New Zealand Government bids to buy back trains, ferries

this election is going to be very close , so i don't really blame the govt for getting cold feet .
They did add a fuel tax before the last election and got relelected , but its going to be alot closer this time . looks like they are not counting on the support of the greens either , although they would almost certainly need them to make up the numbers for a coalition .

george matthews wrote:Governments all over know they ought to tax oil products more, to stimulate alternatives. We need a huge programme of investment in solar derivatives.

Germany is taxing oil-based fuels to the extreme, and subsidizing solar and wind power (the German industry is the world leader in production of eco-friendly power generators etc).
Still not competitive though.

There's also the point that solar power uses a huge amount of landscape, and production of solar cells cuts into the already tighter reserves of silica and a number of other minerals.
The future there is more likely a mix, with lthe primary alternative energy sources being water, wind, some geothermal, solar and tidal power.

kato wrote:

george matthews wrote:Governments all over know they ought to tax oil products more, to stimulate alternatives. We need a huge programme of investment in solar derivatives.

Germany is taxing oil-based fuels to the extreme, and subsidizing solar and wind power (the German industry is the world leader in production of eco-friendly power generators etc).
Still not competitive though.

There's also the point that solar power uses a huge amount of landscape, and production of solar cells cuts into the already tighter reserves of silica and a number of other minerals.
The future there is more likely a mix, with lthe primary alternative energy sources being water, wind, some geothermal, solar and tidal power.

There are hectares of unused roofs to be used up first. And silicon is one of the commonest substances on the planet. Some of the doping materials may be in shorter supply, I am not sure.

The thing is, the decline in oil production, the effects of carbon dioxide are so urgent that we need a greater sense of priority.
http://www.members.aol.com/wimtalk/geot ... index.html

Here's the view from Norway, a big oil producer, that appeared in this weekend's copy of The Seattle Times (The Norway story is the second item in the column, scroll past the steakhouse story).

There's no way we can spend the amount of money that we bring in

Well, Norway did recently solicit bids for up to 100 new trainsets.

Taxpayers face a bill of more than $1 billion to buy back rail and ferry operations once urgently needed investment in new tracks and trains is added.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4511448a6479.html

railway commentator merv smith supports the buy back of the railway .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFBfuafi ... re=related

David Benton wrote:Taxpayers face a bill of more than $1 billion to buy back rail and ferry operations once urgently needed investment in new tracks and trains is added.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4511448a6479.html

That page has already vanished, it seems.

stuff seems to be having all sorts of trouble .even new stories are vanishing . This nzherald article and related links should cover the same ground .
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story ... d=10509522
The opposition is trying to make it look as though the govt have made a mistake and will end up paying alot more for rail than it bargained for .
However , Dr Cullen is no fool , and it looks like he has it covered .

Former National prime minister Jim Bolger has been tipped to run the railways and Cook Strait ferries when the Government completes the buyback later this year.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4599807a23917.html

the significance of him bee a national party prime minister , is that it is a labour govt that is appointing him . they did the same thing with the state owned kiwibank , set up to try and make banks charge reasonable fees . it nullifies the opposition national parties opportunities to crictisize to some extent , though posisibly not as much as the media reporters make out .

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4602708a6034.html
a bit of a cheesy name , more news later today

David Benton wrote:http://www.stuff.co.nz/4602708a6034.html
a bit of a cheesy name , more news later today

What is the chance of -
more electrification
faster lines
more long distance trains

Probably depends on the outcome of the next election , George . At this stage its looking fairly likely the labour govt wil be out of office . But they are plannig to spend around a billion dollars .That would upgrade existing tracks and rolling stock , and buy new diesel locomotives . Auckland commuter will be electrified , and wellington extended . but no new electrification of mainlines likely , and no new long distance passenger .
Possibly the best outcome would be for the greens to hold the balance of power , as they are very rail friendly .

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominionpost/4604080a23917.html
video interview with jim bolger is quite interesting . He's not a great speaker , but seems to have his head around the job ahead . He seems to think National won't change much if they get elected , and he should have a fair idea what theyre thinking .

Here is a comment in the London Guardian on renationalisation.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree ... .transport

What is certain is that the Brown government's kneejerk resistance to public intervention and ownership will have to end if it is to have a hope of riding out the crisis and dealing with the new economic reality. By making a stand for progressive common sense, New Zealand has at least helped break the spell that privatisation is somehow the natural order of things in the modern world.

New Labour has follwed the old NZ Labour Party's drift to the right, but no new leftwing party has emerged - mainly because of the electoral system. As a former official of the Labour Party I would welcome a rival.

We have New labour (pretty much a on man band ) , the greens and to a lesser extent the maori party , which are to the left of labour . without them , this would have been a ot less likely .