I see they have begun politicising the Reserve Bank now....

Radio NZ chairman Richard Griffin encouraged against select committee appearance

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12025155

"Griffin has confirmed that it was "suggested" he stay away from a select committee which has recalled him and RNZ chief executive Paul Thompson over the saga."

"Griffin would not say who made the suggestion that he instead write a letter of apology to the committee, but Newstalk ZB's political editor Barry Soper has reported that it was Broadcasting Minister Clare Curran."

Geektastic:

 

Your mileage apparently varies..! 

 

It does! It's less of a quiz than an improv. DH does little for me as well, but I am happy enough on the whole with the rest of them. 

Having had a few root canals, I can assure you personally, DH would be a significant preference on my part. 

I had to laugh out loud at the predictable route BMT took in trying to suggest the Curran thing was a non-event. That is some wishful thinking. 

Curran needs to go, it's clear her understanding of honesty and transparency is broken.  Every time, she speaks it's obvious she is trying to wiggle her way out of a situation she has "now" realized was a mistake. 

I was again disappointed in our leader, yet again suggesting there is nothing to see here. If she really believes that she should step down. I think like BMT, it's just wishful thinking. I am sure the poor woman would like a break from scandal, but I don't see any abating. 

The problem right now is there is so much of it going on, that it's hard for the public to keep track of the lies, threats and other poor behaviour. 

LOL PM has just said that someone other than Curran should have called the RNZ Chair about fronting the committee. Well DUH! Why does the obvious thing not occur BEFORE they do these stupid things. 

I predicted they would learn on the job, but for the love of Peter, they are some SLOW learners. 

I feel quite low after hearing Labours transport plan. They seem to be living in their own dream world in the past.

• We already have one of the highest taxes in the world on our fuel and they want to add more....not sure why?
• We know our state highway network is decades out of date and they want to put it on hold...why
• Adding approx. 5% to our fuel will add to inflation just as America and China begin a trade war and the stockmarket dives.

I would like to see a breakdown of the where our fuel and road taxes are spent now. Surely there is enough in that pot unless the Govt intends to skim it to pay for other pet projects.

They are spending a billion dollars a year on so called regional spending, and have given tertiary students a huge double bonus. I shudder to imagine what comes next.

Pumpedd:

We already have one of the highest taxes in the world on our fuel and they want to add more....not sure why?

We know our state highway network is decades out of date and they want to put it on hold...why

Adding approx. 5% to our fuel will add to inflation just as America and China begin a trade war and the stockmarket dives.

If the proposed tax is in fact used to invest in road transport alternatives like rail and thus removing vehicles off the roadways then I will support it. We need to reduce the number of trucks and cars on our roads and rail is the better option.

MikeB4:

 

If the proposed tax is in fact used to invest in road transport alternatives like rail and thus removing vehicles off the roadways then I will support it. We need to reduce the number of trucks and cars on our roads and rail is the better option.

 

Rail is a great option if you live near a train station or have a business in a rail depot. Otherwise you're probably going to need a car or a truck at some point in the equation. 

we need to combine heavy rail and light rail including CBD light rail. Example in Wellington instead of building four lanes to the planes build a light rail system to the planes. The more cars etc that are removed the easier it becomes for those that don't have an option but to use a car. It would mean that folks could travel by train from the Kapiti Coast to Wellington Airport. The eastern bays commuter traffic would be eased by the use of light rail.

MikeB4:

 

If the proposed tax is in fact used to invest in road transport alternatives like rail and thus removing vehicles off the roadways then I will support it. We need to reduce the number of trucks and cars on our roads and rail is the better option.

 

The problem is that you are trying to fight against the stupid planning policies of Auckland council. Because the council is restricting development both within and close to the rural/urban boundaries. There is lots of development happening in towns such as Kumeu, Helensville, Warkworth, etc. As a result, both SH1 and SH16 are often badly congested with commuter traffic, even where they go through rural areas. It is completely stupid forcing people to live further away from their work. Only so some council planners can continue to pretend that large areas of lifestyle blocks, that have city slickers living on them, are still "rural".

My own house is zoned "mixed housing suburban" which means that I get hardly any extra development right compared to what I had under the legacy North Shore City Council. I am close to a station on the northern busway, meaning I have excellent access to public transport. Im on a large section, the council should be making it easy for properties with good access to public transport, to be subdivided. Or at least have extra household units constructed on them. As that will increase utilisation of existing public transport assets.

I would love to build a minor unit, or rent out part of my land for someone to put a tiny house onto. (the later option would mean that I would get rental income for hardly having to do anything, while the tenant would be able to get a house that is "theirs" for far less than normal rents). But council fees and compliance costs eat up most of the returns. (As well as legal risks - if a tiny house owner breaches the resource management act, Im liable since Im the landowner).

Meanwhile the government has to spend money upgrading the state HWY network to handle commuter traffic from outlying areas. As the Auckland council has no interest in changing it's planning rules to allow more affordable housing in existing areas. Part of this is extending the Northern busway to Silverdale. So a whole lot of gorse covered land (with the occasional cow or horse if you are lucky) Now has better access to public transport than lots of urban areas.

Commentators on a few blogs and the like are asking if the tax on fuel, (which instead of being limited to specific regions, is now going to be Nationwide) is due to a lack of funding they have left after doing their sums post Winston promises. It's about 40% higher than was indicated during the election lead up and the tinfoilers seem to believe that Labour will take this money and not spend it on transport alone, but rather use it as a stealth income source because they know people are leery of increased taxation, but under the guise of improving traffic etc, people will grit their teeth and pay it. 

Anyone know how it's possible to get a break down of transport related taxes and what it was spent on so as to be able to compare to what Labour says it will spend? 

The past 6-8 weeks have really dented what little hope I had of this Government being cohesive. Jacinda hasn't really united them the way one might have hoped/expected, and this leads to doubt whether a healthcare review under Labour would indeed be better than under National as I had indicated I felt was likely before.