Open mike 17/04/2021

Written By: notices and features - Date published: - 40 comments
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40 comments on “Open mike 17/04/2021”

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    1. 1.1

      this is happening in Germany

      https://www.aviationpros.com/airlines/news/21218870/german-aviation-rail-industry-want-to-cut-back-on-domestic-flights

      Germany's aviation industry and main rail company said they will work together to get nearly one-fifth of passengers flying annually on domestic flights to switch to train journeys.

      Deutsche Bahn and the German Aviation Association signed an action plan on the initiative in Berlin on Thursday.

      The short-haul action plan includes a growing range of feeder trains to Frankfurt Airport, the biggest travel hub in Germany.

      Lufthansa and Deutche Bahn announced in March the expansion of their joint offer Lufthansa Express Rail, which will be expanded by five to 22 stations. Those stations serve as a "departure airport" and passengers are transferred seamlessly to Frankfurt Airport.

      From December, there will also be additional sprinter trains, which feature fewer stops, to Frankfurt Airport.

      essentially cut out air transport to get to Frankfurt airport and rather use trains. Not a bad idea.

      1. 1.1.1

        Yes. Franfurt is the focal airport for a region of 16 million people in Rhine-Main-Ruhr regions

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfurt_Rhine-Main

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhine-Ruhr

        The inter-urban services already have their own direct Frankfurt airport terminal on the Cologne Franfurt high speed line only 177 km ( the same distance as Te Awamutu to Auckland)

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfurt_Airport_long-distance_station

        Its a wonderful service they provide.

      2. 1.1.2

        If we extended the SH1 expressway through to Tauranga and Tirau and Whangarei we could conceivably remove domestic flights from Auckland to Hamilton, Tauranga, Whangarei, and Taupo. Just needs an extra $8b and another decade.

    2. 1.2

      "tens of $millions available to subsidise air travel."

      International flights, mainly air cargo exports and imports – you do know how vaccines and most medicines get here ?

      WE dont have the population density/ city size and the existing infrastructure – and public acceptance- of medium distance trains

      Netherlands is size of Canterbury but with 18 mill people

      London to Birmingham – a region with 1.5 mill people is 190km, thats the same distance to Otorohanga from Auckland

      Stuttgart region has 4 mill people and its the capital of a state with 11 mill people ( more than NSW) and is the size of Hawkes Bay/Manawatu Whanganui combined.

      1. 1.2.1

        well one day Auckland region with nigh on two million people will have a tram to the Airport. Surely one day.

        Funny thing is , NZ used to have a fairly decent railway system, and it was much smaller in population then.
        And goods can and in the future probably will moved again by water.

        1. 1.2.1.1

          Tram to airport was just a ruse to make the Domionion road part business case stack up. They even made the tram size twice as long by runnning them coupled together, which wont happen either, even Melbourne doesnt run its articulated trams that way. All done to make the 'case' .

          Trackless trams are the best solution for this route.

          People in Mangere arent going want to travel city via Dominion Rd, they will transfer to catch the train in Onehunga. For most there South Auckland is their focus not 1950s style trips into town to visit George Courts, Maple or Farmers

    4. 1.4

      New Zealand isn't as flat as France and we don't have the population of Japan, even though we have similar terrain. At this time in our history for five million people aeroplanes are a far more practical way of getting around a mountainous archipelago than trying to build the rail infrastructure required.

      1. 1.4.1

        @Sanctuary

        Mass air travel is only a recent innovation.

        For more than a century of European settlement the coasts of this ribbon like mountainous archipelago seperated into two main islands the coasts were our highways. And for even longer if you consider Maori transportation.

        "At this time in our history….
        …aeroplanes are a far more practical way of getting around"
        Sanctuary

        'Practical', Is not how I would describe air travel. At this time in our history, unsustainable long term, and evironmentally destructive and profligately wasteful, would be my depiction of air travel.
        Sooner or later it will have to be curtailed.

        Better sooner than later.

        What if the $1.5 billion in financial support made available to Air New Zealand to keep them polluting was instead made available for a coastal and Trans-Tasman and coastal passenger ferry service to compete with the air lines, to permanently complete the job of grounding the airlines that the pandemic began.

        And climate change will finish.

        https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/feb/19/climate-change-spells-turbulent-times-ahead-for-air-travel

    5. 1.5

      They are confusing the public utility of subsidizing freight for exporters, with serving the community they are elected to represent.

      There is no limit to what they will spend on exporters, but contemporary rail is beyond them. They imagine that carbon responsibility is something they can talk their way out of, which is why they let the agricultural sector do so. Second best is good enough they figure – perish the thought NZ should have proper government, much less proper transport infrastructure.

      Shameless.

    1. 2.1

      Doing a budget would not be easy. This budget will need to factor in a high level lock down level 3 minimum. As well not having a trans – Tasman bubble.

      The way the pfizer vaccine is going (uncertainty that the vaccine is enough with two jabs and that a third jab 6-12 months from the second jab and then an annual jab may be needed) I am not confident that the trans – Tasman bubble will last.

  3. 3

    You gotta admire the balls of the US elite…Biden keeps Trump appointed Russian Ambassador…you know the same Trump who was apparently in the pocket of the Russians and doing the bidding of the evil genius Vladimir Putin, how anyone with half a brain can still buy into the Russian conspiracy is quite astounding, but there you have it….

    <strong>Biden Team Asks Trump-Picked Russia Ambassador to Stay in Post</strong>

    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-18/biden-team-asks-some-trump-appointees-to-stay-as-ambassadors

    1. 3.1

      It can only be an admittance that Russia is far far superior in cyber technology that they can so easily hack American security and able to sway the intelligent American voter in which way to vote, if only they could sway the American health authorities to use the Sputnik jab to protect those same voters. Mmm.

      2. 3.1.2

        Not that sort of vote meddling… it seems Manafort , Trumps crony, may have provided the Russians inside knowledge of their polling data and that sort of thing, campaign quadrants and such. Some hackers may have penetrated Democratic party DNC email system, but campaigns by candidates are separate and all it showed was party activists are two faced. Politicians rate lowly anyway so no real surprises there

        US voters are inundated by advertising and saturation news coverage, what could the Russians do that could 'sway' people.

        1. 3.1.2.1

          It provided an opportunity for an attack on Hillary that was sufficient to at least temporarily persuade Comey to break protocols about current elections in the crucial period in the weeks leading up to the election. If it wasn't decisive, it wasn't from want of trying.

              1. 3.1.2.1.1.1.1

                Clinton later went on to blame the election loss squarely on Comey and the Russian meddling. Which is as ridiculous as it sounds.

                1. 3.1.2.1.1.1.1.1

                  It was certainly a contributing factor.

                  But no doubt as the lickspittle lackey of a genocidal despot you want to deny it.

          2. 3.1.2.1.2

            " an opportunity for an attack on Hillary"

            Clintons private email server wasnt hacked at all, the controversy was over her using one and its ramifications and wheter all the data was provided to FBI etc.

            That wasnt a Russian operation at all. Clinton was running as an old time 'machine politician' and heir to Obama. Trump was a better campaigner/liar who got out voters who didnt normally vote

    2. 3.2

      from your link (before the paywall sprung up):

      Biden plans to keep Sullivan until he identifies a replacement because the position is seen as too important to leave vacant, according to a person familiar with the matter.

      It’s typical for U.S. ambassadors who are political appointees — as opposed to career State Department diplomats — to resign at the start of a new administration. The vast majority of ambassadors who are Trump political appointees didn’t receive a request to stay and have already made arrangements to leave their posts.

      1. 3.2.1

        Its also a log jam in the Senate when a new President starts as he wants his agency heads approved by the Senate first. Next comes the judges and I think last are the Ambassadors

    1. 4.1

      Maybe Cameron could make a movie on organic veg and get some sort of tax relief so he can ditch the cows.

        1. 4.1.1.1

          Its not really a tax gift as such. When you export a product the GST component ( 15%) is refunded. Movies are more complicated as far as exporting goes, but this was a way of them getting the GST accumulated during production back. – with a bit more for the big projects. I would check very very closely Hollywood accounting and that various parts of the movie are done offshore ( for their tax benefits) and then recycled through NZ again to double dip.

          1. 4.1.1.1.1

            One way or another, we the taxpayer will fund the bill. No matter the colorful and legal accounting shenanigans.

    2. 4.2

      I thought OIA approval was conditional, for purchases such as this farm, upon providing extra jobs for locals not for underpaid imported labour from elsewhere. Any imported labour needs to not replace local labour, be at the living wage for a full 40 hour week and I think it is long overdue that these work visas come with a requirement for the employer to pay the union fees for all the labour with a visa so that the conditions are properly policed. Time to tell the Cameron's to sod off really – plenty of people here can run cows.

            2. 4.2.1.1.1.2

              Thiel ?

              He was German citizen at birth, became naturalised American and again for NZ in 'instant coffee process' which none of those responsible can remember who approved it- which in politics means they are covering for the boss!

        2. 4.2.1.2

          I gather Cameron has been in NZ more than he normally would have been due to Covid restrictions and needing to be in MIQ. He would not be alone with clocking up time as an NZ resident.

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