Have you done a Hindsight on mental health reforms, or health reforms in general?

James

An alternative to avoid the Ellerslie Panmure Hwy, is to hang a right after Ellerslie and head down to Gavin St, left onto Penrose Road through to Waipuna Rd, left onto Ireland Rd. That brings you to the Panmure roundabout nightmare, but that can be negotiated with the pedestrain lights, or turning right from Ireland into Cleary, then going behind the Panmure Pools to get on to Lagoon Dr. Or the reverse home, of course. It probably adds some distance, but I'm all for avoiding traffic and roundabouts.

As an IT person I feel that our team has somehow let them down if it is such a big trial for them to process a statement with clearly identified personal items.

Speaking as an accountant, it is not the IT person that has let us down, it is the person holding the card that has let us down. What is so difficult about: "Hmm, that's my work card, and that's my own card. Those flowers are a gift for my partner from me, so I'll use my card, not the company card."

You're right, it is not terribly difficult to process personal expenditure, but it does involve many transactions - processing the credit card bill in Accounts Payable, then either deducting the funds from payroll (because the employment contract allows us to do that), or processing the credit from the bank statement. Then someone has to reconcile all that. And that is whether or not it is a $19.95 movie or a set of golf clubs. So, the card holders convenience at using company funds comes at the inconvenience of the accounts and possibly payroll staff.

What?

If Andy Haden had said that to me at, say, a BBQ at a mate's place, I probably would have rolled my eyes, maybe said something like "You are talking rubbish." and found someone else to talk to. It was just a boorish comment. That he said it publicly just underscores what how amateurish he is, and why he should not be any sort of ambassador.

Was he a redhead?

Ben, in response to your post back on page 2:
Motorists need to recognise that cyclists ...

are on something that is extremely underengineered, low powered, has very little braking power, no ability to protect them in an accident whatsoever, wobbles from side to side, ... and yet can actually go quite fast for all that. Furthermore, the rider is usually quite distracted because they are also concentrating on powering the bike, they are often tired, and they're thinking about the end of the ride. It is no surprise that cyclists are often injured.

Both sets of road users need to be aware of each other. And in any case, most motorists bang into each other, or stationary items.

There have been a few instances where truck drivers and cyclists swapped places, and each learned something from the exercise. A bit of quick googling came up with:
http://www.london-se1.co.uk/news/view/3907
http://cms.met.police.uk/met/boroughs/city_of_westminster/04how_are_we_doing/news/cyclists_and_hgv_drivers_in_westminster_exchanging_places
Although I can't find where they got the truck drivers to go for a ride..

I am a little surprised that Parnell Baths were open on Sunday, given the

fauxnami.

Still, Parnell Baths are one of the first things I discovered in Auckland when I moved here 10 years ago.

<Quote>I think you might find that Sanitarium in NZ is independent of Sanitarium in AUS, that it is a corporation and is taxed accordingly and that its only connexion with charitable status is the proportion of its profits that it donates to charities</Quote>
And if the Sanitarium company donates all its net profit before tax, then it is able to claim a deduction for that donation.
http://www.ird.govt.nz/business-income-tax/paying-tax/rebates/bit-rebates.html
Adn that would be after any management fees it may pay to the parent companies (be that in Australia, or the US?).

<Quote>...and Sanitarium NZ could be a trading trust and thus exempt from income tax...</Quote>
A trading trust is also not exempt from income tax. The trust itself would need to have charitable status, which I doubt it would get if it sells cornflakes.

"Yes. To the tune of $27k/year per trust."

As with any entity to entity gifting - eg Trust to individual, individual to individual, company to individiual.

Also, note that trusts in themselves are liable for income tax as with any other entity.