Dave Gee: Life from Right Field

New Zealand Cricket commentator, Brian Waddle, is calling for harsher penalties for people who interrupt cricket matches by streaking.

Four fans ran onto the pitch in Auckland on Thursday, during the Twenty20 match between the Black Caps and the West Indies.

Three lads and one female ran on during the course of the game, and were all tackled and carried away by security guards.

According to Newstalk ZB, the fourth streaker was a woman who ran on at a crucial time of the match. The report notes "She appeared to have been knocked out cold when tackled by a security guard".

Sounds like a rough end to a bit of high spirited hijinx. Streaking's been part of Cricket and many other sports for years. The streaks generally fueled by alcohol... the naked runs often the result of a dare by mates.
They give (most of) the crowd and players a bit of a laugh, and can liven up the dull periods in a longer game. (TV meanwhile tries to pretend they don't happen... Just listen for a sudden increase in crowd volume, while the commentators quickly try to pad time by talking over a few random graphics).

But now longtime radio commentator Brian Waddle is calling for "a crackdown on streakers". He wants to see $5,000 instant fines for those flashing their naked selves across kiwi cricket fields!

Ouch! I say Boo. Another attempt to kill the fun from a day at the cricket. The report states, "Eden Park & NZ Cricket are also trying to stem drunken behaviour which has marred several recent matches".

While I agree the offensive abuse and bottle throwing at players is unacceptable, officials are in danger of driving fans away from their live games. It's far less hassle to simply watch the matches at home on a big widescreen telly with a bunch of mates and some beers.

Here in Dunedin, Carisbrook banned couches from the old terraces a few years back to prevent the hilarious age-old tradition of couch-burning at the cricket (which was a hell of a lot of fun!)

I remember one incident where they had to take an early drinks break in a game against Sri Lanka, after smoke from a burning couch in front of us drifted out over the pitch, as well as shooting straight up in front of the tv commentary box ;-)

(At the same match, a guy dressed in a clown costume managed to dodge 2 security guards to reach the players in the middle... He then handed well-rounded captain Arjuna Ranatunga his pie, saying "You need this more than me!")

Treasury have reported an operating surplus of $4.4 billion run by the Labour-led Government, in the first half of the 2005/06 financial year... well ahead of forecasts.

Despite this, Finance Minister Dr Michael Cullen told the Finance and Expenditure Committee yesterday, “People who think there should be tax cuts on the back of big surpluses should be taken out and quietly drowned”. What a charming man(/Annunaki?)

Apparently, the $4.4 billion surplus is so small, that Dr Cullen's now threatening to cancel his highly touted "Chewing Gum Tax Cuts". (Damn, that 67 cents a week extra would have come in handy! ;-)

It seems the Labour Party are planning to lodge official complaints with Police and election bosses over the pamphlets distributed by members of the Exclusive Brethren church during last year's election campaign.

National says Hillin Cluck should pay back taxpayers, producing a mock-up of a cheque for $446,815 which they asked the PM to sign on behalf of the Labour Party.

But, in a desperate attempt to divert media attention away from their sneaky spending of taxpayers money on a "Pledge card" and glossy brochure, Labour are now hiring lawyers to try and construct a case to have the Brethren's spending including as part of the National Party's election expenses.

Ms Cluck was straining to come up with a case yesterday in Parliament... "I am sure Dr Brash thinks it is not attributable expenditure to have the Exclusive Brethren take lines straight out of National Party policy and put them in leaflets. Where is that in his party’s election return?".

On that basis, Labour's overspending must be well over $1.5 million - given the amount of money spent on their behalf by the country's Unions (at this and every election prior).

The Labour Party is quick to criticise anyone who supports other political parties, but don't see anything wrong in working with unions to coordinate electioneering propaganda on their behalf - paid for in part by the taxpayer. Where is that in your election return Hillin Cluck?

The Electoral Commission is referring the Labour Party to the Police, for possible overspending in last year's General Election, and committing an offence under the Electoral Act.

Labour spent $2,798,603 in its 2005 campaign, $418,603 more than its legal limit.

I'd suggest the Labour Party send their accounting department back to school for some basic maths revision, but given New Zealand schools now run under the atrociously appalling NCEA system, that would probably only make their skills worse ;-)

Some of the alleged overspending relates to Labour's official red pledge card and a lovely glossy letter from PM Helen Clark. The letters arrived in mailboxes around the country in the runup to the election, and featured the stamp of the House of Representatives... indicating they were paid for out of the Parliamentary Services budget, rather than Labour Party funds.

Labour's disputing the Electoral Commissions claim, despite having already been told last year by the Chief Electoral Officer that he considered the pledge cards as election activity (and therefore should have been included in their spending arithmetic).

Things are a little hazy now, but this may or may not be a copy of Labour's Official Pledge Card... ;-)

** Credit to the original creators... David Farrar at Kiwiblog, and the gang at Whale Oil Beef Hooked...

* NZ Herald: Labour's $440,000 election spend probed
* Kiwiblog (David Farrar): When were Labour told?
* Elections NZ: Election Expenses - Labour referred to police & parties slammed for lateness

Working on a story on French-based-Dunedin-born Cross country mountain biker Kashi Leuchs, who's home for the National Champs/Oceanias/Commonwealth Games.

He's aiming to win all three, and has made a good start by taking the National Title in Nelson. We went to Bethunes Gully to get him riding the tracks up there.

It's been a bumpy couple of weeks for my beloved Newcastle United...

First the Magpies sacked manager Graeme Souness, as the premier league club languised at bottom end of the table. Since the Scotsman took over at St James' Park, the Magpies had won just 26 of their 83 games. He also spent almost 50 million pounds (UK) on new players, with unimpressive results.

Former Newcastle United manager Sir Bobby Robson was critical of some of Souness's transfer decisions, and said his sacking was inevitable. He accepts a bad run of injuries didn't help him, but the calibre of his players should have returned better results. Robson also criticised his successor for letting a lot of good young player leave the club.

Robson himself was sacked in August 2004 after a five year stint at the helm, following a fifth place finish for Newcastle United. The team were sitting in 15th spot just a week after Souness was dumped following his 17 month term.
Former England captain Alan Shearer took on the role of assistant to caretaker boss Glenn Roeder. Shearer then broke Newcastle United’s goal-scoring record in a 2-0 win at Tyneside over Portsmouth, overtaking Jackie Milburn's record of 200 goals for the club.

The win was Newcastle’s first in seven league games. However, Shearer says he wishes his former boss got to see him beat the record.

"The goal was a big, big goal for me... I wish Graeme was here to see it because whatever anyone thinks of him, he's an honest, decent, hard-working, genuine man."

Souness' biggest achievement was signing star striker Michael Owen from Real Madrid for a hefty 17 million pounds. However Owen's initial impact of the team halted when he broke a bone in his foot, knocking him out of action until at least April.

Managed to get a ride in a 'Squirrel' helicopter while I was doing a news story up Mt Cook way over the weekend.

Have had a few rides in smaller choppers over the last couple of years for work, but this was my first time in a Squirrel (seats 6 people, leather seats, very cool)...

Hovering over the road just near Glentanner station, about 15 kms from Mt Cook. Just waiting for vehicles in a vintage car rally to pass by below, commemorating a century since the first journey by car into Mt Cook...

Shay preparing to shoot some scenic shots from the back seat of the chopper...

We even ran into former-Channel-9'er-turned-Radio-Live'er Lizzie Glass at the Mt Cook Hermitage Hotel (where the Vintage Cars were finishing up).

She should have been there working like the Radio NZ girl there, but she was just up on holiday in the Hakataramea Valley, where she's hoping to one day settle down to life on the farm with her man ;-)

What I did on my Summer Holidays
By David Benson-Pope

DAY 14: Was at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne. Got tickets for the quarter-final match between Ivan Ljubicic and Marcos Baghdatis.

Had money on Ivan...

TV legend Andrew Gourdie - aka "The Voice of Tony Veitch!" - works on his Cricket story in the Chch office... ;-)

Friday night drinks at the Christchurch office... The editors see how many people can squeeze onto one couch (Simon, Bob, Bex, & Mike K).

Haven't done Karaoke for so long, but went along to Brimstone last night with a few friends from the Operatic to have a big of a laugh and a bit of a sing ;-) It was a pretty quiet night there, so between us and Chris (who was working there last night), we pretty much hogged the mic all nite...

Jade, Julie, and her 2 friends from the Navy who didn't like cameras ;-)

Jade and Julie belt out a couple of numbers from "Chicago"...

Jade and Chris belt out (with feeling?), the old Grease the Musical classic, "Summer Loving"...

A few new friends join Julie onstage for her Britney Spears impression...

Chris puts down the mic and gets back to doing some real work ;-)

I spent a few days over Christmas working up at the 3 office in Christchurch... A very uneventful time news-wise, but we had fun in the office anyway...

Juanita and Hannah busy researching their next big scoops!...

Bob hard at work on "The TV3 Christchurch Christmas Tape - Director's Cut Special Extended Edition" ;-)

I hope everybody had a very Merry Christmas, Oy! Hannuka, and a Merry Kwanzaa season...

I had a good time, despite working over Christmas... we made our own fun in the office, and still managed to scoff a huge Chrissy lunch.

The only disappointment is that Santa managed to leave two presents out of my Christmas delivery ;-) ...

It seems Joss Whedon's Sci-Fi movie Serenity (a continuation of the prematurely cancelled Fox TV series Firefly) could be released on DVD in the USA just before Christmas.

The film's been out in the US/UK/Australia/etc for a few weeks, but still hasn't made it onto general release in New Zealand. (I've managed to watch the first nine minutes of Serenity, when Universal posted a preview online for a limited period following the film's US release).

DVD website Digital Bits reports Universal will announce the DVD release of Joss Whedon's Serenity for 12/20. Early word indicates that the disc may include Whedon audio commentary, along with at least 4 behind-the-scenes featurettes (Future History, We'll Have a Fruity Oaty Good Time, Re-Lighting the Firefly and What's in a Firefly), a video introduction to the film by Whedon and 6 minutes worth of outtakes.

* Serenity the Movie - Official site
* Serenity Movie Trailers @ Apple

What's with this whole Sudoku craze??! I just don't get it!

I first encountered the things when I was visiting friends in England around the middle of this year. They started appearing in New Zealand a few months later, and even our old-fashioned local paper now prints the bloody things!...

Here's an article from the London Times about how Sudoku puzzles are now popular the world over. Includes an interview with the owner of http://www.number-logic.com/

read more | digg story

Things have been flat-out lately, mainly with rehearsals for the Theatre Restaurant I'm directing/co-MDing, Life as we know it.

Melinda and Kate organised a cast Singstar & BBQ Party on Saturday, before we had two full-on day and night rehearsals over Labour Weekend Sunday and Monday.

We learnt the last full company song this evening, so now we've got around 3 weeks to finish all the blocking, and commit everything to memory!...

Sure!... We know exactly what we're doing!

The girls give an impromptu street performance (while the lads play silly buggers in the background ;-)

The cast practice "Come Look at the Freaks" (almost too convincely! ;-)

Aargh! There's more of them!

At Melinda's cast party... Kate shows everyone how much she's been practicing with her Dancemat game...

Gina & Hayley take their Singstar round very seriously!

Ben & Chris K battle it off Singstar-style...

Grant belts out a Duran Duran classic... Jenny doesn't look all that impressed ;-)

I currently busy Directing and co-Musically Directing a Theatre Restaurant production for Dunedin Operatic, entitled Life as we know it.

It's a mix of songs, mostly from current or recent Broadway and West End shows. The season goes on in mid-November, and we're currently rehearsing like mad the list of 60+ numbers ;-)

Here's a few light hearted pics from recent rehearsals...


The cast of "Life as we know it" rehearsing Supercalifraglisticexpialidocious...

Sure... we mightn't know any of the words, but at least we can audition as ushers for the show?

Um... Does anyone know how this number's supposed to finish up?!...

Our 3 U.S. Cops practice their number from 'Urinetown - The Musical'...

What the?! AA Milne's cute little Piglet character is now evil??!...

In a bizarre fit of madhouse-PCness, the Conservative Party controlled Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council (in the UK's West Midlands) have decreed that "all work pictures and knick-knacks of novelty pigs and 'pig-related items' will be banned".

This frenzy follows a complaint by one Muslim employee of the Council. The ban extended to another employee's personal box of tissues (because the box featured the cartoon characters Winnie the Pooh, and his little friend Piglet).

(As the Telegraph points out, Muslims regard pigs as "unclean"... apparently even cartoon pigs, wearing scarf & bright colourful singlet ;-)

It follows another mad incident, where fast food giant Burger King went into its own PC-frenzy, withdrawing ice-cream cones from all its British restaurants. This behaviour followed a complaint from a Muslim customer, who claimed the creamy swirl symbol on the lid resembled the word "Allah" in Arabic script!!?!

* Cox & Forkum: Perils before Swine
* Hat tip: Sir Humphrey's: Funny if it weren't true

Now, this is funny... Check out this great kiwi invention, currently listed on auction site, TradeMe...

* TradeMe.co.nz: Great Kiwi Invention of the Week

(I'd love one myself, but the bidding's already up to $1,200... wonder how strictly TradeMe applies their rules on winning bids?!)...

* (Hat tip: Sir Humphrey's)

The final results of NZ's General Election have come out as the more intelligent political commentators were predicting...

* The Greens did not gain enough extra votes to return former poster boy Nandor Tanczos to Parliament (their historical boost from special votes was lost this time, due to Labour's "free money" student loan policy). (Quelle de'mage ;-).

* Same deal with the JAP's (Jim Anderton's Progressives) - their vote only needed to go up a smidge to return Matt Robson, but it actually went down a smidge, so Old Jimmyboy is now a party of One.

* The Maori Party's ex-pat campaign in the likes of Australia helped them increase the proportionality of Parliament, by lifting their final vote to 2.12%, thereby reducing the overhang to just one MP (they still have four MPs, by virtue of winning 4 Maori electorate seats).

* The National Party's Katrina Shanks is the one that misses out by pulling Parliament back to just 121 MPs. Unlikely to be a big shock for her, but National could have done with the extra female MP.

* Mrs Peter Davis now needs to secure a majority of 61 votes to pass crucial legislation...

Likely odds on running a minority Government "coalition" with Labour and Jim Anderton, relying on the support of the Greens for most policies (now commonly known in media circles as the "LPG Government" ;-) ... however, playing off NZ First/United Future/Maori Party for any items which the Greens turn their nose at.

* NZ Herald: National lose one seat in final count
* NZ Herald: Full list of MPs after final election result
* Elections NZ: Official Count Results

Well last night's election results are fairly inconclusive, especially with around 218,000 special votes still to be counted. Voters largely deserted the minor parties (according to Frogblog, in 2002, one in three kiwis(32.91%) supported the five elected minor parties... in 2005, just one in six kiwis(16.36%) gave their party vote to a minor party).

Mrs Peter Davis's Labour Party look to have the upper finger at the moment, but it's going to take a lot of negotiating/compromise/arguing to come up with a workable arrangement. Whatever the end result, it looks like we're in for a bumpy 3 years (or less, if you believe some commentators)

Lessons learnt from this Election Campaign:

* LABOUR: Many journalists and commentators have pointed out what an appallingly bad campaign Michael Cullen has run.

Starting with his "Chewing Gum" budget, through to finding billions of dollars hidden under the sofa, through to his poor performance against John Key, questions must surely be asked about his future in charge of the purse strings if Labour leads the next Government.

One possibility could be Cullen to work alongside United Future's Gorden Copeland as Associate Minister of Finance?

Saddest loss of the night was that of John Tamihere (who didn't want to be on the List)... A rare breed - an honest politician! ;-)


* NATIONAL: New Zealand currently has an MMP voting system. You need allies/friends/partners in order to form a stable government. Labour to their credit understands that, which is why they co-operated with the Green Party during this campaign.

Another term in opposition may not be all bad, given the large number of political newbies entering Parliament this election. Some good talent amongst the new intake though, which is good news for the party.


* NZ FIRST: Back in, but with losing Tauranga, Winston Peters will have to tread more carefully. He's no longer got an electorate lifeline, so needs to ensure his party stays over that crucial 5% mark.

Unpredictable as ever, and likely to be a restrictive/tempering influence on whichever party leads the next minority Government.


* GREENS: Mike Ward is well and truly on his bike, after having already cycled all over the North Island ;-) The Greens are about as close as you can get to the 5% threshold (5.07%!).

They'll also be hoping a good number of special votes again swing their way, or their weed poster boy, Nandor Tanczos, will also be out after being dropped down their list. A lesson that Parliament is not the place to be promoting working class drugs? (If he does make it back though, that extra seat could come from one of the Centre/Right parties).


* ACT: A lesson for the party as to the importance of an electorate seat under New Zealand's MMP system. Parties without that security blanket spend half their time battling against the 'wasted vote' argument, with the country's tough 5% threshold. (The Royal Commission's original recommendation was 4%, still high by international standards).

Now that Hide has secured the Epsom seat by a respectable margin, he can go about rebuilding the party with voters assured that a vote for ACT will not be a wasted one.


* UNITED FUTURE: The moral conservative vote appeared to go back to the National Party, and "the worm" failed to turn tricks for Peter Dunne in this election.

The big question will now be whether the Outdoor Recreation Party - who have been working with United Future during this campaign - opt to stay with Dunne, given they did not achieve representation through him. (Outdoor Rec's top candidate, Paul Check, was #7 on UF's list).


* MAORI PARTY: Possibly one of the smartest parties this election, having increased the size of Parliament to 122 MPs, by creating a two seat overhang, thanks to Maori Party supporters splitting their votes to Party Vote Labour. (This despite the fact that the Maori Party is closer to the centre on economic and other issues than Tariana's former friends in Labour).

Pita Sharples has impressed in this campaign, but it remains to see how Hone Harawira will go in Parliament. (I would struggle to stay awake in Parliament, so I don't know how he'll find the whole system!) There will be big pressure on them to deliver on the Foreshore issue.

* PROGRESSIVES: Only Jim Anderton has made it back (thanks to his Wigram seat), based on election night figures, although a small percentage increase when the special votes are tallied would also return his hard working friend Matt Robson, who has some unfinished business in the form of raising the drinking age back up to 20.


** Update: David Farrar over at Kiwiblog has way too much time on his hands ;-) , and has got a complete analysis of the likely winners and losers in terms of seats, once Special Votes are counted.

It seems that some Labour politicians have "better things to do" than speaking at small-time "Meet the Candidates" meetings.

I was just reading on Aaron's Bhatnagar's blog that Labour's Judith Tizard walked out on one such meeting this afternoon, after finding out no media were present. She decided the 50 plus people who did attend the meeting at Forbe's Frontbench were not worth her time, asking the audience to Party Vote Labour, before announcing she had "better things to do" and leaving.

Her place was taken by another high profile Labour offspring, Stuart Nash, who's currently heading for a bronze medal in Epsom. By all accounts he was very well received by the audience, after being put on the spot once Tizard had departed.

* More details on Aaron's site: Judith Tizard - MP for Arrogant Central

The Labour Party, fresh from accusing Don Brash over dodgy deals with a group of Exclusive Brethren members, are being accused of gutter politics in Dunedin.

A number of state house tenants have received personally addressed letters, disguised as Eviction notices. The one page "letters" have the words 'EVICTION NOTICE' printed in bold blue type at the top, along with the statement 'Don't let National sell your house!'.

Some recipients of these letters intially believed they were genuine eviction letters, meaning they were going to lose their homes. The fliers were folded in three, with a personally addressed sticker securing them. The Labour Party's logo is printed at the bottom of the page, and mentions the name of the Labour party a number of times in the letter.

National Party list MP and Dunedin North candidate, Katherine Rich, has accused Labour of "preying upon the nation's most vulnerable", with some tenants still in shock over the letters days later.

There are also concerns over how the names and addresses of state house tenants were obtained, as Katherine Rich says she believed that information was private.

* ODT: Gutter politics in South

Apple have announced a new model in their hugely popular iPod series, the ipod nano. The nano effectively replaces the iPod mini, which introduced the innovative 'click wheel', but was starting to look long in the tooth compared with rival offerings.

The iPod nano is small and super slim (as thin as a pencil), but features a colour screen, and can hold up to 1,000 songs (4GB version), or 500 songs on the 2GB version. They come in other white or black (no colours this time around).

The new device uses flash memory like the iPod shuffle, rather than the hard drives of the bigger models, making for much longer battery life.

Apple have also launched a ROKR iTunes phone (but not too many details about it), and an update to version 5.0 for their iTunes media player software, which has a few new features like being able to organise playlists into folders, and greater control over random playback.

* Apple - iPod nano - Photos & Specs
* iPod Garage - Apple's brave move...
* (Hat tip - Aaron Bhatnagar)

Radio New Zealand has apparently suspended Morning Report co-host, Sean Plunket, after what was described as a "confrontational" interview with Greens co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons.

The interview was about the controversial pamphlet on the Green Party, which a group of members of the Exclusive Brethren church had printed and delivered to homes around the country. (Apparently an independent group distributing a pamphlet is called "a smear campaign, according to the media... while Union pamphlets with dodgy takes on National party policies are classed as "legitimate freedom of speech").

(On that note, an interesting question of the day courtesy of David Farrar at Kiwiblog... Which sinister group has spent $353,000 on smear ads during this election campaign? Answer: The PPTA...)

The Greens expressed "disappointment" with Plunket's angle of questioning, but Fitzimons insists the party did not make a formal complaint to Radio NZ, or asked for disciplinary.

This action shows the true colours of State Radio. Gone is the idea of tough questioning, when that question line is at odds with the preferred coalition Government of Radio New Zealand.

New Zealanders are used to incredibly tough question lines (many which could be considered as a tad biased), but it's just accepted as part and parcel of the way the media works. I believe most people would admit to hearing more than a couple of "tough" interviews between Politicians/Public figures and the likes of Kim Hill, Linda Clark, Paul Holmes, etc.

One more reason why the State should not be involved in the media industry as a Broadcaster in any way.

* NZ Herald: Radio Host in hot water
* Scoop: Fitzsimons surprised at Plunket suspension
* Too Right: Sean Plunket suspended? (includes link to an mp3 of the interview)

*(Update: According to today's reports, Plunket was suspended after a shouting match with the boss, which followed Fitzsimons interview. Obviously he strayed a little from the Radio NZ Party line, in that he gave a tough interview to a potential coalition partner for the Labour Party. The EPMU (The Engineering and Print Manufacturing Union) have refused to comment.

(They're the ones that represent many journos, and are the same ones that are spending the journos money in national papers this week, with half page advertisments featuring misleading claims about National Party policy. Why is it that "balance" only applies to the media when they're talking about the centre left??)


* NZ Herald: Plunket's suspension due to row with boss
* NZ Herald: Brash hits out at media
* Insolent Prick: Labour's Pay-Off to Unions

The National Party is accusing Labour of abusing taxpayer funds, by using Government money to pay for their political propaganda.

Labour has had a copy of its 'Seven Point Pledge' card delivered to homes around New Zealand, tucked inside a glossy brochure.

Fair enough, it's election campaign time. The problem is, both the card and the pamphlet feature the Parliamentary Crest, which means the advertising pieces are funded by the taxpayer.

How on earth can a party (albeit one leading a minority Government at the moment) get away with using State funds for blatent electioneering? The pledge card has been a core part of Labour's election campaign, and isn't simply an information brochure on policies already adopted (as most people accept the rules mean).

The pledge card Mrs Peter Davis had delivered to potential voters in 1999 were paid for and delivered by Labour Party fans. The National Party says Labour's campaining on the public purse, and should refund the money they're using in an attempt to get re-elected.

* NZ Herald: Pledge cards 'abuse of taxpayer money'
* Scoop: Taxes wasted on Labour's pledge card
* Scoop: Clark's leader's fund paid for red pledge card

Great news for Geordie fans the world over, as England star striker Michael Owen formally announced his signing for English Premier Football club, Newcastle United.

The four year, £17 million deal, ends Owen's short stint out of the Premier League, while he played for Spanish club Real Madrid.

Over twenty thousand fans loudly welcomed the centre-forward onto St James' Park on Wednesday... Owen proudly wearing his new black and white #10 Magpies uniform.

The Toon Army are hoping Owen's arrival will revive their season - he's promised to end Newcastle's goal drought - along with other signings like Nobby Solano.

Some bitter Liverpool fans and journos claim Owen didn't really want to sign for Newcastle, saying his new contract has "an escape hatch in it as wide as the Tyne, a clause which he hopes can get him out of there in 12 months". We'll see.

* NUFC: Owen puts pen to paper
* NUFC: Michael's in the frame! (Official photos of Owen's signing)
* IOL: Owen welcomed by thousands of Newcastle fans
* ITN: Owen promises Newcastle goals

Expect a few changes on State TV's One News over the coming weeks and months, following the news that Executive Producer Melanie Jones has left the building.

According to the papers, Jones finished work at 10am yesterday (Friday), after a meeting with TVNZ's Head of News Bill Ralston.

It follows a slow but steady slide in the ratings for flagship show One News, as viewers moved across to rival 3 News... a rating's slide which has accelerated over the last four months.

Concerns that John Campbell and Carol Hirschfeld's move to their own 7pm show, Campbell Live could hit the ratings of 3 News proved wrong.

Campbell Live has performed better than TV3's initial expectations, while Hilary Barry and Mike McRoberts have proven a successful combination as news presenters at 6pm.

(Maybe TV One could return to a 2 presenter format? What about sitting Simon Dallow beside Judy... a competent presenter and a very intelligent interviewer to boot).

The changes at TV One will also likely impact late night news show, Tonight, which still has ratings problems when pitched against TV3 rival show Nightline, now presented by former reporter Carly Kirkwood.

State TV's move comes just weeks after Prime Television decided to cancel Paul Holmes' weeknightly current affairs show, which had continued to struggle in the ratings after moving to 6pm opposite One News and 3 News.

* NZ Herald: 'One News' chief out after ratings slide

Update: One News presenter Judy Bailey has come out in support of Melanie Jones in today's Sunday Star Times. It says other senior members of the news team were very angry about Bill Ralston's decision, and questions whether Bailey's comments could hint at problems when TVNZ come to renegotiate her contract later in the year.

* Stuff: News star joins fray over axing
* NZ Herald: Speculation grows over Jones' dismissal

David Benson-Pope has resorted to gutter politics in his home electorate of Dunedin South.

Following a recent "Meet the Candidates" meeting in Mosgiel, just south of Dunedin City, Benson-Pope slapped a Labour sticker on the car bumper of National Party candidate, Conway Powell.

Benson-Pope publicly accepted responsibility for the incident on local television tonight, but tried to brush it off as just a harmless bit of fun.

However, many people may remember DBP's own response to people sticking things on other people's property...

During the debate over the Civil Union Bill, protestors pasted spoof-Tui-billboard posters to the window of Benson-Pope's Dunedin South electorate office.

DBP was outraged, even calling on Police to call round to the alledged offenders' home, to collect money to pay for the cost of removing the posters.

Conway Powell is rightly disgusted as DBP's actions, and his arrogant response. Can we take from Benson-Pope's actions that he's concerned his safe Labour seat might be challenged?? He should be having a ball on the campaign trail!?

I see the tennis balls theme has made a reappearance in National's new "Taxathon" TV Ads.

I wonder how the police investigations are coming along?...

Spend! Spend! Spend! Quickly, before anyone else figures out it's there!!

It's intriguing to see just how many money Labour has managed to "find behind the sofa cushions" since Dr Cullen's Chewing Gum Budget ;-)

Back in May, there was apparently no room for extra spending, but now that we're in election mode, there's billions of dollars spare for items like Free Student Loans, and more Operations.

Now, Labour's announced plans to go even further than the current policy of the ACT Party... apparently slashing the effective PAYE tax rate of people earning under $35,000 a year to 0%.

That's right "at least" 0% apparently (and possible more). Nix. Nada. Not a bean, according to Labour's Family Tax Relief Calculator.

$1.3 billion has been "discovered" for the new policy... However, the catch is, it only applies to people with children... Not for the growing number of single people out there.

According to Labour's calculator, a family with one child earning $35,000 a year would get "tax relief of $7,300 a year by 2007... effectively paying (less than) no tax on their wages/salary.

A single person - or a couple without children - on the same income would pay around $7,245 in direct tax, with little or new relief. Labour's policy would mean the country's single people would be working to subsidise the country's families.

How fair is this? On top of Labour's zero tax plan, many services paid for by the Government out of taxation funds are disproportionately used by families rather than single people or couples without kids (Health, Education, Welfare).

Shouldn't families be expected to make some sort of direct contribution to the Government's coffers, if they want to have the free or subsidised services in return?

I'd be happy for the Government to introduce PAYE tax rates of 0% for the entire population, letting everybody keep everything they earn, and giving them the choice and flexibility to just pay for the services they want and need themselves.

A fair deal for all... not forcing many hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders to totally subsidise the lives of one group.

* Stuff: Labour announces boost in family tax relief

Today's decision by the High Court to order private broadcaster TV3 to make room for two more minor party leaders in tonight's debate is a little disappointing, and very bewildering.

United Future leader, Peter Dunne, and Progressive Party leader, Jim Anderton, took TV3 to court, after the broadcaster invited just the top 6 polling parties (based on their last TNS poll) to their first election campaign debate. Labour, National, NZ First, Greens, Maori Party and ACT were all invited on that basis.

According to the NZ Herald, expert testimony from the prosecution said the poll that TV3 based its decision on "had a margin of error greater than the margins between the smaller parties".

No further details were given, but I wonder whether those "experts" actually understand what "margin of error" actually means... (ie. A margin of error of + or - 3.2% doesn't actually mean you can add or subtract 3.1% for a party registering, say, 2% support. It's a fatal error many people - including most journos - seem to make).

Justice Ron Young said he was reluctant to tell TV3 how to run its business, but did so all the same. He also admitted "it may not make for ideal television". He may well be right on that count.

Even juggling 6 party leaders in a commerical one hour format was going to be a tough workout for John Campbell. Now that TV3 have to squeeze eight leaders in, the debate could be in danger of being light on informed debate, and high on theatrics.

It also seems unfair to other minor parties who are polling above or around Mr Anderton's party... Destiny NZ polled 0.6% (above Anderton's Progressives on 0.4%), and I'm guessing others around that level could include Christian Heritage, the Legalise Marijuana bunch, and the Liberterianz?

If the judges decision were to be followed further, broadcasters could be forced to have 12-way debates?!

TV3's Director of News and Current Affairs, Mark Jennings, says he's "deeply concerned at the serious precedent this ruling has created... the ruling has significant implications regarding media freedom in New Zealand".

The decision surprised many others in the New Zealand media, and could have wider implications if left unchallenged. (TV3 say they're examining their legal options for challenging the precedent this ruling has caused, and will make a decision over the next few weeks).

I also wonder what this decision (by the same judge that rejected TV3's Corngate appeal last year) means for other proposed leaders debates on TV3 and other channels, many which were set to include just Helen Clark and Don Brash?

See also...
* Sir Humphrey's: Free Speech Is Dead

* DPF's Blog: Did the Judge understand Margins of Error?

* NZ Pundit: Tweedledumb and Tweedledumber v. a Free Press

* TV3 Media Release: Mark Jennings on High Court Ruling

* NZ Herald: MPs win bid to be included in TV3 debate

* Stuff NZ: MPs win case against TV3