The Daily Blog Open Mic – Thursday 2nd March 2017

4 Comments

1. http://www.nzfirst.org.nz/more_empty_promises_on_transport_for_regions

   More Empty Promises On Transport For Regions
   01 March 2017

   Denis O’Rourke Tranport

   National’s transport ideas for Gisborne neglect rail, says New Zealand First.

   “New Zealand First has always supported the full re-instatement of the Napier- Gisborne rail line and it’s a key part of our transport policy,” says New Zealand First Transport Spokesperson Denis O’Rourke.

   “But Transport Minister Simon Bridges makes no mention of it in his big announcement today on transport for Gisborne.

   “Shutting the rail line between Gisborne and Napier was simply an excuse by National to get rid of another bit of New Zealand’s rail network and invest in NZTA’s over-bloated roading programme.

   “Having a reliable efficient transport system plays a huge part in regional development, but it can’t be short sighted like National’s plans. Roads are important, but rail must play a part as well.

   “National is asking for consultation from locals. That’s simply playing around the edges. It’s simply another empty election promise to curry favour in the regions.

   “New Zealand First wants a balanced approach when it comes to transport, with equal importance placed on both roads and rail. We will develop Railways of National Importance, which this line is very much part of.

   “Our transport policy has a clear objective of creating a cost effective, efficient, safe, secure and future proofed transport infrastructure, not just a one dimensional approach,” says Mr O’Rourke.

2. @cleangreen – by the time they install (again) a decent rail system in this country – trains will be a thing of the past.

   1. Rail can run on wood as fuel long after trucks and roads are not viable.

3. A stunning article. The New York Times reporting the Obama administration scrambled during its final days in office to preserve evidence of Russia’s collusion with the Trump campaign. Citing unnamed former officials, the Times says Obama’s aides left a “trail of evidence” across different government agencies to prevent the incoming Trump administration from covering up or destroying the evidence, the trail including passing sensitive information to Congress, keeping evidence at a relatively low classification level so a number of people could see it, also sharing information with European allies.

   “The efforts to preserve the intelligence continued until the administration’s final hours. This was partly because intelligence was still being collected and analyzed, but it also reflected the sentiment among many administration officials that they had not recognized the scale of the Russian campaign until it was too late.”

   https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/01/us/politics/obama-trump-russia-election-hacking.html?smid=fb-share

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