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Labour 'stop' signs removed for breaking rules

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Thu, 21 Apr 2011 3:12p.m.

The signs look too much like road signs, says the council

The signs look too much like road signs, says the council

A number of Labour Party campaign signs have been removed from a Hutt Valley street after being found to be in breach of road requirements.

The signs, which emulate road stop signs in shape and colour, but contain the message "Stop asset sales vote Labour", had been erected along the median strip of a road in Petone.

Right-wing blogger David Farrar drew attention to the signs in a post on his Kiwiblog website yesterday afternoon, saying the party had broken the law by positioning what looked like a traffic sign by the road.

Mr Farrar referred to the land transport rules relating to traffic control devices.

"A person must not install on a road, or in or on a place visible from a road, a sign, device or object that is not a traffic control device; but that may be mistaken for a traffic control device."

The Hutt City Council, which is the road controlling authority for the area, said this afternoon that the signs had been taken down.

"The signs did not meet any road signage requirements and following a complaint from the public they were removed," the council said in a statement.

General secretary of the Labour Party Chris Flatt said the party had not been formally told of any rules the signs had breached.

"We were told they were taken down within an hour," Mr Flatt told NZPA.

"Any reasonable person would see that the nature of the writing and the 'vote Labour' on there indicates they're not traffic control devices."

Mr Flatt said the party would continue to use the signs and had told members to be cautious near roads.

"We're aware of these things but we think this is a little bit of a campaign by National Party bloggers and right-wing groups to take the issue away from the actual campaign."

NZPA

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Comments

23 May 2011 01:36p.m.

James J.REad wrote:

I agree that " Stop Asset Sales. Vote Labour " signs should be removed. The message was meant to read " Stop Investment. Vote Labour ". Unfortunatly due to a bit of confusion at party H.Q., the wrong wording was used.

22 Apr 2011 03:23p.m.

davey wrote:

Kim you are correct what you have written about LANCE,is must be a dreamer as you say National has sold off assets,closed down wollen mills brush factories,clothing factories that is why we have to buy made in China clothing and foot ware all closed down,also car assembly plants,Glass companys,Philips industries Fisher and paykel yes the National have a very good track record,Lance grow up before writing so much crap,I have a record of past National governments,and the reading is a real eye opener too any one.And DAME SHIPLEY is Key advisor and was right behind a lot of unemployment,and went about putting cash registers and doing up all the Hospital Foyers with Maori carvings and little offices where you had to pay before leaving from your operation etc.Nats have always created disharmony in our country,as for feeding their own wants,and their buddies wants.

22 Apr 2011 12:07p.m.

Kim wrote:

@Lance Labour has admitted it made a mistake. and if you did a little research labour at the time had been hijacked by right wing wolves in sheeps clothing. Just to be accurate at least half of the assets you mentioned were sold under national. Yet you will vote for a party that intends on doing the same thing with the same result as before??? That seems a little hypocritical to me as well.

21 Apr 2011 08:58p.m.

Lance wrote:

Lets remember what Labour got up to in the 80's.
The employers’ response was to tighten the screws on the workers. They mounted a campaign to bring in a twelve-hour day, abolish penal rates, and put an end to the forty-hour week. Did the Labour Government denounce them? No, it gave the employers carte blanche. Not only this, it carried out “privatising” reforms in health and education of the sort that private enterprise had always been clamouring for. They sacked elected area health boards and power board trustees, and paved the way for the privatisation of power boards. Dozens of state assets were sold including Petrocorp, Post Bank, Rural Bank, Air New Zealand, Telecom, State Insurance, Government Print, New Zealand Steel, Forestry Cutting Rights, Tourist Hotel Corporation, Development Finance Corp, Health Computing Service, Maui Gas and the Shipping Corporation. The privatisation of state-owned enterprises was an enormous handout to big business. They bought vast assets cheap and made fortunes out of them. The sales were said to be necessary to raise funds to pay back the foreign debt but the foreign debt didn’t go away.

Hypocrisey at it's worst.

21 Apr 2011 08:57p.m.

M@tt wrote:

Hilarious really, what does labour have to offer anyway? Labour have shot our economy in the foot when they've been in power. I don't want our assets sold, like most NZlanders, but until we come up with some viable economical solutions - which will not be offered by Labour or the socialist left - tough measures will be made.

21 Apr 2011 08:27p.m.

johnmillan wrote:

October is coming up,Let us get the hoardings taken down as they are a distraction on the road sides and highways,And just thinking about road hazards,we have a road here that when you leave the traffic lights there is a 70 klm an hour sign then 300 metres down the road you hit a major highway.

21 Apr 2011 06:16p.m.

RA wrote:

Yeah ........ sell the lot off you right wing nutters , and what then ?????

21 Apr 2011 03:19p.m.

James J.Read wrote:

Whilst unlike Phil Goff, I support state asset sales, I would have to agree with him that it is foolish to suggest Labour's signs could be mistaken by motorists for a traffic sign.I am disappointed that Labour's critics aren't spending their time more usefully than this. TVNZ and Housing N.Z. could both be better managed by private enterprise.

21 Apr 2011 03:18p.m.

stan wrote:

Any reasonable person could see they were set up to emulate traffic signs and that putting them on a medium strip was not the brightest move. A little more thought needed perhaps?