Media release 24.3.04

RAM will cut through ARC's car chaos and political chaos

"The tug-of-war between ARC councillors over who should sit on the regional transport committee reflects the continual infighting inside the Auckland Regional Council," said Grant Morgan, spokesperson for RAM - Residents Action Movement.

Mr Morgan was referring to the ARC's recent split vote to put all 13 ARC councillors onto the transport committee, which snuck through because key members of the ARC's ruling faction were absent from the vote. Now the ruling faction are moving to reverse this vote at the next ARC meeting.

"RAM is going to cut through all these divisions on the ARC by standing a full team of candidates against the ARC's ruling faction in this October's election. The ruling faction is made up of ten corporate councillors who were behind the huge ARC rate rises. They're now refusing to openly oppose the insane Eastern Motorway, which is going to waste $4 billion, denying essential money for a badly-needed expansion of public transport."

"RAM is now working out the details of a visionary public transport strategy which will permanently fix Auckland's gridlock for half the cost of the Eastern Motorway. Our strategy will not only cut through the car chaos, but also the political chaos at the ARC. So watch this space," said Mr Morgan.

ENDS

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>