Welcome to yet another issue of the club's weekly bulletin! 

 

14 people attended including our speaker and Jim Staple (visiting from his home in Aus) Jane de Greon,and Stuart Beattie ( as there was a politician speaking). 

 

Apologies from Ingrid, Malcolm, Peter B and Avis. 

 

Stand in President for the standin for the holidaying Malcolm and his standin Peter Barron was David Jones  (also on desk duty).

 

Community garden working bee at Parnell Rise is on for 10am next Thursday ,28th September (not February).

Volunteers needed to help shift load of mulch and compost from roadside to garden beds, so spades, shovels and the odd wheelbarrow might be usefull to help Avis, Peter B and Henry Ford. Reward is one of Avis's baked scones.

 

3 minunute speaker was Coleen  who demonstrated her ESOL teaching job by reading her "Book with no pictures". Members seem to have been as well entertained as her pupils and herself.

 

Sargent Wendy chided us for leaving $80 of fines on a table last week which was fortunately not taken as a tip by the staff!

 

Fined us all for the rugby and league wins, raised about $120 and reminded us that " the best way to a man's heart is through the chest".

 

Speaker was Honorable PaulGoldsmith, National MP standing for Epsom.

Educated Auckland Grammar and Auckland University-entered parliament in 2011 and now a senior member of the National team, ranked at number 5, and spokesman for justice.

Now that Parliament has risen he enjoys the 6to8 weeks working in his electorate.

 

Problem with government trying to lower prison population by 30% when violent crime is up 33%-achieved by shorter sentences and home detention-creating a sense of lawlessness -he wants the justice system to reduce the number of victims of crime.

 

Need to speed up Court system-use technology and perhaps night courts.

 

Their nightly polling of 300 voters is showing a strengthening National vote-purpose of a politician is firstly to be in government-focus of public service should be achieving more output-repealing bad laws will be easy it is the creation of new laws which is more complex-(listened to some advice from David Jones).

Importance of a good rule of law in attracting overseas investment which New Zealand will need.-lack of legal certainty is a disincentive to invest.

 

Co governence was only meant to apply to small local situations such as a block of forest or a river-National wants equal citizenship rights.

 

Cost of living is number one issue with voters.

 

National being advised on its campaign by an English based consultancy firm headed by an ex young nat New Zealander.

 

Meeting closed at 8.25