Greg Bond
@docgregb.bsky.social
Squeaky wheel.
Older, but still not right.
🩺 🚲 ☕️ 🚉 🏙️
📍Pōneke, Aotearoa NZ
Older, but still not right.
🩺 🚲 ☕️ 🚉 🏙️
📍Pōneke, Aotearoa NZ
Reposted by Greg Bond
Wouldn’t it be great if NZers and their mouthpieces cared as much about urban light rail, bike lanes, double tracking rail corridors, coastal shipping and other normal country things as they do the opening of IKEA? Am not an IKEA hater but this whole thing is giving corporate cucked country vibes.
December 4, 2025 at 7:48 AM
Wouldn’t it be great if NZers and their mouthpieces cared as much about urban light rail, bike lanes, double tracking rail corridors, coastal shipping and other normal country things as they do the opening of IKEA? Am not an IKEA hater but this whole thing is giving corporate cucked country vibes.
Wellington’s new IKEA *sucks*.
Too smøll.
Too smøll.
December 4, 2025 at 7:30 AM
Wellington’s new IKEA *sucks*.
Too smøll.
Too smøll.
If it’s not nails in the bike lanes, it’s attempting to maim mountain biking kids.
The person(s) doing these things really & to get a grip on their attitude and actions towards people using bikes.
And perhaps some others could dial back the anti-cycling rhetoric too.
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
The person(s) doing these things really & to get a grip on their attitude and actions towards people using bikes.
And perhaps some others could dial back the anti-cycling rhetoric too.
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
'Extreme concerns' as vandals block Wellington cycle path with planks
A champion cyclist is "disgusted" by a spate of vandalism in Wellington's Town Belt which appears to be targeting mountain bikers.
www.rnz.co.nz
December 2, 2025 at 4:58 AM
If it’s not nails in the bike lanes, it’s attempting to maim mountain biking kids.
The person(s) doing these things really & to get a grip on their attitude and actions towards people using bikes.
And perhaps some others could dial back the anti-cycling rhetoric too.
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
The person(s) doing these things really & to get a grip on their attitude and actions towards people using bikes.
And perhaps some others could dial back the anti-cycling rhetoric too.
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
Reposted by Greg Bond
Yes that is entirely the point.
Force user-pays on everybody so that the wealthy can have a nice society that the poor aren't able to participate in but have to prop up.
Force user-pays on everybody so that the wealthy can have a nice society that the poor aren't able to participate in but have to prop up.
Rates caps may mean more expensive parking, libraries and pools, mayors say
Councils might consider raising fees for things like pools, recreation centres and other community facilities, Wellington mayor Andrew Little says.
www.rnz.co.nz
December 1, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Yes that is entirely the point.
Force user-pays on everybody so that the wealthy can have a nice society that the poor aren't able to participate in but have to prop up.
Force user-pays on everybody so that the wealthy can have a nice society that the poor aren't able to participate in but have to prop up.
Reposted by Greg Bond
'why don't we just put a cap on the rates increases' is not a serious response. It just isn't. It's adolescent (perjorative) at best.
'I would simply just not raise the rates' is adolescent (complimentary) shit posting, but the irony and snark is inherent to the format.
'I would simply just not raise the rates' is adolescent (complimentary) shit posting, but the irony and snark is inherent to the format.
December 1, 2025 at 6:02 AM
'why don't we just put a cap on the rates increases' is not a serious response. It just isn't. It's adolescent (perjorative) at best.
'I would simply just not raise the rates' is adolescent (complimentary) shit posting, but the irony and snark is inherent to the format.
'I would simply just not raise the rates' is adolescent (complimentary) shit posting, but the irony and snark is inherent to the format.
Fascinating RNZ Pacific article about the ruinous ripple effects of privatising PNG’s govt-run roads department.
Reads like a parable for our times, and for our motu as well.
How a World Bank funding condition in 1995 helped break Papua New Guinea's roads system www.rnz.co.nz/internationa...
Reads like a parable for our times, and for our motu as well.
How a World Bank funding condition in 1995 helped break Papua New Guinea's roads system www.rnz.co.nz/internationa...
December 1, 2025 at 9:09 AM
Fascinating RNZ Pacific article about the ruinous ripple effects of privatising PNG’s govt-run roads department.
Reads like a parable for our times, and for our motu as well.
How a World Bank funding condition in 1995 helped break Papua New Guinea's roads system www.rnz.co.nz/internationa...
Reads like a parable for our times, and for our motu as well.
How a World Bank funding condition in 1995 helped break Papua New Guinea's roads system www.rnz.co.nz/internationa...
Reposted by Greg Bond
Isnt it ironic.
This govt squanders billions of our taxes on multi lane highways. Supposedly to"improve traffic flow"...
...and a couple of $10K cars can take out all movement for best part of a day.
Maybe those billions should be invested in rebuilding our rail network & more public transport?
This govt squanders billions of our taxes on multi lane highways. Supposedly to"improve traffic flow"...
...and a couple of $10K cars can take out all movement for best part of a day.
Maybe those billions should be invested in rebuilding our rail network & more public transport?
November 29, 2025 at 12:24 AM
Isnt it ironic.
This govt squanders billions of our taxes on multi lane highways. Supposedly to"improve traffic flow"...
...and a couple of $10K cars can take out all movement for best part of a day.
Maybe those billions should be invested in rebuilding our rail network & more public transport?
This govt squanders billions of our taxes on multi lane highways. Supposedly to"improve traffic flow"...
...and a couple of $10K cars can take out all movement for best part of a day.
Maybe those billions should be invested in rebuilding our rail network & more public transport?
4th least-corrupt country…. yeah right.
‘Fossil fuel companies were given privileged, insider access to confidential drafts of legislation during a two-year campaign to weaken oil and gas regulation and overturn the offshore exploration ban’ - RNZ
My Stuff #cartoon today #nzpol #FossilFuels
My Stuff #cartoon today #nzpol #FossilFuels
November 27, 2025 at 8:29 PM
4th least-corrupt country…. yeah right.
Great thread about the hot mess our “associate” education minister is creating in our schools (it’s my belief that he’s largely behind this; Stanford is just, like her party leader, a puppet).
Fear not, our busy “associate” health minister is also going about making a hot mess in general practice.
Fear not, our busy “associate” health minister is also going about making a hot mess in general practice.
What the hell is going on with the new New Zealand school curriculum, and what does it have to do with the Atlas Network? (No, really!)
A thread:
#nzpol #kikorangi
A thread:
#nzpol #kikorangi
November 26, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Great thread about the hot mess our “associate” education minister is creating in our schools (it’s my belief that he’s largely behind this; Stanford is just, like her party leader, a puppet).
Fear not, our busy “associate” health minister is also going about making a hot mess in general practice.
Fear not, our busy “associate” health minister is also going about making a hot mess in general practice.
Proposing “neo-feudal” as a term replacing “neoliberal” to describe the current zeitgeist of the tech bros, RW think tanks, and their subjugated political spokes-suits.
November 26, 2025 at 7:29 AM
Proposing “neo-feudal” as a term replacing “neoliberal” to describe the current zeitgeist of the tech bros, RW think tanks, and their subjugated political spokes-suits.
Can’t beat Wellington…
November 24, 2025 at 10:35 PM
Can’t beat Wellington…
So, for here’s how Black Friday works:
1). Kids water bottle: $14.99
2). Get a black sharpie and cross that price out.
3). Re-price at $20.99 (+40%)
4.) Sell in the Black Friday week “sale” as half-price ($10.50)*
*Only if another item is purchased. Either way you have to spend more than $14.99.
1). Kids water bottle: $14.99
2). Get a black sharpie and cross that price out.
3). Re-price at $20.99 (+40%)
4.) Sell in the Black Friday week “sale” as half-price ($10.50)*
*Only if another item is purchased. Either way you have to spend more than $14.99.
November 24, 2025 at 5:59 AM
So, for here’s how Black Friday works:
1). Kids water bottle: $14.99
2). Get a black sharpie and cross that price out.
3). Re-price at $20.99 (+40%)
4.) Sell in the Black Friday week “sale” as half-price ($10.50)*
*Only if another item is purchased. Either way you have to spend more than $14.99.
1). Kids water bottle: $14.99
2). Get a black sharpie and cross that price out.
3). Re-price at $20.99 (+40%)
4.) Sell in the Black Friday week “sale” as half-price ($10.50)*
*Only if another item is purchased. Either way you have to spend more than $14.99.
Once again begging that small cohort of people who struggle with it to figure out what a 1.5m gap looks like between the left side of their vehicle and a bike.
And if there’s not enough room to pass, then wait like 5 seconds until there is.
Please.
www.nzta.govt.nz/roadcode/gen...
And if there’s not enough room to pass, then wait like 5 seconds until there is.
Please.
www.nzta.govt.nz/roadcode/gen...
November 23, 2025 at 10:56 PM
Once again begging that small cohort of people who struggle with it to figure out what a 1.5m gap looks like between the left side of their vehicle and a bike.
And if there’s not enough room to pass, then wait like 5 seconds until there is.
Please.
www.nzta.govt.nz/roadcode/gen...
And if there’s not enough room to pass, then wait like 5 seconds until there is.
Please.
www.nzta.govt.nz/roadcode/gen...
Reposted by Greg Bond
"The automobile has dissolved the living tissue of the city. Its appetite for space is absolutely insatiable; moving & parked, it devours urban land, leaving buildings as mere islands of habitable space in a sea of dangerous and ugly traffic."
—James Marston Fitch, NY Times, 1960.
—James Marston Fitch, NY Times, 1960.
November 22, 2025 at 5:46 PM
"The automobile has dissolved the living tissue of the city. Its appetite for space is absolutely insatiable; moving & parked, it devours urban land, leaving buildings as mere islands of habitable space in a sea of dangerous and ugly traffic."
—James Marston Fitch, NY Times, 1960.
—James Marston Fitch, NY Times, 1960.
Counter-opinion: yes they can.
Think of it as being like having several company directorships at the same time.
Or being the landlord for several rental properties at the same time.
Think of it as being like having several company directorships at the same time.
Or being the landlord for several rental properties at the same time.
Opinion: Uber drivers can keep several apps open and accept trips from whichever app riders choose. But they cannot logically be the employees of all of those apps at the same time, as the Supreme Court seems to think
If this is employment law, the law needs to change
newsroom.co.nz
November 20, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Counter-opinion: yes they can.
Think of it as being like having several company directorships at the same time.
Or being the landlord for several rental properties at the same time.
Think of it as being like having several company directorships at the same time.
Or being the landlord for several rental properties at the same time.
Good work Kiwirail / Great Journeys of NZ: I’d love to make more climate-friendly travel choices!
Shame that rail services between cities here are so darned infrequent (every second day Wellington to Auckland?!), slow, and incredibly expensive.
So close to getting it.
Shame that rail services between cities here are so darned infrequent (every second day Wellington to Auckland?!), slow, and incredibly expensive.
So close to getting it.
November 20, 2025 at 8:21 PM
Good work Kiwirail / Great Journeys of NZ: I’d love to make more climate-friendly travel choices!
Shame that rail services between cities here are so darned infrequent (every second day Wellington to Auckland?!), slow, and incredibly expensive.
So close to getting it.
Shame that rail services between cities here are so darned infrequent (every second day Wellington to Auckland?!), slow, and incredibly expensive.
So close to getting it.
Reposted by Greg Bond
Another 6 month review will not deliver the Golden Mile, just like the reviews before it. This city is stuck in managed decline and we desperately need to build our way out of it
November 20, 2025 at 1:35 AM
Another 6 month review will not deliver the Golden Mile, just like the reviews before it. This city is stuck in managed decline and we desperately need to build our way out of it
Reposted by Greg Bond
I'm really happy that The Bad Newsletter has a new home at Emily Writes Weekly, and really unhappy that my first piece is about the ultra-munted weirdness that the Chaos Coalition is doing to the new school curriculum www.emilywrites.co.nz/what-the-hel...
What the HELL is happening with the new school curriculum?
Over and over again, I've had emails and messages from parents asking me about the new curriculum. I tried to get my head around it, but just had more questions than answers. So I teamed up with my fr...
www.emilywrites.co.nz
November 19, 2025 at 4:27 AM
I'm really happy that The Bad Newsletter has a new home at Emily Writes Weekly, and really unhappy that my first piece is about the ultra-munted weirdness that the Chaos Coalition is doing to the new school curriculum www.emilywrites.co.nz/what-the-hel...
Potaka:
“Motels are far too luxurious for children, and far too expensive for us to fund.
We’re striving for a ‘tent generation’ of children instead. Cars may be used as emergency housing whilst we identify suitable DOC campgrounds…
(mumbles)
…where they’re out of sight and out of mind.”
“Motels are far too luxurious for children, and far too expensive for us to fund.
We’re striving for a ‘tent generation’ of children instead. Cars may be used as emergency housing whilst we identify suitable DOC campgrounds…
(mumbles)
…where they’re out of sight and out of mind.”
November 19, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Potaka:
“Motels are far too luxurious for children, and far too expensive for us to fund.
We’re striving for a ‘tent generation’ of children instead. Cars may be used as emergency housing whilst we identify suitable DOC campgrounds…
(mumbles)
…where they’re out of sight and out of mind.”
“Motels are far too luxurious for children, and far too expensive for us to fund.
We’re striving for a ‘tent generation’ of children instead. Cars may be used as emergency housing whilst we identify suitable DOC campgrounds…
(mumbles)
…where they’re out of sight and out of mind.”
Apropos of discussions about @andrewlittlenz.bsky.social and WCC reviewing the Golden Mile upgrades.
I’m in Waitohi Johnsonville Library - it’s a fantastic, public, space to be in.
Lambton Quay & Courtney Place can also be made into fantastic (or at least better than now) spaces for people to be.
I’m in Waitohi Johnsonville Library - it’s a fantastic, public, space to be in.
Lambton Quay & Courtney Place can also be made into fantastic (or at least better than now) spaces for people to be.
November 18, 2025 at 10:37 PM
Apropos of discussions about @andrewlittlenz.bsky.social and WCC reviewing the Golden Mile upgrades.
I’m in Waitohi Johnsonville Library - it’s a fantastic, public, space to be in.
Lambton Quay & Courtney Place can also be made into fantastic (or at least better than now) spaces for people to be.
I’m in Waitohi Johnsonville Library - it’s a fantastic, public, space to be in.
Lambton Quay & Courtney Place can also be made into fantastic (or at least better than now) spaces for people to be.
Reposted by Greg Bond
My cartoon in today's www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3608...
Simeon's dream of being a top ranking gladiator is realised here in cartoon form... The reality is, people are being hurt unnecessarily for profit.
#NzPol #Cartoon #Caricature #SimeonBrown #Government
Simeon's dream of being a top ranking gladiator is realised here in cartoon form... The reality is, people are being hurt unnecessarily for profit.
#NzPol #Cartoon #Caricature #SimeonBrown #Government
November 17, 2025 at 5:19 PM
My cartoon in today's www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3608...
Simeon's dream of being a top ranking gladiator is realised here in cartoon form... The reality is, people are being hurt unnecessarily for profit.
#NzPol #Cartoon #Caricature #SimeonBrown #Government
Simeon's dream of being a top ranking gladiator is realised here in cartoon form... The reality is, people are being hurt unnecessarily for profit.
#NzPol #Cartoon #Caricature #SimeonBrown #Government
Looking forward to all our pro-parking councillors wholesale rejecting this proposal to turn Vivian Street into a motorway.
After the business apocalypse apparently caused on Thorndon Quay for a cycle way, there can be no way they’d let this happen.
Right?
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
After the business apocalypse apparently caused on Thorndon Quay for a cycle way, there can be no way they’d let this happen.
Right?
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
November 17, 2025 at 3:43 AM
Looking forward to all our pro-parking councillors wholesale rejecting this proposal to turn Vivian Street into a motorway.
After the business apocalypse apparently caused on Thorndon Quay for a cycle way, there can be no way they’d let this happen.
Right?
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
After the business apocalypse apparently caused on Thorndon Quay for a cycle way, there can be no way they’d let this happen.
Right?
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
Yes.
Build safe infrastructure, not just to our city centres, but around schools & neighbourhood shopping areas too.
And have people-protecting speed limits along urban streets, especially where dedicated bike lanes can’t be practically built, so when collisions do happen they’re less dangerous.
Build safe infrastructure, not just to our city centres, but around schools & neighbourhood shopping areas too.
And have people-protecting speed limits along urban streets, especially where dedicated bike lanes can’t be practically built, so when collisions do happen they’re less dangerous.
Decades ago, I supported mandatory helmet laws for people riding bikes. Then I was convinced by evidence and the bigger picture that such laws are actually counter-productive in many ways. This NZ article explains some.
I support helmets, but not mandatory helmet laws.
Build safe infrastructure.
I support helmets, but not mandatory helmet laws.
Build safe infrastructure.
David Seymour was right to question our compulsory helmet laws
There’s little evidence our mandatory cycle laws improve overall safety, and quite a bit of evidence suggesting they’re doing more harm than good.
thespinoff.co.nz
November 16, 2025 at 5:01 AM
Yes.
Build safe infrastructure, not just to our city centres, but around schools & neighbourhood shopping areas too.
And have people-protecting speed limits along urban streets, especially where dedicated bike lanes can’t be practically built, so when collisions do happen they’re less dangerous.
Build safe infrastructure, not just to our city centres, but around schools & neighbourhood shopping areas too.
And have people-protecting speed limits along urban streets, especially where dedicated bike lanes can’t be practically built, so when collisions do happen they’re less dangerous.
Simplistic ideological fixes from Simeon again.
All to avoid fixing underlying issues that create the demand.
How do they think an arbitrary target will be met when there’s not the workforce capacity?
And what do they think will happen to GPs not meeting targets & getting their funding cut?
All to avoid fixing underlying issues that create the demand.
How do they think an arbitrary target will be met when there’s not the workforce capacity?
And what do they think will happen to GPs not meeting targets & getting their funding cut?
November 15, 2025 at 7:43 PM
Simplistic ideological fixes from Simeon again.
All to avoid fixing underlying issues that create the demand.
How do they think an arbitrary target will be met when there’s not the workforce capacity?
And what do they think will happen to GPs not meeting targets & getting their funding cut?
All to avoid fixing underlying issues that create the demand.
How do they think an arbitrary target will be met when there’s not the workforce capacity?
And what do they think will happen to GPs not meeting targets & getting their funding cut?