Politics can be cruel. Just a few months ago, David Cunliffe had aspirations of becoming Prime Minister. He is now serving as chairman of the regulations review committee, which does what its name suggests - the necessary, but hardly scintillating job of reviewing regulations.
Cunliffe's first task is to work through the Subordinate Legislation (Confirmation and Validation) (No 3) Bill, a piece of legislation so tedious a previous chairman once suggested it should be left unexamined.
Before Andrew Little became Labour leader, he was to have been on the committee as a lowly member, but he has been spared, thanks to his elevation. His replacement is David Parker, Cunliffe's former deputy, now reduced to pondering whether "certain orders under the Customs and Excise Act 1996" should be continued. It's enough to drive Cunliffe and Parker into retirement.
EMPTY BAN
National has told the Green Party it might be willing to consider a ban on animals being used in testing cosmetics. The move comes as the Animal Welfare Amendment Bill starts moving through Parliament again.
The Greens have opposed it for the usual reasons of "purity", saying that while it is a step in the right direction, it does not go far enough. One bone of contention has been the animal testing issue.
Ministers have been told no animals are used for testing cosmetics in NZ, so a ban could be accommodated because it would be meaningless. Whether this would be enough to get the Greens' support remains to be seen - they might demand a ban on all imported cosmetics that might have been tested on animals.
QUEUE HERE AND WAIT
The push by ministers to get priority for their bills next year has begun, and the Cabinet says decisions will be made at the end of January.
Bids are being prepared for bills in the system, as well as those yet to be written, but departments have been warned bills not ready for introduction by May could lose their spot. Pressure on law drafters in the Parliamentary Counsel Office is intense, with limited resources and many poorly written drafts.
Ministers in their third terms are realising that parliamentary time is fleeting, and delay could thwart their legislative dreams. The jostling among departments and ministers will be intense.
JUST WHAT WE ALL NEED
Great scientific breakthroughs of our time: US manufacturer Kohler has developed a deodorising toilet seat that it says eliminates embarrassing bathroom odours.
A fan in the battery-operated seat sucks in air and pushes it through an odour-eating carbon filter, then an optional scent pack.
In the words of product manager Jerry Bougher, the idea is to attack smells "where the action is".
HELLO, GOODBYE
Has Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee inherited "the curse of Jim Bolger"? The former PM had a bit of a reputation for being the kiss of death for fellow leaders, several of whom lost their jobs soon after meeting him.
Brownlee made his first official trip to Washington to chat with US Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel this week, but no sooner had they met than Hagel was gone. Other defence ministers should be very afraid of receiving a visit from Brownlee.
KEEPING UP
Those who watch government departments' handling of Official Information Act requests have noticed an interesting development.
Most departments have targets they seek to meet, and in the case of the OIA this was usually something like "90 per cent of requests are met within 20 working days" for requests forwarded from the minister's office.
There has now been a change to "all requests met within ministerial deadlines". A cynic might think there could be some difference between a minister's deadline and the OIA's statutory deadline.
