Northland’s decaboondoggle bridge building programme

Written By: - Date published: 7:10 pm, March 10th, 2015 - 37 comments
Categories: Abuse of power, corruption, national, Politics - Tags: , ,

Mark Osbourne hoss

So the cheque book has come out and National is targeting local greed to try and get its candidate Mark Osborne home in Northland. National has promised to convert to two lanes ten existing one lane bridges at a cost of up to $69 million.

As pointed out by Andrew Geddis it is unusual for a private individual to announce a significant spend of Government money as has occurred here.  And his analysis of the Northland Regional Council Regional Land Transport Plan for 2015-2021 shows that only three of the bridges were listed as potential projects and two of these bridges were given the lowest ranking.  The other seven did not warrant any local support.

And news broke this afternoon which may cause some embarrassment to the Government.  Apparently one of the bridges is close to the home of National candidate Mark Osborne.  According to Jessica Williams:

Osborne has some experience with bridges.  While working for Council he recommended that a footbridge be removed because criminals used it to get away from the police.

From the report:

The area had become dangerous as it was used as a shortcut by undesirable people. Although the minutes do not reflect discussion on the Taaffe Street Bridge, it was considered at that time to be an exit from central Kaitaia which was used by persons to escape from the police. ”

Using this logic the most rational thing to do would be to not build these bridges given the propensity of criminals driving cars to drive over the existing bridges.

But as inferred by Geddis there is a word starting with “C” that seems very applicable.

37 comments on “Northland’s decaboondoggle bridge building programme ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. felix 1
    10 March 2015 at 9:32 pm

    Oh there’s a word starting with “c” alright.

  2. repateet 2
    10 March 2015 at 9:40 pm

    Embarrassed about his house being a couple of hundred metres from one of the bridges to at last be improved? They are shameless they won’t give a stuff.

    • weka 2.1
      10 March 2015 at 10:26 pm

      it does suggest that this was done in a hurry though. Some red faces because of that perhaps.

  3. Anne 3
    10 March 2015 at 9:45 pm

    Some kind of derivative of the “We’ve got some bridges to sell to you”?

  4. Olwyn 4
    10 March 2015 at 9:53 pm

    It looks as if they trying to turn Northland into Hazard County, with Osborne cast as Boss Hogg – he even looks a bit like him in the billboard picture.

  5. North 5
    10 March 2015 at 9:55 pm

    There’s a business going on at the moment that all this bridge stuff was in the pipleine anyway and this ain’t the most cynical and insulting bribe blah blah blah.

    OK. Can anyone tell me if there were any existing plans to deal with the three bridges at SH 1 just North of Kawakawa ? True they’re not one way, but roughly once a year flooding of the roadway connecting these three bridges…..total distance including the bridges 800-1,000 metres…..closes SH 1 for two to three days at a time. And [obviously] by “existing plans” I mean ‘before Winston declared’.

    Tell ya what……at my work today I’ve witnessed naturally conservative pakeha people [and Green] just scoffing hard out about this bridge number. “Fuck off – total bullshit !” they cry. One in particluar, a very bright very busy [hardly leftie] professional type, has delegated to her sister the business of contacting NZFirst to offer her roadway boundary fence for that excellent “Send them a message” hoarding.

    I reckon TheVainGloriousKey’s in for a helluva shock. I’m planning the party already. This is the start of the collpase folks. And when TheMSMKey sense that…..TheGaucheKey is ArsePaperKey ! That’s the way MealySimperingMouths roll.

    Done the tactical voting for Winston once in my life already [2008]. Gonna selfie when I do it for a second time on 28 March 2015. We needed Winston once [Winebox] and he came up with the goods……we needed Winston twice [2008] and he came up with the goods……we need him again [28 March] and lots of non-lefties seem strongly resolved to help him come up with the goods again.

    If he does he will richly deserve SirWinstonPeters ! Look at the man. Forever he’s the only one who routinely tells the NarcissisticCafeSocietyDicksAndDickessesOfTheMSM to fuck off. That’s big plus in my book. The MSM are the reason TheLiarKey won a third term.

    • Skinny 5.1
      10 March 2015 at 10:48 pm

      If Peters wins Northland National will seek immediate revenge by closing the Northland rail line and then probably turn it into a cycleway. By not starting to build the rail link to Marsden Point they have effectively been killing it off, run it out of business to compete with trucking.

      The reclamation of the Auckland harbour is then a certainty, they are chipping away preparing now, in order to compete with rival Port of Tauranga. Who have just signed a 10 year deal with a major shipping lline, A $50 million dredging program has began.

      • Tracey 5.1.1
        11 March 2015 at 7:57 am

        Joyce proclaimed on RNZN yesterday that the bridggs go ahead win or lose Northland… but that’s just words…

        • Skinny 5.1.1.1
          11 March 2015 at 10:00 am

          Yes and Brownlee as transport minister said rotton Peruvian sleepers would be gone 2 Xmas’s aago, my Intel says plenty still on the northland line bridges. Brave train drivers.

    • Clemgeopin 5.2
      11 March 2015 at 1:01 am

      Hey, but Key has proclaimed that Winston’s chances of winning are ZERO!
      He should know, he is an honest foreign exchange currency gambler loved by many!

    • Tracey 5.3
      11 March 2015 at 7:56 am

      national will fight… and use everything they have, so temper your optimism for your own sanity…

      When asking yourself why this bridge and not that bridge look at electoral return centres in Northland… and see if they are big and blue…

    • vto 5.4
      11 March 2015 at 8:15 am

      we used to urge dad to go as fast as possible in the old zepher over those bridges to get airborne… great fun …. and a northland classic

      • Emalitza 5.4.1
        11 March 2015 at 8:37 am

        We still do 🙂 (not in a Zephyr).

        The last one (no matter what direction you are travelling in) is the best – even better if you change gear just as you hit the crest.

      • SMILIN 5.4.2
        17 March 2015 at 10:02 pm

        Just another chance for Key to wipe a bit of historical fun out of our lives of course he wouldnt know hes not really a NZ ER ANYWAY

  6. Stuart Munro 6
    10 March 2015 at 9:56 pm

    In the first week of the Northland by-election
    the media brought to me
    a surge in Winston’s popularity

    In the first week of the Northland by-election
    the media brought to me
    Ten imaginary 2-lane bridges
    and a surge in Winston’s popularity…

    • Tracey 6.1
      11 March 2015 at 8:21 am

      excellent….

      I expect more installments…

      there was the allegation of Labour being meanies… (which PG calls dirty politics)

  7. Lanthanide 7
    10 March 2015 at 10:15 pm

    I’ve always thought one-lane bridges are kind of exciting.

    Then again I only ever drive on one when holidaying, and in good weather during the day etc.

    • alwyn 7.1
      11 March 2015 at 10:01 am

      The ones that were even more fun were the combined road/rail bridges where you shared the bridge with a train. I can remember one on SH1 down the coast from Picton, at Seddon I think. That was a long time ago of course and I think it went years ago.
      Wikipedia lists some, although the road or rail portion seems to be closed on most of them. There appear to be two still in use though. Does anyone know whether they are still in use.
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_road%E2%80%93rail_bridges#New_Zealand

      • M Scott 7.1.1
        11 March 2015 at 3:29 pm

        Yes I remember a classic on a short cut near Whakatane, north of Opotiki. The only sign to car drivers, as you approached the rail bridge was “Beware of stock”, was that rolling stock?

  8. Clemgeopin 8
    11 March 2015 at 12:41 am

    I have NEVER seen this sort of shocking sweeteners, blatant bribes and cocky corruption being dished out to an electorate during an election, let alone a by-election campaign!
    Our country is being ruled by a disgraceful, immoral, dishonest, corrupt and evil outfit masquerading as a ‘government’. These buggers need to be defeated asap.

    • tc 8.1
      11 March 2015 at 6:47 am

      You can include the MSM in that, their compliance and bias in the DP machine greatly assisted Shonkeys sell out crew to a 3rd term.

      The damage being done currently, like Muldoon, will take decades to rectify in some areas with the MSM continuing on their Tory sympathies no matter who holds govt.

  9. tc 9
    11 March 2015 at 6:39 am

    Hoss doesn’t deserve that billboard, from memory he was a likeable gentle sort on Bonanza, rather opposite to the blimpy sock puppet boy they’ve dug up to replace the dodgy ex copper.

  10. felix 10
    11 March 2015 at 7:06 am

    And if Peters wins, Key won’t simply renege. He’ll actually claim that Peters promised bridges and now can’t deliver them.

    • Tracey 10.1
      11 March 2015 at 7:59 am

      and his final revenge will be to offer to join other northland “men” and build them himself. He will hammer in the nails!

  11. les 11
    11 March 2015 at 8:05 am

    10 wont be enough…Nationals burning bridges at a great rate….go Winston.

  12. Tracey 12
    11 March 2015 at 8:33 am

    Can Dunne renege on confidence and supply? Can he cross the floor at budget time (if Northland goes to NZF)? Would he? What about the Maori Party. They seem VERY quiet since the election…

    • mickysavage 12.1
      11 March 2015 at 9:32 am

      He has said he will renegotiate the deal he had with National. He will be in a much more powerful position. Stand by for a plethora of new bridges in Ohariu.

      • alwyn 12.1.1
        11 March 2015 at 11:06 am

        Too late.
        The one they really needed, in Johnsonville, is nearly finished.
        If only he was in Wellington Central or Rongotai. Then we might have been able to get the road from The Terrace to the Airport finished, the way it should have been done 50 years ago. It would be a great deal better use of money that the tens of millions our Green mayor wants to spend on cycle ways.

      • Lanthanide 12.1.2
        11 March 2015 at 12:17 pm

        He thinks he’s in a more powerful position.

        National can just say “you made a deal, stick to it. If you wanted to re-negotiate, you should have put provision for that in the original deal”.

        I think in a Mexican standoff, Key would come out on top. I don’t think either Dunne or MP would actually want to bring the government down at this stage.

        • repateet 12.1.2.1
          11 March 2015 at 12:27 pm

          There is a chance that David Seymour will go missing. If he is I know where he’ll be but I ain’t going there to get him.

  13. SMILIN 13
    17 March 2015 at 9:58 pm

    John Key s apologetic face “Sorry its all we can afford at short notice I gave the country away in the TPPA SO IT REALLY DOESNT matter WHAT I PROMISE I wont be her to worry about it my jobs done fuck you NZ you have been the Bain of my life and the David fellow he wont be getting compensation while Im PM ”
    PS Bloody Sabin kept me in the dark about all his shit for so long Im FUCKED

    3 HEARTY CHEERS FROM ALL OF US KEYS RESIGNING

    Well lets hope