An easy going article in today’s Dominion Post about one of New Zealand’s rugby exports:

Flutey plays a different tune

nowadays

By JIM KAYES in London – Fairfax Media | Friday, 28 November 2008

Reuters

ALL ENGLAND: Former Hurricane Riki Flutey plays a different tune these days as part of the England squad to tackle the All Blacks at Twickenham.

He had just finished Wasps’ training at their Acton base in Twyford Ave when he noticed a missed call on his mobile phone.

Not recognising the number, he ignored it, had a shower, dressed and was heading to the car when he cleared the message.

A few days later Riki Flutey was sitting in a room at the Richmond Hill Hotel with one of the true legends of English rugby, Martin Johnson, talking about life in Te Kuiti.

All of it

The letters page was a mixed bag about last weekends response to the Haka. Some letters saying how they are sick of the haka being the portrayal of New Zealand, and how the violence of it is out of context and out of time for modern New Zealand, while another lambasted the English and “poms” over the insult they bestowed. I am not sure if really Welsh people are “poms”, but they are certainly not English, although of course, I have been out of the country for a while now, and things may have changed.

I am sure that the challenge will be in the news again this weekend, however, I saw a couple of renditions yesterday at St Benedict’s school. The kapahaka club were performing for the parents. We were there watching Maori Joe take part, though he was less confident than some. It was good to see so many of the kids take part, and do well. There are not many Maori children at the school, so not many with inside knowledge or previous experience.
I enjoyed myself and appreciated what I saw. I wondered how important the parents in general viewed it all. A nice bit of fun, or something really relevant to NZ?

Anyway, you will see some blokes in black do some dancing to Riki Flutey and the other Englishmen at the weekend. I predict we will endure prolonged discussion whether the Haka was shown due “respect”, or answered “appropriately”. I expect Flutey will undergo psychotherapy about it all after he takes as physical pasting.
Well, can’t wait to get up early to watch England get thrashed. Here’s to a dose of fixed smile and inner frustration.

With a full flow of international sport on at the moment, and so lots of NZ haka performances, I found this article, which I find plenty to agree with:

Even here it seems to be on its way.

So another teenager in the house, as Joe adds another year.
We went to Wagamama in town for his birthday meal. We experimented with varying degrees witht the chop sticks.
Included in his collection of presents was a new cricket bat, a flash tee shirt, and new books.

Overview

• Overview
• Facts
• Leaders
• Media

British sovereignty was established under the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi – a pact between Maori chiefs and the British government over land rights.

AT-A-GLANCE Politics: Helen Clark’s Labour Party is serving a third term after its election win in 2005 Economy: Tourism has overtaken agriculture as the main source of foreign exchange; New Zealand seeks free trade deals with China and the US International: New Zealand troops have taken part in regional peacekeeping efforts and are deployed in Afghanistan

The treaty gave rise to land claims which culminated in the “New Zealand Wars”, a series of skirmishes between colonial forces and Maori on the north island.

The government awarded money and land in settlements during the 1990s, but the land issue remains controversial.

In 1984 the government embarked on a dramatic and controversial economic reform programme, which lifted controls on wages, prices and interest rates and removed agricultural subsidies.

The landscape is diverse, and sometimes spectacular. This has fuelled tourism; visitors are drawn to the glacier-carved mountains, lakes, beaches and thermal springs. Because of the islands’ geographical isolation, much of the flora and fauna is unique to the country.

New Zealand plays an active role in Pacific affairs. It has constitutional ties with the Pacific territories of Niue, the Cook Islands and Tokelau.

Its troops served in East Timor when violence broke out in the territory in 1999 and were part of a multinational force intended to restore order to the Solomon Islands in 2003. Further afield, New Zealand forces have backed peacekeeping and development efforts in Afghanistan.

But its anti-nuclear stance – including a ban on nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed vessels from its waters – put it at odds with the US in the 1980s.

A significant amount of New Zealand’s electricity is generated by hydropower sources and the country has a range of renewable energy sources at its disposal.

Migration patterns have changed, with most incomers coming from Asia and Pacific island states, rather than from the UK and Australia. Officials estimate that Asians will make up 13% of the population by 2021.

Facts

• Overview
• Facts
• Leaders
• Media

Leaders

• Overview
• Facts
• Leaders
• Media

Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Governor-general Anand Satyanand

Prime minister: Helen Clark

Helen Clark’s Labour Party secured a record third term in September 2005’s closely-fought elections, winning 50 seats in parliament to the resurgent, conservative National Party’s 48. Labour went on to form a coalition with the Progressive Party, which has one seat.

Helen Clark won a further term in 2005, but with a weaker mandate

The anti-immigration New Zealand First Party and centre-right United Future Party agreed to back her government in critical votes.

Controversially, the leader of New Zealand First, Winston Peters, was named as foreign minister. He is not a member of the cabinet, which has to approve his key policy decisions.

Ms Clark is a former political scientist who figured prominently in the Labour administration of the mid-1980s which ushered in free-market economics to New Zealand.

In 1989, she became New Zealand’s first woman deputy prime minister. Political commentators say Ms Clark worked hard on her image and presentation ahead of the 1999 general election that brought her to power.

Her previous terms saw some groundbreaking measures, including a decision to legalise prostitution. Plans to nationalise the country’s beaches and sea bed ignited a passionate debate about indigenous ancestral rights.

Ms Clark’s government opposed the invasion of Iraq in 2003, raising tensions with the US, one of New Zealand’s main trading partners.

Helen Clark was born into a farming family in 1950. As a teenager she protested against the Vietnam War and campaigned against foreign military bases in New Zealand.

Ms Clark’s interests include social policy and international affairs, and she enjoys opera, reading fiction, and trekking.

New Zealand has a single-chamber parliament, the House of Representatives, which is elected for a three-year term. Coalition governments have been the norm since proportional representation replaced the “first past the post” electoral system in 1993.

Media

• Overview
• Facts
• Leaders
• Media

New Zealand’s broadcasters enjoy one of the world’s most liberal media arenas.

The broadcasting sector was deregulated in 1988, when the government allowed competition to the state broadcaster, Television New Zealand.

Ruia Mai became the country’s first Maori-owned, Maori language radio station when it launched in 1996.

The New Zealand Herald newspaper has the biggest circulation.

More than 3.3 million New Zealanders – 80% of the population – use the internet (ITU, 2008).

The press

• New Zealand Herald – Auckland-based daily
• Dominion-Post – Wellington-based daily
• The Press – Christchurch-based daily
• The Sunday Star Times – Auckland-based weekly

Television

• Television New Zealand (TVNZ) – state-owned, operates TV One and entertainment-based TV 2
• TV 3 – private network
• Prime TV – private network
• Sky TV – pay-TV operator
• Maori Television – public

Radio

• Radio New Zealand – public broadcaster, runs three radio networks: National Radio, Concert FM and the AM Network
• Radio New Zealand International – external service, targeting South Pacific region via shortwave
• Niu FM – national government-funded station for New Zealand’s Pacific islander communities
• Ruia Mai – Maori-owned, Maori-language
• Radio Works – radio group, stations include speech-based Radio Pacific
• Radio Network – radio group, stations include Newstalk ZB
• The Edge – pop music
• Radio Hauraki – rock music
• RBG – Rhema Broadcasting Group – operates Christian stations Rhema Radio, Southern Star Network and Life FM
• Association of Community Access Broadcasters – chain of non-profit broadcasters

News agencies

• New Zealand Press Association
• Scoop – private

It may not rival the US presidential election for high drama, but New Zealand voters going to the polls on Saturday to elect a new government see the choice they are making in much the same terms: more of the same, or time for a change?

Prime Minister Helen Clark, pictured in pink, is facing a stiff challenge

The difference is that New Zealand has had nine years of centre-left government led by Helen Clark’s Labour Party.

She is now being challenged by a former market trader and self-made millionaire, John Key, who has rejuvenated the centre-right National Party and turned it into a likely election winner.

The global financial crisis and strict new rules curtailing election spending have made this a relatively low-key election campaign for political parties and voters alike.

Minor scuffles in two provincial towns between supporters of rival political parties as campaigning wound up were one of the few signs of voter enthusiasm for the three-yearly election process.

And commentators largely agreed that no clear winner emerged from the three televised leaders’ debates.

‘Third-term-itis’

Labour is seeking a fourth term in government, but polls indicate it is unlikely to win enough seats to ensure a workable majority with its allies among the smaller parties in the 120-seat single-chamber parliament.

Mr Key is stressing his credentials in business and finance

Veteran politician and former academic Ms Clark has campaigned on a platform of safe hands in uncertain times, but her party may well fall victim to what one seasoned political commentator has called “third-term-itis”.

While Labour has presided over a sustained period of economic growth and record low unemployment levels, the New Zealand economy has been steadily losing ground and is now officially in recession.

Tax is usually a top issue for voters, but the financial crisis, coupled with this year’s food and fuel price hikes, also took the shine off Labour’s pre-election sweetener of personal tax cuts.

In addition, Ms Clark has been rocked by a political donation inquiry involving her government’s now-suspended foreign minister, Winston Peters.

Mr Peters held the foreign affairs portfolio outside cabinet in return for his New Zealand First Party’s support in parliament, but a string of politically damaging allegations – including that he used a helicopter belonging to one of New Zealand’s richest businessmen for political campaigning – may force his exit from parliament.

Newcomer

After inflicting a crushing defeat on its main rival in the 2005 election, Labour now faces a serious challenge from National under its new leader John Key.

With just five years in parliament, Mr Key is a mere newcomer compared to Ms Clark who entered parliament 27 years ago and has been prime minister since 1999.

Despite efforts by Labour to portray him as untrustworthy, Mr Key has been campaigning under the slogan “it’s time for a change”, and has made much of his business and financial credentials in his pledge to revive New Zealand’s economic fortunes.

National has also promised to take a tougher stand on law and order, slim down the bureaucracy and cut red tape, and raise standards in public education and healthcare.

Continuity

Analysts say there is likely to be little change in New Zealand’s trade or foreign policy if National heads the next government.

Both parties are committed to free trade and multilateralism, and following the successful conclusion of a free trade agreement with China earlier this year, the new government is likely to continue the push for similar agreements with the United States, India and East Asian countries.

The smaller parties will be hoping that neither Labour nor National wins big on Saturday.

Seventeen small parties are contesting the election, and under New Zealand’s mixed-member proportional representation system (MMP), one or more of them may well end up holding the balance of power in parliament.

The biggest players among the minor parties are the Greens, currently with six MPs, and the Maori Party, which has four MPs. A new entrant in the 2005 election, the Maori Party says it aims to give indigenous people an authentic voice in parliament and has indicated it will support the party that offers the best deal in return.

The Maori Party wishlist includes retaining the seven existing Maori electoral seats (which National has indicated it would like to abolish) and better health and education provision for Maori, who make up nearly 15% of New Zealand’s population.

We voted today to fulfil our civic duty.
The result is in and National have won, the blue team. They will be working with ACT and United Future. ACT will have an MP called Roger Douglas, who is potentailly a divisive character. He is remembered for “Rogernomics” when he was a Labour party finance minister in the 1980s and part of a Government that imposed huge social and financial changes with major deregulation of the economy. They are also looking to get the Maori Party involved, even though numerically they do not need them.
Interesting times ahead given that other recent elections (USA and Australia) have voted in more socialist leaders and we are moving towards the right.

We are curently doing that thing that one does-watching the tv, seeing the results come in and watching the reactions, speeches and interviews.

I feel in a good position to comment on the latest New Zealand rugby import to play for one of the Home Nations. The next addition is Ricky Flutey, due to play for England against the Pacific Islanders this weekend.
I think it is sad that of all the players available, the size of the playing population, and the amount of money in the game, that it is not possible for England to develop its own talent. As well as taking the easy option and clubs employing foreign talent, the national set up laps them up when they have lived in England long enough, and are willing to say how proud they are to wear the red rose.
Possibly more importantly, I think it says alot about the talent and how it is being developed in England, and presumably in Wales and Scotland. I have seen Flutey play on many occasions for the Hurricanes in the Super 12, and Wellington in the provincial competition, and I am sure that he was never in the frame to play for the All Blacks. He was a talented player who never fulfilled his early potential, and to my untrained, though not ignorant eyes, was never good enough to make it. But now he has-but in a white shirt.
Now it may be he is late developer, which does happen, but less so to backs than forwards I would say. It may be a change in environment as freed him from the pressure of playing in the glass bowl of NZ, and so has bloomed, or maybe the coaching is better at London Irish and Wasps than in Welllington. That is possible, and I am no fan of Colin Cooper, the Hurrianes coach.
But is seems to me more a demonsration of the problems of English rugby, than its superiority. If he plays against the All Blacks, I do not think they will be quaking.
I do hope this means the “All Blacks steal all the Pacific talent” bullshit will quietly go away with platefuls of humble pie.