Responding to an espousal on ‘Cycleways and parking issues’ at ODT Online:
DCC’s +$47M cycleways project
Submitted by ej kerr on Thu, 14/11/2013 – 11:13pm.
Cr MacTavish has better things to do. She knows it. Her job
as a city councillor is to take the air out of her various
tyres and acknowledge that her loose-assemblage greenwash
‘political party’ should stop its spendthrift ways. Far
better that they bend over backwards on quickly retiring the
council’s +$623M consolidated debt. A harder workout than
cruising on SH1 with the wind up their tails.
****
Hype O’Thermia kindly forwards this link for serious entertainment…
Published on 13 Nov 2013. ClarkeandDawe.
An Honest Assessment, Project by Project
“Tony Abbott. Head Prefect.” Originally aired on ABC TV: 14/11/2013.
ABCTV: For 25 years, John Clarke and Bryan Dawe have been engaged in discourse on a range of issues. These interviews appear each week on television, radio and online and several collections have been released on CD, DVD and in book form. Every Thursday a fresh interview is loaded and fired into the blithersphere. It can be seen at mrjohnclarke.com, their YouTube site or the Facebook page.
More Clarke and Dawe at Quiz on politics
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Related Posts and Comments:
14.11.13 Cycle lane explosions and puncture kits (SPOKES grenades launch)
8.11.13 Dunedin Separated Cycle Lane Proposal [how to make a submission]
5.11.12 DCC, NZTA: Cycle lanes controversy
19.10.13 Cycle lobby games and media tilts
24.9.13 Mediocrity and lack of critical awareness at DCC [council reports]
8.7.13 Bloody $tupid cycleways and Cull’s electioneering . . . [route maps]
28.3.13 DCC DAP 2013/14: Portobello Harington Point Road Improvements
26.2.13 DCC binge spending alert: Proposed South Dunedin cycle network
22.2.13 DCC: Council meeting agenda and reports for 25 February 2013
31.1.13 Who? 2010 electioneering
21.11.12 Safe cycling -Cr Fliss Butcher
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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr
What if? Dunedin... 
Sustainable Jinty commented in the ODT article referred to and said It’s an unfortunate urban myth that the DCC intends to spend $47M on cycleways, which seems to have originated from this article which double-counted the cost of a bunch of projects. I’ve asked staff to send through the breakdown and will post again here when I have the full details in front of me.
Here we see her claiming that the $47 million is a myth and that it has been wrongly calculated. She says this while not having the actual figures and not even knowing where it came from.
The figure actually came from the DCC at a forum in May this year involving the DCC and the NZTA ODT: City to lead country in cycle safety. We were told:
Dunedin is set to lead the country in cycle safety.
Projects worth more than $47 million will form a cycle network unlike any other within urban New Zealand, those at a forum in Dunedin heard last night. Mayor Dave Cull welcomed the almost 100 people present and explained why cycle infrastructure deserved significant investment.
It is clear that Jinty lied to us about the double counting. The figures are in the article, and there is no double counting. There is also no double counting in Jinty’s figures, because she doesn’t have any. Her attempt to discredit and minimize this estimated cost of bicycle projects has failed. Note how she re-interprets the claim as being DCC-only spending, whereas the claim has always been DCC + NZTA spending (Straw man). Richard Thomson on Radio Dunedin has been up to the same mischief (12/11/13). I say “mischief” but these statements could be offences against the Financial Reporting Act or other legislation. In any case this is very disappointing because the misinformation seems intentional. Desperation breeds dishonesty.
JimmyJones, I looked upon Cr MacTavish’s comment on the $47 million (in reply to a comment I made at ODT)… with sheer incredulity. I couldn’t believe what I was reading so didn’t even bother to reply.
However, glad you brought it up. You correctly place the councillor’s comment in context here and of course (!!!) what she says does not shine in a pure angelic or intelligent light. The quality of her ‘homework’ has dropped out the bottom, as ’twere.
Well done, JJ.
John Clarke (Fred Dagg) and Bryan Dawe are geniuses (genii?) at the comedic putdown of Politicians.
Their brilliant exposes of politicians and in particular the politics of the Olympics were fantastic and remarkably prescient.
The problem is that the punters watch, enjoy the humour and then completely forget the message.
Imagine Fred on Dunedin, the peccadilloes of B-P, Acklin, Guest, all exposed on the comedy hour—
And as a result they elect the brunt of their wit,
Abbott, Howard, et al.
What it tells you is that in politics, that all publicity is good publicity.
It is only a matter of time before
Jack the ripper, Michael Swann and the pedophile of Blenheim will be elected to represent the populace.
If democracy is the best system of a bad lot, is there not a way to ensure that the best known are not the first elected?
Tell NZTA one number and hope they’ll put in a big lump of $$$.
Tell the ratepayers another number and hope they’ll take it, well, at least take it till construction passes the point of no return……
Sounds like bog standard dcc practice from what I’ve seen.
It’s going to be very difficult to get the councillors to confront and limit the debt if they have no construct on the quantum!!