By: Larry Williams | Monday, August 13, 2012 6:09 PM

MMP

The Electoral Commission's review of MMP has made two key recommendations.

The first is the end of the one seat threshold and the second to reduce the majority threshold from five percent, to four percent.

There has been much made of the John Banks deal over the cup of tea. He was made into one of the key arguments for change. Banks didn't bring in any MPs with him though. Neither did Peter Dunne.

What we have seen is self-interested parties like the Greens making the attacks.

The proposed changes though seem reasonable.

What has been missed is MPs who get rejected by electorates and still get in via the Party List. Time and time again.

If anything we need more electorate MPs and less list MPs.

 

Olympics

The Olympics are all done and dusted with the spectacular closing ceremony.

It's on to Rio in 2016 and they will chew up billions too. Around $25 billion, but history would suggest a lot more.

The reports are that London has put on some show. London certainly looked grand. The cost though was horrendous at around the 20 billion pounds, and you do wonder how long this can go on. It looks to me that the Olympics have got too big.

But well done London.

 

The NZ team did more than OK at the Olympics - they did great.

They were just fantastic.

Thirteen medals from a very small population base is actually remarkable.

The gold by Lisa Carrington in the kayaking and Sarah Walker’s silver in the BMX finished off a very successful Olympics.

Now we have the question of future funding of our elite athletes and the Government saying they will have a freeze on funds.

This is fair enough given the economic environment. What needs to happen is to target the funding at the sports that perform.  

 

The Beast

Wanganui Council are moving to stop the 'Beast of Blenheim' from being dumped at the prison near them.

One can understand the concern over the monster Stewart Murray Wilson even with the conditions placed around his release.

If his lawyer gets his way Wilson will be cruising the country in a campervan.

I suspect that Corrections will in fact spend more time protecting Wilson than anything. He's a target, no question about it. 

 

Warriors

The Warriors capitulated once again. This time to the Queensland Cowboys.

When you get 50 points wrapped around you are in the seriously 'also ran' category.

The Warriors are right now an abysmal team.

The owners should be worried. They’re not worth watching right now. Unless they spend some money buying in quality players, they might hold onto the loyal fans but they will lose the broader market.  It's just that you can't watch them at the moment. They have lost whatever mojo they had.

Thank God for the Rugby Championship that starts this weekend.

 

Lydia Ko

Lydia Ko wins the US Amateur golf title.

Winning the US Amateur at the age of just 15 is an incredible achievement. She is the second youngest to ever win the US Amateur.

Ko is the best women's amateur in the world, and that takes some doing in the game of golf.

Ko has a wonderful future ahead of her when she turns professional which is some years away.

Photo: The London 2012 Olympics closing ceremony (Getty Images)