Kickboxers in action

Ok. I admit it. I am easily amused.

Huntly - The Ugliest Town in New Zealand

Huntly is a truly ugly place. On one side of the town they have a lovely river on the other side of which is a huge coal fired power station. On the other side is what looks like an ugly open cast coal mine. The town planners have succeeded in cutting the town off from any passing traffic so all you get when driving through is a lengthy view of an industrial area. Truly horrible!

Here is a five minute video of the trip through Huntly. Highlights include the lovely coal train parked up next to the traffic lights and the twin chimneys of the power station.

The great NZ rates ripoff?

The rural dwellers in this story piss me off. They claim they are subsidising urban dwellers because they don't get the same services. However, if urban dwellers were not subsidising rural dwellers then there would be no usable roads in rural areas. The subsidy thing goes both ways. Farmers and other country folk who think that they pay more than their fair share of rates should think about this a bit more.

In the same way, their complaints about having to subsidise sewerage schemes are also unjustified. Beside the above cross subsidisation there is also the public good to think about. Yes, farmers don't use sewerage systems (except for when their septic tanks are cleaned out) but it is in the public good for urban areas to have good, working, efficient sewerage systems. For one thing, it reduces the long term costs on public health and everyone benefits both financially and health wise through this.

If rural people want to have rate subsidies removed then they need to be prepared to cover the true costs of living in rural areas.

Full NZ Herald Article:
The great NZ Rates ripoff