NZ HERALD: Truckers extend middle finger to Labour Government(UPDATED 9.11 am)

9

Three trucks block the Auckland motorway at Ellerslie. Photo / Keran McKenzie

Updated 8:24AM Friday July 04, 2008
By Mathew Dearnaley

• Mayor Banks on Auckland protest
• Govt under fire over RUC
• Photos of truckies protest

Truck blockade

• Nats attack new fuel tax law
• First-time protester gets ready to roll

Check traffic conditions in your city using live webcams.

Wellington traffic cam
Christchurch traffic cam
Auckland traffic cam

Truck drivers have started doing laps of Auckland's central city as their protest against increased road-user charges gets under way.

Blockades have been organised in 12 other cities and towns from Whangarei to Invercargill between 7am and 9.30am today.

Traffic was at peak flows about an hour earlier than normal this morning as commuters attempted to avoid gridlock.

In Auckland's CBD, truckies are driving laps from Auckland's Town hall, up Mayoral Drive, Greys Avenue, Pitt Street, Karangahape Road and back onto Queen Street.

The inside lane heading south on Queen Street has been completely blocked by parked trucks and a short while ago an ambulance with lights flashing and siren on was forced to go onto the wrong side of the road.

Protest organiser Chris Carr said: "That is our worst nightmare. We don't want to block those guys."

Organisers met with Auckland City mayor John Banks this morning and thanked him for allowing the protest to go ahead.

Mr Carr said the mayor replied: "There was nothing we could have done to stop you."

Driver Mark McFetridge said the Government should have consulted on the road user charge increase.

"I cart supermarket freight. What do you think that is going to do to your food prices," he said.

Dave Swale, from Swale Earthmovers in Helensville, said diesel prices had doubled in less than three years. "The Government is flogging us to death," he said.

Further south, a convoy of vehicles has been rolling through Penrose on Great South Road, honking their horns and three trucks have blocked the motorway at Ellerslie.

Truckies arriving in Hamilton have been met with support from locals.continued

**Political Animal supports the truckers middle finger to this government and its arrogant attitude towards the lifeblood of our economy, the transport industry, and New Zealanders support them as well.

Commerce Commission needs to derail KiwiRail owners

When your competitor sets the rules for competition you know there is something horribly askew.

With the buyback of Toll Rail, in the form of KiwiRail, the New Zealand Government, by way of legislation, can pass any sort of tax, competition law or edict, making things difficult for rail's competitors, the trucking industry.

Even before Toll Rail passed into taxpayer hands midnight Tuesday 1 July, a deal had been stitched up to allow free rentals for several years, on freight depots for the trucking division, the only profitable part of Toll's NZ freight business that the NZ government let them keep.

When that was proven too politically volatile for the public to swallow, the check book was pulled out again and NZ$18 million of taxpayer cash was added to the initial purchase price to put Toll's trucking division in a enviable position when compared to its competitors,.

Now the skewing of the fork when it comes to competition in the freight sector continued with an up to 10% increase in road user charges for diesel trucks on Tuesday July 1, the same day rail was renationalised.

So what is happening here-avoiding the obvious political point of using taxpayer money-is that money and legislation is being used by the government to not only give corporate welfare(sorry I couldn't help myself) to a private company by handing them $18 million bucks to compete against other private trucking companies, but you have the owner of an inefficient, loss making business that will never make money, trying to even the competitive playfield, for them, by penalising its competition with extra taxes!

My head is dizzy with vitriol!!

I will be indirectly hit in the pocket here because I own shares in Mainfreight[MFT] a very competitive, efficient and profitable transport player . Toll trucking have a definite competitive advantage over such companies with that $18 million of taxpayer funds in their back pockets.

Like the State run Air New Zealand[AIR] freezing out competition in the domestic airline industry, the squeeze on transport and trucking companies by the Labour government will continue as long as they remain in office, because rail just cannot compete on a even footing.

Finally, the main point of this column was to make a point to the Commerce Commission, who always check out this blog when their name is mentioned, and one of their office drones googles over a soy latte to find out who is talking about them. Such actions described above are clear violations of competition law.

Instead of salivating over hot State funded QC's appealing against the The Warehouse[WHS] case that you lost in the High Court why don't you get off your ivory soaked easy chairs and do something in the trucking business Vs KiwiRail anti competitive case.

Government's actions via their ownership of KiwiRail make their anti-competitive moves against the private transport industry a banner case.

To win this Ms Rebstock, Chairman of the CC {photo above} would be an easy case and get you the attention that you so obviously desire.

I'm waiting with baited breath for you to file your writ against KiwiRail.

Tell me when to exhale.

Related Share Investor reading

Why did you buy that Stock?[Mainfreight]
Mainfreight keeps on truckin
The history of The Warehouse takeover players indicates a long and winding road
Day of protest by truckers against tax

c Share Investor 2008

Day of Protest by Truckers against Labour's surprise tax(UPDATED)

The massive surprise price increase of road user charges on Tuesday, after the Minister of Transport Annette King promised a lead in time so transport operators could plan ahead, has backfired on the Labour Government.

Annette Kings answer to the truckers protest? She described the proposed protests as "outrageous" and the transport industry "hasn't been paying their fair share".

Good blue collar workers being called outrageous for sticking up for themselves after Anette King breaks a promise, by a Labour Government! Where will it end?

Truckers, who are the lifeblood of any economy, will be protesting in all major centres this Friday 4 July (Independence day!) Auckland action will be taken between 7.30am and 9am, with more than 1,000 trucks converging on Queen Street.

The price rise comes at a time when the economy is in recession and transport operators have been pushed to the brink by high taxes, high diesel costs and legislative red tape. The rise will also hurt kiwis, who are already struggling, because the higher user charges mean higher costs for food, gas and other consumer goods.

The kick in the guts yesterday was that the same day our Government took control of what they are calling KiwiRail, the private competition to KiwiRail, the trucking industry, was being taxed again by the owners of the rail company.

Political corruption at its highest.

The irony here, isn't lost on most intelligent individuals, when Ms Clark accused John Key, in Parliament today, of corruption over owing shares in NZ Rail back in the 1990s while Key was advising on a sale of the company through Bankers Trust. This turned out to be yet another lie by the Prime minister.

Just like the massive financial failures KiwiBank, KiwiSaver (I see a pattern forming here) and Air New Zealand, we have in KiwiRail a company that will use taxpayer funds to compete with private enterprise, while making the competition rules up themselves!!

My dear old departed Dad, who was a truckie himself, would be out in his home town of Hastings protesting this move by Annette King and the Labour Government.

This is corrupt practice, by a desperate and corrupt government with a dishonest Prime minister.

Get out there Friday in your town and tell these meddling socialists who is boss.

It ain't and never should be them.



Related Political Animal Reading

Day of Protest over EFB : Auckland Nov 17, 2007
Helen Clark & Jenette Fitzsimmons knee deep in Windflow Technology conflict of interest
Reality needs to bite
KiwiRail will cost Mainfreight

c Political Animal 2008

You can take the family out of South Auckland

Yet another slap in the face for the repeal of section 59, or the "anti smacking" law. The latest death of a 7 year old boy in Nelson, shows the failure that this law is. Deaths and beatings have actually increased, which is, with thick irony, because of the relaxation in the law.

Just like the removal of corporal punishment in schools over 20 years ago -and we have the knuckle dragging hand wringer Cindy Kiro, who was at the forefront of the removal of section 59 bleating about bullying in schools today(cant you see the connection Cindy!)- we are beginning to see that the anti smacking law will breed more violence, teachers have found that out and parents now know this to be the case and our kids will suffer badly as a result.

In the meantime more innocent good parents are being victimised by police and government bureaucrats for slapping their child on the wrist.

The family concerned in the NZ herald story below are originally from that successful social experiment in South Auckland, where welfare is king, personal responsibility is a four letter word, and dependence on the State rules.

5:00AM Thursday July 03, 2008
By Elizabeth Binning and Beck Vass

Police at the Stoke house where the 7-year-boy was found dead. Photo / Tim Cuff

Police investigating the "suspected homicide" of a 7-year-old boy have arrested a former South Auckland man and charged him with assault.

The man, believed to be the boy's stepfather, will appear in the Nelson District Court today.

Police started a homicide inquiry after being alerted to the boy's death at his Stoke home by ambulance staff about 11.40am.

It is the second suspected child abuse case this week.

A 3-year-old Avondale boy was still fighting for his life in the Starship hospital yesterday after being admitted on Monday.

Police were tight-lipped on details of the Nelson inquiry but the Herald has learned it is a suspected child bashing. Continued

Related Political Animal Reading

Police called as toddler fights for life
Sascha Cobern's letter to the Editor of the NZ Herald
Anti-smacking petition a slap in the face for out of touch Politicians
Sign the Anti Anti smacking petition
Cindy Kiro gets violent

c Political Animal 2008