Wellington Protest - Road Safety bungling

[Beemer]

Plus I have a big big scandal under my hat to divert with and make it real juicey if need be - concerns the PMs personal aide and some dirty dealings that undermine road safety - could be quite illegal too - woo hoo!

As I'm doing a paper on investigative reporting at present, I am DELIGHTED to hear that such an important story will be reaching my newspapers soon...

Please don't make your protest on Tuesday, I'm heading to Wellington to take my mother out for lunch and would not appreciate the delay!

[Bonez]

Don't show up on bikes unless its a bike related protest - like related to rip off ACC

Don't knock ACC. It keeps Dover here

[candor]

OK - it's happening, got consents etc. Details as per press release below - just in case anyone local wants to show with speech or just in support.

Press release for reporters - Road Safety Protest
Wellington Railway Station Forecourt Friday 25/8 9.30am

A small group of road victims will be protesting Labours botched revenue based 2010 road safety policy. Serious crashes and injuries are increasing and the official toll (underreported by Police) is more flat-lining than dropping based upon other Depts statistics. The Breen report indicates 2010 performance targets will be undershot 25% and we believe people are being killed and maimed by Labours cheap and really quite criminal negligence. Drug driving inaction is one case on point.

The protest will highlight the nature of the bungling of road safety by MOT/Police/LTNZ jointly which is best summed up as "greed kills" or the "greatest enforceable risk policy" (versus targeting the greatest road safety risks). Some solutions including better infrastructure will be held up.

Protest is being held before the weekend as a timely reminder to the 30 000 passing by the railway station each day, around 600 of whom will die on the road if there is no radical change to Transport Policy. Said by the Breen report to be in conflict with the Injury Prevention Strategy. There will be opportunity to lay flowers at a victim Memorial set up for the day.

[candor]

Beemer - Whatever! Its lucky journo students like you are so damn good at telling what an important story is. I guess 300 dead and thousands injured UNNECESSARILY a year is small fry. You might be happy to have one in 40 chances of dying in the road toll quite painfully - most wouldn't be. Too busy to make a fuss I can understand. But "dont care" is a bit wacky in my book.

I really hope you don't live to regret those words. And not to see you in ICU

It is nice you can have lunch with your mum - I hope like mine she is not one of the one in 40 to later join the toll (and thru no fault of her own - but thru some of the governments fault eg no median divider and a drunk gets her).

So I'd be interested to know what world shaking stories you are working on? What do you care about? Is it something I might like to belittle and hey... What is your problem anyway to be so negative?