Is there something in the water?

Towards the end of March, many of us waited to see what major announcements the government would make about the supermarket duopoly and the Cook Strait ferries. To me, the supermarket announcement was nothing short of what we have come to expect from our politicians nowadays – an announcement of an announcement. I wonder if anybody who writes about this stuff has ever sat down and looked at the costs that make up the final price we pay for our groceries. If they did, they’d soon find out where the underlying costs lay; they may also work out how changes to any of these have compounding effects.

As regards the ferries, I suppose we got something: namely, we will build two ships larger than what we have now but smaller than that proposed, and they will be able to carry trains and safely transit the Tory Channel—but we will not see them until 2029. Are these going to be Winston’s legacy to the country? Perhaps we could name one Winston and the other Peters? When they arrive, they will supposedly replace the three current ships operated by Interislander across Cook Strait. What I have yet to see is an analysis of whether the two new ones will provide more capacity than the three existing ones.

If you wanted further evidence that our world has lost the plot, look no further than the story in the NZ Herald of 2 April headed “Proposed $500,000 one-sided crossing sparks backlash in Christchurch”. The article relates to a proposal to install a pedestrian crossing on Deans Avenue near the centre of Christchurch City. The issue arose because the boundary line of two community boards runs down the centre of the road. One board wanted a raised crossing (speed hump), while the other did not. The current solution will be that a raised crossing will be on one side of the road only.

I RECENTLY READ that the Government is proposing to look at how government departments and agencies who default on their responsibilities under the Official Information Act 1982 can be punished—i.e., fined. As one who, on occasion, has used this act to get information, something like this would be welcomed. But it will also be a waste of time—one government department fining another for being a defaulter… Where does the money to pay the fine come from? The taxpayer. And where does it go? Back to the government. A nice little money-go-round if you can get onto it. In the meantime, of course, it creates the illusion that something serious is happening.

THERE APPEARS TO BE a strange phenomenon developing across the country—that of ‘coloured’ weather, rain and wind. I don’t know much about these, but they must be serious as they are always associated with a warning. Personally, the closest I have ever come to seeing either of these is rain with a lot of lumpy white bits in it (hail), and wind with bits and pieces of debris of many colours floating around. I have experienced strong wind—in some cases, hurricane force—especially when I was at sea, but it had no colours to it. But, as many keep telling me, I am getting on in years, and when this happens, strange things start happening. So maybe I am starting to go colour blind—another thing to add to the list for when I see my doctor next.

THE NAVY’S REPORT into the stranding of HMNZS Manawanui in Samoa has been released and, rightly so, the defence minister is not overly happy. The report concludes that the failure to disconnect the autopilot was the prime cause of the stranding. Where have we heard that before? Perhaps there is something in the water after all.

The Accidental Trucker

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