Since the blogosphere discussion of transport is dominated by one passionate but mono-dimensional Transport Blog, transport specialist Liberty Scott has done the blog job of assessing political parties’ transport promises and policies. You know, for those who think these things are important in the last week of a campaign.
Scott asses them on five criteria:
- do they know what they’re talking about?;
- do they reduce barriers to entry for new competitors?;
- do users pay or will they be heavily subsidised?;
- do their proposals make economic sense?; and,
- other stuff.
Marking the parties out of 25, and excluding joke parties like Maori, Conservative, and Dunne Nothing who dont have any policy) they rank from lowest to highest:
- InternetMana: 3/25
- Social Credit (yes, they still exist): 6/25
- Greens: 7/25 (yes, there are two parties with worse transport policies than the Ginger Whinger’s)
- Labour: 7/25 (almost three!)
- NZ First: 8/25 (big on trains but, sadly, doesn’t include reintroducing smoking carriages)
- National: (a surprising) 16/25
- New ACT: 18/25 (could do better)
Head to Scott’s blog for his analysis: ‘Comparing parties' transport policies (in progress)’
20 comments:
My transport policy.
My first project as the Minister for Defence would be to Train the Army to build roads and bridges, starting with the Waioru Desert Road. During my stint in the service I saw far too many bored soldiers spending far too much of their time sinking beers in the barracks(a recipe for trouble hahaha)
Added bonuses would include;
Soldiers would finish their stint and be qualified road/bridge builders
Increased competition will speed up civilian road works
A Dual Lane State Highway would save lives
Would give us an out from the military industrial complex, we could get into the disaster relief business( ask me my defence policy, I bet none of the politicians got Jack Sh*t compared to this Callsign)
Ability to rebuild after natural disaster ie Christchurch, send a whole battalion to GET IT DONE
Too bad we got a bunch of Chickensh*t Chicken-hawk Cookie-Cutter politicians running the show.
I just hope that Scott knows that the way forward is with trains, at a few million dollars every few metres, especially when they go to nowhere. The Beijing to Shanghai trip is running at a loss, but President Xi using it to
make inroads to Asia,
Like where your heads at Paul. You're right it's not a good idea to put all ya eggs in one basket.
I'd train the lads to build railways too. I know the Gizzy-Napier railway is busted and all the freight is going by truck, very inefficient and not viable if Brent Crude were to double in price
Transport according to a neocon called Scott? No, we'd rather not.
Amit
Railways? They have a future, doing what they are good at, paid by the people who use them.
Surely Amit, a good sympathiser of Russian imperialism and ultranationalism would be embracing the central planning embodied in most of the main parties, not the nasty tendency of the Cato Institute and other US imperialist outfits advocating privatisation of roads and all transport. Don't they realise that promoting such an idea offends the century of dignified leadership Russia has had over the people's lucky to have basked in the shadow of their benevolent leadership.
Not for you privatisation and letting spontaneity, entrepreneurship and freedom reign!
Neocon called Scott
You just demonstrated that you are a liar. You have no integrity. Your word is worthless. Of course, that is to be expected from a tax eating neocon shill such that you are.
You are well aware that my position is against Western interference with the people of other places. Unlike you I am against the use of expropriated wealth from taxpayer victims. I do not support its use to fund shills and functionaries like you. I do not support it being taken and then directed towards the political destabilisation of other places. I do not support its taking and subsequent conversion for the resourcing, training, equipping and directing of agents of violence such as those the West set loose through Ukraine and beyond. I certainly do not support the use of such funds to nourish the overfed dishonesty of which you are an example, telling lies about the world and other people. None of what I wrote was sympathy or support for what you attempt to smear me with. You knew that and yet you lied about it. Low you are.
As stated previously, stay out of other people's business. Beyond trivialities and the superficial you know not of the history, customs, personalities, culture, location, relationships, daily lives, activities of these people, let alone the specifics of what is going on with them or even what their preferences are. You don't even speak the language, know the musical tradition, the culinary tradition, the religious tradition, the beliefs, the mythology, the value system, the literature or, indeed, the philosophy they hold. You have not even lived there. It is doubtful that know anyone there well enough to ask (that is, someone who actually knows). As an ignorant, you have no business interfering. Your opinion is baseless and worthless. As with your fellow neocons, you have no business there at all.
You wrote this nonsense, "Not for you privatisation and letting spontaneity, entrepreneurship and freedom reign!"
You squeal too much and too often. In this instance you are writing about yourself (a Freudian slip you done). After all, it is you who are the neocon.
In previous posts I supported for private property roads. Some rapist fool disagreed with the position for private property at the time. You are directed to look it up (here on this very not PC site) reread it and reacquaint yourself with the principles of private property and how that pertains to roads and other transport modes. I made the position clear. By the way, you read it at the time and you are well aware.
As for your summation of transportation policy on your dishonestly labeled site (how dare you pretend to be about liberty and objective reason - you are nothing of the sort), it is a childish effort. You totally evade salient principle in the puff piece you oozed up. Awful stuff. No thanks.
Amit
Gee you lads could of written a novel haha. All those words and none of ya came up with a better policy than me.
I WIN.
Now hopefully some bright spark at the top steals my idea and puts it into action
Jamie
That's not a policy! That's a fantasy. Actually it is a nightmare and it'd be a disaster. Some reasons why:
* The scheme continues to rely on the coercive expropriation (theft) of wealth from other people.
* There is no pricing mechanism such that the road designer/promoter/worker/maintainer/developer/operator could bear the consequences of decisions and activities they engaged in.
* It relies on central control (that alone dooms it).
Not only is it immoral, it is impractical in theory and in practice.
A note: In the Austrian economics literature an issue referred to as the problem of socialist calculation is addressed. When you have a moment look it up and have a read. Apply it to the scheme you promoted. This issue demonstrates that the scheme you promoted is doomed to fail right from inception.
YOU LOSE!
Amit
I'll pose this question to the punters. What were the Ancient Roman Legionaires doing when they weren't fighting, drinking or fornicating???
KISS
Keep It Simple S.......
First I'm no expert, I'm only a young returned serviceman(yes freedom does have a cost)
who also has over a decade of heavy haulage under my belt with no serious accidents, upto and including interstate triple road trains. I have made a living on the roads. Perhaps you're opinion and experience outweigh mine???
Um a couple of the fundamental duties of the state I always felt was defence(indeed freedom aint free) and major infrastructure projects. If you train the soldiers to build roads you kill two birds with one stone.
Fact you are already paying the wages for the manpower to sit around the barracks, might as well get something outta it.
I know money is tight and times are tough, so the lads might have to go old school and go at it with pick and shovel. ALL GOOD.
I quite like travelling by train.
What annoys me is nobody is able to set up shop offering train services between cities and try to make a go of it because Kiwirail has a monopoly thanks to the State, yet they are not offering train travel beyond 3 days a week Auckland to Wellington, and a seasonal Picton to Christchurch service.
@Jamie - where did you serve? (If you don't mind me asking)
@Amit - Don't be too quick to knock NeoConservativsm - I was opposed to it as well until my Haliburton shares rose from $9 to $35 in a matter of weeks thanks to Cheyney and Bush declaring war on Iraq haha! ...(Crony Capitalism is great when you are a 'crony' hahahahaha!!!)
I do mind you asking Mr Lineberry. If you are also a Returned or Ex-Serviceman I would be prepared to talk over a beer.
I already said the lads would build the railways too.
Don't change the subject!
@Jamie - let me guess.....
1. You spent two weeks in the territorials but quit because the gun went "BANG and you shat your pants? hahahahaha!!! (don't worry - your secret is safe with me *wink*)
2. ...and now you prop up the bar in the local RSA and try to pretend you spent years in East Timor and Afghanistan? haha!
Funnily enough you are not the first person like that I have encountered; in my experience 'real' ex-servicemen never talk about it.
"@Amit - Don't be too quick to knock NeoConservativsm - I was opposed to it as well until my Haliburton shares rose from $9 to $35 in a matter of weeks thanks to Cheyney and Bush declaring war on Iraq haha! ...(Crony Capitalism is great when you are a 'crony' hahahahaha!!!)"
Bragging about war profiteering...........Yea you guys done well, made a real killing.
Dang dude.
Still waiting on a better transport policy????
Nut up or shut up
And insult my service record. Not cool bro.
For the record
Regular Force, 4 1/2 years service 04-08, War On Terror, including service in the middle east. Correct I never saw combat(God blessed me I guess). I did witness buddies get killed but whip-dee-doo-daa, that's business
And no I don't even go in the RSA
Jamie
Note your inability to address the point. Your dream is a failure at inception. It is nonsense and con't work.
What you have done as an armed thug invading other people's lands is nothing to be proud about. You have no honour at all, but are a common criminal.
While there are costs to freedom, they do not include what you have been doing. You ought to be ashamed.
Amit.
Yes Lineberry, you are disgusting.
Amit
Jamie - one if the thing I do for a living is price NZTA reading projects for contractors tendering for them. Labour costs are a minority of a projects costs. Materials and plant make up the majority. Of the minority of labour costs the majority of that is specialist or skilled labour. You either train to do that properly or you train to be a soldier. The days af projects being built by hordes of unskilled labour like the Romans are gone. It might comprise 5-10% of a projects cost, where would the remaining 90-95% come from? Further, savings from these projects come not from cheap labour but from smart construction methods and efficiencies in project management which tend to get flushed out with competitive tendering by private companies. Put construction in the hands of gov't and you will almost certainly see costs rise even if you do assume labour is free.
LoL Amit tough guy aye, you should know I am somewhat ashamed and embarrassed.
Embarrased by my effeminate chicken-hawk leaders, they should of known better. SSSSOOOORRREEEYYYYY I was young and foolish
Mark, at last someone talking turkey, I like.
The Romans built their roads by hand and some of them are still used today. Most of these modern roads are built by machines and have what, a 30 year life span before they need ripping up??? Please explain how that is cheaper???
Hmmm Where Mark go???
I'll be down the road and outta town for a few days
I'm back. Grrr Bloody State highways. That was some hard and hairy work let me tell ya, not for the faint of hearts. Dangerous in my opinion, and someone really should sort them out(Mark???)
Anyone else???
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