Nick Smith Auckland Nat meeting open to public

[Max Headroom]

I received a very reasonable reply from Matthew via email a short time ago in response to his online article.

I have just sent him a challenge (politely worded!) to take a look at the issue of cross-subsidisation, since the vast majority of us who own bikes also own cars. ACC's view of motorcyclists as a stand-alone roaduser group is very shortsighted. Guys like SpankMe who only own bikes are in a minority, albeit a minority who almost always own multiple bikes with multiple registrations.

As the National party are slowly discovering after the last few evening meetings, we aren't all knuckle-dragging lowlifes . . .

[drummer]

I received a not so polite answer... he claims his article about us gatecrashing was edited by someone else and attributed to him...

Peter

[drummer]

And the answer just came in (this is the full quote of the e-mail)



Interesting comment on the I have nothing to do with things that are signed with my name

Edit: E-mailed him back, will keep you posted if he replies

Got the same reply... asked him if that was standard policy and whether he would sue the editor..

Peter

[drummer]

I've said it before, and i'll say it again. A man that CAN'T GET A TWO LETTER ACRONYM RIGHT, is a raging cocksniffer.

Really... and what was that in its finery? SS is my nickname for him... Cripes I hate explaining the bleeding obvious.

By the way you are on my ignore list but just HAD to see what drivel you posted this time.

Peter

[Ixion]

Some positive progress.

Email from Nick Smith

Replied to in similarly conciliatory tone

Read between the lines, I think.

[MSTRS:Me]

Some positive progress.

Email from Nick Smith

Replied to in similarly conciliatory tone

Read between the lines, I think.

He's not going to back down. And he's not going to do deals.
Fuck him. He's a cunt. And a liar.

[Reckless]

Reading between the lines he's telling you to bugger off on all topics except injury prevention. Well that's my take on it.

Here's the letter so you all don't have to open the word doc

Les,

I owe you an apology regarding your statement about BRONZ’s attitude to participating in improved programmes for motorcycle injury prevention and my response late into Monday night’s pretty cantankerous meeting.

Your email of 18 November was one of the many hundreds my office has received on motorcycles and was in the process of having a response prepared. I had not yet seen it.

I had taken from our previous discussion that BRONZ was not prepared to engage unless motorcycle levies were the same as for cars. This is clearly not going to happen. I took this pre-condition to mean that, in effect, you were not interested in engaging further. Your email does not set that pre-condition and I welcome that.

The Government is currently considering ACC’s recommendations. I understand BRONZ’s, and other bikers, strong views on the levies and will take this into account in my recommendations to Cabinet.

I am keen to work with BRONZ on the ongoing issue of injury prevention regardless of this decision and will be in touch to advance the issues you raise in your email.

Yours sincerely,

Nick Smith

I reckon its a done deal as far as they are concerned, the final figures have been set already by the Nats.
Nothing will change now unless there is a full scale uprising of more than just bikers!
My 2c

[flyingcrocodile46]

Some positive progress.

Email from Nick Smith

Replied to in similarly conciliatory tone

Read between the lines, I think.

The words are average but really don't mean anything when coming from him (How else could he respond). He has very little credibility in my book. He'll get my respect when he gives a concrete undertaking to set the levies the same as for cars or agrees to use ALL of any moderate excess (above the car rate) to fund practical prevention initiatives revolving around improving car driver awareness of motorcycles along with setting up some base line conditions to improve road surface monitoring and maintenance by Transit NZ and Councils, and start prosecuting Cow Cockies who currently shit all over our roads with impunity. Setting in place A program to enforce and monitor annual rider training sessions would also be of benefit.

[Ixion]

I am somewhat more inclined to see an olive branch.

The email strikes a very different note to when I spoke to him on Monday night. Perhaps, we might cogitate on why that might be?

I will reserve judgement. The political world is seldom straight forward , or transparent.

Of course, we are not going to get what we want. Surely no-one expected that so soon. And what the final levy is set at is not going to make us happy. Surely everyone expected that?

But , remember, we have set this as a campaign of years, not weeks.

Our battle plan for the immediate present must be to stem the enemies advance. This is our Marne (but with bikes instead of taxis) .

I am happy with that email, not so much because of what it says, but because of what it implies.

[Maha]

Reading between the lines he's telling you to bugger off on all topics except injury prevention. Well that's my take on it.

I reckon its a done deal as far as they are concerned, the final figures have been set already by the Nats.
Nothing will change now unless there is a full scale uprising of more than just bikers!
My 2c

Money well spent. I/We will keep at it though, we have come to far to just lay over and say ''Ah fuck it''.

[Reckless]

Money well spent. I/We will keep at it though, we have come to far to just lay over and say ''Ah fuck it''.

oh shit mate I agree entirely!
The reason my post stops there is because I was going to go on to say time to "ramp up" the fight a few notches. But didn't want to get told to settle down LOL!!!
I'm in for anything! Sorry for not making that clearer!

[StoneY]

Bottom line is BRONZ has an open channel to Nick again


However, I reckon we still have to keep up the protests, keep up the PR and start INCLUDING all the other affected groups

BIKEOI II can include Unions, Public Transport operators, transport groups (truckies face huge levy hikes too)

Now BIKEOI is a 'brand' as such, why limit it to bikers?
Lets get an event on for Feb

Aim for 15000 attendance
Who's in?

If THAT dont work, we do it again in June, and every 3 months till the Nats give in

Same rules as last time, but we go LOUDER
Was talking to head of security at Parliament....we wont be denied access

[short-circuit]

Had to see this one. If you didn't see me you were blind and deaf. I stood up and told my name... and even said I was an ex member of the Nats...

I saw you... not what I expected... but people never are out from behind their screens... funny isn't it.

Yes I saw you at in the meeting and heard your declarations - I said I didn't see you at the meeting place before hand where you could have set me straight on a few things.


And yes it is funny when you see people in person - that's why when you said someone was prank calling your "partner" I thought "Oh Bummer - definitely a cock smoker" (like his young MC friend).


Oh and if your prank caller isn't a Nat (although that kind of puerile beaviour wouldn't surprise me ), my next guess would be this guy

[caseye]

I hope you are right Les, about the ministers tone changing and some progress being made.
He has still not said anything to encourage me or any other motorcyclist to think that the levy's may well be coming back down.
I will wait patiently until we know what Is happening.

[Max Headroom]

I believe one of our biggest challenges lies in removing the current focus on the bikes and bringing it instead onto motorcyclists as VOTERS.