Richie McCaw puts his hands in the ruck and prevents the evil Bok's/Wallabies spinning the ball out the unmarked player on the blindside. The referee doesn't see, he blows the full-time whistle and the All Blacks are the heroic victors again. Good on ya' Richie you saved us again. Sure you cheated, but it's for the best because the right team won.

Readers please feel free to guess how this rugby metaphor relates to the New Zealand political landscape.

A bit late to join this thread, but I couldn't help but agree with the speeding analogy. It moves us away fom the ideological debate which confuses the issue.

Sometimes drivers travel at 5km over the limit (a criminal offense ) but the police will excercise discretion. Another driver may go 20km over the limit and be fined or prosecuted. Same offense. Speeding.

Or could we say "Should speeding as a part of good everyday driving be a criminal offense in New Zealand?"

I don't like receiving tickets for being 12k over the speed limit on a clear downhill run on a dry, empty, semi-rural road with good visibility.( Those revenue gathering bastards! ) but I broke the law, and I'm glad there is a law, otherwise...

1. Legislation was also supposed to help bring the price of CFLs down due to economies of scale.

2. It would help if government (central and local) would get on board with the recycling of CFLs. Better methods of disposal of broken bulbs (mercury risk) would be helpful and would counter some of the arguments against their use.

3. We have installed a bulb in our lounge which gives the same warm light as the softone incandescent beside it.
We accidentaly bought a cool white for the bathroom which is OK for that use but make sure you look at what you're buying. So far all are working fine. Previously we've experienced quality issues with some bulbs.

4. I'm having a house built at the moment and have endeavoured to make it as energy efficient and sustainable as I can. The design features solar hot water complemented by a woodburner with a wet-back for sunless winter days. I will source the fuel from my own land (trees, trees, lots of trees) Question: is this carbon neutral? will the emissions be greater than the equivalent power taken from the national grid? Your criticisms are welcome

At least these kid's will be prepared for the corporate world, like meeting bullshit performance and sales targets, and writing reports that keep bosses and shareholders happy.

Too cynical? yes.

Surely any political party is already a coalition,one of like minded individuals who may agree or disagree on a given policy, but compromise/negotiate to achieve common objectives. So a coalition government is merely an extension of this principle?

For anyone who thinks wrestling is not art!

"He has alleged that the government has ordered the police to police the law loosely until the election.

He has implied that because 1000 primary school kids were excluded last year, the answer is to bring back corporal punishment at primary level."

Yes, I heard he and Wishart making some extraordinary statements on air and going unchallenged. Jim Mora's an intelligent man, but I wish he'd drop the diplomatic/nice guy thing and call these two (and any other panelists) on the bullshit they spout.