Scoop Top Stories For May 25, 2010 News Summary

Tuesday, 25 May 2010, 5:23 pm
Article: The Scoop Editor

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LEAD STORY

A Word Fom Afar - Dissecting North Korean Madness

NZ POLITICS

Budget: Time To Come Clean On Gutting State Housing

Gordon Campbell: On The Plans To Sell State Assets

Immaculate Timing: Major Petroleum Project Begins

Budget 2010: $4.8 Million For... Who?

Interesting Moves: Labour Calls Nats On ETS Power Prices

Search And Surveillance: Committee To Seek, Look At New Submissions

BUSINESS SCIENCE & TECH

Scoop Coverage: Budget 2010

Snow falls at Coronet Peak

Economy: Jobs Decline In Year Ended March 2009

Marginal Parties & Marginal Rates: Smellie Sniffs The Breeze:How Labour Might Respond

COMMENT

Gordon Campbell: The Plans To Sell State Assets

Paul G. Buchanan: Dissecting North Korean Madness

Connie Lawn: Lost Without Lost

Michael Collins: The White House, Big Oil, and the "American Power Act"

Uri Avnery: Hallelujah, The World Is Against Us!

The Triumph of Irrelevance: The Kagan Appointment

The ‘Unfortunate’ Act: The Sinking of the Cheonan

LIFESTYLE

Review by Binoy Kampmark: Richard III - The Melbourne Theatre Company

Sex.Scoop: Reviw - Kink: A Straight Girls Investigation

Young People These Days: Youth Week 2010

Books: Old Hu-Hu Takes Out Top Kids' Literature Prize

WORLD

A Word Fom Afar - Dissecting North Korean Madness
More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1005/S00194.htm

ALSO:

• Questions and Answers - 25 May 2010 [2]


• Today In Parliament 25.05.10 [3]

[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1005/S00416.htm [2]

[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1005/S00208.htm [3]

Budget: Time To Come Clean On Gutting State Housing
It is time for John Key’s Government to admit they have gutted the budget to build and upgrade state houses, said the Green Party today. More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1005/S00412.htm

ALSO:

• Improving the lives of all New Zealanders [2]


• Parents to pay up to $60 a week more for ECE [3]

[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1005/S00414.htm [2]

[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1005/S00413.htm [3]

Gordon Campbell: On The Plans To Sell State Assets
At yesterday’s post-Cabinet press conference Prime Minister John Key said that work ‘had not yet begun’ on deciding which state assets – if any – would be sold during his government’s second term. More »[1]

[1] - http://gordoncampbell.scoop.co.nz/2010/05/25/gordon-campbell-on-the-plans-to-sell-state-assets/

ALSO:

• English’s cunning plan: Get Mum and Dad investors to fund tax cuts [2]


• Privatising Kiwibank will add to capital flight [3]


• Telecom share decline is a lesson for privatising [4]


• Govt would retain majority in KiwiBank: Key [5]


• Key denies reports of govt stake in Chorus [6]


• SOE Floats Floated [7]

[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1005/S00396.htm [2]

[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1005/S00409.htm [3]

[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1005/S00417.htm [4]

[5] - http://business.scoop.co.nz/2010/05/24/govt-would-retain-majority-in-kiwibank-key/ [5]

[6] - http://business.scoop.co.nz/2010/05/24/key-denies-reports-of-govt-stake-in-chorus/ [6]

[7] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/sections/nzpolitics.html#soesales [7]

Immaculate Timing: Major Petroleum Project Begins
The government today announced a major two-year work programme aimed at promoting oil and gas exploration around New Zealand. More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1005/S00411.htm

ALSO:

• BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Oil Drilling [2]


• White House, Big Oil, & the "American Power Act" [3]


• Minority Report: Auckland Super City [4]


• Business associations to be governed by residents [5]


• Changes to SuperCity Bill reassuring [6]


• Corporate takeover of Auckland confirmed [7]


• Measures to Strengthen CCO Control Welcomed [8]


• New Auckland Bill – They Listened Says LGNZ [9]


• Committee rebalances Auckland's spatial plan [10]


• Tinkering Not Enough for Our Auckland [11]


• Supercity undergoes last minute structural changes [12]


• Bunny Favoured Over Banks For Super Mayor [13]

[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO1005/S00425.htm [2]

[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1005/S00198.htm [3]

[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1005/S00390.htm [4]

[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1005/S00730.htm [5]

[6] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1005/S00269.htm [6]

[7] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK1005/S00202.htm [7]

[8] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1005/S00733.htm [8]

[9] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1005/S00272.htm [9]

[10] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK1005/S00205.htm [10]

[11] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1005/S00279.htm [11]

[12] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/multimedia/tv/national/36590.html [12]

[13] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU1005/S00246.htm [13]

Budget 2010: $4.8 Million For... Who?
New funding announced by the government will help to focus attention on priorities for Pacific people, says the head of the Pacific Economic Development Agency, JR Pereira. More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1005/S00268.htm

ALSO:

• Transparency needed around Pacific Island funding [2]


• NZ Budget 2010 Pacific: Who is Pacific Economic Development Agency Ltd? [3]


• Pacific Radio Host Questions MP on Pacific Economic Development ‘Agency’ [4]

[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1005/S00401.htm [2]

[3] - http://pacificeyewitness.com/2010/05/21/nz-budget-2010-pacific-who-is-pacific-economic-development-agency-ltd/" target="_blank [3]

[4] - http://pacificeyewitness.com/2010/05/21/pacific-political-commentator-questions-national-mp-on-pacific-economic-development-agency/" target="_blank [4]

Interesting Moves: Labour Calls Nats On ETS Power Prices
Prime Minister John Key's admission on television this morning that National’s ETS will add 5 per cent to household power bills on July 1 will pile even more pressure on family incomes, Labour’s Energy spokesperson Charles Chauvel says. More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1005/S00392.htm

ALSO:

• NZ petrol is 4th-cheapest in the OECD as ETS looms [2]

[2] - http://business.scoop.co.nz/2010/05/24/nz-petrol-is-4th-cheapest-in-the-oecd-as-ets-looms/ [2]

Search And Surveillance: Committee To Seek, Look At New Submissions
The Justice and Electoral Committee has been considering the Search and Surveillance Bill since August 2009, and has received evidence from a range of submitters. More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1005/S00387.htm

Scoop Coverage: Budget 2010
More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/features/budget2010.html

ALSO:

• Rain ceases but water levels high [2]


• Heavy Rainfall Update In South Canterbury [3]


• Flooding And Slips In Whakatane [4]

[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK1005/S00209.htm [2]

[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK1005/S00208.htm [3]

[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK1005/S00207.htm [4]

Snow falls at Coronet Peak
- More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU1005/S00268.htm

ALSO:

• Minister on Telecom announcement [2]


• Govt risks broadband and operational separation [3]


• Telecom share decline is a lesson for privatising [4]


• Telecom NZ mulls structural separation [5]


• Telecom rating at risk with separation, says S&P [6]


• Orcon, Compass, Slingshot agree to share broadband [7]


• Budget funds fast broadband for faster growth [8]


• Poll: support for Budget capital investment plans [9]


• Telecom talks structural separation in broadband bid [10]


• Important and puzzling questions on broadband [11]

[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1005/S00395.htm [2]

[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1005/S00399.htm [3]

[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1005/S00417.htm [4]

[5] - http://business.scoop.co.nz/2010/05/24/telecom-nz-mulls-structural-separation/ [5]

[6] - http://business.scoop.co.nz/2010/05/24/telecom-rating-at-risk-with-separation-says-sp/ [6]

[7] - http://business.scoop.co.nz/2010/05/25/orcon-compass-slingshot-agree-to-share-broadband/ [7]

[8] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1005/S00312.htm [8]

[9] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1005/S00264.htm [9]

[10] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/multimedia/tv/business/36561.html [10]

[11] - http://blog.labour.org.nz/index.php/2010/05/24/important-and-puzzling-questions-on-broadband/" target="_blank [11]

Economy: Jobs Decline In Year Ended March 2009
Seasonally adjusted filled jobs declined 1.5 percent in the year ended March 2009, Statistics New Zealand said today. This is the first release of seasonally adjusted linked employer-employee data (LEED). More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1005/S00716.htm

Marginal Parties & Marginal Rates: Smellie Sniffs The Breeze:How Labour Might Respond
Remarkable in the tidal wave of approval for Bill English’s second Budget is the irrelevance of the Opposition Labour Party. More »[1]

[1] - http://business.scoop.co.nz/2010/05/21/smellie-sniffs-the-breezehow-labour-might-respond/

Gordon Campbell: The Plans To Sell State Assets
At yesterday’s post-Cabinet press conference Prime Minister John Key said that work ‘had not yet begun’ on deciding which state assets – if any – would be sold during his government’s second term. Voters would be told what assets would be on the “sale” list... More »[1]

[1] - http://gordoncampbell.scoop.co.nz/2010/05/25/gordon-campbell-on-the-plans-to-sell-state-assets/

Paul G. Buchanan: Dissecting North Korean Madness
Paul Buchanan writes: ''One of the most impenetrable mysteries of contemporary comparative politics is discerning the rationale behind the behaviour of the North Korean regime... The latest evidence of its aberrant nature is provided by the March 26 torpedo attack ... More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1005/S00194.htm

Connie Lawn: Lost Without Lost
I admit – I am among the millions of people around the world who devoured the ABC drama “Lost” every night it was on for six seasons. It is a good feeling to know I shared such an experience with the world wide community. It is also a good escape ... More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1005/S00204.htm

Michael Collins: The White House, Big Oil, and the "American Power Act"
This analysis looks behind the scenes at how the ban on offshore drilling was lifted and what that had to do with the ultimate prize for big oil, the American Power Act. It focuses on the current administration. That in no way implies that the problem ... More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1005/S00198.htm

Uri Avnery: Hallelujah, The World Is Against Us!
A LOCAL TV station told us this week about a group of Israelis who adhere to conspiracy theories. They believe that George W. Bush planned the destruction of the Twin Towers in order to further his wicked aims. They believe that the big pharmaceutical corporations ... More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1005/S00190.htm

The Triumph of Irrelevance: The Kagan Appointment
The Obama administration is making every concerted effort to keep its domestic agenda interesting and perplexing. The decision to make Elena Kagan a Supreme Court appointee has been baffling. Lacking judicial experience, and a legal record itself so thin ... More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1005/S00181.htm

The ‘Unfortunate’ Act: The Sinking of the Cheonan
North Korea, the last hereditary communist dictatorship on earth, is keeping itself in the news. The recent act of torpedoing a South Korean vessel that left 46 sailors dead has struck the country, and regional powers, deeply. The sinking of the Cheonan... More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1005/S00177.htm

Review by Binoy Kampmark: Richard III - The Melbourne Theatre Company
The latest adaptation of Shakespeare’s Richard III from the Melbourne Theatre Company, featuring Ewen Leslie, demonstrates the dangers of misreading epic theatre as eternally adaptable to ‘current affairs’. Audiences are meant to swoon or feel repulsion ... More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1005/S00205.htm

Sex.Scoop: Reviw - Kink: A Straight Girls Investigation
Most non-kinksters would think about S&M Bondage and Discipline, leather and swingers if they thought of kink but there is way more to kink than that and one thing this book does do is explore a wide range of kinky pastimes... More »[1]

[1] - http://sex.scoop.co.nz/2010/05/15/kink-a-straight-girls-investigation-by-stephanie-clifford-smith/

ALSO:

• This year's Bluff oysters the best yet [2]

[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/multimedia/tv/business/36512.html [2]

Young People These Days: Youth Week 2010
From Te Kao in the Far North, to Invercargill in the Deep South – this week thousands of young New Zealanders are heading out into their communities to celebrate Youth Week 2010. More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU1005/S00247.htm

ALSO:

• Seniors urged to support Youth Week [2]


• Youth Week Reminder To Celebrate Young People [3]


• Momentum building for Youth Week [4]


• IHC a keen supporter of Youth Week [5]


• Young White Ribbon Ambassador leads the way [6]

[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1005/S00358.htm [2]

[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1005/S00373.htm [3]

[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU1005/S00232.htm [4]

[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE1005/S00119.htm [5]

[6] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1005/S00259.htm [6]

Books: Old Hu-Hu Takes Out Top Kids' Literature Prize
Central Otago writer, Kyle Mewburn and Wellington illustrator, Rachel Driscoll have won the country’s highest accolade in children’s literature, the New Zealand Post Children’s Book of the Year Award for their picture book, Old Hu-Hu. More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU1005/S00220.htm

ENDS

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