It's time to say goodbye to Novopay

If politicians were underpaid, you could be guaranteed the problem would be sorted out in a week. Calls would be made, people would be spoken to, the solution would stick out. Whatever pay systems their salaries are under will likely vanish underneath a cloud of criticism. Most New Zealanders could not care less if something like this happened. back benchers to party leaders are already overcompensated for being bland, self serving careerists.

To make teachers go through more Novopay nightmares epitomises exactly everything which is wrong with the National party. Every time something works against them, a policy fails or scrutiny increases, they resort to blaming others.

In the instance of Novopay, Mr. Slippery chooses to blame the professionals for advising National. Rather than accept responsibility, everyone runs for cover.

What National will not tell you is how Novopay replaced a system which was already tried and trusted. There were no glitches, additional costs, nothing. Every person on the payroll system got paid promptly. Everyone probably got suspicious that this happened to work so well. According to Radio New Zealand, Novopay would have been in operation in late 2010, were it not for bugs and other problems. Cancelling the outsourced contract seemed like a viable option. Much like the ridiculous asset sales, National stayed determined to prove something and someone wrong. What exactly either one is remains unclear.

I myself was underpaid to the tune of $150, over several pay periods. Crying foul over it seems laughable though as over $30,000,000 in underpayments, over payments or no payments has crippled many people within the education sector financially. Picture an unmarried teacher, who has just gotten a job at a secondary school. Six months in and they're already behind on rent payments, cannot buy a basket of groceries, in addition to barely rattling into school in their almost empty car. To hear Steven Joyce try cut corners and say eventually these problems will be sorted out is foolhardy. So what? The damage has been done, teachers who have been underpaid or unpaid cannot undo the hardship which has hit them recently. With a further assurance Term one shall see similar problems, teachers should start saving whatever they can because dark days still lie ahead.

Don't believe for a moment Mr Key's claim no other alternative to Novopay currently exists. If our government has the ability to sell off state assets in a finger snap, they most certainly can bring back the tried and trusted system. Leave it now.

Neither is justified to say they are right

In an ongoing epidemic, Israel yet again finds itself at odds with an Islamic nation. After supposedly conducting an airstrike inside the Syrian border, it once again paints a bleak picture for anyone trying to wipe them off the map.

Neither side can claim to be victims. Both countries have had to defend themselves but both countries are launching attacks at each other. Anyone who wants a proper insight into the current crisis gripping the nation needs to read Bernard Lewis and Mosab Hassen Yousef. One is an historian with a vast knowledge about the subject, while the other is the son of a Hamas leader.

Each man is able to provide an accurate depiction of how neither side is doing the right thing and how peace will not be achieved until Israel and its opponents stop hounding each other in such a bloodthirsty way.

It was quite upsetting that Paul Holmes passed away at just 63. For a man who revolutionised current affairs in broadcasting, he deserved at least five more years on screen or in radio. After looking back at his most famous interviews, his ability to go into uncomfortable areas was evident. The people he spoke with often fidgeted around a lot and some even stormed out. Regardless, Holmes was engaging and somebody New Zealanders could relate to. Unlike John Campbell, who stumbles over the stage curtain or Mark Sainsbury, who is far too PC, Holmes was not afraid to speak his mind. 

Professional athlete's autobiographies are often very interesting reads. Many events which happen behind the scenes are interpreted very differently by each sportsman/woman. The best ones are able to walk you through their journey, without boring you to bits in details. Corne Krige and Tyler Hamilton are the most promising examples. 

Which is why I am desperately hoping for the second half of McCaws book "The Open Side" to move up a gear (like the man himself has done so many times). The book is full of frantic jumping, moving from High School, to the notorious 2007 World Cup match in Cardiff, and then back even further to his early childhood. Not only is the chronology completely out of sync, there is a fair amount of expletives. 

While I can concede that everyone is going to let the odd bit of bad language slip out in tense, heat of the moment situations (Krige and Hamilton do this too), I had hoped McCaw and McGee would have been shrewd enough to leave "fuck" and "shit" out of the non heat of the moment situations.