Country music legend, songwriter and humanitarian Dolly Parton has died aged 80, after a brief battle with cancer.

Christchurch music promoter Steve Guest has been a friend since helping organise her arena tour decades ago. 

He says Dolly would want us to celebrate her life, and was even lovelier in person than in interviews.

"We've been very lucky to have this close connection over all these years...she was lovely in the interviews, she treated people like people."

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Country music legend, songwriter and humanitarian Dolly Parton has died aged 80, after a brief battle with cancer.
Christchurch music promoter Steve Guest has been a friend since helping organise her arena tour decades ago.&nbsp;
He says Dolly would want us to celebrate her life, and was even lovelier in person than in interviews.
"We've been very lucky to have this close connection over all these years...she was lovely in the interviews, she treated people like people."
LISTEN ABOVE

With a straight down the middle approach, Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive on Newstalk ZB delivers the very latest news and views to New Zealanders as they wrap up their day.

Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Steve Guest: Christchurch music promoter looks back on Dolly Parton's legacy following her death

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/e636960f-eeaf-416a-8f39-b4b200607410/transcript

The ACT Party is coming for the Climate Change Commission again. It has revived its policy to get rid of the commission - and I personally hope ACT actually follows through on it this time if it makes it into Government after November because, by any measure, it's a waste of money.

The Climate Change Commission is one of those Government departments, and we've got heaps of them now, that spends most of its time writing reports. My general rule is that if a Government department exists mainly to write reports, then it needs to be scrapped because we don't have the money for that kind of thing.

Keep the ones that provide services. Keep the ones that give you surgeries, put people in jail, police the streets, collect your taxes and teach your kids. All the ones that provide a service you can actually quantify in your life, keep them. The ones doing the budgeting for the Government, keep them.

But the ones that just write reports that most of us will never read? In an age where AI can collate data and produce similar reports, dump them. We don't need them.

The Climate Change Commission is a prime example. That's especially true when the advice it has been providing is so unbelievably nutty that no one's ever going to do it.

Do you remember the time they said the way to reach our climate target was to cull the dairy herd? That was in 2021. It wasn't that long ago. Cull the dairy herd in a country that provides food for the rest of the world. Did they check that with anybody before they went public with it?

They also suggested banning new gas connections. That was nutty too. There was no need for a ban like that. The market is doing it anyway because we're running out of gas.

But this kind of nonsense costs us about $15 million a year. Since the Commission was created, it has cost us around $100 million and counting.

For what?

For paperwork that no one takes seriously.

Of course, an announcement like this from the ACT Party is going to drive the climate lovies nuts because they'll be wedded to the Climate Change Commission, not because of what it actually does, which is nothing, but simply because it's the Climate Change Commission and it's got "climate change" in its name. Therefore, it must be important.

Good on ACT for taking this on again. But here's my challenge to ACT: instead of just campaigning on it because it sounds good, then abandoning the idea when it comes to the crunch in coalition negotiations, how about campaigning on it this time and then actually getting rid of it?

LISTEN ABOVE

The ACT Party is coming for the Climate Change Commission again. It has revived its policy to get rid of the commission - and I personally hope ACT actually follows through on it this time if it makes it into Government after November because, by any measure, it's a waste of money.
The Climate Change Commission is one of those Government departments, and we've got heaps of them now, that spends most of its time writing reports. My general rule is that if a Government department exists mainly to write reports, then it needs to be scrapped because we don't have the money for that kind of thing.
Keep the ones that provide services. Keep the ones that give you surgeries, put people in jail, police the streets, collect your taxes and teach your kids. All the ones that provide a service you can actually quantify in your life, keep them. The ones doing the budgeting for the Government, keep them.
But the ones that just write reports that most of us will never read? In an age where AI can collate data and produce similar reports, dump them. We don't need them.
The Climate Change Commission is a prime example. That's especially true when the advice it has been providing is so unbelievably nutty that no one's ever going to do it.
Do you remember the time they said the way to reach our climate target was to cull the dairy herd? That was in 2021. It wasn't that long ago. Cull the dairy herd in a country that provides food for the rest of the world. Did they check that with anybody before they went public with it?
They also suggested banning new gas connections. That was nutty too. There was no need for a ban like that. The market is doing it anyway because we're running out of gas.
But this kind of nonsense costs us about $15 million a year. Since the Commission was created, it has cost us around $100 million and counting.
For what?
For paperwork that no one takes seriously.
Of course, an announcement like this from the ACT Party is going to drive the climate lovies nuts because they'll be wedded to the Climate Change Commission, not because of what it actually does, which is nothing, but simply because it's the Climate Change Commission and it's got "climate change" in its name. Therefore, it must be important.
Good on ACT for taking this on again. But here's my challenge to ACT: instead of just campaigning on it because it sounds good, then abandoning the idea when it comes to the crunch in coalition negotiations, how about campaigning on it this time and then actually getting rid of it?
LISTEN ABOVE

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Let's hope ACT can actually get rid of the Climate Change Commission this time

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/a62610ca-293b-402a-92e0-b4b2006c2e29/transcript

ACT is signalling the Climate Change Commission isn't the only agency in its firing line, if they're re-elected to Government.

The party's revived a failed pledge from last election to scrap the agency tasked with monitoring and adapting to the growing risk of extreme events.

ACT claims the Commission's cost taxpayers $100 million dollars since being set up. 

Candidate Paul Henry claims it does nothing to benefit the climate. 

"We're not coming after them alone - our policy at the moment is to reduce the number of departments in Government from 43 to 19."

LISTEN ABOVE

ACT is signalling the Climate Change Commission isn't the only agency in its firing line, if they're re-elected to Government.
The party's revived a failed pledge from last election to scrap the agency tasked with monitoring and adapting to the growing risk of extreme events.
ACT claims the Commission's cost taxpayers $100 million dollars since being set up.&nbsp;
Candidate Paul Henry claims it does nothing to benefit the climate.&nbsp;
"We're not coming after them alone - our policy at the moment is to reduce the number of departments in Government from 43 to 19."
LISTEN ABOVE

Paul Henry: ACT Party candidate on the party's bid to scrap the Climate Change Commission

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/e7279391-490e-46b1-a998-b4b20066c690/transcript

MBIE's boss says the Public Service Commissioner refused his offer to resign, after revelations his agency misled MPs in a select committee.

Chief Executive Nic Blakeley says they got it wrong and he's deeply disappointed. 

Immigration Minister Erica Stanford has also expressed confidence in Blakeley. 

Blakeley says the answers given to the committee were because of commercial sensitivities. 

He explained that he will be making changes. 

"We should always give complete and clear information to the committee, and if we can't, we should be able to say why we couldn't've done that."  

LISTEN ABOVE

MBIE's boss says the Public Service Commissioner refused his offer to resign, after revelations his agency misled MPs in a select committee.
Chief Executive Nic Blakeley says they got it wrong and he's deeply disappointed.&nbsp;
Immigration Minister Erica Stanford has also expressed confidence in Blakeley.&nbsp;
Blakeley says the answers given to the committee were because of commercial sensitivities.&nbsp;
He explained that he will be making changes.&nbsp;
"We should always give complete and clear information to the committee, and if we can't, we should be able to say why we couldn't've done that."&nbsp;&nbsp;
LISTEN ABOVE

Nic Blakeley: MBIE chief executive on the Public Service Commissioner refusing to accept his resignation

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/cb2b459d-d871-4ed8-ae8b-b4b2005ced27/transcript

Steve Guest: Christchurch music promoter looks back on Dolly Parton's legacy following her death

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