However, will the engagement with stakeholders and the community be that – engagement? Tomorrow the Auckland Development Committee chaired by Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse will set in motion the … Continue reading Auckland Development Committee to set Port Part II Study Into Motion
Month: March 2015
Rail Failures Continue – This Time With the New Electrics. Full Investigation Required!
Eastern Line Plunged in Chaos First of all I understand new equipment can run into teething issues both in tests and when in full operations for the first time. … Continue reading Rail Failures Continue – This Time With the New Electrics. Full Investigation Required!
So Winston Did It. We Should Not Be Afraid of Pounding that Iron
Where next
While you can say Winston Peters winning Northland over the weekend was pretty much not in doubt but rather the margin he did it by, the question is where next for Northland itself.
Northland is not very well despite an abundant of renewable resources (timber, fishing, farming) and tourism while sitting right above the country’s biggest city – Auckland.
I caught this blog post over the weekend describing the Northland situation:
Northland speaks and National still isn’t listening.
SATURDAY, MARCH 28, 2015
Steven Joyce was interviewed on Q & A about the heavy loss National had experienced in the Northland bye-election. He was challenged by Corin Dann regarding the Government’s neglect of the regions. Joyce was adamant that Northland was unique and what it really needed was improved infrastructure such as roads and broadband. Joyce has a narrow, blinkered view of the world that is informed by his corporate bias and passion for roads and sadly the election defeat didn’t remove his blinkers or open his eyes.
I spent a few days near Kaitaia a couple of years ago (while attending an education conference) and was able to tour the area and listen to people at the forefront of education, health and welfare. Poverty can be seen everywhere in Northland, it is evident in the housing, the health statistics and stories from local doctors like Lance O’Sullivan.
Schools struggle to meet the diverse needs of the mainly Maori communities and while there seems to be ample money to support elite private schools, Northland schools getignored and bullied instead. Many of the successes in education in the region are due to communities doing what they can despite the Government. Kerikeri High School has lifted Maori achievement by supporting a successful programme that has had its funding cut. Much special education support, under the current system, is not directed to where there is greatest need and the likes of Kings College have greater access to services instead.
……
Full post here: http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.co.nz/2015/03/northland-speaks-and-national-still.html?spref=fb
I shared the post on Facebook with this short commentary added to it:
Timber you say?
Just imagine what would happen to that Timber Industry fuelling that Northland Economy if they had a decent rail connection from Northland to a massive consumer and industrial machine called Auckland?You know bringing the North Auckland Line up to first world standards while building the Marsden Point Line to the Marsden Deep Water Port to allow exports of that Northland Timber too
But no National still seem contempt on a Holiday Highway that will never reach Northland whether it be Wellsford or Warkworth.
And that folks is just a reason of a few that National just faced a 25% swing and thus what the Aussies called a thumping,
[Edit: addition – granted that rail is not the silver bullet but it goes some distance in connecting industry, logistics, and population centres up.]
…………………………..
You would think after National suffered the 25% swing and other electorates starting to get ideas they would listen. Well if this was anything to go by (and I do not doubt the source) then listening is not happening:
@LewSOS: Key says the cricket hurt less than the Northland by-election because the cricketers never gave up Think about that for a moment
@LewSOS: no regard at all for the man who was assigned an impossible task, made to humiliate himself, then abandoned by the leadership
As for Labour I have already Tweeted to Andrew Little for the need of an Auckland/Northland Plan to get both interlinked regions going. He liked the idea but it will be a case of Labour listening and actioning the plan or not – like National.
I Talk Ports of Auckland
Where to with the Port Tonight on Sky Ch 83 at 9pm I talk Ports of Auckland on the All About Auckland Show: Watch the All About Auckland Show … Continue reading I Talk Ports of Auckland
Third Week of Failures from Auckland Transport with the Rail Network?
Already a bad start and it is not even 10am Monday yet You would think after two weeks of abysmal failings from Auckland Transport and the Transdev Control Room … Continue reading Third Week of Failures from Auckland Transport with the Rail Network?
Auckland Development Committee Meets Wednesday – Talks Port of Auckland
Port Part II Study to be Commissioned After the Mayor gave a monologue and befuddled his way through TV3’s The Nation on Saturday in regards to the Port of Auckland … Continue reading Auckland Development Committee Meets Wednesday – Talks Port of Auckland
The Nation Twitter Panel Covering Port of Auckland UPDATED with Transcript
A Summary This morning I joined Matthew Beveridge as part of the TV3’s The Nation Twitter Panel. The subjects covered were: Port of Auckland with Mayor Len Brown The German-Wings … Continue reading The Nation Twitter Panel Covering Port of Auckland UPDATED with Transcript
Cameron Brewer on Port of Auckland
Also on The Nation Twitter Panel today After the Mayor walked out of a Governing Body meeting on Thursday in regards to the Port of Auckland issue (call it as … Continue reading Cameron Brewer on Port of Auckland
Mayor Meets With The Concerned Over Ports of Auckland
Not sure yet if Court action will continue Just in from the Office of the Mayor: Mayor meets community and key stakeholders on Ports debate The Mayor today met with … Continue reading Mayor Meets With The Concerned Over Ports of Auckland
And The Rail Failures Keep on Coming UPDATED
One service not running most of the week, Electric Train Disabled at Meadowbank The disaster fortnight for the rail system (overseen by Auckland Transport) with the rail system keeps on going. For … Continue reading And The Rail Failures Keep on Coming UPDATED