Speed will kill our children

Some three years have passed since I asked Manukau City Council officers for a report on imposing a limited speed zone around schools in our city. Despite repeatedly asking for the report there is still no sign of it.

Manukau is a city which has a high proportion of young people – some 40% are under twenty years of age – and many attend low decile schools. Research out of the UK shows that children attending low decile schools are at a greater risk of being struck by a car while going to and from school.

Auckland, Christchurch, Hamilton and Waitakere are four cities that I am aware of that have imposed limited speed restrictions around their schools in this country and school speed zones are set in many other countries.

It’s time Manukau showed it cares about its kids.

The Aucklander News: Speed will kill our children

Tweedledum or Tweedledee

It would appear; going by all the polls, that the Labour led government is toast come the next election.

But is it a new found affection for National that sees it some 15 per cent ahead in most polls or is it a rejection of tired, dejected Labour party mired in sleaze and discontent?

It’s hard to believe that people are moving to National, the party offers nothing that Labour has not already provided. A “me to party” providing nothing new and telling voters that they will continue to stay with the failed policies of the current administration. This hardly seems to be a recipe to get our country back amongst the top performers in the OECD. In the past National have always signed up to Labour’s policies why will this time be any different especially as John Key has already demonstrated that he is New Zealand’s second most flexible politician.

There seems that there is no party that Kiwis actually want to vote for and they will end up voting for the Nats because they are not Labour. It’s about time that the electorate got an opportunity to vote for a party that actually provided solutions to our problems of the day, poor healthcare, poor education, high crime rates, high cost of housing and high interest rates.

Daniel Newman: Community not having a bar of it

Councillor Daniel Newman (Manurewa) responds to Cr Colleen Brown’s (Manurewa) criticism of the “boobs bar” in Manurewa.

Daniel Newman: Community not having a bar of it - 21 May 2008 - Opinion, Editorial - nzherald

NZ - The Latin America of the South Pacific

This article from the Independent Institute - it makes sobering reading. New Zealand is not unlike Latin America. Read this and replace Bolivia, Argentina, Venezuela with New Zealand.

If there’s one constant in Latin America it may be this: For every step forward—politically and economically—there’s an equivalent step back. How else can one explain the never-ending roller-coaster many Latin American countries seem to ride? Bursts of freedom, energy and progress, followed by periods of inexplicable resentment, regret and regression.

32,000 deniers

Question: How many scientists does it take to establish that a consensus does not exist on global warming? The quest to establish that the science is not settled on climate change began before most people had even heard of global warming.

32,000 deniers - FP Comment:

The Little Train That Could

Here we are at the bottom of the world, emitting less than 0.2 per cent of the world's GHG striving to be a leader in stopping AGW if it exists. A recent report by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research, an independent consulting firm, estimated the the government's emmision bill will result in 22,000 job losses and a drop in GDP by $4.6 billion or to put it in more personal terms that represents a $3,000 cut in each household income.

Why are we subjecting ourselves to this? Why do we want to be leaders on this? Maybe "Dear Leader" wants to work for the UN when this country spits her out later this year. A hell of a thing to have on her CV - I mutilated the NZ economy to "save the planet!

'Local hero' judge puts wind up taggers

A judge who jailed a Hastings tagger for 28 days has been called a "local hero" who has other graffiti vandals running scared.

We need a judge here in Manukau like Tony Adeane who sentenced an eighteen year old tagger to time in the slammer. It’s about time that other judges realized that our communities are fed up with people who vandalise property. And it’s also time that so called “leaders”, Pita Sharples and Cindy Kiro got their heads out of the sand and realized that tagging is not art, is not an acceptable form of alternative expression but a criminal act and should be treated as such.

If we had a system such as the US we just might get judges such as Judge Adeane who are in touch with their communities. Good on him!

'Local hero' judge puts wind up taggers - Hawke's Bay - The Dominion Post