The Insider: Helpful censors

One of the most astounding responses to questions about why so much material is censored when it is eventually released comes from officials responsible for the cuts - they do it to help.

Chief Ombudsman Dame Beverley Wakem is retiring, and one of her final tasks is to complete a review of practices in responding to Official Information Act requests. To her credit, Dame Beverley is showing a remarkable tendency to see the good in people. Her preliminary view is that problems such as long delays are due more to ignorance of the act and inexperience, rather than maleficence. She says: "Ministers' staff are in particular need of training as ignorance and inexperience of the act leaves Ministers exposed." The Insider can't help wondering if she has discussed this view with some ministers, such as Murray McCully, who are downright dismissive about the act. One of the most astounding responses to questions about why so much material is censored when it is eventually released comes from officials responsible for the cuts - they do it to help. It seems some agencies say they are concerned people will not understand the context of the information obtained, and try to prevent misunderstanding by removing it. George Orwell would have loved that logic.

Fuel for the grumpy

While many are concerned about cuts to legal aid, the cost of access to courts and the rise of self-representation in court, not everyone might feel the same way. For example, officials at the Supreme Court have to cope with the fact that four self-represented litigants are responsible for 44 per cent of the filings in the court, according to figures from Justice Minister Amy Adams. Imagine what such busy folk could do with publicly funded lawyers.

Slo-mo museum

Once upon a time, Te Papa announced with great fanfare that it wanted to open a branch in South Auckland. This would be great for the region, would give Aucklanders a chance to see what Te Papa offered and allow for storage at a site with less earthquake risk than Wellington. That was three years ago. For anyone wondering what has happened since, never fear - feasibility studies are being worked on, business plans are being produced and maybe some money will be found in next year's Budget. But Auckland would be better not to hold its breath.

Invisible anger

In Wellington, there has been debate over building a cycleway in the suburb of Island Bay. The plan's opponents have taken protesting to a new level of performance art - they organised a "silent protest" and when no one showed up, said it was never meant to be a "physical protest" as the opponents were very busy.

Maybe next year...

New Zealand's oldest political party celebrated its 99th birthday this week. Labour's celebrations were muted.

Screen test

The release of a review of the Screen Production Grant scheme seems to have been delayed. Those in the sector have been waiting to see what ministers think about future funding after a paper was recently considered by the Cabinet. The problem is, the grants are demand driven, with the scheme given $83.75 million over 5 years. About $4 million was spent in the first year of spending in 2014-15, and this year's Budget estimates $41.69 million will be used in the second year. That leaves $38 million for the final three years - meaning demand is likely to exceed supply. Ministers will have to decide if the fund should be topped up, and if not, how the remaining money will be doled out - first come first served, or some sort of merit allocation?

Greek lessons

Q: Who'd pick Greece as an economic role model? A: The Campaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa, which this week fired out a press release declaring: "The Government and people of Greece have some valuable lessons to teach the headless chooks of the Christchurch City Council." The "valuable lesson" is that the city council should listen to public opinion and avoid selling assets at any price. Other people might take rather different lessons from the Greek crisis.

The big issues

It's always fascinating to see the weighty intellectual issues Inland Revenue has to grapple with. Case in point: the IRD is seeking feedback on its plan to set a depreciation rate for "carports (freestanding or lean-to)". Submissions are sought on a draft document, which comes complete with handy photographs to help answer the trickiest question of all - when does a carport becomes a building?