Hello, we are looking at a run of 30 deg days here, not something we are used to!
Sport
The Black Caps beat Pakistan by seven wickets in the first Twenty20 for their record 13th consecutive win across all formats of the game. Pakistan did well to reach 105 after being reduced to 38 for six at about the halfway point. Pakistan finally showed some form in the second game beating the Black Caps by 48 runs.
The IPL bidding was the other day and while NZ's bowlers went unsold, Brendon McCullum topped the bidding for NZ's batsmen - even though he has been retired from International cricket for two years. He went for $770,000. Kane Williamson went for $641,000, Colin de Grandhomme went for $470,000 and Colin Munro $406,000. Those to miss out were Martin Guptill, Tim Southee, Mitchell McClenaghan and the World No1 Twenty20 bowler Ish Sodhi.
The NZ Breakers are being a bit inconsistent this year with an 81-71 loss to the Cairns Taipans, but over in the NBL, Steven Adams set a career-high 25 field goals as the Thunder thrashed the Cleveland Cavaliers 148-124. In another game, the Thunder beat the Brooklyn Nets 109-108 after being behind most of the game.
The Wellington Phoenix had a good game with a 3-2 away win over the Newcastle Jets, but in general, it doesn't look like a good season for them.
The Silver Ferns have done little to bounce back from a 4-0 battering by Australia in the last Constellation Cup. They dropped the Quad Series opener to England 57-64. They did beat South Africa 51-46 in the second game.
The Vantage Black Sticks men haven't done well in the Four Nations tournament at the University of Waikato. They dropped the opening game 3-2 to India, beat Japan 6-2 but lost 4-0 to Belgium, so meet Japan for the third-place playoff.
NZ News
The news about Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's pregnancy continued at a slower pace this week and was evenly spaced with articles I think were quite realistic about it how crazy it is. Most articles were from women who ran businesses and had a baby and wished they didn't have to do both. Articles pointed out that being a mother is an incredibly demanding 24 hour a day job. And being a Prime Minister is an incredibly demanding 24 hour a day job. Women can certainly do both. But to pretend anyone should be able to do them both at the same time is misleading everyone. A prominent UK columnist has accused Ardern of betraying voters.
Labour had decided to ditch the Better Public Service targets, which Bill English has slammed saying it will cause public service to drift. Ardern said there is merit in the system but Labour will set its own. To me, that means they are trying to just get rid of everything National has done, good or bad, and replace it with a Labour version for no reason. It's pretty obvious that is what is going on, especially in the Health sector. We already know that Labour won't have money for the basics and I wonder if this was something costed, or whether they'll just give the taxpayers the bill later.
Another statement from the government this week was from the Workplace Relations Minister Iain Lees-Galloway saying Employers have nothing to fear from law changes. Employers will no longer be able to opt out of multi-employment collective agreements, among a number of changes. I thought the government was scrapping the 90-day trial period for workers but it will still be available for businesses with under 20 workers, so that is great news - and that is thanks to New Zealand First. But small-business confidence has plunged to its lowest level in nine years. Only 29% of small businesses were more pessimistic about the year ahead, a net fall of 43%. That is staggering. And potentially catastrophic for a country where there is a huge number of small businesses. I don't think small business employers agree with the Workplace Relations Minister. Perhaps they think he is just doing what his union string pullers are telling him to.
Bill English returned to Ratana this year, which he has been doing since 2001. He is a semi-fluent Maori speaker and managed a few jokes about now being the leader of the Opposition. He pointed out that many Maori voted for the government but they should be wary because "they are family". "The politics, there are a lot of relatives, it's all intertwined." One of the speakers did attack English over his views on the Maori language but also said: "We still need your support for the aspirations and goals of Maoridom even though you sit in Opposition."
New Zealand small company "Rocket Lab" put a rocket into space on its second test trial this week. Their aim is to put commercial satellites into orbit for a fraction of the current cost. The rocket (called "Still Testing") deployed payload of a satellite for Earth imaging, weather mapping and tracking ship traffic.
The Numbers Game
5.1: richter scale earthquake off the central coast this week
35: people rescued in Auckland by Surf Life Saving as people hit the beaches to counteract the heat wave
35.2: degC maximum in Wanaka a new record
37: degC in Waiau, North Canterbury this week - well down on the 42 from February 1973
94: year old Liz Hawley passed away this week, she was the Honorary Consul in Nepal
11,323: lightning strikes hit the North Island after intense thunderstorms moved across the country - cooling us down a little, but not heaps
1.2m: $ being spent by Auckland Transport on electric cars
370m$: treaty top-up for Waikato-Tainui and Ngai Tahu
Finance NZ Dollar
GBP 0.5175 (-0.0074)
EUR 0.5908 (-0.0043)
USD 0.7347 (0.0057)
AUD 0.9089 (-0.0014)
The Weekender NZer of the week
Frances Alda
“New Zealand’s most famous daughter” began her career in Europe, singing at Covent Garden, La Scala and the Opera-Comique in Paris, and became a star member of the New York Metropolitan Opera, one of the world’s most enduring and distinguished opera companies. She was described as “one of the great voices of the Twentieth Century”.
http://www.nzedge.com/legends/frances-alda/
Joke of the Weekender
Why did the old man fall in the well?
Because he couldn't see that well.
Darren Harrison: darren@harrison.gen.nz
The Weekender: mailed weekly (Sunday nightish)
Website: www.dunwich.co.nz/weekender/
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