So far their response has been tax cuts and getting rid of regulations. Two things they love doing. In Australia they're giving subsidies to the oil industry. None of those will do anything to slow our consumption of oil or help people change their lifestyles to match the circumstances. By clinging desperately to business as usual they will make the eventual change more wrenching than it could have been. Instead, what if: Short term: Free public transport. Free bikes for everyone. Begin emergency repairs on any old busses that can be pressed into service. Implement a priority system for who gets fuel: Tier 1: healthcare, emergency services Tier 2: food production & distribution Tier 3: essential infrastructure (power, water, telecoms) Everything else: on yer bike, son (or heavily rationed) Ration fertilizer. A lot of it is wasted, currently. Daily govt briefings - what’s happening, what is being prioritised, what people should do. Maintain clear communication and transparency. Medium term (but start NOW): Electrify all busses. Repair neglected railways. Move freight by rail and ship as much as possible. Build cycling infrastructure. Secure places to park many many bikes next to train stations - big sheds. Remove regulatory barriers for local food production, farmers markets. Encourage urban gardening, local trade networks. Plant corn everywhere for ethanol. Strategic reserves of critical medicines, etc. Diversify food production - for local needs, not for export market needs.

(everyone knows roading budgets usually blow out - the total final cost of Transmission Gully appears to be $2.5bn – double the projected cost of $1.25bn).

Back in February 2025, MBIE got a report on NZ’s fuel security. It basically outlined that NZ is extremely dependent on imported fossil fuels, therefore vulnerable to international fossil fuel supply line disruptions. They specifically talked about events like war, estimating a major incident would cost us about 1% of our GDP. (That’ll pour petrol on all those promised ‘green shoots,’ like an over enthusiastic arsonist.) The solution was clear. It said, “The most cost-effective strategies for enhancing fuel resilience is accelerating the transition to zero-emission vehicles” (And add trucking capacity and increase diesel storage.) Simply put, get more people out of petrol cars and into EVs. What did the Government do instead?

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That takes balls, doesn't it? For those of you tuning in from outside NZ, check these out: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/586975/winds-gust-to-240km-h-on-lower-north-island-s-east-coast https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/587001/weather-local-farmers-clear-mudslide-which-trapped-20-vehicles https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/586968/in-pictures-heavy-rain-and-wind-hits-wellington-region-bringing-down-trees-flooding-roads BTW it's summer here.

Govt to pay up to $180m/year or $2.7b over 15 years to lease LNG re-gasification plant, paid for by $15-$30 'levy' per household per year. That $2.7b would build four Benmore Dams worth of electricity

Similar pattern as with the ferry, health and water systems - Labour had fixes for their problems rolling out but National scrapped them and then did nothing.

While other Auckland areas saw turnout drop, voting numbers in Papatoetoe increased by more than 7 percent. All four seats went to first-time candidates from the Papatoetoe Ōtara Action Team. The result was inconsistent with historic voting patterns. None of the previous local board members of the Papatoetoe subdivision were re-elected. Sketchy! Who are these guys?? https://www.facebook.com/papatoetoeotaraactionteam/

427 students $153 million To be fair, that's $153m over 4 years and the student numbers will probably increase. Let's pretend there were 1000 students, so that's 153,000,000 / 4 / 1000 = $38k per student per year. For the rest of the school system, the govt spends ~$10k per student per year, see page 10, point 1.2. So Charter schools still cost nearly 4x as much and they don't even work.