Back on board!

Fits and starts: that just about sums up my blogging effort so far. But, you know, I would rather produce few but better posts and I am sure you would prefer to read the same, if indeed anyone is reading.

A380. Photo: New Zealand Herald

Did you know that Singapore Airlines has grounded its A380s as well as QANTAS? What is this saying about A380s?

I don't want to cause unnecessary concern, but I am on an Emirates A380 next year to Europe so I hope theirs are holding up!

Three major events for me coming up are:

AUT's Media, Investigative Journalism and Technology Conference on the weekend of the 4th and 5th of December at AUT.

If you have any interest in journalism, it's the place to be. Lots of interesting speakers from NZ and around the world.

Following that I will be organising a summer camp for high school kids. It is looking like a fun four days away, not far from Auckland.

Then in January I will be off to Samoa, on the Samoa Service Project. Check it out - it's an amazing event, and more and more people are getting on board to promote it and to donate. We are building a toilet and shower block in the village of Poutasi which was smashed by last year's tsunami. We still need heaps of donations, so spread the word people!

After those awesome events I will be heading to Sydney for a course and to see friends and family. Can't wait for a jam-packed summer!

Oh, and if you have any back issues, (I put mine right out on Saturday) I can highly recommend the Institute of Sport Physiotherapy on Khyber Pass.

Rob Oakeshott - who is he really?

The 3 Musketeers or Amigos? Oakeshott, Katter and Windsor. Photo: news.com

Tomorrow it will be three weeks since the Federal election in Australia. For much of the time since the election, Rob Oakeshott, Independent member for Lyne in NSW, has hogged the spotlight.

After criticising Rob Oakeshott for treating us all like schoolkids waiting for the verdict on a debate, I did some further research on the man who has been an interesting phenomenon in Australian politics.

The further research was inspired by Helen Pringle's article in Online Opinion on 7 September.

She argues that Rob Oakeshott is not necessarily the conservative he is made out to be. There was obviously some opinion in his electorate that he should have backed the National/Liberal Coalition, instead of Labor. However, as an experienced Independent, has has become used to the situation of being able to argue, decide and vote how he likes. And by backing Labor he has merely exercised this freedom once again.

The painfully long announcement. Photo: streetcorner.com

Oakeshott seems like a genuine guy, albeit a little eccentric in his own way, not in Bob Katter's way - that's an entirely different thing altogether. The further end of the spectrum would be Wilson Tuckey who bowed out of politics the other day by criticising Tony Crook, the National/Independent MP who beat him. Nothing like a graceful exit.

But back to Oakeshott. Pringle's article brings two salient points to light. The first is that people shouldn't be straight-jacketed into pigeon holes of right and left, conservative or progressive. Those terms may be trusty guidelines for describing someones position within a political party or across a political spectrum, but they are dangerous ways to categorise people and predict decisions.

If politicians think independently and use their brains more often, we can expect more examples of leaders who buck the trend of 'party lines'. This is particularly relevant when discussing the new Government, and that brings me to the second point.

Pringle concludes that this is a good thing for Australian politics. And while I didn't like waiting 17 days for the decision, and pessimistically doubt that the Government will be stable enough to last the three years, I agree that the lack of a mandate can be a good thing. Pringle argues, "Oakeshott, perhaps unlike the other musketeers, will make trouble for whichever side of politics he comes to support. And that kind of trouble is a very good thing in politics."

I couldn't agree more.

Who will be Australia's first elected female Prime Minister?

PM Julia Gillard Photo: Guardian

What a provocative headline!

But really, when you think about it, Julia Gillard cannot really lay claim to being Australia's first elected Prime Minister. On one hand, she gained an increased majority of votes in her electorate of Lalor in Victoria, and she was chosen by caucus to be the leader of the party. Therefore in that way, she is the 'elected' member who is Prime Minister. But on the other hand, a majority of Australians did not give their first vote to Gillard's party, so she was not really chosen by the majority of Australians.

Jenny Shipley Photo: largeherds.co.nz

As we saw yesterday, she was actually chosen by three independent members of Parliament, after Labor gained the support of the sole Green Party member Adam Bandt, member for Melbourne. The people of the seats of Denison (Tas), Lyne (NSW), and New England (NSW) are responsible for voting in the independent members, who have effectively held the country in political limbo over the last 17 days. The three men: Andrew Wilkie, Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor threw their support behind Labor to give them enough seats to govern. Another independent, Bob Katter, sided with the Liberal / National Coalition, giving them a total of 74 seats.

It is a genuine Government, albeit a minority one, and many are arguing that it could be in the best interests of Australia. Certainly the people of the bush are feeling more acknowledged as Rob Oakeshott bargained on their behalf for more investment from the Gillard Government.

Helen Clark Photo: Wikimedia Commons

But in the eyes of history, perhaps it will be another woman who will go down in the record books as the first elected female Prime Minister. New Zealand knows all about that sort of situation, having Jenny Shipley as Prime Minister after knifing Jim Bolger in December 1997, before losing the next election in 1999 to the Helen Clark Labour Government.

As for Rob Oakeshott, I'd have to agree with Mark Davis of The Age, who said he held Australia hostage for 20 minutes before announcing who he was going to side with. Honestly, it was like watching an over-zealous school teacher adjudicating a debate: "It was a points decision", "Both sides did very well," "But in the end it came down to stability..."  - that was the essence of the speech, but with those quotes repeated several times and a whole lot more thrown in between. Not content with 15 minutes of fame, Rob went for 15 days of fame and then was not satisfied until he had all the cameras flashing and tapes rolling, with all politicians not even warned of his decision, so that he could have both Tony and Julia on tenterhooks. Now he has been offered a cabinet position with the Gillard government. Let's hope he lives up to his own Parliamentary reform and keeps his questions and answers to the time limit!

Blog at whim

Photo: czhalgts.edublogs.org

Hi there

Yes it has been a long time, I know. But the novelty of arriving in a new country and telling everyone about it wears off after a short time.

Hence I am to post here as often as I can with some insightful musings about just about anything. It will be opinion, of course, and personal views, perhaps quite different from what might be expressed in articles and other reports I have published elsewhere.

The Australian Federal Election is the biggest thing in politics since 1940, and since the hung result two weeks ago, five Australian men have played the two major parties against each other as they held meetings, issued wish-lists, and pitched their price to the highest bidder. The problem is that each major party had 72 seats, 4 short of the majority needed to govern in their own right. The Coalition technically has 73, but one of the National Party MPs Tony Crook, is effectively an independent as he has threatened to be a cross-bencher on a range of issues.

Photo: theaustralianpost.com

In the last week, Julia Gillard has coaxed the sole Greens member, Adam Bandt, and the green-leaning Tasmanian Independent Andrew Wilkie, to her side, effectively establishing the first ever Greens/Labor Coalition. It means more than just the single Green MP in the lower house, as there are at least five Greens senators in the upper house likely to side with Labor.

So the tally stands at Labor/Green Coalition: 74, Liberal/National Coalition: 73, with 3 undecided Independents.

All three undecided independents represent rural electorates and are former National Party members, and they all have had extensive experience in politics. As former Treasurer Peter Costello pointed out this week, they have been waiting for their time in the sun for many years. Although they represent traditionally conservative electorates, they have all made clear that there is no certainty as to which party they will support. When the Federal Treasury confirmed this week that Abbott's costings for his proposed policies were undervalued to the order of up to $11 billion, it certainly didn't do much to persuade the independents. Abbott and his shadow treasurer Joe Hockey stand by the figures.

But what Costello points out is that whoever each of the independents decide to support (and they have said that they are not working as a bloc, so there could be 75-75 if two go for Liberal/Nationals and one joins the Labor/Greens), there is no security that the Government would be stable. Any member of any party, argues Costello, will effectively have the constant temptation of acting like an independent and cross the floor on any issue.

Rob Oakeshott, Bob Katter and Tony Windsor. Photo:Brisbane Times

The way these independents have performed in the past two weeks should give us an idea of how they are going to perform for potentially the next three years. And while many are unhappy and fed up with the two-party system in Australia, surely a respected party with over 70 seats has more of a mandate than one or two blokes from the bush.

The independents have spoken about the need for 'stability' and Rob Oakeshott, the idealist, has talked about a new 'paradigm' in politics. I think that 'paradigm' is a euphemism for instability and three more years in the sun as a pretty powerful man.

The Australian public took to the polls and on the whole, they showed that they were unhappy with Labor's bungles and perhaps the knifing of Kevin Rudd. But due to the resulting lack of a result, the most democratic option is to go back to the polls and see what the people want.

Will they return Gillard's government, satisfied that they have given it a rap of the knuckles, or will a few more swing across to the Liberals and Nationals to ensure a change of government?

The deal that will be struck with these three independents will also carry the guarantee that a new election would not be called for the next three years. They want to savour their influence as much as possible.

The Australian Electoral Commission has said it is ready for another election. If the possible 75-75 deadlock does not eventuate, and one of the major parties gains a majority, it will certainly be a poisoned chalice, and the Australian people won't have a say for three more years.

Let's have our say now, rather than later.

It's our house, let's decide who sits where. Photo: Wikimedia commons

Getting into Routine

Photo: NZ Herald

Well it has been a while, but that is a good thing as it would be a little tragic if all I ever did here was update my blog!

Communications at AUT University is certainly a lot fun - discussing the media, law, advertising, as well as learning shorthand, putting together a radio documentary and learning how to be an investigative journalist!

I ran in the Round the Bays on Sunday - it is an 8.4km Fun Run from Quay St in the city around to St Helliers. You run on a pretty flat road around the coast - past Hobson Bay, Okahu Bay, Mission Bay and Kohimarama Beach until you get to St Helliers. St Helliers is a nice area - pretty good houses, not too far from city. As you can see from the photo there were only 5 runners... OK there were a few more - 40,000 people registered and probably a few extras jumped in, but not the 70,000 that some were estimating. I have been in the City to Surf in Sydney with 70,000 and that is huge. This was a little tamer, but a great day and and a brilliant BBQ lunch at a reserve near the finish line. There was live music and slides and heaps of corporate tents.

Photo: geonet.org.nz

I ran the race in 53 minutes, BUT, that was with about 10 minutes of waiting, shuffling and finally zig-zag jogging at the start, as we were at the very back to begin with. The winner did it in 25 minutes I think. I practised the day before by running up Mt Eden, which is only a 10-minute run away. However, it is a pretty big slope, so not sure how smart that was before the big race. You can see it here - complete with crater. All the hills around Auckland seem to be volcanoes. In fact, they say Auckland is one big volcano. I quote from www.gns.cri.nz: "Within a radius of about 20km centred on Auckland city there are 49 discrete volcanoes."
Well, I hope they stay discrete...

Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

 

I have also been on a couple of trips to coastal areas around Auckland. One was Huia and the other one was Kawakawa Bay. They were both very pictureque and we are heading to the Huia, pictured here, for our Easter camp, for some "tramping" along the Hillary trail as well as beach activities.

Photo: The Australian

It's good to see that quite a few Aucklanders are into the NRL. Lots of Warriors fans around here, so it's a good talking point, especially seeing as though I am a Tigers fan and we have the NZ skipper Benji Marshall. Tigers somehow achieved a last-minute win last night over Manly which gives me great pleasure considering all the people I know who are Manly fans... check out Tuqiri touching down in the 4th minute of the game...

Well, I have plenty to do, so cheers eh bro until next time...

On the 7th day, the Rain

Apparently that's not too bad for Auckland. Pity for us was that it was right in the middle of re-roofing one of the twin houses. Nothing that the workmen couldn't handle though, especially seeing as though Chris went and bought them all beers - what a nice guy.

Today was orientation at AUT and the journos were spoiled by an official Maori welcome, called a "Powhiri." It involved us walking towards the hut "Whare" (Wh is pronounced like an F) while a lady sang a welcome song and then we removed our shoes to go inside for a ceremony. The men had to sit in the front row as we had to protect the women, of course. Then the Maori representatives welcomed us and after each speech there was a traditional song. Even we had to sing at some stage!

Of note was the Hongi - we lined up and met the

university staff with a traditional touching of noses. (this is an internet photo - not me) The approaching women have the option of going for the cheek kiss and I must say quite a few of our group wussed out and went for the kiss, instead of the awkward and somewhat risky nose-and-forehead-touch. The literal meaning of Hongi is "sharing of breath".

All in all a very novel way to begin Uni life again - quite different from my memories of standing in a line at the Sydney Uni Arts faculty for 3 hours a decade ago. The course looks like it will be intense but heaps of fun - look out for my name in the NZ Herald before long!

Here's my room with a view - mum tells me it's important for a mother to know where her son is sleeping and living, so here u go mum. Biggest room in the house and a nice view from the desk.

Below is the view from the window. Auckland Uni hall of residence in the way unfortunately. That's Rangitoto Island either side of the building, which partly blocks an otherwise perfect view of Auckland Harbour. OK, on a clear day it looks better.

Fellow residents that have just moved in are Jamie from Paraparaumu, north of Wellington, and Daniel from Wonganui. Jamie is studying construction at Massey Uni and Daniel is doing Engineering at Auckland Uni. Very nice guys - asking me how things work here, but I'm not exactly an expert having been here only a week! I'm in great company and start classes on Monday, at the beginning of the second sixth of the year. Time seems to fly quicker when you're closer to the international dateline!

OK, so a few days in to my New Zealand experience and everyone keeps assuring me that the beautiful weather is just a passing thing and won't last. Not a drop of rain since arriving last Thursday night!

We spent all Saturday on Auckland Harbour, with a former Kiwi National Champion of yachting, Paul Meo. He took us out on his boat and we caught a few snapper with his superior fishing advice. Lots of squid bait seemed to do the trick.

We also passed very close to 2 ex-Americas Cup yachts that they take out on chartered yachting trips. People pay $100 to have a go. We just cruised up close for a few photos. I left the new 12.1 megapixel camera at home, so it was up to my 3.2 megapixel camera on my phone to do the job. Lucky we were close!

See more photos on my Facebook

Orientation at AUT tomorrow - looking forward to the Masters!

Arrival and settling in to Orc-Land

Well eh bru here I am in Auckland or as some call it (Orc-land), which was actually named before the Lord of the Rings made New Zealand popular.

I'll be studing a Masters of Communications at AUT (Auckland University of Technology) and perhaps doing some work here and there. My other focus is to run activities at the centre of Opus Dei in Auckland - Glenrowan Study Centre.

I am starting to see that several Aussie terms should not be used, and they are replaced as follows:

Aussie Term

• Thongs
  

New Zealand Term

• Jandals

Why not to use Aussie term

• As in other countries, Thongs refer to a certain piece of scanty underwear

Aussie Term

• Esky

New Zealand Term

• Chilli-Bin

Why not to use Aussie term

• You will just be laughed at

Aussie Term

• stuffed, screwed, broken

New Zealand Term

• Munted

Why not to use Aussie term

• Munted covers everything
  

I'm sure there will be more to add to that list as time goes on....

Well, the photo above is from the Tongariro Crossing, which we did about a month ago, with the boys' club called "Endeavour", which is a great name as it has many meanings and I like ships. Pretty soon I'll upload some photos from our day of fishing out on the Harbour. It was an awesome start to my stay in Auckland.

Yesterday I attended a Mass for someone being received into the Catholic Church. It was also a great way to start things off here. Very nice guy, also a lawyer and teaching at the uni that I will be doing my Masters at - Auckland University of Technology. I am set for copping heaps for going to the second-best uni in Auckland, behind Auckland Uni, but hey what can you do if the best uni doesn't even have a Journalism or Communications department. Pretty slack if you ask me!

As I said, I am living in a centre called Glenrowan Study Centre. As at yesterday, there were just three Aussies living here, so it was fitting that the place is named after a location in Victoria, Australia (where Ned Kelly was finally taken by the authorities). But uni residents are moving in, so the NZ-Aussie ratio is tipping back the other way. Hopefully within the week we will be outnumbered and I can get back to learning more about the interesting Kiwi accent. "Interesting" is actually an interesing word to say in a Kiwi accent eh?

Well, stay tuned for more photos, which I will also Facebook, and for more news from this awesome part of the world.

Cheers eh bru!