30 years ago, in the terrifying economic, political and cultural revolution of the NZ neoliberal experiment, Free Market acolytes stormed the hallowed tower of the Treasury and preceded o dismantle developmental Keynesianism for the Roger Douglas celebration of individual uber allas that is the suicide stained version of rampant capitalism we all know and detest today.
The Nazgul of the Treasury were the feared Government High Priests who would rain down on high scathing criticism of anyone who challenged free market doctrine. Treasury were like like the Nights Watch, except they actively encouraged the Night King to effortlessly pass through the border.
That’s right, I just mixed up my pop culture references mid-burn. That’s how I roll.
Well, 30 years can change an institution can’t it because the multifaceted debacle of the last 24 hours is extraordinary amateurish.
They couldn’t differentiate between a google search and a hack.
They accidentally handed out budget copies to journalists.
They used an old stock photo for the budget from a mother and daughter who ended up leaving NZ because they couldn’t afford to live here.
Describing a google search as a “systematic and deliberate hack’ is like calling a door knock a “manually-led biological alert”.
If this is honestly the level of competence from Treasury, the pavlova dog syndrome that has forced progressives to not challenge Treasury for fear of electric shock, should realise the Emperor is naked and appreciate how weak Treasury are and how ripe they are for over throw.
Grant Robertson, once he has attempted to salvage whet he can from the Wellbeing budget, needs to immediately move on Friday to sack whoever was responsible for this. Don’t tell me it’s pointless serving up the head of the glassy eyed unblinking Treasury Womble who fronted because he’s leaving for Ireland in a month. Fuck that. He’s still got a month, demand his resignation or fire him. Anything less is politically spineless.
Once again the Government has been let down by a public service, Grant has to show that there are consequences for screwing up this badly.
Hurray for Labour coalition government, this Budget for our well-being’ was a godsend for our pubically owned rail services to our regions.
One billion Dollars for regional rail to restore our rail instrustructure that National ran down deliberately during their nine years of “slash and burn”.
National will be spewing out bile over their beers tonight after parliament.
Ha ha ha ha, bugger off national you rail haters.
Here’s our regional transport group letter to you to ponder on National.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK1905/S00587/ceac-calls-for-a-rail-inland-port-for-hb.htm
Scoop Regional Contact About ScoopPro
Regional
SCOOP REGIONAL
CEAC Calls for a Rail Inland Port for HB
Monday, 27 May 2019, 8:55 pm
Press Release: Citizens Environmental Advocacy Centre
“CEAC Calls for a Rail Inland Port for HB.”
Why is an “inland port” needed?
After talking with Kiwi Rail Management recently they advised our centre that why they were building an “inland port” at Palmerston North costing many millions, – they advised that the plan was to have a supply chain from the trucking industry feeding there new logistics Inland Port with export freight that Kiwi Rail were offering to send by rail to other export Inland Ports to transfer onto regional export ports, so HB does not yet have an ‘Inland Port’ hence there needs to be a “connectivity” between other Inland Port centres to each export regional export Port.
After the latest warning that “Current 2030 emissions targets unlikely to be met”
This week we saw this stark warning to Government that was received on 16th May but it was kept quiet, but now needs the light of day.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1905/S00132/current-2030-emissions-targets-unlikely-to-be-met.htm
First published in Energy and Environment on May 16, 2019.
Quote; “Officials have told ministers NZ is not on track to meet is current commitments under the Paris Agreement.
NZ has agreed under the Paris Agreement to a Nationally Determined Contribution of reducing emissions by 30% below 2005 levels (equivalent to 11% of 1990 levels) by 2030.
In the climate change legislation Regulatory Impact Assessment, Officials said: “NZ cannot rely on afforestation to deliver the necessary offsets over the next twelve years to meet its NDC, or on major innovations being market-ready and adopted (such as a methane vaccine or widespread adoption of electric or autonomous vehicles).” ; Unquote.
So; we already know that rail freight can lower freight emissions five to eight times less than road freight, moving the same size and weight of freight, so we are now requesting to Government to use rail more actively now to lower our emissions.
Government already know that rail is the answer here and the right thing to do when they received the hidden document that the National government had requested from (EY) Economic & Financial consultants for Kiwi Rail in 2016. – That document showed that Rail saved our economy $1.5 Billion Dollars every year then. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11948096
Quote The benefits far exceed what the taxpayer is spending on rail, KiwiRail chairman Trevor Janes says. The largest contribution rail was making was the reduction of road use, he said.
“Rail is taking cars off the road and it’s taking trucks off the road. That is saving the country $1.3 billion a year because it cuts congestion for all road users, including other freight movers,” Janes said.
“Using rail cuts New Zealand’s carbon emissions by 488,000 tonnes a year. That is the equivalent of taking 87,000 cars off the road, saving millions of dollars,” he said.
“Rail freight has 66 per cent fewer carbon emissions than heavy road freight which is useful for New Zealand reaching its ambitious climate change targets.”
The study found that without rail there would be an additional 100,000 daily car trips on the road each year – the equivalent of 76 million light vehicle hours reduced through rail, and 57 million of those hours were on Auckland roads. Unquote
National instead kept encouraging yet more trucks onto our roads, so If we continue on this path to use more trucks at 10% more trucks every year instead of using less, who will pay for the carbon emissions if we exceed our Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) emissions target?
Government are now buying overseas ‘carbon credits’ to keep our emission target within the limits and the cost per carbon credit is about to massively increase shortly according to warnings sent in the brief to Government.
Whereas each tonne of carbon was about $25 to $85 dollars in the past, it will rise to over $850 a tonne in the future, claim the report so we as taxpayers will wind up being bankrupted by subsidising truck freight companies continuing to use roads to move freight.
So our governments best plan should be to offer the road freight companies an incentive to use rail to move their customers freight to our export ports rather than road freighting it, which causes many negative effects of road noise and pollution for residents to contends with.
Especially when we are witnessing the crazy plan by some Port Directors to still plan to expand truck freight yet more as Napier port had wrongly stated last January 2019 in this article.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12230001
This 187% increased expansion of truck freight by 2027 being announced by Napier Port Board last January 2019 when in partnership with NZTA is now threatening to our Napier residents and our NGO.
Our HB Port Napier Port must have complete modal freight ‘connectivity to Palmerston North to the NZ network for us all to thrive in a rail rich future.
As to the road safety side of this issue remember this;
We are now calling for urgent action be taken by Government over the spiralling truck volumes causing danger and accidents plaguing NZ today.
• Government needs to force a total “reset” of NZTA because they are now clearly dysfunctional after many cases of wellbeing;
• failing truck brakes.
• Warrant of Fitness.
• trailer hitches.
• Truck drivers found cheating of log books, & drivers found working outside of regulatory hours,
• Several trucks catching fire.
• Increased fatalities showing no sign of being lowered.
• Lack of NZTA acting for residents reasonable resolutions for community ‘wellbeing’ mitigation.
end
+100 CLEANGREEN re “One billion Dollars for regional rail to restore our rail instrustructure that National ran down deliberately during their nine years of “slash and burn”. ”
Good news for rail!
But we also need big money investment for State Housing for the homeless
Well, in that case. There’s also the fact that most career bureaucrats know that Winston Peters is about as loyal to his subordinates as some bad Sci-Fi evil emperor. So why stay on board when you’re going to be told to implement an impossible policy and then publicly blamed for it? Son (that’s Makhlouf eh)
Sack all the $400,000–$600,000 neo lib bludgers in the State Sector I say.
Put Joe Carolan and Mike Treen and Minto in charge! Well, the Labour Caucus could not handle that, but someone at least that is not a right wing “coot in a suit” that detests ordinary people
And why not have a collective from AAAP run WINZ/MSD, as plans for its disestablishment are made…
Sheesh stop being sensible, and offering left wing ideas TIGER MOUNTAIN. The members of the beige revolution might have a heart attack.
From the looks of this mental health budget, the psychiatrists, psychologists and support workers are now in charge. One point nine large on mental health? Wtf? While jobseekers get $17 extra per week in 2023? Fuck me, make it 2050 so it looks as ridiculous as this coalitions other promises. I agree with Bernard Hickey’s statement today, this is absolutely a cliff-ambulance budget. This government has spoken: the lower class of this country don’t deserve to live with dignity, they need mental help (Mike Williams concurred with this today by generalising about NZs lower socio-economic population and it’s terrible struggle with addictions and vices).
From the looks of this mental health budget, the psychiatrists, psychologists and support workers are now in charge. One point nine large on mental health? Wtf?
Yes, required to alleviate the symptoms of Economic Madness. Perhaps next year the minister of finance can address the economic issues of daily life.
Wages high enough you can save 10% (not 2%) for retirement.
Lowered prices for water, power and gas.
Removal of gst on food.
Break up of the food and building materials price setting cartels.
Some state intervention in the rigged insurance “market”.
Provision of low interest State Advances mortgages.
Pretty simple really, higher income and lower costs for the average Joe.
+100….good points JOSEPH
….now where is SAVENZ…want to see her/his comments
Grant does not have the balls.
what a load of whinging over fuck all people need to pull their socks up and get on with it more funding is coming before the election as it does.
“…because he’s leaving for Ireland in a month. …”
That, to me, indicates he was bought by a Natzo to drop the labourites in the shit. But don’t worry! If so, Labour will be in on the play.
And I’ll go one step further:
Was that to ensure labour loses in 2020 therefore we get the Natzo’s back PLUS 2 x nutty fundamentalist christian party combo’s and NZFirst?
If so, no wonder ‘they’ let that nut-job Mosque shooter slip by. Were his ‘actions’ used to justify banning military style weapons here? Is it risk assessment for when the Israelis start flooding in after AirNZ buys planes big enough to fly them non stop from NYC.
How about that? Ba hahaha ahahah a aha a!
I’ll just pop one of my little green and purple capsules now. I’ll be fiiiiiiiiiine in half an hour.
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