24 Jul 2018

The Panel with Lavina Good and Simon Pound (Part 1)

From The Panel, 4:03 pm on 24 July 2018

Auckland City Rail Link looks likely to be bigger and more expensive than originally planned. The council is meeting to discuss enlarging the scope of the project due to new projections that show it will be very popular - it's estimated the original capacity for the link would be reached just ten years after it opened. This means more cost to increase capacity. We ask Urban Development consultant Phil McDermott what he thinks of the expansion. The stoush between Wellington bus drivers and Tranzit continues over allegations drivers are being forced to work long hours with few meal breaks and low wages. Yesterday we discussed whether the regional council should get involved, or take responsibility for contracting the company without checking its work practices. Listeners sent in feedback saying council aren't mandated to consider bus driver work conditions. We put this to Jon Reeves of the Public Transport Users Association. The Rotorua shleter for homeless people that was forced to shut due to fire non-compliance has had a wave of support from locals and people aroudn teh countyr. Founder Tiny Deane has been inudated with donations and offers to help fix the problem at his shelter, after the council allegedly threatened a massive fine if it continued to operate without meeting the standards. Mr Deane says he will be meeting with the council today to decide next steps. The panelists give their view. National party leader Simon Bridges say they're committednto bring back sanctions on beneficiaries as he believes it motivates them to get jobs. The government is the process of removing many of the previous punishments introduced under the previous National-led government. Research has shown though that sanctions don't work and can cause more wefare dependancy. The panelists discuss.