(no subject)

[labellementeuse]

10 political icons! All NZ politics, all pro-left. Some of them are quite funny though. ;)

Teaser:
1.


2. 3. 4.

5. 6. 7.

8. 9. 10.


As usual, free to gank, comment if you do, credit is nice but not essential. X-posted to kiwi_ljs, wellingtonnz, christchurch, kiwichicks

Comments

[nefarious-imp.livejournal.com]

You've probably heard by now that those pamphlets were sent out by the Exclusive Brethren - and, taking into account the faith’s prohibition on members voting and being involved in the world, the hypocrisy behind that took my breath away.

In the weekend the Greens released a point-by-point rebuttal of the pamphlets - it's a really interesting read. You can find it at http://greens.org.nz/searchdocs/other9194.html (http://greens.org.nz/searchdocs/other9194.html).

As for what you mentioned about buses - I absolutely agree. It pisses me off how people complain about how we need more buses, when the reality is that the company can only buy a limited amount of buses each year, and, like you said it's difficult finding drivers for a job where they are often abused by the public.

What I don't like about our public transport is that Stagecoach is a foreign company, who is using our govt subsidises to in turn subsidise the British public. The irony of the subsidies from the govt to Stagecoach is that it's actually getting in the way of local councils offering free bus trials - being held hostage by a company with foreign interests isn't exactly healthy for our own country...

[nefarious-imp.livejournal.com]

Huh. Stagecoach isn't national, is it? Well, that's some of the problem in Auckland at the moment.

[slayerwitchnz.livejournal.com]

There are 3 main bus companies within Christchurch. Red Bus, Christchurch Bus Services, and Leopard Coachlines. I have no information on any of them other than which routes they operate however (you can find on the back of each timetable whether they operate that route, and you can tell by looking at a bus which it belongs to). Red Bus busses are red (plus the free Shuttle around the central city which is yellow and the Metrostar which is orange), and Leopard Coachlines run the Orbiter which is green and their other busses are blue. CBS busses seem to be white with some blue on them.

[labellementeuse.livejournal.com]

A word on CHCH buses, since they seem to be the topic of conversation... you really, really don't know how lucky you are. I recently moved here from Wellington and I don't drive, so obviously I only get around by bus. I was absolutely blown away by the bus facilities. Not only are many of the buses in nicer condition, they are a hell of a lot cheaper to ride and seem to me to go pretty much everywhere useful. In Wellington, an adult pays a fare that ranges from 1.00 to 3.50, depending on how far they want to go. In CHCH, using a metrocard, you pay a flat fare of 1.50 for two hours, and a maximum of 3.00 a day (Unless you're going out to Rangiora. And who does that? ;) ) In a nutshell, SO MUCH BETTER, and also metrocard is pretty cool.

So, you know. Just an outsider's perspective. :D

[slayerwitchnz.livejournal.com]

Yeah, they do go TO everywhere and are affordable, they are also usually on time and very rarely skip a service or take a detour (though I've seen both happen).

The bad points are that they don't go FROM everywhere, and that some of the services are lacking in how often and when. I have to leave an hour before I want to be at work, and that's weekday evenings. Which considering that work is about a 15 minute drive away is just a little ridiculous and takes a little too much time out of my days when I am already short of time to sleep, eat, etc. I realise that both of these issues are most likely because there aren't enough drivers, but Melbourne DOES seem to have managed it from what I've heard, so that means that theoretically it is possible...somehow. (At a guess they probably need better pay). Personally, I'm solving the problem by moving closer to work so that I can walk. It will cost me over $10 a day more than at the moment to live there but hopefully it will be worth it.

[slayerwitchnz.livejournal.com]

Sorry never heard of that group/organisation/whatever.

What you said about Stagecoach sucks, but it also sucks that NZ governments in the past have sold off the railways, Telecom, etc...it's nothing new except that it's helping the British public, while I was under the impression that our other assets profits probably went into private hands overseas (this may have just been my own assumption, however the main point still remains that it's a lot of money leaving the country that we really need). However if this is the case, that makes it slightly better in my view but really not much.

[nefarious-imp.livejournal.com]

From the BBC: The Exclusive Brethren are an evangelical protestant Christian church. Members keep themselves separated from other people (including other Christians), because they believe the world is sinful. Their desire to stay away from the "worlds evils" is so strong it extends to refusing to have windows in their meeting halls, a ban on university, TV or radios, visiting cinemas or the theatre, reading newspapers or fiction, computers, mobile phones, voting, serving in the armed forces or joining any group that includes people outside the Brethren. They cannot form friendships, or eat with people outside the church.

From what I've heard today, it was several members of the church, and not the church itself who sent it out, although I understand the church is definately becoming more politically active in the States.

I've never been fond of privatisation because you're right - most of the profits do go into private hands. However, in the case of Stagecoach, a few years ago they ("they" being the NZHerald) found that the British public are enjoying far cheaper fares than NZers, taking into account costs of living ya de ya de ya. I don't know how they linked it back to NZ subsidies, but I'm really curious now, so if I find that article I'll post it here.