The Insider: Critic's claim not so super

When Kevin Rudd finally decided to come to New Zealand, he had to cancel at the last moment because he was being ousted by Julia Gillard. Photo / AP

The Taxpayers' Union's trenchant criticism of the NZ Superannuation Fund, over its poor investment in Portugal's Banco Espirito Santo, shows the dangers of viewing problems through ideological goggles. The ginger group said the fund should be passively managed by international fund managers. "The fact is that the best and brightest investors don't work for the New Zealand Government," the Taxpayers' Union thundered. "The best managers are overseas operating funds which dwarf NZ Super. Remuneration packages are sometimes in the hundreds of millions." But the Super Fund - and ACC's portfolio managers - have enviable records, beating market and private sector benchmarks. Sure, there have been dumb moves - the Portuguese deal among them - but overall the fund has done well. And the critics should note that the Portuguese deal was put together by Goldman Sachs - whose people are among those supposedly best and brightest investors making hundreds of millions in remuneration.

OFF THE CUFF OR OUT OF ORDER

Some MPs are trembling as Speaker David Carter and Assistant Speaker Trevor Mallard put them on notice about reading out written speeches in Parliament's debating chamber. Most senior MPs are capable of giving reasonable speeches, and some can wax eloquent on any subject under the sun. But listening to others can be like being trapped with reluctant school kids in a boring English class. The rule against reading out written speeches is rarely enforced, but in the first weeks of this parliamentary year Carter and Mallard have put MPs on their last warning. The effect of their move will be especially interesting during the General Debate, which is meant to be a vehicle for free-flowing oratory, but too often descends into boredom, with even the MPs barely comprehending what has been prepared for them to read out.

STAND-UP KING

Deputy Prime Minister Bill English appeared to stumble over his words during a recent speech, describing his ministerial colleague and former Social Development Minister Paula Bennett as "Minister Benefit". As Bennett looked on, English managed to regain his footing by claiming he was making "an old joke that always works".

LOOK OUT, TONY

Tony Abbott is making his first official visit to New Zealand as Australian Prime Minister. Either he is brave and confident - or he doesn't know his history. Given the ongoing questions over his leadership, perhaps Abbott should have had a chat to some of his recent predecessors before getting on the plane. When Kevin Rudd finally decided to come to New Zealand, he had to cancel at the last moment because he was being ousted by Julia Gillard. In turn, Gillard survived a few hops across the Tasman but was rolled by Rudd after her last visit in 2013. Abbott's desire to watch a cricket match this weekend could be a sign history is about to repeat.

JUST THE MAN ...

As New Zealand takes a more active role in the Middle East, one step is the appointment of a new Ambassador for Counter Terrorism. Speculation on who might fill the job is rife, and former Labour leader David Shearer has been mentioned as an outside shot. His experience in the region and in dealing with factions - in the Middle East and in Labour - would seem to make him the ideal candidate.

RISKY SPEECH

Introduced into Parliament in 2007, the Gambling Amendment Bill (No 2) finally passed into law this week. The mainly technical bill was widely supported, but did pose challenges for MPs. Assistant Speaker Trevor Mallard warned his Labour colleague David Clark he might want to think twice before speaking on the bill, pointing out that nine of the 12 people who spoke when it was first debated in the House had since lost their seats.

GOT IT SUSSED

Either the Treasury is becoming more confident about dealing with the media, or it really is slashing its spending. Its figures show that in the 2012-13 financial year, it spent $21,747.80 training 25 people through one company, Deadline Ltd. Janet Wilson's Bespoke Media Training is a division of Deadline. But work slumped in 2013-14 - $7569 to train nine people. This year, no money has been spent on media training. Spending on media monitoring has also fallen, from $26,185 in 2012-13 to $9866 this year.