Issues of the day

I saw something today in the Waikato Times that really bothered me and I've seen something that has also made me wonder about todays society.

The Waikato Times reported that 11 of 100 staff at Wel Networks had tested positive for some kind of drugs. While I have to admit to not really caring if some receptionist sitting in an office downtown Hamilton is slightly under the influence, forgive me, to the 124 people on the Stuff Website's poll who voted that these tests are an invasion of privacy. Especially, if some of those 11 who were caught were linesmen on the job.

Something about being under the influence, and working with 10,000 volt wires in and around public property, perhaps even your home, and during their smoko their toking back on the electric puha, pun intended just does not seem to hold well with me.

To Wel Networks credit, they are working with the people caught by the tests, which in some cases, employers wouldn't have bothered. They would have seen the tests and shown them the road.

To be honest...I take my hat off to these guys. They do a job most of us can't do either simply because we don't have the skills, or in my case, plain and simply wouldn't do. Rain, storms, winds, they get up there and fix these lines...which is what makes the situation all the more serious. None the less, as someone commented today on talk back radio relating to the fantastic Wahine documentary last night, that these guys get screamed at when they aren't out there doing their job, but not thanked enough when they fix problems.

The concern still rests with them to make sure that their off the job habits, don't impact on their ability to do their job, and the safety aspect relating to people around them and property.

Good on you Wel Networks for investing in these people and I certainly hope they appreciate it.

Charging covincts $50

John Key seems to have an idea which may be able to help the cause of victims of crime. Thats right...charge them $50 as a crime tax.

This is taken from the National Party's website.
"Establish a Victim Compensation Scheme (VCS), which will be funded by a levy on all offenders at sentencing. It is envisaged the levy be $50. The scheme will help victims with one-off expenses not covered by ACC or other state help, such as travel to court and additional counselling".

I wonder how they are going to enforce this and how much its going to cost to enforce? In reality, what is $50 going to do? $50 for example would be if I lived in Hamilton and I was attending a court hearing in Rotorua. Thats bearly a return trip. Addtional counselling? Average counsellors bill is $100 for an hour. Hang on, there is one problem. How will you get it off the crim in the first place.

What I am imagining though is a bureaucratic nightmare for victims. Forms after forms, and then I'm sure, some kind of test to determine how much one gets from the pool of $50. I don't know, this sounds like something Mr Key dreamt up in the early hours.

I've read the whole policy and I find many aspects of it which will simply not work because of the hyper PC world we live in. In some form, I think the civil liberties groups may think that the convicted people may be being picked on too much by the government and their rights a little oppressed. Blah blah.

There is no doubt in my mind that victims in many cases do not get the compensation that is due to them. As mentioned in Breakfast on April 1st that a person who had been awarded $10,000 in compensation and as yet, got $200. But I wonder how the heck it was supposed to be paid? A person in prison, on a benefit likely, how are they going to pay? Maybe as someone suggested, IRD should do it, but then again, IRD do child support and they've managed to stuff that up something chronic.

There is a lot of work regarding this policy to be done still. A lot of people will likely think good idea, but would be doubtful as to how it will work in the real world. As I am!