Sad little Penguins

On 22nd Nov, Dominique Schwartz, for Asia Pacific News reported:

Recovery teams dealing with the oil spill disaster off the New Zealand coast have returned the first batch of rescued penguins to the sea. 

Three hundred and fifty tonnes of thick fuel oil spilled from the Rena after it ran onto a reef in the Bay of Plenty early last month. The spill killed at least two thousand birds and closed beaches. A wildlife rehabilitation centre has been nursing about 350 oil-coated and injured birds back to health. 

On Tuesday the first of the patients were released on the beach at Mt Maunganui -- 49 little blue penguins whose home waters of Rabbit Island have been declared clean. The penguins had to have blood tests and swim for six hours unassisted to prove their health before being set free. 

The little blue penguins were released on Tuesday 22nd Nov, 2011. Then on the 25th Nov, it was reported that new dangerous goods had been found to be stored onboard Rena that were not on the ships inventory:

The manifest records the product as ‘Cover Bath Material’ and ‘Pure Tapped Bath Material’.

It is a by-product of the aluminium smelting process, which is considered low risk unless ingested or inhaled directly in its dry powdered form.

[...]  

An investigation is underway to find out how an additional 21 containers of dangerous goods onboard the Rena was not declared on the ship’s manifest.

There are 490 tonnes of the product onboard, packed in one tonne bulk bags inside the containers.  

The bags have a polyethylene liner and are constructed of polypropylene, so are water resistant, but not water tight.  

Water is likely to have seeped into the bags within the container.

Despite Maritime New Zealand saying that the substance posses a low risk, the safety data sheet (PDF) for Pure Tapped Bath Material or Cryolite as it is meant to be called for shipping purposes, shows that it's highly hazardous:

• OSHA Status: This product is hazardous under the criteria of the Federal OSHA Hazard Communication Standard 29 CFR 1910.1200.
• TSCA Chemical Inventory: This compound is on the EPA Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) inventory List

MNZ said the same thing about the 23,240 kgs of Alkylsulphonic Acid that was lost overboard, when it's highly toxic to marine life.

What makes this all the more despicable is that Maritime New Zealand knew about the Cryolite seeping into the ocean prior to the little Blue Penguins being released. MNZ then withheld the information until the 25th of Nov, the day before the election.

They have probably sent many of those Penguins to their deaths.

Pay equality would boost GDP

Today, Voxy reported Gillard pledge offers 'catch up' challenge to NZ

"We also have a big pay equity problem in New Zealand. While the national average gender pay gap is 12 percent, nearly a third of government departments have gender pay gaps above 20 percent and in one, the New Zealand Defence Force, it is nearly 39 percent, says Brenda Pilott.

"These are shameful statistics given that 59 percent of New Zealand's public service workers are women.

"In April, Finance Minister Bill English boasted that New Zealand's low wages helped it compete with Australia, but this doesn't stand up to scrutiny.

"A recent report from Goldman Sachs estimates that closing the pay gap between men and women in New Zealand would boost New Zealand's GDP by 10 percent.

Wow! 10% boost to our GDP... what is National waiting for? Oh! That's right... some female MP's.

Another prison death

Today, Ian Steward reported for stuff Prisoner's last plea for help ignored

A woman who died of a heart condition in an Auckland prison hit her cell emergency alarm before her death but prison guards ignored the call for help.

The inquest into the death of Anna Selina Kingi, at the Auckland Coroner's Court yesterday, heard that the 41-year-old was found dead in her cell at Auckland Regional Women's Facility more than an hour after she activated her alarm.

A guard, whose name was suppressed, said she heard the alarm on November 10, 2008, but she was very busy so she just asked through the intercom if everything was alright.

When there was no answer, the female prison officer decided to ignore it.

Another guard told police that rather than make her cell check rounds, she fastened her digital ID to a broom handle and reached up and swiped the card over a sensor to make it look like she had done her rounds.

Kingi, a mother of seven and grandmother of one from Hamilton, had been in prison for just under a month when she died.

Click image to enlarge

Despicable! This is a clear cut case of manslaughter, but I bet nobody will be charged.

What is even worse is the mainstream media failing to report on this. Instead they ran a story about a mother retaliating against her daughter's bullies.

It's yet another coverup to protect the Crown, who's ultimately responsible for the lack of proper procedures and training that should ensure such things do not happen.

Broken promises

Yesterday, Forest & Bird reported that National had already started to break its promises:

On the first working day after the election, Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson has told Forest & Bird that the government will break its promise to give New Zealanders a say about whether an open-cast coal mine on Denniston Plateau public conservation land can go ahead.

I know I should be outraged about this but it's really no surprise. National has amassed a huge list of broken promises, simply because their environmentally destructive agenda requires them to mislead the public.

You can sign the petition to save the Denniston Plateau from open cast coal mining here.

National's demoralizing propaganda

Yesterday John Key did one of his turgid video journals in which he describes people who are opposed to asset sales as being "scared".

Today, Fran O’Sullivan claimed New Zealander’s opposed to asset sales have anxiety issues:

By front-footing National’s plan – even while confidence and supply negotiations continue with the Maori Party co-leaders who say they are against “asset sales” – Key is sending a welcome signal that despite many New Zealanders’ anxiety he is prepared to take a leadership role on this score.

What a load of rubbish! People who oppose asset sales aren’t scared and they don’t have anxiety issues. The vast majority of New Zealander’s oppose asset sales because it does not make good economic sense for New Zealand.

Post election rant

In the last few weeks of the election it appeared that the mainstream media started doing its job properly instead of the almost total biased reporting we've had to endure in New Zealand over the last decade.

However it's hard to say if Duncan Garners relentless teapot tape coverage was simply a red hearing to take the focus off what really matters... asset sales and the environment. It certainly didn't let Phil Goff get much airtime, with the biased polling also giving an advantage to the right.

Perhaps the fact that John Key called the cops on the media to suppress his little talk with Banks got them a bit motivated... but it's unclear whether the media was simply playing the public by not releasing the tape when they had legal advice that said they could. Some things just don't add up.

National lost nearly 100,000 votes from the last election and have only 35.4% of eligible votes... with the specials unaccounted for. It seems very strange to me that we have had such a low turnout when most of the election campaigns were well run and the stakes are so high. Surely New Zealander's aren't so apathetic as to let National sell off their future for a few peanuts?

All the while the right continue to profess their ignorant rhetoric like it's a mantra that will stop National taking even more taxes from them and distributing it to their already wealthy mates... a position that most right wing supporters will never attain.

Throughout the campaign the right wing New Zealand bloggers have used juvenile insults that are completely meaningless! What they fail to understand is that New Zealands assets are going to be purchased by gloating right wing politicians and then funneled off shore... never to be seen again. The right wings insults make their hollow victory even more pathetic!

Corporate Media

Yesterday, Wikileaks reported that the US government had demanded Wikileaks destroy all files about them:

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has told a media summit that the US government has ordered him to destroy all the material WikiLeaks holds on them – published and unpublished - and to stop using government insiders to gather fresh material. 

“[When we released our documents] the Pentagon said we must destroy everything we published and were going to publish,” Assange said. ”And if we didn’t, we would be ‘compelled to do so,’” the summit’s website says. 

Assange made the allegation as he addressed the News 2011 Summit in Hong Kong via Skype. News executives and media owners from over 80 countries have gathered there to discuss editorial principles and tools as well as business models for the news media. Reports say Assange has been under police pressure to stop talking – exactly the kind of oppressive official action he has been working to highlight. 

He was met with a storm of applause from journalists as he appeared on the screen. 

Speaking about modern journalism, Assange claimed it was facing crisis of a legitimacy today and accused the mainstream press of corruption and bias.

Julian Assange is right! Many mainstream media reporters are biased, mainly because of who pays their wages. However the difficulty is that some journalists are not corrupt and therefore it needs to be said that they undertake a credible role in reporting the truth.

Unfortunately factual reporting has been declining worldwide over the last few years... and especially in New Zealand. The continued underreporting of many important issues just one indicator that New Zealand's mainstream media and their watchdogs are biased.

Here's Goerge Monbiot on the media:

So the rightwing papers run endless exposures of benefit cheats, yet say scarcely a word about the corporate tax cheats. They savage the trade unions and excoriate the BBC. They lambast the regulations that restrain corporate power. They school us in the extrinsic values – the worship of power, money, image and fame – which advertisers love but which make this a shallower, more selfish country. Most of them deceive their readers about the causes of climate change. These are not the obsessions of working people. They are the obsessions thrust upon them by the multimillionaires who own these papers. 

The corporate media is a gigantic astroturfing operation: a fake grassroots crusade serving elite interests. In this respect the media companies resemble the Tea Party movement, which claims to be a spontaneous rising of blue-collar Americans against the elite but was founded with the help of the billionaire Koch brothers and promoted by Murdoch's Fox News.

I totally agree with him. So what are we going to do about it?

Low voter turnout

The 2011 election had the lowest voter turnout since 1880.

There is no question that voter apathy is a clear indication that people are feeling disenfranchised and powerless. Increasing inequality, higher unemployment, more reliance on charity, less home ownership and many other worsening social dynamics all add to negative outcomes... low voter turnout is just another indication that our system is failing.

 This morning, Radio NZ reports:

A US expert on voter participation says the low turnout for Saturday's election reflects a global trend. 

Only 68% of those eligible to cast a ballot actually did so in the New Zealand general election on Saturday. 

Thomas Patterson is the professor of government and press at Harvard University's John F Kennedy School of Government. 

He told Morning Report that voter turnout has dropped across all advanced democracies by about 5% - 10% over the past decade, with young people taking less interest in elections.

This shouldn't be used as an excuse for New Zealand's low voter turnout. There is one main reason for a lack of participation... people are poorer and communities are weaker. Studies have shown that places with the most extensive social programs tend to be the ones with the highest turnouts. A weaker social program means less participation.

However there are other factors specific to New Zealand that has given rise to our low voter turnout. National took the vote away from prison inmates. At the time, Human rights advocate Peter Williams QC said:

"The right to vote is something we all regard as precious, it's part of the democratic society. I can't see any advantage in penalising these people further. 

"History has shown that (removing voting rights) is counteractive. Most of these people will be released into the community in due course and it's better that we take a positive attitude."

Mr Williams says one of the objectives of prison is to encourage inmates to be useful citizens and it is an admirable thing to have prisoners taking an interest in local and national politics. 

Kim Workman from the group Rethinking Crime and Punishment, says the issue of removing inmates' voting rights was looked at in 1992 and was found to be a violation of the Bill of Rights and a breach of the Electoral Act.

It's not the first time National has knowingly worked against the Bill of Rights. Last year Social Development Minister Paula Bennett even admitted that part of her welfare reforms breached the Bill of Rights Act... at the time she said it was "fair and reasonable".

It is highly undemocratic to work to remove people's right to vote and disincentives the poor from participating in politics. National know that the poor are more likely to disengage and actively work to exploit this dynamic.

Marketing consultant Noel Ferguson said:

The low turnout could be attributed to people “on the fringes” not wanting their details public. 

“It’s not just one or two odd people who are paranoid,” he says. “There’s a whole bunch of people who live in fear on a daily basis, who just don’t want their whereabouts known to anybody.” 

Mr Ferguson says people indebted to credit agencies, loan sharks or the government may be hesitant to enroll. 

He says others may fear giving their physical address due to gang connections.

This is another indication that worsening economics and social dysfunction is reducing voter turnout. How does that fit into National's so called brighter future?

Being that a low participation rate is ultimately bad for society, one would expect some sort of change to be implemented to increase participation in the democratic process. But no! John Key said yesterday:

"If you really have to force people to vote how engaged are they?"

It's not about forcing people to vote... it's about giving them incentive and the ability to vote. Two things that National has been actively undermining.

Occupy Auckland crackdown

There's no question that the lead up to the 2011 election has given the New Zealand Occupy movement a reprieve from any harsh Police action to break up their protests. However I predict that this time has come to an end.

Today, Jessica Tasman-Jones reported:

This afternoon protesters confirmed they had been given a trespass notice from Auckland Council asking them to move on due to their breach of bylaws banning camping in public spaces. 

The group, which includes union members, legalise cannabis supporters and members of the Mana Party, was established in solidarity with the Occupy Wall St movement which set up camp in New York's financial district on September 17. 

The international movement has been sparked by wealth inequality and corporate influence on government. 

Police have previously been reluctant to move protesters on, believing their right to protest, under the Bill of Rights Act, overrides local bylaws.

Well that's the reason the Police gave, however a directive would have been given to not cause any negative reporting prior to the election by violently breaking up the Occupy New Zealand protests.

Now that the election is over, there is the very real potential that the Police will break up the peaceful Occupy protests by force. With a complacent media, we can also expect underreporting.

So much for democracy.

Netflix fail

New Zealander's wanting to join Netflix would have been disappointed by the message: Sorry, Netflix is not available in your country...


Netflix serves movies to more than 20 million streaming members globally, and is the world's leading Internet subscription service. It costs US$7.99 a month.

Today stuff reported:

Netflix, a popular United States service that lets customers stream movies and television shows over the internet to their TV or computer for a flat US$8.99 monthly fee, has slated the internet in New Zealand and says it has no plans to offer its service here. 

The message was delivered in person by the company's vice- president of product innovation, Brent Ayrey, 39, a Kiwi who grew up in Christchurch and was the headline act at the ITEX computer show in Auckland.

Netflix' disinterest in New Zealand has been taken as an indictment of the country's internet infrastructure and broadband data caps and Ayrey said it was a "pretty substantial deterrent". 

Netflix has however expanded into Latin America and the Carribean and will launch in Britain next year.

There's confirmation that National failed to uphold another one of their election promises... we still have one of the slowest internet speeds and broadband uptake in the world.

Is that what you voted for New Zealand?

Rightwing spin

Today, Bloomberg reported; Key Assembles Coalition After Biggest New Zealand Poll Victory in 60 Years

National won 48 percent of votes, the most it has taken since 1951, compared with 27 percent for the main opposition , Labour Party, according to the Electoral Commission. In his second term, the 50-year-old multimillionaire and former foreign exchange head at Merrill Lynch & Co. must steer New Zealand’s recovery from its worst natural disaster in 80 years amid global economic turmoil.

What a load of rubbish! In 2008 National got 1,053,398 votes while in the 2011 election they gained only 957,769. That's 95,629 less votes this year for National, so how can Chris Bourke and Tracy Withers claim that this is a victory?

The only reason National won is because voter turnout was only 73.83%. They certainly don't let the facts get in the way of their story telling.

He has pledged to sell part of the government’s stake in four energy companies and the national airline to help erase a NZ$18.4 billion ($13.6 billion) budget deficit.

Accounting for non voter's, only 35.4% of eligible voters went for National. Internal polling showed less than half of their supporters want asset sales. This is clearly not a mandate to sell assets. Couple this with a negative market, there really is no good reason to sell.

Lion vs Jackal

Daring jackal image wins BBC Wildlife Magazine Camera-trap Photo of the Year 2011 competition, in association with the World Land Trust.

© Ken Stratford - Ongava Research Centre.

A black-backed jackal confronting a young adult male lion – in broad daylight: this is the incredible winning image of this year’s BBC Wildlife Magazine Camera-trap Photo competition.

The photograph by Ken Stratford is exceptional, but more importantly it has directly raised funds for the conservation organisation he works for, the Ongava Research Centre in Namibia.

Polling or propaganda?

There's never been an election campaign in New Zealand with so much polling. Nearly every day we had hacks like Duncan Garner saying that the polls were putting National into a commanding lead while all other social indicators were telling a different story.

Sure! There's the feel good factor after the RWC, but this should not have accounted for the increase in popularity after 58% of people polled think National failed to react properly to the Rena disaster for instance. Illogical polling that does not gauge the mood of the public should and must be questioned, the alternative is to believe that the public is completely apathetic about and disengaged from politics.

The question is whether there's an attempt to subvert democracy by influencing the public through inaccurate polling? Despite such questions arising concerning the blitzkrieg of polling running up to the election, some within the media continue to extoll its virtues:

Tapu Misa from the NZ Herald writes:

So what if the cuppa intended to breathe life into one political corpse ended up resuscitating another? It didn't matter, because John Key, as every poll has been predicting for months, has led National back to the government benches, his star barely dimmed by the so-called teapot tapes saga.

It is true that every poll did put John Key ahead. The question is does that influence people's voting? The answer is that it most definitely does... for the simple fact that nobody likes to back a horse that they think wont win. Therefore democracy is being subverted by polling, even if it is not intentionally inaccurate.

Bryce Edwards writes:

These indications of election poll influence, the upward trend in poll incidence and coverage, and the resulting potential for interference with democratic integrity necessitate investigation into the New Zealand case. This dissertation therefore uses a case study of the 2008 New Zealand general election in an attempt to establish whether election polls cause a bandwagon effect, induce an underdog effect, or encourage strategic voting in the New Zealand situation. This in turn enables evaluation to be undertaken on whether election polls in fact interfere with democratic integrity.

Such a dynamic could be a reason for 23% of eligible voters not bothering.

2011 General Election Preliminary Results 

Party	Party Votes	% Votes	Electorate Seats	List Seats	Total Seats
National Party	957,769	47.99	41	19	60
Labour Party	541,499	27.13	22	12	34
Green Party	211,931	10.62	0	13	13
New Zealand First Party	135,865	6.81	0	8	8
Māori Party	26,887	1.35	3	0	3
ACT New Zealand	21,446	1.07	1	0	1
Mana	19,898	1.00	1	0	1
United Future	12,159	0.61	1	0	1
Conservative Party	55,070	2.76	0	0	0
Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party	9,516	0.48	0	0	0
Democrats for Social Credit	1,432	0.07	0	0	0
Libertarianz	1,405	0.07	0	0	0
Alliance	1,069	0.05	0	0	0
			69*	52	121

Bullshit!

The final result, with all booths counted, gives National 60 seats, Labour 34, the Green Party 13, NZ First 8, Maori Party 3, while the Mana Party, UnitedFuture and ACT all win a seat each.


You really voted for this?

All Blacks vs Japan

[No political comment allowed today.]

Japans coach John Kirwan was capped 63 times and scored 35 tries for the All Blacks.

The All Blacks kick the game off after a great Haka. There's a turnover at halfway and the speed and skill of the AB’s puts Conrad Smith in for the first easy try.

The AB’s obviously have size on their side.

The legend that is John Kirwan has done a great job coaching the Japanese team, who show early on that they are willing to play the AB’s at their own game.

A strict ref could make all the difference.

Slade misses the conversion. 

Japan are really looking to be a serious contender with a turnover close to the AB’s line giving them a rest from Japans pressure. That was lucky.

All blacks looking mean particularly down the left side. Quick hands put the speedster Richard Kahui in. Seems the AB”s are targeting that side.

Slade misses his second attempt. 12 ~ 0

Some silly penalties by the AB’s and quick plays by Japan might just give them a chance.

Japan’s not scared to front up, holding the AB’s at bay. Nice defense until Ma'a Nonu slices their defense in half to put Richard Kahui in the right spot.

Japan is did well to hold the AB’s out twice right on the line. Good pressure puts Jerome Kaino just over the line.

Slade misses his third. 17 ~ 0

Slade drops the ball at the kick off. Japan on attack down the short side, they look dangerous. It’s getting tough. The AB fords making some hard tackles. Japan retains the ball until a major AB’s trouncing turns the ball over.

The strict ref gives the ball to the AB’s after an incorrect feed. Scrums are getting annoying.

Ma'anonu slices through again, the balls kept in play with huge numbers on the left. Keven Mealamu in for the try.

No conversion. 24 ~ 0

Japan’s kick off fails to go 10 metres. The scrum collapses again. AB’s get penalty after scrum collapses 

Conrad Smith slices through the middle, putting Andy Ellis in for the AB’s fifth.

No conversion. 31 ~ 0

A quick play, precision passing and fast running gets Collin Slade over the line.

No conversion... Slade? 38 ~ 0

AB’s looking dangerous again but a turnover and then half time.

Japan come out firing with Hirotoki Onozawa scoring the best try of the match. They're playing excellently with guts and determination.

Some more good straight forward rugby by the AB's and tries for Andrew Hore, Ma'a Nonu and Adam Thompson.

Sunny Bill Williams gets three excellent tries.

Japan annihilated in a great game 83 ~ 7.

Greens Closing Broadcast 2011

Body language

Click image to enlarge

European environmental catastrophe - study

A new study has found an alarming decline in European aquatic life:

"European freshwater ecosystems are really under serious threats that require urgent conservation action," said study coordinator Annabelle Cuttelod in a statement. 

The European Red List is a review of the conservation status of c. 6,000 European species (mammals, reptiles, amphibians, freshwater fishes, butterflies, dragonflies, and selected groups of beetles, molluscs, and vascular plants) according to IUCN regional Red Listing guidelines. It identifies those species that are threatened with extinction at the European level – so that appropriate conservation action can be taken to improve their status. The European Red List is compiled by IUCN's Species Programme, Species Survival Commission and Regional Office for Pan-Europe. 

The assessment of some 6,000 species reveals that 44% of all freshwater molluscs, 37% of freshwater fish, 23% of amphibians, 20% of a selection of terrestrial molluscs, 19% of reptiles, 15% of mammals and of dragonflies, 13% of birds, 11% of a selection of saproxylic beetles, 9% of butterflies and 467 species of vascular plant species are now under threat. 

Home Brew - 'LISTEN TO US' video

The Greens excellent campaign

Labour's excellent campaign

Crusher Collins bullshit artist

On last night's leaders debate Phil Goff asked John Key a number of direct question's concerning advice that was recently given to Senior Police Officer's.

National plans to halt new Police recruitments... making me wonder why they hadn't informed the public about their decision?

According to the New Zealand Police Annual Report 2011 (PDF), there are currently 11,984 actively serving Police, an increase on last year of 92 Police. 

For 2011 there were 218 new recruits. In the same time last year there were 81 and in June 2009 there were 131 recruits… which gives a total of only 430 recruits from June 2009 to June 2011.

John Key claimed in the debate that Police numbers grew by 600, when a fact check shows this to be incorrect.

This morning, Stuff reported:

National's law and order spokeswoman Judith Collins this morning said Goff was wrong, though she admitted that the January intake had been delayed until March because fewer people were quitting the force. 

"Police will recruit and train new officers next year, as normal. However, low numbers of police leaving the force means there will be a delay in the call-up of the first wing of 2012 only. 

Judith Collins is lying about low numbers of Police leaving the force. The current figures show that the amount of Police leaving is about the same as those being recruited.

Collins said the attrition rate was 3.2 per cent, requiring police to train 280 officers to cover the gap, compared to the 6 per cent rate under Labour. 

Wrong Collins... page 32 of the report states that in 2009/2010 726 Police left the force while 751 Police started… a difference of only 25 new Police officers.

The average number of Police under National's administration was exactly 11,887.5. This gives an attrition rate of 6.1%. Therefore the amount of Police leaving the force has increased under National.

"Two days out from the election, Phil Goff is so desperate he is plucking statements from thin air," she said. 

"There is categorically no plan to put a freeze on police recruiting next year." 

A delay in the call-up of the first wing of 2012 is obviously a freeze on recruiting. Phil Goff was right to ask questions, which John Key should have been able to answer.

Police Association president Greg O'Connor this morning said Collins' comments were reassuring, but he would keep a close eye on developments. 

"We will be watching and make sure that we don't end up with what we had in the past when police recruitment was deferred [in 2000]. We don't want to go back to that." 

O'Connor yesterday said he had not been told of any plans to freeze police recruitment, but there had been rumours. 

David Farrar writes:

If Goff thought there really was a freeze, he would have done a press release stating so, rather than alleging something in a debate where he knows the PM would not know if it was correct or not (as an operational matter). 

Judith Collins knew that there was going to be a freeze on new Police recruits... she is the one who should have done a press release concerning the matter.

Law and order is an important election issue and Key should have known if National intended to reduce the amount of Police. David Farrars spin continues:

Here’s what Goff actually said: 

Just been advised that you’re deferring all recruiting next year, but that this announcement must not be made until after the election” 

That's not what was said... here's exactly what was said in the debate:

Goff: John, if Police Officer's are part of the frontline defence, why have Senior Police officer's just been advised that you're deferring all recruiting next year, but that that announcement must not be made until after the election? 

Key: Well ah firstly you can sort of make things up if you want to. 

Goff: Well is that true? That's what I've been told today, is it true? 

Key: Well look, that's an operational matter for them...

Not content with lying about what was actually said in the debate, Farrar then goes on the attack:

Goff lied. There will be recruiting in March 2012. Labour’s campaign has been based on a series of lies and half-truths – on asset sales, on state houses, on welfare and now on the Police. 

The attrition rate for the Police under National has been just 3.2% and under Labour was over 6%. So this is in fact a very good thing, as it is far better to retain experienced police officers than recruit as many new ones. 

I wonder what other lies Labour will try in the final two days?

Phil Goff did not lie... he simply asked a pertinent question, which Key could not or refused to answer.

Judith Collins has now come out and said that the recruitment freeze is only until March 2012 to try and save face. What National should have done was be open and honest in the first place and informed the public of their intention to recruit less Police to replace the 6.1% attrition rate... which would in fact be a cut in Police numbers.

Farrar reiterates the lie that the current attrition rate is only 3.2% when it has increased under a National led government.

Judith Collins confirmed that there will be a freeze on new Police recruits if National win the election. This means National had no intention of holding to their 2008 pre election promise to increase Police numbers.