By: Larry Williams | Thursday, May 03, 2012 5:05 PM

--PONZI--

 

A Christchurch businessman who spent millions of fraudulently obtained money on a lavish lifestyle, has been sentenced to eight years in prison.

Gavin Bennett has been sentenced on six fraud charges worth 103 million dollars.

This was a Ponzi scheme that ripped off South Canterbury Finance mostly.

Bennetts minimum non-parole period is, wait for it, three and a half years.

So a hundred million, a lavish lifestyle, trips, apartments, huge spending on female companions, don't know how much is stashed away, - and effectively three and a half years - no wonder they think the crime is attractive.

 

--STUDENT LOANS--

 

Some changes to the interest free student loan scheme announced today.

-the repayment rate will go from 10c in the dollar to 12c.

-no allowances after 4 years of study.

-the incentive scheme for early repayment will be stopped.

-a four year freeze on allowance thresholds.

Now this of course has gone down like a cup of cold sick with students organisations and the opposition.

The flip side, and the side that I prescribe to is that the interest free component is nothing but a political sop and should be ended.

All the taxpayer wants is a fair deal so at the very least the loan should be indexed to the CPI as it is in Australia.

 

--BANKS--

 

The NBR did a poll on John Banks and 75% of them don't believe Banks.

That is what I've been saying all week - its all about perception. You can have all the inquiries you want but the public has already made up their minds on this.

Banks is not winning the battle. 

I'm not really sure where the story in the Herald is going about Banks getting a discount rate at a hotel in Hong Kong and linking it to Dotcom.

What it says to me is that the reporters don't know the difference between hotel rack rates and discounted rates.

The hotels rate on their own website is quite different to the inflated rates the Herald is quoting.

Basic stuff you would think. Google it. Know what I mean ?

I think it shows Trevor Mallard is simply picking up on media reports and asking questions in the House like he's onto it, like he's got this stash of evidence. I don't think so. If he had the juice, he would have dumped it.

 

--PETERS--

 

Winston Peters does come out with some gems. He is great entertainment.

Yesterday he told Grey Power members in Invercargill that " the National Party had made New Zealand a political prostitute by selling the country "to anyone and everyone like a streetwalker, this great country – once described as God's Own – is being pimped around the globe to anyone who wants a piece".

It's a good headline and its a position one can take -- if you are not tainted yourself.

Pity then that Peters is tainted.

Peters was part of the Government when hundreds of thousands of hectares were sold to foreigners without a murmur.

He's a bit of a trick is that Peters.

 

--NZ ON AIR--

 

I wonder about NZ on Air and where they are dumping taxpayers money.

NZ on Air gave $420,000 of our money to this crass reality show on TV3 called The GC.

Apparently the show was promoted to NZ on Air as a some sort of documentary about Maori families living on the Gold Coast.

Well, its a reality show and a pretty poor one at that. Its junk. NZ on Air seem to like to fork out millions of taxpayers dollars on this kind of junk that.

Then there's TVNZ7 and the campaign to keep this channel on air.

I don't see much logic in this because hardly anybody watches the channel, but NZ on Air money would be better off going to TVNZ7 than reality crap like The GC.