Regional Petrol Taxes

I agree with the rumoured regional petrol taxes - although I think the proposal of 60 cents a litre in Auckland is made by someone really out of touch with Aucklanders - but consider the following statement:

"The excise duty raised under the bill will provide the funding necessary to achieve the Government's priorities for land transport." - Mark Gosche, then Minister of Transport, speaking to a bill raising petrol taxes by 4.7c per litre on 28 February 2002.

Tax Cuts for Retirement Saving

While a step in the right direction, the speculated tax cuts linked to savings in the Kiwisaver programme have one major flaw - that they are linked only to the Government's opt-out retirement scheme.

Many people have taken advantage of work-based schemes, or others have maintained their own private schemes for sometime.

Let's face it, the prospect of living on just over $200 per week (that's the married rate of super) is not exactly appealing. Saving for retirement is a laudable goal that has it's own benefit - and if the Government really wants to encourage these savings it should reward all those who are making the right steps.

Why make the Government run the only one available for tax incentives? Just because other schemes are not Government provided doesn't make them any less laudable, nor should they be less encouraged to be contributed to.

In reality, if the Government wanted to encourage people to save more, they would give us real reductions in taxation so we could all have a bit more in our pay to save. (And cut all the fluffy non-necessary spending so it wouldn't be inflationary)

Does Trevor Mallard even know where Lower Hutt is?

Trevor Mallard has thrown his weight behind the (Labour Party) capaign to make Ken Laban Mayor of Lower Hutt. His accusation is that current mayor David Ogden is not competent.

Well, I know Trevor Mallard earns $200k+ as a cabinet minister, gets chauffuered to work and home, and jets off to Hollywood parties, pushes more and more work onto councils to do, ups petrol taxes and other Government charges, decides to spend our money on politicians, etc. so he might not notice about the rest of us who want council to provide its core services and keep rates down.

There are two issues he attacks the Ogden on:

• The "Exide" issue that has dragged on for several years - toxic waste from the plant is not able to be disposed of - but the only think Ogden could do is withdraw the Resource Consent and force the plant to close.
• The frustration of Eastbourne residents who think Hutt City Council don't listen to them. But that issue goes back to the 1980s when the Labour Government (including the MP for Hamilton West of the time) force the Eastbourne Borough Council to merge with Lower Hutt City.

In the meantime, David Ogden and his team have kept rates rises to the lowest of any council in NZ (in real terms, rates are up 0.1% in the past three years - how many Aucklanders would like to say that!), cancelled all of the dubious big spending plans of the previous mayor (including redeveloping Hutt Park for the Wellington NRL franchise) and concentrating on upgrading infrastructure like roads and stormwater.

And as for incompetency, do I only need say four letters - N C E A.

Cricket World Cup Lineups

P.S. Wake me up when Australia win.

Getting a head start on

A Friend gave me this (taxpayer funded) letter in which Helen Clark took the time to write to him and tens of thousands of other middle age and up people to tell him about recent government initiatives in Superannuation, Rates Rebates, and Working for Families. Which is strange as the recipient is:

Not old enough for superannuation, and therefore for the rates rebate.
The occupation on the electoral role is not 'retired'.

By taking the identifying number on the bottom of the page (which I have removed, along with name and address details) and multiplying it on the basis of alphabetical order about 40,000 letters have been sent - so it would cost at least $20,000 to produce and send the letters.

(The two pages below were on one double-sided sheet of paper - so at least only half as many trees were cut down for this piece of propaganda.)

Toll Rail - A case study in how to lose customers and infuriate people

This morning I left home for work at 6.45 and seeing as it was raining elected to catch the train rather than cycle. On arrival at Waterloo there was a larger number of people waiting than usual, but not unexpected as delays are not unheard of. Turns out that an overhead wire had come down earlier this morning.

But what happened next has got me all riled. Several announcements were made that the electric unit services were only going to Petone and terminating there, and that we should wait for the Wairarapa trains and attempt to board them, space permitting. So an electic unit arrived, hardly anyone got on and left for Petone. Both the guard and the station manager advised people going to Wellington not to board the train.

The next announcement was that the Wairarapa train was immediately behind the unit - but it didn't turn up until 25 mins later. The guard prevented anyone from boarding the train as it was full (although some people ignored his advise and got on anyway). He then opened the guard van and let some of his mates onto that. Seeing as the next Wairarapa train was 30 mins away, and that I'd already waited 40 minutes I gave up and decided to drive in.

On the way to Wellington, I passed Petone Railway Station where several buses were being loaded with train passengers, to take them to Wellington. So the advice given by the staff on the trains and the station was incorrect - all passengers travelling to Wellington should have boarded the electric unit and changed to a bus service at Petone. Then a traffic update on the radio said specifically that buses were replacing trains from Petone to Wellington.

I eventually got to work about 8.50am - about an hour later than I intended
- pissed off that Toll Rail staff don't know how to cascade important information down to train guards, station staff and passengers that left me (and a couple of hundred others) stranded at Waterloo station (and probably many more at other unstaffed stations) but managed to get the correct information to the media.

Just what are Labour thinking?

If there are two things that you can be sure about the NZ public as a group, it's the 'fair go' mentality and that they all think politicians are thieving mongrels.

So, I just can't fathom why Labour would introduce a law that:

• Obviously favours there own electoral chances over National.
• Provides for taxpayer funding of political parties.

National just has to promise to repeal the political party funding, and set up some sort of independent commission to fix up problems with the third party rules in electoral law, and it can be seen as non-partisan and onside with the general public.

Why Labour thinks it will get away with this law has got me completely puzzled!

Bevan's Baptism

Here's a post about Bevan's baptism yesterday from Chaucey.



Read, and go 'aahhhhhh' at how cute Bevan looks in his baptism gown.

Language in the Chamber

Steve Maharey's slip-of-the-tongue is a storm in a teacup swirling in a tempest in a latte bowl - but it has given National a political shot in the arm as it shows Steve Maharey is losing control of his emotions.

But is is nowhere near as bad as when one MP tried to say "a cunning array of stunts" and got that wrong!