Cory, on Rails 🚂

Looking east from the lookout on the top of the hill, below is Māwheranui Grey River, then farms, Rununga is somewhere off to the left where the highway and railway go, and in the back is the forest and plateaus of Mount Davy

Looking West from halfway up the hill towards the Greymouth town centre. Cobden is on the right of the Māwheranui Grey River which curves through the town and goes out to the Tasman sea in the background

Walked to the top of the hill above Māwhera Greymouth, tracks a bit rough but the views are spectacular 🏞️

Future New Zealand prime minister Sir Bill Rowling was born yesterday in 1927

A slightly late #OnThisDay. On 15 November 1927 Sir Wallace Edward "Bill" Rowling was born in Motueka, New Zealand. He served as the 30th Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1974 to 1975 as leader of the Labour Party. #OTD #history #nzpol #nzpolitics #politics

New name and new leader for The Opportunities Party Aucklander Qiulae Wong will head up the newly named party - ‘Opportunity’ - heading into the 2026 election campaign.

Aucklander Qiulae Wong will head up the newly named party - ‘Opportunity’ - heading into the 2026 election campaign.

Record number of New Zealanders leave country 72,700 Kiwis have moved overseas in a year, but the number of Australians visiting is surging.

The Coalition government thought all they had to do was reverse the policies of the previous government, give tax breaks to landlords and slash spending on public services.

How's that workin' out for ya?

www.rnz.co.nz/news/busines...

Ōnuke Marae, and Takapūneke Reserve, November 4

*Buses check in via Bluetooth with the building, so it knows what route it’s on, which direction it is travelling, which Platform it needs to go to, as well as opening the lounge doors, updating the platform screen & announcements.

#RailNews: Weka Pass Railway has now completed most of the work to re-lay Herberts Crossing.

The track was lifted after becoming muddy from clay runoff from a nearby hill and has been replaced with fresh ballast and sleepers.

Crews will soon tamp (lift and align) the track.

BREAKING🍁: 2025 Report of the National Advisory Council on Poverty recommends a basic income floor to ensure everyone reaches at least the poverty line

This is pretty reasonable.

#RailNews: KiwiRail, Selwyn District Council, & Fire and Emergency NZ are holding fortnightly meetings to work together on fire prevention over the summer period.

KR has also started its vegetation management plan, starting with high-risk areas along the Midland Line between Rolleston & Darfield.

"Josephine", a Double Fairlie steam locomotive, displayed at the Toitū Otago Settlers Museum in Dunedin, New Zealand.

Josephine steaming past Burke's Brewery on the Dunedin to Port Chalmers Railway, ca. 1872–1882. Photograph A McColl. P1992-004/1-009 Hocken Collections, Dunedin, New Zealand.

There's rain on my window
But I'm thinking of you
Tears on my pillow
But I will come through
Josephine, I'll send you all my love
And every single step I take
I take for you
Josephine

Chris Rea (1985)

153 years ago today Josephine took her inaugural journeys on the Dunedin–Port Chalmers Railway.

Tram going down the Spanish style buildings of New Regent Street with umbrella lined tables filled with patrons

It's fantastic to see Central City Ōtautahi Christchurch so lively and vibrant on this beautiful sunny day!

The full Southerner train ready to depart for Dunedin at the Christchurch railway station platform, May 21st 2025

The beautiful historic Dunedin Railway Station lit up at night, 23rd May 2025

Kiwirail are bringing back the ChCh- - Dunedin Southerner Train for the Labour weekend 🚞

I hope the Southerner does well and is made a permanent fixture, I got to take it in May and it was an amazing trip!

Imagine if we could also get $44–54bn investment in rail to provide people with proper transport options and rectify a century-long imbalance in funding. Oh yeah, and the benefit/cost ratio of PT would well exceed these roads, many of which fail to have benefits exceeding their costs

$5b-plus blowout for eight Roads of National Significance The Government's 17 Roads of National Significance will cost it at least $44 billion – enough to rebuild Dunedin Hospital 23 times over. Marc Daalder reports.

Paywall now lifted: Just eight of the Government's 17 Roads of National Significance have already seen costs blow out by $5.1 billion - before any shovels are even in the ground.

The full programme would cost $44-$54 billion on the latest numbers.
newsroom.co.nz/2025/10/23/5...

Friday's Early Bird & Dawn Chorus: Choosing $30b of motorways instead of real wage increases 100,000 protest against Government's 1% pay offers to teachers, doctors & nurses in biggest marches in 40 years; Mega-strike against real wage cut offers set against $14 billion blowout in RONs costs

FYI, paying subscribers have asked me to open this one up to all for reading, listening, watching and sharing. #nzpol So free for all to read now. thekaka.substack.com/p/fridays-ea...

Graph of results from Curia Market research poll showing roughly 60% of the country isn't convinced things are going well. These numbers were cited in the following RNZ article: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/575328/national-falls-below-30-percent-in-latest-curia-poll-left-bloc-could-form-government Hashtags follow #nzpol #VoteTOP

But the question is, what are *you* going to do about? Endlessly rotating between Labor and Nats is not going to move the country forward.

Progress requires change.

Vote different.

Because #KiwisDeserveBetter

We're stuck

FB Post Grey District Council 1h • WATER LEVELS ARE NOW CRITICALLY LOW Some people are out of water - follow this post for updates. Urgent contingency measures are being planned. Omoto Reservoir is at 10%. This is due to a storm-related issue at the GREATER GREYMOUTH WATER TREATMENT PLANT. A large team is on site and has been working for several hours. AFFECTED AREAS: GREYMOUTH, COBDEN, BLAKETOWN, BODDYTOWN, KARORO, SOUTH BEACH, PAROA, KAIATA, DOBSON, TAYLORVILLE, STILLWATER, RUNANGA, DUNOLLIE, COAL CREEK, and RAPAHOE. Please FOLLOW this post for updates, and SHARE and TAG everyone you know. Also, ADVISE ANYONE WHO DOES NOT HAVE INTERNET ACCESS.

#Oct23Storm To top the day off, we now have no water at my house. Very low level of water left at the reservoir. Storm related issue at the treatment plant.

Onya!
#nzpol 💪👏❤️ #Oct23Strike #NZMegaStrike I support everyone striking today!
Kia kaha! Aotearoa Steadfast.

Hopefully it's all clear! This is what the under slip north of Murchison looked like before today's weather, as per Waka Kotahi:

The Lewis Pass washout is pretty bad, but the Arthurs should be open by then at least

At a rough guess probably not, unless the wind settles down this afternoon

All roads to the West Coast are currently closed ⛈️

A washout north of Murchison on the Buller Gorge Road SH6,
The Lewis Pass Road SH7 has been scoured out near Boyle,
A truck crash and downed powerlines has closed the Arthurs Pass Road SH73,
A Slip on the Haast Pass SH6.

Bit rough out there!

Extreme 230kph wind, while town gets ‘absolutely destroyed’ in storm “It’s so wild out there,” says one Hanmer Springs resident, amid 140kph winds. In the hills, the most extreme gust so far hit 232kph, MetService says.

www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/3608...

The water just below the old wharf on the grey river with downtown Greymouth in the background and the hills in the distance

Whew, lotta water in the Māwheranui Grey River today! ☔

Photo of article from Business Insider highlighting a basic income scheme for artists in Ireland. Hash tags follow #KiwisDeserveBetter #nzpol

Another "Basic Income" experiment that was deemed a success and will be made permanent.
TOP will bring a Universal Basic Income to Aotearoa, working in tandem with a land value tax switch to lower housing costs and welfare system reform.
Economic stability and social cohesion for all New Zealand

Once branded the world's unluckiest city, Christchurch is now the 'capital of cool' Our second biggest city is experiencing the type of revival that should make the rest of New Zealand envious.

Every "Christchurch is cool now" article is illustrated with a photo of a pedestrianised street with a tram, meanwhile every local election the discourse is like "rip out the cycle lanes, then turn the botantic gardens into a car park? It's worth a least considering"

www.rnz.co.nz/news/thedeta...

Caricature of former National Prime Minister, Jim Bolger, standing beside a miniature train called 'KiwiRail'. Jim Bolger, who is the first Chairman of KiwiRail wears a cap with 'KiwiRail printed on it. KiwiRail became an entity 1 July, 2008 after it was bought back by the Labour government to once again become a state-owned asset. Jim Bolger. 1 July, 2008. Webb, Murray 1947- : Collection. Ref: DCDL-0006975. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/22713234

Rest in peace Jim Bolger, an absolutely fascinating man with a complicated legacy.

From leading the government that sold NZ Rail in 1993, to being the first director of the renationalised Kiwirail in 2008. In his own words "My life is full of ironies"

Jim Bolger remembered as ‘a leader of conviction’ after death at 90 PM Luxon said Bolger left behind a legacy that will be respected for generations.

90 is a nice long life. I didn't like the things Jim Bloger's government did at all (neither did he entirely I think) but I did see him as an individual as someone with integrity.

www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/former-pr...

Former Prime Minister Jim Bolger dies The former National prime minister died on Wednesday aged 90 after months of treatment for kidney failure. “Jim was much loved and will be deeply missed,” his family said.

Former PM Jim Bolger has passed away following months of treatment for kidney failure. He was 90.

www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...