Kerre Woodham: I don't have a problem with road tolls

I may not have been flying to Brazil, but it took me almost as long to get from the North Shore to Auckland city on Friday night.

There was a serious crash just before the Harbour Bridge and as fate would have it, I was due to meet friends to go to the Chelsea Handler show. Had I known what Chelsea Handler was going to be like, I wouldn't have made the effort. I'm sure she was all very risky and shocking and wowseballs when she first came on the scene, but it was all a bit dull really.

Dr Matthew Birchall: Why we need a User-Pays model to fund transport infrastructure

How New Zealand funds and finances infrastructure is a billion-dollar question. In Budget 2024, the Government forecasts that more than $68 billion will be spent on infrastructure over the next five years – a significant capital investment in roads, rail and other projects. Given the sums involved, it matters how this money is spent.

Unfortunately, the recent past paints a grim picture of New Zealand’s ability to invest wisely in infrastructure. The New Zealand Infrastructure Commission notes that despite spending around 5.5 percent of GDP on public infrastructure—higher than Australia and the OECD median—New Zealand ranks near the bottom 10 percent of high-income countries for infrastructure efficiency.

Point of Order: The Govt puts the brakes on its spending....

.......in one part of the country, at least – by introducing a road toll

Taxpayers who increasingly are being pressed to hand over the readies for the Government to provide “free” services will have noted two articles in the newly launched The Post this morning. In one article, the $5 prescription charges fee is described as “inhumane”; in another, the newspaper delves into why some women get free pregnancy scans while others face hefty bills.

If the Government buckle, those services will become “free”.