By: Larry Williams | Tuesday, September 25, 2012 5:49 PM

On Dotcom

There is much speculation on whether or not the actions of the GCSB have put the Dotcom case in jeopardy.

The conspiracy theorists are going nuts.

So what do we know?

There is no question that the GCSB acted unlawfully. We know this because the PM has already admitted it.

What we are told is that the GCSB intercepted communications for the police for the purpose of arresting the individuals concerned. In other words, the interception was designed to locate the subjects of the arrest warrants.

This has been confirmed today with court documents showing that it was the police who requested the GCSB’s help and told them that the subjects of the warrants were foreign nationals. Hence the reason for the GCSB’s involvement.

It appears it was the police who messed up then.

If this is the case then I don't see how this is going to impact on the extradition proceedings. And it shouldn't.

This is because the alleged crime was committed in the US, and it is the US authorities who have gathered the evidence, and request Dotcom be extradited. This is the US v Dotcom not NZ v Dotcom.

Unless the GCSB was gathering evidence for the US, which doesn't appear to be the case, it is doubtful this is an issue in respect of the extradition process.

 

On Solid Energy

The union wants the Government to intervene and prop up Spring Creek coal mine.

It would cost around $35 million to prop it up in the interim until it can be resurrected if and when the coal price comes back. There is no guarantee it will. It may do but it’s no slam dunk.

Here's the problem: if ever there was an argument for flogging off an SOE, Solid Energy may be it. It had a $200 million shortfall last year. Spring Creek lost more than $100 million since it was set up in 2007. In the past nine months it has lost $50 million. It will cost $70 million to return to full production.

If you were an investor you would run a mile.

In the meantime the taxpayer will cover the risk and the losses.

 

On Winston Peters

Mr Peters is going on about the dollar again today.

In short, he wants the Reserve Bank to look at 'everything' not just inflation in setting its monetary policies.

What I'm really looking forward to is some actual policy. There’s a lot of waffle around policy settings but nothing on the key part - what exactly will he do? How does he intend to lower the dollar?

Same applies to David Parker. Give us the detail.

We know what Russel Norman will do and that's print money. Well good luck with that one.

There is nothing wrong with debate on the dollar but I'm not hearing any specifics.

Until they can prove the method and the result – it’s waffle.

Mind you that seems to be the problem here - their recipe for the dollar is more or less waffle. The detail is noticeably absent.

Photo: NZ Herald