National Monopoly
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1:00 pm, September 16th, 2008 - 14 comments
Categories: humour -
Tags: toll roads
14 comments on “National Monopoly ”
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- All I Want For Christmas
The worms will live in every hostIt's hard to pick which one they eat the mostThe horrible people, the horrible peopleIt's as anatomic as the size of your steepleCapitalism has made it this wayOld-fashioned fascism will take it awaySongwriter: Twiggy Ramirez Read more ...5 hours ago - The 1 Good Thing Left In Journalism
Hi,It’s almost Christmas Day which means it is almost my birthday, where you will find me whimpering in the corner clutching a warm bottle of Baileys.If you’re out of ideas for presents (and truly desperate) then it is possible to gift a full Webworm subscription to a friend (or enemy) ...9 hours ago - Bernardâs Picks ânâ Mixes for Monday, December 23
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Well, I've been there, sitting in that same chairWhispering that same prayer half a million timesIt's a lie, though buried in disciplesOne page of the Bible isn't worth a lifeThere's nothing wrong with youIt's true, it's trueThere's something wrong with the villageWith the villageSomething wrong with the villageSongwriters: Andrew Jackson ...1 day ago - Government Forces Universities to Enforce “Free Speech” While Limiting Universities̵...
ACT would like to dictate what universities can and can’t say. We knew it was coming. It was outlined in the coalition agreement and has become part of Seymour’s strategy of “emphasising public funding” to prevent people from opposing him and his views—something he also uses to try and de-platform ...1 day ago - Fact brief – Are we heading into an ‘ice age’?
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So the Solstice has arrived – Summer in this part of the world, Winter for the Northern Hemisphere. And with it, the publication my new Norse dark-fantasy piece, As Our Power Lessens at Eternal Haunted Summer: https://eternalhauntedsummer.com/issues/winter-solstice-2024/as-our-power-lessens/ As previously noted, this one is very ‘wyrd’, and Northern Theory of Courage. ...2 days ago - By Any Other Name.
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Returning to the model that was failing for most polytechnics and Institutes of Technology is not the answer. ...3 days ago
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Itâs been revealed that National has cancelled 60 percent of its housing projects planned before mid-2025 amidst housing woes. ...3 days ago
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- Release: Why not both? Luxon shuns Waitangi celebrations
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is running away from problems of his own creation, with his decision not to go to Waitangi. ...4 days ago
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The Governmentâs planned changes to the freedom of speech obligations of universities is little more than a front for stoking the political fires of disinformation and fear, placing teachers and students in the crosshairs. ...4 days ago - Release: Nicola Willis spirals country deeper into recession
The economy shrank 1% this quarter and New Zealand has tumbled into the depths of a recession of Nicola Willisâ making. ...4 days ago
- Release: Hikes for company directors but not ordinary Kiwis
Working people are going backwards while company directors are being given huge pay hikes. ...5 days ago
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The Ministry of Regulationâs report into Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Aotearoa raises serious concerns about the possibility of lowering qualification requirements, undermining quality and risking worse outcomes for tamariki, whÄnau, and kaiako. ...5 days ago
- Release: Strengthening Justice Services for New Zealanders
A Bill to modernise the role of Justices of the Peace (JP), ensuring they remain active in their communities and connected with other JPs, has been put into the ballot. ...5 days ago
- Release: Labour will continue fight against destructive projects
Labour will continue to fight unsustainable and destructive projects that are able to leap-frog environment protection under Nationalâs Fast-track Approvals Bill. ...6 days ago
- Green Government will revoke dodgy fast-track projects
The Green Party has warned that a Green Government will revoke the consents of companies who override environmental protections as part of Fast-Track legislation being passed today. ...6 days ago
- Government for the wealthy keeps pushing austerity
The Green Party says the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update shows how the Government is failing to address the massive social and infrastructure deficits our country faces. ...6 days ago
- Release: Visa changes let migrant workers be paid less
The Governmentâs latest move to reduce the earnings of migrant workers will not only hurt migrants but it will drive down the wages of Kiwi workers. ...6 days ago
- Release: Nightmare before Christmas for Nicola Willis
With more debt and a larger deficit, Nicola Willisâ reputation is in tatters after her failure to return the Governmentâs books to surplus. ...6 days ago
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Te PÄti MÄori has this morning issued a stern warning to Fast-Track applicants with interests in mining, pledging to hold them accountable through retrospective liability and to immediately revoke Fast-Track consents under a future Te PÄti MÄori government. This warning comes ahead of todayâs third reading of the Fast-Track Approvals ...6 days ago
- Release: Govt cuts wages for lowest paid NZers⊠again
For the second year running, the government has effectively cut wages for the lowest paid workers in New Zealand. ...6 days ago
- Govtâs miserly 1.5% minimum wage will take workers backwards
The Governmentâs announcement today of a 1.5 per cent increase to minimum wage is another blow for workers, with inflation projected to exceed the increase, meaning itâs a real terms pay reduction for many. ...6 days ago
- Release: Govt shirking responsibility for rate hikes
All the Government has achieved from its announcement today is to continue to push responsibility back on councils for its own lack of action to help bring down skyrocketing rates. ...6 days ago
- Luxonâs âlocalismâ strikes again
The Government has used its final post-Cabinet press conference of the year to punch down on local government without offering any credible solutions to the issues our councils are facing.   ...7 days ago
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The Government has failed to keep its promise to âsuper chargeâ the EV network, delivering just 292 chargers - less than half of the 670 chargers needed to meet its target. ...1 week ago
- Greens call for end to subsidies for Methanex
The Green Party is calling for the Government to stop subsidising the largest user of the countryâs gas supplies, Methanex, following a report highlighting the multi-nationalâs disproportionate influence on energy prices in Aotearoa. ...1 week ago
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The Green Party is appalled with the Governmentâs new child poverty targets that are based on a new âpersistent povertyâ measure that could be met even with an increase in child poverty. ...1 week ago
- Release: Four weeks annual leave under threat
The Governmentâs attack on workers continues with news it is scrapping work on the Holidays Act. ...1 week ago
- Govtâs emissions plan for measly 1% reduction
New independent analysis has revealed that the Governmentâs Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) will reduce emissions by a measly 1 per cent by 2030, failing to set us up for the future and meeting upcoming targets.  ...1 week ago
- Greens stand in solidarity with Whakaata MÄori on sad day
The loss of 27 kaimahi at Whakaata MÄori and the end of its daily news bulletin is a sad day for MÄori media and another step backwards for Te Tiriti o Waitangi justice. ...1 week ago
- Sanctions regime to create more hardship for families
Yesterday the Government passed cruel legislation through first reading to establish a new beneficiary sanction regime that will ultimately mean more households cannot afford the basic essentials. ...1 week ago
- Govt gifts renters housing anxiety for Christmas
Today's passing of the Government's Residential Tenancies Amendment Billâwhich allows landlords to end tenancies with no reasonâignores the voice of the people and leaves renters in limbo ahead of the festive season. ...1 week ago
- Release: National Party urged to support modern slavery legislation
Labour is urging the Prime Minister to walk the talk and support legislation combating modern slavery. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Labour has lost confidence in the Speaker
The Speaker of the New Zealand Parliament made an unprecedented decision on the government amendment to the Fast Track Approvals Bill last night. ...2 weeks ago
- One year on, still no progress on new ferries
Todayâs announcement from the Government on its plan for new ferries throws more uncertainty on the future of the countryâs rail network. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Nicola Willisâ smaller ferries will cost more
After wasting a year, Nicola Willis has delivered a worse deal for the Cook Strait ferries that will end up being more expensive and take longer to arrive. ...2 weeks ago
- Bill to sanction unlawful occupation of Palestine
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has today launched a Memberâs Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as the All Out For Gaza rally reaches Parliament. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Labour fully supports greyhound racing ban
The Government has done the right thing in moving to ban greyhound racing. ...2 weeks ago
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Guess that makes it Hide, top right!
So the Waterview connection won’t be tolled then?
I’d be surprised if the Greens support the Waterview connection at all – so isn’t the question moot?
You’re right bill brown.
Extend the Onehunga rail spur line that is being recommissioned both North-west to join the Western line at Avondale, and South to the airport and then East to join the Southern line at Puhinui and you’ll take so much traffic off the roads that there would be no demand for the Waterview connection either. Most people who drive that route do so only because it takes forever to do it by public transport.
you being surprised and a moot question is a non sequitur and completely meaningless isn’t it.
That’s actually quite funny.
I don’t own a pair, of sequiturs. I just saw them off, or snap them back by hand. But then, I don’t have a libido either. I just wash my ass in the sink like normal people.
Toad – what about suppressed demand and/or the success of public transport making driving a more attractive option? Surely it would be necessary to introduce a system whereby transport users pay an amount that is a more accurate representation of the costs of their choices (with the appropriate checks and balances, and support (if appropriate) where hardship would be unavoidable etc)
I came, I saw, I laughed
The marketing tagline should be “National Monopoly… because ‘Labour Monopoly’ was just too easy”
Funniest thing about this is, people think traveling on the roads under Labour is free. đ
BeShakey said: …Surely it would be necessary to introduce a system whereby transport users pay an amount that is a more accurate representation of the costs of their choices…
Indeed, BeShakey. But it is necessary to give people some real choices first. If their only realistic choice is to drive (because the trip takes 160m by public transport as opposed to 40m to drive) then there really isn’t any realistic choice anyway.
Travel time is work and leisure time wasted – unless you are unemployed (but few are now), in which case you’ll be headed off to job prospects overseas.
But for those of us who have to travel for work, there should be fast and cheap public transport into Auckland Airport. My own experince is that I have to leave home 90m before check-in time if I use public transport. By car I can do it in 30m.
That is ridiculous, and sends all the wrong signals to people who have to commute inter-city or internationally in their employment.
Toad,
There is an old saying that i think started in the construction industry, but applies to lots of other areas as well (especially public transport):
Fast, Cheap, Good… pick any two.
Yes funny when Labour passed a law allowing tolling of new roads, had Transit do a major study into what projects could be tolled (oh yes it wasn’t publicly released, but the list comprises quite a few projects), undertook ARPES (Auckland Road Pricing Evaluation Study) and a follow up study.
Yes – so apparently this blog thinks it is better for people to pay the same to use empty roads offpeak as to use congested roads at peak times. Tired old Soviet style road management, that even Ken Livingstone rejected in London, Stockholm has rejected, as has Ireland, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Japan and South Korea, all with thriving toll road networks.