Never say again that New Zealand's trucking industry doesn't deliver on time.It was gridlock as promised on the Auckland motorway and around the CBD this morning.
The government thought it could put the boot into the trucking industry with an overnight raid on their wallets, at a time when truckers are already on the canvas from spiralling prices.
After this morning, however, the boot is on the other foot. The government itself will be taking a kicking.
And just take note who's giving it to them. This isn't a bunch of braindead students demanding more taxpayer's money -- it's not a bunch of unwashed morons whining about welfare, or trying to stop new businesses from starting up. It's independent producers who are sick of being taken for granted by a bossyboot bloody government doing whatever they can to survive.
They don't want subsidies or special deals -- all they want government is to get the hell out of the way. How appropriate then that their protest is on July 4th, Independence Day! As No Minister says, this morning we are all truckers.
Now that the trucking industry has the government's ear ... in fact, now they have this bossyboot government by the balls ... I do hope they keep squeezing.
More photos at the Herald, and Stuff.
Oh, and just for the record: the roads were clear around Auckland Hospital, and the trucks on the motorway were moving over for sirens.
4 comments:
Yep, the truckers are speaking for a lot of us today: " We are mad as hell and we ain't gonna take it any more".
Fantastic - anything that gridlocks idiots in cars and SUVs gets my vote. The people sitting in the cars are just as stupid as the truck drivers - a procession of idiots. The funniest thing I saw as I "scootered" past all the frustrated idiots was a guy standing outide his stationary car on the motorway into Wellington this morning flaying his arms around like an angry Italian and bashing the roof of his car - priceless, I split the stationary traffic on my Vespa laughing all the way to work - gave the middle finger to the truckies as I rode past - got a few airhorn blasts but they weren't going anywhere - and I was gone. Hilarious.
I support the effort, but it's a bloody stupid tactic.
I hope Libertarianz supporters were all out there talking to the truckies about better solutions than more of the same...but I don't hold out much hope...
Excellent. Haven't seen that many trucks in one place before. There were some interesting things to consider.
All those trucks represent a small part of a logistics system that each of us relies on utterly for survival. The truck drivers move near everything that we need to live. They don't do it out of an altruistic sense of self-sacrifice. They do not do it as the result of a massive civil service bureaucracy of central planners and enforcers telling them what to do or how to live. They do it for their own reasons and in pursuit of their own values. None are forced (yet).
To the extent that they are free to act, they are Capitalists. It's amazing what even limited Capitalism can achieve. Imagine what could be done were people unshackled and allowed to operate in the absence of force, fraud and coercion. In other words, imagine what could be achieved without Anette King and the Ministry seat warmers parasiting and expropriating. No-one needs any of them. Not a one.
Just think of it. No National Socialists. No Labour Socialists. No green Communists. None of the entire rabble of weirdo power lusters.
Leave everyone alone!
--
Did anyone see the interview with Friedlander and Annette King yesterday night? It was telling that he said he wanted to work with the government and that he wanted them to go after "leakage". That is, private motorists who use derv and don't pay RUC.
It was also interesting that King conceded that her models for calculating RUC were supplied by the Ministry and that their recommendation to her was to put RUC up straight away. She confirmed an agenda. That's going to continue regardless of who occupies the treasury perches (how can it not? The same bureaucrats will remain in control).
Finally, Friedlander did mention that trucks had been overcharged for the roads for many, many years (right up until about a year ago, he reported). King did not disagree. Here is the what he should have asked for; Give the money back.
LGM
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