The new Minister of Transport has opened the door for public consultation on at least some of the speed limit changes the government said would be automatic.
Announcing the changes to speed limits last week, Transport Minister Chris Bishop issued two lists - one containing 49 stretches of state highway where there would be public consultation on whether to up the limits and one of 38 areas that would automatically return to higher speed limits.
I was considering responding to the consultation but only 3 small sections of the Napier-Taupo are included and I don’t really see what the point is. They’ve made the bulk of the most dangerous stretch of highway 100km/h with no consultation:
Could you not respond and say how you think all of it should be 80? Then it’s on the record and if enough people do it they might consider it or grow the 80km/h sections. They seem to be starting to listen to criticism.
For as much as I’d like to pile on NACT, as both a public service employee who’s nearly lost their job, and many friends who did and remain jobless,
This seems pretty sensible. Acknowledging they got some of the things wrong and getting community feedback.
I’m curious if the new minister came in and actually listened to the advice. It’s interesting that this happened straight after the last minister got moved (promoted?).
I have more faith that Bishop listens to advice than Brown. The latter seems a lot more stubborn about just doing what the lobby has paid for, or what will “own the libs” than what’s sensible.
Though I wonder if this is more that they’ve seen stats showing how much 80km/h reduced crashes, injuries & deaths and now want to be able to say well it was the public that decided, not us.
Yes it is quite possible they open consultation on small sections, then they can say they consulted with the public whenever speed limits come up.
I have this theory.
Right wing voters stop hearing things after they hear what they want to hear. For example in the US Elon put out a statement that USAID spent fifty million dollars sending condoms to HAMAS and Trump followed up by saying Hamas was using condoms to make bombs. Once MAGA heard that they stopped listening to all the fact checking that came out afterwards saying it wasn’t true and that Israel wasn’t allowing anything into Gaza let alone fifty million dollars worth of condoms.
There are many similar stories around Brexit in the UK.
I think the same thing is happening here. National says they are going to raise all the speed limits. The right wing in this country stopped listening after that and now they won’t hear or care that they didn’t raise all the limits. They will go to the polls believing they raised all the limits and they “won”.
le
It seems it wasn’t as popular as they had thought.
No no, it’s the people who are wrong.
