“Christchurch Hospital has started rationing dialysis to two sessions per week from three because of a Government-imposed sinking lid on spending to ensure Crown spending to GDP gets down below 30%, 1News reported last night” #nzpol
Probably right! But most of the savings are from avoiding retail price for self-consumption, so wholesale price half the picture. Also, somewhat doubt the LCOE of installed solar will overwhelm the overall GWAP - my guess is cost of storage will dominate this (which will be hydro)
If this were for a similar benefit to road traffic you can bet there'd be an approved multi billion budget for this already.
Also, the graph you shared, doesn't this describe essentially a flat buy back rate for solar production on the wholesale market? And that this offers a cheaper source of power for retailers to access? I suppose that means power prices might not rise as much, so less relative gain from self-consump.
Most variable rates plans I've seen seem to claw back what they lose at night be charging even more during the day. Storage has questionable roi, except for HWC's but there is only so much HW you can use so the return is limited, even if load shifted with timers etc.
Yeah certainly there could be cheaper ways to save money on power, but let's assume we're talking about use-of-money comparisons without significant behaviour change. Load shifting then requires storage and access to variable rates...
Would be interested! Looking at solar now - guaranteed ~8-10ish % return on a more-expensive-than-minimum system for approx the next 30yrs... Pretty decent!
Insurance always has higher costs than benefits. The difference is typically just held as profit for the insurer.
Everyone still does it though, because the risks of not doing so are unbearable. In this case - potential loss of life for hundreds - a preventable national tragedy.
Very nice Darren - glad you got on board! I got to ride the temporary southerner during its most recent weekend revival and it took 6h exactly to stop in Dunedin, plus 4m to open the doors. Seems possible to get another hour out of it again. 7h on the Mainlander definitely able to reduce!
Would be great to move the regional railway station to a new site slightly north just next to riccarton road. About a billion busses down there to the city!
Photo of Newspaper Article. There is an image of a bicyclist riding towards the camera on a separated cycleway in the top right of the article. The text reads as below. Christchurch has been named the most bike-friendly city in the Asia-Oceania region. The accolade comes from the global Copenhagenize Index, produced every two years by Paris-based consultancy Copenhagenize with European Union funding. It considers aspects of cycling including infrastructure, traffic calming, safety, usage numbers, the number of women biking, the image of bikes, political commitment, advocacy, and urban planning. The index tracks how cities across the globe are making cycling safe, convenient, and mainstream. The accompanying report says “cycling is more than a means of transportation; it is a lens through which we can grasp how cities work.” While top in Asia-Oceania, Christchurch ranked 38th globally. The index’s top 10 cities were all in Europe, headed by Utrecht in the Netherlands with the Danish capital Copenhagen second. Second in Asia-Oceania was Tainwanese capital Taipei, with Wellington third in the region and 47th globally, and the only other New Zealand city to make the index. While Christchurch scored almost as high for cycling policy and support as the top European cities, it ranked considerably lower for safety and connectivity of infrastructure, and usage and reach. The report said that in Oceania, “New Zealand cities emerge as top performers, thanks to a comprehensive cycling policy framework”. “However, recent political shifts and tighter budgets have introduced uncertainty in infrastructure investment, raising concerns about long-term momentum.” Christchurch cycling advocate and transport engineer Glen Koorey was pleased by the recognition, but said the momentum needs to continue. Link to article for further reading (alt text run out of characters) https://www.thepress.co.nz/nz-news/360928143/christchurch-pedals-top-asia-oceania-bike-ranking
Another article in @thepress.co.nz today covering our cycleway network, great to see we are being recognised for our efforts in Christchurch!
Great start!!
Loving the nerding out in this article - and no, Shanti's not the only one!!
For anyone passionate about The Huia or commuter rail, Waikato Regional Council are looking for feedback on the service. Open to anyone. Share it around #nzpol #transit #nz yourvoicematters.waikatoregion.govt.nz/future-of-te...
#TicketingNews: Motu Move has launched on all Metro buses and ferries across Greater Christchurch (Christchurch, Selwyn and Waimakariri) on Monday morning.
Passengers can now pay a standard Metro fare using contactless debit/credit cards, Google Pay, Apple Pay and Metro cards.
Shared post from Christchurch City Council (original post on Facebook): The Antigua Street cycle connection, road and pipe upgrades are finished! With around 1100 cyclists travelling down Antigua Street each day, this is one of Christchurch's busiest cycle routes. The new connection features separated cycleways in both directions between Moorhouse Ave and St Asaph St and connects the Quarryman's Trail, Uni-Cycle as well as other central city lanes. This will make it nice and easy to get to Parakiore Recreation and Sport Centre by bike or scooter when it opens later in the year. A key part of the project was also upgrading the watermain pipes which had reached the end of their serviceable life. The road has also been resurfaced, and the western footpath has been widened and renewed, with new gardens adding the finishing touches to the area.
Photos of the new road layout, featuring cyclists and cars, the new rain gardens, and the smooth new seal.
Map of the area showing the new connection along Antigua St in red with yellow highlighting
Great to see the connection along Antigua Street, alongside Parakiore, completed 🚲🎉🫶
I think from memory the 29 City-Airport had contactless gear installed a wee while ago. Though it's not the only line running to the airport anymore so possibly not the one you got on - I've found the 8 more convenient generally.
Imagine if we could also get $44–54bn investment in rail to provide people with proper transport options and rectify a century-long imbalance in funding. Oh yeah, and the benefit/cost ratio of PT would well exceed these roads, many of which fail to have benefits exceeding their costs
The last time nz cpi went negative - ie prices actually dropped year on year - was a quarter century ago in 1999.
The time before that was 1946.
Roche's hypothetical doesn't really ever happen.
When you think about it, it's kind of funny how the best things we could *actually* do for roads and travel times in AoNZ is rebuild our rail network and massively increase funding for public transport, walking and cycling
Doctors cross ethical line says man who raised speed limits for no reason despite extensive evidence it would lead to more injuries and death.
www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
Here's the annual change in the number of people known to IRD by primary income source. You can see the tqax-paying population is not growing as much now that immigration has cooled. But, also clear, we are a long way from seeing growth in people with work as their primary income source. Grim. [3/3]
Ōtautahi / Chch procrastinators, join me in voting in the local body elections before midday tomorrow - drop off locations listed in the link www.newsline.ccc.govt.nz/news/story/t... #kikorangi
I'm warming to the guy.
Big infrastructure projects are great if you only count the benefits and none of the costs. That seems to be the position of infrastructure lobby group Infrastructure NZ, based on a report they released last week about the big motorway projects built in Wellington over the last decade.”
New bridge in the red zone looks epic. While Wellingtonians squabble interminably over their awful retro bridge, Christchurch gets stuck in and builds for the future. Powerful.
@sarainchch.bsky.social 👏
Fine analysis of the very tight battle for Christchurch Mayor by David Williams.
Read it before you vote - because the next mayor will set the city direction in important ways.
Mauger’s disdain for any method of transport other than cars will screw the city.
newsroom.co.nz/2025/09/12/f...
Mauger unilaterally foregoing generational funding for local PT infrastructure for an unspecified (but by his own account, much less valuable) favour from the then-transport-minister is an outrageous admission.
It ought to be disqualifying, yet he's seeking another term.
Imagine being so hostile to people to deny them free infrastructure. Vote for mayor's who want to improve their cities I say!
