Emotional reunions, the suicide taboo and a police apology over road safety failings

[padding] [If you are unable to view this message correctly, click here]( [padding] [stuff header]( [spacer] [padding] Hi {NAME}, It was while sitting for two days at a High Court hearing that a song from the distant past began to play on my mental jukebox. The hearing was the judicial review, sought by climate activists, of the 10-year transport plan signed off by Auckland Transport. The components of the plan are forecast to boost carbon emissions by 6%. The song was the 1947 version of “Dem Dry Bones” by Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians. The connection - if you pardon the soon to be apparent pun - seemed obvious. Not because it reduced emissions, which it doesn’t, but because it properly connects to all the other statutes, plans and policies that make up the world of transport funding and planning. In “Dem Dry Bones” style : “ Your RLTP connected to your LTMA, your LTMA connected to your GPS” and so on. It seemed obvious that somewhere in my mind, the legal argument and the song had fused. Both were connecting bits of something that may be a skeleton and not a living thing. Auckland Transport’s lawyer told the judge the agency did not dispute that climate change - global warming - was the most significant issue facing the world, that urgent measures were needed and transport emissions were a priority. But, AT argued, that was not the prime focus of the RLTP. Reducing Auckland’s still-rising transport emissions by 64% from 2016 levels was the job of something else. “Dem Dry Bones” was, to my surprise, also a song of hope. I had never known what it was actually about, but it turns out the lyrics have a biblical connection. The bones were in the valley of dry bones, visited by the prophet Ezekiel who prophesies their eventual resurrection. A new beginning. The climate action new beginning might be the council’s imminent Transport Emissions Reduction Plan, which will itemise how the emission reductions will be achieved. Political courage and funding permitting. [padding] [user profile pic] [padding] Todd Niall [padding] Senior Stuff Journalist [padding] [spacer] [padding] [See more Auckland news]( [padding] [spacer] [padding] [Privacy Info]( [spacer] [Privacy Info]( [padding] [spacer] [padding] [spacer][Watch this video now]( [spacer] Police failings in drink-driving and speed enforcement costing lives, expert says [spacer] Lives are being lost as police fall well short in cracking down on drink-driving and speeding, an international expert who studied Auckland road safety says. Australian road safety consultant Eric Howard concluded in a 2021 report for Auckland Transport (AT) that extensively redeploying road police to general duties is costing Auckland more than four to five lives each year in speeding related fatalities. Across the country, better use of speed cameras could save more than 50 lives, he calculated. Howard’s report was a follow-up to one he [wrote in 2018]( , setting out recommendations for how to improve road safety across the city. Many of the recommendations that relied on action from central government agencies, including the police, had not happened. [spacer] [Read More]( [padding] [spacer] [padding] [Privacy Info]( [padding] [spacer] [padding] More Auckland stories you might have missed [spacer][separator] [padding] [spacer] [padding] [Article Image]( [spacer] Auckland Council begins tree protection assessments as judicial review looms [spacer] [Read more button]( [padding] [spacer] [padding] [Article Image]( [spacer] Pacific community group develops youth resource to tackle suicide taboo [spacer] [Read more button]( [padding] [spacer] [padding] [gArticle Image]( [spacer] Emotional reunions as borders reopen to 60 visa waiver countries [spacer] [Read more button]( [padding] [spacer] [padding] [gArticle Image]( [spacer] Rat eradication by 2050 will require new technology [spacer] [Read more button]( [padding] [spacer] [padding] [padding] [spacer][Support Stuff]( [spacer] [padding] Discover more at [spacer] [stuff logo] [spacer] [www.stuff.co.nz/auckland]( [padding] [spacer][footer bar] [padding] [spacer] You are receiving this email because you are a opted in to receive the Your Auckland newsletter from Stuff. [Unsubscribe]( [Manage your profile]( [Privacy Policy]( Did a friend forward you this email? [Sign up to get Your Auckland in your inbox]( Stuff, 4 Williamson Ave, Ponsonby, Auckland, 1021, New Zealand [spacer] [padding]