Parking pillaging an assault on drivers
Dunedin is about to lose another 68 carparks (ODT 22.12.23) in order to cater for the "4%" of commuters who travel by bike; Cr Jim O’Malley thinks "it’s a great idea".
But of course, this is not just 68 carparks. Given the daily churn of an average park, this is in fact about 1500 daily parking opportunities to the benefit of a huge cross-section of the population and the many small businesses in that Albany St area.
Has the DCC surveyed who those drivers currently availing themselves of those parks are, why they elected to park there, and where they came from? No; of course not.
This ongoing plague of carpark deprivation in this city is cruel and unjust to the aged, to those with mobility issues and to those whose livelihoods are in the immediate area. Not to mention the deterrent it represents to out-of-towners who, up until recently, have been very valuable customers of myriad Dunedin businesses.
And we have all witnessed how little use the existing cycleways get when the winter weather is inclement.
The DCC should scrap this crazy idea immediately; if their ideological intransigence is so entrenched at least give some thought to the notion of a flexible arrangement (cycle lanes during the peak rush hour; parking the rest of the time as is already used in some places as "clearways").
Pick and mix
Anaru Eketone (ODT 19.12.23) writes that the Treaty has a "variety of different principles based on the purpose" to which they are applied. A kind of take your pick.
He adds that the Waitangi Tribunal is the "expert in this area".
Ten years ago it declared that Māori never ceded sovereignty to the British government in 1840. But Mr Eketone quotes its colonial secretary’s instructions to William Hobson in which, as he emphasised "principles of sincerity, justice and good faith" in negotiating the Treaty with Māori, this was with their "recognition of her Majesty’s sovereignty in these islands."
The British government never contemplated anything else, let alone "partnership’'. Just these few contradictions show that it is essential we have a nationwide, informed discussion about the 1840 Treaty, its current relevance and what it means for the future.
Rugby awards
It was was great to see Ardie Savea receive his well-deserved award at the New Zealand Rugby Awards night.
Had there been a category for the politician who wasted the most money by attending the final, I am sure Grant Robertson would have romped in.
I've read about the costs incurred by the minister and his staffer, but I'm still waiting to read about all the benefits New Zealand received from his trip. Surely if one pays for something it is not unreasonable to expect to be given details on what was achieved from that expenditure.
Inertia and govt irony
Professor Richard Jackson (ODT 18.12.23) is 100% correct: the New Zealand government should expel the Israeli ambassador. However this will probably never happen, as New Zealand is a "friend’' of Israel and has long-standing defence and intelligence arrangements.
Another reason is that the government wouldn't want to break ranks and incur the wrath of the White House, which is fully onboard with the ongoing Zionist project to "cleanse’' the Palestinian people and culture, to the point of supplying the most sophisticated and deadly weapons available to complete the task.
However, perhaps the most compelling reason for this political inertia is the fear of being branded "anti-Semitic’', clearly a fate worse than death for a politician. This is particularly ironic, as the indigenous Palestinians are by definition Semitic, which places the current Israeli government among the most anti-Semitic in history.
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