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I know the road conesÌýmight seem trivial, but to me, I'veÌýalways thought they were a metaphor for excessive spending and over-rigorous regulation. Ìý

When you looked atÌýroadÌýcones, it wasn'tÌýa little cherry orange witches hat you saw, itÌýwas costs being inflated and people being overly cautious, the wasting of time and money, which was happening across so many government departments. When National referred to roadÌýcones during the election campaign, as they did from time to time, I thought they too were using it as a symbol of excess and a symbol ofÌýred tape strangling growth.ÌýBut no, road cones are in fact in the gun. Ìý

Transport Minister Simeon Brown has announced excessive use of the temporary traffic management toolsÌý(as they'reÌýofficially known), must come to an end. ÌýHe saysÌýuse of road cones is out of control and the temporary speed limit reductions that are often left in place when work is complete is a massive frustration for drivers,Ìýand says common sense must prevail. Ìý

Of course, safety forÌýroadÌýworkers must be paramount. I heard Andrew mention 40 deaths a year... well, no, there are 10 deaths per year among roadÌýworkers and 30 serious injuryÌýaccidents. Way too many. That'sÌý10 deaths too many,Ìý30 serious injuryÌýaccidents too many, even taking into accountÌýthat you'reÌýworking with unforgiving machineryÌýand that there are far more risk factors involved than there are in working in an office, that's way tooÌýmany accidents. Ìý

But clearlyÌýan overabundance of roadÌýcones doesn'tÌýequate to an overabundance of caution. There are millions of roadÌýcones on our roads,Ìýand they areÌýnot keeping the road workers safe. It'sÌýunlikely moreÌýroadÌýcones isÌýgoing to be the answer when it comes to workplace safety. Ìý

I imagine there will be a chill wind blowing through the accountsÌýofficesÌýof all those companies and contractors that have been working for government departments. No more sending off ofÌýinvoicesÌýand just counting the gold coins coming back into the company. This seems to sendÌýa message that costs will be questioned and audited and double checked, and this is a very, veryÌýgoodÌýthing. People have toÌýbeÌýaccountable when it'sÌýtaxpayer dollars that are funding the projects, and I suspect that while many, many companiesÌýand businesses and who can blame them, have had a glorious few years feathering their nests, the good times are fast coming to an end.Ìý Ìý