Nat. Party Conference Protest Ride 18-10-09

[retro asian]

Good stuff guys. Sorry I couldn't make it.

Has anyone forwarded photos + story from today to www.stuff.co.nz and tv3 e.tc?

[Hopeful Bastard]

Nice police turnout too! What did they think was gonna happen? You'd all get rowdy and throw your helmets at Keys car?

[chanceyy]

Top Effort guys & gals .. looks like some excellent learning curves that can only help the other protests, awesome that it was peaceful & well behaved

[Ixion]

A megaphone or two will be a must for the BIKOI

Sorry, I did ask if people could her, I'll shout a lot louder next time .

[wingnutt]

congratulations folks, sorry couldn't be there.


cheers,

[gijoe1313]

I'm just glad no ecilop sniper got me! Well done everyone who showed up! Sorry I couldn't hang around for the whole shizbang - great to see so many concerned citizens of two wheeled contraptions turn up.

Good to see that it was a positive experience (maybe not for the stressed out Centra staff members trying to herd cats!)

[Hanne]

And we DID mange to eyeball the PM and Deputy Dude, who arrived a bit after 11, and wave signs at them.

Fine state the country is in when even the PM isn't on time.

Nah, reckon Key was tipped off that Squiggles and Jafa were bringing some of the uni guys along so factored in SMC time just for those who find mornings a challenge

I was impressed with how this went, everyone well behaved and waving but certainly making our presence felt. Some nice pics up. I take it these have been forwarded to various media, anyone had any replies?

[gwigs]

Next time we need more signs and banners....
I was one of the few who brought one...
Anyhow here,s a couple of pics

[nothingflash]

Yep - good on all involved!

[dpex]

I got a bit tired of waiting around outside the Nat Party bun-fight hotel, so suggested we all go in for a coffee. Expecting resistence and found none, a number of us plonked in the hotel's coffee bar.

Cam Calder (list MP) came up to us and had the good grace to admit that backbenchers are as about as much use a cat-flap in an elephant house, then asked us to enumerate the issues. So I took the floor.

The following was the statement I made to him.

I'd be keen to know if most agree that this is the proper thrust of our argument.

1. The proposed levy increases are a cynical attack on an easily attacked group.

2. The proposed levy increases are iniquitous for the following reasons...

a. The injury statistics lump registered road bikes with trail bikes, farm bikes, quad bikes and race bikes together, yet of the entire group:

b. Only road bikes require registration, and

c. Only road bikes require a warrant of fitness, and

d. Only road-bike riders are subject to minimum age requirements, and

e. Only road-bike riders require a licence, and

f. Only road-bike riders are subject to drink-drive laws, and

e. Only road-bike riders come under the scrutiny of law-enforcement

Put another way, road-bike riders are required to register their bikes, maintain them up to warrant fitness standard, ride then no earlier than age fifteen, pass a licence process, not ride having consumed alcohol sufficient to put us over the legal limit.

On the other hand, the other groups which form a large part of the injury statistics are constrained by none of these rules. And none of that group are required to pay any ACC levy unless they are employed, and then such levy is the same as we all pay, before we pay road-bike ACC.

Therefore, the point that the proposed levy is iniquitous is clearly proven.

That it is cynical is demonstrated by the fact that road-bikers are the only type of the group subject to lawful scrutineers (the cops and local authority ticket issuers).

His reply?

'Gee. I've never thought about it that way. What you all need to do is put those points into submissions.' A response which left me in no doubt that Cam will be forever a back-bencher.

Whereupon I asserted, 'You'll excuse our cynicism about the value of submissions. I have sent at least ten to the ETS panel and never had one acknowledgement.'

With that he bugged out.

But do most of you agree with the foregoing?

BTW: I went back for the afternoon protest shift. There was me and Paturoa. No cops, no security. So me and Paturoa sat outside the main doors for an hour, intent on telling Jonny what we thought, and discovered he'd left ages ago.

Oh well. At least we were there to make a stand.

One slight giggle was watching the Nats emerge. They could all see us as they approached the exit doors from within, and all averted their eyes as they came out.

[oldrider]

Well done all of you and from me, a personal thank you, for representing me!

Ixion asks for more noise, where were all the Stebel horns, I ask myself?

I think it was a very good start, most people seem to see the folly of the ACC statistical claims!

Yes, you done good, as they say in the westerns. Thanks again, John.

[carver]

good on you boys, im proud of you all.

[Ixion]

..

Ixion asks for more noise, where were all the Stebel horns, I ask myself?

..

Trouble was, we all lined up along one sid eof the street , with the bikes parked up on the other side, to give a double presence (and also cover the chance of him sneaking in from the other direction.) But that meant that when the time came, we were on one side, our horns on the other. We wouldn't probably have had time to fiddle with ignition keys and blast the horn anyway, theywent past pretty fast.

[GOONR]

......But that meant that when the time came, we were on one side, our horns on the other. We wouldn't probably have had time to fiddle with ignition keys and blast the horn anyway, theywent past pretty fast.

But we do now know for next time

[klingon]

When we did the initial ride-through of the hotel grounds, it was the sounding of horns that caused poor Mr Centra Staffer to suffer his conniptions. It is an airport hotel and conference centre, full of jet-lagged tourists who probably demanded a refund after being woken up at 10am on a Sunday by those naughty bikers.

The logistical constraints of the location (and our developing relationship with the very co-operative boys in blue) meant that the bikes needed to be parked legally. If we had stayed beside our legally-parked bikes we would have been further away from Mr Key's car window when he arrived.

More banners/flags would have been good, and some portable noise-making contraptions.

Apart from that I think it worked really well.