The Star: September 15, 2016

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16 Thursday September 15 2016 follow us on facebook.com/riseupchristchurch The Star Viewpoint EDITORIAL Rugby, racism . . . and a stripper IT’S BEEN a turbulent week for rugby. There was the fallout from New Zealand Rugby Union over the inquiry into the Chiefs stripper saga, and revelations she was manhandled during the post Super season mad Monday antics. There was criticism of how independent the NZRFU inquiry was. As the Chiefs and New Zealand rugby have found, players, too much booze, and a stripper don’t mix well in these days of social media and much more transparency demanded of our sporting stars. It has been a public relations disaster for the Chiefs and to a lesser extent the NZRFU. The All Blacks restored order of sorts by grabbing the headlines with another magnificent display, demolishing Argentina in Hamilton on Saturday. But that was a just a refreshing interlude for the code as another cauldron continued to boil away. Late last week it was revealed the stand-off between St Thomas of Canterbury and Christ’s College over racism allegations could not be resolved amicably. There was an allegation that a Christ’s player called a St Thomas’s player “a f.... black African rat” during an under 14 match. Yes, that’s correct – under 14s. So we’re talking 13-year-olds here. It could have and should have been resolved between the schools. St Thomas’ wanted the accused player to apologise through a restorative process. But Christ’s disputed whether the incident actually took place, and it was from here that the situation turned to custard. A formal complaint was then lodged by St Thomas, lawyers were engaged, a hearing held and 13-year-old rugby players thrown into the judicial cauldron where they gave evidence. This week the saga continued to dominate headlines. The complaint was upheld and now the CRFU will follow a process of determining the penalty, which will be potentially followed by an appeal process if Christ’s wish to go down that track. So more bad publicity coming for rugby. The best way of ending this sorry saga would be to follow the initial wish of St Thomas principal Christine O’Neill. All, she and the recipient of the racial abuse wanted, was an apology. Christ’s had every right to dispute if they truly believed their player had been falsely accused. But it appears the evidence at the CRFU hearing hasn’t supported that. It’s now time to shake hands and move on. And a final word on the Chiefs’ saga: The real judges there will be the players’ wives and girlfriends. We said: A Givealittle page aiming to raise $1m for David Bain is floundering. The donations are currently sitting at $11,730. You said: Lauren Bailey – I saw this Givealittle page a few weeks ago and it turned my stomach. As many people have said, the page is for people in need. Mr Bain is hardly out of pocket. There are children, heck even adults on the Givealittle page, with serious life-threatening illnesses – cancer, tumours, liver/ brain/heart diseases – and there are people giving money to this guy (who in reality, we don’t 100 per cent know whether he did or didn’t commit the heinous murders) over these poor, and deserving people. Obviously the Givealittle organisers have approved the page but I feel it’s a complete abuse and mockery of the good that they do. TC Castle – Sorry, but Givealittle is for people in need. How about opening a Givealittle page for Christchurch people who are still effected by the 2011 Comprehensive programme THE Household Incomes Report is showing growing incomes, no increase in poverty, and housing costs that justify the Government’s focus on addressing housing needs in New Zealand. Every year, the Ministry for Social Development releases a report on the incomes and spending of New Zealand households. Released last week, the 2014/2015 report is showing improvements on a range of fronts and confirms the issue of rising housing costs that the Government is addressing with our comprehensive housing programme. Incomes have increased February earthquake? A lot of those people still don’t have quality of life. David Bain has already been paid out. Get your priorities right. Tanya Didham – There was enough evidence, and he was sent to prison for life. Without the continued misguided efforts of Joe Karam, his case would not have been revisited. He was acquitted in 2007 because police did such a poor job of collecting and storing evidence from the scene (thinking it was open and shut), that reasonable doubt could be successfully argued. However, he was not proved innocent, and he was not paid compensation; but rather a bizarre $925,000 bribe from the Ministry of Justice to stop taking strongly since 2011, with incomes before housing costs rising just under three per cent per year in real terms. These increases were also shared reasonably evenly across all income groups. In fact, since the Global Financial Crisis, the median household income has increased by 12 per cent, outperforming most developed legal action – which presumably he agreed to. We said: Eleven year-old Jesse George thought he was having a regular check up when his care worker Paul Graham came to his house last week. But instead, he was told he was going to Disneyland, thanks to Koru Care Christchurch and Air New Zealand. You said: Gerry Brownlee Kathryn Robinson – I had tears rolling down my face when I saw this in the paper this morning. I’m so pleased for Jesse, he’s an awesome young man and this trip will be incredible. countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom. Additionally, there is no evidence for rising income inequality. The income gains are not all to the rich, as some people are claiming. Instead, the top one per cent have seen their share of income steady or falling since the mid- 1990s. Hagley Senior College OPEN NIGHT TONIGHT | 5:30-7:30pm Principal’s Presentations are at 5:30 and 6:00pm www.hagley.school.nz
The Star follow us on facebook.com/riseupchristchurch Thursday September 15 2016 17 Your land. Your people. Your stories. Bought to you by Every Wednesday at 7.30pm on CTV Freeview Channel 40 live and on demand at ctv.co.nz Maria Mann – Awesome, have a great time Jesse. Our daughter went when she was eight-years-old. A nurse at the hospital nominated her. Joel Bender – That’s wonderful, Jesse’s gonna love it. We said: Developer Richard Peebles is looking to by a block of central city land to turn into an International-style fresh food market. You said: Erina Parks – Great idea, as long as he provides a car park as well for those of us whose cycling days are over. Bruce Denton – That’s what we should have, the rest of the world has them why not us. Rebecca Foulds – Fabulous idea and a great enticement to visit the inner-city – can’t wait. Sue Meadows – Brilliant, just what we need here for the city. Sandra Dale – Brilliant idea, would definitely support this. Kevin Garty – Superb idea. is addressing housing issues Different measures of poverty indicate stable or decreasing levels of poverty, with material hardship in children falling in recent years. The report covers the 2014/2015 period, so all this is before the Government’s benefit and Working for Families increases earlier this year. Lower income households often do it tough, but under National their incomes and Government assistance have steadily risen in real terms. The report also confirms that housing costs are taking up a greater proportion of household incomes. For the 20 per cent We said: Barriers have been installed in Sumner to stop Pokemon Go players driving up onto the footpath to play the game. Since July, people had been complaining of people driving their of households with the lowest incomes, housing costs as a proportion of income have increased from 29 per cent in the late 1980s to 54 per cent currently. This increase is why the Government is taking housing seriously with our comprehensive housing package and both increasing funding for community housing and better targeting assistance from Housing New Zealand. Housing New Zealand is rationalising its social housing stock by selling houses that are the wrong size or in the wrong place and building more units that suit the people who actually vehicles up onto the pavement next to Beach Bar on the Esplanade and illegally parking. You said: Tanya Didham – Is Pokemon still a thing? I thought it was over again. Will Hunter – Any idea what the cost of these were? Kyle Turner – Make them pay for it. We said: Lincoln University’s vicechancellor has reportedly said the university would be ‘dead’ in a year, if it did not get to surplus. The university has been under dire financial pressure, after a recorded $6m loss in the last financial year. You said: Pamela Neil – Why can’t the Government help out here? They can give money to Laos. Hugh Jonathan McGuire – That’s really awkward. Marie Stanley – Paying the lecturers so much. need them. The Government is also increasing funding to community and emergency housing, with $41.1 million to emergency accommodation and grants and $9 million to community groups that help the homeless and housing insecure. There is a lot to be happy about in the Household Incomes Report – and where there is a concerning trend with housing costs, the government is addressing the issue with a wide range of policies. Gerry Brownlee is Minister supporting Greater Christchurch Regeneration LOOK ALIVE Christchurch – The Boss is coming! In very exciting news, American music legend Bruce Springsteen has announced he will be playing a show in Christchurch the day before the sixth anniversary of the February earthquakes. As a self-confessed fan of Springsteen, this is news to celebrate. I first saw him play live in 2013 and another concert can’t come soon enough. The really exciting thing about this show is how it came about – the result of a year’s long lobbying campaign by local people. The effort began after Springsteen’s classic My City of Ruins became a bit of an unofficial anthem for many local people after the earthquakes – a YouTube montage of footage from the day set to the song has been viewed over 40,000 times. The song’s lyrics, not just the mourning of a city in ruins, but impassioned pleas for its people to “rise up” and “begin again” struck a real chord for thousands of Cantabrians battling through the years after the earthquakes. Springsteen himself seemed aware of the fact his song had taken on a bit of a life of its own in our little corner of the world – at a show in Auckland in 2014 he actually dedicated the song to “our brothers and sisters in Christchurch.” Spurred by the response, a range of musicians, fans and Megan Woods Springsteen concert will be a boost for city local people have been working hard for years to lure The Boss to Christchurch. A Facebook group asking him to play a show here got 14,000 likes, alongside thousands of signatures on a change.org petition. The fact that the community campaign has succeed and Springsteen will be here in Christchurch six years after the day of the devastating earthquake is fantastic. What’s even more exciting is that local Christchurch singer Marlon Williams, an incredibly talented young Cantabrian, will be opening for him. It’s great exposure for a Christchurch music scene that itself did so much to lift people up after the earthquakes, One of my favourite stories about postearthquake Christchurch is actually about local band the Eastern who spent the weeks after the quakes doing free community concerts. They said it was their way of using the talents they had to give back to the city. I know that listening to the Eastern playing in Church Square in Addington lifted my spirits. Springsteen’s concert will be a great boost for the city, but it’ll also be a chance to celebrate music’s ability to bring people together, and a great reminder of what local people can achieve when we put our minds to it. Megan Woods is Labour’s Canterbury spokeswoman Time To Insulate Your Rental Ceiling Insulation Up to 100 sqm FRoM JusT $995 Do you have a rental home? Call us today for a SPECIAL DEAL on ceiling and underfloor insulation Phone 0800 434 600 or 027 655 3064 www.livinghouse.co.nz We offer a wide range of wall, ceiling, underfloor, thermal and acoustic sound absorbing insulation. FREE QUOTES L iving H ouse
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The Star: September 15, 2016

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