If National wins ...

[elZorro]

This is great news ... last time the business confidence was so low (2009), the economy grew by 2.2%. Not too bad for a depressed mood, isn't it? Thanks EZ for cheering us up

Yes, it grew by 2%, because it had previously crashed by a bigger percentage with the GFC. The tax take says it all.

No, I'm not an expert on rail, but even Richard Prebble thinks we should keep it running as it is, even expand it.

http://transportblog.co.nz/2015/07/15/prebble-on-rail/

A bit there about one train haul being equivalent to 50 truck movements. You have to think about Fonterra, for example. They built a massive coolstore right beside the tracks, and will be shipping most of it direct to ports.

[Daytr]

BP I would be interested to know if the rail subsidies are cheaper than the road maintenance required for heavy trucks on the roads?
The rail network in Europe is a brilliant way to get around and is heavily used.
Most developed countries are building high speed rail networks.
The US is even finally starting to wake up. Obviously places like Europe, Japan & now China are going down this path.
NZs population doesn't necessarily support the case for regional rail & another 1-2 million people wouldn't either.
Although if you have a freight network between major centers there probably isn't a reason passenger trains could run as well.
Also the beauty of rail is that it can run right into the center of a city instead of flying in and then catching a very expensive cab.
What would a rail line for running the length of the North Shore to the CBD & an interchange to go south or east or west perhaps on light rail do for Auckland's traffic? With the right infrastructure, i.e. free parking near train stations I think it would do wonders for the likes of Auckland.
There probably is a case for major regional depots to transport to ports and possibly between major cities, particularly the likes of Whangarei, Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga & the main trunk route south.
There is also the fuel & emissions saving of rail compared to trucks hauling logs etc.
It needs to be in my view a nationally coordinated plan to include the likes of Auckland's transport issues.
I would much rather see that than the billions we are spending on building motorways.
Just a thought. What if you could put your car on the train so you have it at your destination?
Ride in comfort to your destination & drive off the train as again they do in Europe.

[BlackPeter]

No, I'm not an expert on rail, but even Richard Prebble thinks we should keep it running as it is, even expand it.

http://transportblog.co.nz/2015/07/15/prebble-on-rail/

A bit there about one train haul being equivalent to 50 truck movements. You have to think about Fonterra, for example. They built a massive coolstore right beside the tracks, and will be shipping most of it direct to ports.

Well, Mainfreight invested a lot of money into rail connections - and Richard Prebble is one of their directors. He might have a conflict of interest here. Anyway - I am not against keeping Kiwirail, I am just against keeping it at any price. Show me a business case which adds up and I am with you.

However - I can't remember many examples where continuous subsidization resulted in a lean and efficient industry serving the country which payed the bills ... can you?

[macduffy]

- I can't remember many examples where continuous subsidization resulted in a lean and efficient industry serving the country which payed the bills ... can you?

Perhaps the medical "industry". Comparing the "lean and efficient" American system with the British/NZ largely taxpayer-subsidised one!

[Joshuatree]

Its looking like the TPPA deal won't go through atp but its not dead in the water yet. I caught a snippet on AlJazeera

[winner69]

Tim says he will win the war.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/n...ectid=11490776

Of course he will. This corporate takeover of democracy will go ahead. All this current going ones is just a charade to allow some to display their 'displeasure' to the populus and then claim we got
'Concessions"

Sad really but THEY will get their comeuppance one day. Hope not too much damage done in the meantime

[elZorro]

After reading a bit of the SST this morning, David Slack popped up again on the radar as a very funny and perceptive opinion writer.

The item "The future seems so long ago" isn't available on the web yet. This piece in Metro, which is another publication he's a regular in, is available. He does future obituaries on famous NZers.

http://www.metromag.co.nz/city-life/...nick-smith-mp/

I don't think he's a National voter. But then, not many of our smarter journalists appear to be, either.

Rod Oram has another perceptive article on the National Govt's fiddling methods, "Fiddling fixes nothing" also.

He commented that if immigrants get 30 points out of 100 on their scores just for living in one of the regions for a year, we'll likely end up with families in the regions who are unskilled in the areas we need, while the husband works in Auckland or a major city. This would not greatly help the regions, and it's probably only a 12 month period anyway. It really is fiddling at the edges, not a well thought-out policy, but it sounds good, doesn't it.

John Key has been "telling us not to worry about the implosion of Greece, or the travails of the Eurozone, or China's slowing growth, or the collapse of China's state-manipulated stock market, or the global dairy slump...In Kiwi terms, that's like selling cow**** to cockies".

[BlackPeter]

I don't think he's a National voter. But then, not many of our smarter journalists appear to be, either.

EZ, you wouldn't make any baseless derogatory statements, wouldn't you? Just help us to understand how you are measuring the "smartness" of our journalists and how do you correlate latter to their voting behaviour?

BTW - I would call Matthew Hooton, Rob Hosking, Rodney Hide, Shoeshine (to name just a few) good (and some outstanding) journalists and opinion writers. Are they smart? Well, they are smart enough to know that the world is larger than its left-wing. True - not all of them are likely to vote for National, but as you know, there is at least one other good alternative to vote for (ask Rodney, if you want to know more).

Let me guess ... I think your real problem is that you believe only Left-wing people can be smart. Risky assumption if we look into history ...

[elZorro]

EZ, you wouldn't make any baseless derogatory statements, wouldn't you? Just help us to understand how you are measuring the "smartness" of our journalists and how do you correlate latter to their voting behaviour?

BTW - I would call Matthew Hooton, Rob Hosking, Rodney Hide, Shoeshine (to name just a few) good (and some outstanding) journalists and opinion writers. Are they smart? Well, they are smart enough to know that the world is larger than its left-wing. True - not all of them are likely to vote for National, but as you know, there is at least one other good alternative to vote for (ask Rodney, if you want to know more).

Let me guess ... I think your real problem is that you believe only Left-wing people can be smart. Risky assumption if we look into history ...

BP, what I'm referring to is that the smarter journalists have read Dirty Politics, have watched John Key and his mates performing, and have come to have a more reserved opinion about the current government. It doesn't mean they're left wing. But I think you'll find that National will have a bit of a head-wind from the press, coming up to 2017.

Anyway, is Mike Hosking one of the most in-depth journalists you know? Or is a me-first kind of a person? David Slack comments, not as funny as others.

http://www.metromag.co.nz/city-life/...-april-1-2059/

[BlackPeter]

- I can't remember many examples where continuous subsidization resulted in a lean and efficient industry serving the country which payed the bills ... can you?

Perhaps the medical "industry". Comparing the "lean and efficient" American system with the British/NZ largely taxpayer-subsidised one!

Good point. The problem is not the subsidization in itself, but the protectionist reason for it. The health systems you are listing are not subsidized to protect them against otherwise more economical alternatives, but to make them affordable for the user.

So - you are correct, I should have said: "I can't remember many examples where continuous protectionist subsidization resulted in a lean and efficient industry"

Subsidies for Kiwirail are just paid to keep the rail alive despite there being more economical alternatives (road, ship).

Obviously - this does not exclude either that there might be parts of Kiwirail which could be run efficiently (e.g. Auckland and Wellington public transport, potentially as well some of the freight lines ... if only coal, lumber and dairy prices would be higher ) - it is just that I haven't seen yet a business case to keep the whole of Kiwirail running as is.