Our biggest road works contractor Fulton Hogan are reportedly complaining about their inability to secure staff. Here’s how to solve their problem. Lift the percentage of current staff actually working from the present 5% to 10% and thereby double production.
The remaining 90% of roadside cell-phonists, alleged workers provide a ready pool to be drawn from should any actual workers be off sick or in jail or whatever.
Both Stuff and the NZ Herald ran investigatory features on this cone racket in the weekend.
There are 208 countries in the world. None are covered in cones, so why us? Furthermore, prior to Labour coming into office 5 years ago, this ludicrous situation never existed.
It’s fashionable to malign Muldoon’s name but for those such as me who knew him, we would agree it would never have happened under his watch. The current situation defies common sense and as the detailed Stuff investigation revealed, is simply a highly profitable exercise for both the manufacturers and Fulton Hogan.
While the Prime Minister swans about the world show-boating, it’s a splendid opportunity for David Seymour to announce as part of an incoming government, he’ll seek both an enquiry into how the current disgraceful cone situation arose and act to put a stop to it.
Blaming Health and Safety zealots is not enough. A proper Government would take steps to curb their powers.
13 Comments
Sir Robert,
Would you be able to provide a link to the Stuff article on cones?
I entered “road cones” into the Stuff search box. All I got was a list of road cone suppliers.
Here you go https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300734748/the-road-cones-that-ruined-christmas-and-increased-auckland-house-prices
On a trip Hamilton to PN yesterday, Aotearoadcone was in full bloom. In a particular long one way section with a 15 min wait, once embarked on the narrow kilometre long stretch of cones, the only perceptible movement of either man or machine was the circular motion of the stop/go man’s arm at the other end of the alleged “works”. Zero activity.
Love that word, ‘Aotearoadcone’
there is no circular motion of anyone here in Marlborough at road works. They all use lights these days, still with a person at each end sitting pushing a button when it is time to turn green. The extra costs of these must be enormous, as they now have lights PLUS a person.
And while I’m about it. Double the wage for those who buidling things, Fulton Hogan will solve their labour shortages. But then again, socialist countries doen’t understand the machanics of supply and demand – they just keep printing money, passing new laws and establishing tribuals dishningout unsatisfactory/misconduct rulings to, once again, tie people up in knots.
Well, we’ll have to see what happens if a proper government ever turns up. I too lived through the Muldoon years, the hard-line policies, the wage freezes, Think Big, and not a cone was ever put in the road in front of us though. We all hurt during those years, at my lowly tradesman level anyway, but what did we do all that hurt for? When Muldoon handed the reigns to Lange, the country was broke. This government is going to leave the next in the same position, if not worse – a hospital pass with a spinning road cone. Where’s the point?
No matter who’s in government, we the people (to use and Americanism), just get on with it.
We understand that Higgins are ensuring their compliance/penalty for the inadvertent deaths of three road workers near Matata a wee while ago. An out of court settlement was reached providing financial solace for the innocent families of the victims together with an enforceable undertaking that Higgins would ensure it never happens again- hence the road cones. All other contractors appear to have taken this on board.
SB. Great example of our present mad government and associated mad Land Transport would have to be the nationwide mandatory slowing from 100kph too 40/80kph for “all” traffic with no logical reason (other than creating a massive fines revenue to replace the billions of wasted tax payer dollars) when all modern vehicles perform far more efficiently at higher safer cruising speeds, where safe to do so.
YET take a look at the Rakaia bridge state HW1 North of Rakaia township South Island.
This bridge has been left at 100kph and is an utter narrow death trap for opposing traffic.
The Rakaia bridge current speed limit reflects our completely impractical insane socialist mind set. Infact seems so blatantly stupid perhaps Land Transport woke idiots are using the repeated occurance of serious collision to prove another vindictive socialist theory.
Are you sure 5% actually work? Up here in the Far North there is no way they get that high.
Those that work and sub to FH must pass drug tests, it seems less of the population are able to under this administration and its policing decisions. While they can get support to live and be stoned yet not prove they are clear to get support to live, nothing will change other than go further down into the abysis.
There will be unit standards and an ITO with hundreds of assessors with cars
Stop go unit standard 1508 Stop go sign on “stop”
Unit standard 1509 Stop go sign on “Go”
I regularly travel Sate Highway 1 and between Taupo and Tokoroa there is a major upgrade with one way traffic. Everytime I go through I count how many workers are on site, on average it would be about 12 and some of those are traffic management sitting in their trucks reading their phones.