The Jackal: March 2014

31 Mar 2014

Intermittent transimission

You may have realised The Jackal has stopped blogging. There are very specific reasons for this, including, but not limited to a lack of change from those in power.

You see, The Jackal wasn't about sound bites or superfluous hits; The Jackal website was about trying to change the overall system for the better. However, and I realise now, that I have utterly failed to make very much difference at all. This is because of an archaic and out-dated system that refuses to change, no-mater the evidence.

Unfortunately the various articles I have written have made very little difference at all to the status quo. To be more specific; my articles have not managed to change the minds of those who are in charge because they are stuck in their old ways.

These people in charge, although I struggle to call them people at all, have been determinably working against the people's best interests for a very very long time. Sadly they have been actively destroying our wages, our ability to buy houses, our ability to sustain ourselves, our ability to enjoy the environment and ultimately our ability to pursue the Kiwi dream. They have also been actively destroying our ability to choose our own destiny.

But none of that really matters now. That's because there has recently been new scientific consensus concerning climate change. Basically what these scientists are saying is that mankind has destroyed the Earth, to the extent that life will no longer be viable on this planet. Sorry to break that "news" to you. Earth will join our known cosmos of planets that are devoid of life.

You see, Earth is a unique and delicate entity…whether you believe in god, science or evolution, there is no current technology that can detect any other planet that can sustain life like our planet Earth. Therefore we as human beings (so-called sentient beings) have the ultimate responsibility to preserve and sustain all types of life, and unfortunately we are totally failing!

In New Zealand, the mindset of those who are in charge is that they cannot be responsible because they are just a small part of the problem. In other words, the right wings mindset is complete defeatism. That is the mindset that would have lost the first and second world war.

Although our standard of living has declined along with our financial security, Aotearoa's international standing, the thing that get's our defunct officials in the door, actually accounts for something. Despite the government’s ignorance of history, our international standing because of our previous endeavours actually matters.

As an argument against the right wing propaganda that they cannot do anything about climate change: New Zealand is in fact a catalyst for the rest of the world. When New Zealand stood up against nuclear testing, other countries listened. We are the inventors that every other nation takes granted of. There is in fact nothing us Kiwis cannot achieve if we want to, and unfortunately, along with the rest of humanity, we have chosen to not save ourselves.

It's a pity our current so-called leaders don't listen to what the public wants. New Zealand has unfortunately joined in a consensus of denial that will inevitably result in mankind’s demise.

18 Mar 2014

Smith's housing mirage

Today, the NZ Herald reported:

The number of homeowners in New Zealand continues to fall, with fewer than half of all Kiwis owning their own property, new Census figures show.

In 2013, 49.8 per cent of people aged 15 years and over owned or partly owned the home they lived in, compared with 53.2 per cent in 2006, according to census results released by Statistics New Zealand today.

"The decline in home ownership occurred across all age groups, from those in their 20s to those in their 70s, with the largest falls for those in their 30s and 40s," said Gareth Meech, Census 2013 general manager.

It's no surprise really that home ownership rates are in decline under this defunct National government. In fact this trend is likely to worsen because of stagnant growth in wages, projected interest rate rises and speculators pricing many New Zealanders out of the market. It's also likely to worsen because of National's idiotic policy, government intervention making housing more difficult to attain for your average Kiwi family.

Interestingly, even in light of the 2013 census data, the government is continuing to delude itself about the extent of the problem. This is especially true of the current Minister of Housing, Nick Smith, who last week tried to mislead the House of Representatives with his answer to a patsy question:

Tim Macindoe: In what regions has there been an improvement in housing affordability under this National-led Government?

Nick Smith: The data from the independent Roost Home Loan Affordability Report make for interesting reading. In Northland, housing affordability under this Government has improved by 49 percent. In the Waikato, where the member comes from, housing affordability under this Government has improved by 39 percent. In the Hawke’s Bay, housing affordability has improved by 42 percent. In the ManawatÅ«, it has improved by 49 percent. In Nelson and Marlborough, my home community, it has improved by 37 percent. In Otago and Southland, it has improved under this Government by 37 percent. The message is very clear—

If housing affordability is improving in all these areas, then why are home ownership levels declining under his watch?  The answer is that Nick Smith is a bold faced liar who relies on flawed data to promote his particular brand of dogma.

In fact this isn't the only lie about the state of our housing market from Smith that he's been caught out on recently, and it likely won't be the last.

In not being held to account for their various untruths, National Minister's like Nick Smith are turning parliament into a farce! Unfortunately our halls of power have become a corrupted place full of self-serving egotists who clearly don't deserve to be in power. Let's hope after the next general election they won't be.

13 Mar 2014

The face of corruption


As a hard working New Zealander, I find it unacceptable that my tax dollars are being spent on Judith Collins' promotion of her and her husband's private business interests.

In my opinion, taxpayers shouldn't be facilitating government officials to feather their own nests...especially when so many Kiwi families are currently having to make cut backs because of incompetent governance based on out-dated thinking.

Yesterday, Radio NZ reported:

On Wednesday Ms Collins revealed for the first time that when in China last year she had dinner with the owner of a company of which her husband is a director. 
She had already been accused of breaching Cabinet rules by visiting the Shanghai office of the company, Oravida, and praising its milk products.

Collin's was in fact publicly promoting the company, promotion that Oravida subsequently thought was worth a considerable donation to the National Party.

In doing so, she hasn't just created a perception of corruption in the publics mind; she has confirmed that she is corrupt and therefore should be sacked immediately! Any competent Prime Minister would act accordingly, and in the least rescind Judith Collins' warrant.

If that wasn't bad enough, National's media lackey's still seem determined to give the so-called Justice Minister a hospital pass, spinning the story to make John Key appear to be in charge of the situation even when he was caught blatantly lying about the details of the debacle.

As much as that is a distasteful example of National MP's lying and abusing their positions of power, it's unfortunately not an isolated incident.

Today, the NZ Herald reported:

A wealthy Auckland businessman was given New Zealand citizenship against official advice after a Government minister lobbied the colleague who made the decision. 
Maurice Williamson, the Minister of Building and Construction, and Prime Minister John Key then opened the first stage of a $70 million construction project launched by the Chinese-born developer after he became a citizen. 
The following year, one of his companies made a $22,000 donation to the National Party.

Clearly anything is for sale under this current right wing government, even New Zealand citizenship.

The solution here is to remove the Ministers powers to overrule an official decision to decline or approve citizenships. When it’s so apparent that elected officials cannot be trusted, because they are easily corrupted with bribes, then removing their ability to act improperly in the first place seems appropriate.

Again, this isn't an isolated case of corruption being reported on this week.

On Monday, Campbell Live highlighted some previously unheard audio recordings which documented the lead up to the Pike River mining disaster. It is evident from those recordings and other information that a complete lack of proper managerial oversight at the mine caused 29 men to lose their lives.

Despite such a huge loss of life, charges against former CEO of the company Peter Whittall, who is clearly a responsible party, were dropped after he offered $3.41 million in blood money with the understanding that he would be acquitted of all charges.

If these aren't three serious cases of corruption at the highest levels of power, I don't know what is.