Daniel Hutchinson From The Hutch

Winston is in the limelight again but I'm not 100 per cent sure what the court case is all about. As far as I can tell it stems from an overpayment of his super which he promptly paid back when he was told by the friendly, albeit chatty people at the Ministry of Social Development.

I understand that he then found out that others had found out that the ministry had found out about the thing he had just found out about. Winston had to tell everyone about it before anyone else found out. This is so nobody would find out the wrong way.

In the MSD's defence, only 11 people in the organisation knew all the details, or was it 26? Plus they had to tell a couple of ministers, because of a ‘no surprises' policy. Surprise! Someone – and we don't know who - also told a journalist who promptly told no one about it. The ministers also didn't tell anyone else about it except, perhaps some other ministers.

Anyway, the law suit is in full swing and a few MSD officials are sweating but, as far as I can tell, we can be fairly certain that the person who told the most people was Winston himself.

Personally, I'd like to say I knew nothing at all about it but, like everyone else, I now know more about it than I ever wanted to.

Euthanasia

As you may know, the End of Life Choice Bill passed its third reading in Parliament by 69 votes to 51. It now goes to a referendum for the people to decide for themselves.

I wasn't going to tackle this one because obviously death and suffering is pretty heavy stuff. People do have a dark humour and irreverence when it comes to talk of their own mortality. How else could we contemplate the end of our lives?

People quite often tell their loved ones 'you can have me put down if I get like that”, or words to that effect. My own wife gave me permission to do just that. I'm like ‘oh, right, thanks babe but I doubt I could even take the cat in when it's time. Maybe one of the kids could do it'.

This is about as deeply as many people need to think about it. For some, it is a far more serious conversation.

It seems the vast majority of people are compassionate enough to understand the reasons for a euthanasia law. The opposition is partly around practicalities and abuse but I suspect it has a lot to do with personal beliefs and experiences. For those who haven't thought about it, or don't have a strong opinion, it really doesn't take long to challenge yourself. And you really should.

Because the reality is, someone will have to administer the final treatment and that act is both a very human and compassionate thing to do but also a concept that is so contrary to human instinct.

Parking roulette

First a disclaimer – I work in the CBD and have a Three Little Pigs approach to parking. Get there before the big bad wolf and nab one of the few free all-day parks.

This doesn't always work so sometimes it is a case of paying for parking. When these parks are not available the options become quite terrifying. You can join the big ‘musical cars' game, where inner city workers shift their vehicles about every few hours but someone always misses out. The really brave people cycle to work.

Everyone is looking forward to the big new building on Harington St of course. This will be a haven for commuters of every kind. It will even have showers so the cyclists can wash the blood off, if they have managed to survive the journey.

So, it is a bit worrying that the building has been delayed because it needs to be re-designed. I'm no engineer, but even I know you are supposed to design the building before you build it.

All Blacks

Now, if you haven't been shoulder tapped for the All Black's coaching role then you should be very insulted because half the country has.

I'm pretty sure I was invited, even though there is no direct evidence of that, so I'm just putting together my coaching team now.

First pick of course will be young Swedish environmentalist Greta Thunberg, purely for the rousing half-time speeches. Like this one ….

'You are failing us … But the young people are starting to understand your betrayal. The eyes of all future generations are upon you. And if you choose to fail us, I say we will never forgive you.”

Post match conferences will be hosted by none other than Donald Trump, that way, even the biggest defeats will mighty victories that we can all be proud of.

Our attack coach will be Brian Tamaki for the fire and brimstone factor while our defence coach is Rob Kardashian for his sterling work with O J Simpson.

daniel@thesun.co.nz