Thursday 21 February 2019
1) New Crown entity to deal with infrastructure crisis
The facts:
The Government is aiming to get serious about New Zealand’s infrastructure crisis. The New Zealand Infrastructure Commission – Te Waihanga – has been set up to deal specifically with what the government has labelled as New Zealand's "unprecedented infrastructure deficit". Transport and urban infrastructure will be the likely focus of the new independent Crown entity. Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones said that this “infrastructure deficit” is most present in “housing unaffordability, congestion, poor-quality drinking water and lost productivity". The Infrastructure Commission will act as a "shop front" for private companies aiming to invest in New Zealand.
Analysis:
The Coalition Government wants to be seen to be doing stuff. At the moment, the Labour-led administration is facing a serious risk of being seen as a government that is big on talk, but deficient in action. The KiwiBuild scheme, in particular, has been portrayed as an ongoing failure, with only a handful of so-called affordable house being built so far.
So now the government is launching a new Crown entity to deal with New Zealand’s infrastructure crisis. As with Kiwibuild, the new Infrastructure Commission will work with private enterprise to boost investment in New Zealand. However, such an approach has so far failed to work with Kiwibuild. Therefore, the Government will need to make sure that The New Zealand Infrastructure Commission – Te Waihanga - does actually deliver.
If the Commission fails to deliver on infrastructure, then this Government risks being seen as a “do nothing” regime.
2) Council wars on Lime scooters
The facts:
Local Government in Wellington and Dunedin are proposing heavy restrictions on the use of Lime scooters. And the Auckland Transport chairman Lester Levy has issued a stern warning to Lime, stating that its electric scooters could be banned from Auckland by Friday. Concerns have been raised over safety defects with Lime scooters. In particular, concerns have been raised over problems with the scooters’ front wheels locking. This locking problem has allegedly caused several injuries.
Analysis:
Since the rollout of Lime scooters in NZ, local government has shown a keenness to heavily regulate this alternative form of transport. And the threat of a ban from Auckland City Council bureaucrat Dr Lester Levy points to a full-on war between local government and Lime scooters.
Safety should be a central concern with Lime scooters and other forms of e-transport. However, local government politicians and bureaucrats seem to be whipping up hysteria over the use of e-scooters. The dangers of Lime scooters should be compared with the dangers of other forms of transport including cars, bicycles and trucks. There are of course no proposals to ban cars, trucks or bicycles from city roads.
3) Bernie is back
The facts:
Self-styled democratic socialist Bernie Sanders could be the next President of the United States. The leftwing senator is now officially in the 2020 presidential race. The race for the Democratic presidential nomination will be very tight, with their being 10 contenders at the last count. And the big question is whether Hillary Clinton will throw her hat into the ring.
Analysis:
The announcement of Bernie Sanders candidacy for Democratic Presidential nominee will enliven the leftwing of the Democrats. The Democrats are currently at war with themselves, with the party’s new leftwing at battle with the centrists who have held reign over the party for decades now. If Bernie does become the Democrats nominee for President, could we see a split in the party, as we are currently witnessing with the UK Labour Party? The groundswell support for self-labelled socialist figures in the Democratic Party points to the ongoing rise of radical and anti-Establishment politics in the United States, both in terms of leftwing radicalism and rightwing populist radicalism.
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This political roundup by John Moore is an extension on the five-minute breakfast political roundup that John gives on Radio One Dunedin, Monday to Thursday at 9am.
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