Steven Joyce: still living in the 20th century

Written By: - Date published: 12:32 pm, March 27th, 2011 - 46 comments
Categories: auckland supercity, public transport, transport - Tags: ,

Auckland Transport Blog is a great resource on its topic. As you read through its numerous posts, you become quite aware of how much of a old fossil Steven Joyce (and NZTA under his direction) is in his thinking of Auckland’s transport priorities. They are using presumptions that don’t really apply anymore.

But first the good news – 2010 PT Patronage – a spectacular year.

Well it was a bit like getting blood out of a stone, but finally Auckland Transport has released full patronage information up to January 2011, broken down by bus, train and ferry. Helpfully, regular commenter Luke managed to get historical patronage data dating all the way back to 2002 off Auckland Transport – which probably provides us with the fullest and most helpful data I’ve come across yet.

The post goes into the detail about the changes with extensive tables which you should go to if more detail is of interest. But in summary:-

Looking a bit closer at the data really shows us what a spectacular year 2010 was for public transport patronage. Compared to 2009, every single month was ‘up’, with October and November being the most spectacular months – having increases of 21% and 15% respectively. The October data is a bit misleading because it was a recovery from the October 2009 bus lockout (hence the huge leap in bus patronage and the slight decline in rail patronage). Overall, total PT patronage for 2010 was up by 8% compared to all of 2009

Most heartening to see is how well the bus system performed last year. With around 80% of Auckland’s public transport trips on the bus it is critical that we keep focusing on improving that bus system to attract more people out of their cars and onto PT. An 8% increase in bus passengers equate to an extra 3.5 million trips – equivalent to 40% of 2010’s rail patronage. Rail patronage also continued to grow quickly, with a 14% increase in numbers compared to 2009.

ATB points out that the total increase in bus patronage in 2010 is equal to the entire increase over the 2002-2009 period and

Over the past three years we’ve seen public transport patronage in Auckland increase from 52.4 million trips in 2007 to 63.5 million trips in 2010. That’s a 21.1% increase over the past three years.

Imagine what might happen if we actually tried to improve the bus system?

Indeed 🙂

.

 

Now, why is all of this important. Well it cuts to the heart of the incorrect and dated transport planning presumptions. An earlier post at ATB was called The false assumption.

Even though the cost-benefit ratio of both bridge (0.6) and tunnel (0.4) options for providing an additional crossing of the Waitemata are pathetically low, I actually think they’re an over-estimate. This is due to the same false assumption that afflicts the analysis of all future roading projects:

That traffic numbers will keep rising

If you have a look through the business case for the harbour crossings, the main justification is that – supposedly – traffic volumes will continue to rise dramatically across the harbour bridge into the future, and therefore we will need more lanes in the form of another crossing.

As someone who has either been on the bridge or has seen it for virtually every morning and evening over the last 5 years, I’d agree that the assumption is outright bullshit. ATB puts up the numbers but I will just look at their graphs.

This reflects what I’m seeing (literally) in my last three jobs. The number of cars is slightly declining, jams are less frequent, and the crawl speed has been increasing. Many people like myself have shifted to using the bus especially since the Northern Busway was completed.

There are a *lot* of reasons to use the bus over the bridge and there is a different mix for everyone I know. Personally my major reason was that I did the morning moderation this site while in transit. A secondary reason is because I can’t get rear ended by an idiot driver talking to his female passenger as happened a number of years ago. In fact that was when I started to use the bus – 6 weeks without a car while it was being repaired was quite convincing. But in general the bus is a hell of lot less hassle and a lot more comfortable way to spend the weekly commuting hours.

The assumption that “traffic will always grow” is not only misplaced for the Harbour Bridge, but also more generally all over New Zealand. You can clearly see how the last few years has broken away from long-term growth trends in NZTA’s analysis of state highway volumes:

The world is clearly changing. As fuel prices increase and as alternatives to driving slowly but surely are improved, it seems as though there’s a clear tailing off in the level of traffic increase on New Zealand’s roads over the past few years. This cuts to the heart of justifying new roading projects of course – and therefore it’s not really a surprise to see traffic modellers, engineers and most particularly NZTA still in absolute denial over this issue. After all, if traffic levels aren’t going up it becomes pretty difficult to justify new spending (just like it would be difficult to argue for more spending on public transport if patronage was plummeting).

A world of never-ending traffic growth is a false assumption. It’s time those in charge of transport planning started to realise this.

Just at present Steven Joyce and the NZTA seem to be locked into thinking of the world as it used to be – in the 20th century. I wonder how long it will be before they see what I’m seeing and join the rest of us in the 21st century.

Update: ATB just put up a post called Is the government insane? covering a NZ Herald editorial on the same theme (that I hadn’t seen). It looks like a movement….

46 comments on “Steven Joyce: still living in the 20th century ”

  1. Cheers for the post and kind words Lynn.

    Yes Joyce is living decades ago with his transport thinking. What’s unfortunate is how much support that thinking has among transport officials who should know a whole heap better. At the moment we have Ministry of Transport and Treasury officials fighting tooth and nail to discredit the CBD Rail Link business case – ignoring the pathetic nature of many of the business cases for roads like the holiday highway and the additional harbour crossing.

    The hypocrisy of it all is quite unbelievable.

    For more data on traffic volumes over recent years check out the NZTA website – where it’s published monthly. Some interesting trends over the past three years: http://www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/state-highway-traffic-growth/

    They might need to change the name of the page – “growth” is no longer an appropriate term.

    • lprent 1.1

      I’d have just republished your posts, but I really really wanted to add my comment about what I have been seeing on the bridge

      • jarbury 1.1.1

        I think it works well this way. I see the bridge a couple of days a week and my experience is generally the same – but useful to know it’s backed up by someone seeing things every day.

        Northbound in the evening peak used to be really badly congested from just north of Onewa. You rarely if ever see that these days.

  2. Anthony C 2

    Joyce just knows who pays the bills, doubt it has anything to do with actually considering modern thinking on transport.

    • The Economic Illiteracy Support Group 2.1

      And the traffic “engineers” at the NZ Transport Agency are looking increasingly like the generals who are busy planning to re-fight the battles from the previous war, rather than the one that’s actually in front of them.

      I can’t help thinking that Auckland will get its roading network finished at about the same time that genuine petrol and diesel shortages start causing transport disruptions in New Zealand.

  3. Kevin Welsh 3

    I am sure that when the CBD rail link was dominating the news a little while ago, Tony Freidlander was in Joyce’s ear discussing the next cheque for the Waitemata Trust.

  4. Carol 4

    My preference is for the train from west Auckland. As long as I can get a seat (which is most often at the times I travel – very early, the middle of the day or slightly after the evening peak period), then I can work on my netbook while I travel. I have tried the bus, but I’ve found it too jerky for working. Also, in peak periods and a while each side of it, there are some real traffic bottlenecks holding up the traffic.

    I have tried bussing to the train station, but find it doesn’t co-ordinate well. I would cycle there instead, but the busy roads scare me. So I drive to the station, and park a little walk away from the station.

    Please, we need more cycleways for shortish practical journeys. They would get more use in urban areas, than some national cycleways for a limited number of tourists & long distance riders.

    PS: I meant to add, that recent train journeys in the middle of the day have surprised me by how full the trains have been. It would seem to indicate a major increase, and not just the more usual gold card users, occasional tourists, and parents with young children.

    • Draco T Bastard 4.1

      I have tried bussing to the train station, but find it doesn’t co-ordinate well.

      Yeah and the reason is that they’re “competing” services rather than being rational and integrating with each other to produce an even better service. But, I suppose, that’s what happens when you decide that the only way to produce an effective service is through the profit motive – even though those services are publicly subsidised.

      Went on a train journey the other day from Glen Eden (11:23) to Mt Eden and there were very few seats available when I got on. When I got off people were having to stand and that was on a 6 car train. The return journey (12:50), for some reason, had dropped to four cars and there was even more people standing.

      • clandestino 4.1.1

        Why can’t people in this country put up with having to stand? It’s absolutely pathetic that someone wouldn’t use PT just because they had to hold onto a hand strap. Read about it in the DomPost for Welly lines and it is infuriating!

        Do people watch TV? From other countries? Do they travel? If they did, they would realise most people getting a seat like we do is a luxury, and it is insane that we pay proportionately more to increase capacity just so lard-arses don’t have to actually use their leg muscles for 20 or 30 minutes!

        Rant: End.

        • Carol 4.1.1.1

          I’m quite happy to stand if I have no work to do. It can be a productive time instead of staring into space. Sometimes I’ve opted to stand when there are spare seats, because it’s cooler near the doors. I can’t speak for others.

    • JonL 4.2

      Perth has cycleways alongside most of the railways – you can virtually cycle from Fremantle to town and not go near a road.

    • Roger 4.3

      Also the best way to commute across town if you have to go in and out severals times in a day (if your lucky if with the rail stop locations!) between various jobs, plus it’s quick. Can’t park in town and make travelling around economic, also it’s a sod waiting for all those lights and irritated people.

  5. Ian 5

    In fact the governments aspirations for Auckland are its aspirations for the country as a whole. Stale and backward looking.

  6. Afewknowthetruth 6

    Three are four utterly taboo subjects in parliamentary circles and in local government.

    1. Peak Oil. That occured over 2005-2008; we are about to fall off the global extraction cliff, which will bring all current economic arrangemnts to an end, probably by 2015.

    2. CO2 emissions. Globally increasing at over 2ppm per annum and on track to render most of the Earth uninhabitable by mid-century via abrupt climate change and sea level rise.

    3. Fiat monetary systems. Money created out of thin air and having no backing whatsoever. The system has already been stretched to the limit and could ‘fall over’ in a matter of months.

    4. Population overshoot. Populations in major centres exceed the carrying capacity of the land by at least 1,000% -hence mass starvation or mass migration when the industrial food system goes down around 2015.

    Pity anyone who lives in Auckland. Mind you, they’ve been warned plenty of times and most have ignored the warnings, so they can only blame themselves when TSHTF.

    In the meantime: ‘Better living through denial.’

    • Marty G 6.1

      “Populations in major centres exceed the carrying capacity of the land by at least 1,000% -hence mass starvation or mass migration when the industrial food system goes down around 2015.”

      you, know, there were densely populated cities before the oil age. more densely populated, actually. i’m not saying declining energy isn’t a major problem for feeding the world but you’re not going to have starvation in auckland

      • Afewknowthetruth 6.1.1

        The 1,000% population overshoot applies to central Auckland rather than Greater Auckland.

        Yes there were centres with high population density, but the total population was low. Take pre-industrial London for instance …it had a population of around 100,000 people. Indeed, the entire population pre-industrial England was only about 3 milliion, so that is a fair indication of the carrying capacity of that huge area of land BEFORE it was messed up via industrialisation. The carrying capacity is undoubtedly a lot less now.

        Pre-industrial NZ managed to support a population of around 1 million. Auckland’s popualtion is headed for 2 million. The implications are obvious.

        Practically everything that Auckland uses is imported -oil, gas,water, electricity, food. When the global industrial system goes under -and there’s absolutely no question it will, it’s only a question of when, and the failure point will definitely be before 2030 and almost certainly before 2020 – bulk imports of food will cease, the electiricty grid will eventually fail, there will be no water coming out the taps and no sewage systems. Auckland will be absolutely stuffed.

        Of course all official planning is geared to exacerbating every predicament we are in.

        As I said before, in the meantime, better livng through denial.

        • Marty G 6.1.1.1

          what about ancient roman? 2 million people, and only one of several million-person cities on the Mediterranean.

          We can easily feed ourselves with less energy. We already produce ten times the food we need and expend only a fraction of our energy resource on it. And it’s not like we’re going to have no oil in 5, 10, 25, 50 years time. Much less no energy.

          The problem of peak oil is one of coping with less, not coping with none. There won’t be starvation in NZ. There may well be elsewhere as rich countries outbid poor countries to buy energy supplies for discretionary spending so there isn’t enough for poor countries’ staples.

          Can you tell me why the electricity grid will fail in Auckland because of peak oil? We don’t use oil for electricity generation. And to the extent that we need it for ancillary purposes there will still be oil to use, just not as much.

          Tell me, if we needed to get by on half the oil we do now (ie. the amount we used in 1970), do you think we would cut demand by letting the electricity grid fail for lack of small oil inputs or by cutting private motor transport and by putting freight back on to rail?

      • Luva 6.1.2

        Won’t point 1 fix point 2?

        • Marty G 6.1.2.1

          unfortunately, no. there’s still too much oil, plus coal, natural gas etc. plus our emissions to date have locked in a large amount of future warming already.

  7. Jenny 7

    .
    Public Transport – a spectacular year?

    http://transportblog.co.nz/2011/03/25/2010-pt-patronage-–-a-spectacular-year/

    It is good that there is an overall percentage increase of public transport use of 8%.

    But is it enough?

    In a world where private transport is one of the leading causes of CO2 pollution and resulting climate change, to really make a difference we need percentage changes of hundreds and thousands of percent increase in public transport usage.

    The present profit driven free market public transport model will never cut it.

    Fare Free New Zealand points out that the way to achieve the sort of increase we need is to make all public transport fare free.

    According to Wikipedia Public transport in Hasselt This Belgium city saw an increase in public transport usage by 100% in it’s first year of introducing fare free city wide public transport. Since then increases in public transport have topped 1300% ridership increase.

    Apart from this phenomenal increase in public transport patronage Wikipedia lists a range of other benefits.

    Wikipedia
    Operational benefits
    Transport operators can benefit from faster boarding and shorter dwell times, allowing faster timetabling of services. Although some of these benefits can be achieved in other ways, such as off-vehicle ticket sales and modern types of electronic fare collection, zero-fare transport avoids equipment and personnel costs.

    Passenger aggression may be reduced. In 2008 bus drivers of Société des Transports Automobiles (STA) in Essonne held strikes demanding zero-fare transport for this reason. They claim that 90% of the aggression is related to refusal to pay the fare.[2]

    [edit]
    Commercial benefits
    Some zero-fare transport services are funded by private businesses (such as the merchants in a shopping mall) in the hope that doing so will increase sales or other revenue from increased foot traffic or ease of travel. Employers often operate free shuttles as a benefit to their employees, or as part of a congestion mitigation agreement with a local government.

    Community benefits
    Zero-fare transport can make the system more accessible and fair for low-income residents.[citation needed] Other benefits are the same as those attributed to public transport generally:

    Road traffic can benefit from decreased congestion and faster average road speeds, fewer traffic accidents, easier parking, savings from reduced wear and tear on roads
    Environmental and public health benefits including decreased air pollution and noise pollution from road traffic
    [edit]
    Global benefits
    Global benefits of zero-fare transport are also the same as those attributed to public transport generally. If use of personal cars is discouraged, zero-fare public transport could mitigate the problems of global warming and oil depletion.

    Interestingly one of the other major benefits of a fare free public transport system is that it actually may work out as cheaper.

    Are free buses the answer to Bristol City’s transport problems

    A spokesman for Free Bus said: “Bristol City Council subsidises the bus network for £4.7 million per year, whilst entirely free public transport in Hasselt, Belgium, costs £4.2 million per year. The cost of a fully loaded short-hop bus journey is 23p per passenger.”
    When you think about the £2 or £3 fares you currently pay for a bus journey in the city and the profits they must be making you wonder why we haven’t aleady pursued this Free Bus initiative.

    • Marty G 7.1

      I think free public transport is a really good idea. It’s like toll roads, huge costs associated with trying to charge people.

      the constraint on PT patronage in Auckland is capacity. When new lines open, patronage shoots up until they’re full. Which just proves the huge latent demand that is out there.

      • lprent 7.1.1

        That is exactly correct on the loading issues. I’m finding more and more of the buses I use are going to standing room only. Gets to be a bit of a pain when I’m carting shopping because I stop at the supermarket on the way home. Embarrassing on the occasion of some cans of fish getting away from me.

        The payment isn’t that much of a problem. I just hand over about $60 per month to the driver and they put it on my card.

        BTW: I was a bit concerned when I found the nice polite young people getting up and offering me a seat. I”m not that frigging old! Right up until I had a heart attack. Now I’m deeply grateful.

      • Buffalo Bob 7.1.2

        At the moment there is a very large cost to collect the money, at least with rail that is… with Integrated Ticketing this should fall away, as less train operators are required to run the train…. don’t know how that sits though with you lot though, I can imagine the unions having a bit of a whinge.

        The constraint on Auckland’s rail is Britomart, this is something that Len needs to push to the public…..the City Rail Link will solve this problem…once built, capacity can increase. But your right, there is huge demand for PT in Auckland… we just have to make more noise……

        I am a Truckee myself and I can see the benefits of the RoNS for productivity…but I can also see the benefits of rail removing cars from Auckland’s motorway system, which also increase productivity. I agree with the RoNS, I agree with Aucklands Motorway Network being completed and I agree with the swift development of Auckland’s Metro/Suburban and Regional Rail Network. We need all modes of transport working to get our city moving….. at the moment everything is rubbish.

      • jarbury 7.1.3

        Free PT would cost around $150 million a year in Auckland. Not necessarily saying we shouldn’t spend that, but worth knowing the cost.

        Personally, if we were to spend an extra $150 million a year on public transport in Auckland I would rather that money went on making the system better. More bus priority, nicer train stations, newer buses, make a start on the big rail projects and so on.

        The PT system is already pretty much at capacity at peak times. Making it free would swamp the system and leave you with little, if any, money to then actually improve the system and increase capacity to cope with what you just created.

        In short, nice idea but not really that realistic in my opinion.

        • lprent 7.1.3.1

          I’d agree. I want the system to be better. Unless you’re travelling long distances or have a complicated routing*, then the fares are pretty minimal.

          The worst PT commute I knew of was a guy who commuted from Waiheke to Takapuna each day. He had a expensive ferry ride followed by a bus from town to Takapuna. The real pain was the uncertain times of the ferry and bus and that there was only a few minutes time between one arriving and the other departing. If either was out on arriving he’d have to wait for quite a while for the next one. Such accidents happened almost all of the time.

  8. support rail jobs in dunedin 8

    lets not forget Gerry Brownlee wants to run transport on lignite diesel from Bill’s electorate in Southland.

    National is stuck in the 1800s…

  9. Colonial Viper 9

    Trains are a big part of the answer people, Europe gets it

    http://www.theage.com.au/travel/planes-v-fast-trains-tortoise-and-the-air-20110323-1c6hh.html

    • Jim Nald 9.1

      There is a smart way to combine passenger, freight and tourists for both Nth and Sth Islands.
      Some of us can be working, wifi-ing, reading (napping) from city CBD to city CBD.
      Come on, Kiwis and Kiwirails, you can do it.

  10. Carol 10

    I use public transport a lot these days, and prefer trains to buses, though buses are useful and important too. However, let’s also not forget the contribution that can be made from promoting safe cycling and walking. Bicycles are an incredible piece of machinery, combining body power with increased mobility, while being relatively economical and enviromentally-friendly.

    http://sustainablecitiescollective.com/mailak/21582/economic-effect-biking-vs-driving-astounding-experts-say

    In his paper “Estimating the Economic Benefits of Bicycling and Bicycle Facilities: An Interpretive Review and Proposed Methods,” Dr. Kevin Krizek of the University of Minnesota’s Civil Engineering program points out that the way in which cities are built has contributed to the decline in public health and rising cost of health care:

    “Sprawling land use practices and resulting auto-dependent travel are themes that now have moved front and center into the American consciousness; the link to public health and the declared obesity epidemic remains an important component of this discussion,” writes Krizek.

    In cities with easy-access bike lanes and biking trails, adopting the bike commute routine can benefit the local economy even more than driving a car; plus, it keeps saves consumers money. …

    Cities need to move towards deisgns that provide cycleways that do not involve a lethal mix of cycles with motorised vehicles.

    Also pedestrians are badly catered for in NZ. The provisions tend to be built around the highest priority being given to roads. It can often be really frustrating getting to public transport on time to catch that bus or train. Pedestrians are often diverted to crossings & lights that are out of their way. Also the light phases in Auckland are very quick for pedestrians, often with motor vehicles blocking off the crossings, or starting to drive over them before pedestrians have had time to clear the crossing.

    NZTA did some research on this back in 2004/5, concluding that safe cycling & walking should be a significant part of an integrated transport strategy. What has been done on it since then? I’ve followed some of NZTA’s links and haven’t found any significant research since 2005. However, they are promoting certain plans and provisions in particular places.

    http://www.nzta.govt.nz/planning/process/walking-cycling.html

    • lprent 10.1

      Cycling is less useful in Auckland. The lots of little hills are a pain. But the biggest issue is that it is outright dangerous riding a bike here around the main roads, both because of the congestion and because of the parked cars.

      It would require almost a complete new roading network around town where I live before I would take the risk of using one.

      BTW: I used to do quite a lot of cycling when I was a kid in Auckland, touring, and in other cities.

      • Bored 10.1.1

        Hills, what hills, try Wellington where we have real wind and real hills to negotiate. As a cyclist why are you not demanding your local section of the JK Mem Cycleway?

        • lprent 10.1.1.1

          I’ve never cycled in Wellington. But from when I have walked there it has always seemed like I either go up hills or down them.

          I don’t remember going up, down, up, down, for quite some time. You have to do this if you play safe and stay off the main roads where motorists are trying to kill you.

          • Bored 10.1.1.1.1

            The evil auto heads are out to get us cyclists here, they park cars everywhere to narrow the roads to make hitting us easier….then there are bus drivers. Its war. As for hill and winds, I cycled Auckland for a while, its all a bit too far without the Chch advantage of flat. Long slow hills and heat. Mind you the Chch nor easter is a pain in the arse as well. Why do we do it?

      • Carol 10.1.2

        It maybe more the footpaths that need to have their networks developed for both pedestrians & cyclists, rather than the roads. I see that one or two of the small number of cyclists round my way, often take the law in their own hands and cycle on the footpath, avoiding the busy roads. And, really, cyclists mixing with pedestrians is a far less lethal mix than cyclists mixing with motor vehicles. Footpathing could be developed with separate cycle & pedestrian lanes/channels.

        Hills are not such a big issues for short-ish journeys, and the downside is always a bonus.

      • Shane Gallagher 10.1.3

        Try Dunedin! My mate was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and was carrying quite a bit of extra weight and lived up one of the steepest hills in Dunedin. So he decided that he needed to get fit and lose weight and decided to cycle. The hill was a problem until he got himself a 30kgs lost and a love affair with his bike are the result.

        • Shane Gallagher 10.1.3.1

          Sorry stuffed up the tags – * got himself a Wisper Electric bike… 🙂

          • Carol 10.1.3.1.1

            Thanks. Yes, I have thought electric cycles are a great possibility for the future. I recall way back in my youth that a few people rode bicylces with motors around Auckland. They had little 2-stroke engines (like a little lawn mower engine). It required pedalling a bit to set the engine going. An electric cycle would have the added benefit that the engine could be charged up by cycling.

            • Bored 10.1.3.1.1.1

              Solexs they were called, I recall for years watching Wolfie Rosenberg navigate across Chch in a bland black suit in all weathers going as far as Paparoa prison to do legal aid work. Great man, great machine.

  11. g_man 11

    As someone who uses the Harbour Bridge every working day, I have to be honest and tell you my experiences are quite different.

    I drive in early and leave early, so that I can avoid the rush hour. I’m usually getting onto the motorway at Silverdale a little after 06:00 am, and getting to Albany about 06:10 am. Even at that time of the morning, traffic is building as I start going up the hill towards Oteha Valley Road. I crusie past Constellation Drive, but already the traffic control signals are on about half the time. Then I start to hit little pockets of traffic at Tristram Ave, Esmonde Road, etc. I used to exit the motorway at Cook Street around 6:25 or 6:30 a couple of years ago. Traffic has increased to such a degree that the crawl once you get off the Harbour Bridge at that time of the morning is just so frustrating that I have changed my routine. I now exit at Shelly Beach Road and park somewhere different, to avoid the frustration. And if I’m five minutes late (literally), even the left hand lane which exits to Shelly Beach Road is congested.

    Going home, I’m getting onto the Harbour Bridge around 3:50 pm. At that time, traffic north is generally not too bad, except at Tristram Ave and Constellation Drive.But any later and bang – traffic slows to a crawl again.

    I have found the traffic so bad those (thankfully few) times that I’ve had to drive in the rush hour times, that if I had to drive at rush hour times every day I wouldn’t do it. Just couldn’t cope.

    Maybe I’m using it at different times to you. Maybe traffic patterns have changed and increased at the times I’m using it, but decreased overall. But my experiences over the past four years of driving the Harbour Bridge *seem* to paint a different picture.

    (And don’t get me started on driving in from South Auckland, where I lived for many years before shifting north. Driving from there just got steadily worse …)

    I would LOVE to see a cycleway network given some serious attention. I carry my bike in the back of my car, and cycle from my car to work, usually through Herne Bay, Coxs Bay, Westmere and Grey Lynn most mornings (cheaper than going to the gym). I agree it’s not the safest, but in 20-plus years I’ve only been knocked off my bike once. I cycle very defensively, and treat all car-drivers as idiots – works for me. A couple of years ago I tried cutting through from Albany to Greenhithe, parking at Te Atatu and cycling along the cycleway for a few months. Really enjoyed that. If a cycleway was put over the harbour, I’d use it every day. I wouldn’t cycle all the way from home (that’s over 100 km round journey, and I’m afraid I’m not quite THAT keen), but I’d certainly park somewhere around Albany and cycle in.

    Finally, what about the bus? Well I’ve tried using it, and once word summarises why I went back to my car – convenience. I love the convenience of being able to run errands on the way home, pick my daughter up from school occasionally, not having to worry about when the last bus runs if I get stuck working until 10:00 or 11:00 at night.

    • lprent 11.1

      I think a lot of it is the direction of travel. I was going out from town to work rather than the other way around. The congestion level has always been a lot less, so you tend to see the changes more easily.

      When I was working in Albany in 2007-8 and mostly taking the car, if I’d leave at 0825, I’d get to work at 0910. If I left at 0855, I’d get to work at 0915. I could take a bus from home at 0810 and get to work at 0900 on two buses (bus to town, and then out) and a 5 minute walk (before the busway was completed). But I’d have time to read. But whatever way the other side of the bridge would be jammed and running at a crawl.

      When I was working in Takapuna I’d consistently leave at 0845 and get to work at 0915 with 2 buses (after the busway was completed). The reason for that time was because I’d get a seat which made moderating easier. The car would take the same time normally, but could take up to 50 minutes. I’d be paying for parking and I’d have to go earlier to get it. The citybound side was more often jammed than not.

      These days I don’t go across the bridge. But I walk over the city end at Shelly Beach road at about 0900. What I notice is that the city bound side is moving at a reasonable crawl and is seldom completely jammed. The northbound side seems to be always moving cleanly.

      Quite simply the the congestion going into town is a major reason I don’t live in the suburbs. Also the work I do has had me working anywhere from Albany to Manakau over the last 20 years. I deliberately moved into town around the Herne Bay to Newton area because that gave me the flex to go in any direction against the main traffic.

      The car is a lot more flexible. But it jams too often if you get the timing wrong when everything is congested. I get more reliable results by busing. Then there are cars at home if I need to do the ad-hocs. Either I go home first or I’ll take a car to work if I know I have to go somewhere.

      For the last month because of the heart attack, I’ve either cabbed or more recently taken the car. But that is mostly because I need to walk a couple of km’s to the bus, and I’m only up to a km walking before I start feeling light headed. So I walk a 750m each way to get lunch each day as part of the rebuild.

      Tonight is going to be exciting (or not). Off to the gym to start actively rebuilding that heart muscle.

  12. KJT 12

    I cycle regularly in all the main port centres. Auckland is not so bad. There are always the almost unused footpaths and the drivers are simply totally oblivious to cyclists.
    A year in Hamilton they were very much the same as Auckland.
    Christchurch, Nelson, New Plymouth and Lyttelton are very good. Drivers are aware of bikes and generally polite.
    Dunedin are mildly homicidal.
    Wellington is the worst. Drivers are totally homicidal. Truck drivers in particular.
    I have given up riding in Wellington as drivers there deliberately try and run you off the road.

    • Jim Nald 12.1

      Sounds about right, from my experience.

      Mind you, I gave up cycling as a form of regular transportation in Auckland many years ago when I narrowly avoided accidents six times a week – I kept biking to off-peak or weekend times.

      I recently saw someone with a bright yellow backpack cover by ‘CAN’ and thought I would give my support to them. Anyone here can comment about them?
      See Cycling Advocates Network at http://www.can.org.nz

  13. tc 13

    All the above is obvious to any of us that’ve lived in truly great cities like London/Melbourne/New York /paris etc know that kick arse public transport isn’t an option it’s absolutely critical, if you want to attract and keep talent in a modern city which balances urban/suburban growth.

    The only logical conclusion is yet again this gov’t has no ambition for anything other than keeping it’s backers happy….screw you auckland and we’ll f up any ‘brighter future’ while we’re at it.

    Between Rortney and Sideshow John SuperShity and Joyce’s roads/bridges the queen city has been royally rogered with the perpetrators smugly sitting back in their beemers laughing all the way to their post gov’t board roles or similar.

  14. Jum 14

    And here’s some of Joyce’s media manipulation of New Zealanders.

    http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1103/S00471/september-start-for-new-section-of-waikato-expressway.htm

    Great that Hamilton and Auckland are much ‘closer’, at least for those who can drive. Take a bus I hear you say. An elderly friend took a bus, well actually 4 of them, to get to a destination in 4 days, which should have taken her 2 days and two buses – one there, one back. There will always be people who can’t drive.

    How selfish this government is that it does not recognise or accept that. One of the major reasons tourists visit here is to visit the pristine wilderness yet it’s being destroyed daily by greedy moneymen.

    With a cohesive linked rail and road transport system, less land is taken up and less damage is done to our roads, which is certainly not paid for by the huge trucking businesses, which pass on costs.

Links to post

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • Weekly Roundup 29-September-2023
    Welcome to Friday and the last one for September. This week in Greater Auckland On Monday, Matt highlighted at the latest with the City Rail Link. On Tuesday, Matt covered the interesting items from Auckland Transport’s latest board meeting agendas. On Thursday, a guest post from Darren Davis ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    2 hours ago
  • Protest at Parliament: The Reunion.
    Brian’s god spoke to him. He, for of course the Lord in Tamaki’s mind was a male god, with a mighty rod, and probably some black leathers. He, told Brian - “you must put a stop to all this love, hope, and kindness”. And it did please the Brian.He said ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 hours ago
  • Labour cuts $50m from cycleway spending
    Labour is cutting spending on cycling infrastructure while still trying to claim the higher ground on climate. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Labour Government released a climate manifesto this week to try to claim the high ground against National, despite having ignored the Climate Commission’s advice to toughen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 hours ago
  • The Greater Of Two Evils.
    Not Labour: If you’re out to punish the government you once loved, then the last thing you need is to be shown evidence that the opposition parties are much, much worse.THE GREATEST VIRTUE of being the Opposition is not being the Government. Only very rarely is an opposition party elected ...
    4 hours ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #39 2023
    Open access notables "Net zero is only a distraction— we just have to end fossil fuel emissions." The latter is true but the former isn't, or  not in the real world as it's likely to be in the immediate future. And "just" just doesn't enter into it; we don't have ...
    14 hours ago
  • Chris Trotter: Losing the Left
    IN THE CURRENT MIX of electoral alternatives, there is no longer a credible left-wing party. Not when “a credible left-wing party” is defined as: a class-oriented, mass-based, democratically-structured political organisation; dedicated to promoting ideas sharply critical of laissez-faire capitalism; and committed to advancing democratic, egalitarian and emancipatory ideals across the ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    16 hours ago
  • Road rage at Kia Kaha Primary School
    It is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha Primary School!It can be any time when you are telling a story.Telling stories about things that happened in the past is how we learn from our mistakes.If we want to.Anyway, it is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    17 hours ago
  • Road rage at Kia Kaha Primary School
    It is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha Primary School!It can be any time when you are telling a story.Telling stories about things that happened in the past is how we learn from our mistakes.If we want to.Anyway, it is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    17 hours ago
  • Road rage at Kia Kaha Primary School
    It is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha Primary School!It can be any time when you are telling a story.Telling stories about things that happened in the past is how we learn from our mistakes.If we want to.Anyway, it is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    17 hours ago
  • Hipkins fires up in leaders’ debate, but has the curtain already fallen on the Labour-led coalitio...
    Labour’s  Chris Hipkins came out firing, in the  leaders’ debate  on Newshub’s evening programme, and most of  the pundits  rated  him the winner against National’s  Christopher Luxon. But will this make any difference when New  Zealanders  start casting their ballots? The problem  for  Hipkins is  that  voters are  all too ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    18 hours ago
  • Govt is energising housing projects with solar power – and fuelling the public’s concept of a di...
    Buzz from the Beehive  Not long after Point of Order published data which show the substantial number of New Zealanders (77%) who believe NZ is becoming more divided, government ministers were braying about a programme which distributes some money to “the public” and some to “Maori”. The ministers were dishing ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    19 hours ago
  • MIKE GRIMSHAW: Election 2023 – a totemic & charisma failure?
    The D&W analysis Michael Grimshaw writes –  Given the apathy, disengagement, disillusionment, and all-round ennui of this year’s general election, it was considered time to bring in those noted political operatives and spin doctors D&W, the long-established consultancy firm run by Emile Durkheim and Max Weber. Known for ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    21 hours ago
  • FROM BFD: Will Winston be the spectre we think?
    Kissy kissy. Cartoon credit BoomSlang. The BFD. JC writes-  Allow me to preface this contribution with the following statement: If I were asked to express a preference between a National/ACT coalition or a National/ACT/NZF coalition then it would be the former. This week Luxon declared his position, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    22 hours ago
  • California’s climate disclosure bill could have a huge impact across the U.S.
    This re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Andy Furillo was originally published by Capital & Main and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The California Legislature took a step last week that has the potential to accelerate the fight against climate ...
    1 day ago
  • Untangling South East Queensland’s Public Transport
    This is a cross post Adventures in Transitland by Darren Davis. I recently visited Brisbane and South East Queensland and came away both impressed while also pondering some key changes to make public transport even better in the region. Here goes with my take on things. A bit of ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    1 day ago
  • Try A Little Kindness.
    My daughter arrived home from the supermarket yesterday and she seemed a bit worried about something. It turned out she wanted to know if someone could get her bank number from a receipt.We wound the story back.She was in the store and there was a man there who was distressed, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • What makes NZFirst tick
    New Zealand’s longest-running political roadshow rolled into Opotiki yesterday, with New Zealand First leader Winston Peters knowing another poll last night showed he would make it back to Parliament and National would need him and his party if they wanted to form a government. The Newshub Reid Research poll ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago
  • September AMA
    Hi,As September draws to a close — I feel it’s probably time to do an Ask Me Anything. You know how it goes: If you have any burning questions, fire away in the comments and I will do my best to answer. You might have questions about Webworm, or podcast ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    1 day ago
  • Bludgers lying in the scratcher making fools of us all
    The mediocrity who stands to be a Prime Minister has a litany.He uses it a bit like a Koru Lounge card. He will brandish it to say: these people are eligible. And more than that, too: These people are deserving. They have earned this policy.They have a right to this policy. What ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • More “partnerships” (by the look of it) and redress of over $30 million in Treaty settlement wit...
    Buzz from the Beehive Point of Order has waited until now – 3.45pm – for today’s officially posted government announcements.  There have been none. The only addition to the news on the Beehive’s website was posted later yesterday, after we had published our September 26 Buzz report. It came from ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago
  • ALEX HOLLAND: Labour’s spending
    Alex Holland writes –  In 2017 when Labour came to power, crown spending was $76 billion per year. Now in 2023 it is $139 billion per year, which equates to a $63 billion annual increase (over $1 billion extra spend every week!) In 2017, New Zealand’s government debt ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • If not now, then when?
    Labour released its fiscal plan today, promising the same old, same old: "responsibility", balanced books, and of course no new taxes: "Labour will maintain income tax settings to provide consistency and certainty in these volatile times. Now is not the time for additional taxes or to promise billions of ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • THE FACTS:  77% of Kiwis believe NZ is becoming more divided
    The Facts has posted –        KEY INSIGHTSOf New Zealander’s polled: Social unity/division 77%believe NZ is becoming more divided (42% ‘much more’ + 35% ‘a little more’) 3%believe NZ is becoming less divided (1% ‘much less’ + 2% ‘a little less’) ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the cynical brutality of the centre-right’s welfare policies
    The centre-right’s enthusiasm for forcing people off the benefit and into paid work is matched only by the enthusiasm (shared by Treasury and the Reserve Bank) for throwing people out of paid work to curb inflation, and achieve the optimal balance of workers to job seekers deemed to be desirable ...
    2 days ago
  • Wednesday’s Chorus: Arthur Grimes on why building many, many more social houses is so critical
    New research shows that tenants in social housing - such as these Wellington apartments - are just as happy as home owners and much happier than private tenants. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The election campaign took an ugly turn yesterday, and in completely the wrong direction. All three ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Old habits
    Media awareness about global warming and climate change has grown fairly steadily since 2004. My impression is that journalists today tend to possess a higher climate literacy than before. This increasing awareness and improved knowledge is encouraging, but there are also some common interpretations which could be more nuanced. ...
    Real ClimateBy rasmus
    2 days ago
  • Bennie Bashing.
    If there’s one thing the mob loves more than keeping Māori in their place, more than getting tough on the gangs, maybe even more than tax cuts. It’s a good old round of beneficiary bashing.Are those meanies in the ACT party stealing your votes because they think David Seymour is ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • The kindest cuts
    Labour kicks off the fiscal credibility battle today with the release of its fiscal plan. National is expected to follow, possibly as soon as Thursday, with its own plan, which may (or may not) address the large hole that the problems with its foreign buyers’ ban might open up. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • Green right turn in Britain? Well, a start
    While it may be unlikely to register in New Zealand’s general election, Britain’s PM Rishi Sunak has done something which might just be important in the long run. He’s announced a far-reaching change in his Conservative government’s approach to environmental, and particularly net zero, policy. The starting point – ...
    Point of OrderBy xtrdnry
    2 days ago
  • At a glance – How do human CO2 emissions compare to natural CO2 emissions?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    3 days ago
  • How could this happen?
    Canada is in uproar after the exposure that its parliament on September 22 provided a standing ovation to a Nazi veteran who had been invited into the chamber to participate in the parliamentary welcome to Ukrainian President Zelensky. Yaroslav Hunka, 98, a Ukrainian man who volunteered for service in ...
    3 days ago
  • Always Be Campaigning
    The big screen is a great place to lay out the ways of the salesman. He comes ready-made for Panto, ripe for lampooning.This is not to disparage that life. I have known many good people of that kind. But there is a type, brazen as all get out. The camera ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • STEPHEN FRANKS: Press seek to publicly shame doctor – we must push back
    The following is a message sent yesterday from lawyer Stephen Franks on behalf of the Free Speech Union. I don’t like to interrupt first thing Monday morning, but we’ve just become aware of a case where we think immediate and overwhelming attention could help turn the tide. It involves someone ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Competing on cruelty
    The right-wing message calendar is clearly reading "cruelty" today, because both National and NZ First have released beneficiary-bashing policies. National is promising a "traffic light" system to police and kick beneficiaries, which will no doubt be accompanied by arbitrary internal targets to classify people as "orange" or "red" to keep ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • Further funding for Pharmac (forgotten in the Budget?) looks like a $1bn appeal from a PM in need of...
    Buzz from the Beehive One Labour plan  – for 3000 more public homes by 2025 – is the most recent to be posted on the government’s official website. Another – a prime ministerial promise of more funding for Pharmac – has been released as a Labour Party press statement. Who ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Bryce Edwards: The Vested interests shaping National Party policies
    As the National Party gets closer to government, lobbyists and business interests will be lining up for influence and to get policies adopted. It’s therefore in the public interest to have much more scrutiny and transparency about potential conflicts of interests that might arise. One of the key individuals of ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Labour may be on way out of power and NZ First back in – but will Peters go into coalition with Na...
    Voters  are deserting Labour in droves, despite Chris  Hipkins’  valiant  rearguard  action.  So  where  are they  heading?  Clearly  not all of them are going to vote National, which concedes that  the  outcome  will be “close”. To the Right of National, the ACT party just a  few weeks  ago  was ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    3 days ago
  • GRAHAM ADAMS: Will the racists please stand up?
    Accusations of racism by journalists and MPs are being called out. Graham Adams writes –    With the election less than three weeks away, what co-governance means in practice — including in water management, education, planning law and local government — remains largely obscure. Which is hardly ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on whether Winston Peters can be a moderating influence
    As the centre-right has (finally!) been subjected to media interrogation, the polls are indicating that some voters may be starting to have second thoughts about the wisdom of giving National and ACT the power to govern alone. That’s why yesterday’s Newshub/Reid Research poll had the National/ACT combo dropping to 60 ...
    3 days ago
  • Tuesday’s Chorus: RBNZ set to rain on National's victory parade
    ANZ has increased its forecast for house inflation later this year on signs of growing momentum in the market ahead of the election. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: National has campaigned against the Labour Government’s record on inflation and mortgage rates, but there’s now a growing chance the Reserve ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • After a Pittsburgh coal processing plant closed, ER visits plummeted
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Katie Myers. This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. Pittsburgh, in its founding, was blessed and cursed with two abundant natural resources: free-flowing rivers and a nearby coal seam. ...
    3 days ago
  • September-23 AT Board Meeting
    Today the AT board meet again and once again I’ve taken a look at what’s on the agenda to find the most interesting items. Closed Agenda Interestingly when I first looked at the agendas this paper was there but at the time of writing this post it had been ...
    3 days ago
  • Electorate Watch: West Coast-Tasman
    Continuing my series on interesting electorates, today it’s West Coast-Tasman.A long thin electorate running down the northern half of the west coast of the South Island. Think sand flies, beautiful landscapes, lots of rain, Pike River, alternative lifestylers, whitebaiting, and the spiritual home of the Labour Party. A brief word ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Big money brings Winston back
    National leader Christopher Luxon yesterday morning conceded it and last night’s Newshub poll confirmed it; Winston Peters and NZ First are not only back but highly likely to be part of the next government. It is a remarkable comeback for a party that was tossed out of Parliament in ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • 20 days until Election Day, 7 until early voting begins… but what changes will we really see here?
    As this blogger, alongside many others, has already posited in another forum: we all know the National Party’s “budget” (meaning this concept of even adding up numbers properly is doing a lot of heavy, heavy lifting right now) is utter and complete bunk (read hung, drawn and quartered and ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    4 days ago
  • A night out
    Everyone was asking, Are you nervous? and my response was various forms of God, yes.I've written more speeches than I can count; not much surprises me when the speaker gets to their feet and the room goes quiet.But a play? Never.YOU CAME! THANK YOU! Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • A pallid shade of Green III
    Clearly Labour's focus groups are telling it that it needs to pay more attention to climate change - because hot on the heels of their weaksauce energy efficiency pilot programme and not-great-but-better-than-nothing solar grants, they've released a full climate manifesto. Unfortunately, the core policies in it - a second Emissions ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • A coalition of racism, cruelty, and chaos
    Today's big political news is that after months of wibbling, National's Chris Luxon has finally confirmed that he is willing to work with Winston Peters to become Prime Minister. Which is expected, but I guess it tells us something about which way the polls are going. Which raises the question: ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • More migrant workers should help generate the tax income needed to provide benefits for job seekers
    Buzz from the Beehive Under something described as a “rebalance” of its immigration rules, the Government has adopted four of five recommendations made in an independent review released in July, The fifth, which called on the government to specify criteria for out-of-hours compliance visits similar to those used during ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • Letter To Luxon.
    Some of you might know Gerard Otto (G), and his G News platform. This morning he wrote a letter to Christopher Luxon which I particularly enjoyed, and with his agreement I’m sharing it with you in this guest newsletter.If you’d like to make a contribution to support Gerard’s work you ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • LINDSAY MITCHELL: Alarming trend in benefit numbers
    Lindsay Mitchell writes –  While there will not be another quarterly release of benefit numbers prior to the election, limited weekly reporting continues and is showing an alarming trend. Because there is a seasonal component to benefit number fluctuations it is crucial to compare like with like. In ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • BRIAN EASTON: Has there been external structural change?
    A close analysis of the Treasury assessment of the Medium Term in its PREFU 2023 suggests the economy may be entering a new phase.   Brian Easton writes –  Last week I explained that the forecasts in the just published Treasury Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update (PREFU 2023) was ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • CRL Progress – Sep-23
    It’s been a while since we looked at the latest with the City Rail Link and there’s been some fantastic milestones recently. To start with, and most recently, CRL have released an awesome video showing a full fly-through of one of the tunnels. Come fly with us! You asked for ...
    4 days ago
  • Monday’s Chorus: Not building nearly enough
    We are heading into another period of fast population growth without matching increased home building or infrastructure investment.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Labour and National detailed their house building and migration approaches over the weekend, with both pledging fast population growth policies without enough house building or infrastructure investment ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Game on; Hipkins comes out punching
    Labour leader Chris Hipkins yesterday took the gloves off and laid into National and its leader Christopher Luxon. For many in Labour – and particularly for some at the top of the caucus and the party — it would not have been a moment too soon. POLITIK is aware ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • Tax Cut Austerity Blues.
    The leaders have had their go, they’ve told us the “what?” and the “why?” of their promises. Now it’s the turn of the would be Finance Ministers to tell us the “how?”, the “how much?”, and the “when?”A chance for those competing for the second most powerful job in the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • MIKE GRIMSHAW:  It’s the economy – and the spirit – Stupid…
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Over the past 30-odd years it’s become almost an orthodoxy to blame or invoke neoliberalism for the failures of New Zealand society. On the left the usual response goes something like, neoliberalism is the cause of everything that’s gone wrong and the answer ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #38
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Sep 17, 2023 thru Sat, Sep 23, 2023. Story of the Week  Opinion: Let’s free ourselves from the story of economic growth A relentless focus on economic growth has ushered in ...
    5 days ago
  • The End Of The World.
    Have you been looking out of your window for signs of the apocalypse? Don’t worry, you haven’t been door knocked by a representative of the Brian Tamaki party. They’re probably a bit busy this morning spruiking salvation, or getting ready to march on our parliament, which is closed. No, I’ve ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Climate Town: The Brainwashing Of America's Children
    Climate Town is the YouTube channel of Rollie Williams and a ragtag team of climate communicators, creatives and comedians. They examine climate change in a way that doesn’t make you want to eat a cyanide pill. Get informed about the climate crisis before the weather does it for you. The latest ...
    7 days ago
  • Has There Been External Structural Change?
    A close analysis of the Treasury assessment of the Medium Term in its PREFU 2023 suggests the economy may be entering a new phase. Last week I explained that the forecasts in the just published Treasury Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update (PREFU 2023) was similar to the May Budget BEFU, ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    7 days ago
  • Another Labour bully
    Back in June, we learned that Kiri Allan was a Parliamentary bully. And now there's another one: Labour MP Shanan Halbert: The Labour Party was alerted to concerns about [Halbert's] alleged behaviour a year ago but because staffers wanted to remain anonymous, no formal process was undertaken [...] The ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago
  • Climate Change: Ignoring our biggest problem
    Its that time in the election season where the status quo parties are busy accusing each other of having fiscal holes in a desperate effort to appear more "responsible" (but not, you understand, by promising to tax wealth or land to give the government the revenue it needs to do ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago
  • JERRY COYNE: A good summary of the mess that is science education in New Zealand
    JERRY COYNE writes –  If you want to see what the government of New Zealand is up to with respect to science education, you can’t do better than listening to this video/slideshow by two exponents of the “we-need-two-knowledge-systems” view. I’ve gotten a lot of scary stuff from Kiwi ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 days ago
  • Good news on the GDP front is accompanied by news of a $5m govt boost for Supercars (but what about ...
    Buzz from the Beehive First, we were treated to the news (from Finance Minister Grant Robertson) that the economy has turned a corner and New Zealand never was in recession.  This was triggered by statistics which showed the economy expanded 0.9 per cent in the June quarter, twice as much as ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 days ago
  • The Scafetta Saga
    It has taken 17 months to get a comment published pointing out the obvious errors in the Scafetta (2022) paper in GRL. Back in March 2022, Nicola Scafetta published a short paper in Geophysical Research Letters (GRL) purporting to show through ‘advanced’ means that ‘all models with ECS > ...
    Real ClimateBy Gavin
    7 days ago
  • Friday's Chorus: Penny wise and pound foolish
    TL;DR: In the middle of a climate emergency and in a city prone to earthquakes, Victoria University of Wellington announced yesterday it would stop teaching geophysics, geographic information science and physical geography to save $22 million a year and repay debt. Climate change damage in Aotearoa this year is already ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 days ago
  • CHRIS TROTTER: Calling the big dog’s bluff
      For nearly thirty years the pundits have been telling the minor parties that they must be good little puppies and let the big dogs decide. The parties with a plurality of the votes cast must be allowed to govern – even if that means ignoring the ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 days ago
  • The electorate swing, Labour limbo and Luxon-Hipkins two-step
     Another poll, another 27 for Labour. It was July the last time one of the reputable TV company polls had Labour's poll percentage starting with a three, so the limbo question is now being asked: how low can you go?It seems such an unlikely question because this doesn't feel like the kind ...
    PunditBy Tim Watkin
    1 week ago
  • A Womance, and a Nomance.
    After the trench warfare of Tuesday night, when the two major parties went head to head, last night was the turn of the minor parties. Hosts Newshub termed it “the Powerbrokers' Debate”.Based on the latest polls the four parties taking part - ACT, the Greens, New Zealand First, and Te ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • When The Internet Rushes To Your Defense
    Hi,You can’t make this stuff up.People involved with Sound of Freedom, the QAnon-infused movie about anti-child trafficker Tim Ballard, are dropping like flies. I won’t ruin your day by describing it here, but Vice reports that footage has emerged of executive producer Paul Hutchinson being inappropriate with a 16-year-old trafficking ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    1 week ago
  • Doubts about Robertson’s good news day
    The trading banks yesterday concluded that though GDP figures released yesterday show the economy is not in recession, it may well soon be. Nevertheless, the fact that GDP has gone up 0.8 per cent in the latest quarter and that StatsNZ revised the previous quarter’s figure to show a ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 week ago
  • The Votes That Media Dare Not Speak Its Name
    .Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work..A recent political opinion poll (20 September) on TV1 presented what could only be called bleak news for the Left Bloc:National: 37%, down two points equating to 46 seatsLabour: 27%, down one point (34 ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    1 week ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #38 2023
    Open access notables At our roots Skeptical Science is about cognition of the results of climate science research in the minds of the entire human population. Ideally we'd be perfectly communicating understanding of Earth's climate, and perfectly understood. We can only approximate that, but hopefully converging closer to perfection. With ...
    1 week ago
  • Failing To Hold Back The Flood: The Edgy Politics of the Twenty-First Century.
    Coming Over The Top: Rory Stewart's memoir, Politics On The Edge, lays bare the dangerous inadequacies of the Western World's current political model.VERY FEW NEW ZEALANDERS will have heard of Rory Stewart. Those with a keen eye for the absurdities of politics may recognise the name as that of the ...
    1 week ago

  • New community-level energy projects to support more than 800 Māori households
    Seven more innovative community-scale energy projects will receive government funding through the Māori and Public Housing Renewable Energy Fund to bring more affordable, locally generated clean energy to more than 800 Māori households, Energy and Resources Minister Dr Megan Woods says. “We’ve already funded 42 small-scale clean energy projects that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours ago
  • Huge boost to Te Tai Tokerau flood resilience
    The Government has approved new funding that will boost resilience and greatly reduce the risk of major flood damage across Te Tai Tokerau. Significant weather events this year caused severe flooding and damage across the region. The $8.9m will be used to provide some of the smaller communities and maraes ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Napier’s largest public housing development comes with solar
    The largest public housing development in Napier for many years has been recently completed and has the added benefit of innovative solar technology, thanks to Government programmes, says Housing Minister Dr Megan Woods. The 24 warm, dry homes are in Seddon Crescent, Marewa and Megan Woods says the whanau living ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Te Whānau a Apanui and the Crown initial Deed of Settlement I Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me...
    Māori: Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me te Karauna te Whakaaetanga Whakataunga Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me te Karauna i tētahi Whakaaetanga Whakataunga hei whakamihi i ō rātou tāhuhu kerēme Tiriti o Waitangi. E tekau mā rua ngā hapū o roto mai o Te Whānau ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Plan for 3,000 more public homes by 2025 – regions set to benefit
    Regions around the country will get significant boosts of public housing in the next two years, as outlined in the latest public housing plan update, released by the Housing Minister, Dr Megan Woods. “We’re delivering the most public homes each year since the Nash government of the 1950s with one ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Immigration settings updates
    Judicial warrant process for out-of-hours compliance visits 2023/24 Recognised Seasonal Employer cap increased by 500 Additional roles for Construction and Infrastructure Sector Agreement More roles added to Green List Three-month extension for onshore Recovery Visa holders The Government has confirmed a number of updates to immigration settings as part of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Poroporoaki: Tā Patrick (Patu) Wahanga Hohepa
    Tangi ngunguru ana ngā tai ki te wahapū o Hokianga Whakapau Karakia. Tārehu ana ngā pae maunga ki Te Puna o te Ao Marama. Korihi tangi ana ngā manu, kua hinga he kauri nui ki te Wao Nui o Tāne. He Toa. He Pou. He Ahorangi. E papaki tū ana ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Renewable energy fund to support community resilience
    40 solar energy systems on community buildings in regions affected by Cyclone Gabrielle and other severe weather events Virtual capability-building hub to support community organisations get projects off the ground Boost for community-level renewable energy projects across the country At least 40 community buildings used to support the emergency response ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • COVID-19 funding returned to Government
    The lifting of COVID-19 isolation and mask mandates in August has resulted in a return of almost $50m in savings and recovered contingencies, Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. Following the revocation of mandates and isolation, specialised COVID-19 telehealth and alternative isolation accommodation are among the operational elements ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Appointment of District Court Judge
    Susie Houghton of Auckland has been appointed as a new District Court Judge, to serve on the Family Court, Attorney-General David Parker said today.  Judge Houghton has acted as a lawyer for child for more than 20 years. She has acted on matters relating to the Hague Convention, an international ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Government invests further in Central Hawke’s Bay resilience
    The Government has today confirmed $2.5 million to fund a replace and upgrade a stopbank to protect the Waipawa Drinking Water Treatment Plant. “As a result of Cyclone Gabrielle, the original stopbank protecting the Waipawa Drinking Water Treatment Plant was destroyed. The plant was operational within 6 weeks of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Govt boost for Hawke’s Bay cyclone waste clean-up
    Another $2.1 million to boost capacity to deal with waste left in Cyclone Gabrielle’s wake. Funds for Hastings District Council, Phoenix Contracting and Hog Fuel NZ to increase local waste-processing infrastructure. The Government is beefing up Hawke’s Bay’s Cyclone Gabrielle clean-up capacity with more support dealing with the massive amount ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Taupō Supercars revs up with Government support
    The future of Supercars events in New Zealand has been secured with new Government support. The Government is getting engines started through the Major Events Fund, a special fund to support high profile events in New Zealand that provide long-term economic, social and cultural benefits. “The Repco Supercars Championship is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • There is no recession in NZ, economy grows nearly 1 percent in June quarter
    The economy has turned a corner with confirmation today New Zealand never was in recession and stronger than expected growth in the June quarter, Finance Minister Grant Robertson said. “The New Zealand economy is doing better than expected,” Grant Robertson said. “It’s continuing to grow, with the latest figures showing ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Highest legal protection for New Zealand’s largest freshwater springs
    The Government has accepted the Environment Court’s recommendation to give special legal protection to New Zealand’s largest freshwater springs, Te Waikoropupū Springs (also known as Pupū Springs), Environment Minister David Parker announced today.   “Te Waikoropupū Springs, near Takaka in Golden Bay, have the second clearest water in New Zealand after ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • More support for victims of migrant exploitation
    Temporary package of funding for accommodation and essential living support for victims of migrant exploitation Exploited migrant workers able to apply for a further Migrant Exploitation Protection Visa (MEPV), giving people more time to find a job Free job search assistance to get people back into work Use of 90-day ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Strong export boost as NZ economy turns corner
    An export boost is supporting New Zealand’s economy to grow, adding to signs that the economy has turned a corner and is on a stronger footing as we rebuild from Cyclone Gabrielle and lock in the benefits of multiple new trade deals, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. “The economy is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Funding approved for flood resilience work in Te Karaka
    The Government has approved $15 million to raise about 200 homes at risk of future flooding. More than half of this is expected to be spent in the Tairāwhiti settlement of Te Karaka, lifting about 100 homes there. “Te Karaka was badly hit during Cyclone Gabrielle when the Waipāoa River ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Further business support for cyclone-affected regions
    The Government is helping businesses recover from Cyclone Gabrielle and attract more people back into their regions. “Cyclone Gabrielle has caused considerable damage across North Island regions with impacts continuing to be felt by businesses and communities,” Economic Development Minister Barbara Edmonds said. “Building on our earlier business support, this ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • New maintenance facility at Burnham Military Camp underway
    Defence Minister Andrew Little has turned the first sod to start construction of a new Maintenance Support Facility (MSF) at Burnham Military Camp today. “This new state-of-art facility replaces Second World War-era buildings and will enable our Defence Force to better maintain and repair equipment,” Andrew Little said. “This Government ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Foreign Minister to attend United Nations General Assembly
    Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta will represent New Zealand at the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York this week, before visiting Washington DC for further Pacific focussed meetings. Nanaia Mahuta will be in New York from Wednesday 20 September, and will participate in UNGA leaders ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Midwives’ pay equity offer reached
    Around 1,700 Te Whatu Ora employed midwives and maternity care assistants will soon vote on a proposed pay equity settlement agreed by Te Whatu Ora, the Midwifery Employee Representation and Advisory Service (MERAS) and New Zealand Nurses Association (NZNO), Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. “Addressing historical pay ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • New Zealand provides support to Morocco
    Aotearoa New Zealand will provide humanitarian support to those affected by last week’s earthquake in Morocco, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today. “We are making a contribution of $1 million to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to help meet humanitarian needs,” Nanaia Mahuta said. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Government invests in West Coast’s roading resilience
    The Government is investing over $22 million across 18 projects to improve the resilience of roads in the West Coast that have been affected by recent extreme weather, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed today.  A dedicated Transport Resilience Fund has been established for early preventative works to protect the state ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Government invests in Greymouth’s future
    The Government has today confirmed a $2 million grant towards the regeneration of Greymouth’s CBD with construction of a new two-level commercial and public facility. “It will include a visitor facility centred around a new library. Additionally, it will include retail outlets on the ground floor, and both outdoor and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Nanaia Mahuta to attend PIF Foreign Ministers’ Meeting
    Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta will attend the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, in Suva, Fiji alongside New Zealand’s regional counterparts. “Aotearoa New Zealand is deeply committed to working with our pacific whanau to strengthen our cooperation, and share ways to combat the challenges facing the Blue Pacific Continent,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • PREFU shows no recession, growing economy, more jobs and wages ahead of inflation
    Economy to grow 2.6 percent on average over forecast period Treasury not forecasting a recession Inflation to return to the 1-3 percent target band next year Wages set to grow 4.8 percent a year over forecast period Unemployment to peak below the long-term average Fiscal Rules met - Net debt ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • New cancer centre opens in Christchurch
    Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall proudly opened the Canterbury Cancer Centre in Christchurch today. The new facility is the first of its kind and was built with $6.5 million of funding from the Government’s Infrastructure Reference Group scheme for shovel-ready projects allocated in 2020. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Government invests in top of the south’s roading resilience
    $12 million to improve the resilience of roads in the Nelson, Marlborough and Tasman regions Hope Bypass earmarked in draft Government Policy Statement on land transport $127 million invested in the top of the south’s roads since flooding in 2021 and 2022 The Government is investing over $12 million to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago
  • New Zealanders continue to support the revitalisation of te reo as we celebrate Te Wiki o te Reo Mā...
    Ko tēnei te wiki e whakanui ana i tō tātou reo rangatira. Ko te wā tuku reo Māori, e whakanuia tahitia ai te reo ahakoa kei hea ake tēnā me tēnā o tātou, ka tū ā te Rātū te 14 o Mahuru, ā te 12 o ngā hāora i te ahiahi. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago
  • New Wildlife Act to better protect native species
    The 70-year-old Wildlife Act will be replaced with modern, fit-for-purpose legislation to better protect native species and improve biodiversity, Minister of Conservation Willow-Jean Prime has announced.   “New species legislation is urgently needed to address New Zealand’s biodiversity crisis,” Willow-Jean Prime said.   “More than 4,000 of our native species are currently ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago
  • Further safety initiatives for Auckland City Centre
    Central and Local Government are today announcing a range of new measures to tackle low-level crime and anti-social behaviour in the Auckland CBD to complement Police scaling up their presence in the area. “Police have an important role to play in preventing and responding to crime, but there is more ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2023-09-28T20:56:47+00:00