We are working on a brand new version of the game! If you want to stay informed, read our blog and register for our mailing list.
Bill: National Ferry Service
Details
Submitted by[?]: Socialist Party of Kalistan (SPoK)
Status[?]: passed
Votes: This bill is a resolution. It requires more yes votes than no votes. This bill will not pass any sooner than the deadline.
Voting deadline: October 4054
Description[?]:
| As part of the Manifesto of the Ananto National Party, a fully time Ferry between Ananto and the Mainland has been called for. The Socialist Party feels that the ANP is correct in pointing out the need for this ferry. Therefore, we join them in the call for a National Ferry Service, to run on a regular basis, between the national Port at Kaliburg and the Port at Eshar, in Odufaray. The National Ferry will join the other various ferry services already in operation between Ananto District and the Mainland, which currently connect Kaliburg, Dulnerstaad, Eveari and Luxon to all major ports in Vrassa, Odufaray and Suldanor, as well as the regular air service between Ananto and the mainland. The National Ferry Service will have the distinction of being fully public, where the other services are private and largely subsidized by public money. As it could be argued that this link between the Island and the mainland is strategic, it makes sense that the State operate a line alongside the capricious and mercurial various private lines which currently operate. In development of the line, the Government calls upon the Ministry of Science and Technology to develop craft which improve the speed of the National Ferry from the current average speed of 20 miles per hour. While most ferry captains agree that 20 miles an hour is the maximum safe speed in many parts of the Strait, which contains one of the swiftest north to south ocean currents in Terra, due to the potential for capsizement, a determined public effort to improve ocean going technology from 20 miles an hour average speeds to something approaching 22 miles will shorten the nearly 5 hour trip by more than 10 minutes! If we could do so safely, we could very easily drive the Private sector lines which would compete with the National Line out of business in very short order. We therefore move the following proposals: 1) That the National Ferry Service be established between Kaliburg and Eshar. The ultimate aim of the NFS should be to offer competition to the nearly dozen ferry lines which currently serve Ananto, and drive them out of business in favor of the public line. 2) That the National Ferry Service be operated by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, whose budget will be increased commensurate with its needs. 3) That the Ministry of Science and Technology commission a study to determine whether or not it is even possible to safely travel, in a ferry, at speeds higher than 20 miles an hour through the Straith between Ananto and Odufaray, without risk of capsizement. If it is not possible, the Ministry shall begin to develop craft with the aim of doing so, to dramatically cut the travel time down, and the cost of such development be added to the Ministry's budget. We will leave this bill open for debate and discussion, but would like to stress that this idea is part of the Ananto National Party's Manifesto, and the Government thanks them for their insightful platform plank. The ANP has seen a need which the Government can resolve, and the Government has decided to resolve it. |
Proposals
Debate
These messages have been posted to debate on this bill:
| Date | 08:04:58, July 04, 2016 CET | From | The Conservative Independence Party | To | Debating the National Ferry Service |
| Message | I thank the socialist party for their swift reply and I am happy we agree. This is vital to give Ananto an economic boost and of course, provide a cheap link between the mainland and the island. However article 1 should be wrewritten. There should be no aim of the service other than competition and other ferry services should not feel to threatened by this move as that could have a negative effect. But we shouldn't interviene if they do get trouble because of this. We will obviously support this and we encourage others to also. |
| Date | 12:48:02, July 04, 2016 CET | From | Labour Party | To | Debating the National Ferry Service |
| Message | We also support this idea but would like to offer a further suggestion. Given that the attempt is to drive the private companies out of business, presumably the public subsidies for these companies will be withdrawn. We would like the government, particularly the Ministry of Science and Technology to consider investing a portion of this money in investigating further ways to improve the transport links between Ananto and the rest of Kalistan. For example, an underground rail link would be significantly faster than a ferry and would allow workers to reasonably commute between the two islands on a daily basis: the positive effect this would have on the Kalistani economy is enormous. At this stage, we simply recommend funding research into how likely it is that this could be achieved. Overall, we support the motion. |
| Date | 19:21:12, July 04, 2016 CET | From | Socialist Party of Kalistan (SPoK) | To | Debating the National Ferry Service |
| Message | In reply: 1. Keep in mind- there are currently about a dozen ferry services already operating between Ananto and the Mainland. This act merely adds one, a public one, to that number. The economic impact on Ananto will be negligible. 2. The public line, which is underwritten by National Revenues, and will not face the demand to turn a profit of any sort, as it is a public line, will necessarily out-compete those private businesses who must turn a profit. Since the National Line would likely be free to its users (having already paid their fare in their taxes), microeconomics being what they are, the free public service, which provides exactly the same service as the private, for-profit, and therefore higher priced lines, will naturally attract more customers, pulling more and more from the private sector until some eventually go out of business. As socialists, of course, we naturally believe this is a good thing. 3. The elimination of subsidies for the Private Sector will certainly kill them for sure. The SP would prefer a more gradual phase out of the subsidies, because while the number of ferry companies currently in existence certainly are far more capacity than the citizens of Ananto actually require (occupancy rate of the entire service is less than 37% for any one of them), a removal of subsidies before the public fleet is fully up and running would eliminate ferry service altogether- No one of the ferry companies does enough business to allow it to stay in business without the subsidy. We have offered the subsidies in the past with the aim of encouraging the service, and no privately owned company was willing to provide the service, though it is a public good, without the subsidy. I would counter that we remove the distortion in the market for the Private Sector only when the Public service is fully operational, so the citizens of Kalistan do not suffer a loss of service due to the private firms, who refuse to acknowledge any sort of obligation to the public unless there is a profit in it, refusing to provide service any longer if they have to bear all the costs to do so. 4. An underwater rail link, while preferable, would be tremendously expensive, and quite dangerous, if it could be built at all. As the Premier noted in his initial statement, the currents running through the straits between Ananto and the Mainland are some of the swiftest in the world, and furthermore, the depths in the trench are sometimes more than 2 miles. It really is rather treacherous, highly suitable for north-south shipping, but difficult on even the best days with seasoned pilots, for east-west travel. (This, incidentally, is why piracy and plundering of international shipping has flourished in Kalistan in even the recent past.) While an underwater rail link would be a feat of engineering worthy of world-wide admiration, there are dozens of excellent reasons why it has never been attempted, the most immediate of which would be the sheer cost to perform such a feat, which the Kalistani economy cannot alone bear. We will stand by for the responses from our colleagues before moving this to a vote. |
| Date | 21:22:40, July 04, 2016 CET | From | Labour Party | To | Debating the National Ferry Service |
| Message | The KFPM supports the Socialist Party on all three of the first points made. We also respect some of the objections made and understand why this makes an underground rail route unlikely, unfortunately we think that we poorly phrased our original suggestion. Our objective was simply to establish a way of researching new methods for transport between Ananto and the mainland, perhaps a committee could produce a report on the available options for example. Overall, though we are flexible on this issue and simply want the best for Kalistani people. |
| Date | 22:35:51, July 04, 2016 CET | From | The Conservative Independence Party | To | Debating the National Ferry Service |
| Message | We thank both parties for their swift action on this is issue. It's very important to the people of Ananton. I would like to say that this will employ the unemployed in Ananton and this would give Ananton the greatest economy in Kalistan. Also we believe a ferry service is the cheapest and most flexible way of travel between the island and mainland. Also for those in this house who are not aware of the ANP's end goal we would like to inform you of our intention to one day create an independent Ananton, we believe an underground train (for example) would be just be an easy way in or out of Ananton illegally. And it would pose many difficulties for customs officers. Thank you. |
| Date | 22:39:53, July 04, 2016 CET | From | Labour Party | To | Debating the National Ferry Service |
| Message | Since it's clear that neither of the other parties support an underground rail link at this time, we are willing to drop this suggestion. |
| Date | 01:24:36, July 05, 2016 CET | From | Socialist Party of Kalistan (SPoK) | To | Debating the National Ferry Service |
| Message | This is fine. We will not, of course, support an independent Ananto. While we recognize the unique culture of Ananto, under no circumstances will Kalistan exist without the Island as an integral part. We would, however like to consider other options which maintain the Republic as currently constituted, and would be willing to make moves to build upon the small degree of District Autonomy established under the District Government Act: http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill.php?billid=354848 Some suggestions would be to build quasi-independent District Assemblies which would weigh in (in a non-binding fashion, for OOC: the mechanic doesn't allow for the states to bind the Republic) on Republican laws, as well as a method for Districts to do things District specific within the District itself, following the lead of their government. We would, however, oppose any move away from Unitarism toward federalism. Strong Local Government creates a patchwork scenario of regulations, which are then used politically to advantage citizens in one area while weakening National Legislation. For now- Let us focus on passage of the Ferry Act, and then discuss a re-authorization and aggrandizement of the District Government Act. |
| Date | 11:21:03, July 05, 2016 CET | From | The Conservative Independence Party | To | Debating the National Ferry Service |
| Message | I am sorry that the Socialist party does not agree with us however they can never deny the will of the Ananton people, but this is not a matter for today. Of course we support some form of assembly on the island, we appreciate it wouldn't be legally binding however if a bill states that a local government should decide something this should be left to the assembly. Once again I thank both parties for supporting the motion. |
| Date | 18:42:52, July 05, 2016 CET | From | Socialist Party of Kalistan (SPoK) | To | Debating the National Ferry Service |
| Message | As stated, we ask the ANP how they have derived the will of the population of Ananto without winning an election. At best, the ANP represents the will of only a segment of the population, and electoral support the ANP receives following the next election may be derived from the ANP's participation in the legislative actions of the National Assembly. We would caution the ANP from presuming to speak for the entire population of Ananto, because their aspirations toward independence certainly do not represent the will of Socialist Party voters in the District. |
| Date | 18:47:24, July 05, 2016 CET | From | Labour Party | To | Debating the National Ferry Service |
| Message | Given that the issue of an independent Ananto is quickly beginning to dominate Kalistani politics, the KFPM is considering an early election (again). If the ANP were to win a majority then independence would be the clear issue of the day, if not then perhaps we could move on to other topics. We will submit a proposal where debate on this issue can take place. |
| Date | 19:02:23, July 05, 2016 CET | From | Socialist Party of Kalistan (SPoK) | To | Debating the National Ferry Service |
| Message | We will not support an early election, as we have too many bills currently being voted on and an election will reset all of those bills. Additionally, we still have some positioning we wish to do this term which is designed to separate the SP, to some degree, from other Parties to give voters a real alternative in the upcoming elections. We would otherwise have nothing against the proposal, but we think that the positions of the SP and the two non-SP Parties are currently too close, and therefore, will not yield a real choice in elections until a distinction is made. |
| Date | 19:08:34, July 05, 2016 CET | From | Labour Party | To | Debating the National Ferry Service |
| Message | There are reasonable points made by the as to why they do not wish to hold an early election. With these points in mind and also that the Socialist Party has sole decision making power, we will cancel the call for early elections at this time. |
subscribe to this discussion - unsubscribe
Voting
| Vote | Seats | |||
| yes | Total Seats: 750 | |||
| no | Total Seats: 0 | |||
| abstain | Total Seats: 0 |
| Random fact: "Spamming", or the indiscriminate posting of unsolicited messages, is not allowed. |
| Random quote: "I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters, okay? It's, like, incredible." - Donald Trump |