News Worthy

20 July 2007 - No. 117

Victor Ludorum

The winner of the political anagram contest in Newsletter 116 has been notified. The correct answer was:

“Baroness Thatcher, the Iron Lady”.

Successful prisoner reintegration – what works

The Prison Fellowship is for my money the most credible rehabilitation organisation at present in New Zealand. In mid-May it held a conference at which an international expert noted some key themes including:

- Prison should be as much like the real world as possible – challenge prisoners to change – don’t treat them as infants, give them the opportunity to take responsibility

- If prisoners feel accepted as part of a community, it is a powerful incentive to change.

- The greatest challenge for prisoners is not finding work or accommodation. It is dealing with the stigmatisation they experience from a society which wants to treat them as aliens. A positive community attitude provides a powerful incentive to change.

- The greatest predictor of success is hope. When prisoners have something to live for – someone to love, a child to raise, a newfound belief system or faith – then they are likely to succeed.

There are 7,911 prisoners currently in our system, 301 more than this time last year. It is estimated that there will be a further 1000 prisoners in the system by 2011. Around 9,000 prisoners will be released from prison over the next 12 months. Of those released, around 27% will be back in prison within a year; that figure will rise to 39% within two years.

Local Government reform

There is a flurry of activity around the structure and functions of Local Government triggered no doubt in part by the Local Government NZ Annual Conference held this week and recently published initiatives by the Employers and Manufacturers Association under the banner “Fix Auckland”.

The Fix Auckland campaign proposes abolishing the seven local councils and the Auckland Regional Council replacing them with a single council and about 21 elected community councils all served by a single administration.

“Structure follows strategy” as business pioneer Alfred Chandler said. One reality is that politicians will never willingly cede power and the structure of local government in Auckland will in the result be an imposed one possibly against the background of a referendum.

If we are serious about Auckland being a world-class city which competes with Sydney Melbourne and Brisbane, it needs high-class regional infrastructure which makes the most effect use of regional assets. Economic development in Auckland is absolutely critical to New Zealand’s future growth potential.

Funding is a central issue and quite clearly there are limits to the ability of ratepayers to fund infrastructure.

What we need to develop is a common investment framework which spans both central and local government investment in infrastructure and which incorporates environmental as well as economic considerations.

The diddle kingdom

So reads a headline in a recent issue of the Economist with a story of tainted Chinese goods prompting safety scares around the world. The issue bubbled up in Parliament on Wednesday.

In May the head of the agency that regulates Chinese foods and drugs Zheng Xiaoyu was sentenced to death for accepting bribes in exchange for licences to produce fake drugs and medical devices.

The American Food and Drug Administration are focusing on a stream of Chinese imports that are contaminated or defective ranging from seafood to defective tyres, lead-coated toys, contaminated toothpaste and pet food.

One issue of particular concern to New Zealanders would have to be fake drugs. There is good anecdotal evidence to suggest that where a drug is not subsidised by Pharmac (the central Government drugs purchasing entity) and is accordingly only available at significant cost – perhaps $6,400 per month, that the desperately ill are importing generic drugs from China and other countries with potentially highly hazardous consequences.

India Trade Exhibition Auckland - 10 & 11 August 2007

Auckland based India Trade Group (ITG) Inc is organising a two-day exhibition on 10 & 11 August 2007 at the NZI Convention Halls, Aotea Centre at the Edge - (Admission free to public) to commemorate the 60th anniversary of India’s independence.

‘Rangotsav’ cultural show - an evening of beauty, fashion, music and dance will be held on 10 August at the ASB Theatre at 6.30pm - (Admission by invitation).

Both programmes are being held under the auspices of the Indian High Commission.

The exhibition aims to strengthen bilateral trade between New Zealand and India and showcase the products and services offered by the public and private sector companies in both countries.

Web: www.itg.org.nz

Political Quote of the Week

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." Ralph Waldo Emerson - American author, poet and philosopher (1802-1882)

Dr Richard Worth

National Party MP

ENDS

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