Open mike 31/03/2025

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, March 31st, 2025 - 118 comments
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Open mike is your post.

For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

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

Step up to the mike …

118 comments on “Open mike 31/03/2025 ”

  1. PsyclingLeft.Always 1
    31 March 2025 at 8:37 am

    NAct1….changing our NZ Environment rules to suit.

    Government signals Wildlife Act update following High Court Mt Messenger bypass ruling

    The government is signalling changes to the Wildlife Act to prevent delays to infrastructure projects.

    As previously DOC (a history of at times very strange, mixed message Conservation organisation ! ) , in a decision which I also wondered at, and disagreed with, had allowed the killing of protected Native species…

    The High Court recently decided it was unlawful for the Director General of the Department of Conservation to authorise the Transport Agency under section 53 of the Wildlife Act to harm and potentially kill protected wildlife species while building the Mt Messenger bypass in Taranaki.

    It ruled the incidental killing of protected species could only be permitted in the process of trying to protect it, for example, the culling of a diseased animal.

    So laws and rules ? NAct1 laughs at them! And werent there also worries about what NAct1 would do with the new bill they were pushing quietly in the background ?

    Conservation Minister Tama Potaka said improvements to the Wildlife Act would ensure infrastructure developments and important conservation work could continue while also protecting New Zealand's precious wildlife.

    "The court's decision has impacts on how developers and even the Crown and NZTA can operate under the Wildlife Act. There's significant concern particularly about the impacts on the economy because developers and infrastructure providers could now be taken to court if their projects kill any protected wildlife."

    Fortunately our NZ Environment has Guardians. ELI is one…

    Aaron Packard, spokesperson for the Environmental Lawyers Initiative, which sought the judicial review, said it was alarming that the government's reaction to the court decision was to simply change the law.

    "We are very concerned that this is the reaction to a High Court case. We've seen this a couple of times now. The government immediately reacts by saying they'll just change the law.

    "And that's concerning when the law has been misunderstood in the first place. We shouldn't be rushing to change the law."

    NAct1's Potaki. Its not too hard to see where is main concern is..

    "While developers are absolutely expected to make the best possible effort to protect our precious wildlife when getting on with their mahi, they should have confidence they won't be prosecuted if their projects incidentally kill protected wildlife despite having previous authorisation and complying with the conditions set."

    ELI's Packard…

    "The minister's made the announcement but as yet there's not any detail about what the exact changes are, so it's hard to comment or respond fully until there is more detail."

    He said what was more important was that DOC was following up with all the projects it had given section 53 Wildlife Acts authorities incorrectly.

    "That really is the work the department should be doing at the moment."

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/556642/government-signals-wildlife-act-update-following-high-court-mt-messenger-bypass-ruling

    Cmon, DOC..who and what..are you supposed to protect?

    Good on ELI, Forest and Bird, et al…speaking and standing up for what cant !

    Reply
  2. PsyclingLeft.Always 2
    31 March 2025 at 8:55 am

    A local council wants/is going to discharge 12,000 cubic metres of treated shit water into a pristine river.

    Wastewater to be discharged into the Shotover River from today

    As its a bird strike emergency? More on that later..

    The council is enacting emergency powers under the Resource Management Act to pump at least 12,000 cubic metres of treated effluent into the river per day, after concerns about bird strike at the nearby airport.

    Problems with the water disposal area had caused ponding and an increase in the number of waterfowl flocking to the habitat.

    "The use of emergency powers has been confirmed following notification by QAC [Queenstown Airport] of increased waterfowl activity around the ponded field which poses an elevated risk to aircraft operations in the area (including being close to/under the main flight path)," QLDC said in a statement.

    QLDC…trust us. (and where have I heard similar before?)

    QLDC said the effluent would be highly treated and it was confident water quality would not be impacted.

    It said the Shotover and Kawarau Rivers were both safe for swimming and other recreational activities.

    Queenstown has had protests and many are angry about QLDC..

    Queenstown Lakes Community Action spokesperson Nikki Macfarlane

    "It's hugely used for recreational purposes, it's used for fishing, it's a really significant ecological zone and that's out primary concern that the river itself will be damaged or have potential problems because of that," she said.

    "Once the effluent moves into the convergence between the Shotover River and the Kawarau River it moves downstream and there are communities within that area that actually get their drinking water from that river. This is a huge issue for the entire community."

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/556664/wastewater-to-be-discharged-into-the-shotover-river-from-today

    Local Knowledge Crux..real Investigative Journalism !

    https://crux.org.nz/crux-news/sewage-the-real-data-and-the-real-emergency-its-the-wall-not-birds/

    Reply
    • Graeme 2.1
      31 March 2025 at 12:18 pm

      Discharge into the Shotover is what occured before QLDC got told that wasn’t on by Ngai Tahu and ORC, so built a cheap disposal field that never had a hope of working. Now everyone is ducking for cover. I’d like to see the design calcs and soakage tests, if they were even done. Suspect the whole thing relys on some heroic assumptions.

      Unfortunately QLDC haven’t got much choice other than put it in the Shotover. They did have a choice in how they went about it and chose the cute fuck you option which will come back and bite.

      Nicky Gladding should have zipped it and watched it blow up in the Mayor’s face, now they are talking about her sins rather than the miss-management of the whole debacle

      Reply
      • PsyclingLeft.Always 2.1.1
        31 March 2025 at 6:46 pm

        On this, there will be blood shit aplenty to come….Mountain Scene ? Not much. ODT? Similar.

        I follow the Crux Investigative links.

        Re Nicky Gladding? I cant vouch for her thought process….but as with many whistle blowers, I'd say was for the Greater Good. Which I'm picking was for the River, Environment and People.

        Reply
        • Graeme 2.1.1.1
          31 March 2025 at 9:50 pm

          Special QLDC meeting tomorrow to maybe crucify her. It's public so expecting an almighty shit fight. People here and down river in Cromwell and Alex are not happy.

          Peter Newport and the Crux team are doing some good stuff here and in Central, a much more positive relationship with CODC though, we've got issues.

          Nicky’s intentions are in the right place, she’s got a strong public interest defence here and a thick hide. Also got most of the town on her side. But still gave Lewers and co a distraction to exploit.

          The long term fix for the Whakatipu wastewater disposal will be expensive, there's not much suitable land in the basin, and what there is has development potential, which the owners aren't going to give up without compensation. And it will take 5 – 10 years to secure the land, engineer and build it. So we're going to be putting our treated to some degree shit in the river for some time.

          Reply
          • PsyclingLeft.Always 2.1.1.1.1
            1 April 2025 at 8:01 am

            Graeme, thanks muchly for your Local Insight and Input. Gotta say I am dismayed at the situation…..21st Century and still sending shit down rivers.

            The (by far) richest town shitting on its poorer cousins down river….

            Where was the Future Thinking? Clean and Green? I wonder (if nothing else) what the tourists will think ?

            Re Peter Newport and Crux, the exposing of local council QLDC and its dirty dealings, has been staggering. Local Nat MP Joseph Mooney, if not supportive, is certainly not protesting !

            Anyway, thanks for being interested and similarly concerned.

            Councillor who leaked information claims Queenstown council failing to follow due processes

            https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/556748/councillor-who-leaked-information-claims-queenstown-council-failing-to-follow-due-processes

            Reply
            • Graeme 2.1.1.1.1.1
              1 April 2025 at 9:15 am

              This isn't the first wastewater fuckup in Whakatipu. Arrowtown had some oxidation ponds built in 70's that never worked, they'd just start to work in March, then winter cold would shut them down, just start working again in December and get shock loaded over the holidays and so on. Got so bad ORC put an enforcement order on and Arrowtown's shit got trucked to Shotover ponds, had a continual convoy of shit trucks from all over SI for 6 months until a pipeline was built to Shotover.

              Wide boy consultants and contractors did the deed on the very small, but loaded Arrowtown Borough Council and sold them a scheme that wasn't going to do the job. QLDC had to "upgrade" the Awtn – Shotover pipeline after a couple of year too, due to design deficiencies.

              Then there's the Arthur's Point and Sunshine Bay package plants that didn't work, Arthur's Point discharging enhanced sewage (what was coming out was worse than what went in) to Shotover directly opposite Shotover Jet, that got piped over the hill to Qtn vary smartly.

              And in mid 80's a grader took the lid off a sewer manhole next to the main water pumping station at One Mile. Sewer blocked, manhole overflowed and several thousand people got the shits or worse, no one died but was very close.

              All the result of very small councils, under resourced, overtaken by development and engaging consultants on job by job basis. The district has never had an in house engineering department that has managed to establish control, or even knowledge of what they have. It's improving but has a very long way to go. Fortunately everything is fairly new, apart from around the CBD where any work under ground is guaranteed to find unexpected services and lead to cost and time over runs, sometimes quite major. The new Henry St bypass or Road to Nowhere…( It's not, has actually transformed traffic flows in CBD and revitalised Gorge Road) was an ongoing example.

              Reply
    • thinker 2.2
      1 April 2025 at 6:43 am

      …soon to be renamed Shitover River…

      Reply
      • PsyclingLeft.Always 2.2.1
        1 April 2025 at 8:04 am

        Sadly…its probably become locally known as. An indictment on an inept (toxic?) Council.

        Clean and Green,

        Reply
        • Graeme 2.2.1.1
          1 April 2025 at 8:44 am

          The greatest irony in this is that the Kawaru has been crystal clear all summer, and very low. Usually it's discoloured by silt going down the Shotover. This year there's been so few heavy rain events in the headwaters the rivers have been clear for months.

          Reply
  3. Sanctuary 3
    31 March 2025 at 9:38 am

    The polling trend change in Canada for the upcoming federal elections is something else!

    https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/elections/poll-tracker/canada/

    Donald Trump has turned the Canadian federal election into a Kakhi election and has saved the Liberals in the process.

    Reply
  4. Anne 4
    31 March 2025 at 10:37 am

    What annoys me about the Golriz Ghahraman story is the way the media chooses to be so selective about what it reports. The latest twist is a good example:

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/foodstuffs-security-guards-texts-on-golriz-ghahraman-supermarket-incident-revealed/2Q6FDUJMLNBY5HWXC3Z3P37WIU/

    We all know Golriz was stalked and threatened online and probably in person as well. We know the reason why. She is Muslim. The threats became so serious she had to be protected 24/7. Add to that her terrifying experiences in Iran as a child, it is no wonder she is dealing with mental health problems now.

    If I was in her place, I would be paranoid about everything I did. That would include my supermarket shopping. I would have acquired special zip up bags or something similar, so no-one could pry into my trolley and conjure up some negative story about me. When I reached the check-out I would tip them out on the counter. I suspect that is what she was doing.

    Has anyone bothered to ask her about it? You bet they haven't. Or if she has told them they have conveniently forgotten to mention it.

    Reply
    • Bearded Git 4.1
      31 March 2025 at 10:53 am

      As you know, there is an election next year Anne (unless Winston calls one earlier).

      The Herald will spend the next 18 months attacking the Greens in any way it can, justified or unjustified.

      Reply
        • Dennis Frank 4.1.1.1
          31 March 2025 at 12:14 pm

          RNZ headline news at noon featured this situation. I see Chloe outing herself on the Herald as a conspiracist: “The central conspiracy here is that the use of such a word on a private account by an MP, before they were an MP, is inherently suspicious,” she said. She could probably do with some media training on the topic to help her explain who's involved in this conspiracy – with clarity.

          [What RNZ headline? – Incognito]

          Reply
          • Incognito 4.1.1.1.1
            31 March 2025 at 2:12 pm

            Mod note

            Reply
          • Dennis Frank 4.1.1.1.2
            31 March 2025 at 3:25 pm

            Because I heard it on the radio, the only way to answer your question is to follow up with this: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/556706/call-for-prime-minister-to-step-in-over-winston-peters-comments-about-green-mp

            Reply
          • weka 4.1.1.1.3
            31 March 2025 at 5:12 pm

            I see Chloe outing herself on the Herald as a conspiracist: “The central conspiracy here is that the use of such a word on a private account by an MP, before they were an MP, is inherently suspicious,” she said. She could probably do with some media training on the topic to help her explain who's involved in this conspiracy – with clarity.

            You're not going to get to grips with the story from the midday news. The conspiracy is that Doyle is a paedophile. It was plain to see the conspiracy being manufactured and amplified over the past 3 days. MSM are limited on what they can say, because of libel, but also because of boundaries around the child and just being decent reporters.

            CS wasn't being a conspiracist, she just named what we all could easily see if we looked.

            Reply
        • David 4.1.1.2
          31 March 2025 at 12:27 pm

          Well, I’d like to think that I’m very liberal when it comes to sex and extremely excessive and enthusiastic sexual activity, as long as it’s among actively consenting adults, and not done in the sight of the public.

          But, for goodness sakes, an MP referring to their own, or another adults anus as a boy pussy, is a little suspect. Doing it while holding a child, is not in any way a good look. The man is a grown up, this at the best is juvenile immature behaviour.

          Reply
          • weka 4.1.1.2.1
            31 March 2025 at 12:31 pm

            how is the word bussy suspect?

            Reply
            • Visubversa 4.1.1.2.1.1
              31 March 2025 at 1:02 pm

              I understand it is a portmanteau word for "boy pussy".

              Reply
              • weka …
                31 March 2025 at 1:12 pm

                indeed. Just not sure how that's suspect.

                Reply
                • David …
                  31 March 2025 at 1:42 pm

                  Weka, I can assure you that if I or one of my work colleagues used that term in the workplace, we would have a discussion about it with management and that’s just for starters. The term bussy, or boy pussy is a highly sexualised term that should not be used in the workplace, it’s usually used in relation to young men/teenage boys.

                  It’s certainly inappropriate for an adult to use in conjunction with a boy. Even worse when the adult is an MP.

                  Reply
                  • weka …
                    31 March 2025 at 1:59 pm

                    he didn't use it in a workplace (and it was posted before he became an MP). It was his personal account, IG I think, which isn't even shareable, so the people seeing it in their feeds were going to be people that followed him ie friends and relatives, and I assume comfortable with gay bloke culture.

                    I agree it's inappropriate to use it on SM with a child. I've just seen another one this morning that is problematic.

                    All those posts should have been removed or hidden when he was nominated for selection. It's his and the Greens' naivety, but also their political ideology that means they probably didn't understand just where this was going (to me it was entirely predictable, because I've been in the conversations about sex positivity and boundaries that they've been blocking).

                    My question was around your use of the word suspect. What do we suspect here? I see nothing to suggest he is a paedophile. I do think his queer politics mean his ideas about child safeguarding are too loose. Unfortunately because of the rapid RW attack, it will be difficult to have a constructive conversation about that and I expect the Greens will ignore the real issues.

                    Reply
                    • David …
                      31 March 2025 at 3:14 pm

                      I understand that there is a lot of suggestive sexual slang especially among younger people, irrespective of gender or sexuality. We would have had our own decades ago, when we were young, but we weren’t MP’s, That’s the issue,

                      An MP using a highly sexualised term in conjunction with young boys, is definitely not a good look. This sort of sloppy indifference to sexual abuse of children is handing ammunition to those who want to attack the political parties on the left, and unfortunately it’s the rainbow community that takes the heat.

                    • weka []
                      31 March 2025 at 5:13 pm

                      yep. And while I understand why the Greens can’t put their hand up and say mea culpa, I do hope they do so internally in the party and sort this out once and for all.

                • Belladonna …
                  31 March 2025 at 3:52 pm

                  It's not, in itself – in relation to two (or more) consenting adults. However, using a sexualized profile name, is illustrative of severe lack of boundaries when the account contains images of an adult and a child.

                  Regardless of whether the images and the account date from pre-MP days, all candidate selection committees know that no social media is truly private – and the name of the account should have triggered an investigation, and damage-limitation plans if the candidacy continued.

                  I understand that until all of this blew up, this account was linked to his profile on the GP website (i.e. his official profile Insta page was both following and being followed by his Bussy account). So not that private.

                  Reply
                  • weka …
                    31 March 2025 at 5:04 pm

                    Agree on both counts, inappropriate no matter who, and the Greens dropping the ball again (imo because they also chose queer culture over feminism, feminists would have warned them on perception of child safeguarding grounds, and thus they have a blind spot).

                    I'm not sure what Swarbrick means by a private account. Before he was an MP I assume the posts were public. But it is possible they weren't and one of his followers took screenshots. It's the time period between him putting his hand up to be an MP and when he became one that's the party's problem, I had really hoped they would have sorted their shit out by now. Someone on reddit said they've changed their selection process.

                    Reply
        • weka 4.1.1.3
          31 March 2025 at 12:28 pm

          the far right were in an absolute feeding frenzy over this for the past 3 days. One of the worst I've seen in a long time. People assuming paedophilia, but it was all politicised and mixed up with them freaking out over gay men's sex. I feel for the child, who doesn't deserve this in anyway. Doyle doesn't either, and he also should have removed the images as he put his hand up for selection. The Greens are naive on this and they really need to get up to speed. Good to see the Herald taking an evenhanded approach.

          Reply
          • Anne 4.1.1.3.1
            31 March 2025 at 1:17 pm

            Two words : Cameron Slater.

            He has form. After Nicky Hagar's book "Dirty Politics", you would think the creep and his mates wouldn't try it on again, but leopards don't change their spots.

            The Greens should have known Slater and Co were digging for dirt on them and taken appropriate action. They are now, but the damage has been done.

            Reply
            • weka 4.1.1.3.1.1
              31 March 2025 at 1:41 pm

              damage done, again.

              Just seen a GP member on reddit say that the rules for selection (candidate screening) have been extended. Thankfully.

              Dunno if CS is involved, but there are plenty of others willing to do the same shit.

              Reply
            • Obtrectator 4.1.1.3.1.2
              31 March 2025 at 5:34 pm

              Dirty Politics was over a decade ago (seems incredible, I know). There's a whole new voting generation grown up since then who won't fully understand or be aware of just what's going on.

              Reply
          • observer 4.1.1.3.2
            31 March 2025 at 2:19 pm

            Agree (with Weka). In order of importance:

            1. The frenzy (death threats etc) is vile and the enablers should be called out. We know what they're doing (including the deputy PM, alas), the media know, and nobody should pretend there's any good faith in this fake "concern".
            2. Given that the frenzy is sadly predictable, the Greens should have done the most basic preparation job, as with all candidates. Same old story (not just the Greens, previously other parties have failed on this too). Social media is there to be trawled by opponents and will inevitably emerge. Get out in front of it. It is amazing how often parties fail to do this.

            But again, a failure to anticipate the vile is nowhere near as bad as being vile. Unfortunately an MP has a name and face, the trolls do not.

            Reply
            • weka 4.1.1.3.2.1
              31 March 2025 at 2:26 pm

              The person that kicked it off on Friday has a well known face and name. But her career is already as trashed as its going to be, so.

              I've seen another image today that makes me think he shouldn't hold portfolios related to children. Not because I think he's a paedophile, but because he doesn't have good boundaries or sense of what's appropriate and that's just wrong for that job.

              Reply
    • Janice 4.2
      31 March 2025 at 10:55 am

      Not only being a Muslim but also she is an intelligent attractive women, which makes her even more a target.

      Reply
    • tc 4.3
      31 March 2025 at 11:33 am

      Its the first article online so get used to the smears and false narratives from gerson's granny.

      Its only going to get worse.

      Reply
    • Belladonna 4.4
      31 March 2025 at 11:51 am

      For the record, Ghahraman is not Muslim – she's an atheist.

      So I’m pretty used to being accused of being Muslim like that’s a crime (for the record I’m atheist and my family left Iran because of what that regime pretended was sharia being imposed on us) but this vileness is exactly what makes mass murder of Muslim possible. This hate, this fake news is what we need to stop to make sure everyone in NZ is safe!

      https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=583950318783158&id=104871873357674&set=a.254657198379140

      Reply
  5. Dennis Frank 5
    31 March 2025 at 10:55 am

    I'm inclined to agree with the prof that there's something rather suspect in the way that our cops have been doing their China tourism extravaganzas:

    Police have a crucial role in the government’s cross-public sector counter-foreign-interference programme, which started work in early 2019. Notably, 2019 is the first year that a group of New Zealand police were invited on a subsidised trip to China. The police should know what an influence operation looks like and understand foreign interference. Yet in 2019, they allowed 35 of their staff to go on a political tourism trip to China, with another scheduled for 2020, which was only cancelled due to Covid border restrictions. The visits were deliberately organised outside police channels to avoid reporting requirements.

    In 2024, the police again allowed 34 staff to go on a political tourism trip to China, organised “by popular demand.” All the trips were advertised by a senior police officer as cultural competency trips, making them clearly work-related. The trips were heavily discounted compared with similar trips to China. This means they are a disguised form of gift and should be reported. So far, the police have only reported receiving “fridge magnets” from the 2024 trip.

    I commend the communists for their sagacity in figuring out that fridge magnets are the key strategy to use to suborn consumerist NZ cops, yet there's a wider social trend away from consumerism due to more people being unable to afford it, due to lack of trickle-down. The regime ought to learn from this and adapt.

    The trips were run by China’s government agency for political tourism, the China Travel Service, which ever since the Mao era, has been the CCP government’s official agency for political tourism aimed at developing asset relationships with foreign elites. Xi Jinping has stepped up political tourism efforts. The 2024 trip featured a meeting with a senior Chinese Community Party (CCP) official in charge of political tourism. https://newsroom.co.nz/2025/03/31/inquiry-needed-after-shocking-naivety-by-nz-police-over-china/

    Hands across the water between the extreme left and the extreme right clearly appeals to many as the best way to do geopolitics. Luxon would argue that his govt ain't extreme, that political tourism began here under Ardern, and it's totally harmless…

    Reply
  6. joe90 6
    31 March 2025 at 10:58 am

    How the most moral army in the world rolls.

    In Gaza, human shields are used by Israeli soldiers at least six times a day.

    I served in Gaza for nine months, and first came across these procedures, called "mosquito protocol" in December 2023. It was only two months into the ground offensive, long before there was a shortage of dogs from the IDF's canine unit, Oketz, who were used for this purpose. This became the insane, unofficial excuse for this insane, unofficial procedure. I didn't realize then how ubiquitous using human shields, whom we referred to as a "shawish," would become.

    Today, almost every platoon keeps a "shawish," and no infantry force enters a house before a "shawish" clears it. This means there are four "shawishes" in a company, twelve in a battalion, and at least 36 in a brigade. We operate a sub-army of slaves.

    https://archive.li/m6U7v (haaretz)

    Reply
  7. Ad 7
    31 March 2025 at 3:22 pm

    Big shoutout to Winston Peters for landing the 2 new rail-enabled ferries.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360634368/stuffpoliticsliveblog

    Yes he's a grumpy old codger who is in electioneering way too early.

    But notably he has launched the deal on the last day of being Deputy PM.

    And the delivery schedule and port upgrade are proposed for this side of a second National-NZFirst term.

    Without Peters leading this we would have seen Seymour really get stuck in and sell off the whole of the Interislander business.

    So well done Winston. Now could you please just retire.

    Reply
    • Bearded Git 7.1
      31 March 2025 at 3:33 pm

      You must be kidding Ad. Here is Labour's response from Stuff today:

      Labour criticises Government's new ferry deal

      The Labour Party says New Zealand will get smaller ferries as a result of the Government's new deal, with no contract or costs forthcoming.

      They said the Government has "torpedoed" the original deal, which would have delivered new rail enabled ferries in 2026.

      Labour transport spokesperson Tangi Utikere said the new deal comes with additional costs.

      “Ultimately this deal will include the ongoing costs associated with the cancellation of iRex, which continue to rise. Additional costs of $1.16 billion could have been avoided if Nicola Willis hadn’t botched the deal – including cancellation of the original deal and ongoing maintenance of the current ferries," he said.

      “Due in 2029, all we know is that the ferries are smaller than those Winston Peters was involved with negotiating in the first place. That must have been a hard pill to swallow for the Minister for Rail.

      “Now we are shopping for smaller ferries, and a whole lot of cash has been sunk at the bottom of the Cook Strait. That’s all down to the Minister of Finance.

      “All Winston Peters has announced today is that New Zealanders will be waiting another three years for ferries and still have no idea how much they’re going to cost," Utikere said.

      Reply
      • Belladonna 7.1.1
        31 March 2025 at 3:54 pm

        Smaller ferries is a feature, not a bug. It was the oversize ferries which were going to require all of the associated port costs.

        Reply
        • gsays 7.1.1.1
          31 March 2025 at 4:16 pm

          That's disingenuous.

          The port costs were in part related to the current age and lack of seismic integrity.

          Reply
          • Bearded Git 7.1.1.1.1
            31 March 2025 at 4:54 pm

            Exactly gsays….and from what Winnie said today Picton is going to need plenty of wharf work for the ferries he announced today.

            The country is probably going to end up with 2 smaller ferries, 3 years later with overall costs that will be more than Labour's ferry plan, when cancellation costs are included.

            (Though nobody has any idea what Winston's ferry plan will cost or who will build the ferries. Some announcement.)

            Reply
          • Belladonna 7.1.1.1.2
            31 March 2025 at 4:57 pm

            And in part related to the size of the replacement ferries.

            Still, a feature, not a bug in the government's eyes.

            Reply
        • lprent 7.1.1.2
          31 March 2025 at 4:55 pm

          It was the oversize ferries which were going to require all of the associated port costs.

          Nope. That is just dumb spin if you look at the actualities about what was proposed and why. Most of the cost was for hardening the ports against the big earthquakes that will hit the Cook Strait ports at some point. The last one was in 1855, at 8.2 – when there wasn’t significiant port infrastructure, nor a need to keep the transport links running.

          The main issue on both sides of the Cook Strait for the work was fixing the geological and construction issues identified by the Kaikoura earthquake in 2016. By the look of the bullshit coming from the government, none of that work is going to done.

          The 2016 was 7.8, complex but not massive compared to the potential quakes that could affect that area. But the effect was scattered over pressure releases in a lot of faults lines – most of which weren’t known about until the quake identified them.

          It was a long way from Picton or Wellington ports, but the cluster of 6.x aftershocks did significiant damage. What it highlighted was that 7.x effects at the ports (ie from an expected and overdue remote 8.2 earthquake) were likely to really damage the existing port infrastructure.

          If there is 8.x or above in the Hikurangi subduction zone or the northern Alpine faults, then the shocks are likely to do even more damage in the complex fault systems near the Cook Strait. Both are likely to happen at similar distances to the Kaikoura epicentre.

          Remember that earthquakes scales are logarithmic. Helpful AI did the maths.

          The energy released by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake is approximately 0.251 times the energy released by the 8.2 magnitude earthquake.

          So roughly 4 times the energy release triggering faults down a heavily faulted zone. Queue some 7.x aftershocks.

          The changes to the building codes were just as profound for the ports and approaches to the ports as they were for buildings.

          In the case of a strait port getting badly damaged, it’d effectively cut the economic ties between the North and South Islands for non-containerised shipping or airfreight. No cars, no trains, no trucks. Probably for several years.

          Even in in the 2016 earthquake with remote epicentre, the effects on from the primary and secondary quakes were harmful. Wellington Port did a PR release in 2017 and Picton took more damage that was expected. Both were able to get ferries running rapidly, but it wasn’t too far off serious damage level.

          The projected work on the ports wasn’t so much for the size of the new ferries. It was as a results of saying that if we have to rebuild for a long term ferry system, then build it for the next century with the knowledge of the kind of damage that a probable earthquake of 8.2 magnitude within 200-300kms could do to port on the Cook strait.

          Now of course that work won’t be done on either side. The central transport funding got cut. The responsibility got pushed to Wellington and Marlborough ratepayers and whatever the money may be left over after planning for some outstandingly useless and blindingly uneconomic motorways. But hey, they’re mostly in politically useful seats for National and NZ First…..

          Bugger the economy if we have a probable major earthquake. There isn’t any money left in the EQC funds after a moderate set of earthquakes in Christchurch 15 years ago.

          Getting a major internal trade route running for basics like disaster relief and repair directly after a serious earthquake will be pretty impossible – it will take years. But hey, National/Act/NZ First clearly don’t want to plan for anticipated events.

          Now talking about anticipated events – who was silly enough to think that we wouldn’t have another power crisis this year? After all climatic weather patterns never tend to repeat for several years.
          /sarc

          Reply
          • Belladonna 7.1.1.2.1
            31 March 2025 at 5:31 pm

            All of which is a reason to promote the rebuilding of the wharf infrastructure as an infrastructure project, not as a ferry replacement one.
            And, due to the size of the original ferries, without the wharf infrastructure, they couldn't operate in NZ.

            Size of the ferries was a factor.

            Reply
            • Incognito 7.1.1.2.1.1
              31 March 2025 at 5:41 pm

              It was the oversize ferries which were going to require all of the associated port costs. [my italics]

              This is demonstrably untrue, and you were and are still wrong to make this false claim.

              Reply
            • lprent 7.1.1.2.1.2
              1 April 2025 at 9:29 pm

              All of which is a reason to promote the rebuilding of the wharf infrastructure as an infrastructure project, not as a ferry replacement one.

              I agree. It was a factor about when the ports got hardened, not that it didn't have to be done. The resizing of the ports to accommodate the larger ships just meant that they could have done the hardening at the same time.

              If you look at the reports about the costs ballooning on the port, it wasn't the size of the ships that made it balloon. It was earthquake hardening of the port structure and the approaches.

              Now that isn't happening. It still has to be done, ideally before the next big earthquake. The 2016 Kaikoura earthquake was 7.8 at the epicentre. Most of the damage at the ports and port cities came from the swarm of 6.x aftershocks it triggered around the strait.

              Picton port still needs upgrades to handle the extended length of the new ferries. But as far as I can see nothing has been added to harden the port infrastructure.

              So when exactly are those ports, a crucial part of our economic infrastructure, going to get hardened against probable earthquake damage? After the next big one?

              Like the 8.2 in 1855. On average, you can expect ones like that at least once a century with the geology surrounding teh cook strait.

              So as far as I can see, National are content to have had those ports and the ferries that they service out of commission for months or years because they're too lazy to pay the insurance up front?

              Reply
          • Bearded Git 7.1.1.2.2
            1 April 2025 at 4:17 am

            Thanks for that detailed analysis lprent. I wasn't aware of many of those facts.

            It means that the COC's role in this whole affair is even more heinous than I thought. My guess is the voting public has little knowledge of those facts.

            The question now is how can the Left stop this government spinning it at the election. Someone from the shadow cabinet who is senior and eloquent (Edmonds, Woods or McAnulty?) needs to be put in charge of the response on the ferry issue to hammer home in terms that the electorate will understand that this is a major cockup.

            Reply
            • thinker 7.1.1.2.2.1
              1 April 2025 at 7:40 am

              Don't forget, despite how it's being hyped up, Winston's comparing a project that included a new Wellington wharf vs one with a revamped wharf.

              Saying the Wellington wharf has some life left in it may be true but it is still further in it's economic life and will need replacing sooner than a new one.

              Reply
              • Ad …
                1 April 2025 at 1:09 pm

                Don't worry CentrePort and Port of Marlborough are going to get wrinsed through this. Their facilities are so overdue as per LPrent above.

                Such a good problem to have: forcing 2 ports to upgrade their infrastructure, and they've already had a practise run at the design of the upgrade in 2018-9-2023.Also offloading that upgrade off Kiwirail and onto local government is frankly just good politics.

                Reply
                • lprent …
                  1 April 2025 at 9:50 pm

                  Also offloading that upgrade off Kiwirail and onto local government is frankly just good politics.

                  Yeah right – politically inspired. Completely stupid. That just means the hardening of a major National transport link won't get done.

                  Wellington has a relatively small rate payer base and larger immediate problems with aged infrastructure – especially the 3 waters.

                  It took Auckland over well over 30 years to fix their aged inner city water infrastructure – the Central Interceptor is the last major piece when it opens next year (we hope). They still have work to do on the floodwaters when with our increasing probability of getting storms like Jan 2023 (I still miss my drowned car).

                  That was with a much larger financial base and easier engineering than Wellington has.

                  As for Marlborough? They can't pay for it. Just look at the populations.

                  Wellington region population 550,600 (June 2024).
                  Marlborough region population 52,300 (June 2024)[

                  The responsibility for those ports is strategic. It should lie with the Ministry of Transport and NZTA.

                  Reply
              • Bearded Git …
                2 April 2025 at 5:09 am

                True Thinker. Apples and oranges.

                But Winston is the master of bluster and spin. He never lets facts or the truth get in the way.

                Reply
      • Ad 7.1.2
        31 March 2025 at 8:59 pm

        Labour's Robertson hadn't agreed to the port rebuild costs. But Kiwirail had signed up the constructor to do it through what is called tie IPAA or Interim Project Alliance Agreement, which is where you are preparing all the costs of the big items, sometimes ordering the big items with really long lead-in times that often need to be imported, and where the methodology to actually build it gets nutted out.

        Labour could simply be more honest that they just didn't have strong governance control over Kiwirail through 2021-22.

        If that reminds you of the Dunedin Hospital saga going through the Labour cabinet, it probably should.

        Reply
        • Bearded Git 7.1.2.1
          1 April 2025 at 4:20 am

          That is history Ad….Labour has to deal with the ferry issue moving forward…see my response to lprent above.

          Reply
          • Ad 7.1.2.1.1
            1 April 2025 at 8:52 am

            They are much smaller targets for Labour, regrettably.

            The new Crown entity for the ferries will be run by Chris McKenzie and Heather Simpson. Chris McKenzie was the main heavy bureaucratic muscle under Sir Michael Cullen and Heather Simpson was PM Helen Clark's Chief of Staff.

            McKenzie was lead negotiator for buying back the entire rail system, and for the 2008 Auckland governance arrangements, and double tracking and electrification of Auckland. Simpson was the key reason there was a unified public service and political order for the 9 years of Clark-Cullen. Between them they know where the bodies are because they buried them.

            This is Labour royalty. And of course they will be staying on no matter who is in government.

            Winston Peters has not only delivered like the milkman when the rest of this lot can't even make lunch, he's also ensured it will never be a political failure because it can never be attacked.

            McNulty or Labour's whomever will have to go find other targets.

            Reply
            • Bearded Git 7.1.2.1.1.1
              1 April 2025 at 2:38 pm

              Yep agree with you now that Hipkins has come out today saying that maybe in retospect the Mega ferries weren't a good idea, thus pulling the rug out from under his spokesperson on the issue in todays Morning Report interview on RNZ.

              Surely these new ferries could be commissioned in April 2028 not some time in 2029? Three years should be enough.

              Reply
            • lprent 7.1.2.1.1.2
              1 April 2025 at 9:57 pm

              Winston Peters has not only delivered like the milkman when the rest of this lot can't even make lunch, he's also ensured it will never be a political failure because it can never be attacked.

              Yeah, he is a effective politician. However what he has done is to separate the ferries from the ports and isolate it so that it gets the ferry system harder to damage by political amateurs like the current National and Act ministers. Which is a good idea.

              What he hasn't done is to the secure the transport link. Neither Wellington now Marlborough regions have the capacity to fund the hardening of the ports. If the ports get damaged, then what is the fallback plan?

              Run freight ships from Whanganui or New Plymouth to Christchurch? I'm assuming that Napier port would get hammered if there is any major Hikurangi quake. Besides Napier looks like it is only really set up for logs these days.

              Reply
    • Drowsy M. Kram 7.2
      31 March 2025 at 3:45 pm

      But notably he has launched the deal on the last day of being Deputy PM.

      I read Peters is going to be deputy PM for another two months – has that changed?

      After entering into a coalition agreement with National leader Christopher Luxon, Peters serves as Luxon's deputy prime minister from 27 November 2023 to 31 May 2025; he will be succeeded by David Seymour.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston_Peters

      Now could you please just retire.

      smiley When he’s good and ready – too soon for some, not nearly soon enough for others.

      Reply
    • SPC 7.3
      31 March 2025 at 5:45 pm

      It is better than NACT would have delivered.

      The ferries will be smaller and still cost more – the deal they had was good and all costs have increased since that price was agreed.

      Will they be designed to diminish wash impact (or will smaller size manage that), will they be part electric with an ability to go all electric?

      Treasury failed to differentiate the new earthquake resilient wharves from the cost of the (larger ferries aspect) project.

      And given the cancellation costs involved, one wonders about their involvement and influence in all this.

      Reply
      • Bearded Git 7.3.1
        1 April 2025 at 4:28 am

        SPC-Agree with all of that except I think (unfortunately) that the electric ferry issue will cloud the argument the Left needs to put forward on the ferry debacle.

        Reply
  8. Dennis Frank 8
    31 March 2025 at 3:34 pm

    When is social media really private?? The Peters/Doyle controversy seems to hinge on the answer to this question.

    She said Doyle's social media account had been private since before they became an MP. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/556706/call-for-prime-minister-to-step-in-over-winston-peters-comments-about-green-mp

    As a non-participant I'm intrigued by the blur. Is there a genuine twilight zone between public and private or merely the semblance of one?

    Reply
    • Incognito 8.1
      31 March 2025 at 4:20 pm

      I’m blurred by your intrigue as a ‘non-participant’; it sounds nihilistic and empty.

      Reply
    • weka 8.2
      31 March 2025 at 5:09 pm

      the implication is that the posts weren’t public (they would have only been visible to followers). But regardless, Doyle should have removed them a long time ago and the Greens should have told him too. It was a long time between selection and becoming an MP.

      Even if they were private, some of the pictures are still a problem.

      Reply
    • SPC 8.3
      31 March 2025 at 5:20 pm

      3 April 2023 on the list.

      https://www.greens.org.nz/green_party_releases_initial_candidate_list_for_2023_election

      When did it become private and if it was after he was a list candidate, he might have been investigated then (negative campaign research) for later action if and when he became an MP.

      Another factor, gay males outing him (possibly as part of their LGB vs LGBT+ activism), thus part of the wider anti-left/woke of the HUAC revival – kulturekampf.

      The BBB term is a send up of (both) social conservatives and himself.

      A biological male identifying as non binary who has a child.

      I’ll leave the Oscar Wilde (whose first girlfriend married Bram Stoker) Bosie D aspect for others more literate to diary about.

      Reply
      • Dennis Frank 8.3.1
        31 March 2025 at 5:28 pm

        Seems like we need to clarify the public/private social media interface since it is being weaponised.

        Reply
      • SPC 8.3.2
        31 March 2025 at 5:31 pm

        Alfred was the butler in Batman – Bram wrote the novel Dracula.

        The specific reference to the number of posts taken down, 52, indicated a record of the posts was made for some future purpose (it appears here to be political).

        Reply
        • weka 8.3.2.1
          31 March 2025 at 5:51 pm

          yes political, and also homophobia and general hatred of gender non-conformity.

          My best guess is that he and the party selection people didn't think the posts were a problem. And that's a problem.

          Reply
          • weka 8.3.2.1.1
            31 March 2025 at 5:52 pm

            Swarbrick implied that she didn't know when the posts were removed but they would be looking at those thing in the coming days. That's more reassuring. Don't know if they will look at the content of the posts critically.

            Reply
            • SPC 8.3.2.1.1.1
              31 March 2025 at 5:54 pm

              The Green Party should vet social media before announcing people on the list (sort of obvious now).

              Reply
              • weka …
                31 March 2025 at 5:58 pm

                exactly. It's not like this is the first time. But also, they're naive about perception and how that harms them, which is quite remarkable given we're 8 years on from the fallout from the Turei speech. .

                Reply
              • Belladonna …
                31 March 2025 at 6:02 pm

                Including (so called) private social media accounts. Nothing is really private on the Internet. If you have anything that your party wouldn't relish seeing on the front page of the Herald – they should know about it in advance.

                Reply
                • weka …
                  31 March 2025 at 6:21 pm

                  it's possible they did know and didn't think it was a problem.

                  Reply
                  • SPC …
                    31 March 2025 at 6:24 pm

                    More likely, they advised their list candidates to make (personal) social media private and run a public social media for political purposes.

                    Reply
                    • weka …
                      31 March 2025 at 6:27 pm

                      in the selection process, someone should have gone through his social media and checked it. Either they didn't do that check, or they did and didn't see a problem with the posts.

                  • Belladonna …
                    31 March 2025 at 6:33 pm

                    In that case, it's terminal political naivety – surely they can't be happy with the current stoush (and, if they think that the right aren't up to digging up every slightly questionable issue from left MPs pasts – they're beyond naive.).

                    Also, while they were going through the Tana saga – their team should have been going over Doyle with a fine-tooth comb to *ensure* there was nothing that could have come back to bite them. They had over 6 months…..

                    If they didn't see this as a problem, then they must be really, really out of touch, not only with NZ but with a significant portion of their party base. The danger of only interacting within your 'bubble'

                    My boss used to say – every time you make a decision – you have to think 'Am I prepared to defend this on the front page of tomorrow's newspaper' – Sometimes you have to make borderline calls – but asking that question means that you're on the front foot with the framing.

                    I don't see the GP have at all been on the front foot with this issue.

                    Reply
                    • weka …
                      31 March 2025 at 6:44 pm

                      I think they are really out of touch. This is what happens when you suppress dissent in a party (thinking here of the GCFs who would have seen red flags around those posts). Queer culture has a core tenet of dismantling boundaries. No-one in the Greens is going to want to remove child safeguarding, but I think many won't see what the problem is here. It's not that Doyle is sexually abusing children (there's not more evidence of that than of any other MP). It's that he's got poor judgement and boundaries. They have a massive blindspot, it was the same with their involvement in the Albert Park violence.

                      I don't think it's terminal. I've seen one person today talking about how they recently amended their selection process to be more vigorous (presumably as a consequence of Tana). But they do seem to be stuck in a kind of naivety that stems from core kaupapa around trusting people and making relationships central. I think they need to get people from outside the party to help them sort that out.

                      I'm also highly confident there will be people in the party feeling very frustrated but unable to say anything, because you can't critique queer culture.

                    • weka …
                      31 March 2025 at 6:49 pm

                      I've been following how these dynamics played out in the UK, and while I didn't know about Doyle's account, it's very predictable.

                      We've got the ultra conservatives yelling 'peverts' on one side, the ultra liberals yelling 'they're angels you bigots' on the other. Women in the middle who've been trying to have a meaningful conversation about child safe guarding have either been branding bigots by the liberals, or co-opted by the conservatives. It's the same with drag queen story hour. It's very difficult to have the conversation, and the Greens won't be being exposed to conversation that isn't polarised.

                    • SPC …
                      31 March 2025 at 6:57 pm

                      We sort of covered this issue Thread 5 on 29 March

                      The adult and age appropriate.

                      https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-29-03-2025/#comment-2030087

            • Belladonna 8.3.2.1.1.2
              31 March 2025 at 5:58 pm

              The tenor of Swarbrick's commentary implies that the posts have only recently (i.e. after the Peters announcement and subsequent furore) been removed.

              Swarbrick said she understood why some of Doyle's posts were being removed if they were being used to spread "misinformation".

              …

              Asked whether it was true Doyle had removed a large number of posts, Swarbrick said it was Doyle’s response “to feeling as though their child was in immediate danger”.

              https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/green-mp-benjamin-doyle-faces-immense-death-threats-and-abuse-over-social-media-account/JGFVVTGZY5D5VBCX6YXGO52IJU/

              Reply
              • SPC …
                31 March 2025 at 6:12 pm

                RNZ is saying that CS said that, the social media went private before he became an MP.

                Reply
                • weka …
                  31 March 2025 at 6:22 pm

                  both happened. He set his personal account to private when he became and MP, and since the whole thing blew up he's been deleting posts.

                  Reply
                  • SPC …
                    31 March 2025 at 6:28 pm

                    Before he became an MP, deleting posts recently – presumably because his private social media was not secure.

                    PS It may have been "transcripted/photo image" when still public (after he was on the list and before it went private).

                    Reply
                    • weka …
                      31 March 2025 at 6:51 pm

                      "transcripted/photo image"

                      what is that?

                      I don't use IG a lot, but on SM generally, if you lock your account, your followers can see your posts, but the public can't. The only way to have avoided this would be to delete the posts before selection. Which is what should have happened, but it's still possible someone would have a copy. My guess is the right are keeping tabs on lots of accounts of anyone who might be in a position of power in the future.

                    • SPC …
                      31 March 2025 at 6:59 pm

                      Copying the posts, either text or text and images.

                    • weka []
                      31 March 2025 at 7:07 pm

                      they’re screenshots of his Instagram posts, and those post contained both images, text and emojis. Most likely explanation is the screenshots were indeed taken after he put his hand up to be an MP but before he became one. Something like 1.5 years?

                • Belladonna …
                  31 March 2025 at 6:40 pm

                  But was clearly in existence (and surely was disclosed) when he became a candidate.

                  As we teach our kids nothing is private once it's released on the Internet. Once information is out there, it's out there.

                  The Bussy social media account (up until this week) follows and was followed by his official parliamentary Insta one – so not exactly keeping the two at arms-length.

                  The posts have only (apparently) been deleted once all the furore blew up. So, it seems clear that neither Doyle (as a politician) nor the GP saw any issue with them prior to this. Which makes one question their political instincts.

                  Reply
              • weka …
                31 March 2025 at 6:26 pm

                the account was locked when be became an MP and in the past few days he's been deleting posts (because his followers will still be able to see them, and he has concerns for the child)

                Reply
      • SPC 8.3.3
        31 March 2025 at 6:49 pm

        This is relevant.

        It seems Google AI is saying that bussy comes from boy, rather than butt, and this is being weaponised by those with an anti LGBTQ+ agenda to infer some danger from queer culture and gender identity to children.

        This was once done to argue against same sex couples having access to child adoption.

        https://centrist.nz/greens-ece-spokesperson-posts-sexualised-child-images-online-peters-asks-wheres-the-media/

        Reply
    • Bearded Git 10.1
      1 April 2025 at 4:34 am

      That Tony Alexander article is interesting.

      If true the COC's central strategy for the election of raising house prices to create a feel-good situation among voters could be in tatters.

      Reply
  11. Dennis Frank 11
    31 March 2025 at 4:54 pm

    I've always agreed with multiculturalism, and I see the rainbow community as a natural part of the whole. I'm naturally heterosexual, so the various sagas around alternative sexuality tend to come across as mystifying sometimes – I rationalise them as examples of biodiversity and move on. Madeleine Chapman has this take on the latest:

    It would not be surprising if the Greens or Doyle’s family took legal action against Peters and others for their assertions, though a surprisingly meek statement from the Greens today suggests they won’t. https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/31-03-2025/peters-attack-on-doyle-is-vile-and-the-greens-should-have-seen-it-coming

    Why anyone would get so aggro as to issue death threats against Doyle baffles me but I could rationalise that as due to mental illness I suppose.

    Plunket asked Peters point blank if he thought Green MP Benjamin Doyle was promoting paedophilia because Peters had just tweeted suggesting as much after looking at three screenshots of Instagram posts from Doyle’s private, personal account.The airing of private social media activity in order to attack an MP also sets a dangerous precedent and suggests that anything is fair game if you can get your hands on it.

    The public interest lies in whether a hacker made those private images public before Winston got them, huh? I await info on that technical point. He (being a lawyer) probably did not expose them to the public so they may not yet be in the public domain.

    Yet she has seen them. So the media ought to clarify if those images are still private or not, lest the twilight zone capture the public imagination by default.

    Reply
  12. Bearded Git 12
    31 March 2025 at 5:00 pm

    On Checkpoint just now (4.56pm) the deputy political editor said that RadioNZ will release its own political poll tomorrow morning.

    Apparently RNZ are going to do regular political polls.

    Reply
  13. Vivie 13
    31 March 2025 at 7:07 pm

    ACT's plan to change workplace health and safety requirements will likely appeal to some business owners' feelings of resentment at being expected to run businesses with workers' safety as a major consideration.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/556728/govt-to-cut-health-and-safety-requirements-for-smaller-businesses

    As usual ACT MPs, along with their Coalition partners, ignore the advice of experts, researchers and others involved.

    "But the chair of the Institute of Safety Management said the government had squandered "a golden opportunity to improve [the country's] poor health and safety performance".

    Mike Cosman said the 50-70 people that died in workplace accidents each year was more than four times the rate of workplace deaths than in the UK.

    He said the proposed changes would do little to address that.

    "The reforms are focused instead on costs to businesses of prevention and not the much greater costs of harm.

    "This seems to be looking through the wrong end of the telescope to us because the cost of our poor health and safety record is north of $4.9 billion per year to say nothing of the impact on workers and their families," Cosman said….

    He said van Velden had ignored recommendations by employers, experts, unions, academics, and representatives of high risk sectors provided to the government in October….".

    Brooke van Velden's intention to "create a hotline to enable reporting of overzealous road cone use" seems malicious. This will most likely increase the threats and verbal abuse road workers receive, many of whom are reportedly suffering mental health problems as a consequence.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/547515/road-workers-abused-and-threatened-we-really-need-to-do-better-as-a-society

    "One in four road workers is verbally abused by motorists on a daily basis, and one in three says it is taking a toll on their mental health, a survey by NZTA Waka Kotahi has found

    The survey also found one in five is thinking about looking for another job because of the ongoing abuse – at a time of record road repairs when workers are badly needed.

    NZTA Auckland and Northland manager Jacqui Hori-Hoult says it is a growing problem…."

    Van Velden's plan seems a transparent attempt to appeal to some drivers' anger towards road workers and to create further divisions among NZers.

    Reply

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