Cigarettes and Poor Journalism

It has been a couple of days between posts and this is one isn't particularly flash. Just a couple of articles from stuff.co.nz.

The Dom Post reports:

The government is to forge ahead with a ban on branded cigarette packets.

Woohoo!! This is fantastic news, smoking is disgusting and we all know smokers are morally deficient people. Bring on the day when the smoking of tabacco is banned outright in this country!

The second is from the Wellingtonian and is about Council staff earning more than $100,000 a year. It says:

It pays to work for Wellington City Council. Forty-eight council employees earn more than $100,000 a year. The average wage for Wellingtonians is just under $35,000.

This is outrageously poor journalism. Rather than reporting the news in an unbiased manner, the reporter (Emma Beer) is putting a slant on the story from the first sentence. She is also drawing a comparison between two completely different things.

When I was living in London it was a pleasure to grab a copy of the Guardian and indulge in some fine journalism. Unfortunately the standard here in New Zealand is slightly lower and this article is really scraping the barrel.

DomPost Editorial

The Dominion Post editorial from Friday looks at the issue of mayoral pay rises and the role of the Remuneration Authority. It says:

the authority is also required by statute to take account of prevailing economic conditions. The law recognises that politicians should not dwell in a rarefied atmosphere while those who pay their salaries scrape along beneath them.

and

The authority's latest determination, scheduled to take effect on July 1, suggests it is in danger of losing sight of one side of the equation. It will take the average increase awarded to the 15 mayors in the lower North Island over the past two years to 9.1 per cent.

I have always found the blinkers on the Remuneration Authority hard to believe. Their inability to take into account the global economic situation is incredible, or if they are taking it into account it asks the question what increases would they be giving in good economic times?

The Authority needs to take a good look at how it sets increases and needs to increase the weight it gives to the current economic climate and the lives of average New Zealanders. Politician's salaries need to be sufficient to attract talented people but if a politician believes they deserve a pay rise when voters are hurting they are failing the public service requirement of their job.

Walkwise faces the chop

Stuff.co.nz reports that Walkwise faces the chop.

I have always questioned the need for Walkwise and so am not particularly alarmed by the news. If Wellington is the fantastic city we believe it to be than visitors should feel like they can approach any Wellingtonian on the street and all Wellingtonians should take an active part in keeping an eye out for trouble.

One Walkwise patroller who I see around seems to be the complete opposite of these intentions anyway. Everytime I see him he is walking around with his head down and paying little attention to what is going on around him, he also seems to patrol very secluded areas where he will be of little help to visitors.

I know it is unfair to taint all Walkwise patrollers based on my observations of one of their number but I would not be surprised to hear similar stories from others.