General Debate

Go on.  If you have to.

Bill English’s press release outlines the Budget at a Glance:

Progress in the Government’s programme while on track to surplus

• Provides a suite of measures to build faster economic growth, support more jobs and deliver a more innovative and productive economy.
• Forecasts economic growth to average between 2 and 3 per cent a year over the next four years.
• Includes a $100 million-a-year internationally-focused growth and innovation package to boost investment in science, research and development, and tourism.
• Confirms an additional $1.5 billion of investments from the Future Investment Fund to spend proceeds from the Government’s share offer programme.
• Allows for ACC levy cuts on households and businesses of around $300 million in 2014/15, increasing to around $1 billion in 2015/16.
• Provides significant extra money to help low-income families through a number of targeted initiatives.
• $5.1 billion of new operating spending in the current year and over the next four years for initiatives across areas such as health, education, welfare, and housing.
• Confirms an additional $2.1 billion to help rebuild Christchurch, taking the Government’s total share of the rebuild to around $15 billion.

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via Imgur

From the Holiday Act point of view, Easter has “always” been Mondayised.  Because I don’t think, biblically speaking, the Monday after Easter has any specific meaning

Formerly, the post-Easter festivities involved a week of secular celebration, but in many places this was reduced to one day in the 19th century. Events include egg rolling competitions and, in predominantly Roman Catholic countries, dousing other people with water which traditionally had been blessed with holy water the day before at Easter Sunday Mass and carried home to bless the house and food.  (Easter Monday – Wikipedia)

Anyway, that random factoid out of the way, your General Debate awaits:

Petal is still in hospital. And may be there for sometime. All I know is he is in severe pain related to his gall bladder and that he reports that pethidine, morphine and ketamine seems a good mix of drugs. No gall stones though so it is all a bit perplexing.  Read more »

If you’re late to the party, this may still be funny to you:  Ex Benedict.

With the Pope chucking  his toys for the first time since they were still burning witches and heretics at the stake, I suspect you need a place to let your feelings out today, so here it is.

Impertinent question:  If the Pope is God’s embodiment on earth and completely infallible by definition, who do we blame for him chucking the job in early because he doesn’t feel well?

Perhaps now the Catholic Church can get serious about addressing the major issue of child abuse that the now ex-Pope refused to confront, indeed he was even part of covering it up.

Welcome to the Saturday general debate. Not alot interesting happened this week, but featuring on the blog alot this week was boy buggering, cry babies, the gun control debate, whining teachers, and of course….the 7th best Mayor in the world. Open topic – go for your lives. Read more »

Welcome to the Sunday General Debate.

via http://imgur.com

Get your own stories going below.

Well, Cam Slater rattled some cages this week.

At one stage I considered making a summary post of all the things he has been called, accused of or described as.

But perhaps it’s better to summarise:

He’s the best thing since the Main Stream Media, and, he’s the most evil baby eating bastard to operate a blog.

Can he be both?

Read more »

If you are bored, or the weather is trapping you inside, why not pop into the General Debate for a chat?

Open forum.

With all the talk of Cam’s new gig at the Truth, I’m curious as to what everyone thinks of the two main Sunday papers – Herald and SST.  Your thoughts please.

Don’t hold back.

Open forum . . .

What did everyone think of the first ‘new’ Truth?