Labour in the Red

The Labour Party need to raise $1.4 million to repay Election Debts and the Pledge Card, and are hitting their supporters up for as much cash as possible.

The Labour Party also passes a resolution to introduce State Funding for political parties, but I think it's unlikely they will have the numbers to pass such legislation if the Parliamentary Party take it up. (I doubt Peter Dunne and Winston Peters will support the legislation as it would be political suicide.)

So, by the time the next election rolls round, Labour will have exhausted it's donors of cash and will have no alternative source of income to pay for Campaign 2008.

They may have two options - just lose the election because they don't campaign, or sell off it's property assets (built up over generations) to pay for the campaign (and still risk losing).

Either way, Mike Williams might go down in history as the worst ever President of the Labour Party.

Nice Day in the 'Rapa

Chaucey and I have just returned from a nice day in the Wairarapa.

Among the sights we saw was the 'Stonehenge Aotearoa' west of Carterton, Regal Enterprises Tin Soldiers and Schoc Chocolate shop in Greytown.

Plus we stopped and had a look at the giant 'Greytown Gum' outside St Lukes Church. The gum was brought as a seedling to Greytown by wheelbarrow - you can even purchase a tin toy version of the wheelbarrow at Regal Toy Soldiers.

We also have a magnificent lunch at Salute! in Greytown.

Quite a pleasent way to spend our Sunday.

Most Depressing Part of my recent holiday

A recent comment on this blog posted by a resident of Mostar stated:

"[The] JNA (Yugoslav People's Army) did not shell [Dubrovnik] as one would believe.
You should try reading other news sources. ; )"

Despite the overwhelming evidence to refute the statement, like the Serbian Naval Commander who pleaded guilty to the shelling, I'm not surprised to see this sort of statement.

I was in Mostar a few days before national elections. Among the (sad) sights I saw were:

• A candidates office staffed with a person wearing a paramilitary uniform
• Posters bearing the Serbian and Croat Flags
• One candidates motorcade in red, white and blue, flying the Croat Flag.
• No churches east of the former front line, and no Mosques to the west of the front line
• Two town centres - one along the river, another about 200 metres to the west.

So Despite the peace, it seems nationalistic appeals are going strong.

Perhaps the most depressing sight in Mostar was the number of parks turned into graveyards - all with headstones dated between 1992 and 1995.

First Class for First Time Parents

Having attended the first ante-natal class last night, I have a whole new respect for women - especially mothers. Frankly, the discussion of how a baby is born (complete with all the medical details and demonstrations with props) made me queasy. How anyone would voluntarily allow that to happen inside them is far braver than I am.

(About now I'm starting to wonder if the pre-1970s practice of not letting partners into the birth suite is not such a bad thing after all.)

Some reassurance this morning from the two recent fathers in the office was well received. One owned up to being as uncomfortable as I was at the classes - he covered his eyes for the videos - and he said that the positive part of birth (the beginning of a new life) will overwhelm any queasiness I have now. There is also a part of me that knows I'm not allowed to be a wuss when the time comes.

Michael's Suggestion for building roads.

One of the things I was most impressed by while in Europe is the quality of the roads in Slovenia. I rented a car for a day from Llubljana and drove to the coastal regions of Slovenia – over (or more accurately, through) two mountain ranges, on a Motorway the whole way to the coast. One has to be amazed at how Slovenia managed to build such a comprehensive motorway system, most of it after independence from Yugoslavia.

Slovenia has only half the population of New Zealand and has managed to build in the past 10 years one and a half as many Motorways than New Zealand has done in the past 50 years. So on my return to New Zealand, I did some research on what the Slovenes have done. And I think the Slovenian model is one we should copy here.

Firstly, Slovenia is geographically similar to New Zealand – check out this map showing the topography of Slovenia. Slovenia has a population of just over 2 million people and an area of just over 20 thousand square kilometers. New Zealand has 250 thousand square kilometers, over 12 times the size. But Slovenia has 475km of Motorways, compared with New Zealand’s 170km. When it achieved independence from Yugoslavia, it had just under 200km of motorways – in the past decade, it has built and opened 277km of motorway.

Slovenia decided what it's completed Motorway Network should look like - links from the capital to major cities, links from major cities to other cities, plus links to the neighbouring countries of Austria, Italy, Hungary and Croatia. It then prioritised Motorways based on need, then began building them in that order.

Slovenia hasn’t relied on EU funds to build infrastructure (Since joining the EU, Slovenia has always been a net contributor), nor has it borrowed heavily. What it has done is a mixture of Public Investments, Indirect Private Investment and other income, such as rental of adjoining land to Service Stations, Restaurants and Motels.

Up to now, the mix has been 55% from budget appropriatations (I.e. Capital provided by Government from Petrol taxes - Petrol in Slovenia is more expensive than New Zealand, about 15 cents a litre more), 35% from borrowing and the remainder from income from existing tolls. But this model has been replaced by new mix - 43% from budget appropriations, 46% from borrowing (Government Issued Bonds), 10% from Government Borrowing, and the remaining 1% from other income (rental of adjoining lands). The Bonds and borrowing are repaid from Tolls collected on the motorways.

This system obviously works - the Slovenian Motorways are top quality. As you drive along you travel over viaducts up to 2km long and through tunnels several km long. My drive from Llubljana to Koper cost me SIT1050, about NZ$8.50 and the 130km drive took about one and a half hours - and I was one of the slower drivers, sticking close to the speed limit of 120km/h.

10 Random Thoughts from my Trip to Europe

10. How does Emirates ever win awards for it's service? 90% of it's cabin staff are surly to the passengers. However, the food and entertainment system are good.

9. It's not fair to avoid discussing the price of taking someone to an island in a lake before the trip, pretending not to understand - but then start the bargaining when you've got to the island and there is no other way back apart from swim. It's not fair, but it's not stupid!

8. Is there any other Airport in the world with a duty free sex shop apart from Vienna?

7. Dubrovnik would be a million times better without German and American tourists. (Then again, everywhere would be a million times better without German and American tourists?)

6. If a Prime Minister admits to winning an election by lying morning, noon and night, is that really a surprise? After all, he is a politician. Maybe the ex-Communist countries in Central Europe haven't got cynical about democracy yet.

5. The locals in Medujorge have forgotten that pilgrims go there to pray, not shop.

4. Why do some blokes think they can chat up the female cabin crew while they're preparing the meals at the rear of the plane? Perhaps that's why they were so surly.

3. Slovaks defied the Communists by going to Church up to twice a day. Churches in NZ are generally half-empty on a Sunday Morning (and there are no other obvious civil disobedience movements) so while we moan about them our Government isn't that bad.

2. How many other people have ever mananged to tick every red box on the NZ MAF Screening form?

1. Does opening an ice cream shop in Dubrovnik and calling yourself "Kiwi Ice Creams", but not stocking Hokey Pokey constitute false advertising?

A Better Petition

Blair Mulholland is now proposing a Citizens Initiated Referendum on the issue of taxpayer funding of political activities. This is one I would sign - subject to wording, of course.

You can help Blair at www.thepetition.co.nz. At the moment he is asking for suggestions for the text of the CIR Petition.

That Petition

One of the most important (unwritten) constitutional arrangements we have in this country is that the Crown does not interfere with the business of Parliament. In fact, every time Parliament is opened, the Speaker goes to the Governor-General and asks them to "look with favour upon Parliament".

As an aside, every GG so far has promised to do so, and I imagine the first one who says no will be recalled by the Queen (or King) before the words Constitutional Crisis leave your mouth.

There are many examples of GGs who would not have agreed with Legislation they've had to sign off. Many pieces of Legislation they've signed off over the years must have really grated, and been very unpopular. I'm sure that then GG Dame Cath Tizard would have not signed off the 1991 "Mother of All Budgets" with it's benefit cuts and other austerity moves if she had a choice.

I have no doubt that Blair Mulholland and those that sign the petition are sincere about correcting a wrong. But they are politicising an institution that has managed to stay out of political maneuvering, with good reason.

If we're going to encourage a head of state that decides what laws they can veto, then we must have a head of state we choose. Otherwise, we should stick to choosing our Parliament only - which I assure you is the best recourse for Labour's actions.

More Photos from Europe

Hungarians Protest over the actions of the Ruling Socialist Government - not 1956, but 2006.




Communist sculpture in Bratislava - Slovak women welcoming the Soviet Red Army with Flowers.




A common traffic hazard in Romania, along with Potholes the size of Lake Taupo.




Facade of Slovenia's National Parliament.




One of the Duty Free Shops in Vienna Airport.

Holiday Snaps

Cumil, hard at work in Bratislava. (It's hard work, this tourist stuff):



Sighisoara, where Dracula was born - in the yellow house on the right:



Communist Sculpture in Budapest - supposedly a worker running with a flag to join the revolutionary forces, but dubbed "Let's go to the beach" by Hungarians:



Not the Arch d'Triomphe, but the Arcul de Triumf in Bucharest.




Dubrovnik, "Heaven on Earth" according to Lord Byron. Can't fault his taste.



Bombed Ruin in Mostar - the whole street was full of buildings in similar condition.



Latin Bridge, Sarajevo. History buffs will know that this is where Archduke Franz Ferninand was assassinated in 1914. The memorial to the assassin, Gavrilo Princip, has been removed - not because he set in motion WW1, but because he was a Bosnian Serb.



Piran, a fishing village on the coast of Slovenia.



The final resting place of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in Vienna.

For Sale

One 'Taxpayer Paid For, Trevor Mallard' Pen. Proceeds to the Cancer Society.

I'm Back!

Okay - I wasn't supposed to be back in NZ until Monday afternoon, but I'd seen everything in Europe I wanted and didn't have the motivation (or feet able to withstand more punishment) to go see a couple of optional extras I had thought about. My body is still on Central European time so unable to function properly during the day at the moment.

I got back home at 9pm on Thursday (Having left Vienna on Tuesday Morning) and having an eleven hour stop in Dubai International Airport. I discovered that the "Quiet Room" in Dubai is anything but - Asians go there to be able to have conversations with each other and Arabs go there to be able to hear people on their cellphones. So here's a tip - Gate 43 is unused from Midnight until 7am so you can hide away from the entire airport and have a nap there. (Of course it will probably be demolished when they finish the rest of the airport extensions - it has a temporary look to it.)

The flight from Dubai to Melbourne was the longest I've ever been on - 13 hours. Foretunatly, this flight had the Emirates ICE system, so I was able to watch "Cars", "A Bugs Life", "Good Morning Vietnam", Several episodes of "Top Gear" (including the one that's on tomorrow night in NZ where they all go camping in a carvan) and "The Simpsons", "King Kong", and "Pirates of the Carribean". (Told you it was a long flight.)

I was also confused in Melbourne as the flight times didn't make sense, until I realised that while New Zealand is on Daylight Saving Time, Australia isn't. So what looked like a 4 1/2 hour flight was actually only three and a bit hours.

Coming back early was a surprise for Chaucey as I didn't tell her and it took a second or two for her to register that it was me at the door. I saw a friend at Auckland Airport so had to swear him to secrecy until Friday Morning.

New Tui Ad...

Is here.

Slovenian Coast

Slovenia is famous for one export: Lippanzer horses. (They´re the breed used by the Spanish Ridiing school in Vienna.) Yesterday, I rented a car and headed out to the coastal regions of Slovenia - on the way I stopped in Lipizer to see the stud farm.

As an aside, I was given a mid-sized Opel by the rental company. Possibly the worst thing I´ve ever driven, including the Opel Corsa I had in Britain. Why can´t GM make a decent small or mid-sized car?

The farm is in the middle of nowhere - you have to drive off the motorway, down a secondary road, down a country road, then down a lane. All the time dodging big coaches full of German Tourists that insist on driving in the middle of the road. When I finally got there, I had missed the english language tour and would have to wait for hours for the next tour. So instead I just walked down the lane to the stud farm and could see as much as a tour would anyway (except the inside of the stables) - which was about a dozen mares were standing in a sawdust ring chewing hay.

After a few minutes I headed over to the gift shop where all sorts of tacky items are available. There was a fridge with ice-creams and vacuum packed meat - perhaps that´s what happens to the horses who don´t learn the tricks.

Afterwards I drove the remaining 50km to the Slovenian coast - which is about 40km long - and went to the fishing village of Piran. It was a beautiful warm day, about 25 degrees with a gentle cooling breeze blowing and not a cloud in the sky. The village was absolutely charming, a lot like Dubrovnik, but without thousands of tourists everywhere you go.

To get an excellent view of the town I climbed the 400 year old bell tower with rickety stairs. Right when I got to the top the bells rung - 12 times on the big bell and twice on the small bell - 12:30pm.

Afterwards, I went up the hills overlooking the town to the protective walls. Nowadays they overlook the village of Piran and a football field. From the top of the walls you could get a great view of the village, plus see Croatia and quite a way into Italy and Austria, including the Italian and Austrian Alps.

Dinner was a restaurant, right on the waterfront. Despite being a touristy town, pizza, a couple of beers (being a tourist is hard work) and a coffee came to just under $20.

Perhaps the only bad thing about Piran is the German Middle-aged sunbathers. (You don´t want to know any more.)

Definately on Michael´s recommended places to visit.

And Wellington Won! Yay!

Ljubljana

What a cool little town - it's got interesting things around every corner.

I went up to the castle yesterday and got great views over the city. In the castle they have a tourist info station where you can send a photo of yourself. (As you know).

There is also a 3D movie of the history of Ljubljana that you can see. Explains the history and legends of the city with mockups of how the city looked at the time.

Afterwards I went for a walk around the city checking out a lot of the sights from the movie. I went to the church on the main square, very nice baroque styling inside - probably the nicest church I've seen so far -but no photographs allowed. Grabbed a postcard for 70 Tolar.

In the afternoon I went to the Musuem of Contemporary History, which has Slovene history from 1900 onwards. About the Hapsburgs and Italians controlling the country until 1918, then the Yugoslav Kingdom, then the Federal Republic and finally the independence and 10 day war in 1991. They were renovating so the Communist section was closed, and the Independence section is only in Slovene. But I had an english booklet so could follow what the exhibits were.

Deep Purple were playing in Ljubljana last night so there were many Bogans heading past the musuem while I went back to town.

Dinner was in an Irish Pub which was showing Rugby highlights from New Zealand! Hurray, Wellington beat Otago. I guess the game against Canterbury is kicking off right now so GO WELLINGTON.

Thunderstorms in Ljubljana

Last night at 11.25pm I was awoken by an almighty noise - possibly the loudest thunderclap I have ever heard. It must have lasted 30 seconds (I'm not exagerating).

It was followed by several others - with a gap of about a second between the lightning and the thunder.

Cool.

Zagreb and Ljubljana

Have arrived in Ljubljana after a couple of days in Zagreb.

Arriving in Zagreb was a complete change from Sarajevo and Mostar. While Zagreb was attacked by Serbians a couple of times, it was not under siege like the two previous cities I visited. So there were no destroyed buildings, no sniper alleys and no frontlines.

The city has three distinct districts. The New Town, which dates from the late 19th Century, is on the flat area north of the Sava River. The buildings are all from around the end of the 19th Century.

There are two small hills above New Town, the western side was where the residents traditionally lived, the eastern side was owned by the Catholic Church and the bishops and orders lived there. Most of the city was destroyed by a large earthquake in 1880, so like the new town most buildings date from the later part of the 19th Century. The main Cathedral was reconstructed in a neo-gothic style with the facade in limestone. Every winter water freezes in the limestone, making the natural holes in the facade bigger, so the whole building is having the outer walls replaced.

In the old town, there is only one medievil gate that remains. The gate has a potrait of the Virgin Mary and Child that miracously survived a large fire during the 16th Century. People walking through the gate were genuflecting or crossing themselves. Many stopped and prayed for intercession - those whose prayers are answered place plaques on the wall inside the gate as a testament to their prayers being answered.

The train journey to Ljubljana this morning was interesting. A Slovene who sat in my carraige worked for the electricity industry (he is now retired) and pointed out the Nuclear Power Plant just north of the Croat Border. There were also a number of low dams on the Sava River for hydroelectric production.

I see on the news that Wellington is suffering from a Southerly Storm at present. If it makes you feel any better, today in Ljublijana there are thunderstorms and a chilly 18 degrees. (It's just the third wet day since I got to Europe.)

Sarajevo

Here I am in Sarajevo, home of the 1984 Winter Olympics and a four year siege in the 1990s. Despite the siege, the city is in much better condition than Mostar - most buildings are inhabited and there are a lot more people around.

I had hoped to catch the train from Mostar, but the lady at the station didn't speak english and wouldn't sell me a ticket. I'm not sure if the train doesn't run on the weekend or if it was already full but I ended up on the bus. The ride was a spectacular ride through river gorges and mountainside roads - similar to a drive along the Manawatu Gorge but lasting for three hours. Bosnia has some very beautiful country areas.

Arriving in by bus meant I had to walk into the city along the infamous Snipers Alley outside the Holiday Inn hotel. It was along this road the Serb snipers would take pot shots at anyone brave enough to try and cross the street. But today there was a rally (There are elections in Bosnia tomorrow) and a counter protest on the other side of the road.

Walking along you often see Sarajevo Roses - the potholes left by shelling that are filled in, sometimes with red concrete. A couple I have seen have plaques on the adjacent building listing the names of those the shell killed.

Approaching the town centre all the buildings have a grimy Communist Era look to them, and the streets have few pedestrians. But when you get to the main shopping street of the city, it comes alive with people everywhere, sidewalk cafes and bars, hawkers selling (bootleg) DVDs and stalls selling crafts, food and electronics. One square off the main street had a group of men standing around a giant chess set shouting advice to the players as they moved the pieces around.

Just a couple of minutes walk away is the Latin Bridge over the Miljacka River, where Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated in 1914. The assassin, Gravilo Princip, has had his memorial removed in the past few years (yes, the man who set the chain of events that started WW1 had a memorial) as he was a Bosnian Serb.

Over the river is a pleasant looking park, and not far away is the Sarajevo Brewery, where I shall soon head for dinner. Tomorrow I shall continue to explore the city before heading to Zagreb in Croatia on Monday.