This link was passed on to me earlier today and it is the single best guide to what is happening in the Rugby World Cup that I have seen, giving you easily accessible information on where games are, and what games are on each day. Just hover your cursor over each section and you will see.
Archive for September, 2011
‘A side order of complete and utter shambles’
September 14th, 2011If you are struggling to work out quite what has happened today in terms of the government’s handling of the Party Central/Rail Fail events in Auckland, then you will not be alone. Its been a confusing day with the government’s attempts ranging from bluster and denial to what sounded like outright takeover.
The best attempt at making sense of it all to my mind came from John Campbell on tonight’s Campbell Live. It is well worth a watch, which you can do by clicking here.
Several highlights for me
- John’s description of the opening night of the World Cup as ” A great start with a side order of complete and utter shambles”
- The extraordinary revelation that neither Murray McCully nor John Key spoke to Len Brown about their decision to invoke some powers before they told the media.
- John asking the question that was also asked several times in Parliament today by Phil Goff- ” What has the Minister for the Rugby World Cup actually been doing for the last three years.”
- Len Brown’s gritted teeth state of calm. I think he comes off well. Accepting his share of the blame and making very clear that the whole process has been a collaboration with the government and that they have “equal responsibility”.
Everyone, including me, wants New Zealand to host a successful Rugby World Cup. We have made a great start around the country and the rugby hasn’t been half bad either. Now is the time for us to sort out what is happening in Auckland, and for the government to work with the Council and take its share of the responsibility for what’s gone wrong, and what we hope will go right.
Rugby World Cup- It has to be done
September 9th, 2011At Red Alert we are committed to making sure that political issues are debated through the period of the Rugby World Cup. It falls to us as the mainstream media abandon the day to day of politics for anything related to rugby. The writing was on the wall the other night when both major TV networks led with the naming of the All Black team to play Tonga.
Having said that, we here in the ship of social democracy are capable of thinking about more than one thing at a time, and for me, and some other colleagues we might just have a wee tad of interest in the Cup. So we will do some brief posts along the way.
So to start, what should folks be looking for in terms of rugby in the first few weeks of the tournament?
- massive score blowouts as the big teams (think us, England, Aussie, South Africa etc) play the minnows of the rugby world, Georgia, Russia, USA etc (yep the power balance in rugby is pretty much the inverse of geo-politics).
- wailing and gnashing of teeth that the All Blacks still don’t look quite right. (This will happen whether they do or not).
- the possible rise of the Pacific nations. I think Samoa, Tonga and to a lesser extent Fiji will be the big movers of the early rounds. The Pacific teams are now stacked with players who ply their trade in the Northern Hemisphere competitions. Combined with a bit of local and NZ based talent, they will be tough opponents for anyone. Fiji and Samoa sprang surprises four years ago in France, and they now have an even bigger base of professional players.
My suggestion for getting through the first few weeks of the tournament is pick yourself an underdog team and live your life through them. The All Blacks will be fine in pool play, give someone else a go too. Then rejoice as the Georgians actually score a try, or the Romanians hold Scotland to half a cricket score. And then when they play each other- there is the chance of a win!
Ah, it is exciting isn’t it? Now, move along, nothing to see here, back to the politics….
Abandoning the Provinces (again)
September 9th, 2011The National led government released its latest public service staff statistics yesterday. They show that they have overseen almost 2,400 Kiwis losing their jobs since 2008. That is thousands of families with people who make the money to put food on the table out of work. Things really are starting to follow the 1990s pattern- the gutting of the public sector, followed by the decline in services and confidence from the public, followed by the hiring of consultants and contractors to fill the gaps…
The figures announced today do not cover the full impact most recent jobs losses announced for DOC and the IRD. In both cases its not the people I look after in Wellington Central bearing the brunt, it is the provinces. Wanganui, Rotorua, Napier, Invercargill, Nelson, New Plymouth. Did someone say “frontline services”.
Two stories related to this came my way today. The first from the Daily News in New Plymouth who quoted one of the staff saying that they had been warned that if they talked publicly about the job losses they would go even quicker.
“They told us there was to be absolutely no discussion of anything to the media. If anyone spoke to the media it could be a code of conduct issue,” an employee told the Taranaki Daily News on condition of anonymity. Penalties for breaching the code of conduct could include being sacked, they said.
The worker also said something that will be familiar to many in the public service. He said “morale was in tatters”. It is, in almost every government agency I speak to- and the end result of that is poorer services for us all.
Meanwhile over in Whanganui they are facing the effect of the cuts to the Department of Conservation, the latest in a line of cuts including to NZTA, child advocacy services and the baliffs. I got a note passed on to me from a local teacher who said
I feel awful today as I hear from children I teach that their their families will be shifting out of Wanganui because of the cutbacks and the gutting of the local DOC office.which once served the region from Taranaki to the Manawatu and over the Ruahines. Going are the scientists, an engineer, cartographers and other skilled workers whose children have been really special to teach.
This is one aspect of the abandoning of provinicial New Zealand, the breakdown of communities. Another is the loss of health services in places like Temuka and Rangiora. John Pagani has written a good blog on another aspect of it. The absence of any real focused regional development from this government that will give people a sense that there are jobs and a future for them and their town. I think we owe these towns that have been the backbone of our country some support and some hope.
Dear Canterbury…
September 4th, 2011None of us from outside your proud province can really know what it has been like for the past year. We can visit, as I have, and see the twisted buildings, the cratered roads, the empty houses. We can even see the signs of the physical and mental scars that you now have. But we can’t feel the pain, the loss, the frustration or indeed even the thousands of reminders that the shakey ground has given you.
What we do know is that many of your lives have changed forever. Be it loved ones lost, neighbourhoods broken up, precious memories gone or property and possessions ruined.
We also know that your spirit and determination has shown through. You have looked after each other, and worked hard to adjust to that “new normal”. You are re-building, homes, offices, neighbourhoods, communities- literally your lives.
To my Canterbury Parliamentary colleagues, of all parties, we know that you have all worked hard to serve your people. It is hard enough to deal with the damange and destruction of your own lives, families and friends, but to also be there for everyone else is a huge strain. I salute you for your courage and fortitutde. As I do all those whose job it is to rebuild your region.
Life has changed from where it was in the early hours of the 4th of September 2010. But what has not changed is the commitment of the rest of New Zealand to help you rebuild. There will be conflict and debate and frustration as that process continues, but I also want you to know that our small and connected nation will do its best to be beside you every step of the way.