Former Sports Minister Trevor Mallard thinks past All Blacks may have used steroids. Speaking in Parliament on the Crimes (Match-fixing) Amendment Bill, Mallard wondered whether sportspeople here were at risk of being blackmailed to throw matches. "I think that all of us who have been around sport for a few years know that as dope testing has improved ... steroid drug use has gone away, we think, at the very top level," said Mallard, noting how some past ABs appeared to have slimmed down. "But what is happening further down, and are people who are involved in steroid use subject to extra pressures that lead to blackmail and that lead to match-fixing?"
QUICK QUEST
The State Services Commission has begun advertising for a replacement for Foreign Affairs boss John Allen. The pressure is on for the SSC to complete the process somewhat more quickly than usual, as New Zealand is taking up its seat on the United Nations Security Council in the new year. It seems unlikely the experiment of bringing in a non-diplomat will be repeated.
DUNNE DEAL COMING UNDONE
The Families Commission continues to fade away, and now it has even lost its name. Set up by the former Labour Government as part of its deal with Peter Dunne, it has been merged into the Ministry of Social Development and is now called the Social Policy Evaluation and Research Unit. Or, in capital-speak, "Superu". Whether its future is super remains to be seen.
SPINNING A TALE
Full marks to the ANZ bank's PR team this week for the way they demonstrated the essential skill of putting the best possible complexion on unfortunate news. Announcing a settlement of the long-running argument over rural interest rate swaps, the bank's press release accentuated the positive, declaring "ANZ is pleased that it is the first bank to have reached an arrangement with the Commerce Commission and Financial Markets Authority." It must have been a real pleasure, handing over $18.5 million to aggrieved customers.
HIDING THE XMAS PRESENT
It is coming up to the time when the Remuneration Authority reveals pay rises for MPs and others. Most years, it tries to keep the announcement as quiet as possible, which only delays the inevitable outrage people feel about politicians getting larger salary rises than them, and having them backdated to July. The best pick for this year's release date is December 10, when the Press Gallery has its Christmas party; the really cynical think it could be Christmas Eve.
