Andrew Dickens Afternoons

Christmas is just around the corner, we hear that phrase every year at this time, and it is.
But is it Christmas or is it happy holidays? Does the word Christmas have to be denigrated, abolished, replaced by other words because Christmas contains the word, Christ? These days, in what governments have decreed is a secular society, it's no longer appropriate. 
Helen Clark spent most of her prime ministership drumming that message in.
Religion has no place in the business of the state, except to most of us who grew up with Christmas as the most magical exciting time of the year and something to look forward to all year as we ploughed our way through the three terms of school.
Many resent the interference of the state in our celebration of Christmas, and the interference of the social engineers who would have us celebrate happy holidays, send greetings cards, enjoy the festive season, have a piece of festive cake, and go to the local Santa parade, not Christmas parade.
It's parade season, and in most towns now it's the Santa Parade and Father Christmas is Santa Claus.
In Auckland, the Council funding organisation ATEED is withdrawing public funding for the parade, which has been running every November for 85 years. Its long-term Destination Auckland 2025 Strategy aims to grow tourism and the local economy in a sustainable way.
It says the Farmers' Santa parade no longer fits and is not a big driver of domestic tourism into Auckland.
General manager of Destination, Steve Armitage says the Chinese lantern festival and the Diwali festival have programmes of activity sustained for a week or so and are more promotable and likelier to attract more visitors.
In the 2016/17 financial year, those two festivals attracted 1450 and 2810 bed nights respectively. The Parade is no longer a priority event.
Which is very sad for a city whose vibrancy and community spirit are enhanced by the parade, which attracts hundreds of thousands of families, of parents and their kids, into the usually virtually deserted CBD and lights up the faces of onlookers with delight, as they watch a colourful array of favourite characters, marching groups, bands, clowns, floats of every description, and of course Santa in his sleigh, the most identifiable icon of them all.  
The grinches who would deny us Christmas, say it would offend those who subscribe to religions other than Christian ones in our new multicultural society. That's their excuse for shutting down the word Christmas, but their true agenda is that they themselves have decided Christmas is no longer an appropriate word and would have us wish each other Happy Holidays rather than Merry Christmas. 
People from those other religions and cultures phone me on talkback and tell me they are not at all offended. They are offended by the accusation that they are offended. They themselves take their kids to the parade to witness this Western heritage spectacle, just as we transpire welcome to participate in the lantern festival and Diwali.
Steve Armitage says the Pride Parade is another example of an event seeing solid growth in terms of attracting visitors from outside of Auckland. But that parade is now in chaos and its future in doubt.
He says the Santa parade runs for just a few hours on one day of the year and the mayor and council are looking for alternative revenue streams, to reduce the dependency on ratepayers.
The parade this year was facing a $100,000 operating loss. Last year's loss was $78,000.
That's despite the support of several sponsors and more than a 1000 volunteers.
It's not only Auckland that has parade problems, Christchurch City councillors are also reportedly confused as to why a Santa parade was not classed as a major event and supported by that city's events agency.
Do councils, known for spending millions on feasibility studies and expensive decorative mirrors and screens in libraries and...

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The National Road Carriers Association predicts the New Zealand trucking industry will need about 28,000 drivers over the next decade to meet growth in demand from the freight industry.
Newstalk ZB has a large audience of truck drivers who listen on the roads, and many of them rang The Andrew Dickens Afternoon Show with their stories.
From why they got into trucking, what the future holds, and what initiatives should be put in place, everything was discussed.
And a caller named Kelly who is one of the few women drivers around explained what she loved so much about a male dominated industry.
LISTEN TO THE CALLERS ABOVE

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Spark says it has been notified by the Director-General of the GCSB that it cannot use Huawei gear for its pending 5G mobile network upgrade.
The GCSB's apparent move comes after reports earlier this week that the US was pressuring allies to drop Huawei.
Newstalk ZB Politcal Editor Barry Soper told Andrew Dickens it cannot be underestimated how important the announcement was yesterday.
"The decision made by Hauwai regarding the 5G network is a massive one, it will impact the country's economy for sure. Our traditional allies Australia and United States will be very pleased we stayed close to them."
LISTEN ABOVE AS BARRY SOPER SPEAKS TO ANDREW DICKENS

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The news is like buses. There’s nothing for ages and then the stories all come at once and yesterday was incredible so quick notes on three stories.
Firstly, Iain Lees-Galloway. Mr Onceover-Lightly, what could possibly go wrong and if it does, it’s not my fault.
It’s always the Minister’s fault, Minister. That’s the point about Ministerial oversight and responsibility. But here’s a thing; listening to his reasoning at 1pm yesterday, I was struck by his final comments. He said he’d review his and the IMS procedures and then added, on his own volition, an example. He said he’d start reading the files before the meetings! Hello! You think? Bully for you!
Which gives credence to the belief that Iain Lees-Galloway swanned in, had a look at the notes provided, and made a decision. Which raises some red flags to me. He was very possibly blindly following the advice of his bureaucrats who were pointing out the issues. So the so-called professionals are not without blame. Advice to all politicians. If you want to get it right, read all the guff, prepare, and don’t trust the bureaucrats.
Now, on the spies deciding Spark should not use Huawei to build the 5G network. This came after American pressure last week on its allies not to use the Chinese company. You can see why. After all, would China use an American company to build its telecommunications infrastructure? Of course not. And we are part of the Five Eyes spying programmes with the States.
We’ve already reported that New Zealand is caught betwixt and between two trade warring superpowers and we’d eventually have to choose. We upset China with our investment in the Pacific. We did it again with some forthright statements from our Foreign Minister. And now we’ve chosen America again. No wonder Jacinda Ardern’s visit to China has been postponed and the chances of an improved FTA just took a step backwards. It’s going to be a frosty time with China in the short term.
And then to Sir Michael Cullen and a possible Capital Gains Tax. Silver-tongued Cullen almost made the whole thing sound logical. He argues with an ageing population we’re running out of taxpayers. The Labour based revenue will decrease and so we need to supplement it with capital taxation and revenue. He claims there’ll be no more tax gathered. That the whole thing could be fiscally neutral.
But that’s not wholly true. The next generation of taxpayers will be hit on their labour and their capital. I doubt very much whether they’ll not end out paying more tax than their elders and they’re not going to take that.
After all, turkeys don’t vote for Christmas.

The news is like buses. There’s nothing for ages and then the stories all come at once and yesterday was incredible so quick notes on three stories.
Firstly, Iain Lees-Galloway. Mr Onceover-Lightly, what could possibly go wrong and if it does, it’s not my fault.
It’s always the Minister’s fault, Minister. That’s the point about Ministerial oversight and responsibility. But here’s a thing; listening to his reasoning at 1pm yesterday, I was struck by his final comments. He said he’d review his and the IMS procedures and then added, on his own volition, an example. He said he’d start reading the files before the meetings! Hello! You think? Bully for you!
Which gives credence to the belief that Iain Lees-Galloway swanned in, had a look at the notes provided, and made a decision. Which raises some red flags to me. He was very possibly blindly following the advice of his bureaucrats who were pointing out the issues. So the so-called professionals are not without blame. Advice to all politicians. If you want to get it right, read all the guff, prepare, and don’t trust the bureaucrats.
Now, on the spies deciding Spark should not use Huawei to build the 5G network. This came after American pressure last week on its allies not to use the Chinese company. You can see why. After all, would China use an American company to build its telecommunications infrastructure? Of course not. And we are part of the Five Eyes spying programmes with the States.
We’ve already reported that New Zealand is caught betwixt and between two trade warring superpowers and we’d eventually have to choose. We upset China with our investment in the Pacific. We did it again with some forthright statements from our Foreign Minister. And now we’ve chosen America again. No wonder Jacinda Ardern’s visit to China has been postponed and the chances of an improved FTA just took a step backwards. It’s going to be a frosty time with China in the short term.
And then to Sir Michael Cullen and a possible Capital Gains Tax. Silver-tongued Cullen almost made the whole thing sound logical. He argues with an ageing population we’re running out of taxpayers. The Labour based revenue will decrease and so we need to supplement it with capital taxation and revenue. He claims there’ll be no more tax gathered. That the whole thing could be fiscally neutral.
But that’s not wholly true. The next generation of taxpayers will be hit on their labour and their capital. I doubt very much whether they’ll not end out paying more tax than their elders and they’re not going to take that.
After all, turkeys don’t vote for Christmas.

Former New Zealander of the year Dr Lance O'Sullivan has slammed the health system, saying he's enraged at seeing "another brown kid" die in New Zealand.
In an expletive laden online post, he says the three recent meningitis deaths in Northland have set him off, but his frustration had been brewing for a long time.
The Government is now considering calling in the army to help Northland District Health Board run dozens of meningococcal vaccine clinics.
O'Sullivan says he's ashamed at being part of a broken health system and angry at some of the incompetent officials that worked in it.
His comments have been backed up by talkback callers to Andrew Dickens Afternoons.
Several callers have revealed their experiences with doctors not diagnosing patients properly or relying on Google to get their information.
One caller revealed how her daughter has only been out of med school for one week but has already been put in charge of 40 patients on one ward. 
Another caller revealed that his 11-month old daughter died just ten weeks ago while in the care of the local DHB. 
He says that doctors were withholding treatment and making assumptions about his daughter. 
LISTEN TO THE TALKBACK FEEDBACK ABOVE

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It can never be said scientists are afraid to put their bodies on the line for science. 
Six reserchers from Australia and the UK have revealed that they all swallowed the head of a Lego figure to show that they can pass through the human body without ill effect.
The 10mm by 10mm heads are one of the most common items swallowed by children. 
However, the researchers showed that the pieces pass through the bowels within 1.7 days. They even developed a new score to prove this - Found and Retrieved Time (FART).
Another score, Stool Hardness and Transit - or SHAT - found that the consistency of their stools did not change with the plastic in their bodies. 
The research says that most smooth plastics pass easily, and parents should only worry if kids swallow things that are sharp, longer than 5cm, wider than 2.5cm, or are items such as magnets and small batteries.
LISTEN TO RAYLENE TALK WITH ANDREW DICKENS ABOVE

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So is it time to stop harping on that we’re going to hell in a handcart?
The past few months have been dubbed the winter of discontent as business confidence dropped and the most strident critics of the government said they were wrecking everything.  But while that narrative flowed conflicting data kept coming out suggesting the New Zealand train was still chuffing along happily in its tracks.  Whether it was the growing tax revenue from greater activity or historically low unemployment rates, there was a succession of cold hard facts that stood at odds to the sentiments and feelings of the business community.
Today we hear that nearly two-thirds of small businesses are expecting to grow over the next 12 months. The Xero survey says our small businesses are  keen to take on more staff, invest in technology, introduce environmentally conscious initiatives, and tap into overseas markets. Two-thirds or 64 per cent are looking to grow in the next 12 months. I call that a pretty confident outlook.
Which is not to say that everything is roses from now on.  The prolonged period of negativity means that we’ve fallen a little behind where we could have been.  And the world is at an interesting economic stage what with tariff wars and Brexit negotiations, Russian sabre rattling and Saudi stirring.
And there is a second piece of news that means you should go into the summer thinking that you’ve wasted a lot of time worrying this winter, and that’s the watering down of the government’s proposed employment law changes.
The modified laws will no longer see union officials wandering into workplaces at will but most importantly it will not see a return to the days of nationwide pay scales for professions.  A piece of ideological idiocy that actually would have seen discord and battles and in the end could very well have kept pay lower.
Make no mistake: this is Winston Peters doing. Always remember he started in the National Party and he is a conservative with a small c.  He’d already kept the 90 day trial for small businesses and now he’s kept the unions from expanding.
Now, I consider this a triumph of MMP.  The argument for proportional representation was always that the excesses of both the left and right would be moderated by centrist coalition partners and here is a prime example.
There has been anger at MMP because New Zealand First and other coalition parties are perceived as kingmakers and the tail that wags the dog. Daily I get callers arguing that MMP has to go.  But under FPP you end out with extreme swings of philosophy when the real New Zealand is always somewhere in between.
So with Labour not going crazy because Winston’s keeping watch, New Zealanders cracking on with things I think we can all safely go to the beach this summer and not worry that we’re shooting ourselves in the foot.

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Well another day and another set of examples that display that discrimination and unconscious bias is a fundamental part of the human psyche and we’ll never be rid of it.
A week or two ago we heard about the café that demanded to know a job applicants medication. Considering the applicants medication was for treating ADHD and anxiety the applicant felt as though this would prejudice her application, so she lied.
We had quite a conversation about it on the radio. Firstly there was the point of the employer. Several people said that it was the employers right to know itf there was any impediment to the applicant doing the job.
That was countered by many who said that the medication was to treat the condition which might impact on the job, and so the condition no longer existed, so it was not the right of the employer to know.
Many said these are the sorts of conversations that need to be had as part of the negotiation around the job and not at the application level.
We wondered at the time whether this practice was widespread. Now we know of another employer making the demand. It’s Kathmandu.
This time the question is part of an online application form. One mandatory question is: "Are you currently taking any prescribed drugs or medications?" If people select "yes", they are asked to provide details. If the box is left blank, a submission cannot be lodged. So if you wish to protect your privacy and refuse to answer the question the algorithm is automatically discriminating against you and forbidding you to apply.
This is institutionalised discrimination in my book. And the Mental Health Foundation’s. The question can be asked but in a far fairer way.  It's okay to ask job applicants if there is anything that will impact on their ability to do a particular job ... it's not okay to ask general questions about medical history or medication that aren't directly relevant.
Meanwhile the female Santa furore is rife with discrimination. Not on Father Christmas issue where even employment lawyers say you can specify it is a man.  But Neville Baker’s statements that Santa’s Little Helpers should wear short skirts is more than a little offensive to someone like me who has been one of Santa’s elves during a Santa Parade.
The thing about all these stories is not rampant radicalisation and PC gone mad rants by the offended. 
The real issue is the disappearance of common sense and tolerance and the overwhelming desire of many to be offended. 
Neville Baker fired the first shot in the Santa story and it backfired.  Yes, the Parade Trust shouldn’t have gone ballistic but Neville Baker shouldn’t have either. Meanwhile Kathmandu and others who think that they can ask anything they want because they’re offering a job need to ask themselves whether employees can ask the same question of them.
The Parade Trust, Neville Baker the Santa guy and Kathmandu actually do need to take medication.  They all need to take a chill pill and calm down.

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After 27 years, an independent bookstore in England has finally parted with one of its longest serving residents.
A children's biography on William the Conqueror has sat on the shelves at Broadhurts Bookshop in Southport since May 1991. 
A staff member excitedly announced on Twitter this week that they have finally managed to sell it. 
Staff member Joanne Ball told The Guardian that they always had faith the book would sell.
She says they normally return books that aren't sold within 12 months, but they sometimes keep books that are on rarer subjects or one that are personal favourites.
LISTEN TO RAYLENE TALK WITH ANDREW DICKENS ABOVE

I have just sold a book that we have had in stock since May 1991. We always knew its day would come.
— Broadhursts Bookshop (@BroadhurstBooks) November 17, 2018

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