Wellingtonians: Ngauranga to Airport transport study

In case you didn't notice, there are bigger transport issues in Wellington than Transmission Gully. Transit is now consulting on a strategy for the most congested corridor in the region- Ngauranga-Airport. So if you are ever stuck entering this tunnel (Mt Victoria Tunnel) on a regular basis then you might give a damn about it.

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This study will be developing a draft strategy for roads and public transport on the corridor and will - understandably - mainly be focused on access between the city and the airport, the region and the airport and access around the CBD.

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Submission deadline is May 15 and the Transit papers on this are located here.

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For my bit, I think the focus should be on:

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- A flyover at the Basin Reserve as a priority, to take Mt Victoria Tunnel-Buckle St/Cambridge Tce traffic off of the Basin roundabout. The land is there for it and it is the next logical step once the inner city bypass is completed;

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- A 2nd Mt Victoria Tunnel and 4-laning Ruahine St and the 2-lane stretch of Wellington Road. Access to the airport is critical for the whole region, and the economic of that work are likely to be far better than Transmission Gully;

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- Longer term designating a preference for a covered trench motorway bypass tunnel from the Basin Reserve to the Terrace Tunnel, with a 2nd Terrace Tunnel. This is the original early 1990s motorway extension plan, and if built could cut a third of the traffic from Te Aro and the waterfront. In combination with road pricing, this could relieve the city of through traffic and revitalise the waterfront by enabling one-lane each way to be removed.

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Public transport? Well once you have rationed the road space with pricing, buses will operate quicker and more economically through the city. The trains are already being refurbished or replaced (and don't say underground rail or light rail - they make no economic sense at all).

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Another idea seriously under consideration is to 8-lane the motorway from Ngauranga Interchange to Aotea Quay, which will relieve congestion at the merges at peak times, but shift the traffic into the city - I'd be fine with extra lanes on the motorway, as long as they are funded by tolls - as is increasingly happening in the USA (such as the 91 express lanes in California)- so those who benefit from the extra lanes pay for them.

John Prescott and the unfortunate size

British tabloid, full of gutter journalists who are interested largely in creating scandal and destroying any semblance of dignity in order to titillate people who don't really give a damn about major social and economic issues - but would rather sell newspapers by pandering to thr worst of people. However, they can also be very amusing or just present you with imagery that you’d rather not know of. Like UK Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott’s allegedly tiny penis. David Farrar has blogged on this, and displayed the image the Sun published of his allegedly cocktail sausage size penis. Cactus Kate was right in her condemnation of Tracey Temple – no aesthetics at all, plus a penis a third of average length. Hasn't she got a battery powered friend?

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On the other hand - Prescott probably gave hope to legions of old obese small dicked men who don't necessarily have to pay for it. After all Ron Jeremy did well from being ugly fat and well hung, John Prescott has power to replace his penis.
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Prescott deserves all this of course, after having the state pay his council tax and gaining the title “Two Jags”. This followed his hypocrisy of promoting public transport but never using it, such as him and his wife going by car for 250 metres, because he was too lazy to walk and his wife needed to protect her hair. He also lied in 1998 claiming he was going to Hull by train, when after three miles he got off the train and hopped into his Jag for the rest of the trip. The 250 metres is just lazy, the Jag made sense – but not for a leftie Labour politician wanting everyone else to go by train. He has also left his Jag parked in a disabled spot. Charming.
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On the other side, he gained kudos by punching a protestor who threw an egg at him. Any self respecting man would do the same.

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So while his statist busybody nature means he tells others what to do, and then does what he likes is annoying for the hypocrisy, he also does have a rather laissez-faire attitude to life himself. That in itself is admirable - and for a man who spent his whole life with a tiny penis, and hasn't bothered to get it enhanced (even though he could undoubtedly afford to), such confidence is remarkable.

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Although it is possible his penis retired in size due to atrophy, he quite probably spent his life growing up wondering why he was to be condemned by genetics for his paucity of phallus. Try not to imagine his first time, assuming the woman concerned had seen one before (if not, then so be it) - the nervousness. Or maybe he just punched anyone who hassled him about it. He grew above his ding-a-ling, or rather out and over it.

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Hold on, he told the Police when he was 13 that he dad kissed another woman. Tell tale!

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So if only he would retire, he can punch people, eat what he likes, shag whoever is willing and drive around in his Jag - then he'd leave us all alone.

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Daily Mail tales of Prescott here and here

ACT on Campus on decriminalising marijuana

Hat tip to David Farrar for pointing me to this one. Helen Simpson (pictured) – relatively new ACT on Campus President shares the view of Libertarianz on this point on the ACT on Campus blog. Prohibition doesn’t work. Trevor Loudon, ACT Vice President has also blogged her post, without stating an opinion. . What a step forward it would be for ACT at least, if not National to talk more about this. Don’t be afraid – parts of Labour say it too, as my last post pointed out.
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As I have stated before a couple of times, and Not PC as well – this all comes down to who owns your life, and who owns your body.
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So when the President of ACT on Campus says it, and David Farrar says it – will it ever percolate upwards?

The tiny libertarian part of Labour

According to Kete Were:

"At the Auckland/Northland regional conference of the labour party tonight these motions were passed:

- That a system of voluntary euthanasia for the termanilly (sic) ill be legalised

- That labour in government decriminalise the personal use of marijuana so that it is deal with as a health and social issue rather than a law and order one."

Stone the crows - if only! (and if only the tax, welfare and economic policy was similarly enlightened).

Bring that part of Labour into ACT and maybe.... ?

Brash talks about nanny state... but

really, will he walk the walk, or will he even consistently talk the talk? Will his team? Sadly it is difficult to tell.

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Speaking in Picton, Don Brash said Labour has been wasteful and poor managers of public services according to Stuff.

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The whole Picton speech is here. Some of the notable points are:

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"Our concern is for the thousands of Kiwi shareholders in our largest company who’ve lost out this week as a result of Labour’s inept handling of this issue. The Government’s bumbling has needlessly worsened the situation for investors, and shows the Government’s complete lack of understanding about how the economy and the capital markets work. "

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So does that mean unbundling is bad or not? Hmmmm. He goes on about the leak, which Not PC points out isn't the point.

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"It was Helen Clark, staring at the prospect of electoral defeat, who said it was okay to steal half a million dollars off the taxpayers of New Zealand, and spend it on her election campaign, knowing full well that in doing so she’d breach the legal spending cap – something our Electoral Act calls a corrupt practice. "

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Indeed - National shouldn't let that one go at all.

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"Helen Clark and Michael Cullen will be leaving behind a terrible legacy of poor incentives and dependency. They’ll leave a mess of poorly-thought-out and politically opportunistic tax and income support policy, which will unfortunately cost all New Zealanders dearly in the years ahead. "

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Exactly, and if National can confront the welfare state it will have gone a long way towards attacking one of the biggest social failures in the past generation.

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"Now of course I can’t tell you at this stage precisely what tax reductions National will propose for the next election – there’s too much water to go under the bridge to make that feasible. But you can be absolutely sure that lower taxes, and much improved work incentives for all Kiwis, will be central to our policy at the next election, and indeed in subsequent elections. Under National, you will pay lower taxes!"

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No doubt better than nothing, but it would be helpful if he could promise cuts of a scale at least like that previously promised. While more and more taxpayers slip into the hardly rich $60,000 p.a. 39% tax bracket, it would be nice if that rate was simply dropped.

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"the National Party is so focused on ensuring one law for all New Zealanders. That’s why we want to abolish separate electoral seats based on race. "

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Good!

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"The reality is that only National understands it’s the actions of individuals that cause the economy to grow. "

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Not only National, but it is good he notices this.

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Well - there is hope, Don Brash does believe in a lot of the right things, and when left to it, he does lean in the right direction. He still remains the National Party's best hope - if only he listened to himself more.