Tag Archives: Current Events

Thoughts on the accidential shooting of an innocent man by the Armed Offenders Squad

Posted on by Brad Heap

Okay I have only just got back from Parachute so I have not had any time to read up on the background of what happened, I only saw the 3news story tonight, and I brought a copy of the Hearld from a service station on the way back to Auckland to find out more.

Firstly the whole issue reminds me of the CSI episode ‘A Bullet Runs Through It’ where a cop is accidentialy killed in crossfire from another officer’s gun.

The reality is this though:

  • The Criminal was going to kill people before he was shot, if he was not shot when he was, I’m sure more than one innocent person would have been killed.
  • It was an intense scene and unfortuantely things unfold very quickly, sure you can analyse things after the fact and ask lots of what if questions but it can’t change what happened.
  • Calling for a Manslaughter charge for the Officer who shot is silly. It is baying for blood, and revenge is not actually the best remedy in these situations, it just creates more pain. A manslaughter charge wouldn’t hold anyway because the Officer did not intend in anyway to harm the innocent man.
  • Overuse of drugs and painting the criminal as a victim of his own stupidity just doesn’t wash. He chose to take P, he chose to do the things that he did, he deserves to pay the full cost, and the full penalty for it.
  • No matter how tough you make the law, people will still break it, so calling for tougher laws is silly when the drugs are already illegal.

Thoughts on the new Toll Road

Posted on by Brad Heap

Okay the Northern Gateway Tollroad opened yesterday and until midnight tonight it is free to drive on. I found this out when I got back from Parachute so went for a quick spin this evening.

These are my thoughts:

  • For a $2 toll it would be worth traveling on as it cuts out a lot of hills, time and distance. It probably pays for itself through the amount of petrol that it saves.
  • However the toll road itself is not hill free, it may be smooth but some of those are hills are still steep.
  • They have had to move an insane amount of dirt to build the road, and I don’t know much about protecting the environment all I saw was bare cliffs, it needs some major landscaping and regrowth.
  • Tunnels are a little bit over hyped, they are short, and nowhere near as cool as the Terrace Tunnel in Wellington.
  • I was laughing at the turn around point at the end of the tunnels for rubber neckers like me who just went on it just to check it out.
  • I object to it being labeled State Highway One. The State Highway network should be free to drive on, by having it tolled it is effectively a private road, and therefore should not be officially considered a part of the State Highway network. But that is a minor rant.
  • Overall, a nice road, and good time saver, but very over rated.