The magazine for MAS Members

PLUS

STAYING ON MESSAGEThe story behind the txt

On MAS

Business: The value of ownership

Personal finance: Trusts Travel: Vienna

November 2014

publisherMAS 19-21 Broderick Rd Johnsonville Wellington 6037

websitemas.co.nz

mailing addressOn MAS PO Box 13042 Johnsonville Wellington 6440

phone0800 800 627

head office+64 4 478 8863

fax+64 4 477 0109

emailonmas@mas.co.nz

managing editorLindsay Huthnance

The information contained in On MAS is of a general nature and should not be used or relied upon as a substitute for detailed advice or as a basis for formulating business decisions.

The opinions of contributors are their own and not necessarily those of the publisher or editor.

© 2014. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced in whole or part without the prior permission of the publisher.

ISSN 2230-5823SUPER FANS

Novemberx2014

1 From the CEO

2 Member story: Staying on message

6 Your space

8 MAS updates

10 Business: The value of ownership

13 Personal finance: To trust, or not to trust?

16 Technology: Right here write now

19 Life: Good wood

22 Family: Money talks for children

25 Travel: In tune with Vienna

28 Music: Desert island discs

29 MAS news

31 Student news

33 Motoring

34 Wine

36 Great reads

WE WANT YOUR STORIESAre you a MAS Member who has travelled far and wide to follow your favourite sports team? You may have done all of the legs of an All Blacks tour, or perhaps you’ve globetrotted to cheer on the Kiwis at the Olympic Games. Or maybe you’re a diehard fan who goes up and down the country to support your regional team in a lesser-known sport.

If so, and you’d be interested in being profiled in an upcoming issue of On MAS, we’d love to hear from you. Please let us know by emailing onmas@mas.co.nz or writing to On MAS at Freepost 884, MAS, PO Box 13042, Johnsonville, Wellington 6440.

*All material is edited and published at the editor’s discretion.

10 BusinessThe value of ownership

13 Personal financeTrusts

25 TravelVienna

On MAS is produced on New Zealand’s first CO2-neutral printing installation, using no alcohol-based pollutants.

Printed on environmentally responsible paper that complies with the requirements of environmental systems EMAS and ISO14001, using vegetable-based inks.

On MAS

The risk is realThe large Aotea fault line discovered under Wellington Harbour early last month, with traces running toward Chaffers Marina and onto Oriental Bay Beach, was a reminder to us all about the risk of future earthquakes we continue to face in New Zealand.

FROM THE CEO

October also saw warnings from the Earthquake Commission (EQC) and the New Zealand Bankers’ Association that last year’s industry shift from replacement to sum insured house insurance policies has resulted in underinsurance and threatened the ability of communities to recover from natural disasters.

The Sunday Star Times1 highlighted EQC’s concern about the change and its impact on the organisation’s own key objective of ‘helping households and communities recover from natural disasters’ as published in its Statement of Performance Expectations 2014-15. “It does rely on people buying the right amount of cover – the risk is that you get underinsurance which starts to impact the recovery,” EQC Chief Executive Ian Simpson said.

The level of underinsurance remains very significant, according to a survey referenced in a New Zealand Herald2 article that found more than 400 houses mortgaged to one of the major banks uncovered a collective insurance gap of around $80 million.

Bankers’ Association Chief Executive Kirk Hope emphasised how critical it is that people accurately calculate the replacement value of their biggest asset, as a ‘default’ sum insured would not reflect a property’s unique features, topography or additions that could increase rebuild costs – particularly any increase to the square metre area.

Knowing is everything Fortunately the message about underinsurance seems to be getting out there: the Herald article referenced a survey of more than 5,000 visitors at the 2014 Home Shows in Auckland and Wellington found an improvement in homeowner knowledge of the risk of relying on the default sum insured.

In the same article Insurance Council spokesman Samson Samasoni said no one knows exactly how many New Zealand homes are underinsured: “The only people who can tell you whether they’ve got sufficient cover are the homeowners themselves.”

1 stuff.co.nz/business/industries/10580843/EQC-warns-insurance-threatens-recovery

2 nzherald.co.nz/property/news/article.cfm?c_id=8&objectid=11334440

We understand how important it is to have the right details about the homes we insure, so if you have an Area Replacement House insurance policy with us, you will have or will soon receive an email requesting you validate the details we have about yours.

Your reply to a simple online form pre-populated with the details we have about your house (included as a link in the email you receive) will give us confidence that the cover for your property reflects a realistic estimate of the costs that we would expect to pay for rebuilding your house if destroyed.

We’d like to thank the more than 1,800 Members who have now completed the form, a great result so far. Please review the information and submit your validation to us, even if all of your details are correct.

In this issue we highlight new and advancing technology for the health sector, I hope you enjoy it.

Martin Stokes Chief Executive Officer

Cover story

MAS Member Ahmad Jubbawey

is sending reminder txts to

millions of patients every year.

1On MAS The magazine for MAS Members

MEMBER STORY

Staying on message

2 November 2014

A chance conversation with a physiotherapist led one MAS Member to develop a health system that reaches millions of Kiwis.

If your practice uses text messages to remind

patients about upcoming appointments,

there’s a good chance that you use Vensa

Health to deliver them. The company’s mobile

health service is installed in more than 750

general practices and healthcare providers

around the country, and is responsible for

delivering messages to more than three

million New Zealanders every year.

Ahmad Jubbawey, founder of Vensa Health,

says his company’s mission is to close the gap

between people and their health, and provide

solutions that add value to both practice

and patient. Vensa’s TXT2Remind system,

for example, enables practices to deliver

appointment, screening and medication

reminders as well as key health messages

directly to patients via text message and

interactive mobile content delivery.

The Government has even adopted the technology to help tackle all four of its health priorities: smoking, immunisations, heart health and cervical screening. Ahmad estimates that in the past year alone, TXT2Remind has resulted in 200,000 fewer

hospital visits because of prompt and timely access to primary care services, which equates to a saving of over $300m.

It’s the kind of success that attracts attention. Ahmad and Vensa Health have won several business and health sector leadership awards, and even caught the eye of Red Herring, the technology publisher credited with predicting the rise of tech behemoths Facebook, Google, eBay, Twitter and others.

In fact, the chance circumstances that sparked the idea and Ahmad’s determination to evolve it into a commercial product read like a Silicon Valley fairy tale.

Happy new yearBorn in Iraq, 12-year-old Ahmad left his homeland with his parents and two siblings to escape the turmoil of two wars.

His father, a pharmacist working for an Australian pharmaceutical company, and his mother, also a pharmacist and a teacher at a university in Jordan, applied for residency in New Zealand under the skilled migrant

By Nick Helm

programme. The Al-Jubbawey family was

granted residency and young Ahmad had a

new home in Auckland.

“I still remember the day we arrived – it was

1 January 1996. It was like the beginning of our

life all over again,” says Ahmad. “Culturally, it

couldn’t have been more different. I’d never

seen anything like it before, it was like East

meets West. I saw people walking around

barefoot, for example, and wondered if they

were poor and couldn’t afford shoes. I had no

idea what was going on at first,” he says.

Ahmad couldn’t speak or understand a word

of English, so he took ESOL classes and

within three months he’d picked up enough to

join all the other kids his age in fourth form at

Mount Albert Grammar School.

“My parents are quite traditional and my

upbringing was quite conservative, so they

were adamant that I had to have a proper

education. They wanted me to go through the

full New Zealand education system, through

high school and then university. So that’s

what I did.”

3On MAS The magazine for MAS Members

His parents arranged private tutoring to help him through bursary-level physics, chemistry, statistics and calculus, but he also began to develop a rudimentary interest in computer software and programming.

“I didn’t know the intimate details of what technology was about at that stage – the software, coding and language that actually make a computer work were completely unknown – but I had to do something when I went to university, so I picked a degree in computer science because it interested me,” he says.

“I remember that first year was tough. I struggled fiercely with programming and the tasks and assignments that they gave us. We had to design games in some assignments and it just didn’t make any sense to me. It just seemed like another world.”

It would have been easy to give up and try something else, but Ahmad says something happened that turned everything around.

“I used to use the gym and visit the university physiotherapist all the time. One day, out of the blue, he said, ‘Ahmad, you keep missing your appointments. But mate, you’re not the only one with a problem – I’ve got seven or eight other students who don’t turn up for their appointments either’,” he says. “I didn’t know it at the time, but that conversation would change my life.”

A problem to solve“I thought, ‘Wow, this is really interesting, there’s a real opportunity here’. So I went and

spoke to a classmate who was a software engineer. He suggested that we start a company because it would look good on our CVs if future employers thought we’d worked for real people,” he laughs. “But something about starting a company just stuck in my

head. I don’t know what it was, but something made me believe that, yes, I could start a company and make money doing something I enjoyed. Why not?”

From that point, events began to move swiftly.

“We started out looking for a way to solve the physiotherapist’s problem. Back then, everybody had one of those coloured Alcatel mobile phones – the orange, blue, green and white plastic ones. They were the cool thing to carry at the time. So we thought mobile marketing might be pretty interesting; perhaps we could do something there,” he says.

“Now, remember we were first-year students at this point, still just kids aged 19 and 20, with no money, no nothing, just big ideas. But we’d seen other companies in the mobile marketing space that had been built up from nothing by guys who now dominated the

market and had other big brands starting to

join and be part of their technology.

“We asked ourselves what we needed

to be different but achieve the same

kind of success. So we went back to that

conversation with the physiotherapist and

put the two together. We came up with a

solution and I remember thinking, ‘Well, this

looks pretty damn interesting, we can build

something here’,” he says.

Ahmad’s physiotherapist provided the

pair with unrestricted access to his patient

management system software so they could

investigate ways to integrate their ideas, and

he provided useful suggestions for ways the

system might work.

“Whatever we came up with, I remember it was

very important to me for us to be the first to

do it and have a company that did something

unique. That was our mantra at the time and

we were very committed to it,” he says.

“We didn’t have more than a few hundred

dollars in the bank between us, but we spent

all our time in the University of Auckland

computer laboratory working on writing

software for this thing. To hell with lectures.

To hell with assignments,” he says.

“We had a wealth of computer scientists

around the campus and we weren’t shy

about asking questions and getting people

to give us feedback on how things should

be coded. Interestingly, it was only then that

programming started to make some sense to

me. All the other times I had not, in my simple

brain, been able to apply it to the assignments

and the work that the university set out, but as

soon as I had a practical, real-world problem

to work on, it all clicked into place.”

Testing timesSix weeks later they emerged from the

computer lab with a working prototype and

asked to install it on the physiotherapist’s

patient management system.

“I remember him saying to me, ‘You need

to have a licence agreement. You need to

sign a proper contract. If you’re trading as

a proper company you need to have your

paperwork in place’. So we somehow found

$1,000 and got a lawyer to write up a proper

licensing agreement. I think the fee was $40

per month to use the service and 25 or 30

cents for every message that went out to

patients,” he says.

“My goal is to reach half a billion

people by 2020. I want Vensa

to be the Facebook of mobile

health. I want to put healthcare

in people’s pockets.”

– Ahmad Jubbawey

4 November 2014

“I took the contract to my physiotherapist and he said, ‘Okay, Ahmad. With these sorts of contract you should initial all pages like this and you need to put your signature in here and date it here’. He was fantastic. That was back in 2002 and he has been paying us that $40 every month ever since. He’s still a customer today – customer number one.”

Even as an early prototype, the precursor to TXT2Remind worked well. In the first week that the system was operational, Ahmad’s physiotherapist reported a drop in the number of missed appointments of more than 50%. With fewer no-shows, not only could he make more bookings and generate more income, but he had more satisfied customers.

“I admit, when we heard about that, we got pretty excited. Everything we wanted seemed like it was within reach,” he says.

“But it didn’t take long before we had to think about the rest of our university degrees – we had commitments to coursework and two more years of university to get through. I still can’t fully explain why, but we took the conservative option, went back to class and finished the curriculum. A lot of people made fun of us for that, telling us we were out of our minds to give up such a big opportunity.”

Ahmad says it’s a decision he often thinks about, but not one he regrets.

“Everything I have done has got me to where I am today, but that choice probably slowed down my professional growth by two or three years. In hindsight, given the degree of uncertainty, the support network I had around me and my own personality, I can completely justify the fact that I continued,” he says. “In some ways I think my choice goes back to my family’s traditional roots and the need to finish university that is driven into you. Leaving all that behind was a very scary and uncertain prospect.”

So, two years later, Ahmad graduated with a degree in computer science and had to decide what to do with his life.

“Right after I left university the conservative thinking came back – must get a job now! – so I ended up taking a role with a software outsourcing company working in quality assurance,” he says. “The interesting thing is, I had some of the smartest people around me and I was in charge of making sure that their work was up to standard. I was really, really good at that job and it got me focused on all the little details you need to make proper, productionised software.”

Making a go of itInevitably, his thoughts turned back to the business he’d put aside a couple of years earlier.

“I just chipped away at it to begin with, but it wasn’t long before we picked up a second physiotherapist. Then, all of a sudden, I just knew this was what I wanted to do,” he says. “I found myself working for somebody else during the day and furiously working on my own business at night. I got ruthlessly efficient with my day job to make sure that I had the largest possible window to focus on my own company on the side.”

Ahmad stayed in the quality assurance role for the next six months, before turning his full attention to his business.

“I’d managed to save up about $7,000, so we used that money to hire our first developer. He created a productionised version of what would eventually become Vensa’s TXT2Remind tool. It took about three months to complete, but I was able to help with the development and do a lot of the quality assurance work myself,” he says. “It was at that point too – the beginning of 2006 – that my co-founder moved overseas, so I bit the

bullet, reincorporated the company as Vensa Health and rented professional premises in Khyber Pass Road.”

Since Vensa Health officially launched TXT2Remind in 2007, more than 200 new healthcare practices have signed up to use the service each year. Today, more than 70% of New Zealand practices use it every day.

“It feels good to go out and prove wrong all the people who made fun of what we were trying to achieve. I have, in some respects, naively moved in an area that I know nothing about, but I have a willingness to learn and grow, and apply and re-apply,” says Ahmad.

“These days the doubters aren’t friends, family and those in my inner circle, they’re international competitors, industry commentators and other companies. They’re louder and more dangerous, but the message is the same. You have to believe in yourself, believe in your team and go out and give it a crack. If you succeed, then great. If you fail, you’ve learned something and you’ve grown from the experience.”

No-one could accuse Ahmad of thinking small. Right now he’s positioning Vensa to facilitate a fundamental shift in healthcare away from the doctor’s office into the patient’s home.

“My goal is to reach half a billion people by 2020. I want Vensa to be the Facebook of mobile health. I want to put healthcare in people’s pockets,” he says. “To achieve that, we’re doing a lot of work to make healthcare more accessible, make healthcare fun and, dare I say it, make healthcare cool. If I’m fortunate enough for my bubble not to burst, then I plan to make that happen at all costs.”

5On MAS The magazine for MAS Members

Award for first New Zealand medical manual app

MEMBER NEWS

SOMETHING YOU WOULD LIKE US TO KNOW?This is Your space – a forum for you to talk with other Members. So if you’re fundraising, promoting an event or simply want to congratulate someone, this is the space for you. On MAS goes to more than 24,000 Members, so it’s a great way to get your message out there. We also welcome your feedback and suggestions, so please keep them coming. You can email us at onmas@mas.co.nz. All material is edited and published at the editor’s discretion.

Your

spa

ce

25 years of performance for artist doctors

The New Zealand Association of Artist Doctors (NZAAD) celebrated its 25th anniversary with ‘A Night at the Proms’ at the Aurora Centre in Christchurch on 4 October.

More than 600 attendees enjoyed the programme, which included musical performances ranging from choir and rock to jazz and orchestra as well as traditional Indian dance, poetry reading and an excerpt from the Musical Students’ Revue.

MAS Member Tim Wilkinson of the New Zealand Doctors Orchestra says, “The show was a celebration of the diverse talent among doctors in New Zealand that conveyed a sense of the fun that we’ve had over the years. And it’s certainly a great way to build cohesion within the health professions and health service in the region.”

Read more about NZAAD at artistdoctors.org.nz.

MAS Corporate Member Auckland Eye won the top non-clinical prize at the New Zealand Private Surgical Hospitals Association biennial Leaders in Quality Awards on 11 September. The awards recognise excellence in 35 surgical facilities nationwide.

The first medical manual app developed in New Zealand, the Auckland Eye Manual is an ophthalmic diagnostic resource with a reference guide covering all sub-speciality eye diseases. Created by 14 leading eye surgeons, the manual was initially released in print in response to requests for assistance in clinical practice. The app version is now widely used by GPs and optometrists, as well as by the University of Auckland as an educational tool for all fifth-year students.

Auckland Eye ophthalmologist Dr Sue Ormonde says, “Our expert team of eye specialists worked hard to ensure it was a comprehensive reference for GPs and optometrists around the country. We are proud of our innovative approach to creating

a user-friendly app that helps the diagnosis of eye disorders all over New Zealand.”

The Auckland Eye Manual app is free and you can download it on iOS and Android devices.

Members of the orchestra mid-performance.

Auckland Eye General Manager Moira McInerney and Business Development Manager Nia Stonex with the award and certificate.

6 November 2014

Massey University third-year veterinary students and MAS Members Alexandra (Alex) Moss and Kate Davidson will volunteer their services at the Esther Honey Foundation clinic in Rarotonga for three weeks this summer.

Esther Honey is the only veterinary clinic in the Cook Islands and as such caters to a wide variety of animal species. The foundation makes a huge contribution to the community

at large – and runs solely on the generosity of volunteers and donations.

Alex and Kate will volunteer in all aspects of the clinic, including surgery, rehabilitation and the daily care of patients. “We would greatly appreciate support from anyone in the veterinary community interested in donating supplies, even those that have expired,” Alex says.

More information on the Esther Honey Foundation can be found at estherhoney.org. To arrange to donate supplies, please call Alex on 022 055 1500 or email alex.moss@windowslive.com.

Massey vet students off to Rarotonga

Kerikeri GP, MAS Member and photographer Dr Chris Reid launched Patient: Portraits from a Doctor’s Surgery on 13 October.

Chris began photographing patients in his consulting room two years ago. Many of the photos in the book include captions describing the subjects’ illnesses or other reasons for visiting the doctor. All patients were asked for their permission and given time to think about it or talk to their family before being photographed.

“As a GP I became aware of the privileged position I was in,” he says. “As a photographer I could capture an entire community linked through health.”

The book is published by Craig Potton Publishing and all royalties will go to St John Northland.

Northland GP captures a community in photos

Emergency and rescue doctor tackles desert races

Dr Inia Raumati, MAS Member and Auckland Emergency and Westpac Rescue doctor, aims to be the first New Zealand runner to complete the 4 Deserts race series in a calendar year.

Inia has completed ultra-running races in some of the most inhospitable desert climates and formidable terrains in the world in 2014, running in the Sahara in March, the Gobi in May and the Atacama in October – and will attempt what’s known as ‘The Last Desert’ in Antarctica this month.

Each event is self-supported over 250 kilometres, split into six stages: Stages 1-4 are approximately a marathon long each, Stage 5 is the feared ‘long march’, typically 70-80 kilometres, which sees some competitors racing all night with temperatures often dropping below freezing – and the remainder is completed in Stage 6. The fastest competitors will finish in a total of around 25 hours, the slowest around 70 hours.

Inia recently presented his experiences at the Te ORA Hui-ā-Tau & Scientific Conference 2014 for Māori medical practitioners, and says he would like to encourage others to take part in future races with him as a team to help promote Māori health. His goal is: Whaia te iti

kahurangi ki te tu ahu koe me he maunga

teitei. (Aim for the highest cloud so that if you miss it, you will hit a lofty mountain).

The 4 Deserts series is ranked in the top 10 endurance events in the world by Time magazine – more information is available at 4deserts.com.

Dr Inia Raumati running in the Atacama Desert in Chile in October.

7On MAS The magazine for MAS Members

MAS UPDATES

Protect yourself in a power outageThe outage of 5-7 October that left 85,000 Auckland households without power and cost businesses millions of dollars was a reminder for all of us to think about how we would cope in a similar situation.

Your home contentsWhile we should all have candles and batteries on hand, following some other basic tips can help to minimise damage:

■■ Turn all vulnerable items such as televisions, personal computers and medical equipment off at the wall socket.

■■ Do not turn off refrigerators or freezers –

and if you have ice in your freezer, place

it in a bowl so that it doesn’t flood your

kitchen if melted. Place towels by fridge

and/or freezer doors to soak up water,

and check them regularly.

■■ If you leave the house, move valuable

items out of sight of windows and

be sure to check that all doors and

windows are locked. If your home

is fitted with an alarm, contact the

monitoring company as theft is more

common when alarms are disabled.

Your business assetsPower outages can be very costly if your

business equipment is not protected.

Ensure that an uninterrupted power

source (UPS) is fitted to hardware

such as computers, data centres and

telecommunication equipment, and other

electrical equipment where an unexpected

power disruption could cause injuries,

serious business disruption or data loss.

You can use the UPS to shut down

the appliances correctly, and once

successful you should switch them off

at the power supply.

Loss of profitMAS Business Interruption cover as part of

our Business Risks insurance policy covers

you for the loss of profits suffered when

your business cannot operate normally due

to an insured event.

Having Business Interruption cover in

place means that you are covered for

consequential lost profits and increased

costs for a number of situations including:

■■ business disruption if a building you occupy as a tenant is damaged.

■■ the closure or prevention of access to your premises.

■■ interruptions to the supply of goods, services or utilities to your premises.

■■ book debts that you cannot recover due to destroyed records.

We also offer optional natural disaster cover under Business Risks policy.

To help determine how much Business Risks insurance cover you need, you can access our calculation guide to estimate your anticipated future gross profit value. The automatically calculating form is available at mas.co.nz/Products+and+Services/Insurance/Business+Risks#interruption.

If you’d like to talk to a MAS adviser about insuring your business, call us on 0800 800 627 or email info@mas.co.nz.

This article provides a general summary of Business Interruption cover. For full details, please refer to our Business Risks policy which you can obtain by calling the number above.

Five stars for Growth and Aggressive fundsCANSTAR five-star ratings for

outstanding value were re-affirmed

for the Medical Assurance Society

KiwiSaver Growth and Aggressive

funds in 2014. The awards reflect

the funds’ competitive fee

structures. CANSTAR noted that

a management fee of 1% (with a

minimum $50 flat fee) and the

trustee fee provide

certainty of cost

for Members,

as well as the

$0 membership

fees. Product

features also

contributed to

the ratings.

Investments in the MAS KiwiSaver Plan are not guaranteed. Copies of the latest registered prospectus and investment statement can be obtained at mas.co.nz or by calling 0800 800 627.

8 November 2014

The difference a dollar a day makesWhether you’re a new driver or the parent of one, motor vehicle insurance for young people is critically important. The first 6-12 months of driving unsupervised are the most risky and accidents can prove very costly if you’re not fully covered.

James, 22, had recently purchased his first car using a loan from the bank of mum and dad. He had just two payments left when disaster struck:

“I was waiting to turn across three lanes of

traffic, there was a truck in the first lane that

waved me through, and as I turned I was

unexpectedly hit by a car travelling down

the side of the traffic on the median strip.”

Fortunately James had insurance, but unfortunately it was only a Third Party, Fire and Theft policy – all the damages to the other vehicle were covered, but not the damage to his own:

“I looked online for quotes and chose the

cover that gave me the least financial

stress – it was a price I could afford at the

time. The value of the vehicle is low, so I

wasn’t worried about covering that. But

after the accident the cost of repairing the

damage is worth more than the car itself

and I can’t afford to replace it. I’ll just keep

driving it until the warrant of fitness expires

and then decide what to do.”

Here’s a summary of what is and isn’t covered under the types of vehicle insurance we offer:

Fire and Theft – cover for vehicles that are not being driven on the road. It covers fire

and theft of the vehicle, but not liability for any damage.

Third Party Only – the bare minimum cover that all vehicles should have. It covers your liability for both accidental damage to other people’s property and bodily injuries to other people, but not damage to your vehicle.

Third Party, Fire and Theft – covers both the Fire and Theft option and the Third Party Only option.

Comprehensive (full) – covers the sudden accidental loss of your vehicle and your liability for both accidental damage to other people’s property and bodily injuries to other people.

James’s view of insurance has changed after the accident, particularly now that he knows what the difference in cost between Comprehensive cover and his current cover

would have been before the accident: a 22-year-old male based in Wellington with a policy on a Toyota Celica valued $3,200 would pay $254.24 per year for Third Party, Fire and Theft cover, compared with $403.74 per year for Comprehensive cover.* The total difference is $149.50 per year, or 40.96 cents per day.

At MAS our motor vehicle excesses are some of the lowest in the market. We’ll even reduce our premiums for under-25-year-olds if cover is restricted to drivers who are named on the policy.**

If you’d like to know more about MAS Motor Vehicle insurance, call us on 0800 800 627 or email info@mas.co.nz.

This article provides a general summary of MAS’s Motor Vehicle insurance policy. For full details, please refer to the policy document which is available at mas.co.nz or by calling the number above.

* standard underwriting terms and conditions apply. ** subject to minimum premium.

Tell us about your houseIf you have MAS House insurance, you will

have received or will soon receive an email

requesting that you validate the details we

have about your home.

This is a simple yet important exercise

that will help us to:

■■ have confidence that the cover for

your property reflects a realistic

estimate of the costs that we would

expect to pay for rebuilding your

house if it’s destroyed.

■■ check that your premium is correctly calculated, because premiums are based on factors such as the age of your house, its location, its materials and any special features.

We have developed a simple online form that is pre-populated with the details we have about your house – it is included as a link in the email you receive.

Please review the information and submit the validation to us, even if all of your details are correct.

9On MAS The magazine for MAS Members

BUSINESS

Buying or selling a practice can be a daunting prospect. While business ownership isn’t for everyone, some people overlook some of the benefits it brings, so the idea needn’t send you into a cold sweat. Good advice is readily available and coming to grips with a few basic principles can make the process straightforward.

While health practice values have increased in recent years, there has been a significant variation in sale prices. Practices that are part of large, well managed urban group practices located in main centres are highly valued, while small rural practices in isolated areas can attract little or no value.

Even in major cities, solo practices have a relatively limited market potential. Younger GPs in particular often do not want the responsibility of being owners, managers and clinicians – and see other advantages of buying into larger group practices, including better work-life balance, collegial support and management expertise.

The primary motivation for owning a business is often to be in control of your own future, and with this opportunity comes the need to rise to the challenges inherent in self-employment. Owning a successful business is not just a matter of having excellent clinical skills.

To be successful, there’s no doubt that you will need to develop business skills together with a broader knowledge of the profession. Often health professionals feel that their lack of business skills will preclude them taking up business ownership. While this is a valid concern, it has not stopped many highly successful business owners, and those in

By Nick Helm

THE VALUE OF OWNERSHIP

10 November 2014

larger practices have the scale to employ capable practice managers to assist.

Practice ownership requires an unwavering commitment to the practice and its patient community, but the wider range of ownership models now available allows working owners more flexibility, especially within larger practice groups. While once this commitment to the patient community was for a lifetime, practice owners are now able to move to different regions or countries partway through their careers, or take on different career challenges at various stages of their lives.

Generally, if a business owner makes a good purchasing decision from the outset, their practice is more likely to become a significant asset that can be readily sold for good value.

But what determines good value? When an owner decides to buy or sell a practice, a valuer will commonly choose between two methodologies to determine its value:

1. Goodwill (the established reputation of a business) plus assets.

2. Future earnings.

Like it sounds, the first method involves separately assessing the value of goodwill and tangible assets. For general medical and dental practices, goodwill has historically been assessed as a percentage of gross income, but it can vary for a number of reasons, including the profitability and location of the practice, the patient base, the condition of the premises, and the skill, availability and cost of the workforce.

For general medical practice, gross income is usually derived from four streams – capitation, ACC and other payments from the government, co-payments from patients, and supplementary income, such as add-on services that the practice offers. Co-payments are the fees that patients pay to the practice in return for consultations with their GPs but patient fees are also charged for nursing and other services.

With higher capitation-based funding, goodwill can be dominated by income streams derived from the enrolled patient base, especially where capitation funding is a large portion of the total revenue.

As a result, practice goodwill is now often valued on the basis of a dollar value per enrolled patient. The figure can be as low as $10 to upwards of $150 per enrolled patient, but somewhere around $50-$80 is more common. From a purely business value

perspective, a practice should aim to maximise its capitation income with as many people actually walking through the door as possible.

The downside of using a percentage of gross income to estimate goodwill is that it does not take into account the variations in expenses that may apply across practices, and hence the resulting expected profit and return on investment to the owner. This is especially relevant when a practice is part of a group practice with high expenses, where the buyer has little control over their share of those expenses.

General medical practices tend to be high-personal-effort businesses, so the contribution that fixed assets make to the overall value is often relatively low. If a practice owns premises, specialised equipment or other substantial tangible assets, they may contribute significantly to the value – but for most practices it comes down to furniture, computers and the rooms themselves, which often only have replacement value, at best.

As amalgamated and corporate practices have become more widespread, a more traditional business valuation method is now more commonly used. Future earnings methods look at the value of the practice to an investor as separate from the value that a working practitioner may place on it. With this approach, the valuer estimates the maintainable earnings and applies a multiplier to those earnings to establish the value of the practice. The salary cost of the practitioner is typically adjusted for.

“If a business owner makes a good purchasing decision from the outset, their practice is more likely to become a significant asset that can be readily sold for good value.”

HealthyPractice® is for your businessIf you are a practice owner, MAS’s HealthyPractice® online business support service has been designed especially for you. HealthyPractice® can provide business advice and support customised for general medical, veterinary, dental, medical specialist and allied health practices. In addition to providing practice owners and managers with a wealth of business information, templates and tools, HealthyPractice® offers subscribers unlimited access to our advice line for any business and employment-related issues.

MAS can help you to become a successful business owner with information and support for your specific needs. If you are thinking about business ownership and would like to know more, contact us on 0800 800 627 or email business@mas.co.nz.

11On MAS The magazine for MAS Members

The likely maintainable earnings can be estimated in a variety of ways, but a common approach calculates the practice’s historical earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) and deducts the cost of remuneration – sometimes also called the super profit.

The drawback with this approach is that it requires an analysis of the EBITDA to ensure that it is a good indicator of future earnings. The historical EBITDA also needs to be adjusted to take into account any income not available to the buyer or expenses that will not be incurred. Nevertheless, valuers use EBITDA as it provides a good estimate of cash flow while essentially ignoring a practice’s tax structure and the way the owner financed the business. This is especially useful when comparing the value of two businesses that have been financed in quite different ways.

The multiplier is always hotly debated, but general medical practices can expect multipliers anywhere from 1.5 to 3.5 depending on the business risk, location and growth prospects and the primary care sector in general. A practice that is part of a large, well managed group practice in a major city could expect the multiplier to be around 3 or more, whereas the multiplier for a remote rural location that is difficult to staff may be closer to 1.5.

Typically, the multiplier indicates the degree of confidence in the business’s ability to maintain its earnings. For example, take a practice that generates $1m EBITDA and a prospective purchaser is considering how much they’re prepared to pay. If the buyer considers it a very safe business, they may be willing to pay up to $3.5m, or 3.5 times EBITDA. If it’s a risky business, they’ll want to get their money out as quickly as possible, so they may only be willing to pay $1.5m, or 1.5 times EBITDA.

External factors can also influence the multiplier. A practice with a pharmacy next door will have a higher multiplier than others because the convenience of the pharmacy drives up patient numbers. Similarly, a practice that establishes itself as a one-stop healthcare destination, perhaps with radiology, pathology, physiotherapy and pharmacy services close by, will have an even higher multiplier as the co-location drives additional patients to the practice from an even wider catchment.

Regardless of your circumstances, if you’re considering buying or selling a practice it’s important that you seek sound financial and business advice before you commit to any decision. Business may be more complex than ever, but specialist support is available to ensure that practice ownership is a decision you’ll never regret.

This article is a general guide only and is not a substitute for individually tailored advice.

Finance your practice with MASMAS will consider a loan to purchase a practice, often without the need for mortgage security if the prospective income you’d earn through ownership would be sufficient to repay the borrowed funds over a reasonable time period, for example four to seven years – or if you are able to repay the borrowed funds from other income sources.

We are comfortable about the future of well managed medical, dental and veterinary practices owned by clinicians. If prospective buyers meet our lending criteria, we will lend up to 100% of the purchase price.

Once the debt is repaid, you will have acquired a valuable asset that, when managed successfully, will provide you with investment returns for many years to come. And generally, if you’ve made a good purchase decision from the outset, it’s more likely that your practice can be readily sold for good value to a new practitioner when you’re ready to sell.

If you’d like more information on practice finance, contact your adviser on 0800 800 627 or email info@mas.co.nz.

* Medical Securities Limited’s (MSL’s) normal lending criteria apply for all credit and loans, and your application is subject to acceptance by MSL.

12 November 2014

Trusts can be used in many ways to protect assets and create a measure of both control and flexibility for the future. Trust structures may seem complicated, but after the initial set-up they can be straightforward and provide peace of mind for the future.

Succession planWhether used to protect your assets from creditors or to ensure that your children (and not their partners from failed relationships) can inherit what you leave them upon your death, trusts come with many benefits. “Trusts are a really good way of succession planning,” says Nikki McGill, MAS Member and Principal at Kapiti-based law firm Integra Law Limited.

Do I need a trust?A lawyer should be your first port of call when thinking about whether a trust is right for you. If you are a business owner, asset protection is important in case your company fails and you go into debt. The general risks of owning a business leave you liable to creditors, meaning it’s easy to lose things like your family home. “Trusts allow you to get

PERSONAL FINANCE

By Lee Suckling

TO TRUST, OR NOT TO TRUST?

13On MAS The magazine for MAS Members

into business and take risks, while ensuring

that you still have a roof over your head and

the ability to start again if everything turns to

custard,” adds Nikki.

If you have amassed considerable wealth

and/or assets, trusts provide protection from

unforeseen future events. “A trust is a vehicle

to protect your wealth from failed relationships,”

Nikki explains. “It will ensure that your kids

keep any money you leave them when you

die, and 50% of it won’t be taken away if their

relationships fail.” Trusts can also ensure that

a partner who enters the scene after you’ve

accumulated assets cannot make claims upon

your death or if the relationship fails.

Moreover, trusts prove useful in setting out

special future payments, such as towards a

child’s or grandchild’s education, residential

care for retirement, or even to pay for your

own funeral.

Setting up a trustEvery trust involves three parties: a settlor (who puts assets into the trust), trustees (who manage and legally own everything in the trust), and beneficiaries (who benefit from the trust, such as you and your family). “Generally, the settlor is also a trustee, but it’s a good idea to get an independent trustee too,” says Nikki. Often this can be a lawyer, an accountant or a trusted family friend with no vested interest.

The settlor decides what to put in the trust – whether a house or a business, cash, shares or items of significant value such as artwork. Ownership is transferred to the trust and the ‘trust deed’ sets out the rules for the management of the trust. “The deed should be carefully written by a lawyer,” Nikki says. “A lot can go wrong with poorly written trust deeds that aren’t customised for the intended purposes.”

Several provisions should be set out in the trust deed. “These include who the trustees and beneficiaries are; when and how trustees can be added and removed; who has the right to add/remove beneficiaries; what happens when the trust ends; whether it is a discretionary or fixed trust; and what amendments can be made in the future,” says Nikki.

Discretionary trusts, whereby trustees have full discretion as to which beneficiary gets what assets (often based on the settlor’s letter of wishes), are the most common in New Zealand. These are in contrast to fixed trusts, where entitlements are prescribed in the trust deeds.

Costs and processesSetting up a trust, including transferring one asset (such as a house), will generally cost around $3,500-$5,000. “From then on, if it’s just a holding trust that doesn’t buy or sell anything, there are minimal ongoing costs. Trustees will need to meet once a year (minimum) and minute that meeting, and will sign off annual tax returns.” The trust will have to allow to pay for the independent trustee’s time, ongoing accountancy fees and any expenses (such as travel) involved in getting the trustees together.

Assets are transferred into a trust at market value, and the trust is then indebted to the settlor, as it does not pay them outright. However, the money the trust owes the settlor may remain a debt and will still count as a personal asset until it is either repaid by the trust or reduced over time. This reduction process is called ‘gifting’.

“Trusts allow you to get into business and take risks, while ensuring that you still have a roof over your head and the ability to start again if everything turns to custard.”

– Nikki McGill

14 November 2014

“If the trust has an outstanding debt to you

– say $500k for your house – that is still an

asset that is exposed to any liability,” Nikki

says. “Through gifting to the trust, the debt

owed to you is reduced. Historically, you had

to pay gift duty on gifts over $27k per year,

but this was abolished in 2011 and you can

now gift the debt in one go, for example the

full $500k for your house.”

Hiding assets in a trust Theoretically, trust structures make it easy

for a person to hide their assets. “In terms

of putting things in trusts to avoid creditors,

it won’t work,” says Nikki. “If they are put in

within two years of creditors chasing you,

everything will be automatically undone, and

within five years any transfer will be looked at

very closely and will often be reversed.”

Although not a hard and fast rule, if you put

assets into your trust when your situation is

running smoothly, generally those assets will

be safe from creditors after five years. “Trusts

are designed to protect you when the skies

are blue and things are good, not to hide

things when they’re about to go bad,” Nikki

adds. When trusts are used in other unethical

ways, such as to hide assets from a partner

pending the dissolution of a relationship, trust

deals may be unwound by a court.

RisksThe trust structure has many benefits, but

some pitfalls too. “The downside of a trust

is that you have to consult the trustees

whenever you need anything,” says Nikki.

“Nothing can be done with trust assets without

their unanimous approval.”

It is important to understand that the trustees own the trust’s assets – and there are risks involved in handing over ownership.

“If there’s a falling out with trustees you can’t always access the assets. Going through the courts is a horrible and drawn-out process,” Nikki says.

“Usually, it’s poor documentation and poor communication between parties that put everyone at risk when you’re not able to get trustees to agree.”

There have been many cases of family members taking each other to court because of perceived breaches of trusts’ provisions. In less extreme cases, beneficiaries can end up feeling that trustees are being too restrictive in their administration of a trust. “You have to take action when this is happening, and it can be expensive and time-consuming to resolve,” she says.

Trust assets may also disqualify you from government support later in life, such as the residential care subsidy. “If only one spouse needs care, you will still be assessed as a couple. In that situation anything you have over $119,614, excluding your house and car, must be used to support the spouse in care, and trust assets may be included in the calculation,” says Nikki.

“However, if your house is in a trust, it is not considered to be your house, so you don’t get the house exclusion. This means that if you are living in a house owned by the trust, it may be counted as part of your asset base and you may not qualify for the subsidy until the value of the house has been used to cover the costs of care.”

It is also not possible for a settlor to dictate anything to trustees. Letters of wishes are not legally binding, so it is essential to choose trustees with whom you have longstanding and reliable relationships.

MAS – We cover your individual circumstances

“We don’t set up trusts – our advice is always

to go to a lawyer – but after you have a

trust set up, our insurance products can

be modified to protect it,” says MAS Senior

Adviser Andrew Robb. “When you come to

us and say, ‘I’m setting up a trust’, as your

insurance company we will make sure we

respond accordingly and look after that trust.”

Many Members will own houses, contents,

cars, and businesses, and some or all of

these may be owned by trusts. “We’ll set

up a policy for each – for example, one

for your house and one for your company

– and list the trustees under each policy,”

says Andrew. “Then if and when it comes

to a pay-out, we will pay the trust, not the

owners individually.

“We don’t see a lot of cars owned by trusts,

but it does happen,” he says. Likewise, a

person’s contents are usually owned by an

individual or a couple, not a trust. “In many

trust situations your personal stuff is owned

by you, while the house is in the trust, so

the house and contents insurance is split up

and each is covered separately,” he says.

Setting up multiple policies under different

names and trusts comes at no additional cost

to Members. “And we will still give you the

Goldshield discount for having your home,

contents and vehicle insured together by MAS

– even if the ownership is spread, we will cross-

reference your trusts and personal assets.

“A lot of other insurance companies won’t

do this – they won’t apply their discounts

for multiple covers because they’re insured

under different names,” adds Andrew.

15On MAS The magazine for MAS Members

How much time could you be saving on data entry tasks? On MAS takes a look at how professionals can harness the new breed of Windows handwriting-recognition software and tablets to gain productivity.

Data entryCapturing and entering data is one of the most laborious tasks in many workplaces. To be useful to a business, data of all sorts such as medical histories, client contact details, prescribed solutions and meeting notes must be entered into the organisation’s database system.

The data may be captured manually and entered directly into the computer or taken from notes on paper and typed into the system. Either way these chores take a great deal of time and the problem is exacerbated when the person having to enter the data is also the revenue generator.

Data to be entered may come from sources as varied as client consultations, timesheets,

TECHNOLOGY

By Alan Chew

Right herewrite now

16 November 2014

job sheets and information collected in the field. The laborious nature of entering this data is multiplied if it is written on hard copy forms. However, handwriting recognition has improved spectacularly with Windows 8 software. Couple this with advances in tablet technology, and we now have a very useable tool that is very affordable, easy to use and efficient.

Handwriting recognitionMicrosoft has been developing handwriting-recognition software since 2000. In 2002 it bundled handwriting recognition with its Windows for tablet PCs, and handwriting-recognition technology has evolved in leaps and bounds ever since. I started using the technology extensively in Windows 7, but Windows 8 really shows how far Microsoft has taken the functionality.

With Windows 7 the software was able to convert my handwriting with a high degree of accuracy, but only if I wrote carefully – with Windows 8 the tolerance for bad handwriting has increased exponentially.

TouchscreensTo perform handwriting recognition, you need a touchscreen tablet to write on and a pen to write with. There are many touch technologies available, but the two main ones are ‘analogue resistive’ and ‘digital capacitive’ touch. There are complex technical differences between the two, but put simply, the resistive technology

is an analogue system that features moving

parts, whereas capacitive screens use solid-

state components.

The two major advantages of resistive

touchscreens are price and convenience of

input. Resistive touch panels are relatively

inexpensive to manufacture, and you can

use almost anything to create an input signal:

your fingertip, fingernail, a stylus or the tip of

your ballpoint pen – anything that can exert

pressure will work to an extent.

However, because resistive technology is

analogue, it is prone to drift and needs to be

recalibrated occasionally. Resistive touch

panels are also usually bulkier than capacitive

panels, but the biggest issue is their screens,

which can only detect one touch at a time.

You cannot do things like pinch an image

because that requires touching more than

one point at a time.

Capacitive screens, on the other hand, use

solid-state technology, so there is no drift

and no need for recalibration. They are also

usually slimmer and lighter, and they can

detect multiple touch points at the same time.

Although these screens are more expensive,

they are rapidly gaining market share over

resistive screens. I would not recommend

purchasing a resistive tablet these days.

A disadvantage of a capacitive screen is that

it requires an electrical charge for detection.

Because the human body is electrically

“Although these [capacitive] screens are more expensive, they are rapidly gaining market share over resistive screens.”

“With Windows 8 the tolerance for bad handwriting has increased exponentially.”

Transforming handwriting into digital fonts.

17On MAS The magazine for MAS Members

charged, you can use your finger on a capacitive screen. However, you cannot use your fingernail, the tip of a ballpoint pen or an ordinary stylus because these objects do not conduct sufficient electricity for the capacitive conductors to detect.

Therefore the styli that work with capacitive devices are usually made of conductive material such as aluminium, with dome tips that are composed of a rubberised compound that has conductive material in it. When you hold the pen in your hand, your body’s electricity is conducted by the stylus to the surface of the screen just as if you have used your finger.

Rubberised dome tips must be very broad to transfer enough of the body’s very low electrical charge to reach the conductors. This means you cannot do precise work on the screen, such as drafting CAD drawings or even handwriting. To solve this problem, some manufacturers of capacitive tablets have added a digitising layer to the screen, which allows special pressure-sensitive styli with pointed tips to work.

My advice to readers is, if you’re looking to buy a tablet with a touchscreen today, you should opt for one with a capacitive screen that allows you to use a fine-tipped pen, as the rubber-domed pens severely limit the functionality of the touchscreen.

Electronic data entryOnce you have a capacitive tablet with a fine-tipped stylus that runs Windows 8 (or at least Windows 7), you can use the two technologies to reduce the effort of data entry.

Generally, you can use the technology to

enter data into any program: your patient

management system, Microsoft Outlook

emails, websites, Microsoft Word or Excel. In

most cases, anywhere that you can use your

keyboard to enter data, you can handwrite

the same data into those fields.

You can use your stylus to touch the field (for

example, patient history) where you want to

enter the data. A Windows input panel will

then pop up, which gives you several choices

including an on-screen keyboard as well as

handwriting recognition.

You can choose handwriting recognition and

start writing directly into the panel. As you

write, the system converts your handwriting

into text and when you have completed your

writing you tap on the ‘INSERT’ button and

the system inserts your typed text into the

field that you have chosen.

You may then choose another field and

continue your data entry as before.

If you make mistakes, there are numerous

ways to correct them. There is no need

to train the system to understand your

handwriting – it does so beautifully out of

the box, but you can improve its accuracy by

training the system.

More to comeMy next instalment will touch on how

you can add database-development

technology to the mix and make your data

entry even more efficient, as well as outline

the benefits of designing your own forms

and integrating them with your existing

databases using a Microsoft protocol called

ODBC (Open Database Connectivity) to

save even more time.

“In most cases, anywhere that you can use your keyboard to enter data, you can handwrite the same data into those fields.”

Alan Chew is a chartered accountant and founder of Houston Technology Group, a 28-year-old technology company based in Waikato/Bay of Plenty. Alan is a frequent commentator on how technology can be harnessed to improve business outcomes.

18 November 2014

On the road heading northwest from Nelson, just before the first hill on the way to Havelock and Blenheim, sits one of the hidden treasures of New Zealand. On the hill behind some trees is an unprepossessing building. It is the home of the Centre for Fine Woodworking (CFW), New Zealand’s premier furniture-making, woodworking and design school.

Visiting overseas craftspeople say it is a woodworking school as fine as any in the world. One of these overseas masters, the late James Krenov, inspired John Shaw to start the school with David Haig in 2006. It became a registered charitable trust the following year.

These men are internationally trained master craftsmen in their own right, and their living in the Nelson area has given the school teaching of the highest standard. Head tutor Thorkild Hansen has a background in fine jewellery design and manufacture and offers yet another field of expertise.

Interestingly, this school has had 13 medical doctors pass through one or more of its courses in its eight year history. Some doctors have completed many courses,

which makes ‘MMM – male, middle-aged and medical’ (as the tutors call them) one of the largest subgroups of trainees. Two of the group don’t quite fit the nickname (being female), and the majority are MAS Members.

Fits and starts The very first step in training is a puzzle (in more ways than one) – it introduces the basic skills of sharpening and using tools to plane, mark and cut accurately. A less than perfect step will mean the puzzle will not work. MAS Member Peter Kempthorne, a paediatric anaesthetist from Christchurch, followed these basics with a little trestle table that was cleverly designed by David Haig to incorporate nearly all the skills fundamental to getting started in fine woodwork.

LIFE

19On MAS The magazine for MAS Members

Co-founder John Shaw is used to farewelling basic trainees, and must wonder whether they mean it when they say, “I will be back”. Peter wanted to do the full-time, year-long course, but medical commitments and the aftermath of the earthquakes made this an impossible dream. The school was happy for him to take the course module by module as time permitted.

In his visits to CFW Peter has designed and made a contemporary dining chair that, despite its unusual and organic look, is surprisingly comfortable. The next was a gull-winged wall cabinet that looks simple but is packed with tasks of subtly increasing difficulty. Other courses along the way have produced a sea grass stool made from ash, a fine cabinetmaker’s bench, and several specialist Krenov wooden planes.

MAS Member Paul Trolove is a retired rheumatologist from Nelson who has been working with wood all his life, an interest he’s had to put on hold throughout his career. This is a common theme for the woodworking doctors – the demands of medical school and a busy career often swamp an early interest, but the spark never dies. Later in life there is a chance to reignite it as the medical career begins to wind down.

Preserving the old skillsPaul says that woodwork has given him a way to handle the stress that comes with practising medicine. He is well known for his traditional Victorian rocking horses and has been both a student and a tutor at CFW. Recently Paul has applied the skills he learned as a student at a course run by William Cottrell, arguably one of the country’s

best furniture restorers. He is concerned about the loss of ‘old skills’ and worries that they are taught less and less in today’s schools, and uses every opportunity to instil interest in woodworking in young pupils.

Paul’s restoration skills became indispensable when he received valuable pieces of furniture damaged in the Christchurch earthquakes, notably a 200-year-old grandfather clock. Having read about Paul’s skills, ordinary mortals may

think this is all a bit intimidating, but every student receives fantastic encouragement and support. Learning opportunities at CFW abound for the modest woodworker as well as the accomplished – the school offers solutions to common problems such as tool management and workshop safety that can discourage amateurs.

Exact sciencesPeter Kempthorne says doctors are used to being seen as experts in their professional lives, but the CFW environment removes this expectation. “The personal development from learning new and improving old skills outside work, and being allowed to be an amateur, demanding only your own best effort, is quite humanising and probably helps us get some perspective on where we may be when we permanently leave our professional lives,” he says.

The reputation of CFW has spread overseas and there is a steady stream of foreign students passing through the school. Peter thinks there must be a connection between medicine and the exacting skills required in fine woodworking. The MMM group comprises a plastic surgeon, an orthopaedic surgeon, a radiologist, a family doctor, a stroke physician and, surprisingly, eight anaesthetists.

As in medicine, the stakes are high in woodworking. Peter spent five weeks

20 November 2014

designing and making his dining chair. “The stress I faced when cutting the tenons at the end of a lamination bend frame that had taken two weeks to make, with no chance of a second attempt, was very similar to the stress I’ve felt when I’ve had to place a breathing tube in a child’s difficult-to-access airway.

“Sometimes in both worlds you just have to get it right first time. Of course the child is more precious than the walnut frame of the chair, but with the whole chair at stake, seemed at the time to be fairly stressful,” he says.

A different world Occasionally someone in the workshop at CFW makes a really bad mistake that will set them back days or ruin the piece altogether. This is declared an ‘ice cream mistake’ by the tutors. What follows is a very clever sequence that rapidly heals the psychological damage done to the miscreant – they must shout everyone in the entire workshop an ice cream.

Everyone stops what they are doing, piles into cars and they set off for the general store just over the hill. It is the only shop for miles around and fortunately sells the largest ice creams in the entire region. The storekeeper is always keen to hear about the mistakes and over the years must have heard some fine tales of disaster. In the garden behind the store the ice creams are consumed and advice offered. Once all the friendly teasing is done, the poor woodworker will be armed with a vast amount of advice and already developing a plan to repair the damage and save the work.

This friendly companionship among woodworkers is another thing that probably attracts doctors to CFW. It introduces them to people from walks of life that are far removed

from the medical world, and it’s refreshing to be separated from the ‘unreal’ world of hospital medicine and immersed in the reality of this world.

And of course preserving skills handed down over hundreds of years is a wonderful thing. Peter once asked co-founder John Shaw:

“How on Earth did those French woodworkers make a Louis XIV bow-front cabinet covered in inlay with no machine tools and none of the precision instruments available today?”

His answer: “They had time”. It would have taken three years to make such a cabinet

– very different from our world, where we are after the fastest broadband connection and cannot wait for anything. Maybe this is the attraction. The wood forces you to work slowly, follow what the grain and tension in the wood demand, and enjoy the journey.

Peter Kempthorne is a MAS Member and

Christchurch-based paediatric anaesthetist.

He contributed the stories presented in

this article. More information on CFW is

available at cfw.co.nz.

21On MAS The magazine for MAS Members

The logical – and correct – decision that parents make is to start teaching their children about finances once they’re old enough to grasp the concepts. However, this is possibly much earlier than many imagine: many financial habits are in place by age seven.

This is the conclusion of a 2013 Cambridge University study1 entitled Habit Formation

and Learning in Young Children. Study authors and behavioural experts Dr David Whitebread and Dr Sue Bingham reviewed 100 previous studies to determine how children learn in general, and how they learn about money in particular.

They found that seven-year-olds have typically grasped all the main aspects of how money works, and have formed the core behaviours they’ll carry into adulthood that will affect the financial decisions they make for the rest of their lives.

Most children aged seven:

■■ know how to recognise the value of money and count it out.

■■ understand that money can be exchanged for goods.

■■ know what it means to earn money and have an income.

■■ can plan ahead with money and delay a decision until later.

■■ grasp the fact that some choices are irreversible.

FAMILY

By Rosemary Ann Ogilvie

It’s all about fiscal maturity, the orientation for funds or stock. You need to anticipate cyclical rates and, most importantly, secular financial rates’ shifts in the portfolio. Child’s play, really.

22 November 2014

However, children under age eight have not developed an understanding of the difference between luxuries and necessities.

It appears that the window for financial education is birth to age seven, after which it becomes difficult – although not impossible

– to reverse habits that have been formed. Teaching older children about money management is more challenging, as it involves changing mindsets rather than shaping them.

“The ‘habits of mind’ that influence the ways children approach complex problems and decisions, including financial ones, are largely determined in the first few years of life,” comments David. “Simply imparting information is now recognised as ineffective in this area. By contrast, early experiences provided by parents, caregivers and teachers that support children in learning how to plan ahead, in being reflective in their thinking, and in being able to regulate their emotions, can make a huge difference in promoting beneficial financial behaviour.”

Financial literacy in schoolThe Young Enterprise Trust2 is a charity that aims to see every New Zealand student develop financial literacy skills and enterprising attributes. However, while financial literacy is mentioned in the New Zealand curriculum, it’s as an option only, and not all schools teach it.

“In the past few years we have seen an increase in participation, and also an increasing awareness that financial education should be part of a school’s pastoral care responsibility,” says CEO Terry Shubkin.

“That’s certainly what we talk about: it’s not about teaching finance as a subject – instead, it’s about creating good citizens.”

Terry says the challenge they’ve traditionally found is that schools sometimes struggle with where to timetable financial literacy. “We’ve been working with schools to show that it can be incorporated into other learning such as social sciences, literacy and numeracy classes, as opposed to having it as a stand-alone subject. We find this has been effective in helping schools get it into the classrooms.”

Young Enterprise has numerous units of work available for Years 1-8 teachers that are designed to help students develop their financial capabilities and apply numeracy knowledge and strategies in a meaningful way.

The range of resources for secondary students in Years 9-13 includes ‘11 Hot Topics’

covering banking, taxation, KiwiSaver, student loans, flatting, insurance, impulse buying, credit cards, borrowing, exchange rates, share markets and an integrated case study. In short, everything that a secondary school leaver needs to equip them for life, whether at university or in the workforce.

The fun factorThe key to success with such a programme is making the lessons fun and engaging.

“Some of our primary resources are story books that enable the kids to engage with the characters,” says Terry. “We also have a number of board games for both primary and secondary students. Teachers can work some lessons around the board games, and a number have remarked that they’re perfect for Friday fun days.”

The popularity of board games has led to the creation of a range of games covering all ages. One, ‘Skint to Mint’, was designed with the Reserve Bank to teach Years 11-13 students how to make informed investment decisions.

The emphasis on fun is evidenced in Young Enterprise’s staff job titles. As mentioned, Terry is CEO: Chief Excitement Officer.

“These titles actually came about because one of my colleagues started introducing me as the Chief Excitement Officer and the students loved it,” says Terry. “We had a great time coming up with other fun titles: we have a Student Wrangler and a Creator of Champions, and our support is called Mission Control. We want to convey that what we’re doing is fun because unfortunately there’s a

“Teaching older children about money management is more challenging, as it involves changing mindsets rather than shaping them.”

23On MAS The magazine for MAS Members

perception that finance can be boring. But that’s not true, because being in a good financial position means you have so many more choices in life – and that is fun.”

Terry advises parents to talk to their local schools about running the financial literacy programme if they don’t already. “Schools listen to the parents, so if there’s demand from parents saying they want their kids to be taught financial literacy, this will help.”

Home schoolingHowever, she echoes David’s remarks in stressing that teaching financial literacy is not purely a school’s responsibility: parents also have a responsibility to equip children with these critical life skills. “As with any subject, learning from multiple points reinforces the messaging. So you can learn something in school, and then your parents put this into practice at home and it’s that positive reinforcement.”

On the home front, says Terry, the important thing is to talk about money, engage in the conversation. From the child’s first allowance, have them save a portion of every dollar they receive or earn – and this includes monetary gifts. Developing this habit in young children helps ensure they’ll be savers as adults.

“It’s a good idea to set up three different money banks: one for saving, one for spending and one for sharing,” Terry advises.

“The last encourages kids to think about being generous, perhaps with charitable giving. But there’s also the flipside, where certain cultural

groups are almost too generous, sharing before they save or before they know they have enough money to spend.

“Certainly we find a strong cultural expectation to give back through tithing with many cultures and religions – and that’s wonderful – but we also try to say this needs to be looked at in conjunction with your obligations, so you can provide a better life to your family long term,” she says.

Parents can also:

■■ facilitate earning by paying children to do extra tasks – outside what they’re expected to do to earn their weekly allowance – so they understand they’re trading time and effort for money.

■■ let children make purchases – and mistakes. Children need to learn that income determines what they can afford to buy, and that money is a limited resource. Give a child a small amount of money to spend in a store. If they’re later unhappy with the purchase, don’t finance a replacement.

■■ help children to set goals to save for things they want, scaling the time periods to their ages. Create a chart to track their progress, which helps keep them engaged. When they’re tempted to spend the money they should be saving, plan a fun alternative together to help them resist the temptation.

1 moneyadviceservice.org.uk

2 youngenterprise.org.nz

“Children need to learn that income determines what they can afford to buy, and that money is a limited resource.”

24 November 2014

Don’t you love those interesting cities with level terrain that you can explore almost endlessly on foot or from the seat of a bike? Music-loving Vienna is a classic example – its historic centre is not only obligingly flat but also easy to navigate, thanks to the encircling Ringstrasse and the city’s logical layout of 23 districts that link to it.

As my friend and I checked out the former

dwelling places of famous composers, my

first thought was hats off to the designers of

the distinctive flags that fluttered from their

abodes. We visited the home of arguably the

greatest of them all, Ludwig van Beethoven.

The restless genius switched abodes several

times when he lived in Vienna, so we figured

the city would reveal itself en route.

We hired bikes from a place called Pedal

Power and were soon gliding along cycle-

By Susan Buckland

TRAVEL

In tune with

Vienna

25On MAS The magazine for MAS Members

friendly lanes clear of cars and horse-drawn carriages trotting tourists towards the imperial palace, where past and present meet as you drift through its great arches. The former seat of the Austro-Hungarian Empire that once ruled over 80 million subjects is now the capital of Austria’s population of around eight million. Yet it feels as if the Hapsburgs still preside over the vast empire when you peddle over the palace courtyard past the statue of an imperious Joseph II on his horse.

In pursuit of Ludwig, who lived in seven of Vienna’s districts at one time or another, we paused below flags marking former haunts of Mozart, Strauss, Haydn, Schubert and Mahler

– and discovered a gleaming statue of Johann Strauss in leafy Stadtpark. From there we crossed to the Prater, a huge, wooded park spreading over 300 hectares of former royal hunting ground. The land was given to the people by Joseph II, a magnanimous gesture from an emperor who reputedly believed in the value of recycling coffins.

The Prater’s most famous landmark is its 65-year-old Ferris wheel. An electrifying scene from the post-war classic thriller The

Third Man was shot in one of the cabins. The Ferris wheel is still whirling passengers skyward, with more than a few of them wondering if their cabin was the one where actors Orson Welles and Joseph Cotton slugged it out. From the top of the wheel, however, it is a struggle to reconcile the film’s sombre scenes of a city destroyed by Allied bombs with the views of 21st-century Vienna, a city that now enjoys one of the highest standards of living in the world.

Leaving the Prater and its lake, where yachts

rest on calm water, we headed out along

the banks of the Danube before resuming

Beethoven’s trail. Vienna’s gaily embellished

city incinerator comes in to view, the work

of Friedrich Hundertwasser, the Austrian

artist who adopted the New Zealand town of

Kawakawa as his second home and designed

its mosaic-studded public toilets with his

trademark frivolity.

Mölker Bastei Street in the 1st district, where

Beethoven lived between 1804 and 1815,

is now a museum showcasing some of his

personal effects, including a rare 19th-century

five-pedal piano. At the next Beethoven

address on Landstrasser Hauptstrasse we

found a forlorn empty space, but the sight

of the beautifully preserved Mercure Grand

Hotel Biedermeier next door was cheering.

Compared with the baroque opulence of many

of Vienna’s 19th-century buildings, the older

Biedermeier building is restrainedly elegant.

And now it was time for coffee. Coffee shops,

the social equivalents of English pubs, were

on the itinerary. The Viennese have been

perfecting coffee-making ever since they

stole the art from the Turks during the siege

of Vienna in 1683.

The Viennese cafés where journalists, artists,

politicians and others congregate and sit for

as long they like come with the territory of

visiting this city. We tossed up between Café

Landtmann and Café Hawelka. Landtmann

opened for business in 1873 and became a

centre of Vienna’s social life. An air of intrigue

still hovers in the place. Elegant couples

eyeball each other over slices of gugelhupf

(Viennese cake).

In contrast, Café Hawelka has long been the

patch of Viennese students, and you get the

feeling they would revolt if the owners tried to

paint over the nicotine-stained walls. During

World War II penniless artists donated their

paintings to the Hawelka family in exchange

for a roof over their heads. These now

valuable paintings remain where they were

hung more than half a century ago.

Hawelka won the coin toss, and turned out

to be so busy that the waiters kept walking

while taking our order for buchlens (fresh

pastries filled with jam). Buchlens are about

the only items on the Hawelka food menu,

which was just as well, because the lunch

venue we chose was Demel, the grande

dame of Viennese pastry shops. Tradition

clings to the establishment, which opened in

1786 and became the bakery to the Austrian

royals. Waitresses in crisp aprons serve

26 November 2014

calorie-laden confections while customers try

not to drop crumbs on the spotless floor.

Getting to Demel involved a detour off the Beethoven route, but the charm of old Vienna had us happily backtracking from time to time. Demel is close to the elegant pedestrian streets, the Graben and Kärntnerstrasse, which in turn open to St Stephen’s, Vienna’s magnificent cathedral. Tourists throng the square around it and bewigged Mozart look-alikes distribute concert leaflets to outstretched hands.

High on pastries and sachertorte, we walked our bikes up Kärntnerstrasse to the Opera House. Sachertorte is Vienna’s famous chocolate cake, which we learned was invented by 19th-century baker Franz Sacher and the recipe jealously guarded by his bolshie, pipe-smoking daughter-in-law Anna, who had copycat bakers whipped off to court. These days, duty free shops at Vienna airport sell sachertortes by the box-load.

From the Opera House (inaugurated in 1869 with Mozart’s Don Giovanni) we peddled off along the six-kilometre Ringstrasse to counteract Herr Sacher’s calorific cake. This splendid boulevard encircling the historic 1st District should also be walked along for a closer look at the grand buildings and palaces on each side. They are now occupied by universities, government offices, museums, offices and City Hall. Free open-air screenings of opera, theatre and ballet take place in the gardens every summer. Having read Edmund

de Waal’s poignant Hare with the Amber Eyes about his ancestors’ life in Vienna, I paused in front of the impressive former home on the Ringstrasse where they lived until the rise of anti-Semitism sealed their fate.

We cycle on to a former Beethoven abode at 5 Ungargasse Street, where he lived from 1823 to 1824. From there we went to the 9th District and found 15 Schwarzspanier Street, another of his residences, only to find another empty space. However, a flag signalled a former Beethoven residence at 92 Döblinger Hauptstrasse, where he composed the Eroica Symphony. It had been worth the wobble along the narrow cobble-stoned streets.

Fuelled by another coffee at a colourful street market, we set off in the direction of the 19th District in search of the final Beethoven residence on our list, which proved the only puff-inducing segment of our adventure. Beethoven chose to spend his final years in the countryside he loved on the hillier outskirts of the city, not far from the Vienna Woods.

We found his former residence in the pretty village of Heiligenstadt at 2 Eroica-Gasse, now a vine-hung heuriger (wine tavern). We had covered about 30 kilometres in pursuit of the master and fuelled the ride with caffeine, cream-filled pastries and chocolate cake. Now it was time to prop the bikes under the vines and toast the great man, and the invigorating day, with the German word for feeling good: here’s to gemütlichkeit and all who peddle to her.

TipsBike hire: Pedal Power pedalpower.at

Day hires – 27 Euro, five-hour hires – 17 Euro, per hour hires – five Euro.

Take the CAT train from Vienna Airport to central Vienna – it takes only 16 minutes.

The Vienna Mozarthaus is at 5 Domgasse, behind St Stephen’s Cathedral.

27On MAS The magazine for MAS Members

A few weeks ago, I got fired from a band.

The planets had aligned, resulting in one of my songs being recorded to anchor a charity campaign. I elected myself to play guitar and built up a fairly formidable studio band, including accomplished guitarist Michael Petrie – and at the rehearsal I was reminded that hearing a professional play when you are an amateur is both wonderful and intimidating. Prone to being weak in the presence of greatness and working to the rule of using the best talent available for any given project, I immediately removed myself from the line-up. I handed over my rhythm guitar role to Michael, who also plays lead guitar on this recording. The song is much better for that decision and I can listen to it now unencumbered by over-analysis, the ‘oh-I-wish-I’d-done-that-bit-better’ factor, inevitable whenever you listen to your own playing. Now I can simply enjoy what I think is a pretty nice song performed really well by a band that was hand-picked for a one-off CD single. Firing myself was the right thing to do, and at this very moment in time it is my desert island disc.

For this issue’s music compilation I asked a random selection of people what their desert island discs were, the ones they would choose if they were stuck on a desert island for a month and could only have one song to listen to. This is, predictably, an eclectic collection. Each contributor’s comments follow their selections.

■■ David, Creative Director. You Just Don’t Care, The Pipe Down Project. “You know why.”

■■ Kelly, Project Manager. Look out Cleveland, The Band. “It’s like taking yourself on a free, three-minute road trip on a great American highway.”

■■ Chris, Accountant. Never Tear Us Apart, Paloma Faith. “Love this lady. She took an Aussie classic, tore it apart and put it back together again, beautifully.”

■■ Kevin, Struggling Artist. Cinema Show, Genesis. “I blew up a pair of Goodman speakers with this song. It shows what a great ‘jazz’ drummer Phil Collins is.”

■■ Tanja, Sous Chef. Thank You, Led Zeppelin. “This came out 12 years before I was born! I first heard it at a funeral, very moving.”

■■ Stacy, Hospo worker. Stay, Rihanna. “Strongly connected to this lyric, been there done that and it got me.”

■■ Samantha, Marketing Manager. Crazy, Gnarls Barkley. “I relate with the words and it’s a great dance song.”

■■ Andrea, Nurse. Wonderful Life, Black. “The happiest song ever written.”

■■ Lindsay, Communications Manager. Little Red Corvette, Prince. “A great song with even greater lyrics, full of double entendres and metaphors – and the guitar solo by Dez Dickerson is in the Guitar World top 100 of all time.”

■■ Glen, GP. Nature, The Fourmyula. “It makes you smile, this gem from New Zealand’s flower power era, a Kiwi classic.”

■■ John, Builder. Wild Horses, The Rolling Stones. “I have heard this at a million

weddings and still love this classic. Four

weeks on a desert island, no problem.”

■■ Aaron, Digital Printer. Stairway to Heaven,

Heart. “I never thought I’d approve of a

cover version of this sacred song, until I

saw this played live at the Kennedy Center.

The remaining members of Led Zeppelin

were in the audience and it moved them, a

really emotional performance.”

■■ Peter, IT Helpdesk. Lady Grinning Soul,

David Bowie. “The ‘Thin White Duke’

never fails to deliver the goods. This

one is timeless.”

■■ Sarah, Account Manager. Someone

Like You, Adele. “Pure class, made it on

talent not looks. It would be impossible to

perform this any better, Adele owns it.”

■■ Zac, Graphics Guru. Shine On You Crazy

Diamond, Pink Floyd. “Virtuoso guitar

features in this clearly heartfelt hat-tip to

Syd Barrett.”

■■ DJ Sense, Designer and DJ. Timeless, by Goldie. “21 minutes of pure bliss.”

■■ Mark, Office Wag. “Anything by Marcel

Marceau. A month on an island, I’d rather

have no music than one song!”

To listen (free) to this issue’s mix of memory lane songs, please go to tinyurl.com/onmasdesert.

You will need a Spotify account to get access to this playlist.

Written and compiled by David Collinge, david@cognitonz.com.

MUSIC

Desert island discs

28 November 2014

MAS NEWS

Coming in December! MAS Movie NightJoin us for an exclusive premiere screening of The Hobbit – The Battle

of the Five Armies for Members in locations nationwide on 11 December.

Screenings will take place in cinemas in Auckland, North Shore, Hamilton, Mount Maunganui, Napier, Palmerston North, Wellington, Nelson, Christchurch and Dunedin – starting times will vary.

We look forward to seeing you on the night!

MAS Members, staff and directors attended the annual general meeting at The Verandah, Hamilton Lake Domain. Following the annual results’ presentation, Dr Richard Tyler and Dr Katie Ayers were re-elected to the MAS Board. Guests enjoyed a beer tasting by local craft brewer Good George.

MAS Annual General Meeting – 27 August – Hamilton

IN CINEMAS DECEMBER 11, 2014

ALSO AVAILABLE IN 2D

29On MAS The magazine for MAS Members

Around 200 Members attended the Auckland leg of our popular seminar series with Dr Tony Fernando on well-being and work/life balance for professionals, at the Ellerslie Event Centre. The series concluded on 16 October in Christchurch.

MAS Science of Happiness seminar – 21 August – Auckland

MAS supported the annual Skull Cup events, including the traditional homemade raft race.

Massey University vet students’ raft race – 19 September – Palmerston North

Otago dental students would like to thank MAS for sponsoring their 10th annual Cook Islands Dental Care Project. Two senior lecturers from the School of Dentistry have taken a small group of students to Rarotonga and the outer islands to provide dental care and education to the community each year. The project relies on contributions to purchase dental supplies and educational materials.

Under the supervision of professors and local dentists, the students diagnosed and treated cases ranging from severe periodontal disease to major rehabilitation and paediatric cases. The students also visited schools with children aged 5-12 to provide them with valuable oral health education, ranging from diet advice to tooth-brushing techniques.

University of Otago Cook Islands Dental Care Project

30 November 2014

STUDENT NEWS

Meet your Student &Graduate Advisers

WELLINGTON

ALISON SNOOKalison.snook@mas.co.nz

DANIEL JOHNSONdaniel.johnson@mas.co.nz

CAROLINE DAYcaroline.day@mas.co.nz

CHRISTCHURCH

REBECCA BLACKMOORE rebecca.blackmoore@mas.co.nz

HAMILTON

DEBBIE GUESTdebbie.guest@mas.co.nz

PALMERSTON NORTH

DUNEDIN

ANGIE BROWNangie.brown@mas.co.nz

Things are slowly winding down at the Dental Faculty,

clinics are emptying out and libraries are filling up as

we all hunker down and prepare for our exams. It’s a

sobering thought that in a couple of months some of us

will leave the place we’ve called home for the past five

years to chase exciting new prospects.

2014 has definitely been a most memorable year

and the NZDSA has wholeheartedly fulfilled its

promise of ‘bigger and better’ with every event we’ve organised and every new venture we’ve embarked on. We’re proud to say that we’ve represented the student body and implemented changes at a local level. But as all good things must come to an end, the reins have been passed on to the next budding exec, who will undoubtedly do a stellar job in 2015. Thank you to MAS for running this marathon with us. Email: omaralsabiry@gmail.com

DENTAL TALK from New Zealand Dental Students’ Association President OMAR ALSABIRY

NZMSA has had another exciting few months. Most year groups are gearing up towards their final year exams and trainee interns have been appointed to their first-year medical jobs. 2014 has been a very exciting year and our challenges for 2015 include continuing to work on the workforce pipeline issues and enhancing our advocacy on broader health system issues.

The upcoming International Federation of Medical

Students’ Associations meeting in Turkey in March will

see up to 16 of our medical students relish a unique

opportunity to network and collaborate with medical

students from around 90 other countries on medical

education and broader health issues. We are extremely

grateful for MAS’s support throughout the year and would

like to thank the MAS staff who have been involved with

our events. We definitely couldn’t do what we do without

your support. Email: president@nzmsa.org.nz

MEDICAL NOTES from New Zealand Medical Students’ Association President MARISE STUART

Vet students at Massey are in their last few days of

lectures before the final exams for 2014. It’s been

a fantastic year and everyone is looking forward to

a sunny summer and a chance to relax and unwind.

Recently we held our annual inter-year sports day,

‘Skull Cup’ and raft race. It was awesome to have

Debbie and the MAS team there running the half-

time BBQ and providing a winners package for the

raft race. The third-year class won the raft race and

the fourth-years took out the overall competition.

We also recently held the MUVSA elections for the

executive committee for 2015. Anna Mackenzie is our

new President and, on behalf of the current exec, I wish

her and her new team well for the coming year. Finally

I would like to thank MAS for their contribution to vet

students – it certainly goes a long way!

Email: muvsa.pres@gmail.com

VET CHAT from Massey University Veterinary Students’ Association President ALEX MEBAN

ANDREW MILLERandrew.miller@mas.co.nz

AUCKLAND

31On MAS The magazine for MAS Members

As a MAS Member you can enjoy great discounts on our standard home loan rates – 0.30% p.a. off fixed, 0.74% p.a. off floating and 0.85% p.a. off the flexible rate. And you can receive up to $1000 towards your legal fees.

You can also take advantage of special benefits on your credit card and everyday accounts.

Plus you’ll be looked after by one of our specialist MAS team. To find out more give them a call on 0800 112 212, or talk to your MAS adviser.

anz.co.nz

Interest rate discounts and MAS benefits are subject to change. ANZ lending criteria, terms, conditions and fees apply. Maximum of $1,000 contribution towards legal fees upon confirmation of legal costs. A copy of terms, conditions, fees and our Reserve Bank Disclosure Statement are available by calling 0800 112 212, or at any ANZ Branch. ANZ Bank New Zealand Limited. 01/14 13854

MAS Member? You can get a discount of up to 0.85% p.a. on your home loan rate from our specialist MAS team.

anz13854 1401 Medical Assurance (MAS) ad f.indd 1 30/01/14 1:11 PM

MOTORING

Andrew Kerr has literally spent the past 15 years on the road – writing

about new and classic cars for media in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand and attending all of the

major international motor shows.

MOTORING REVIEWS

Mazda2Fast facts: 1.5-litre 4-cyl petrol; 81kW/141Nm;

6-spd man/auto; FWD; 5.1L/100km; length

4.06m; $26k.

Making a pre-Christmas debut is the new

Mazda2 – a lightweight, cleansheet design

that fuses Mazda’s popular ‘Kodo’ design

language with SkyActiv technologies for

greatly improved efficiency and rigidity.

Just one petrol engine is available: a 1.5-litre

unit coupled with excellent six-speed

manual or auto transmission to return around

5L/100km in a car weighing just 1,040kg.

Expect the much-improved powertrains to

match the more sophisticated looks, and agile

handling with typically good body control.

Compared with the outgoing model,

dimensions have grown in all directions,

but the key stretch is an extra 80mm in the

wheelbase for the obvious benefit of back-

seat passengers. The Limited variant has

upmarket leather and alcantara upholstery,

a floating seven-inch interactive screen,

head-up display in the driver’s line of vision,

and radar-based cruise control as part of a

suite of active safety features. This could be

a great downsizing choice for those wanting

a practical and efficient compact hatch that is

both fun to drive and undeniably stylish.

Verdict: Completely reworked model brings

remarkable quality and value to small-car class.

Jaguar F-type R CoupeFast facts: 5.0-litre V8 supercharged;

404kW/680Nm; 8-speed auto; RWD;

11.1L/100km; length 4.5m; $185k.

The top-of-tree F-type R looks as purposeful

as some supercars and accelerates with such

ferocity that, with just two driven wheels

and so-so visibility, it feels moderately

intimidating when you slip into the hand-

stitched leather cabin, prod the starter and

hear the engine erupt into life.

Jaguar’s five-litre V8 has a supercharger

to make open-road overtaking instant and

irresistible. With 404kW, it produces 10%

more power than the hottest F-type roadster.

The maximum 680Nm of driving force is

delivered in the heart of the rev range, at

3,500rpm; the eight-speed Quickshift is

a traditional ZF auto; and the suspension

somehow allows for hardcore handling while

delivering a well judged ride on 20-inch

alloys. This is an incredibly tightly bound ball

of muscle for outstanding body control at all

speeds and over all road surfaces.

Less vocal but still intoxicating are two

supercharged V6 Coupe models, which

promise to be very rapid and agile while

undercutting their roadster equivalents

by $15k apiece. They each offer decent

practicality with circa 9L/100km consumption

and a two-golfbag boot accessed by the long,

narrow tailgate.

Verdict: Exhilarating (excessive?) performance

in an outstanding, timeless design.

Going on a road trip this summer?Many summer vacation plans include a road

trip. The last thing you want is unexpected car

trouble leaving you stranded at the side of the

road. A pre-trip vehicle check is the best way

to ensure that your car is ready to get you to

your destination.

Here are some tips to follow before you hit

the road this summer:

■■ Check the brake system and make sure

that the battery connection is clean, tight

and corrosion-free. 

■■ Check filters and fluids: engine oil, power

steering, brake and transmission fluids,

windshield washer solvent and antifreeze/

coolant. Dirty air filters can waste gas and

cause the engine to lose power.

■■ Check the hoses and belts for cracks,

brittleness, fraying and signs of excessive

wear. These are critical to the proper

functioning of the electrical system, air

conditioning, power steering and the

cooling system.

■■ Check the tyres, including tyre pressure and tread. Underinflated tyres reduce a vehicle’s fuel economy and uneven wear indicates a need for wheel alignment. Tyres should also be checked for bulges and bald spots.

■■ Make sure the gas cap is not damaged, loose or missing to prevent gas from spilling or evaporating.

Getting auto repairs done before long-distance driving this summer will not only give you peace of mind but also help avoid the inconvenience and potential safety hazards of breaking down when you’re far from home.

By Andrew Kerr

33On MAS The magazine for MAS Members

As a MAS Member you can enjoy great discounts on our standard home loan rates – 0.30% p.a. off fixed, 0.74% p.a. off floating and 0.85% p.a. off the flexible rate. And you can receive up to $1000 towards your legal fees.

You can also take advantage of special benefits on your credit card and everyday accounts.

Plus you’ll be looked after by one of our specialist MAS team. To find out more give them a call on 0800 112 212, or talk to your MAS adviser.

anz.co.nz

Interest rate discounts and MAS benefits are subject to change. ANZ lending criteria, terms, conditions and fees apply. Maximum of $1,000 contribution towards legal fees upon confirmation of legal costs. A copy of terms, conditions, fees and our Reserve Bank Disclosure Statement are available by calling 0800 112 212, or at any ANZ Branch. ANZ Bank New Zealand Limited. 01/14 13854

MAS Member? You can get a discount of up to 0.85% p.a. on your home loan rate from our specialist MAS team.

anz13854 1401 Medical Assurance (MAS) ad f.indd 1 30/01/14 1:11 PM

WINE

For a wine writer, spring is the best time of year. Wines that have been held back for release are suddenly flooding the market in a vinous tsunami of diversity – from softly aged reds that have been quietly snoozing in seasoned oak barrels for a number of years, to fruity and fresh young things bursting with flavour, from the latest vintage.

This is one of those times when I don’t mind the courier knocking on the door at 7.15 in the morning to deliver mystery packages – because mostly they contain what we in the wine scribe fraternity describe as ‘trade samples’.

And thus, in the name of ongoing professional development, these wines must be sampled.

New Zealand has been blessed by two fantastic vintages – 2013 and 2014.

The former, more about quality yet with less quantity. And the latter, a rare

‘beautiful collision’ of both quality and quantity. We can be justly proud of our wines. As locals we have access to some amazing wines, many of which are not exported. And as a nod to the fine reds from Australia, I have also included a great Shiraz.

By Phil ParkerMAS Member, wine writer and operator of Auckland Fine Wine and Food Tours www.finewinetours.co.nz.

Catch up on all the latest wines and more at Phil’s wine blog www.nzwineblogger.blogspot.com.

Enjoy a glass of spring

34 November 2014

Retired medical specialist John Gillman and his son Toby explored winemaking way back in the mid-1980s, working at the local Providence vineyard. Toby further explored winemaking in Bordeaux in 1997, and on his return the family invested in establishing their own vineyard in Matakana.

This wine is in the classic New Zealand Bordeaux style and vinted from Cab Franc, Merlot and Malbec. Typical black spiced berry fruit, blackcurrant and soft, leathery, savoury flavours. At six years in the bottle, this is drinking extremely well now, but will cellar for at least two or three years.

Dark opaque garnet/purple colour, with aromas of blackberry and blackcurrant, marshmallow and a hint of spice. Rich, ripe and generous, this is a big Aussie wine, yet with seductively sweet and ripe dark berry fruits that open up into spicy and soft tannins with a silky yet lengthy finish.

Garnet red colour with aromas of spice, pot pourri, toasted almonds and cigar box. Ripe black cherry and berry flavours, with medium soft tannins and a lengthy, tarry dry finish.

Mou

ntfo

rd W

aipa

ra V

alle

y P

inot

G

ris 2

011

$29

.00

Wai

mea

Nel

son

Pin

ot N

oir

20

13 $

25.0

0

Gill

man

Mat

akan

a

200

8 $

70.0

0

Bro

wn

Bro

ther

s P

atric

ia S

hira

z 20

09

$55

.00

Pale gold colour. Aromas of lemon squash and lime juice. Medium sweet and lush with flavours of spice, quince and poached pear. Time ageing in oak barrels has added a layer of complexity and softer flavours.

Garnet red and clear, this is a classic Burgundy-style Pinot, with savoury smoky aromas and a complex palate of cherries, dark chocolate and spices, with soft tannins. If I had the patience, I would put this away for four more years.

Mud

hous

e M

arlb

orou

gh P

inot

G

ris 2

014

$20

.00

A great Savvie for those who are put off by the Marlborough acidity. This one has spent 10 months in French barrels. Classic gooseberry and passionfruit flavours with a hint of toasty hazelnut, yet with a crisp finish.

Formerly a blend of Auckland and Marlborough fruit, this time it’s 100% Marlborough fruit. A rich and rewarding wine with ripe flavours of canned peach, grapefruit and mandarin, a crisp citrus finish and a hint of toasty oak.

Gla

dsto

ne V

iney

ard

Sop

hie’

s C

hoic

e W

aira

rapa

(Oak

Age

d)

Sauv

igno

n B

lanc

20

12 $

35.0

0

Wes

t Bro

ok B

arriq

ue M

arlb

orou

gh

Cha

rdon

nay

2013

$24

.00

Mai

n D

ivid

e Te

Hau

Res

erve

W

aipa

ra P

inot

Noi

r 20

12 $

33.0

0

Hailing from Waipara, this is a lush and unctuous late-harvest-style sweet wine in line with the Vendange Tardive style from northern France’s Alsace region. A mouthful of spiced quince, pear, honey and golden queen peach.

35On MAS The magazine for MAS Members

BOOKS

By acclaimed New Zealand author Kate De Goldi GREAT READSAll my puny sorrows By Miriam Toews

Faber & Faber $37

This Canadian writer has often mined autobiography

for her celebrated books – notably in A Complicated

Kindness, the tragi-comic chronicle of a young

girl’s coming of age within a Mennonite community.

Toews’s sixth novel draws heavily on the events

leading up to the suicide of the author’s sister

Marjorie. Over many months, Yoli, a writer in the

throes of a divorce, broke, and prone to sleeping

with the wrong men, buckets between her home

in Toronto and the Winnipeg hospital where her

beloved sister, Elf, lies recovering from another

suicide attempt – but begs Yoli daily to help her finish

the job. The story shapes itself around the burden

of Elf’s extreme psychological pain and desperate

request, and the low-grade – and painfully funny –

chaos of Yoli’s personal life. Toews’s near stream

of consciousness amplifies both the anguish of

the sisters’ situation and the irresistible movement

towards a desolated end. This is a tough read

but a compelling one, not least because the cast

of secondary characters is remarkable: ordinary,

burdened, quietly heroic. At novel’s end Yoli’s grief

and guilt are palpable yet somehow a sisterless

future is being faced down – by way of work, wine,

black jokes and a kind of helpless instinct for survival.

The FreeBy Willy Vlautin

Faber & Faber $37

Freddie, a night watchman in a group home for

disabled men, juggles two further jobs to pay

debts consequent on his daughter’s medical

problems and his wife’s desertion. Pauline tends

the dying and disabled in hospital and a homeless

girl on the outside, but still spares time to nurture

the emotionally enfeebled father she has never

liked. Both characters are drawn to Leroy, a young,

wounded Iraq veteran, who lies semi-conscious in

his hospital bed, gripped by a frightening dream

narrative in which a group of vigilante soldiers hunts

him and his girlfriend across a North America in

chaos and decline. Vlautin’s unflinching scrutiny

of America’s tragedy – the war machine, unbridled

market economy and ravaged landscape – stops

just this side of despair. The novel’s considerable

achievement is the precise and loving documenting

of the characters’ dignity and decency in the face of

mounting odds, their quiet human exchanges and

kindness – the comfort of doughnuts, stories read

aloud, gentle kisses, shared jokes. The author’s

vivid minimalism is the perfect vehicle for America’s

forgotten – a pared-back poetic articulacy on behalf

of those who so seldom command an audience. A

brilliant, haunting, necessary novel confirming

Vlautin’s place at the forefront of contemporary

American writing.

Confronting the ClassicsBy Mary Beard

Profile Books $30

Which translated version of Thucydides can we trust

and why is the original so incomprehensible? How

Great was Alexander? Does the fearsome Livia of

’70s TV fame bear any resemblance to the historical

figure? Was Caligula much saner than the accepted

record suggests? Was a posting to Hadrian’s Wall

really a remote and lonely gig, or were family and

home cooking actually quite near at hand? And, why

should we care about any of this? Beard, a celebrated

Cambridge Classics professor, discusses all these

questions, not least – and most persuasively – why

Classical history and literature matter in the modern

world, how they are “about us as much as about the

Greeks and the Romans”.

This page-turning tour of the ancient world is a

thematically organised collection of the prodigious

number of book reviews on Classical subjects that

Beard has written over several decades. Thanks,

originally, to British and American literary periodicals,

Beard has had the space to assess and argue at

length the Classical debates alive and well in popular

and academic circles. Her formidable scholarship,

robust views and a wonderfully accessible style make

this a thoroughly entertaining read for the initiated and

the neophyte alike. There is even a chapter on that

pesky Gaul Asterix and his place in Classical studies.

36 November 2014

GREAT READS By doctor, poet and MAS Member Rae Varcoe

The Assassination of Margaret ThatcherBy Hilary Mantel

Fourth Estate $34.99

Read this collection of 10 short stories and be delighted by the author’s forensic eye for detail, share her glee at descriptions of unsavoury characters, and sometimes laugh out loud. The title story revolves around the owner of a house within line of sight of the back exit of a hospital where Margaret Thatcher has had an eye operation and is due to be discharged. The owner has opened the door to the boiler man’s assistant, whose tool bag turns out to contain a rifle. The story’s narrator is the

owner of the house, who makes tea and conversation,

sympathises with the visitor’s inability to “get far with

the lasses” and joins in an acerbic assessment of Mrs

Thatcher’s character as they wait for her to emerge.

The other stories also have grim and bleak moments

but are not unsympathetic, such as when a wife

drops dead at the sight of discovering her husband in

a compromising embrace, and when the bedraggled

author enduring the accommodations and afflictions

of a book tour experiences unexplained compassion.

The tales are very original and differ markedly from

each other. There are more flawed than sainted

characters, but each of them is engaging, real and

worthy of our attention.

This House of Grief: The Story of a Murder Trial By Helen Garner

Text Publishing $38

Helen Garner is one of my favourite authors and this is as good as any of her other books. The setting is the Victorian Supreme Court and the story is the author’s account of the trial and retrial of Robert Farquharson. On Father’s Day, Farquharson was driving beside a dam with his three young sons when his car suddenly veered off the road and into the water. The children drowned. Farquharson survived and his first request to those arriving on the scene was to be taken to his former wife so that he could tell her of their deaths.

The trials centred on whether swerving into the dam

was a deliberate act. From the beginning, the author

maintains the hope that this ordinary bloke is innocent

of such an unthinkable crime. The jury, witnesses,

bystanders (especially family), lawyers and the

judge are all the objects of Garner’s compassionate,

observant, wise and very human scrutiny. We too are

baffled by the details of tyre imprints, yellow paint

marks and police summaries, and find some witnesses

more credible than others, but can form our opinions

only because of Garner’s credibility as a dispassionate

witness. The precisely observed novelistic details and

her struggle to make sense of them draw us in as we

sit alongside her in the courtroom.

A History of LonelinessBy John Boyne

Random House $36.99

The narrator of this fine tale set in modern Ireland

is Father Odran Yates, a priest who entered the

seminary at the age of 17 for reasons not entirely

clear to him. He drifts through his priestly life, as a

teacher at a boys’ boarding school, then assistant

to the Pope’s domestic staff, then a parish priest.

He attends, he is present, but neither participates

wholeheartedly nor questions his calling or the fates

of members of his congregation when he is allocated

a parish. He is entirely out of his depth in dealing with

any form of unhappiness.

He witnesses the marked drop in status of priests from respected and revered community members to objects of derision and distrust. Very late in his career he is alerted to his wilful ignorance of his fellow seminary students’ behaviour, and the attitudes and behaviours of his brother clergy and the Catholic Church hierarchy. He is bewildered and appalled as he strives to understand his own complicity, which has caused deep wounds in his family. Boyne’s anger is evident, but that does not diminish our sympathy for Father Odran as a limited individual, allocated a place in a powerful hierarchy without the means to understand or question its authority. An excellent novel with brilliant characterisation, few flaws and a considerable forward momentum.

37On MAS The magazine for MAS Members

*Interest rates are subject to change. Medical Securities Limited’s (MSL’s) normal lending criteria apply for all credit and loans, and your application is subject to acceptance by MSL.

Call us today:

0800 800 627Email loans@mas.co.nz

Visit us online at mas.co.nz

PERSONALISED,FOR OUR MEMBERS.

Arranging low-interest finance for a new vehicle is easy for MAS Members. In most cases we can approve

your loan over the phone. With no application fees, no early payment penalties and no hidden costs, it’s been

specially designed to help ensure you’re not weighed down in debt. Call us now and receive a low-interest

car loan, handed to you on a plate.

MAS4203 Personalised Plate_A4_F.indd 1 20/10/14 10:13 AM