Who, I hope, took the time to thank Palmerston North for the city's contribution towards their success. After all one would presume that if the team was so bored with the Palmie nightlife then they'd be getting good sleep and spending plenty of time practicing and improving their game during the day.
And that is the magic of this World Cup. That New Zealand was so significantly and visibly involved.
We hosted half the draw in a tournament whose ratings far exceeded anything we've hosted before. Bigger than a Rugby World Cup, bigger than the America's Cup, bigger than a Commonwealth Games. 2 billion pairs of eyes watched us. Despite what negative columnists wrote about our domestic problems being visible to the world I can assure you that was not the case. We looked great. And if a fraction of those people decide to visit us in the future that's a win.
The monetary benefit is still to be calculated but it's fair to say the whole thing was an unqualified success and we owe it to public servants from the council and the government who oiled the wheels in the first place.
Some of the workers at Tataki Auckland Unlimited had been working for 15 years to convince FIFA that we were up to the task. They had to battle against super powers like England and Germany who were against us co-hosting. But they got there.
But those are the people who are currently under threat. Wayne Brown wants his civil service to return to rubbish bins and water and no more. 200 jobs are going at Tataki Auckland Unlimited. It's the sort of short sighted populist policy that is alarming Auckland businesses who understand that nothing happens without incentives, which they told the Mayor back in May.
It's why Coldplay is playing Perth and Taylor Swift is playing Sydney and Melbourne but neither are playing New Zealand. The cities and the country cut them a deal.
ACT's David Seymour is waging the same fatwa against public servants which he continued this morning. Now while I have no problem with KPI targets I do have a problem with his belief that this country can survive his drastic cuts to the public workforce.
A few months ago Mr Seymour said he could cut $1 billion out of the public sector in a week. He went further reckoning he could cut $38 billion out of the annual bill. He particularly dislikes event incentives and sweetheart deals for things like films and Research and Development, calling them corporate welfare. He wants to eviscerate Stephen Joyce's innovation, MBIE.
He believes business initiatives should stand on their own feet. But he ignores the fact that without public money some of things wouldn't even be able to crawl.
The sort of cost cutting Mr Seymour is suggesting would also provoke an enormous austerity and impact the whole economy. Public servants buy goods and services from the private sector. But they don't if they're unemployed.
But it's a popular policy. He's exploiting an embedded dislike of public servants that has been stoked along by small government capitalists for decades now. The belief that all public servants are bad wastes of money and stuff would happen without them.
Stuff would happen but not at the scale we've enjoyed lately. After all what business is prepared to throw 15 years of effort and incentive at an event that might not even happen?
Andrew Dickens is a broadcaster with Newstalk ZB. - where this article was sourced.
We hosted half the draw in a tournament whose ratings far exceeded anything we've hosted before. Bigger than a Rugby World Cup, bigger than the America's Cup, bigger than a Commonwealth Games. 2 billion pairs of eyes watched us. Despite what negative columnists wrote about our domestic problems being visible to the world I can assure you that was not the case. We looked great. And if a fraction of those people decide to visit us in the future that's a win.
The monetary benefit is still to be calculated but it's fair to say the whole thing was an unqualified success and we owe it to public servants from the council and the government who oiled the wheels in the first place.
Some of the workers at Tataki Auckland Unlimited had been working for 15 years to convince FIFA that we were up to the task. They had to battle against super powers like England and Germany who were against us co-hosting. But they got there.
But those are the people who are currently under threat. Wayne Brown wants his civil service to return to rubbish bins and water and no more. 200 jobs are going at Tataki Auckland Unlimited. It's the sort of short sighted populist policy that is alarming Auckland businesses who understand that nothing happens without incentives, which they told the Mayor back in May.
It's why Coldplay is playing Perth and Taylor Swift is playing Sydney and Melbourne but neither are playing New Zealand. The cities and the country cut them a deal.
ACT's David Seymour is waging the same fatwa against public servants which he continued this morning. Now while I have no problem with KPI targets I do have a problem with his belief that this country can survive his drastic cuts to the public workforce.
A few months ago Mr Seymour said he could cut $1 billion out of the public sector in a week. He went further reckoning he could cut $38 billion out of the annual bill. He particularly dislikes event incentives and sweetheart deals for things like films and Research and Development, calling them corporate welfare. He wants to eviscerate Stephen Joyce's innovation, MBIE.
He believes business initiatives should stand on their own feet. But he ignores the fact that without public money some of things wouldn't even be able to crawl.
The sort of cost cutting Mr Seymour is suggesting would also provoke an enormous austerity and impact the whole economy. Public servants buy goods and services from the private sector. But they don't if they're unemployed.
But it's a popular policy. He's exploiting an embedded dislike of public servants that has been stoked along by small government capitalists for decades now. The belief that all public servants are bad wastes of money and stuff would happen without them.
Stuff would happen but not at the scale we've enjoyed lately. After all what business is prepared to throw 15 years of effort and incentive at an event that might not even happen?
Andrew Dickens is a broadcaster with Newstalk ZB. - where this article was sourced.
11 comments:
So remind me again, Andrew.
With the massive expansion in government and public service workforces over the past 6 years, and the many many billions of extra tax-payer money spent, what exactly is better in NZ these days?
Obviously, I can't compete with your precious FIFA World Cup. No, I'm talking tier two stuff like .... education, health, housing, crime, the economy. You know, the more minor issues us Kiwis wrestle with when we've switched off the TV after watching the soccer.
I can't think of anything. And, I suspect that after a month or two, nobody will be talking about the FIFA World Cup either. But they will be talking about all the other stuff because that never goes away or gets better under this government and many of our woke councils.
Maybe, we'll all have to take a well earned break to Palmerston North - NZs holiday hot spot. What were those Spanish senoritas thinking? The temerity to slag off Palmie....when only we're allowed to do that.
Ever since the Spanish Football team pointed out that the City of Palmy lacked nightlife, a search party was established, briefed and sent out into the dark, (and sometime wet) nights to 'seek that elusive Palmy animal - nightlife'.
That Team is still out there, looking, searching - and have yet to "report back".
So to Dee M, if you are coming - at the moment bring warm clothing and be prepared to go back to your Motel/Hotel by 9.30 p.m. as the City shuts down then.
Right on DeeM. Yes, there is no doubt some good done in the Public Service ('PS'), but with its profligate expansion under this current Government, what have we hapless taxpayers to show for it? First, and foremost, an appalling education system for one! But, oh, we have things like the Ministry of Pacific Peoples - wonderful, I'm sure we could all recite the benefits provided there? And then we have things like the Ministry for Women - who were remarkably silent when Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull could have done with some support. (NB. It seems the latter won't be getting any from Nicola Willis either, who appears comfortable with letting others decide whether men should be allowed into women's changing rooms and sport, but I digress.) And why do we need the likes of Te Puni Kokiri?
I, for one, am delighted that Mr Seymour/ACT will seek to ensure our PS provides value for money and that there's no unnecessary bloat at all our expense.
I can only assume this article is satire because surely no one could believe this…
Pretty much spot on
Totally agree with you DeeM thousands of extra public servants in the last six years and nothing to show for it the figures for NZTA were published a few days back 1000 extra staff and not one kilometre of new highway that was not under way when this lot of hopeless clowns came to power six years ago.
Football, with a round shape, is the number one most popular sport in the World so that was a good catch to get the Women's World Cup to share with Australia.
I can't find the charity to link that with the most useless government ever which has increased the public service of NZ by so much for so little benefit.
I'm not saying you're wrong Andrew but my heart is very hardened. And I don't think we can afford to prop up public servants just for the sake of it.
MC
What is the problem. The private sector is desperate for employees with skill and ability. Surely all these amazing public servants would be snapped up at huge salaries if let go. This saving some tax and boosting the companies that will be lining up to employ them.
Or not.
@CXH - Yeah - I think your ultimate comment wins out. If they were so skilled and capable, why have they so often engaged all those consultants?
Vast numbers of public servants and council staff are employed compiling piffle and applying to incorporate recognition of modern reinterpretations of the Treaty into all aspects of their business. And many more employed in the endless time frittering consultation now stipulated for near everything.
The country will not only survive, but THRIVE with a 'cutting to the bone of the public workforce.
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