Free public transport for Auckland is a very good idea

Written By: - Date published: 1:35 pm, February 23rd, 2022 - 66 comments
Categories: auckland supercity, climate change, efeso collins, public transport, supercity, transport - Tags:

Efeso Collins has announced his first Mayoral campaign policy and it is a biggie, free public transport for Auckland.

From Todd Niall at Stuff:

Left-leaning Auckland mayoral candidate Efeso Collins says a push for fare-free public transport will be the first thing he wants to achieve if elected in October.

Collins, a two-term Manukau Ward Labour councillor, says Aucklanders spend up to 30 per cent of their household income on transport, and it is one of the biggest issues the city has to deal with.

“If we are going to address our climate emissions this is the first and best way to do it,” he told Stuff.

Collins was confident the city, and the government which helps subsidise public transport, could afford to have both a fare-free system, and a better network than exists today.

“There’s money we’ve got, it’s how we can balance it out, we can take from certain (other) parts,” said Collins, pointing to tens of millions of dollars he said was spent on consultants.

This policy is very big and very brave.  The estimated cost is $210 million per year, $160 million loss in revenue and $60 million for enhanced services.

The figures are eye watering but this is exactly the type of policy needed to make a proper response to climate change and to advance the city along the route of being carbon neutral.

66 comments on “Free public transport for Auckland is a very good idea ”

  1. Ad 1

    He was good on the Labour Members call last night.

    Genuine and not particularly political.

  2. Pataua4life 2

    Show me the money. 10's of millions doesn't equate to 400 mil

    This type of policy can only come from an increase in rates.

    He just lost my vote

    • mickysavage 2.1

      I shocked Pataua4life

      Shocked that you would ever consider voting for the left wing candidate in the first place.

      • Pataua4life 2.1.1

        I hope that Auckland gets someone that is not a patsy for central govt as Goff was.

        Efeso seemed and still maybe that person and as a general stance I have no problem with free public transport. But if you are going to do stuff at least know where all of the money is coming from and don't treat the rate payer like a child.

        That is all I ask.

        Same applies for central govt, which is why Jacinda gives me the shits. Don't treat the voting public like a f%#king 5 year old.

        • weka 2.1.1.1

          where did you get $4million from?

          • Pataua4life 2.1.1.1.1

            From the OP

            "This policy is very big and very brave. The estimated cost is $210 million per year, $160 million loss in revenue and $60 million for enhanced services."

            210 + 160 + 60 = 430 Mil i was rounding down

            I stand to be corrected if MS meant $210 total consisting of 160 loss + 60 Spend.

            In which case I blame MS for his piss poor math. 160 + 60 = 220 so I took the 210 as a separate cost.

            • ghostwhowalksnz 2.1.1.1.1.1

              The link to the story gives the number

              'Giving up those fares would cost Auckland $176 million a year, and AT estimates increased demand would cost an extra $60m to meet.

              176 + 60 = $236 mill

        • Tricledrown 2.1.1.2

          That's ironic from someone that behaves like a preschooler.

          Like you were never going to vote for him.

          What if this freed up roads and motorways to make it easier for businesses to move stuff or people around Auckland.

  3. Don't you think it is sad that the only way to get people onto public transport is to make it free? And if that doesn't work, is the next step to pay people to use it?

    The problem in NZ is that our public transport system is so useless that it will likely never become viable. For instance, in Christchurch, the bus service is hopeless. Often, it will take several hours to get to a destination that would take 20 minutes by car.

    Our big problem is that we don't have the population, and we are much too spread out for an effective public transport system.

    If I lived in London, I probably wouldn't even bother owning a car because the public transport is amazing. If I ever needed a car there, I would just hire one. The same with a lot of large cities I have visited in Europe and Australia.

    In those cities public transport is just so much more convenient and easy, and I would expect cheaper, than using a car. So it just makes sense. Not so much in NZ.

    • Ad 3.1

      COVID has changed public transport use downward in Auckland for years, not just 2020-22. Who wants to get really sick?

    • McFlock 3.2

      Took the bus into work today in Dunedin. Took about twice as long as if I drove, sure, but I was able to catch up on my emails and the news and suchlike on the trip. And $2, with no parking costs.

      • tsmithfield 3.2.1

        How often is it late and you are left standing/sitting in the cold?

        When I was in Lucerne, Switzerland, about the only thing that was cheap was the public transport that was free within the city for tourists. We got a free pass at our hotel.

        We were waiting for a train into town. An announcement came across that the train was running one minute late, as if that was a major failure.

        I guess that is evidence of "Swiss precision".

        • McFlock 3.2.1.1

          These days there are apps which tell you pretty much exactly when the bus will be at your stop. Today the app said "0 mins" when the bus was <100m away, so pretty accurate.

          • tsmithfield 3.2.1.1.1

            Sounds like it must be fairly heavily subsidised at $2 a trip.

            Not that I am necessarily against subsidies. There may be a trade off between subsidising a bus service at a loss and spending a lot more on new roads etc. But, I think the key thing is that the transport has to be cheaper and more convenient than taking a car for it to be successful.

            By "success'' I don't mean just economically, but in terms of taking pressure off infrastructure, improving the environment etc.

            • McFlock 3.2.1.1.1.1

              not as heavily as if it were free.

            • mickysavage 3.2.1.1.1.2

              The proposal is that public transport in Auckland will be free and more regular so it would qualify. All PT in New Zealand and pretty well all of the world is subsidised. There is a greater good in not having cars clog up the roads.

              Auckland's public transport is not too bad in parts. Outside my office the trains run every 10 minutes and a train to downtown is just as quick as driving and a lot more relaxing.

              • I agree that public transport tends to be OK if it is on a main route.

                But, in Christchurch if you want to go anywhere else, then often there is several, sometimes up to four, interchanges. That just makes it highly inconvenient.

                I also agree that subsidies are worthwhile for the greater good, as per my post above. But I think the bigger problem is actually making it more convenient than car travel overall. Not just on the main routes.

                Unless we can achieve that, then I don't think making it free or whatever is going to incentivise people enough to use it.

                In London, even with all the public transport, the roads are really congested in the central city. Even with hefty congestion charges. Getting around by public transport is just so much faster, easier, and cheaper.

                • Craig H

                  As an occasional Christchurch user, agree with our system's issues. For someone who lives near a main route and works/studies in town or somewhere on the main route they live by, it's fantastic e.g. a student at Ara or University of Canterbury. For someone in the further reaches of the city, not so much. It's also expensive for families as they have to buy 1 ticket per person, which for a family of 2 adults and 2 children is $8.30 each way. Compared to just parking in town for $2 for 2 hours, and it's not the easiest cost to justify suddenly.

                  Auckland have their own challenges but also much more expensive city parking and the bigger population to potentially get more out of economies of scale.

                • Koff

                  London is definitely different. I used to work as a clippy (conductor) on the big, red buses there for a couple of years. Even though I got free public transport I found that it was quicker to use a bicycle around most of London because of the congestion! At weekends I could stick the bike on a tube or train and get out of the city for free, too!

                  I have used bikes in Auckland to get to work in the city and it was a bit of a nightmare, but would now use an electric bike and better bike lanes (incidentally ChCh has always been great for cycling – so flat (apart from the Port Hills).

                  Tried using the bus regularly between Panmure and the city but it was also a nightmare. Don't think having free fares would have made any difference. I still had to get up at 5 to get on the motorway by car when it was relatively less congested and didn't get back until after dark. Crazy.

                  Free fares on Auckland's PT network must be accompanied by much better, more frequent sevices, and then strong disincentives for single passenger car use.

                  • tsmithfield

                    I think the subway is amazing to use in London, and definitely my preferred way of getting around there.

                    The only time I used a bus was when we did a open top double decker bus tour around the city centre.

                • James Simpson

                  There are not a lot of cross city transport options. If you want to go to the CBD it works reasonably well from pretty much anywhere. If you want to go east to west, or north to south, the car will usually win.

                  Time is usually more important then the cost of the trip.

              • Belladonna

                Agree that public transport in Auckland, during rush hours, into the CBD and out again is OK. I used bus and ferry when I worked in the CBD, myself.
                Anywhere else – especially cross-town – it's a nightmare.

                But which way are we having it? Are we going to substantially continue working from home (office workers), and let the CBD become a hollow shell? (in which case, great bus services into and out of it are pretty pointless). Or are we returning to BAU, and having everyone work in the CBD again (with all the associated congestion issues).

            • Shanreagh 3.2.1.1.1.3

              These are good points TS. So often the idea of subsidies is looked at just in relation to the sector it is relevant too.

              Like you I think subsidies can be looked at as generating a wider public good. So the public good would be 'taking pressure off infrastructure, improving the environment etc'.

              They still need to make sure the routes are relevant, buses are timely and get priority over cars with bus lanes and phased lights.

    • DukeEll 3.3

      And this fascination with big boy train sets? I love the CRL as it'll ad 10% to the value of my property. but i won't use it much.

      The days of autonomous, electric cars operating as taxi fleets are fast approaching, rendering fixed "routes" impractical for the majority of non private vehicle users when presented with better options.

      Of course, people will never abandon CD's for streaming as the vast majority of people demand their music uncompressed, even if cumbersome and prone to failure

    • Gypsy 3.4

      "Don't you think it is sad that the only way to get people onto public transport is to make it free? And if that doesn't work, is the next step to pay people to use it?"

      Sad, but entirely predictable. PT in Auckland is shit. End of story.

    • AB 3.5

      Our big problem is that we are … much too spread out for an effective public transport system

      If so, it's because our cities were designed for cars, so naturally we use cars – and by your reckoning are perpetually doomed to use cars. In what other aspect of our lives are we forced to live with our previous cock-ups in perpetuity? Does the entire history and prehistory of humanity contain no instance of people saying – " this is effing stupid and serves the economic interests of a minority of us, let's try something different"?

      • tsmithfield 3.5.1

        Perhaps. But it doesn't have to be a bad thing. If environmentally friendly options such as electric vehicles become mainstream, and they can be powered with renewable energy, then roads don't have to be such a problem.

        Also, as our population grows, and our city centres become more populated through more apartment living and the like, then public transport will become more viable. So, I wouldn't say that public transport is doomed for ever. But, at the moment, it is going to be hard to make it popular.

  4. Tiger Mountain 4

    Great idea, and vote catcher, as it opens up the whole debate for less money to be spent on managerialism and $100,000 plus salaries, and more on services that ordinary people can use.

    Not free public transport, but fare free for users with positive spinoffs for congestion, parking and pollution if there is uptake.

  5. Dennis Frank 5

    People born during & since the 1950s are scared of socialism due to maturing as it was being discredited in the 1970s, so I give him full marks for audacity!

    Born in '49, I'm on the cusp of that change & am happy with the prospect of it returning whilst being sceptical if anyone can make it work. It did work (mostly) when I was a kid so I recall the ambience of trust & reliability it created in our culture.

    If he didn't actually admit his policy is socialist then full marks to him for giving people the chance to figure it out for themselves – since most of them won't! Marketing 1.01!

    • mickysavage 5.1

      It works fine in different parts of the world. In Tokyo there are very few cars on the road and the trains are regular and efficient. And once you learn the system in China you never want to do anything else.

  6. Sanctuary 6

    It is a huge advance for people in poor parts of Auckland, who have the choice of clapped out cars (and often running foul of the law with no rego or warrant) or expensive public transport.

    Free PT represents an extra $30-40 in the pocket for the working poor.

    Further, making it free and making it tougher to own a car is actually the exact approach we need to take in terms of top-down initiatives to combat climate change in a meaningful way.

  7. thebiggestfish7 7

    Absolutely agree with this. A drop in the bucket expenditure wise when we think about the impacts on some peoples lives, freeing up congestion on Auckland roads, climate impacts etc. My one concern is that this may invite a few unsavoury characters onto our public transport which could make people feel unsafe. Perhaps bus wardens/security officers who could double as guides for out of town people as a solution. Just spitballing. Great idea though!.

  8. Gosman 8

    It isn't free. It will be merely funded via the Council so that people don't need to pay a fare to use it. Most people will still pay for it. They will just do so via rates and/or taxes.

    • Tiger Mountain 8.1

      Why do those that do get free lunches-like luxury Luxon-enjoy telling the rest of us, as they move between their air conditioned spaces, that there is no free lunch!

    • Ad 8.2

      On that argument not a single public service can ever be free.

      Not useful thinking.

      • Gosman 8.2.1

        That is correct. Not a single public service is free. It is good to see you are open to finally grasping this concept although you are seemingly slightly resisting the implications.

        • tsmithfield 8.2.1.1

          Normally I would agree. But, in the case of public transport, I think there is an argument that it can be free for the taxpayer/ratepayer, or even cost positive.

          That is, if the cost of providing a public transport system is offset by not having to spend on infrastructure such as more roads etc. That would mean that the public transport provided would need to be good enough to attract enough people off the public roads to make building the roads unnecessary.

          If the cost of providing such a public transport system is less than the cost of the infrastructure, then it is a win for the ratepayer/taxpayer.

        • KJT 8.2.1.2

          Technically true.

          But in most cases the cost of supplying public services is considerably cheaper than the cost of not having them. Rail freight, and hospitals are an example.

          A net gain!

          And. Almost always cheaper, and often more efficient, than supply by the private sector.

          • tsmithfield 8.2.1.2.1

            We probably aren't too far apart on that.

            Even though I believe in a market driven economy, I also believe there are instances where that is not the best option, especially when the government is able to pool taxpayer resources to purchase in bulk for the benefit of taxpayers, and able to centrally co-ordinate to best effect.

            One example in recent time is the power reforms in the late 90s that were driven by a National government I think. Even though I am a right wing voter, I thought those reforms were stupid, and driven ideologically rather than rationally.

            Our population is not much larger than a medium sized city in many countries. Also, a market-driven power sector didn't seem logical to me because many of the decisions for generation need to be made over a much longer term than the private sector could justify in terms of pay-back.

            Here is a paper on that if you are interested:

            https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/law/research/publications/about-nzacl/publications/nzacl-yearbooks/yearbook-5,-1999/Kalderimis.pdf

            I think similar arguments can be made for health.

            So, in some situations I think a centrally planned model is best, even though it may be against my normal philosophical perspective. It is more to do with how effectively the model is implemented more than anything else.

            • Barfly 8.2.1.2.1.1

              "I think similar arguments can be made for health."

              I agree and would love to see the part charges for prescriptions eliminated – I believe currently a significant portion of prescriptions go uncollected which undoubtedly leads to higher numbers of hospitalisations for the untreated/ undertreated coditions ("stitch in time saves nine" as grandma used to say)

              Apologies for off topic

        • weka 8.2.1.3

          you'd have to be pretty fucking stupid to think the council would magic up a PT system without having to spend any money though.

        • Tricledrown 8.2.1.4

          Gosman your simplistic world view that taxes are bad .That public services are useless.

          Are so far from reality that ACT baseline support around .5% in normal times .Is how most people understand you have to invest in society for it to function.

          Looking at the US in these Covid times show red states low tax less govt have had the worst damage both in deaths and economically not to mention sky rocketing gun violence in Republican states with the lowest taxes and least controls.

          Gun violence passed the road toll for the first time.

          California one of the few states to have lowered it's gun death rate.has one of the toughest gun control laws.

          Seymour is advocating for slacker gun controls to pick up the fringe gun lobby here.

          Yet the police want tougher laws.They want every gun registered.

          Yesterday a Jehovahs witness was found guilty of killing a pet Deer he had over 30 guns in his possession.

          S

    • KJT 8.3

      Like roads in the city, then?

      • weka 8.3.1

        lol. But let's not forget the time that National wanted to put trackers in everyone's car and make them pay for using the road depending on how much they drove. Ah the heady days of early neoliberalism when people thought user-pays was a good idea and ran with it.

        • tsmithfield 8.3.1.1

          They actually have that type of system for toll roads in France.

          You get a bill at the end of each month or whatever. I think they have it in the UK as well.

          If you were a citizen it would definitely be a much more convenient way of being billed.

          Usually, the toll roads more than justify the cost of using them in the UK and Europe. We drove from Marseille through to Nice on the toll road. It took around two hours, and cost us around 30 Euros I think. The "scenic route" around the coast was about the same distance but was going to take four hours.

          I expect the slower route would probably have cost more in fuel due to the winding roads etc. So the toll road was quicker and possibly more economical.

          • weka 8.3.1.1.1

            France and the UK have trackers in every vehicle?

            • Koff 8.3.1.1.1.1

              They won't be trackers, just electronic tags. You get charged as you enter the toll road. Just need to remember to pay the bill online. Auckland has a similar system for the Puhoi toll road. It's the only one I think. With the price of fuel, ts is right, it's cheaper to pay the toll despite reservations about user pays than using the alternative route. I use the Gateway Bridge toll every time I cross the Brisbane River on the M1 rather than crawling through Brisbane traffic and usually getting totally lost. The bridge also has an adjacent cycleway which is well used – free and zero emissions!

            • Tricledrown 8.3.1.1.1.2

              No not necessarily Weka you can have electronic gps toll device or pay at the toll gate.

              People and trucks who have gps don't need to stop at every toll gate.

              Tsm toll charges have gone up considerably since Macron came to power one of the biggest reasons for the Yellow Jackets.virtually every speed camera was disabled.

              • tsmithfield

                Yes, it is interesting.

                We had a French guy working for us for awhile. He said he was getting paid about the same in NZ as he was in France, and that the cost of living was cheaper in France. Yet he could save for a house in NZ, but he wasn't able to do that in France. He said the reason was the taxes in France are way worse than in NZ.

                So, it doesn't surprise me that toll charges have gone up.

  9. When he stood for mayor of Christchurch 2 elections ago, John Minto had, as one of his planks, 'free and frequent' public transport.

    I supported him then and I support the idea still. We have to go this way if we are going to make any sort of meaningful dent in the looming climate crisis.

    • Gosman 9.1

      Do you mean like how the commuter train between Hamilton and Auckland is reducing carbon emissions per commuter km?

      • Barfly 9.1.1

        currently undersubscribed – "have patience young padawan"

      • lprent 9.1.2

        Do you mean like how the commuter train between Hamilton and Auckland is reducing carbon emissions per commuter km?

        That is a function of traffic. For some reason having a pandemic on has caused problems getting passengers. I believe our domestic airlines have the same problem. Even our road to hamilton is pretty clear at present.

        So I suspect your reaction would be to shut airports and tear up roads on the basis of your attitude about train transport – as they aren’t as efficient as they were in the past?

        I am meant to be going down to work in Hamilton once a week. Since September I have been to Hamilton once.

        I would have preferred to use the TeHuia, but it doesn’t work well as a commuter train from Auckland to Hamilton. I guess that is what you get when the Waikato Regional Council is putting up most of the money.

  10. Instead of assuming free public transport will achieve our wildest hopes and dreams, let's look at what's happened when other places have tried it.

    Overseas trials show it has very little impact on driving — there is a fairly small increase passengers (~25%) but no corresponding decrease in driving. There were also negatives like reduced timeliness, poorer bus driver retention and more vandalism.

    A cost of $210 million is a lot given the whole Auckland PT budget is around $500 million. The biggest driver of public transport uptake is service frequency and coverage, so if he can find that money, it would make more sense to spend it on more services — for that money, they could probably be more than doubled (the cost of adding an additional service is small because much of the budget is admin which doesn't grow much if the network gets bigger.)

    More services would benefit the lowest income earners most because they more often work unsociable hours and live in places not well served currently by public transport.

    Although it may sound counter-intuitive, simplified, cheaper fares can work better than free fares. Queenstown introduced a $2 fare + $1 for each extra zone and their public transport use went up 105% — that's a way better result than any free public transport trial. It's also important people can pay cash and the difference between bus card and cash fares isn't too punitive, because people on low incomes are more often cash-reliant. People struggling to pay their rent or feed themselves can't take the risk of loading money onto a Hop card, no matter how much it saves them, because they might need that money for something else. If there's a big issue with drivers handling cash then make tickets available to buy at dairies and other shops.

    • observer 10.1

      That's an informative link, thanks.

      Increasing the cost of parking, congestion charging, or increasing fuel taxes could all be combined with free fares to lower car demand.

      Free public transport may not be effective for making transport sustainable on its own, but it can have plenty of other benefits that make it worthwhile. It can be a progressive social policy, guaranteeing and improving access to public transport for diverse groups that might otherwise struggle to get around.

    • Belladonna 10.2

      Also, speaking as a parent, Hop cards are a very expensive item on the budget. Not the fares, but the cards themselves.
      Anyone with kids knows that cards go missing, get folded, spindled and mutilated (the slightest bend makes them unreadable).
      Not to mention the flourishing theft of them from schoolbags.

      Every time, you have to cough up $10 to replace one, and then add an extra $5 (because you can't buy one with no credit on it – even though you're going to transfer the balance once you get home).

      And, if one has just gone missing (under the bed, behind the bookshelf, in the sports bag – you name it). You have to stop it immediately (just in case it's been nicked, and the credit is being used). But you can't re-initialize it when you find it again (usually the next morning, or when the room is cleaned on the weekend) – that card is 'dead' for ever.

      Our school secretary has a drawer literally full of them which have been found at school – and are useless because they've been cancelled in the meantime.

      I reckon I pay around $50+ a term to AT for the 'privilege' of having hop cards. It ain't cheap.

    • Belladonna 10.3

      In terms of usage. I know anecdotally, and I believe that it's been measured, that the Gold Card increased patronage of PT (predominantly buses) substantially by the 65+ age group. Setting aside the rort which is the Waiheke Island golden oldies ferry services.

      A caveat is that the OAPs are also the people who have a lot more time in their day, and can afford to be more leisurely in their travel.

      https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/editorial-cost-blowout-takes-shine-off-gold-card/CLZ7AI7O456AWW3IL4L3WANWVQ/

      I do think that both the Govt and the Council had the fee model wrong (which is why the blowout) – but certainly free PT substantially increases independence for people without cars and at the lower end of the economic spectrum (where every penny counts).

      Notably, the trials that the Council did offering free travel on weekends for school kids – didn't have anything like the same uptake.

    • Kiwijoker 10.4

      You have to give your service a value otherwise it garners no respect. However, Efeso will get it right.

  11. observer 11

    Almost everyone using Auckland public transport has a card now. "Free" simply means you don't need to scan it when getting on/off. Some seem to think it's already free, in my experience. We can't expect low-paid bus drivers to chase down every fare, they are already mask cops, tour guides, etc.

    Once people get used to the idea they would use public transport more (good), they would make more journeys for shopping (economic good), leisure (health good), all kinds of reasons.

    Of course it's already subsidised, so it's really just a question of how public money is spent efficiently.

  12. Gypsy 12

    Over recent years, Auckland Transport and a variety of Auckland Councillors have thrown everything at forcing people into PT, including cycle lanes that no-one uses and road calming designed to make driving less desirable. Panuku have joined the act with the cock up in Henderson. Despite these ideological brain farts, and their attendant costs to the ratepayer, Aucklanders continue to choose to drive over catching an unreliable and slow PT system

    Five years after Simon Wilson wrote that "Auckland Transport is blighted by systemic incompetence" not much as changed.

  13. Stuart Munro 13

    In principle free public transport is a very good idea, and a logical step towards lower carbon costs. In practice it rather depends on the skill and integrity of those delivering it.

    Consider the cycleway – which would have offered a free option for harbour crossing. It was scotched at a Sochi-level corruption price of $50 million. Evidently a subsidized electric ferry service benefits from this to some degree. But an electric ferry is not more carbon positive, nor more consumer positive, than a bridge.

    It requires well thought out and well-implemented solutions to deliver the possible benefits. Those involved in Auckland transport to date do not appear to possess either the requisite cognitive resources or practical skills.

    Nice idea though.

    • tsmithfield 13.1

      I agree. I think if we are serious about public transport then we shouldn't be half-arsed about it.

      We probably need to envisage a solution that will be good for the next 100 years, and create something that will guide the development of our cities going forward so that our cities grow around the public transport rather than try and shoehorn public transport to our cities.

      We would just need to accept that it is going to take that long to pay for itself. But that the benefits are longterm. That would mean a coherent strategy and require a complete rethink of all our public transport strategies nationwide.

      If we could do that, then we might have something that people actually want to use.

      I can't believe I am actually typing this. But it seems to make sense to me.

      At least we would end up with something that worked. Whereas, at the moment, it seems to me that all our efforts in public transport end up as white elephants.

  14. Graeme 14

    Queenstown went most of the way there with reducing the fares to $2.00 There's a bit more detail in this article in Mountain Scene

    It's a partnership between the local Council (QLDC), Regional Council (ORC) with responsibility for passenger transport, and NZTA with responsibility for State Highways.

    Queenstown had a unique problem in that most (80-90%) of the traffic into the CBD came along Frankton Road which is State Highway. Frankton Road was upgraded in 2000's to the limit of the corridor, limited by the terrain and development along it. it can't be made to carry any more traffic and also serve the adjoining communities. By 2015 it had reached capacity and stationary traffic jams from Frankton to Queenstown CBD were a thing at times.

    So reasoning went that it was more cost effective to heavily subsidise public transport than put more capacity into Frankton Road. Hence we got a quite frequent, 15 – 30 min Frankton – Queenstown and 30 min hour outer suburb – Qtn bus service, and until quite late as well. Launched with a bit of a party and sort of got going. By 2020 busses were full and there was always people waiting at stops. You'd often see full busses. Along came covid and patronage slowed but looks to be picking up again.

    Now Dunedin is looking at the same thing.

    Re the $2.00 fare, I was at a meeting where it was questioned and at that time a 'free' fare wasn't lawful, there had to be a charge. $2.00 was the cost of collecting that charge. You've got to have a Hop card to get the $2.00 fare, but everyone's got one with $10 on it.

    As for reducing traffic, I think it has on Frankton Road. At least that hasn’t got any worse. Frankton at peak is a mess, but only at peak, and our population has grown by 40% since 2000.

    The only thing that hasn't kept up with the bus service is park and ride, so if you live off the routes you have to drive. For us that's all the way into town, there's less all day parking in Frankton than in the CBD, and the chalk dragons in most of Frankton are highly incentivised private bastards.

    For Auckland, just do it and make the place a real city, not a whole lot of parking areas connected by motorways. It’ll be cheaper and better than building even more roads.

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    59 mins ago
  • Climate Adam: Battlefield Earth – How War Fuels Climate Catastrophe
    This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). War, conflict and climate change are tearing apart lives across the world. But these aren't separate harms - they're intricately connected. ...
    10 hours ago
  • They do not speak for us, and they do not speak for the future
    These dire woeful and intolerant people have been so determinedly going about their small and petulant business, it’s hard to keep up. At the end of the new government’s first woeful week, Audrey Young took the time to count off its various acts of denigration of Te Ao Māori:Review the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    13 hours ago
  • Another attack on te reo
    The new white supremacist government made attacking te reo a key part of its platform, promising to rename government agencies and force them to "communicate primarily in English" (which they already do). But today they've gone further, by trying to cut the pay of public servants who speak te reo: ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    14 hours ago
  • For the record, the Beehive buzz can now be regarded as “official”
    Buzz from the Beehive The biggest buzz we bring you from the Beehive today is that the government’s official website is up and going after being out of action for more than a week. The latest press statement came  from  Education Minister  Eric Stanford, who seized on the 2022 PISA ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    15 hours ago
  • Climate Change: Failed again
    There was another ETS auction this morning. and like all the other ones this year, it failed to clear - meaning that 23 million tons of carbon (15 million ordinary units plus 8 million in the cost containment reserve) went up in smoke. Or rather, they didn't. Being unsold at ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    15 hours ago
  • Gordon Campbell On The Government’s Assault On Maori
    This isn’t news, but the National-led coalition is mounting a sustained assault on Treaty rights and obligations. Even so, Christopher Luxon has described yesterday’s nationwide protests by Maori as “pretty unfair.” Poor thing. In the NZ Herald, Audrey Young has compiled a useful list of the many, many ways that ...
    17 hours ago
  • Rising costs hit farmers hard, but  there’s more  positive news  for  them this  week 
    New Zealand’s dairy industry, the mainstay of the country’s export trade, has  been under  pressure  from rising  costs. Down on the  farm, this  has  been  hitting  hard. But there  was more positive news this week,  first   from the latest Fonterra GDT auction where  prices  rose,  and  then from  a  report ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    17 hours ago
  • ROB MacCULLOCH:  Newshub and NZ Herald report misleading garbage about ACT’s van Veldon not follo...
    Rob MacCulloch writes –  In their rush to discredit the new government (which our MainStream Media regard as illegitimate and having no right to enact the democratic will of voters) the NZ Herald and Newshub are arguing ACT’s Deputy Leader Brooke van Veldon is not following Treasury advice ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    18 hours ago
  • Top 10 for Wednesday, December 6
    Even many young people who smoke support smokefree policies, fitting in with previous research showing the large majority of people who smoke regret starting and most want to quit. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Wednesday, December ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    20 hours ago
  • Eleven years of work.
    Well it didn’t take six months, but the leaks have begun. Yes the good ship Coalition has inadvertently released a confidential cabinet paper into the public domain, discussing their axing of Fair Pay Agreements (FPAs).Oops.Just when you were admiring how smoothly things were going for the new government, they’ve had ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    24 hours ago
  • Why we're missing out on sharply lower inflation
    A wave of new and higher fees, rates and charges will ripple out over the economy in the next 18 months as mayors, councillors, heads of department and price-setters for utilities such as gas, electricity, water and parking ramp up charges. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Just when most ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • How Did We Get Here?
    Hi,Kiwis — keep the evening of December 22nd free. I have a meetup planned, and will send out an invite over the next day or so. This sounds sort of crazy to write, but today will be Tony Stamp’s final Totally Normal column of 2023. Somehow we’ve made it to ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    1 day ago
  • At a glance – Has the greenhouse effect been falsified?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    1 day ago
  • New Zealaders  have  high expectations of  new  government:  now let’s see if it can deliver?
    The electorate has high expectations of the  new  government.  The question is: can  it  deliver?    Some  might  say  the  signs are not  promising. Protestors   are  already marching in the streets. The  new  Prime Minister has had  little experience of managing  very diverse politicians  in coalition. The economy he  ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    2 days ago
  • You won't believe some of the numbers you have to pull when you're a Finance Minister
    Nicola of Marsden:Yo, normies! We will fix your cost of living worries by giving you a tax cut of 150 dollars. 150! Cash money! Vote National.Various people who can read and count:Actually that's 150 over a fortnight. Not a week, which is how you usually express these things.And actually, it looks ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Pushback
    When this government came to power, it did so on an explicitly white supremacist platform. Undermining the Waitangi Tribunal, removing Māori representation in local government, over-riding the courts which had tried to make their foreshore and seabed legislation work, eradicating te reo from public life, and ultimately trying to repudiate ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • Defence ministerial meeting meant Collins missed the Maori Party’s mischief-making capers in Parli...
    Buzz from the Beehive Maybe this is not the best time for our Minister of Defence to have gone overseas. Not when the Maori Party is inviting (or should that be inciting?) its followers to join a revolution in a post which promoted its protest plans with a picture of ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago
  • Threats of war have been followed by an invitation to join the revolution – now let’s see how th...
     A Maori Party post on Instagram invited party followers to ….  Tangata Whenua, Tangata Tiriti, Join the REVOLUTION! & make a stand!  Nationwide Action Day, All details in tiles swipe to see locations.  • This is our 1st hit out and tomorrow Tuesday the 5th is the opening ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Top 10 for Tuesday, December 4
    The RBNZ governor is citing high net migration and profit-led inflation as factors in the bank’s hawkish stance. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Tuesday, December 5, including:Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr says high net migration and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Nicola Willis' 'show me the money' moment
    Willis has accused labour of “economic vandalism’, while Robertson described her comments as a “desperate diversion from somebody who can't make their tax package add up”. There will now be an intense focus on December 20 to see whether her hyperbole is backed up by true surprises. Photo montage: Lynn ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • CRL costs money but also provides huge benefits
    The City Rail Link has been in the headlines a bit recently so I thought I’d look at some of them. First up, yesterday the NZ Herald ran this piece about the ongoing costs of the CRL. Auckland ratepayers will be saddled with an estimated bill of $220 million each ...
    2 days ago
  • And I don't want the world to see us.
    Is this the most shambolic government in the history of New Zealand? Given that parliament hasn’t even opened they’ve managed quite a list of achievements to date.The Smokefree debacle trading lives for tax cuts, the Trumpian claims of bribery in the Media, an International award for indifference, and today the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Cooking the books
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis late yesterday stopped only slightly short of accusing her predecessor Grant Robertson of cooking the books. She complained that the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU), due to be made public on December 20, would show “fiscal cliffs” that would amount to “billions of ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • Most people don’t realize how much progress we’ve made on climate change
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The year was 2015. ‘Uptown Funk’ with Bruno Mars was at the top of the music charts. Jurassic World was the most popular new movie in theaters. And decades of futility in international climate negotiations was about to come to an end in ...
    2 days ago
  • Of Parliamentary Oaths and Clive Boonham
    As a heads-up, I am not one of those people who stay awake at night thinking about weird Culture War nonsense. At least so far as the current Maori/Constitutional arrangements go. In fact, I actually consider it the least important issue facing the day to day lives of New ...
    2 days ago
  • Bearing True Allegiance?
    Strong Words: “We do not consent, we do not surrender, we do not cede, we do not submit; we, the indigenous, are rising. We do not buy into the colonial fictions this House is built upon. Te Pāti Māori pledges allegiance to our mokopuna, our whenua, and Te Tiriti o ...
    3 days ago
  • You cannot be serious
    Some days it feels like the only thing to say is: Seriously? No, really. Seriously?OneSomeone has used their health department access to share data about vaccinations and patients, and inform the world that New Zealanders have been dying in their hundreds of thousands from the evil vaccine. This of course is pure ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • A promise kept: govt pulls the plug on Lake Onslow scheme – but this saving of $16bn is denounced...
    Buzz from the Beehive After $21.8 million was spent on investigations, the plug has been pulled on the Lake Onslow pumped-hydro electricity scheme, The scheme –  that technically could have solved New Zealand’s looming energy shortage, according to its champions – was a key part of the defeated Labour government’s ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • CHRIS TROTTER: The Maori Party and Oath of Allegiance
    If those elected to the Māori Seats refuse to take them, then what possible reason could the country have for retaining them?   Chris Trotter writes – Christmas is fast approaching, which, as it does every year, means gearing up for an abstruse general knowledge question. “Who was ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • BRIAN EASTON:  Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies. Brian Easton writes The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Climate Change: Fossils
    When the new government promised to allow new offshore oil and gas exploration, they were warned that there would be international criticism and reputational damage. Naturally, they arrogantly denied any possibility that that would happen. And then they finally turned up at COP, to criticism from Palau, and a "fossil ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • GEOFFREY MILLER:  NZ’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    Geoffrey Miller writes – New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the government’s smokefree laws debacle
    The most charitable explanation for National’s behaviour over the smokefree legislation is that they have dutifully fulfilled the wishes of the Big Tobacco lobby and then cast around – incompetently, as it turns out – for excuses that might sell this health policy U-turn to the public. The less charitable ...
    3 days ago
  • Top 10 links at 10 am for Monday, December 4
    As Deb Te Kawa writes in an op-ed, the new Government seems to have immediately bought itself fights with just about everyone. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Monday December 4, including:Palau’s President ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Be Honest.
    Let’s begin today by thinking about job interviews.During my career in Software Development I must have interviewed hundreds of people, hired at least a hundred, but few stick in the memory.I remember one guy who was so laid back he was practically horizontal, leaning back in his chair until his ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he left off. Peters sought to align ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    3 days ago
  • Auckland rail tunnel the world’s most expensive
    Auckland’s city rail link is the most expensive rail project in the world per km, and the CRL boss has described the cost of infrastructure construction in Aotearoa as a crisis. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The 3.5 km City Rail Link (CRL) tunnel under Auckland’s CBD has cost ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • First big test coming
    The first big test of the new Government’s approach to Treaty matters is likely to be seen in the return of the Resource Management Act. RMA Minister Chris Bishop has confirmed that he intends to introduce legislation to repeal Labour’s recently passed Natural and Built Environments Act and its ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • The Song of Saqua: Volume III
    Time to revisit something I haven’t covered in a while: the D&D campaign, with Saqua the aquatic half-vampire. Last seen in July: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2023/07/27/the-song-of-saqua-volume-ii/ The delay is understandable, once one realises that the interim saw our DM come down with a life-threatening medical situation. They have since survived to make ...
    3 days ago
  • Chris Bishop: Smokin’
    Yes. Correct. It was an election result. And now we are the elected government. ...
    My ThinksBy boonman
    4 days ago
  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #48
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science  Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 26, 2023 thru Dec 2, 2023. Story of the Week CO2 readings from Mauna Loa show failure to combat climate change Daily atmospheric carbon dioxide data from Hawaiian volcano more ...
    4 days ago
  • Affirmative Action.
    Affirmative Action was a key theme at this election, although I don’t recall anyone using those particular words during the campaign.They’re positive words, and the way the topic was talked about was anything but. It certainly wasn’t a campaign of saying that Affirmative Action was a good thing, but that, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • 100 days of something
    It was at the end of the Foxton straights, at the end of 1978, at 100km/h, that someone tried to grab me from behind on my Yamaha.They seemed to be yanking my backpack. My first thought was outrage. My second was: but how? Where have they come from? And my ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • Look who’s stepped up to champion Winston
    There’s no news to be gleaned from the government’s official website today  – it contains nothing more than the message about the site being under maintenance. The time this maintenance job is taking and the costs being incurred have us musing on the government’s commitment to an assault on inflation. ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • What's The Story?
    Don’t you sometimes wish they’d just tell the truth? No matter how abhorrent or ugly, just straight up tell us the truth?C’mon guys, what you’re doing is bad enough anyway, pretending you’re not is only adding insult to injury.Instead of all this bollocks about the Smokefree changes being to do ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The longest of weeks
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Friday Under New Management Week in review, quiz style1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • Suggested sessions of EGU24 to submit abstracts to
    Like earlier this year, members from our team will be involved with next year's General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). The conference will take place on premise in Vienna as well as online from April 14 to 19, 2024. The session catalog has been available since November 1 ...
    5 days ago
  • Under New Management
    1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. Under New Management 2. Which of these best describes the 100 days of action announced this week by the new government?a. Petulantb. Simplistic and wrongheaded c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • While we wait patiently, our new Minister of Education is up and going with a 100-day action plan
    Sorry to say, the government’s official website is still out of action. When Point of Order paid its daily visit, the message was the same as it has been for the past week: Site under maintenance Beehive.govt.nz is currently under maintenance. We will be back shortly. Thank you for your ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • DAVID FARRAR: Hysterical bullshit
    Radio NZ reports: Te Pāti Māori’s co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer has accused the new government of “deliberate .. systemic genocide” over its policies to roll back the smokefree policy and the Māori Health Authority. The left love hysterical language. If you oppose racial quotas in laws, you are a racist. And now if you sack ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #48 2023
    Open access notables From this week's government/NGO section, longitudinal data is gold and Leisorowitz, Maibachi et al. continue to mine ore from the US public with Climate Change in the American Mind: Politics & Policy, Fall 2023: Drawing on a representative sample of the U.S. adult population, the authors describe how registered ...
    6 days ago
  • ELE LUDEMANN: It wasn’t just $55 million
    Ele Ludemann writes –  Winston Peters reckons media outlets were bribed by the $55 million Public Interest Journalism Fund. He is not the first to make such an accusation. Last year, the Platform outlined conditions media signed up to in return for funds from the PJIF: . . . ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 1-December-2023
    Wow, it’s December already, and it’s a Friday. So here are few things that caught our attention recently. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt covered the new government’s coalition agreements and what they mean for transport. On Tuesday Matt looked at AT’s plans for fare increases ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    6 days ago
  • Shane MacGowan Is Gone.
    Late 1996, The Dogs Bollix, Tamaki Makaurau.I’m at the front of the bar yelling my order to the bartender, jostling with other thirsty punters on a Friday night, keen to piss their wages up against a wall letting loose. The black stuff, long luscious pints of creamy goodness. Back down ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Dec 1
    Nicola Willis, Chris Bishop and other National, ACT and NZ First MPs applaud the signing of the coalition agreements, which included the reversal of anti-smoking measures while accelerating tax cuts for landlords. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • 2023 More Reading: November (+ Writing Update)
    Completed reads for November: A Modern Utopia, by H.G. Wells The Vampire (poem), by Heinrich August Ossenfelder The Corpus Hermeticum The Corpus Hermeticum is Mead’s translation. Now, this is indeed a very quiet month for reading. But there is a reason for that… You see, ...
    6 days ago
  • Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies.The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. They also describe the processes of the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    6 days ago
  • Questions a nine year old might ask the new Prime Minister
    First QuestionYou’re going to crack down on people ram-raiding dairies, because you say hard-working dairy owners shouldn’t have to worry about getting ram-raided.But once the chemist shops have pseudoephedrine in them again, they're going to get ram-raided all the time. Do chemists not work as hard as dairy owners?Second QuestionYou ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    7 days ago
  • Questions a nine year old might ask the new Prime Minister
    First QuestionYou’re going to crack down on people ram-raiding dairies, because you say hard-working dairy owners shouldn’t have to worry about getting ram-raided.But once the chemist shops have pseudoephedrine in them again, they're going to get ram-raided all the time. Do chemists not work as hard as dairy owners?Second QuestionYou ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago
  • Finally
    Henry Kissinger is finally dead. Good fucking riddance. While Americans loved him, he was a war criminal, responsible for most of the atrocities of the final quarter of the twentieth century. Cambodia. Bangladesh. Chile. East Timor. All Kissinger. Because of these crimes, Americans revere him as a "statesman" (which says ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago
  • Government in a hurry – Luxon lists 49 priorities in 100-day plan while Peters pledges to strength...
    Buzz from the Beehive Yes, ministers in the new government are delivering speeches and releasing press statements. But the message on the government’s official website was the same as it has been for the past several days, when Point of Order went looking for news from the Beehive that had ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 days ago
  • DAVID FARRAR: Luxon is absolutely right
    David Farrar writes  –  1 News reports: Christopher Luxon says he was told by some Kiwis on the campaign trail they “didn’t know” the difference between Waka Kotahi, Te Pūkenga and Te Whatu Ora. Speaking to Breakfast, the incoming prime minister said having English first on government agencies will “make sure” ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 days ago
  • Top 10 at 10 am for Thursday, Nov 30
    There are fears that mooted changes to building consent liability could end up driving the building industry into an uninsured hole. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Thursday, November 30, including:The new Government’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on how climate change threatens cricket‘s future
    Well that didn’t last long, did it? Mere days after taking on what he called the “awesome responsibility” of being Prime Minister, M Christopher Luxon has started blaming everyone else, and complaining that he has inherited “economic vandalism on an unprecedented scale” – which is how most of us are ...
    7 days ago
  • We need to talk about Tory.
    The first I knew of the news about Tory Whanau was when a tweet came up in my feed.The sort of tweet that makes you question humanity, or at least why you bother with Twitter. Which is increasingly a cesspit of vile inhabitants who lurk spreading negativity, hate, and every ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    7 days ago
  • Dangling Transport Solutions
    Cable Cars, Gondolas, Ropeways and Aerial Trams are all names for essentially the same technology and the world’s biggest maker of them are here to sell them as an public transport solution. Stuff reports: Austrian cable car company Doppelmayr has launched its case for adding aerial cable cars to New ...
    7 days ago
  • November AMA
    Hi,It’s been awhile since I’ve done an Ask-Me-Anything on here, so today’s the day. Ask anything you like in the comments section, and I’ll be checking in today and tomorrow to answer.Leave a commentNext week I’ll be giving away a bunch of these Mister Organ blu-rays for readers in New ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    7 days ago
  • National’s early moves adding to cost of living pressure
    The cost of living grind continues, and the economic and inflation honeymoon is over before it began. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: PM Christopher Luxon unveiled his 100 day plan yesterday with an avowed focus of reducing cost-of-living pressures, but his Government’s initial moves and promises are actually elevating ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 days ago
  • Backwards to the future
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has confirmed that it will be back to the future on planning legislation. This will be just one of a number of moves which will see the new government go backwards as it repeals and cost-cuts its way into power. They will completely repeal one ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 week ago
  • New initiatives in science and technology could point the way ahead for Luxon government
    As the new government settles into the Beehive, expectations are high that it can sort out some  of  the  economic issues  confronting  New Zealand. It may take time for some new  ministers to get to grips with the range of their portfolio work and responsibilities before they can launch the  changes that  ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    1 week ago
  • Treaty pledge to secure funding is contentious – but is Peters being pursued by a lynch mob after ...
    TV3 political editor Jenna Lynch was among the corps of political reporters who bridled, when Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters told them what he thinks of them (which is not much). She was unabashed about letting her audience know she had bridled. More usefully, she drew attention to something which ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago
  • How long does this last?
    I have a clear memory of every election since 1969 in this plucky little nation of ours. I swear I cannot recall a single one where the question being asked repeatedly in the first week of the new government was: how long do you reckon they’ll last? And that includes all ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • National’s giveaway politics
    We already know that national plans to boost smoking rates to collect more tobacco tax so they can give huge tax-cuts to mega-landlords. But this morning that policy got even more obscene - because it turns out that the tax cut is retrospective: Residential landlords will be able to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • CHRIS TROTTER: Who’s driving the right-wing bus?
    Who’s At The Wheel? The electorate’s message, as aggregated in the polling booths on 14 October, turned out to be a conservative political agenda stronger than anything New Zealand has seen in five decades. In 1975, Bill Rowling was run over by just one bus, with Rob Muldoon at the wheel. In 2023, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 week ago

  • Minister sets expectations of Commissioner
    Today I met with Police Commissioner Andrew Coster to set out my expectations, which he has agreed to, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. Under section 16(1) of the Policing Act 2008, the Minister can expect the Police Commissioner to deliver on the Government’s direction and priorities, as now outlined in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    11 hours ago
  • New Zealand needs a strong and stable ETS
    New Zealand needs a strong and stable Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that is well placed for the future, after emission units failed to sell for the fourth and final auction of the year, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says.  At today’s auction, 15 million New Zealand units (NZUs) – each ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    13 hours ago
  • PISA results show urgent need to teach the basics
    With 2022 PISA results showing a decline in achievement, Education Minister Erica Stanford is confident that the Coalition Government’s 100-day plan for education will improve outcomes for Kiwi kids.  The 2022 PISA results show a significant decline in the performance of 15-year-old students in maths compared to 2018 and confirms ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Collins leaves for Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins today departed for New Caledonia to attend the 8th annual South Pacific Defence Ministers’ meeting (SPDMM). “This meeting is an excellent opportunity to meet face-to-face with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security matters and to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the Pacific,” Judith Collins says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Working for Families gets cost of living boost
    Putting more money in the pockets of hard-working families is a priority of this Coalition Government, starting with an increase to Working for Families, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. “We are starting our 100-day plan with a laser focus on bringing down the cost of living, because that is what ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme scrapped
    The Government has axed the $16 billion Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme championed by the previous government, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says. “This hugely wasteful project was pouring money down the drain at a time when we need to be reining in spending and focussing on rebuilding the economy and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
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