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Could the earthquakes reduce Kiwirail distortions?

  • November 16th, 2016

The Kaikoura railway destruction has an economic silver lining.

There is now a possibility of less future waste on irrational and distorting transport subsidies.

Coastal shipping should have been getting much more of NZ’s long distance heavy freight. Shipping was long strangled by government fears of enforcing laws against maritime union thuggery, theft and anti-competitive conspiracy. Since union power waned shipping had been hamstrung by the unfair propping up of Kiwirail after Michael Cullen’s rescue of Toll Holdings. Political fear of challenging irrational rail sentiment has meant wasting $7k per household on Kiwirail since. The weird left political love for rail has been reinforced by understandable popular dislike of truck dominated roads.

Now that a sea link to Lyttelton will be needed for 6 months minimum, shippers will get used to the schedules, and Govt might have the courage to not waste capital restoring the uneconomic Picton to Christchurch rail leg.

Indeed shipping direct from Auckland and Tauranga to Christchurch should suit many who distribute nationwide.

Other experiments could be freed from unfair competition.
The proposed Wanganui to Nelson service could use the fast ferries eliminated by Sounds nimbyism.
We could then use much more of the Sounds for what God intended – mussel and salmon farms.

This is not necessarily good for Wellington’s Centre Port. But it has more than enough to worry about in remedying its quake damage.

And from a national perspective the less capital we have tied up under the control of woeful performer Greater Wellington Regional Council the better.

More on that in another post to come.

Comments

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[…] Coastal shipping should have been getting much more of NZ’s long distance heavy freight. Shipping was long strangled by government fears of enforcing laws against maritime union thuggery, theft and anti-competitive conspiracy. Since union power waned shipping had been hamstrung by the unfair propping up of Kiwirail after Michael Cullen’s rescue of Toll Holdings. Political fear of challenging irrational rail sentiment has meant wasting $7k per household on Kiwirail since. The weird left political love for rail has been reinforced by understandable popular dislike of truck dominated roads. […]

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  • Terence Barr
  • November 19th, 2016
  • 10:08 am

Imagine if we lived in a free market economy ?
Where a firm might take up the challenge to solve the transport issue. Silly me -best leave it to the commissars. Bring on Jerry and the Planmakers.

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  • AngryTory
  • December 8th, 2016
  • 3:22 am

If we lived in a free market economy, we wouldn’t have bothered to rebuild Christchurch, let alone Kaikoura. If we livd in a free market economy the whole idea of a government railway (along with government schools, government hospitals, government roads, government superannuation and government benefits) would be unconstitutional.

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