Announce protest actions, general chit chat or give your opinion on issues we haven’t covered for the day.
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For Christchurch fringe city-dwellers – quite nice homes at affordable cost it seems. Look like grey factory units but what do I expect these days in NZ?
https://www.fletcherliving.co.nz/developments/canterbury/350-colombo/
And housing is still a good money maker for those who want to speculate, really it is hardly speculation when you own all the land that ordinary people might want to build their own choice of homes on.
Join today to access wholesale investment opportunities. Where you can get 37% – average- that is within 2.5 years. Join the money-making factory where the elves have all gone to work – why wait till Christmas.
https://thepropertyfactory.direct/membership?redirect_to=https://thepropertyfactory.direct/wholesale/350-columbo-st-christchurch
The Property Factory is a unique members only buyers agency, that works with developers, builders and vendors to source and supply selected stock within new property projects, at wholesale pricing direct to its Members. On the most recent $155m in property purchases, our members generated an average 37% return in the first 2.4 years after investing in our most recent property projects sourced by The Property Factory.
I like John Wyndham – his range of thinking, his style of writing, he is kind but practical, a combinaton that we very much need now. This is one of his quotes:
I don’t think it had ever occurred to me that man’s supremacy is not primarily due to his brain, as most of the books would have one think. It is due to the brain’s capacity to make use of the information conveyed to it by a narrow band of visible light rays.
His civilization, all that he had achieved or might achieve, hung upon his ability to perceive that range of vibrations from red to violet. Without that, he was lost. John Wyndham
Wairoa Star 19/6/20. “KiwiRail open to reinstating Wairoa-Gisborne rail line if Govt deems it a priority”. .
Response from; – Stuart Dow, Railwayman.
“Crikey, they can’t have it both ways. Either they are or they aren’t interested. This so-called “rail expert” Miller is now having a bet both ways.
Maybe he smells the winds of political change re KiwiRail and is trying to save his neck.??
As for lumping the Tar Barrel Tunnel into the discussion, whilst this tunnel is a concern, trains have continued to run through it since the line re-opened in late 2017 and by the time the bypass project is finished, will have run through it for more than 3 years since it was damaged in the November 2016 Kaikoura earthquake. Also, the “Kiwi” tunnel on the South Islands West Coast had cracks in the roof for more years than I can remember but the trains continued to run through it until the early 2000s, when it was daylighted.
To the best of my knowledge, there are no major issues between Wairoa and Gisborne that can’t be fixed and/or upgraded once the line is rebuilt and initially re-opened, while trains continue to run.!!
Once again, it appears KiwiRail wants to build a GOLD-PLATED railway when bronze plated one will do the job just as adequately.!!
As a comparison, State Highway One is NOT a 4-lane highway from Northland to Bluff and doesn’t need to be, neither does the Wairoa to Gisborne railway need to be built to the same standards as the railway line from Hamilton to Palmerston North.
I think New Zealand is losing its “kiwi can do” attitude.?? Feel free to share,
Stuart Dow, Railwayman jstuartdow@hotmail.com
________________________________________
Sent: Thursday, 18 June 2020 10:43 AM
Subject: KiwiRail open to reinstating Wairoa-Gisborne rail line if Govt deems it a priority … (“Wairoa Star”):
Open to reinstating line if Govt deems it a priority … (“Wairoa Star” – Thurs 18th June 2020)
KiwiRail have explained why they dispute the estimated costs of re-establishing the Wairoa to Gisborne rail line as presented in a BERL report last December.
Group chief executive at KiwiRail Geoff Miller said: “While KiwiRail appreciates the local support for the project, we do believe the estimated costs of re-establishing
the line have been significantly understated by BERL, given KiwiRail’s experience of recent reinstatement costs for other lines, such as Picton to Christchurch following
the Kaikoura earthquake, and the North Auckland line.
“For example, KiwiRail in conjunction with our Waka Kotahi NZTA partners, have been working on a tunnel bypass project at Tar Barrel on the main north line, near Ward,
Marlborough. Here the existing tunnel was damaged following the Seddon and Kaikoura earthquakes and posed a risk to the road and rail network.
“As a solution we are realigning the rail line away from the tunnel and building a road overpass for State Highway 1. This work is being completed at an approximate cost
of $25 million, and we note that on the Wairoa to Gisborne line, we have identified sites where a similar solution to realign the track may be required.
“Even if one such site required the same standard of remediation work, this would exceed the estimated $5.8 million the BERL study noted for resilience work.”
The 95km length of rail track that links Wairoa and Gisborne is considered one of the most scenic rail corridors in the country. It was closed due to storm damage in 2012.
BERL estimated costs to repair the six drop-outs along the track and reinstate it to an operational level would require one-off expenditure of between $19.9 million and $23.3
million. Additional works to improve the resilience of the line to adverse weather events would cost an additional $5 million to $6 million.
Mr Miller told Radio NZ in May that reinstating the line could cost up to five times as much as what BERL has estimated.
This week he said: “Without detailed study of the track condition it is difficult to place a definitive cost on the line’s rebuild. However, KiwiRail can look at similar rebuilds,
such as restoration of the main north line following the Kaikoura earthquake and conclude that the costs involved would be significantly higher than estimated.
“It would be necessary to get a true sense of the actual costs of reinstating the line before we would be able to commit to any proposal.
“This would require detailed geotechnical investigations, and a detailed business case to confirm the viability of predicted freight volumes.
“We are open to reinstating the Gisborne to Wairoa line, if this is deemed priority by the Government.”
-ends-
While I think that the railway should definitely be re-opened – Mr Miller is only going his job. This would be wildly speculative on KiwiRail’s part, if it were to pay ]. The Provincial Fund should be funding the recovery and would create plenty of jobs. Due to the washouts etc and now that the line has been mothballed for so long, I would estimate that it would take a minimum of 3 years to reopen (I have walked most of the section of rail concerned).
The long term prospects for the line are excellent – although for tourism (especially international) accommodation Napier and Gisborne both, need more and a higher quality. This alone without the railway should be of concern, especially to the government.
Government gets the chance to do something positive. But.
A Taranaki iwi says it has walked away from the Taranaki Crossing project in Egmont National Park after being forced to use the Official Information Act to find out where millions of taxpayers money is being spent…
The previous National-led government pledged $3.4 million to the project in 2017 – the same year the Lonely Planet travel guide described it as a must-do experience when naming Taranaki the second best region in the world to visit.
The current government put up $13.3m in 2018 – subject to a feasibility study – which it then re-announced as a Provincial Growth Fund investment in 2019.
Territorial authorities in Taranaki and the New Zealand Transport Agency have also budgeted to spend millions on the wider project, which comes in at about $23m.
Ngāti Ruanui own the Stratford Mountain House – a restaurant and accommodation provider on Mt Taranaki – and Ngarewa-Packer sat on the Taranaki Crossing steering committee….
Taranaki Mountain Shuttles owner operator Rob Needs was heavily involved in early promotion of the Pouakai Crossing – which is now a component of the 30 kilometre Taranaki Crossing…
Kaiarataki of Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Ruanui, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, said the iwi waited several months and had to appeal directly at ministerial level before 122 pages of heavily-redacted documents were released to it – and she said it was still none the wiser about how the money is being used…
“When Taranaki was identified by Lonely Planet as the second best region in the world to visit there was a significant boost in visitors and doing the crossing, but the momentum was lost due to being slow off the mark with some action even just marketing and supporting it.”…
Both Needs and Ngarewa-Packer said it was a shame the crossing was not in a position to help Taranaki bounce back from Covid-19 by attracting domestic tourists to the region.
Meanwhile, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage yesterday announced the completion of the first section the upgraded Taranaki Crossing – 850 metres of boardwalk over a muddy section of the Mangorei Track…
(Listen to The Onion for an update of this exciting MoBIE project. /sarc)
Sorry Radionz link for Taranaki iwi here – https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/419280/iwi-walks-away-from-taranaki-crossing-project
Government act now to help beneficiaries. Don’t make this country more miserable even if you are personally a miserable lot.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018751283/benefit-denials-skyrocket-for-jobseekers-with-partners-earning
The number of people being denied benefits because their partner earns too much has skyrocketed.
Job seeker benefits can be cut to nothing depending on partners’ incomes – despite recommendations by the government’s own Welfare Expert Advisory Group (WEAG) to scrap the rule.
The number of people being refused benefits because of their relationship status jumped to 414 during April – having been less than 80 for the three months prior.
If you can’t give a shit about the ordinary people who you have caused to be in the poo because of past decisions which you seem too disabled mentally to think about and understand, why would they vote for you?
You are offering few improvements for the strugglers – get beside them, give them the opportunity to be socially mobile as we used to be. It could be great but some of you people have been brought up on too much milk, and it has curdled in your veins. Try going all kumbyya for once, instead of the idea being a joke to the all-knowing sophisticates of the upper middle class who know how to speak right!
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