Remember a few weeks ago I said this photo summarised my opinion on most (not all) “consultants” who are used way too often by both Central and Local government. There have been some interesting articles this week on consultants. One in the Listener with a front cover lead in on Are corporate … [Read more...]
RailCorp and Duncan Webb
However, much of the response was on rail. In Newsroom last week there was a podcast which analyzed Railways in this country. Below is how the article summarized the current operating model for railways which is precisely what Duncan Webb could fix with a bit of effort. The structure of Rail is … [Read more...]
Paul falls off his horse on the way to Damascus
During the week Rob Campbell wrote a fascinating article about the health reforms. He focused on “local” and his comments ring bells in my head. They made me wonder did he fall, or was he pushed from his position as Chair of the Health Authority. Here the Pae Ora reforms have a very … [Read more...]
AI – perplexing…
I must admit that the whole concept of AI is perplexing. This week in the Guardian one of my favorite environmental authors, Naomi Klein, wrote a sobering article in the Guardian about AI https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/may/08/ai-machines-hallucinating-naomi-klein it’s helpful … [Read more...]
Community Housing Aotearoa is having its National Conference in Ōtautahi
During the week after next Community Housing Aotearoa, the peak body for community housing initiatives, will be having its national conference in Christchurch. If you are interested in attending any of the workshops let me know. Housing in Vienna In an article in the Guardian last week the … [Read more...]
Garry Writes 9 May 2023
I’ve been reading a book called “lessons” by Ian McEwan. It has some of the finest descriptions of everyday life I have ever read. Many of the sentences are so descriptive they are poetic. I recommend it as a serious description of the life of a family. One paragraph which struck me, was when … [Read more...]
Duncan Webb, Minister of SOEs
I might have abandoned Duncan Webb as my local MP but it’s good to know he’s finally got what he wanted and has “Hon” in front of his name. He is the Minister of SOE’s amongst other portfolios. Now that he has power, he has the chance to implement big reforming ideas. The Government could win huge … [Read more...]
What does left wing really mean?
An article by Ian Powell last week had an interesting slant on left/right debate. Here’s a portion of the article: “Being left-wing is about wanting to end, or even significantly curtail, the dynamic of wealth accumulation as a driver of societies. This might be through evolutionary or … [Read more...]
King Charles and Architecture
I confess that my years and years as an altar boy made me a great admirer of ceremony. So, despite having COVID, I sat down at 7pm on Saturday night to watch the Coronation. The pomp and ceremony were fantastic. I went to bed at 12.30….. Amongst the many blogs I read is one called “From the other … [Read more...]
Retirement Villages – Wealth Tax by Stealth?
No Happy Residents means no Industry - of course John Collyns as executive director of Retirement Villages would be expected to have such an answer to hand. Of course it is in their business interests to keep residents happy. Published letter in The Press 5 May 2023 My friend Patricia Allan … [Read more...]
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