Sport
Well the Super 14 started this weekend, so if you don't like rugby news, you might want to skip the next 9 months of news from NZ!
The Chiefs were starting with a not very good pre-season record, resting captain Mils Muliaina, had lost Lauaki, Dwayne Sweeney, Callum Bruce and Lelia Masaga with either injury or sickness, and they start their campaign with a tour of the traditionally difficult South Africa. But in a game that could have gone either way and a kiwi ref (that the crowd didn't like!), the Chiefs beat the Sharks 19-18 with a try in the last three minutes & a couple of shots at goal for Stephen Donald. Yay! The Highlanders looked quite good, but they were playing the Crusaders who were just better & won 32-17. The Brumbies beat the Force 24-15, and the Bulls beat the Cheetahs 51-34. The new Blues player Stephen Brett (formerly in Dan Carter's shadow at Canterbury) couldn't quite get his team to victory after Hurricanes put on 22 un-answered points in the second half. Stephen had a big hand in getting the Blues to a 20-12 half time lead but threw a couple of passes that were intercepted to let the Canes back in.
In rugby sevens, NZ hammered France & Guyana in their opening two games of the Las Vegas sevens. They also beat Australia 12-7.
The NZ Breakers haven't had an entirely good season, but they have finished well. This week they needed to win and for other results to go their way for them to make the top four & the play-offs. They continued their hot streak with an 84-79 win over the Taipans but unfortunately Gold Coast beat Melbourne 91-73 to end their season! Tony Ronaldson made his final ANBL appearance with a huge 664 games.
The Wellington Phoenix secured a home semifinal after thrashing the Central Coast Mariners 3-0. Not many (if any) would have bet on the Phoenix making the play-offs and the Breakers missing out!
The Black Caps got their clean sweep against Bangladesh but the last game wasn't as easy with Bangladesh reaching 241 for nine. NZ made difficult work of it but on the basis of a Martin Guptill run-a-ball 91, reached the target with three wickets remaining & plenty of overs.
Nick Willis won the Boston Indoor Games mile for the second year in a row.
NZ News
Kiwi super-yacht builder Salthouse Marine Limited has been placed into receivership this week. They have operated for 25 years and build top end motor yachts worth around $4m each. The director said they fell victim to the economic downturn, although overseas companies are keen to buy their designs for the world class boats.
Our flag has been in the news a bit. There has occasionally been campaigns to change it from our heritage, and recently it has flared up again. What concerns me is the first line of an NZ Herald article, it says "The Herald's campaign to change the New Zealand flag..." - what? since when did they decide they could switch from reporting news to making it?
John Key was on TVNZ's breakfast show & asked to draw a flag he would support if the NZ flag were to change, it was just a silver fern and now the sketch is up on Trademe at $10,050 with all proceeds going to Cure Kids.
Perhaps the NZ flag discussion started after government buildings flew the Tino Rangatiratanga flag for Waitangi Day. The problem was almost no Maori (except for the Maori party) supported that particular flag. They all campaigned long & hard to get a "Maori" flag flying on the Auckland Harbour bridge and on government buildings, but given the opportunity there still seems to be no consensus on which flag that should be.
The Otago Conservation Board has decided to lobby the government for a national ban on camper vans. How hilarious. I think they have too much time on their hands.
But the story of the week has been the governments recommendation to raise the GST rate from 12.5% to 15%. They've taken a lot of flak after video came to light that appeared to show John Key ruling out a rise to GST during his 2008 election campaign, and a speech by Finance Minister Bill English where he committed to not raising GST. However John Key's comments were directly related to raising GST to cover deficits, and Bill English wondered where the opposition had been, as the government has been debating it for the past six to eight months as the economy has changed drastically. In a poll, 56% opted for the higher GST with personal tax cuts - what the government plans to do.
Cadbury dairy milk chocolate will now have a "Fairtrade" logo along with newly redesigned packaging and an increase in cocoa solids from 21% to 26%.
Former All Black Robin Brooke has reached a settlement with a couple of teenagers, after he allegedly assaulted a boy after groping a 15-year-old Auckland girl on holiday in Fiji. He apologised for his actions on TV this week. He said he had no memory of the incident as it was 3am and he "had had too much to drink".
9: drowning deaths for January, the fewest in 30 years (last year 23 people died)
9: taser uses during the first year that the stun guns were available for Police use
11: volcanoes around Auckland are included in a treaty settlement for Tamaki Makaurau
17: % drop in house sales nationally last month
58: % support for John Key as Prime Minister, National is as 56% and Labour is up 1 to 34% - no other parties were over the 5% threshold
70: % drop in "tagging" around Manukau City after a concerted effort to get rid of graffiti
70: old radar's have been bought & mounted by ACC intended to fool drivers with radar detectors - $81m in ACC claims for speed related crashes
140: strong St Petersburg Philharmonic was lead by kiwi Gary Brain in Russia's Tchaikovsky Hall - the Grammy winner got a 10min standing ovation & glowing press reviews
5,797: marriages in the quarter to December 2009, a 3 year high after the recession apparently
26,000: homes have taken advantage of the government insulation subsidies in the first 6 months
206,000: kiwis have joined up with new mobile operator 2degrees in the first six months of operation, 44c/min calls & 9c texts are their claim to fame
Finance NZ Dollar
GBP 0.4447 (+0.0040)
EUR 0.5122 (+0.0076)
USD 0.6980 (+0.0081)
AUD 0.7867 (-0.0080)
The Weekender NZer of the week
Dame Kiri Te Kanawa
Dame Kiri was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Classical Brits awards this year.
Card Name
Those of us who worked at the front desk of a convention hotel in Williamsburg, Va., prided ourselves on making the guests feel special. When someone arrived at reception, credit card in hand, we would sneak a peek at it and address him by name.
Once during a particularly busy check-in, one of our guests presented a corporate credit card. "Welcome to Williamsburg, Mr. Bell," the desk clerk said.
"Oh, please," the man replied, "call me Taco."
Check out my photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/dunwich42/RaglanBeachWalk#
Darren Harrison: darren@harrison.gen.nz
The Weekender: mailed weekly (Sunday nightish)
Website: www.dunwich.co.nz/weekender/
{If these just fill up your junk mail, then send me an email & I'll take you off the list | The Weekender is not a verified news source, sometimes it's even just an opinion}
