Gerry Puts The Boot In
Whenever an opposition MP wants to visit a government agency, department, DHB etc we have to ask the Minister. I want to take Labour’s Transport spokesperson Phil Twyford to have a look at the Manawatu Gorge and I haven’t been there since September which is after the first slips but before the massive slip came down. So I asked, since the NZTA is running the site.
Gerry Brownlee then apparently called the Manawatu Standard and told them that I shouldn’t think myself such an ‘expert’ on the Gorge since I haven’t seen the slip myself. That’s rich from the fellow who only got there last week.
Ah well, such is politics. I don’t think I’m an expert. What I have consistently called on the Government to do is get the real experts to do a proper economic analysis of the options for a more reliable, resilient road to the east of Palmerston North. Not a big ask, but they keep saying ‘NO.’
That’s the issue here and although Gerry will run interference like he does in the house when things aren’t going National’s way, the issue remains. And I won’t stop asking for that analysis to be carried out because so long as our transport infrastructure isn’t up to scratch, our ability in Palmerston North to play to the strength our central location gives us as a distribution hub and retail centre is unnecessarily constrained.
Gerry Will Look At The Gorge
It’s taken a bit if badgering but I’ve just got word that Gerry Brownlee intends to come and have a look at the Manawatu Gorge.
Good on him.
I don’t know yet if he will also talk to businesses and residents affected but I expect he will since he will be making the trip.
Hopefully this is a sign of progress!
David Shearer in Palmerston North
It was great to have David Shearer in the electorate today. The reception he got was amazing. Having a fresh new face to introduce to people was exciting and everyone he met seemed to warm to the new guy.
Our first visit was to Ezibuy where we talked to people working in their distribution centre and call centre. Is was good for David to see how important distribution is to Palmerston North, but also to see how much innovation goes into a modern distribution centre.
After lunch with some locals, including Mayor Jono Naylor, David proved he really is a Shearer, being a bloody good sport and taking part in a More FM promotion in the Square.
Back to serious business, I took David to the Riddet Institute at Massey University where we discussed food innovation and I reinforced to him the importance of R&D and innovation to the Palmerston North economy.
People we spoke to there were impressed with David’s decision to retain the Science and Innovation portfolio as leader and saw it a very positive reflection on how much of a priority Labour places on innovation for economic development.
Unfortunately we didn’t have time to get out to the Manawatu Gorge but David certainly had a good grasp of how frustrated people feel about it by the end of the day. We also discussed the Manawatu River.
It was a great day and a privilege the Palmerston North is one of the first electorates David chose to visit as leader.
Palmerston North Voted To Keep Assets
Before the election last year many commentators and politicians, myself included, painted the vote as a referendum on asset sales. In a bid to get people looking at the policies rather than just the personalities, we implored the voting public to vote for parties whose policies reflected their own views on state asset sales.
Given that, it could be read that New Zealand voted for asset sales when it elected a National-led government. Certainly the word ‘mandate’ has been thrown around quite a lot since election day. National gained 48% of the vote, it has formed a government and has the confidence of Parliament. Surely that constitutes a ‘mandate’ to sell off our assets?
Not exactly. The referendum on asset sales threw up an interesting result: 60 MPs clearly in favour of selling assets, 60 MPs clearly opposed to selling them and 1 MP, Peter Dunne, whose position on asset sales seems to depend on the direction of the prevailing wind at the time he is asked where he stands.
For now, Peter Dunne says he will support the Government’s programme to sell off the Government’s top performing assets. Those that produce the greatest rate of return for taxpayers are the first on the block.
So just how enthusiastic are New Zealanders about asset sales? Unsurprisingly, not very. Polls regularly show around 75% of us are in favour of holding on to our power companies and majority share of Air New Zealand. Here in Palmerston North, we overwhelmingly displayed our desire to keep our assets at the ballot box. 53.5% of us voted for parties that favour retention and just 45.2% of us voted for parties that favour selling them off.
So should we resign ourselves to the National-led Government inevitably acting against our wishes? Not on your life! Democracy doesn’t just happen once every three years. Expressing our views and being listened to by our government is more than just a right. It is a privilege that we must make the most of at every opportunity.
Opposition politicians, and those who supported us, must accept election results and allow the government to govern while stating our opposition where we disagree and building the case for our alternative view.
However, where it is obvious that the government is not only working against the best interests of the nation but also the will of the people, we all must fight with every resource and every ounce of energy we can muster.
Printed in The Tribune on Wednesday, January 18.
Gorge Clean-up Challenge
As I have said previously, the actual job of cleaning up the Manawatu Gorge and gettting the road re-opened is a massive one and the fact that is taking such a long time is nobody’s fault. This photo, supplied by the NZTA, shows why.
You can see at the top where the ‘benching’ work (a bit like terracing) has got to so far. There is an awful lot of dangerous, expensive work ahead. We can expect the shocking Saddle Road to be overloaded for quite a while yet.
