Well, considering I was part of the sudden press to get to the other side of the big screen that was working, and I only did it…

Is there a new big little slogan in the wind:
Auckland – the city of fails?
Kids and women abused by drunks, just not…

*Which surprisingly, is…

I was really saddened to read this aspect of it all. Having felt like NZ culture/biculture was well and truly represented... what…

I am surprised that citizen Key and Co didn't pass a GFC Empowering Act .…

Which appears to mean that McCully announced it to journalists without telling the Mayor of Auckland.

Far out.

Then you conclude incorrectly. That is the last thing I NEED to do, do I look Bothered?
Perhaps if you want to pin the blame for anything anywhere then may I suggest you do some…

No. The fact that somebody indulges in apathy, incompetence and childish behaviour does not exclude them from having power, unfortunately.

Because the concept of kicking the ball brought back too many bad memories?

s.48 of the RWC Empowering Act allows the Minister to declare something a permitted activity. That seems to me to be rather different from taking someone's land under arbitrary central government control.

Regarding the witchhunt for a scapegoat for friday, where does the entity known as "Auckland Regional Steering group for the Rugby World Cup 2011" fit into this kerfuffle. The name alone suggests at least they should have had visibility…

Wha?

I guess that as the NZRU is no longer called the NZRFU I stand corrected. the national union was known as the New Zealand Rugby Football Union or NZRFU. The name was officially shortened in 2006 with the removal of…

Why?

Hilarious

and it's pretty unlikely that it will happen again on RWC opening night. at least in AKL. in 2011. in fact, it really is so unlikely to happen again that it probably did not happen at all.

Seems like long odds whether the incident actually happened at all.

It would be great to see Warren Gatland and Todd Blackadder go forth as the next great AB coaching dynasty -…

I'd say Dr Mapp comes across as too urbane for that sort of thing. McCully, though, does add up.

I think that's long odds. Mapp is about the only cabinet minister I'd give the time of day to. Could be any one of the rest of the incompetent fools, though.

They did plan for it. Nearly all capacity was directed to the event, which became enormous due in no…

There seems to be a problem with the wireless link. I had my Wii controller on 'Jonny Wilkinson', but I couldn't seem to get it to kick straight – the ball was going all over the shop. Is it something in the settings, or…

But nobody seems to want to say what created this "unprecedented demand" and why it wasn't planned for given it was entirely constructed and promoted by central government and Auckland Council. It wasn't an act…

We don't have interactive in NZ?

Then again…

PS. That was before Len Brown was elected, too.

I've been assured this is just how Key sounds independent of any actual imbibing of the latest JK vintage.

Meanwhile, one elements of a compliant media buy the line that chaos is all the Auckland Council's (and more specifically the mayor's) fault.

I suppose a referee has to go through all your paragraphs in the blink of an eye, and it's not surprising that confusion occurs.

How is it that – in 2011 – we don't have a second angle of that Welsh penalty? Also, when super-slo-mo has been around for a few years now, they don't seem to have even normal…

If a 'tackle' happens (=ball carrier brought to ground by an opponent), then:
1. Any opponent who brought that player to ground must release that player and/or roll off…

I'm trying to answer questions from my offspring ....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOcDTe34gqQ&feature=related

Asked if Rugby World Cup Minister Murray McCully was wrong not to apologise he said no. "Party central worked perfectly".

The Government had responsibility for The…

For tackles and rucks:
If it’s them, it’s because they’re lying on the ball/tackler preventing us from securing it.
If it’s us, it’s because the ref made a mistake (or Richie…

Well, yes and no. It would have been a lot easier if 1) a lot of people were willing to hang…

Can someone explain to me what the most common reasons are for getting penalised in a ruck or maul? Wikipedia is some help, but much of the time I can't work out what the referee sees to make him blow his whistle.

Hence Joyce cutting govt funding for expanding them, including shore infrastructure.

Like the new harbour bridge pedestrian clip-on, I guess ratepayers can stump up instead (including a PPP premium). Heaven forbid truckers should pay their share of our transport network though.

Word up, son.

ETA: I was kidding btw, I think there's something awesome about catching a ferry to work. They shit on buses and trains – you can get up and wander round, get a coffee or a snack, or a…

Well, let me think now. Hmm, there's three different bus routes, which connect and mesh smoothly and easily with regular and late-running ferries to three different destinations*.

But apart from that, totally a fail :)

Seriously, heading city-side it isn't…

Indeed. People did miss out, and that sucked.

Isn't Devonport a public transport fail by its very nature? Isn't that what you love about it? Where else can you get the closest…

Yeah, I think that although there's a case to answer in relation to a lot of the 'failures', that case needs to be heavily tempered by flagging up the stuff…

Just trying to be helpful, honest.

This ad appeared in today's print herald. Post-event, admittedly, but indicative of the vibe of the run-up.

If you invite the world…

My only thought about why people might have opted not to goes to my own reasons for using…

For months, Prime Minister John Key and his Rugby World Cup party planner Murray McCully have been tweeting the world, inviting all and sundry to cruise down to Party Central on September 9 and have a ball.

They promised the biggest fireworks display ever seen, local bands,…

I’m reasonably confident that the transport system could have coped with either getting 60,000 people to and from Kingsland or getting 200,000 people to and from the city centre.

In the Bledisloe Cup game a couple of months…

The choices over the last 7 decades were political, not geographical. Joshua Arbury's blog has extensive detail (and cool old maps).

I think that good public transport will always help, but you're not comparing apples with apples – London's…

If…

Though it should be noted that when Wayne Barnes was announced as referee there was a brief,…

Has anyone else noted a change in the "voting" system in rugby over the last 20-25 years???? In the "old days" I thought the touch judges were there to "vote" on whether the ball went over. That is, each TJ decided if the ball…

Auckland Council transport chairman Mike Lee said Veolia had to take a large share of the blame.

"Everything we have worked for in the last five years ... we were let down – it was a…

Public transport was the standard scheduled commuter services – I don't think they even had special trains. Needless to say, the trains were crammed, but they got us to and from Waterloo ok (we even…

Ex regional transport committee chair Joel Cayford explains in some detail why to him it's a matter of safety.

Decades of neglect and under-funding are the fundamental…

No, I was talking about the English underarm re-oderant shirt. It stinks. The numbers were even falling off in protest.

You're not talking about the black jersey worn by Mr Sonny Delight himself, I take it? That wardrobe failure seemed to get a lot of people rather hot and bothered. Around 50% of the population, by the sounds…

But it does impede progress of the whole team down the park. But i'm buggered if I know (still) when and…

Bugger all cars. Even though lots of empty seats by the time of the final whistle. But i did take not of the car parks at the stations. Almost…

Hey, Rich, you try dealing with twice as many people as your best reality-based estimate. Perhaps one potentially useful thing…

I beg to differ. It…

I'm not blaming the local staff, it's probably impossible to run a commuter metro for short term corporate profit in the way they've been tasked to and offer reasonable service.

Any details or links?

Rodney Hide's recent local govt act amendments extended the maximim term to 35 years so it's even more lucrative for foreign…

They want your Water!

In a truely perverse twist, it will be the Greens that give it to them.

The Greens are putting a price on water, with a view to Dairy.…

Meanwhile, Labour's Grant Robertson focuses on Key's speech during the opening ceremony.

My feelings are that Veolia is being blamed for the incompetence of Auckland Transport (Previously ARTA).

For a very long time it has…

I think it's the other way around, actually. Friday was extraordinary. Had it been a normal afternoon; cool, overcast, and…

I admit I'm biased towards that. Fiji much more my cup o tea.

While it wasn't running rugby, I actually found it by far the most enjoyable match of the cup so far. The intensity made up for all other shortcomings. Just a pity Argentina couldn't have won.

Those black jerseys were pathetic, and in the end bothered me greatly.

I had severe problems with those! I have this Pavlovian 'wanting the team in black to keep moving forward' response, which I had to keep pulling myself up for and mentally revising. And I was annoyed with myself…

Totally. This front has been forecast to hit Auckland on Sunday morning for days now, so everyone involved with Friday's events has been able to stare at the bullet they dodged,

Yes, that was my point. England finally decided to kick for position, backing their runners, and pulled off the only try, a perfectly decent one. Good on Argentina for…

Isn't a propensity for kicking England's standard game?

It was still…

Yes, although I think it was all about kicks because it was so tense. Several times Argentina got penalties that they could have kicked for territory, backing their chances of a try. But being only 6 in the lead makes going for…

+1

My fingers were crossed. I detest boring rugby.

Got boos.

Quite. The phrase 'meat in the sandwich' comes to mind. Management of the rail operator, contracting agency and cup organisers are responsible, as are politicians both national…

Yes, they were fantastic. I loved how they were so excited that it looked like one of them almost fainted during their national anthem. They really wanted to win, and played like it.…

England didn't deserve to win. Which is how they usually win. Their torpedo tackling technique is hardly what I'd call sporting…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNt_jNZa9pc

Reckon, All the underdogs have played well so far.

Thanks for that, Sacha. [REDACTED: Realised I've breeched the privacy of a third party.] I won't hold my breath waiting…

The ferries into town were suspended from around 5.00,…

Rights of the author… Tell that to Te Rauparaha. Or, for that matter, Ngaati Toa.

ETA: Oh dear. Have I started a copyright thread?

Hayley Westenra – World In Union:

This content cannot be played in your Country.

Tried using a proxy based in the US too – same result.

Well by looking at the TAB you can work out a…

I'd still like to know what the odds are of Tonga or Manu Samoa…

“This was our big opportunity to promote New Zealand to overseas visitors. It was a debacle, from the disaster that was the transport system to the inadequacy of crowd control and police numbers, and the failure of technology which saw only…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNhRbZNgn1I

Let's see how long this one lasts.

For the love of… the game, they’re not doing themselves any favours, are they?

"Two areas of under-performance clearly require immediate attention. Auckland's public transport system failed to deliver to the required standard. In spite of reasonably successful trial events, there is no escaping the fact that last night's performance was short of the standard required. Urgent steps will now…

That’s…

The fireworks section of the opening ceremony was astounding. Co-ordinated musicians, vehicles, performers and pyrotechnics across half-a-dozen or so locations, dozens of camera operators, all directed with aplomb and edited into a smooth presentation.…

Wellington Batucada were performing in the Fanzone at 6pm after the Wellington International Ukelele Orchestra (w00t!) and we were planning to parade around the Fanzone keeping all the fans entertained.

However, there…

I'm confused by the focus on the mishaps with the trains, though. Yes, there does need to…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWIqVfRLooc

And because it's there, the second try of the night.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMY0b8VLpg0

Tonga were outplayed, and really didn't…

which aspect?

...

Brown said stoppages occurred because people feeling unsafe or constrained repeatedly pressed emergency safety buttons. In older carriages, this brought trains to a halt.

He said the performance by trains was "not satisfactory at all" and improvements in reliability and communication would be needed.

For those…

if you actually used MSM news as your source, you’d think that the mood at the wharfs was ugly

In all fairness it all seemed to be a huge success from offshore, Sure there were a few niggles, that's par for the course when hosting. Personal inconveniences aside, New Zealand…

But yes, there could well be issues with slick brand marketing culture and government agendas dominating over an operational preparedness focus in the Auckland RWC organising effort.

Encouraging people to all come on down and stroke McCully's cloud…

Actually if we weren't all treated like Neanderthals and had been left to our own devices, buses, trains and autos would I believe have managed ok. By telling the country to use public transport caused many an unnecessary problem. Our roads were almost carless (don't get me wrong, I…

Yup, if you actually used MSM news as your source, you'd think that the mood at the wharfs was ugly, when in fact it…

I've gone all melancholic.... for a minute
Then I recalled the fireworks of last night, with the skyperdermic exploding with a rainbow of colourful explosions, the crowds and water below, the wormos all dayglo like, the faint echo as the band…

Yeah, I didn’t think I was either.

Great morning for end of season Football. 700+ junior plays at Three Kings after another perfect season. We do this sport thing well here, overall.

I tend to look on the positive side as a…

It was an amazing day for Auckland and although some people had the worst of times, a great many Aucklanders had the best of times…

No, you're probably right but the number of times I get accused of being a partisan sock puppet around these parts I just though I'd shut down that line of attack before it started. As I said, I'm not pretending every thing…

Half an hour was enough time…

Of course – you are right. Though there would be some critical mass when everyone realises driving/taking taxis is quicker that everything becomes grid-logged.

Catch a taxi? I did that from the Wynyard Quarter to the friends place…

Woah. I don't think…

If you have a car you drive, if you don't you get public transport.…

Figures. I couldn't contain myself.

Now, memory...going.....where did we see the Dancing Diggers???? Oh yeah. All over.

Got to Quay Street at 3pm and immediately started seeing families and thinking "your young children shouldn't really be here".

Yep, we were one of those many, many families. Auckland City might want to tone down the *family friendly* component of their promotions I think.

We had a plan B…

Excuse me? If by that you mean I do actually listen when my partner talks about the industry he’s worked in for over forty five years, yes I do. If you’re insinuating I’m being some…

The guy talking on Campbell live sounded pretty convincing, but he might have been in a house for all I know.

As for disabling the emergency button, I entirely agree.

There were reports of people being let off trains…

Try here. A broken down train for over an hour with no response or information to the passengers who then arrived late to the game, having paid x-hundred+$$ for a ticket?…

Yup, and of course the Herald headline is: Trains fail city's day of celebration. I know the Herald has some fixed idea that there's magic unicorns that shit out train sets and busses, but really... (And yes,…

We’d missed the cranes and John Key.

Looked like he might have too, but nothing wrong with a drink to calm the nerves, aye. The only thing that seemed a little off was the…

Did Eden Park then along the fan walk to K Road, which was jumping with Tongan mamas. Wonderful.

The funniest thing I saw on the way down on Queen Street was the usual Friday Hare Krishna…