Open mike 02/05/2023

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, May 2nd, 2023 - 42 comments
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Open mike is your post.

For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

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Step up to the mike …

42 comments on “Open mike 02/05/2023 ”

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  1. PsyclingLeft.Always 1
    2 May 2023 at 8:03 am

    Ministers have announced an urgent review of KiwiRail after major disruption to train lines in Wellington this week.

    Transport Minister Michael Wood today called KiwiRail to the Beehive to provide an explanation on what happened and the plan to fix it.

    In a statement this afternoon he said the disruption was "not good enough and follows other similar instances of service disruptions to commuters on KiwiRail's network".

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/489052/ministers-order-urgent-review-of-kiwirail-after-wellington-failure

    Absolutely. Its way past time for this. I kinda wonder how many mis- "managers" are embedded in KiwiRail. Been said before : Time for a major cleanout.

    Hope its not too late…

    • Ad 1.1
      2 May 2023 at 8:07 am

      I would rather Kiwirail were absorbed into NZTA, forming a unified land transport system.

      This would require shifting Kiwirail from SOE to Crown Entity, getting rid of its commercial imperative. ALso would require stronger changes to LTMF.

      If Chippie went down in a screamer at the October election, Labour could do worse than be led by Michael Wood. Just radiates competence and calm.

      • PsyclingLeft.Always 1.1.1
        2 May 2023 at 8:45 am

        I would rather Kiwirail were absorbed into NZTA, forming a unified land transport system.

        Been said before..In NZ, and, on The Standard (incl by me) that Rail should be NZ Rail. Get Coastal Shipping in there too. Michael Wood ( I personally rate him highly) ..must get on to it.

        If not now, never …

        • Ad 1.1.1.1
          2 May 2023 at 8:49 am

          Don't think it's too late to make a run at a remit for Conference or direct into Policy Council in time for the Manifesto.

          Though I recall Cabinet revisited this structural issue early last year and passed on it.

          At minimum shifting it into NZTA would provide some protection from a future National government choking rail to death like they usually do. Or selling it off again.

          • PsyclingLeft.Always 1.1.1.1.1
            2 May 2023 at 9:00 am

            would provide some protection from a future National government choking rail to death like they usually do. Or selling it off again.

            Thats my fear (Prob a lot of other NZers too… : (

            Still…I'm optimistic. Some positives..and Mr Wood leading the Rail reset (incl Coastal Shipping! )..could be the needed

        • Tiger Mountain 1.1.1.2
          2 May 2023 at 10:04 am

          Mr Wood has already proved he can get results such as Bus Drivers pay and officially revisiting Coastal Shipping.

          Jacinda passed the baton directly to one of her inner circle without the wider partys involvement, so Michael will have to wait till next time…if there is one after the PM’s “nothing to see here” reaction to David Parkers powerful tax report on what the ruling class have been up to.

          • Tricledrown 1.1.1.2.1
            2 May 2023 at 9:31 pm

            Hoarding the printed money the government threw at the economy when Covid 19 lockdowns when the NZ economy was shut down to keep money flowing.but a few hundred benefited more than $14 billion tax free gains while the rest of us have used savings and gone without guess who paying the overdraft and the cost of inflation. Not the very wealthy who benefited the most.Money hoarders don't spend most of their money in tax free speculative investments like land banking

    • Sanctuary 1.2
      2 May 2023 at 8:20 am

      You gotta laugh though. Wellington has one screw up from Kiwirail and the government hauls in Kiwirail management for a please explain.

      Meanwhile, Auckland's rail network users have been treated absolutely shabbily and with complete distain and… crickets.

      • PsyclingLeft.Always 1.2.1
        2 May 2023 at 8:35 am

        Really? Think theres been more than one…Anyway,IMO this latest has been the tip of the KiwiRail shitberg. Can only hope there is some clearance. Before the below surface shit hits the…

        • Belladonna 1.2.1.1
          2 May 2023 at 11:21 am

          Large chunks (more than half) of the Auckland rail network have been shut down for 18 months or longer (knowing the pace of work, here in Auckland, it will almost certainly be longer).
          At a time when the bus system is buckling under pressure – with more than 1,000 services cancelled – and AT (and contractors) unable to deliver reliably on the edited timetable. It is completely unreasonable to expect that the bus service will be able to take up the patronage slack (and, indeed, the buses have not been able to do so).
          Why anyone thought it was a great time to shut down the network for a non-urgent replacement of tracks, beats me.
          Not arguing that it may be needed – but arguing that now, was demonstrably not the right time.
          Wood came out swinging, defending the shutdown, as 'better to do now, quickly – than to have it dragging on'. Not a message that went down well with even the most rail-obsessed supporters.

      • mpledger 1.2.2
        2 May 2023 at 9:33 am

        You'd actually think there had been a lot of govt focus on Auckland rail given they are spending $5.493 billion on the City Rail Link, on top of all the work they have previously done to link up the south and east/west rail networks. But Aucklanders gotta whinge about their new roads and their new rail systems.

        And the reason Wellington trains have to go slow – Aucklanders broke the equipment that is needed to do the safety monitoring.

      • Stephen D 1.2.3
        2 May 2023 at 9:49 am

        We can thank the Act part for that.

        I agree with very little the mayor says. But reformatting the CCO structure is a must.

    • Mike the Lefty 1.3
      2 May 2023 at 10:34 am

      Recently one of the train guards told me that one of the biggest problems is Kiwirail trying to save money by not stocking spare parts, leading to supply problems when certain parts are urgently needed. Time for a few heads to roll in Kiwirail management I think.

      • PsyclingLeft.Always 1.3.1
        2 May 2023 at 11:11 am

        And yep, KiwiRail..IMO has never really inspired confidence here…

      • Cricklewood 1.3.2
        2 May 2023 at 11:16 am

        Close, theyre not stocking parts due to managers making it look like theyve hit or exceeded budget targets kpi's etc thus ensuring performance bonuses are forthcoming.

        Same issue with the ferries.

        • Ngungukai 1.3.2.1
          2 May 2023 at 6:59 pm

          Useless pr*cks, same in most companies in NZ, nothing is done properly.

  2. Sanctuary 2
    2 May 2023 at 8:26 am

    Listening to Simeon Brown on RNZ frantically shroud waving to cook up a culture war between city and country over electric vehicles and sell his magical thinking cockameme alternative…

    These are not serious people.

    • AB 2.1
      2 May 2023 at 9:40 am

      I escaped from the sound of the radio to avoid Simian. They are not serious about solving problems, but very serious about avoiding paying for them.

    • Mike the Lefty 2.2
      2 May 2023 at 1:02 pm

      A culture war!

      To add to the war on farmers and landlords.

      I thought we lived in a peaceful country

      Apparently not according to National.

  4. arkie 4
    2 May 2023 at 9:57 am

    The Greens have a petition to hold Labour to their 2017 promise of no new mines on conservation land:

    The Labour Government promised in 2017 that there would be no new mines on conservation land, yet more minerals permits have been granted, including to Mineralogy International Limited – directed by Australian billionaire Clive Palmer. The permits allow the company to prospect and explore for minerals in some of our most precious conservation land in Tai Tokerau Northland and over thousands of hectares of Te Tai Poutini the West Coast.

    …

    Sign our petition calling on Minister for Conservation, Willow-Jean Prime to honour the Government’s promise and protect Papatūānuku by supporting Eugenie Sage’s Members’ Bill to stop new mines on conservation land once and for all.

    The purpose of conservation land is to protect our wild and wonderful natural places and all the amazing native plants and creatures that call them home.

    https://action.greens.org.nz/hands_off_our_ancient_forests

  5. Ed 5
    2 May 2023 at 11:36 am

    The Greens are history. Thoughts?

    Chris Trotter.

    https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2023/05/02/is-it-game-over-for-the-greens/

    In sharp contrast to the leadership of Jeanette Fitzsimons and Rod Donald, who, respectively, embodied the movement’s fidelity to science and its duty to challenge the economic status quo, the leadership of James Shaw and Marama Davidson would seem to embody constant compromise with the Powers That Be, accompanied by a wholesale rejection of rationality itself. As election day approaches, it is becoming increasingly difficult to construct a rationale for remaining loyal to the off-putting political force that the Greens are turning into.

    The brute psephological fact, amply demonstrated by the fate of Values, is that no political party has a core vote below which it cannot fall. The moment small-g green voters feel that a vote for the Greens is no longer a meaningful act of faith in the planet’s future, the party will be over. Ultimately, it is not the members who make or break a political party, but the reaction of the voters watching them.

    Martin Bradbury.

    https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2023/05/02/the-true-madness-of-the-green-woke-clique-exposed/

    The new constitution adopted by the party in 2022, expanded the guidelines for selecting candidates whilst allocating voting rights to previously informal interest group networks. One effect of this has been to de-prioritise talent, effectiveness and electoral appeal in the list-ranking process in favour of a kind of horse trading over how to fit in the right quota of geography, ethnicity, ability, youth & gender into the various positions on the list.

    It is this new network that a far more puritanical woke clique have seized upon and manipulated to ensure their identity candidates have most influence……

    …….Folks, that’s not a ******* candidate list, that’s a journey of the damned into madness!

    Normally I wouldn’t give two shits about watching these fools destroy a Party I love, but with the election around the corner, their **** up could destroy any chance of the Left holding onto the Government.

    • Ad 5.1
      2 May 2023 at 11:56 am

      The Labour list process has been at least as fraught as this for over a decade.

      Democracy is messy, but we are remarkably good at tidying up.

    • Sanctuary 5.2
      2 May 2023 at 12:00 pm

      Worth noting that for some reason (probably their success in a space he thinks should be occupied by his genius) Bradbury hates the Greens with a passion and he is complete know nothing.

    • RedLogix 5.3
      2 May 2023 at 12:10 pm

      I long ago concluded the Greens had become irrelevant as an environmental lobby, and now they've morphed into something that is an obstacle to sorting out the planet. And this despite the fact of me voting for them more often than not throughout my adult life.

    • roblogic 5.4
      2 May 2023 at 12:48 pm

      The Greens have always been a niche party, it remains to be seen whether the uber woke clique have an actual constituency that will turn out to vote. Personally I think the Greens are making themselves irrelevant and alienating most people, but I'm not in the wellington twitterati so perhaps they know something I don't.

    • Bearded Git 5.5
      2 May 2023 at 3:33 pm

      Complete rubbish…Trotter has always hated the Greens and regularly writes them off. But they get voted in again and again and the latest polls have them safely back in parliament this year.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_New_Zealand_general_election

      Incidentally, the last 5 polls have all pointed to Lab/Gr/MP forming a government….just.

      • pat 5.5.1
        2 May 2023 at 6:05 pm

        Theres something to be said for confidence….their best result was as part of the Alliance….30 years ago. Since then they have flirted with the threshold. and historically have performed worse at elections than they poll.

        I wouldnt be getting too cocky at this stage….there is no doubt there are problems with the traditional support base.

  6. roblogic 6
    2 May 2023 at 12:58 pm

    Seymour getting ratio'ed (again) with a moan about Sepuloni's ute tax, and unintentionally doing PR for the government laugh

    https://twitter.com/dbseymour/status/1653179673072013312?s=20

  7. weka 7
    2 May 2023 at 1:07 pm

    Entertaining read (unless science illiteracy raises your blood pressure). Someone OIAd NIWA about geoengineering and NZ weather.

    https://fyi.org.nz/request/20271-geoengineering-and-impacts-on-nz-weather#incoming-84506

  8. ianmac 8
    2 May 2023 at 3:02 pm

    Damn. I listened watched Luxon's interview with Kerre Woodham. It showed Luxon at his best. With leadership guidance from Woodham who banned any "anti government rants" or any of the "What I am trying to tell you…" remarks, he had cleaned up his act!

    The result was strangely coherent and fairly succinct. I had been hoping that they would keep him on, but now…. Bugger! Mind you he is hard to treat as warming/likeable.

    • Anne 8.1
      2 May 2023 at 6:00 pm

      Damn. I listened watched Luxon's interview with Kerre Woodham. It showed Luxon at his best

      Doesn't matter. He's only talking to the converted. In fact its probably ZB hosts who have been giving him private tuition on the side.

      • Incognito 8.1.1
        2 May 2023 at 7:41 pm

        Exactly! We’re always at our best when nobody is watching.

        • ianmac 8.1.1.1
          2 May 2023 at 9:57 pm

          I realise that he was with a strong supporter in Kerre, but his sentences were strung together and coherent – sadly, very sadly. If he does that in public, voters will actually get to understand what he is on about and I would rather have the incoherent word salad.

          • Incognito 8.1.1.1.1
            3 May 2023 at 2:11 pm

            I’m fine with a strong Opposition and a true contest of ideas and genuine robust politcal discourse here in NZ. Luxon doesn’t have what it takes, he thinks he does, but he’s wrong.