TOMORROW: Angry truckies to clog city streets

[Soichiro]

I think it's also about actually having the gonads to protest at the state of this country, and the arrogance displayed by the agenda-ridden prats who are supposed to be there to run the place, not lord it over us. People with nuts are a rare commodity nowadays, pussy-whipped by a bunch of hard faced eco-thugs who aren't half the men their mothers were.

And that's just the women

Honestly, it's gone beyond a joke so just be grateful someone's prepared to stand up and say so, it's only one day and if it gives out a message then it has to be worth it. Finally some exciting times again.

Anyone who thinks my views are radical, well, tough, I come from a time when standing up for things was what you did. Sorry if that offends anyone, there's plenty of places to go live where you don't even have a right to do that.

Go tell them we're tired of their crap

[BUMP]

I support everything thats going to happen.

I dont care if im late to work, it will be worth it.

[d16a7]

Originally Posted by Tec' Wingz

But by blocking up the city and making my trip to work to 2-3 times longer and making me late; which means I have to either work later to earn the same amount of money I would usually earn working normal work hours or earn less than normal doesn't exactly inspire a lot of sympathy for truckers.

woop dee doo you have to leave to work early for one day or work late..
think of the truckies that start 4am every morning.. finish 6pm.. for deliveries to supermarkets.. (or even longer hours)

and then the drivers that drive at NIGHT for your freight.. and roadworks..

you should see the crap that truckies have to deal with day in day out.. and the crap owner drivers go through for little to no profit

my cousins profit is minimal for his business.. .. now add the extra RUC cost.. the stress.. the hours.. the mortgage.. the loan on the truck, the lack of being near the family.. its alot more at risk for screw all pay compared to the mortgage youd have for your house (if you have one) for the risk to be worth it.. and in the competitive market out there...

so i say to you suck it up for the day .. or call in sick..

mind you .. you probably wouldn't even care if food got more expensive.. due to this RUC increase..

get your head out of the sand.. we consumer at the bottom will end up paying for it all.. there is no way itl be able to be absorbed by the companies..

[G-FX]

I just had a mate come over from ozzie yesterday , he said they were complaining about the fuel going to $1.50... he then asked me how much fuel was here.. I said $2.16 - outright laughed and was glad he doesnt live here anymore

[SLOTEG]

go the truckies.

the guys i work for have 9 trucks on the palmy fleet and have gone thru 2 MILLION litres of diesel since january, and those are just concrete trucks that dont do many k's a day but the engines are on 12hrs usually at a stretch. our fuel is gotten from bp at a massive discount because we have our own fuel bowser at the yard but the fuel bill has gone up $40k in 4 months so far.

if your having a whinge about being late to work, go cry somewhere else emo kid, without the many trucks on our roads you wouldnt have cheap chinese goods at the warehouse to buy, no milk in your ponsonby latte and no grass that pretends to be lettuce in your overpriced lambton quay salad.
trucks keep this country ticking over and goods on our shelves, without the many many trucks delivering the goods everything would be so expensive that even basic goods would be out of reach of the lower income groups in this country.
this country is going down the shitter quickly, this wont be the last protest i bet

[STEVO7]

Originally Posted by SLOTEG

go the truckies.


if your having a whinge about being late to work, go cry somewhere else emo kid, without the many trucks on our roads you wouldnt have cheap chinese goods at the warehouse to buy, no milk in your ponsonby latte and no grass that pretends to be lettuce in your overpriced lambton quay salad.

Il second that!!

[Moclov]

Good shit I say.

On the individual level, yeah it's gonna inconvenience some people but it's a pretty selfish attitude to think you being late to work one day is more important than the livelihoods of everyone in the freight industry...

Take one for the team!

[STEVO7]

Originally Posted by Tec' Wingz

"we" as in the road transport industry or we as in everyone affected? Because the average consumer that doesn't work in the trucking industry e.g. me; WILL feel the increased cost of transport as well so technically we should all feel rather unhappy about this new tax.

But by blocking up the city and making my trip to work to 2-3 times longer and making me late; which means I have to either work later to earn the same amount of money I would usually earn working normal work hours or earn less than normal doesn't exactly inspire a lot of sympathy for truckers.

Wouldn't leaving something like this as an absoloute last resort to voice your opinion be a better option?

Hold on a minute aren't you a civil engineer? Shouldn't you be supporting this blockade as without trucks there is nothing for you to engineer

[Dionysus]

Originally Posted by Soichiro

Honestly, it's gone beyond a joke so just be grateful someone's prepared to stand up and say so, it's only one day and if it gives out a message then it has to be worth it. Finally some exciting times again.

Anyone who thinks my views are radical, well, tough, I come from a time when standing up for things was what you did.

Does all the hating make you tired?

If trucking's become so expensive, won't they do something else?

[SLOTEG]

Originally Posted by Dionysus

If trucking's become so expensive, won't they do something else?

lol @ that. what do u suggest the thousands upon thousands of professional drivers do? turn into barristas so you dont miss out on your morning latte?
without us the country is fucked. yes fucked. helen's precious new rail network does not have the capacity to take up even 10% of the road transport tonnage, the tracks are shit and the rolling stock is rubbish.
forcing operators off the road with the increasing costs WILL push the price of EVERYTHING up, as the majority of goods in nz are transported via road.
are you going to go down to the wharf to pick up your new plazma tv? or go directly to the farm and milk the cow for your latte milk?
this is what happens when you loose sight of what the general man on the street wants and needs and feels.

[mr_tec]

are you going to go down to the wharf to pick up your new plazma tv?

hmm i wonder if that would be cheaper ie "cut out the middle man" (or mans)

[Soichiro]

Originally Posted by Dionysus

Does all the hating make you tired?

It's hardly hating to have an opinion, or maybe it is to you if it doesn't happen to agree with yours if you really want to get personal. I say what I think, so do many others, beats sitting around saying you can't do anything.

Build a bridge and get over it.

[92Coupe]

Trucking companies take to the road over Road User Charges increase this Friday

For the first time ever trucking companies are taking national protest action. Trucking companies will protest in the major centres throughout New Zealand this Friday (July 4) over the Government’s increase in Road User Charges, by driving trucks into the city centre between 7.30 am and 9 am.

"Our members are outraged that the increases took effect immediately and that the Minister of Transport has imposed the increases without giving the month’s notice she promised," Road Transport Forum Chief Executive Officer Tony Friedlander says.

"We are also protesting at the timing of the increase. It could not be worse for our industry which is facing record fuel prices and other cost increases, or for the country as a whole as the economy heads into a recession.

"I have never known members to be so angry over any issue. The protest action will disrupt people going to work. We regret the inconvenience this may cause, but our members are convinced they have to take direct action to make the Government listen. We have tried talking to the Minister but this has not worked. Our members hope protest action will impress upon her the vulnerable state of businesses across the country and convince her that an undertaking once given must be kept."

The New Zealand trucking industry has never taken national protest action in its long history, so this decision to protest has not been taken lightly, Mr Friedlander says. "But members have finally had enough of the way this Government is treating them. We are a very moderate and responsible industry but we believe the Government is exploiting our willingness to be reasonable. We are now reluctantly protesting so that the Government will listen and treat our industry with commonsense and respect."

Further follow-up protest action may be taken if it is necessary, Mr Friedlander says.

[92Coupe]

Deliberate deception by Minister of Transport Annette King over increased Road User Charges

Trucking operators have been deliberately deceived by the Minister of Transport Annette King in announcing an immediate increase in Road User Charges, says Road Transport Forum Chief Executive Officer Tony Friedlander. "The Forum was assured by the Minister after last year’s increases that operators would be given a month’s notice of any increases in Road User Charges in future. This was confirmed in writing by her officials. The Minister undertook to change the law to allow notice to be given.

"Clearly our members cannot rely on the Minister and the Government to keep their word."

The Minister fully understands how much a Road User Charge increase without notice damages all operators, Mr Friedlander says. "We explained to her last year how the lag between an immediate increase in costs and being able to raise charge-out rates to cover them can drive some operators to the brink. She said she understood. So she obviously doesn’t care."

Operators are already struggling because of the downturn in the economy and historically high fuel prices. "For a number of operators this will be the last straw.

"The timing of this increase and the way it has been done mean the Minister could not have done more damage to our industry if she had deliberately tried. She should not underestimate how angry our members and the industry are."

Mr Friedlander says as well as inflicting real damage on the trucking industry, the increased costs of higher Road User Charges will inevitably flow through into higher costs for businesses and higher prices in supermarkets and for other goods. Road transport costs in New Zealand were already around 30% higher than in Australia, in large part because of taxes on the industry. This increase in Road User Charges will make the disparity worse. "The Government has obviously lost touch with ordinary New Zealanders and the pressures they are facing in their businesses and their family life."
Correspondence with Minister and officials attached



"This year $847 million has been budgeted by Government for maintenance and upgrading of state highways and local roads. Treasury estimated it will collect $867 million in Road User Charges this year, before these latest increases.


"The Forum calculated that heavy trucks will contribute around $630 million of these Road User Charges, again before the increase came in. That’s 75% of the total maintenance and upgrade budget being paid by less than 3% of the vehicles on the road. Trucks are already meeting their fair share of roading costs. But we are not suggesting trucks should pay any less, we just believe there are fairer and more efficient ways to collect their contribution."

[VTAKYO]

God knows what it will take for the Government to realise they are driving this country under. Life is becoming harder, and survival instinct will drive people to do what it takes to survive; ie, steal. With all these extra taxes I don't see their effect. Instead of taxing for ACC, how about investing extra money in driver training to try reduce the number of crashes? And with the road tax, I don't see the quality of our roads improving. In fact, the last few roads I have seen been done are utter ratshit and after 3 months are developing serious potholes. I hit one the other night in pouring rain, which was in the middle of a big puddle. Lucky the large amount of water in it seems to cushion it somewhat, as driving past it the next day when it was dry made me realise how serious it actually was (near the crematorium on Johns Rd for anybody who knows Christchurch).

[mr_tec]

In fact, the last few roads I have seen been done are utter ratshit and after 3 months are developing serious potholes

i have to admit the last past years roadworks seem to of gotten a lot worse, its like cheap replicas of real roads except they wear or bog alot quicker, maybe they need to pack the ground a bit better altho the government are blaming all this on the truckers.

but i thought everyone knew this was coming of the RUC? ie since 1st of july regos went up?

i also think on the end of annette kings statement of a "promise" she needed to yell YAAHHH TRICK YA!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Tec' Wingz]

Isn't telling others "tough...it's only one day...get over it" the exact attitude that you want the government to change? They're simply saying to truckies "tough...its only a few cents...get over it".

I didn't I say I disagree with the strikes.

I was merely pointing out that there lacks any real statements in the media that tells the general public exactly WHY this is going ahead. Even when I tried to find out and read articles I couldn't be sure of the real agenda and I had to ask (which I'm thankful 92coupe was calm enough to explain). Is it really so offensive to want to know WHY? I would've thought that would be a major point to push forward in any protest.

And yes I work as a civil engineer. And from what I recall from my pavement design lectures, big trucks causes a lot more damage to road surfaces and sub-surfaces than cars. From that I understand the reasoning behind the new taxes. But I don't agree with the unfair and bias way they've implemented it. Much like the boyracer legislation and all the other crap laws that has been rushed out of parliament.

[92Coupe]

happy to help out,
more info can be found here
Transport Facts
Media & Publications
have a read though here and you will see its been a on going fight

[eg69]

Originally Posted by F1ERCE

Now where's my 50 bucks man you know you owe me.

lol

[David R]

I got got a phone call from my GF saying she'd just got onto the motorway at greenlane (about 7:15) and there was hardly a car on there. She must have been about 1 minute in front of the convoy which had the motorway blocked and was crawling at 10kmh!!

Good on them, as Soichiro said, its about time someone showed some balls and says enough is enough.

[SLOTEG]

yep watching it on tv3 now, the convoys are rolling into the cities as i type.
auckland motorway at greenlane/ellerslie looks fucked

go hard boys!

[gmeister]

Wow, that was the quickest I've ever gotten to work

[grandell]

Wow there are hardly any cars in the centre of Welly! I was watching the trucks from Everton Tce as they made their way to the Terrace tunnel... awesome sight pics to come!

[Moclov]

Originally Posted by SLOTEG

no milk in your ponsonby latte

Originally Posted by SLOTEG

no grass that pretends to be lettuce in your overpriced lambton quay salad.

Originally Posted by SLOTEG

turn into barristas so you dont miss out on your morning latte?

Originally Posted by SLOTEG

are you going to go down to the wharf to pick up your new plazma tv?

Originally Posted by SLOTEG

go directly to the farm and milk the cow for your latte milk?

Seriously dude, do yourself a favour and give the "I'm a man's man, living in the 21st century is for girls and poofters!" thing a rest. You're no Collin Meads, in fact I believe up until recently you lived in Auckland and drove a Toyota Starlet around for a living? The only time I've seen you at a meet you were wrapped up in a childrens cuddly blanket...

I agree with your sentiments about this protest, but how you're choosing to illustrate your point grinds my gears