Daily Review 15/03/2018

Written By: - Date published: 5:30 pm, March 15th, 2018 - 34 comments
Categories: Daily review - Tags:

Daily review is also your post.

This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day.

The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Don’t forget to be kind to each other …

34 comments on “Daily Review 15/03/2018 ”

  1. Carolyn_Nth 1

    As a local resident, I’m am totally in favour of Auckland Transport’s planned changes in Mt Eden Village. There seems to be a small group protesting the changes who get a lot of media attention.

    Today, Matt L on the Greater Auckland Blog did a very good post on the lack of logic of the anti-group: Mt Eden Mess.

    Some of the images with the post show the continual bottleneck of cars through the Village. The protesters are complaining about 6 car parks being removed from the main road in order to extend the bus stop.

    There’s a car park behind the shops, and some parking in side streets. I would axe all the car parks in the main road.

    How do the little group of protesters plan to stop the eventual gridlock through the village, without removing some of the main road parks, and encouraging more bus travel?

    At the moment a lot of traffic is pushed into the side streets to avoid the bottle neck. That’s not great for local residents.


    And it seems this non-local resident is part of the protest group.

    Anti-Agenda 21? Seriously!

    Prager believes transport and roading changes being made by AT are “designed to assist multinational corporations to transfer public money into private hands via confidential contracts”.

    Alternative transport lobby groups like Bike Auckland and Generation Zero along with blogs like Greater Auckland were a part of a global conspiracy called Agenda 21, she said.

    Agenda 21 is an action plan of the United Nations which aims to work towards sustainable development however, some groups believe it is a plan to deprive nations of their sovereignty.

    • Tuppence Shrewsbury 1.1

      But why aren’t the going the whole hog and bus laning and cycle laning all major arterial roads, no parking at all, 24/7 and investing in the bus resources to make it work?

      It shits me that we get pathetic bus lanes that still have to merge. Completely defeats the purpose

      • Ad 1.1.1

        Not easy to face a hall of rich residents and a Councillor in full attack against it’s own transport entity.

        Mt Albert. Mt Eden. Grey Lynn. It’s street by street warfare for sustainability in Auckland.

        • Tuppence Shrewsbury 1.1.1.1

          Maybe if AT actually transported people rather than staggered roadworks on the same street month after month, I.e. Franklin road

          And stopped driving everywhere and parking in bus lanes

          • Ad 1.1.1.1.1

            I don’t work at AT, but staggering Franklin Road was the only way to get around neighbourhood concern.

            AT walk a fine operational and political balance every day.

            They need support, from somewhere, or there will simply be no implementation.

          • Carolyn_Nth 1.1.1.1.2

            I’m not a cheer person for AT. But in this instance I support the proposed changes.

            I have been thinking for years they need to stop parking in the Village. As a local resident I usually try to avoid driving through the village (when I do use my car). Why would anyone choose to drive (at a slow crawl) through that continual bottle neck?

            Mostly I’m fine with the buses in the area, apart from the clogged roads. I think probably the inner city areas are better served by buses than some of the outer areas of Auckland.

            But there also should be incentives to discourage people driving into the CBD from places like Mt Eden, and encourage more bus/train use, IMO.

          • Muttonbird 1.1.1.1.3

            Franklin road is not just “roadworks” as you put it, but major pipe infrastructure work if my observations are correct.

            • Ad 1.1.1.1.3.1

              Indeedy it is.
              Excuse shorthand.

            • Tuppence Shrewsbury 1.1.1.1.3.2

              I know. But those roadworks have gone on for 15 months now. On the corner of Wellington st, this is the second time they are causing delays. It could have all been done first time, pipe and improvements

    • adam 1.2

      It’s quite frightening when people espouse the conspiracy theory called agenda 21.

      What next, Jacinda’s got black helicopters. No wait that was Ron Mark…

      • Carolyn_Nth 1.2.1

        Some people on Twitter are likening the anti-Agenda 21, anti-bus, anti-cycleways people to Trump supporters.

        But here’s ex ACT deputy leader, Muriel Newman explaining opposition to Agenda 21 back in 2012.

        While this sounds worthy, what it signals is an expansion of global governance controls on New Zealanders that will further undermine our culture and private property rights that have traditionally underpinned our economic growth and our identity in the world.

        Essentially Agenda 21 is based on the notion that humans are destroying the planet and as a result, every aspect of our lives needs to be controlled. The mechanism being used to bring about this change is “sustainable development”, which is defined to mean development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the needs of future generations.

        Twenty years on, the public are now recognising the failings of the global socialist agenda that has been imposed on us and they are waking up to the negative consequences on their quality of life.

        • Hanswurst 1.2.1.1

          While this sounds worthy, what it signals is an expansion of global governance controls on New Zealanders that will further undermine our culture and private property rights that have traditionally underpinned our economic growth and our identity in the world.

          Where was this excellent woman when we protested against the TPPA? /sarc

  2. Kat 2

    Lead attack in Herald on Ron Mark with claims of improper use of NZDF air transport. Just more mud slinging at the coalition or hopeful distraction away from the book Hit and Run and the claims in the book on location that were denied last year by Chief of Defence Force Tim Keating and have now been admitted were correct and that he lied.

    Along with Hosking, Hawkesby, Hooton and various other right leaning scribblers the Herald has become a blatant propaganda tool for the National party.

    It is only going to be ramped up.

    • Carolyn_Nth 2.1

      On Checkpoint most people who responded supported Ron Mark. And John Campbell liked a tweet suggesting he agreed Mark Mitchell was avoiding talking about Op Burnham.

    • eco maori 2.2

      + 100 Kat the new coalition MPs will have to have there guard up as all there advisers use to serve national I have already warned them of being setup from the inside .
      Kia kaha Ron Ka kite ano

      • Jilly Bee 2.2.1

        And here’s another one regarding the Waihi Summer Camp – the person who contacted the Herald is insisting on remaining anonymous. OK, if this is true, it’s not at all good, but I do sometimes take what an ‘anonymous’ person spilling the beans with a generous pinch of salt – sheesh, if this person is a Young Labour member, why didn’t he/she talk to the party or at least the people running the camp. I reckon something’s not quite right here.
        http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12013540

        • Carolyn_Nth 2.2.1.1

          Anonymous informant says:

          “It is a bit hypocritical as a party, seeing as their values are about protecting people and standing up for those who need assistance.”

          their values… ?

          So the informant isn’t a Labour Party member? one of the friends of Labour that went for…? why? the party?

        • rightly or wrongly 2.2.1.2

          Im not sure if attacking the messenger is the best way to respond to this.

          I want to know is why this was allowed to happen?

          Surely the organizers of this camp were not that devoid of commonsense not to consider that providing a venue for young people to get blind drunk unsupervised is going to lead to bad outcomes?

          If this was the Young Nats, the head shaking and hand wringing from the left would have been blinding in response.

          Whats wrong with straight up admitting that your beloved party got it wrong, that the people who organised it were incompetent and should be held accountable?

          The public would respect such a response and it would be a warning to other hopefuls that they should exercise good judgement if they came into positions of responsibility.

          Hiding, minimizing, excusing, and lashing out are not appropriate ways of responding to deficient behaviour and actions.

          It also gives motivation to other witnesses to speak up to ‘set the story straight.’

        • Whispering Kate 2.2.1.3

          Knowing what black arts the opposition are capable of – thinking of Nicky’s book “Dirty Politics” it would not surprise me if the informant is a National Party plant, wasn’t the offender a guest of a Labour Party Member, that is dodgy to start with.

          Labour have themselves to blame for this, they have been staring down the barrel of the previous government and all the shit they dug up while they were in office, why on earth wouldn’t they think it would not continue now they are no longer in Government. This lot have been caught with their pants down good and proper. Jacinda is too “nice” to handle this opposition – relentlessly positive is not going to do it for them. She needs to harden up real soon and keep a tight rein on her operations.

          The first thing that the muck rakers were given was a shovel and instructed to start digging, the moment they knew they would not be in power. It was never going to be anything but more of the same.

          • Chuck 2.2.1.3.1

            “Jacinda is too “nice” to handle this opposition – relentlessly positive is not going to do it for them.”

            Unfortunately, that’s all Jacinda has…bumper sticker slogans.

    • mary_a 2.3

      100% agree with you Kat (2).

      Seems National is using its smear tool msm to spread more dirty politics on the government. A means to cover it’s own vile participation in Operation Burnam, including the lies and cover ups that followed. All of which will be damaging to National and those MPs involved in signing off this atrocious revenge raid against innocent civilians, an act which reeks of a war crime!

      • WILD KATIPO 2.3.1

        The ‘Jonkey National Govt’…

        Have a few questions to answer…

        Like the wage gap between NZ and Aussie, and why a huge percentage of the ‘best and brightest’ leave the country( NZ ) – and Nationals answer?

        Bust them at the airport for not paying their exorbitant student loans…

        Talk about cheap, Trev , – National wants everyone working for fucking slave labour rates.

        John Key on Hardtalk Part 1 – YouTube
        Video for john key on operation burnham you tube▶ 12:14

        • WILD KATIPO 2.3.1.1

          And what a liar he was, sitting there bold faced justifying his selling out to foreign corporate interests and creating a housing bubble based on speculation while degrading workers rights.

          What an arsehole.

          Remember what has become known as the ‘Hobbit Laws’?

          Bloody shitter.

          So then ( under Key ) they flood this country with cheap immigrant labour. To compensate for the 600,000 New Zealanders who now call Australia home because neo liberal subversives like Key made damn sure they would be wage and debt slaves if they remained in NZ.

          That cunt should be stripped of his Knighthood and brought back in to answer for the murder of Afghanistan citizens during Operation Burnham that HE personally gave the green light for.

          Bloody fucker.

      • Kat 2.3.2

        This is all National can do in the vacant vacuum of having no other credible attack line at the coalition at this time. It will get worse and we must be prepared for all manner of dirty politics between now and the next election. National have a sustained MSM attack plan against Labour and NZ First. They will pull out all stops based on the significant and historically large singular opposition they currently represent. They will see what happens with the Green support over the duration and consider moving in for the killer blow prior to election time. As Hosking would say “mark my words”.

        • WILD KATIPO 2.3.2.1

          Still panderers to a very , very small percentage of followers. People need to remember that.

          MOST people have to battle for their security. Unlike the average privileged Nat supporter. And that means we are in the majority. Lets start to use that majority.

          And kick these arseholes before our courts to answer charges of what amounts to the murder of civilians carried out under the auspices of the Key led National govt resulting in the deaths of at least six civilians.

          Anything less is being complicit in the passive acceptance of the cheapness of civilian life in order to achieve an objective.

          I don’t know about you , but where I come from, we don’t do that sort of thing.

  3. weka 3

    This is brilliant. A review of Lisa Prager’s sledgehammer technique on the traffic island/cycle way* from this afternoon,

    https://thespinoff.co.nz/auckland/15-03-2018/the-spinoff-reviews-new-zealand-56-lisa-pragers-sledgehammer-technique/

    *Auckland thing that’s not very clear.

    • adam 3.1

      Agenda 21 conspiracy theorist destroying somthing to make it safer to cycle. Having been knocked off my bike countless times by the downright awful Auckland drivers. I hope this idiot gets more than a slap with wet bus ticket as punishment, but I doubt it.

      Can the right wing in this country get any crazier? Well I suppose we going to find out in the coming years.

  4. joe90 4

    Get your iodine pills folks, we might be needing them.

    Former U.S. Ambassador to the UN John Bolton is "waiting in the wings to replace [H.R.] McMaster," @MajorCBS reports; "the sense that H.R. McMaster's days are numbered as national security adviser has reached something close to a fever pitch" https://t.co/MVXWePSct0 pic.twitter.com/upoej56b20— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 14, 2018

    • Drowsy M. Kram 5.1

      Thanks Anne, very funny, and interesting. After seeing the word “burqas” in the link, when the page first loaded for a second I thought I saw a burqa-wearer in the front left seat.

      Then they vanished – my God, they could be anywhere!

  5. Ed 6

    The Arctic is melting.

    “About 94% of the global warming heating is going into the ocean and it is the Gulf Stream – Svalbard current that will be our killers because they are melting the Arctic ice from below and destabilizing the methane hydrates between the ocean surface and 200 meters depth along the Arctic ocean shelf edge. The core of the Svalbard current has increased in temperature from less than 1.5 to more than 4 degrees centigrade.”
    –Malcolm Light

    http://robinwestenra.blogspot.co.nz/2018/03/warm-waters-in-arctic.html

  6. Ed 7

    Bryan Bruce on twitter.

    “How to plunder the New Zealand Economy 101

    1.Develop “free “trade deals that allow foreign companies the same access to local resources that New Zealanders enjoy
    2.Buy a property that sits above an aquifer and drill for water virtually for free and sell it at a price than is more than we pay for petrol.
    3.Perpetuate the myth that “no one owns the water”
    4. Makes sure that local and national politicians are elected who either do not have the will to change the economic order or a vested interest in keeping things just the way they are.”

    http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/christchurch/canterbury-mornings/audio/vicki-buck-major-concern-for-the-quality-of-our-drinking-water/

  7. Ed 8

    I really hope this government is listening.

    “More than 100,000 people signed a petition demanding a ban on the use of farrowing crates – it was delivered to Parliament today.”

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/352636/petition-against-pigs-farrowing-crates-a-life-of-despair

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=S6qPtRMeSqA&itct=CBMQpDAYACITCIjMw4D-7dkCFcuEWAodu1YJxTIHYXV0b25hdkii3MuirMvp594B