How refreshing it’s been to see climate change activists taking direct action in Wellington over the past 10 days. Hanging banners over motorway gantries, abseiling down over the top of Victoria tunnel and today blocking traffic in transmission gully.
Day after day their actions have disrupted road traffic in and around the capital in a civil disobedience response to the government’s dismal policy response to climate change.
As they point out we have to get people out of cars and into public transport – in particular they want to get passenger rail transport upgraded and improved.
Across Christchurch where I live there are NO passenger rail services at all and no plans for any despite the declaration of a “climate crisis” by our council. Like the rest of the country we are limping towards disaster.
I have seen and heard commentary that these Wellington protests are counter-productive and those taking part are alienating the public rather than building support for stronger government action. Absolute rubbish!
I have been involved in many protests over the years when commentors have said the same thing – disrupting rugby games will only alienate people, ripping up roading at Takaparawha (Bastion Point) will lose the support of law-abiding citizens, marching on motorways is a sign you have already lost. Rubbish, rubbish, rubbish!
Any short-term inconvenience for some people will be made up ten-fold in insisting this issue is at the front of public and political attention – every day – as it needs to be.
Direct action is the ONLY way we will make progress on this. Leaving this issue to the goodwill and consciences of politicians, who think only in three-year cycles and are dependent on corporate political donations, means the crisis will become a catastrophe.
Civil disobedience action has a long and honourable history in Aotearoa New Zealand and around the world.
To the Wellington activists – BRAVO and thank you!
Got to feel for all involved. The Wellington traveling public but mostly for the protest. Michael Wood’s response has been, well, like his namesake, wood! He’s claiming credit for the small improvements to rail NZ First created and that will do us, thank you very much!
The protest objective is completely common sense, logical and reasonable, use rail to mitigate CO2, you know, offer the traveling public a reasonable alternative, plus freight. But no, Wood is deaf, dumb and blind to any such thinking, his government the same, the Climate Minister seemingly as moronic as Wood. They see this as PR issues they need to put out. It exposes their collective stupidity.
The really really sad part about the governments response to this is that it’s not that they are ideologically opposed rather it’s they are so thick, so unimaginative and so wrong for the job they do that they just don’t get it! Its beyond them!
Nothing highlights the shortcomings of this government more than this protest.
Agree with all you have said here. Interesting that RNZ on the Panel conducted one of their txt polls and over 80% agreed with the protest. I think it is fantastic, people prepared to put themselves on the line.
The poor suffering general public don’t make policy and are increasingly disengaged from the political process.
I suggest disrupting politicians and big corporates lives would have a better outcome and would be cheered on by the public.
These are the drivers of climate change that need to be in the sights of protest.
Across Christchurch, there is stuff all railway lines & they are not that well-placed to help commuters which probably explains the lack of commuter rail. I agree that good public transport is essential but gluing their hands to the motorway is not the way to get it.
I just see white, privileged, rich kids acting out.
In Chch the railway station is way out of the CBD at least a one hr walk so how is this going to help getting people in from the outlying areas without cars or buses to take them to their destination .There is not the population to support a rail service but do not let good sense get in the way of the arguement.
The buses are constantly being cut as they have no staff because the returns are so small the wages paid are at the low end of the scale.
These protestors want a train from Wellington to Auckland it is a lovely run when on holiday but for workers it is a 10 hr trip .I am picking most of these protestors are not workers.
There was a regular suburban passenger rail service in CHC up until the early 70’s. Lyttleton Tunnel was even electrified.
They would be better off blocking the farmers protest. Someone needs to stand up to those money grubbing rich prick cockies who think that they have a god given right to poison our waterways. I hate them. I really hate them.
Millsy, your comment was followed by 5 nasty troll comments but to be expected, right wing.
Organise something Millsy instead of expecting others to.
OMG you are fools.
This is the very thing that we did in 1981 many times, we helped to make real change.
The Peace movement, the GE movement!
I am proud to see this happening , protesting on parliament does nothing we all know that. You have to do radical things to get into the media and make the issue front and centre.
The most important issue in te ao is climate change, this should be front and centre.
Okay so last week I took time off work as my elderly mother has a specialist appointment at Wellington Hospital. Due to these idiots we were late, causing a huge amount of stress. Fortunately the hospital staff (doctor and nurse) gave up their lunch break to fit my mother in. My employer was able to give me the whole day off as caregiver leave.
But fuck those white middle class wankers! I’ve taken my car to work all this week to spite them. And it’s turned out to be quicker and more convenient than the train at about the same price. I’m planning on using my car from no on
Perhaps this is the definition of cutting off your nose to spite your face? Obviously you were looking for an excuse to use your car without having to think about the effect on the environment. And presumably you didn’t support their cause of passenger rail or climate action? And sorry about your Mum. She must be even angrier than you about all this.
Ross, unfortunately public transport doesn’t really work for me. I generally work just outside standard rush hour, so commuting by car saves about about 2 hours per day. Cost is negligible as I charge my car (and electric bike) overnight, the biggest cost is paying for parking. As for cost to the environment between my electric cars, energy efficient house and the environmental work my family does on the farm, I’m probably well ahead of any of these protesters in looking after the environment. I just don’t wank off in public about it, to try to get laid.
Well said John. Hopefully the numbers can be built to those of ’81 days and really block those motorways.
My prediction is the Tractor people will have zero arrests.
I do admire their commitment and it is heartening to see people hold fast to their principles in this day and age when most complain without doing. As someone who has been caught in this traffic twice, it is somewhat of a pain but it is what it is.
My issue is that the protestors may have a very valid point but sadly that boat has sailed. NZ could have had decent city rail services if they had the right gauge railways but stupid Kiwirail (in discussion with the Govt) rebrought the current gauge trains which cant support anything faster than about 60kms an hour on a good stretch. That meant they didnt have to rebuild track which was more expensive but could have been done without too much problem in some cities like Wellington etc and could have resulted in a really decent commuter service. But no, we would rather shell out for lots of polluting buses that spend the day 1/2 empty and fail to win over more commuters because the train services are too slow, too crowded (maybe not now with work from home) and too rigid.
Wellington has a really dense CBD but isnt good for biking if you live up a hill in the suburbs, it has two large hinterlands and other sites further afield which trains are ideal for butwe did it all on the cheap when the chance arose and at next renewal despite their green commitment, they will do it again despite all the growth in housing to the Western and the Northern areas.
“That meant they didnt have to rebuild track which was more expensive but could have been done without too much problem in some cities like Wellington etc”
To move from the narrow gauge to standard gauge requires massive realignment of the rail corridor. You cannot have the same minimum radius curves in standard gauge (minimum for normal running is 170 metres) that we currently have in narrow gauge (minimum radius for normal running 130 metres). For example the extreme 100 metre radii curve leading into Auckland’s Britomart would be impossible to achieve with a standard gauge track. Same for engineering marvels like the Raurimu Spiral. Impossible to create a standard gauge rail line on the same corridor. Never mind getting across the Southern Alps. There is a good reason Switzerland and Japan run the rail lines on narrow gauge (except for their high speed networks which don’t integrate with the narrow gauge in the mountains.
With high speed rail, you need straight corridors with sweeping curves and minimal elevation changes, to maintain speed. Plus you need to eliminate road level crossings to ensure minimal distribution to rail traffic flow.
In Wellington you would end up with two gauges of track on the same corridor. You need a narrow gauge rail line to get freight to the new rail ferries. Only place I know of with two rail gauges in same corridor is Bangladash where their standard gauge coexist with the Indian broad gauge tracks and trains.
Good bit of education for me Gerrit thank you. Many of us have been wondering that for years here in Wellington where Hutt Valley line is straight and Kapiti mostly straight. Also Hutt valley Line does go over to Masterton so probably creates issues with either curves? and/or tunnels.
I dont quite understand why you’d need narrow gauge to get to the ferries as the rail station is nearby. Do you mean the curve by the cake tin precludes it?
Having said all that Kiwirail has been considering double tracking some parts of the lines so we dont have to have such a slow system held up by other trains sharing the track into Upper Hutt for example. But 15 years have passed and still no action. The numbers commuting by road into Wellington from Kapiti and Upper Hutt are substantial and to my view, unecessary.
Also am I right in thinking the narrower the gauge the less carriages can be carried or is this more to do with terrain? We also have a problem (or used to have) with overcrowding.
Only if the rest of the country is standard gauge will he need for dual gauge track be eliminated. You cant have a rail network based with freight on narrow gauge and suburban people transport on standard gauge.
Now to convert ALL the train network to standard gauge requires a massive expenditure to realign the corridor to meet the curve requirements that allows standard gauge. If the few kilometers of a light rail in Auckland is going to cost $15B . Imagine the cost of ripping up all the narrow gauge track, the earth works required for the new corridor, the cost of rail, ties and sleeper’s, replacement of all tunnels and bridges, etc. Plus the need to convert all the rolling stock to run on the standard gauge track (some 70 odd people mover trains in Auckland alone).
With the wider gauge comes the need for larger distance between tracks. A wider corridor meaning stations like my local at Manurewa will need to be half demolished and one platform moved back to allow the track separation required. Island based passenger platforms are OK.
This comment uplifted from here https://www.greaterauckland.org.nz/2014/01/07/a-question-of-gauge/
“Min. track radius is very much a function of track gauge. Since the axle is solid the outer wheel must travel further than the inner when negotiating a curve. That variance is accommodated and limited by the clearance of the inner rail edge to the wheel-flange and the coning of the running surface of the wheel at 1:20. Working outside these parameters causes the screeching one hears when negotiating curves tighter than the design limit and that screeching also represents rail and wheel wear as one wheel alternately grips then slips at high frequency. The differential motion is directly proportional to track gauge therefore at 3’6″ gauge the vehicle can negotiate a radius 25% tighter than at 4’8.5″ before this limiting state is reached assuming standard track geometry is maintained.”
Queensland with over 6600 km of narrow gauge track is battling not with the engineering problems (everything is easily overcome by engineering) but rather a political and fiscal one. Huge expenditure for little extra return.
Yes protest for climate action but lets remember private cars for most people are personally more convenient, time efficient and cost effective than public transport. The future economy will respond to consumer demand for Tesla cars, Rivian utes and Thorium nuclear power and then fusion. The electric wind generators will be abandoned just like the dutch grain wind mills.
Inconveniencing the public to this degree is counterproductive. I’d have cheered up the motorists by giving the protesters lots to drink, and then leaving them glued to the road.
And then their bladders and bowels get full, and they have to wet and soil themselves.
Every protested against anything John+Roy and had success, do tell. I take my hats off to them, putting themselves on the line.
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