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Very poor optics Mr Joyce

Posted by Grant Robertson on March 15th, 2010

It has not been the best week for Steven Joyce. Both his pronouncements on limiting access to student loans and reviewing the Super Gold card have seen him run an issue up the flagpole only to have to run it down again in very short order.

It seems that it all got the better of him on a visit to New Plymouth on Friday. The Taranaki Daily News has reported some very odd behaviour at the official opening of the Bell Block By-Pass. It sounds like a big local event with New Plymouth Mayor Peter Tennant in attendance along with former MP and Regional Councillor Roger Maxwell. The Daily News reports

But Mr Tennent was not long into his speech when Mr Joyce’s press secretary approached the minister and handed him a note. Mr Joyce then continually texted on his cellphone while Mr Tennent, then Mr Maxwell, spoke. And then, when it was the turn of New Zealand Transport Agency regional director Jenny Chetwynd to speak, Mr Joyce left his seat and walked behind a nearby bush so he could talk on his phone.

Apparently when the National cabinet are discussing their plans Mr Joyce is the first to raise the “optics” of a situation, ie how it will look to the public. I would say that texting at a public event is not good optics. Hiding behind a bush is also not good optics.

He was still behind the bush when all the speeches had finished, which forced organisers to postpone a ribbon-cutting ceremony for several minutes. When Mr Joyce wandered back out into the open, the remainder of the official opening continued without any further delays. After ceremonially cutting a ribbon and declaring the bypass open, he was then taken for a drive down the new section of highway in a big truck driven by New Plymouth MP Jonathan Young – and even then he was texting during most of his time in the cabin.

For the record, delaying a ribbon cutting ceremony because you are behind a bush talking on your cellphone is really poor optics, not to mention just plain discourteous. I am not sure about the optics of texting when Jonathan Young is driving “a big truck”, but it probably pays to keep half an eye on the road!

Now all of this took place on Friday. What was happening on Friday? Ah yes. That was just about the point that the review of the SuperGold card was turning into a rapidly descending flag. It would be fascinating to know who was on the other end of the phone, but I am guessing his first name was probably John.

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Filed under: humour, infrastructure, national, senior citizens, transport
38 Comments

Investment in rail

Posted by Chris Hipkins on March 14th, 2010

Last week I posted about the current woes of our rail network, noting that under private ownership there had been a lack of investment in upgrading and maintaining the trains and tracks. In hindsight perhaps the then Labour government should have bought back the whole lot in 2003, not just the tracks, and now we’d be 5 years further ahead than we are. I’m not sure that was even an option back then, but regardless of the history, looking to the future it’s clear a big investment is needed if rail is going to be a viable transport option in New Zealand.

It’s interesting to note that the New Zealand government are one of the few around the world who haven’t included investment in rail as part of their economic stimulus package in response to the global recession. In the US they’re spending $17.7 billion on ‘transit and rail’ to reduce traffic congestion and petrol use. Italy are spending 960 million euro in rail and another 480 million euro in local public transport. Korea are spending KRW 11 trillion on ‘green transport’. The Aussies are spending 1.2 billion on rail, the Canadians 480 million and France 300 million. The list could go on…

Here in New Zealand Steven Joyce is obsessed with roads as if they are the only viable form of transport. Roads are convenient, and for a lot of passenger trips they are the most logical choice, but for freight and suburban transport, rail remains a viable and important option, but only if government backs it. As I noted last week, freight within NZ is expected to increase by up to 75% in the next 20 years – does National want to see all of that going onto the roads? Why aren’t we following the rest of the world and looking to rail to ease traffic congestion and reduce our reliance on imported oil?

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Filed under: economy, infrastructure, public services, transport
22 Comments

Joyce not keen on the Auckland CBD rail loop reports the Herald

Posted by David Shearer on March 11th, 2010

Great to read the joint ARTA-KiwiRail press release this morning on the preferred route for the CBD rail loop project.

The cost is roughly similar to the Puhoi-Wellsford road, the benefits are far greater, so why is Joyce not keen on this one? An interesting question. What do you think?

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Filed under: Auckland, transport
9 Comments

National’s neglect of rail

Posted by Chris Hipkins on March 9th, 2010

Wellington commuters who regularly use our local trains live with the day to day realities of the last National government’s disastrous decision to privatise what was then NZ Rail. Between its sale and eventual buy-back in 2008, very little was spent on upgrading or even maintaining rail services. Some of the trains running on Wellington’s rail lines are literally museum pieces.

The last Labour government started to repair some of that damage. For example the new trains that will start arriving in Wellington later this year were purchased only after central government stumped up most of the cash. The problems that have plagued our local trains over recent months are largely due to the huge backlog of maintenance and upgrading that’s now being done. Had it been done over the past decade and a half we wouldn’t be in the mess we’re in now.

Like a lot of Wellingtonians, I’m disappointed the new National-led government seem to have so little faith in rail. From the outside looking in it seems as though they want it to fail so that they can carve it up, sell it off, or close it down. They’re now talking about closing down regional lines, what a sell-out. Freight within NZ is expected to increase by up to 75% in the next 20 years – does National want to see all of that going onto the roads?

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Filed under: privatisation, public services, transport, wellington
22 Comments

Improving local rail services

Posted by Chris Hipkins on February 14th, 2010

A bunch of people travelling from Upper Hutt to Wellington by train yesterday almost missed the replacement bus because TranzMetro thought that a tiny poster beside the train timetable was enough to alert us to the fact that the trains weren’t running. Nobody got off the bus to check there was nobody on the platform, so I wouldn’t be surprised if a number of people were left wondering why the trains never came.

I totally understand that the train lines need to be closed from time to time for maintenance and upgrading. I think they’re doing a good job, but why not put big signs on the platform to alert travellers that buses are replacing trains? In this instance it seems TranzMetro were more concerned about sticking with their corporate branding (the poster looked just like all their advertising posters) than communicating effectively with their customers.

It did prompt a bit of discussion about what sort of changes people would like to see to our local rail services. I’ve talked about this with a number of people in recent weeks and here are some of the things on their wish lists:

  • WiFi on all train services so that people can work/play on the train (even if there was a small cost involved)
  • Decent coffee carts on train platforms during peak hours, or on the trains themselves
  • Slightly more room between each seat so that people can work on laptops or read the paper without bashing the head of the person in front
  • More room for bikes (currently only 2 allowed per train)
  • Electronic signs on the platforms saying when the next service is due
  • Step-free access from platforms to make it easier for those with pushchairs/wheelchairs
  • More enclosed shelters on the station platforms
  • Integrated/electronic ticketing (like the Snapper cards)
  • More carparks at some stations
  • More frequent services / more express services during peak hours

Some of these things are coming when the new train units arrive later this year (eg. step-free access, more bike space), while others could actually prove revenue-generating opportunities (eg. user-pays WiFi or coffee carts). Others (integrated ticketing) could save money. I know the Regional Council are working on some of this stuff, but I reckon they could pick up the pace a bit. If we want more people using public transport we should be doing more to make it an attractive/convenient option.

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Filed under: public services, transport
27 Comments

Hamilton Election Promise Broken Already

Posted by Sue Moroney on February 9th, 2010

“Promise on Road Project Broken” screams the front page of the Waikato Times today. It was being delivered to homes all over the Waikato just as John Key was delivering his speech outlining his Government’s programme for the year ahead. How appropriate!

The NZ Transport Agency came to Hamilton yesterday to deliver the news that the Hamilton leg of the expressway is now not scheduled for completion until 2024. The problem is that the Nats made an election promise to complete the Waikato Expressway inside ten years – that is by 2018.

The other problem is that the Minister has reversed the order of construction so that the Hamilton by-pass comes last. That will create a bottleneck effect as the construction takes place to the north and the south of Hamilton first.

It means larger volumes of traffic will be delivered to congested Hamilton streets until 2024.

It looks like the Hamilton Government National MPs, David Bennett and Tim MacIndoe lack the influence and the ability to get their major election promise delivered.

Oddly enough, even though John Key used his speech to announce the Kopu Bridge replacement for the 11th time, the Waikato Expressway didn’t feature in his speech at all today. Hmmmmm………curious.

Filed under: Hamilton, Uncategorized, infrastructure, transport, waikato
5 Comments

Here’s an idea – bigger fines for richer people

Posted by Darien Fenton on January 13th, 2010

Summer is the time when road safety is big on the news, with accidents solemnly reported on the news every day.

The latest this week has been the call for tourists to be better educated in New Zealand road safety before they get behind the wheel. This does of course assume that foreign drivers are not as safe as New Zealanders and I’m not sure that’s true. There have been some awful crashes involving tourists this summer, but in most cases, it was not their driving that caused the accident.

So I was interested to read in the NZ Herald today that European countries are pegging speeding fines to income as a way to punish wealthy offenders who ignore tickets. Apparently, Swiss voters approved a 2007 penal law overhaul that lets judges fine people based on personal income and wealth for moderate offences including excessive speeding and drunk driving.

The latest is a millionaire Ferrari driver in Switzerald, described as a “traffic thug” by the Swiss Court, who was fined F295,000 (NZ $392,000)

Apparently, the court took into account the man’s history of similar offences and his estimated personal wealth of more than US$20 million.

Germany, France, Austria and the Nordic countries all issue fines based on a person’s wealth. In Germany the fines can be as much as US$16 million compared with only US$1 million in Switzerland.

While the average driver is likely to get a more modest fine, Switzerland does seem to have had a real problem with wealthy foreigners hiring cars and conducting races on Swiss roads.

Last year a court fined six men from Hong Kong up to €95,000 after they raced through Switzerland in hired Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Aston Martins and Audis at speeds of up to 230km an hour. A Frenchman was fined 70,000 francs after being caught on a highway doing 243 km/h.

I haven’t noticed a lot of Ferraris, Lamborghinis and other luxury cars speeding dangerously around New Zealand roads, but I am intrigued by the idea of fining people who break the law according to their wealth. Something for Mr Joyce to think about as he prepares his policy announcements on the 2020 Transport Safety Strategy.

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Filed under: international, policy, regulation, transport
77 Comments

The driving age.

Posted by Jacinda Ardern on January 4th, 2010

You might have caught up on the latest Herald survey, which claims 80% of us want the legal driving age to be raised to 18 or higher.  Personally I can’t quite imagine a system where young people can learn to drive a family sedan at the same age they can enlist in the army and learn to drive a tank.

Darien Fenton and I were chatting a while back about the Government’s proposal to increase the driving age and decided we hadn’t heard much from young people on the issue. We threw together a quick survey, which Young Labour has made available here.

Grateful for your feedback.

Filed under: Uncategorized, transport, youth
31 Comments

Hamilton Passenger Train Service Gathers Steam

Posted by Sue Moroney on December 2nd, 2009

Around 100 people attended a public meeting in Hamilton last night to discuss the proposal to get a passenger train service for commuters between Hamilton and Auckland.

The meeting was hosted by the Campaign for Better Transport and the business case for the train service is well-established.

Unfortunately, Nanaia Mahuta and I are the only local MPs supporting the train service – the two National MPs told the meeting all the reasons it shouldn’t go ahead.

The National Party rhetoric goes something like this:

*Hamilton is too small to sustain the service;

*Hamilton should be grateful that it is getting funding for an expressway;

*Waikato Mayors just want the expressway completed in 10 years time instead;

* There is a private bus company that commuters could use.

Their arguments don’t stack up. Masterton and Palmerston North have passenger train services to Wellington and they are a lot smaller than Hamilton.

The expressway, when completed at a cost of $2b in 10 years time, will save 10 minutes on the journey to Auckland – that is until Waikato cars get to the Southern Motorways and sit in traffic jams for ages!

The Waikato Mayors have always argued for a balanced transport system for the region and they didn’t anticipate the Government was going to cut city public transport funding for Hamilton to fund the expressway as they have.

Oh duh… the buses to Auckland get caught in the traffic jams too.

I reckon the real reason David Bennett and Tim MacIndoe are talking the proposal down is they agree with the Don Brash Taskforce comissioned by John Key when it recommended the sale of state assets.

KiwiRail will be the first up for sale and they won’t want a whole lot of Hamilton commuters up in arms when they sell it off.

Filed under: Hamilton, infrastructure, privatisation, transport, waikato
21 Comments

Gerry’s biofuels shambles

Posted by Chris Hipkins on November 28th, 2009

Continuing with the theme set this morning by Colin James (see Grant’s post) I’ve found another example of how governments get things wrong when they rush things through. Late last year the newly elected National government rushed through a repeal of Labour’s biofuels obligation under Urgency. The obligation would have meant that the fuel you purchased at the pump would have had to have a certain percentage of biofuels within it. It would have been a useful step in reducing our carbon emissions.

National decided to rush through a repeal, thus pulling the rug out from under the biofuel industry that had been scaling up to take advantage of the new obligation. Labour MPs presented examples during the debate of businesses that would suffer, we presented the cost to NZ in terms of higher carbon emissions, and we argued, as we have with the ETS, that ultimately it should be the polluter that pays.

Gerry Brownlee argued, as National have done with the ETS, that the taxpayer should pay. In this year’s Budget National introduced a Biodiesel Grants Scheme as a partial replacement for the sales obligation. It set aside $36 million in taxpayer subsidies to encourage the production of Biodiesel. So how has it panned out? Well so far they have spent less than $44,000 of that money. In other words, it’s been a total flop. Another example of a bad law rushed through. Another example of National not looking at the evidence of what actually works.

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Filed under: climate change, legislation, transport, urgency
10 Comments

UK approach to bad drivers

Posted by Trevor Mallard on November 8th, 2009

A cross-party group will have a discussion in a couple of weeks following my incident and Nikki’s accident. We think that there is an opportunity to promote cycle safety.  This article in The Guardian outlines one approach.

In the interim, I will try a 115k fun ride in the Waiarapa today as the last long ride before the Nikki-less Taupo ride.

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Filed under: sport, transport
10 Comments

Joyce out of step with Auckland

Posted by David Shearer on October 28th, 2009

John Banks recently wrote in the NZ Herald that Auckland needs an inner city underground railway loop. He joins fellow aspiring mayor, Len Brown, the chair of the ARC, Mike Lee and just about every smart thinking Aucklander in believing that Auckland needs this piece of infrastructure urgently.

So why is the National Party so out of step with the rest of Auckland? Stephen Joyce has instead prioritised roads; the most farcical being the new Puhoi to Wellsford motorway. This $2.3 billion folly will swallow up capital that could make the tunnel and electrification a reality. That stretch of road north of Auckland carries about the same number of vehicles as Sandringham Road. It’s full for only a handful of days a year when everyone tries to go north during the holidays – not even economically productive days. He’s planning to waste $100 million on a feasibility study.

The reason for the rail tunnel is simple. Currently, trains come into Britomart anad have to go back out again on the same lines . The loop would allow them to continue under Queen St, K Rd and then join the line again at Mt Eden allowing for a doubling, at least, of trains going  through Britomart. That would increase the frequency of trains and lead to greater patronage – 3 or 4 times more. And, as other countries know, it stimulates growth and vitality in the inner city and ar0und stations. Simple really. Maybe too simple.

The only hitch is that diesel trains can’t use an underground loop because of fumes. That’s a key reason why we should move full steam ahead on electrifying Auckland’s rail. But on this Joyce is vague. Possibly 2013 he says. Possibly? He should forget the holiday highway and invest in what Aucklanders want and need – a first class rail service.

Filed under: Auckland, Uncategorized, infrastructure, transport
29 Comments

ACC and the bikers

Posted by Chris Hipkins on October 18th, 2009

Like most MPs I’ve been getting heaps of emails from angry motorbike riders about the National government’s massive ACC levy hikes. Yesterday I even had people come to talk to me about it at my regular constituency clinics.

Rick Barker put out a great statement last week which I’m sure reflects the views of bikers everywhere. Rick points out that the cut-off points in terms of cc ratings don’t take into account the relative power of motorcycles. He also points out that many bikers will own several bikes but they can only ride one at a time:

“I have friends who own up to seven bikes, each for different purposes: off-road, trail, touring and collectables – and they could end up paying about $5000 just to ride their bikes. They can only ride one at a time.

Rick also argues that many motorcycle accidents are actually caused by car drivers, not the biker:

“How is it fair that a motorcyclist is knocked off their bike by a car and then charged much higher levies for the experience? This means the victim pays.

Of course motorbikes are also better for the planet because they use less fuel, not to mention they take up less space in the carpark.

I suspect the National government are secretly quite happy that people are getting angry about ACC. They’ll then use that anger to justify their privatisation agenda. How cynical.

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Filed under: privatisation, transport
26 Comments

Note to self: things to do in Australia

Posted by Darien Fenton on September 28th, 2009

I’m off to Australia this week, with partner John, to meet his two new grandsons, Chance and Chay (yes, well they are Australians) and so John can meet for just the second time his two-year old granddaughter, Mala  - (and before you ask, we’re paying).

Because I can never separate the personal from the politics, I’ve made a list of things to look into including:

  1. Why Australian cleaners are now paid $21 an hour when ours are still paid $12.55, when they’re employed by the same contractors.
  2. What Rudd has done differently to Key to end the recession earlier and with lower unemployment than NZ.
  3. Why increasing workers’ rights in Australia is not seen as reducing productivity or harmful to business when in New Zealand it’s seen as the opposite.
  4. How many firms have really gone bust because they have to pay the same minimum redundancy pay I am proposing in my Redundancy Protection Bill.
  5. What’s happening with the National Transport Commission report that said that excessive client power and poor pay and conditions for truck drivers were a major cause of the high levels of deaths and injuries on Australian roads – and whether Joyce should take note.
  6. What forms of contracting arrangements for independent contractors do they have that give them more rights and collective bargaining power.

Should be a great trip!  I’ll send photos.

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Filed under: business, economic, infrastructure, labour, personal, transport, union, workforce
9 Comments

Public transport freeze hits Hamilton

Posted by Sue Moroney on September 9th, 2009

This week, the Waikato Regional Passenger Transport Committee got the bad news from the New Zealand Transport Agency that the funding that had been destined for public transport has been “redirected” by the Government into building more roads.

I must admit that I felt sorry for the councillors as I watched their discomfort at hearing this news.

I imagine some of them felt a bit conflicted, because they had argued so vigorously for the Waikato Expressway to be the top transport priority for the region.

I could see the realisation of how that campaign has been used against them start to dawn on their faces.

However, they are not to blame. They chose that priority for the region when Labour was in Government and they were never going to have to sacrifice one for the other. Labour’s committment to progressively improving public transport had enabled Hamilton’s bus patronage to increase by 9% per annum in recent years.

With the change in Government, this has all changed. The Government funding for public transport for the region will only increase by 3% next year and then will be frozen for the next two years.

With 9% growth in the use of buses in Hamilton, this means that either services will have to be cut and/or passenger fares will have to increase significantly.

Both options will force people off buses and back into their cars. Smart eh?

It also makes it virtually impossible for the Hamilton to Auckland passenger train service to be established even if the proposed trial is successful.

What a great leap backwards.

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Filed under: Hamilton, transport, waikato
18 Comments

Wilkinson gives up and plans to chop out meal breaks

Posted by Trevor Mallard on September 3rd, 2009

I was Minister of Labour and SOEs when the rest break legislation came in. Sole charge air traffic control towers were the subject of some discussion.

Controllers have offered to take their breaks when no planes are scheduled and to carry devices so they can be called back in an emergency. Their industrial agreement has always had a safety clause in it and has worked well.

Some idiot from CAA has said they all have to have their breaks at the same time. He said pilots won’t understand if it is different at different airports nothwithstanding the fact that that has always been the case and that towers are open at different times all round the country.

On the basis of this stupid decision Kate Wilkinson has decided to repeal the key parts of the rest and meal breaks legislation. Of course we know John Key never supported it – but Crosby Textor told him to be quiet until after the election because their polling showed that most people think having a 30 minute lunch break and two breaks a day to have a cup of tea and go to the toilet is reasonable.

Also interesting was that the media statement announcing the change came from the Department not Minister of Labour – even though it was in her name! !

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Filed under: national, public services, transport, union
14 Comments

Hands free and the nanny

Posted by Clare Curran on August 14th, 2009

I support the decision to make it illegal to use your hand held cellphone to phone or text while driving. Having lived in Australia, where that’s been the law for many years, it seemed like a no brainer to me. Have to admit I’ve done it (in New Zealand) because it’s not illegal. Behaviour change often requires legislation as well as public information campaigns. The carrot and the stick. Look at the wearing of seatbelts, drink driving, smoking in public places and a whole raft of other social issues that have required legislation to ensure (most) people actually change their behaviours.

Which is why it was so interesting to watch TV news last night and see the generally positive coverage that Steven Joyce’s legislative change is provoking. If this change had been enacted under the Labour Government what’s the bet it would have been labelled a nanny state law? (By the current government as well as all the other nanny state de-criers)

I smell a double standard. I believe it is the role of government to take action on obvious safety issues. That’s one of the things governments are for. I think it’s time we outgrew the nanny and had a proper discussion about where governments can and should be most effective.

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Filed under: comms & IT, regulation, transport
29 Comments

Let’s give Kiwirail staff a break

Posted by Chris Hipkins on August 13th, 2009

I see in the DomPost this morning that Kiwirail are taking another pasting regarding ongoing problems with the Wellington train system. I can understand why our local commuters are getting frustrated and fed up with the whole thing, but I also have a lot of sympathy for the staff at Kiwirail who are literally working around the clock to keep the trains running.

Between the time NZ Rail was sold in 1993 and the time when the Labour govt bought back the tracks in 2003, very little was spent on basic maintenance and there was no upgrading at all. There was then a bit of a lag time between the tracks returning to public ownership and serious investment in upgrading taking place. We’re now right in the middle of a major upgrade but because the whole system was so badly run-down it’s pretty fragile.

Speaking to some of the people involved in the upgrade I know that they’re facing a lot of unforseen challenges. They dig holes for new overhead power poles to find underground cables metres from where they should be. One mistake can grind everything to a halt for hours, as happened a few weeks ago. Then of course the trains themselves are all pretty old and break down frequently.

But there is light at the end of the tunnel. I catch the train into town on a reasonably frequent basis and have watched with interest as the power poles have been progressively replaced and new substations have popped up. I’m looking forward to the arrival of a bunch of new commuter trains next year and the year after that. Platforms and shelters are being upgraded, and I’m told a new ticketing system isn’t far away either.

Kiwirail have a heck of a job to do. They’ve got to keep the whole system running while also performing open heart surgery on it. They can’t exactly shut it down for 6 months while the work takes place. I know it’s been frustrating, and no doubt will continue to be, but we’ll all have to keep being patient. In a year or two we’ll have a worldclass commuter train system as our reward.

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Filed under: privatisation, public services, transport, wellington
21 Comments

Why do the Nats Hate Rail so Much?

Posted by Sue Moroney on August 5th, 2009

The National Party’s hatred of public transport has been exposed in the Waikato, with their Hamilton-based MPs arguing against a Hamilton City Council proposal to establish a passenger train service between Hamilton and Auckland.

Now why would local MPs argue against adding an additional service for local people, particularly when a recent survey showed 85% support from ratepayers to subsidise such a service? Very curious.

Now, before bloggers trot out the Crosby-Textor line about how much Kiwirail cost to buy back remember that we had to buy it back  because the Nats sold it in the first place so it doesn’t wash as a the reason why they are so opposed a passenger transport service between Hamilton and Auckland.

Nat MP David Bennett’s contention that he doesn’t want a diesel train polluting the atmosphere doesn’t stack up given that the proposal would take 70+ cars off the road each day and that he is in the thick of fast-tracking a rule change that allows juggernaut diesel-pumping trucks on our roads that are simply not built to carry those weights.

On that issue, both Waipa District Council and Environment Waikato have voted to oppose the juggernaut rule change. Both Waipa and Waikato District Council’s noted the pressure coming from Government to stop promoting rail when they debated their positions on the rule change. You can sense how intimidated the councils were feeling by reading the Waikato Times article here.

For the record, Hamilton is our fourth-largest city and it is 120kms away from Auckland (largest city). Now where else in the developed world would you find that situation with a railway line between the two, the Government owning the railways and the train but still no passenger train service between the two?

So, who is prepared to hazard a guess on the real reason the Nats oppose rail transport.

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Filed under: Auckland, Hamilton, Uncategorized, environment, transport, waikato
98 Comments

ARTA seduced by French Kiss – INCIS II

Posted by Trevor Mallard on July 25th, 2009

Transtasman reports that the Auckland Regional Transport Agency has rejected the Infratil led bid for their integrated ticketing system.

They have chosen Thales a french company.

Insiders (not Infratil) tell me that ARTA was conned by consultants into a highly overspeced solution which will be a fresh build rather than the alternative, an extension of the snapper solution currently in use in Wellington.

Extra cost $30 – $50m.  IT jobs exported. Potential for NZ wide solution gone.

Just stupid.

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Filed under: Auckland, comms & IT, jobs, local government, public services, transport
37 Comments

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