Wellington.Scoop report by Jem Traylen
Another Wellington regional councillor is calling for the private sector to get out of public transport, but most are refusing to commit either way. This comes in the same week as the government released a discussion paper that explored different potential ownership models, although it stopped short of considering full public ownership.
Last week the deputy-chair of the regional council’s transport committee David Lee called on the government to allow regional councils to bring bus services back in-house. Committee chair Roger Blakeley agreed it was something the government should consider.
Scoop asked the eleven other regional councillors whether they agreed with Lee, but only Thomas Nash responded.
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Wellington bus drivers picketed the Kilbirnie depot during their 24-hour strike in April after pay negotiations with NZ Bus reached an impasse. The policy was intended to improve efficiency and reduce the need for government funding of public transport. But many in the industry say it has given an advantage to companies which pay drivers less. “They have to compete on labour, because it’s the only cost that isn’t fixed,” Tramways Union secretary Kevin O’Sullivan said. The petition calls on the Government to establish regional collective agreements, to ensure drivers are paid equitably regardless of which company wins public transport contracts.
Am I the only one who has issue with the fact that an illegal.
Am I the only one who has issue with the fact that an illegal bar advertises and encourages liquor distribution directly across from the Hamden high school? Who allowed anyone to even get a permit and license for something like this? The highly impressionable high school students spend class breaks Looking out the window at a bar? This bar has been defunct 14 years, isn’t it time to rethink the licensing and remove the outdoor signs? The property is in blight, and the advertising and liquor need to go.
Sixty-seven complete buses were coming for NZ Bus. A further 31 – which were just bus chassis – were coming for Tranzurban. Bus companies were wholly responsible for the decision to use CRRC, Blakeley said, and he first heard about CRRC’s alleged forced labour links through media reports. Blakeley has sought advice from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the regional council had launched an investigation that would involve getting legal advice. “We acknowledge that ethical procurement is emerging as an important issue, particularly with respect to significant international procurement. The integrity of the supply chain is paramount,” he said.
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State lawmakers on a House committee approved a major rewrite Tuesday of one of the most controversial bills of the 2021 legislative session. (Shutterstock)
Apr. 28, 2021
State lawmakers on a House committee approved a major rewrite Tuesday of one of the most controversial bills of the 2021 legislative session.
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Originally, House Bill 21-1232 would have created a two-phase path to a government-established, nonprofit-managed public option for health insurance. The Colorado Option would have kicked in, in phase two, if insurers failed in phase one to meet premium reduction targets for standardized insurance plans sold on the individual and small-group market.
The bill s sponsors scrapped the second phase the public option after weeks of extensive negotiations with groups representing hospitals, doctors and insurance carriers. Most of those groups switched from an opposed to neutral position with the amendment, according to Rep. Dylan Roberts, an Avon Democr