said "condoms bad" but the Broadcasting Standards Authority say "boobs on bikes - great!" - ok yes I get that boobs on bikes for some people is appealing, but these different rulings seem stupid.

I mean Boobs on Bikes is part of the Erotica Expo, so what, we can have women displaying themselves on the streets where children may see. But we can't put condoms in letterboxes which children may also find and then learn how to be safe. What does boobs on bikes teach them - that women should be oggled and there for people to dream about???

I think both should be allowed, and then children can be told (especially boys) if you want to be with one of the girls on the bikes and do all sorts of 'naughty' things then make sure you use a condom - provided courtesy of hell's pizza.

I am sure if the girls on the bikes were throwing out condoms there would be complaints, but I am sure no complaint would be upheld. Maybe its true - having boobs will get you out of almost anything.

The Boobs on Bikes dismissed complaint article can be found at :http://xtramsn.co.nz/news/0,,11964-6638659,00.html