The end of an era

I will admit that I thought Australia would win the ashes. For the sole reason that England's Batsman would not be able to handle Warne and McGrath and while this may still be the case surely we are seeing the end of an era.

The signs that Australia were beginning to fade were evident in the test series against NZ. Sure they thrashed us in each test but their top order failed on a few occasions against a pretty average NZ attack, Gilchrist came to the rescue each time and order was restored.

ultimately this is very good for cricket. Australia will still probably be the best test team for the next year or two, but they are going to get beaten. The aura of invincibility is slowing fading away.

So this is not the end of the Australian era, it is just the end of the "Australia being untouchable" era.

As to who will win the ashes...... WHO KNOWS but it is the greatest test cricket I have witnessed

Greatest test match in modern history

Obviously i am not talking about the all blacks match on the weeked.
Surely the 2nd ashes test is the greatest test match in modern history. It had everything (except a sensational 100 from someone). Plenty of body line bowling, fast scoring, quick wickets and the most amazing finish. I will remember for a long time listening to the morning session and hearing the impossible nearly become possible only to be ripped away at the last second, that whole game encaptured everything that is good about sport

Maori pension at 60?

I see one of the Maori parties policies is to allow super ann to Maori at the age of 60 as the life expectancy of Maori is not the same as Pakeha. I watched a tv debate on this and the side against the legislation provided a very solid argument

This policy is flawed for so many reasons.

1) Superannuation is on borrowed time as it is, due to the baby boomers and the fact that elderly will soon make up a very high percentage of New Zealanders we can expect to see dramatic reductions in the amount of Super ann being paid to everyone, no people group should be expecting to live off a large government super plan, instead the government should be doing more to encourage private pensions scheme

2) Their are other races that also have a short life expectancy, but their is nothing in the policy to cater for them

3) Surely you should be trying to deal with the issues that cause a shorter Maori life span then simply accepting it as a fact and paying out super at a younger age

4) If two people have lived next door to one another and worked at the same job all their lives, one should not get to retire 5 years younger just becuase they are of a different race.