Lisa Prager: Auckland Transport and State Capture with an Ideology

Interviewed by Tim LynchOctober 31, 2018
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There is no such thing, as ‘public’ transport in Auckland.

The trains, buses and ferry services are publically subsidised, but privately owned, operated and managed, passenger transport operators.

Auckland Transport won't reveal how many public millions are being paid to subsidise private passenger transport, on top of their private profits.

Their books are not open - regarding the millions of public monies paid to subsidise these private passenger transport operators.

State Capture is where corporate vested interests get their way, at the policy level of council or government, in order to get laws passed that
serve their interests.

With whom are the policy analysts consulting, before legislation goes through the council’s machine?

These are issues that both Lisa Prager and Penny Bright have been exposing.

Here’s an example: Auckland Transport has appointed Shane Ellison as its new Chief Executive. Prior to 2011 Mr Ellison was located in Paris with Transdev where he was responsible for global corporate
development and innovation. Transdev (previously Veolia) runs Auckland’s trains!

Associate Minister for Transport, Green Party MP, Julianne Genter is married to Peter Munns who is principal economist for MRCagney that advises Auckland Transport on cycle ways. Perhaps Auckland’s push to create cycleways, when our aging
sewage system is polluting our harbours, shows an ideology that is not allowing for a balanced use of Auckland Council / Auckland Transport’s money
but rather a determination to get people out of their cars. This Lisa explains is part of Agenda 21, which New Zealand, and Auckland, are signed up
to.

Lisa is a bike rider and is not against cycle ways. However when they go through shopping areas and take parking from local businesses they are destroying
community and people’s livelihoods. Shops lose custom and so close down.

Their landlords then have to sell their properties cheaply to developers who then build blocks of flats, says Lisa, and our Australian shopping malls will
expand to accommodate the population.

Mature trees are also being cut down. The whole cycleway project is ill thought out as shown in this article in Spinoff.

Lisa is also concerned at the spraying of glyphosate by Auckland
Transport’s contractors – Fulton Hogan. The WHO has labelled glyphosate as probably carcinogenic but there is evidence that problems don’t just end there. Yet Aucklanders are having it sprayed
on parks and berms all over the city.

Lisa Prager is an artist, sculptor, award winning documentary maker and proud co- owner of Garnet Station cafe/bistro in Westmere.

She trained as an actor in the late 70's at Theatre Corporate in Auckland, but left to become a political activist & pop artist.

Involved with Wake Up Auckland in the early 2000's she challenged Les Mills & Auckland Council's homophobic attitude towards the Hero Parade and homosexuality.
She stood with others against John Banks and the sale of pensioner/affordable housing and the actions of Auckland Council & Auckland Transport
to transfer public assets into private hands.

She stood with others to fight the sale of airport shares, the privatisation of Westhaven Marina and the ideology behind the badly designed, unsafe, overpriced
cycleways. Lisa supports a nationwide tree protection policy and replanting Native Bush not pines to fight climate change.

She is Currently Spokesperson for Occupy Garnet Rd movement.

This Link below explains the graphic on the top of the page

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=12152507

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Tim Lynch

Tim Lynch, is a New Zealander, who is fortunate in that he has whakapapa, or a bloodline that connects him to the Aotearoan Maori. He has been involved as an activist for over 40 years - within the ecological, educational, holistic, metaphysical, spiritual & nuclear free movements. He sees the urgency of the full spectrum challenges that are coming to meet us, and is putting his whole life into being an advocate for todays and tomorrows children. 'To Mobilise Consciousness.'

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