By: Larry Williams | Friday, August 10, 2012

The Prime Minister’s decision not to attend the memorial service of the fallen soldiers but to go to the US and see his son play in a baseball tournament has drawn some flak.

The debate has been kicked off by some rather tabloid stuff from Close Up.

Actually some of the reaction has been quite bizarre. A lot of the negative reaction has also been political, an opportunity to bag the PM. Some of the comment has been downright nasty.

There is no right or wrong in his decision.

Overlooked has been the fact the PM has visited the families of the victims, that the families are having a private service and what we are actually talking about here is a memorial service.

What does matter is that the Government is represented and it will be. The Acting PM Bill English will attend.

BLUE CHIP

The investors in Blue Chip finally won in the Supreme Court.

This was an excellent result simply because it provided justice. The investors were 'fleeced'. Many of the investors were elderly and faced losing their homes. They have gone through years of stress. Blue Chip compliments of Mark Bryer's destroyed their lives.

The FMA is now considering what action they can take against Blue Chip.

It’s a bit late. Blue Chip shouldn't have been able to get away with this in the first place.

BEAST OF BLENHEIM

A plan has been hatched by Corrections to keep the Beast of Blenheim more or less under total control.

He has to live in the prison grounds and he's GPS'd -He effectively can't go anywhere.

Now his lawyer has appealed because he thinks Stewart Murray Wilson should be allowed to roam free.

Indeed he wants to travel around NZ in a campervan!

I don't know how the lawyer sleeps at night, I really don't.

NATIONAL STANDARDS

The data reflecting national standards and other school performance will be put up on a website.

Parents will rightly be able to compare schools.

The NZEI claims that "the era of naming and shaming schools. Teachers, students and their families have arrived".

This is nonsense but it is remarkable how gullible the teacher unions think parents are.

I noted this yesterday and have had some correspondence from teachers that is frankly irrational.

I do not label all teachers. The majority of teachers I have found to be honest. Not all teachers side with the unions.

The fact that schools would even think about undermining results should outrage every parent in the country.

Parents just want to be able to receive the information that other countries deliver as a matter of course, including Australia.

THE OLYMPICS

As the Olympics come to a close I think it’s a given that NZ has again done itself proud.

It’s a cliche but NZ continues to punch above its weight.

We have 10 medals with more to come and it seems that the tally is above expectations and that has to be good.

Photo: Getty Images

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