“Racing bikes have not been as quantitatively engineered as motorbikes and automobiles.” The ORBITREC—a 3D-printed, connected bike—is about to change that.
27 Oct: A regional petrol tax to help fund Auckland city's transport infrastructure comes amid a global change in the air for user-pays funding for major projects, provided the benefits stack up for those footing the bill.
US President Donald Trump is reportedly toying with the idea of hiking fuel taxes as a means to fund his promised US$1 trillion of infrastructure investment, which was a key policy plank in his successful bid for the White House last year. That would end a 24-year freeze on US petrol taxes and marks "a massive shift" for user-pays funding models, says KPMG's Americas and India head of global infrastructure Stephen Beatty.
"It will send a signal to all politicians it is possible to raise charges as long as you're prepared to provide something to the people that you are charging," Beatty told Infrastructure New Zealand's building nations symposium in Wellington today. "Our credibility as public servants is not high because we aren't delivering the value we need to and we are apologising when we raise any charges for it, and so I would urge everybody in the room to turn to the new government and say don't apologise but make sure you deliver benefits at the same time."
Both major political parties made big-spending infrastructure promises in the lead-up to the September election to meet New Zealand's expanding population, which has seen a shortfall of housing drive up property prices and increase traffic congestion, while at the same time local authorities are hamstrung in their ability to pay for upgrades to municipal infrastructure.
Beatty told the conference that the big questions for policymakers to answer is funding projects, which is whether the taxpayer or users foot the bill over an extended period of time, rather than financing, which is simply where the immediate cash comes from. "It's not about financing, it's about funding. Does the base business case actually work?" he said.
Continue here to the full article on ShareChat || October 27, 2017 |||
27 Oct: A bad batch of fungicide has ruined apples in the Nelson region in New Zealand and some fruit will be destroyed instead of exported, a grower says.
An apple grower in Nelson, said it was the active ingredient mancozeb causing the problem, damaging numerous orchards in Nelson and several in Hawke's Bay.
He said in his orchard the fungicide has caused russet on apple skins, knocked fruit off trees too early, and damaged leaves, resulting in lower quality apples that he said would not meet export standards.
New Zealand Apples and Pears chief executive Alan Pollard said the industry was in the early stages of investigating the problem.
"We are aware that an issue has arisen, particularly in Nelson. It appears that a spray has been applied in the early stages of fruit development. It seems to have caused some damage to the developing fruit.
"We have recalled the product which is the first stage. We are just in the process now of evaluating the extent of the impact of the issue."
Mr Pollard said he did not know how many orchards were affected, but those that were would not necessarily be written off and hoped that some fruit could be spared.
"Hopefully, not all the fruit on the tree will be subject to that and we'll be able to save some."
New Zealand Apples and Pears said it was talking with the supplier of the product, and working out what process they have used.
Mr Pollard said it was too early to know if the chemical supplier would be held accountable for damaging crops.
"We are trying to understand what has happened and why, and once we do that we will be in a better position to see what happens from there."
| A FreshPlaza release | October 27, 2017 |||
Palace of the Alhambra, Spain
By: Charles Nathaniel Worsley (1862-1923)
From the collection of Sir Heaton Rhodes
Oil on canvas - 118cm x 162cm
Valued $12,000 - $18,000
Offers invited over $9,000
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242
Mount Egmont with Lake
By: John Philemon Backhouse (1845-1908)
Oil on Sea Shell - 13cm x 14cm
Valued $2,000-$3,000
Offers invited over $1,500
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242