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Message #00528
Re: The most staggering turnaround
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I think that regardless of which political party is holding power at any ti=
me, that actually achieving a truly satisfactory level of expenditure on ra=
il projects is not something that can be taken for granted by any means.
=20
Doubtless various political scientists could cast more light on the matter,=
and/or explain it more succinctly than me, but in general, public expendit=
ure on road projects is more likely to be looked upon favourably by the gen=
eral public than public expenditure on rail projects. The former is more li=
kely to be perceived as being of more benefit to them (less time required t=
o cross town, less congestion and holdups when heading out of town, etc); O=
TOH, the latter is less likely to be perceived as benefiting them, or at le=
ast not in a direct and obvious manner.
=20
It also doesn't help that the mass media tend to unhelpful in that regard a=
s well, with there being nothing unusual about comments such as various pol=
iticians are attempting to compensate for a frustrated childhood (during wh=
ich time Santa Claus never provided them with any toy trains).
=20
I don't think that this problem is just confined to New Zealand. It would b=
e untrue to say that no money has been spent on rail projects in NSW in rec=
ent years. That said, what actually has been spent is nowhere the amount th=
at *should* be spent on such projects. As just one example (out of many), t=
he previously planned line between Chatswood and Parramatta is currently on=
ly being constructed between Chatswood and (the intermediate station of) Ep=
ping.
=20
I am not suggesting that no money should ever be spent on road projects; in=
many cases, such expenditure really does make roads safer to subsequently =
travel on. That said, when there is a mismatch between how much is spent on=
road projects and how much is spent on rail projects, then the much-vaunte=
d "level playing field" ends up being tilted against the use of rail in var=
ious circumstances when it otherwise would/could/(preferably) should be use=
d.
=20
I think anyone would need to be very optimistic to assess that there was an=
y realistic chance of any new rail line of any significant length being con=
structed within NZ for at least the foreseeable future. Any more direct rai=
l link between Hawkes Bay and the northern half of the North Island would b=
e difficult (and correspondingly expensive) to construct, and a similar obs=
ervation could be made about linking Nelson with Blenheim (or Spring Creek)=
. For all that, there are still other projects where it would be desirable =
to spend money on *existing* lines in order to make them more "train-friend=
ly" - but such projects still have to contend with the perceptions of the g=
eneral public, and the hostility (and sometimes ignorance) of the local mas=
s media.
=20
Regards,
Geoff Harland.
=20
=20
Steve Watts wrote:
=20
> Is this a desire to go back to Muldoonism at it's heyday? We
> discussed the other day briefly the use of Private Public Partnerships
> (PPPs). IIRC I mentioned that in the old days there was always this
> concern over government debt levels - deficits etc. Well now there
> seems to be a desire to go back to these days.
>=20
> Here's the report of the speech from the leader of the Opposition and
> the governments reply. This is primarily about roads but one doesn't
> need to be Einstein to work out that any future rail projects may
> funded the same way.(Please remember this group looks objectively
> across the board and does not support any political party and does
> not want discussion on a party political basis - thanks) - Steve W
_____________________________________________________________________=
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<html><head><style type=3D"text/css"><!-- DIV {margin:0px;} --></style></he=
ad><body><div style=3D"font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;=
font-size:12pt"><DIV>I think that regardless of which political party is ho=
lding power at any time, that actually achieving a truly satisfactory level=
of expenditure on rail projects is not something that can be taken for gra=
nted by any means.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Doubtless various political scientists could cast more light on the ma=
tter, and/or explain it more succinctly than me, but in general, publi=
c expenditure on road projects is more likely to be looked upon favourably =
by the general public than public expenditure on rail projects. The former =
is more likely to be perceived as being of more benefit to them (less time =
required to cross town, less congestion and holdups when heading out of tow=
n, etc); OTOH, the latter is less likely to be perceived as benefiting them=
, or at least not in a direct and obvious manner.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>It also doesn't help that the mass media tend to unhelpful in that reg=
ard as well, with there being nothing unusual about comments such as variou=
s politicians are attempting to compensate for a frustrated childhood (duri=
ng which time Santa Claus never provided them with any toy trains).</D=
IV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I don't think that this problem is just confined to New Zealand. =
It would be untrue to say that no money has been spent on rail projects in =
NSW in recent years. That said, what actually has been spent is nowhere the=
amount that *should* be spent on such projects. As just one example (out o=
f many), the previously planned line between Chatswood and Parramatta is cu=
rrently only being constructed between Chatswood and (the intermediate stat=
ion of) Epping.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I am not suggesting that no money should ever be spent on road pr=
ojects; in many cases, such expenditure really does make roads safer t=
o subsequently travel on. That said, when there is a mismatch between how m=
uch is spent on road projects and how much is spent on rail projects, then =
the much-vaunted "level playing field" ends up being tilted against the use=
of rail in various circumstances when it otherwise would/could/(preferably=
) should be used.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I think anyone would need to be very optimistic to assess that there w=
as any realistic chance of any new rail line of any significant length bein=
g constructed within NZ for at least the foreseeable future. Any more direc=
t rail link between Hawkes Bay and the northern half of the North Island wo=
uld be difficult (and correspondingly expensive) to construct, and a simila=
r observation could be made about linking Nelson with Blenheim (or Spring C=
reek). For all that, there are still other projects where it would be desir=
able to spend money on *existing* lines in order to make them more "train-f=
riendly" - but such projects still have to contend with the perceptions of =
the general public, and the hostility (and sometimes ignorance) of the=
local mass media.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Regards,</DIV>
<DIV>Geoff Harland.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Steve Watts wrote:</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>> Is this a desire to go back to Muldoonism at it's heyday? We<BR>&=
gt; discussed the other day briefly the use of Private Public Partnerships<=
BR>> (PPPs). IIRC I mentioned that in the old days there was always this=
<BR>> concern over government debt levels - deficits etc. Well now there=
<BR>> seems to be a desire to go back to these days.<BR>> <BR>> He=
re's the report of the speech from the leader of the Opposition and<BR>>=
the governments reply. This is primarily about roads but one doesn't<BR>&g=
t; need to be Einstein to work out that any future rail projects may<BR>>=
; funded the same way.(Please remember this group looks objectively<BR>>=
across the board and does not support any political party and does<BR>>=
not want discussion on a party political basis - thanks) - Steve W</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></div><br>
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