Posts by Gareth Ward
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What Gareth said.
And given I was backing up what you said, this may descend into some torturous logical loop. I'll call Winnie for advice =)
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NZ has already committed to Kyoto
Which is the heart of the matter to me, yet gets absolutely ignored by everyone! We're accruing liabilty for payment right now for every tonne of carbone emitted. We should really be working as fast as we can to minimise that.
Danyl, very interesting take on the statements made re Karaka - there's really no need to make stuff up to hang him with when he's doing a fine enough job on his own. -
Matthew:
1. Quite possibly.
2. Well I certainly wouldn't expect us to sign up to a negative FTA - but the scenario of using us as a "look, see, I'm not THAT bad on free trade" is at least a possiblity that a good trade negotiator could have a go at. -
On CNN they're filling in time by fooling around with an electoral map that's a multi-touch sensing screen.
"Oi! Karl! Which ones you want to win? Nah mate, it's even easier now - just touch the screen! Sweet!"
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An acquantaince was attempting to train his children that McDonald's was a last resort. Never give it to them as a treat ("you did so well at soccer we'll get a Happy Meal") but give it to them with lines like "sorry kids, seems Macca's is the only thing we can get on the car drive"...
I am yet to hear how this is playing out but was successful at the time -
On the free-trade bit - we could actually see some movement from an Obama-stration on this. Our canny trade operators like Clark and Goff could quite easily go to him and say "we're a small country, not going to have any real impact on you guys, but we are a symbolic nation when it comes to trade and creating an FTA with us would be a good look for you internationally on free trade without hurting that base you're pandering to".
Most likely worded a little more diplomatically than that of course.
To me, McCain is awful (really cemented with his "I'm Hamas' worst enemy" Rambo attempt on the Daily Show) and unthinkable - Obama lacks in policy-backing to his speeches (publically, even if it really is there in the background) and while that would frustrate me if I was a US voter the decision would still be an absolute no-brainer.
Voting for McCain because you think he's more likely to make a decision is hardly a comfort when you consider the decision he's likely to make. -
On the contrary, toll roads are user-pays. Abstracting away the cost of road use via borrowing (especially pernicious), taxes and rates creates a distortion. Now, you might argue it's a good distortion, but it's still a distortion.
The distortion I refer to is that under a freely-available-alternative model of road tolling, you WANT the distortion of free-one-way, charged-the-other. It's almost the point.
I don't discount the economic/investment distortion that you are referring to. -
I'd go further and say introduce congestion charging in the CBD (including Parnell, Newmarket and Ponsonby) and put the toll gates back on the Harbour Bridge.
With a well-funded and effective public transport system in place I presume? I would agree at that point.
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That "dreadful distortion" is what really threw me out of that whole thing - the point of road tolls (if you are committed to ensuring a free alternative) is distortion!
And the editorial struck me in exactly the same way - why didn't they pick that up? -
Given my son's first present from his Uncle last week was a tiny Motorhead T-shirt he may have a few similar "cool visits with his Uncle" in his future...