One of the problems with politicians is that they often stake their political survival on big infrastructure projects.
Which is why we’ve got Waimakariri MP Matt Doocey and Waimakariri mayor Dan Gordon jumping up and down saying like hell, there’ll be no Woodend Bypass.
The thing that’s got them excited is the new national infrastructure plan released by the Infrastructure Commission which, in a nutshell, says we should be building more hospitals and less big roads. They’ll be getting no argument from me.
Dan Gordon is rejecting any suggestion the bypass is a lower priority than other projects. But he would say that. He says more than 20,000 vehicles go through Woodend every day, and that’s only going to increase.
He says: “The town is quite literally divided in two by the state highway and the risk this has posed for decades is not acceptable. As the community grows this risk only increases.”
And he’s not having a bar of the Infrastructure Commission’s push for more tolling charges on roads, either.
I think he’s pushing that one uphill. Because, it’s very clear to me that charging tolls to use roads is the way of the future. It has to be. because, as a country, we don’t have the money.
Meanwhile, MP Matt Doocey is saying there’s no way the bypass is going to go down the pecking order.
He says: “If experts think the date for exceeding capacity of the current road in Woodend is still some years away, they clearly weren't stuck in traffic last Friday night after work like I was.”
He’s not anti-tolls, though. Matt Doocey says if paying a toll means roads being built sooner and faster, then that’s how it has to be.
But I think he and Dan Gordon need to show some fortitude and, instead of banging-on about the Woodend Bypass just because they’ve staked their political careers on it, they should admit that we need to make the big calls as to what really is most important.
Because I can’t argue with what the Infrastructure Commission is saying.
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Episode Transcript
You're listening to the Canterbury Mornings podcast with John McDonald
from News Talk ZB.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
You know, one of the problems with politicians, one of
them is that they often stake their political survival on
big infrastructure projects, don't they. And that's why we've got
why Macarery, MP, Matt Doocy and why Maccareri, Mayor Dan
Gordon jumping up and down this morning saying like, like how,
(00:35):
like how there will be no wood End Bypass. The
thing that's got them excited is this new National Infrastructure
Plan released by the Infrastructure Commission yesterday which in a
nutshell says we should be building more hospitals and less
big new roads. And they will be getting no argument
(00:57):
from me on that one. So if we did what
the Infrastructure Commission says we should be doing, then projects
like the wood End by Pass could be on the
chopping block because it's not as much of a priority
as some people think it is, or not the priority
priority some people think it should be. Tell that though,
(01:18):
to local MP Matt Doosey and the local mayor, Dan Gordon.
The mayor is rejecting any suggestion that the bypass is
a lower priority than other projects, but then he would
say that. He says more than twenty thousand vehicles go
through wood End every day and that's only going to
(01:39):
increase or quite, Dan Gordon, he says quite. The town
is quite literally divided into by the State highway and
the risk this is posed for decades is not acceptable.
As the community grows, this risk only increases. End of quote.
And Dan Gordon says he's not having a bar either
(02:01):
of the Infrastructure Commission's push for more tolling charges on roads.
But I tell you what, I think he's pushing that
one uphill because it is very clear to me and
as you will have heard in the news, they want
to put a toll on the Auckland Tarbor Bridge. It's
very clear to me that charging tolls to use roads
(02:22):
is the way of the future. I mean, it has
to be on the option because as a country we
don't have the money. And MP Matt Doucy, of course
he's missed the ward End to bypass full stop, isn't he?
I mean you look at Matt Doocy, what do you
think of you think of wood End Bypass? Well? I
do anyway, and there is no way that's going to
(02:44):
go down the pecking order if he has anything to
do with it. Matt Doocey is saying today, quote if
experts think the date for exceeding capacity of the current
road and wood End is still some years away, they
clearly weren't stuck in traffic last Friday night after work
like I was. End of quote. Now he's not anti
(03:05):
toolls though, like Dan, Matt Doocy saying that if paying
a toll means roads being built sooner and faster, than
that's how it has to be. So we're on the
same page there on that part of it. But I
think Matt Doocy and Dan Gordon, I think they need
to show some fortitude and instead of banging on about
the ward End Bypass just because the stake to their
(03:27):
political careers on it, they should show some leadership. Now
that we've got the stark facts in front of us
thanks to the Infrastructure Commission, they should be showing some
leadership and they should be saying, you know, this infrastructure
plan just shows how stuck we are between the proverbial
rock and the proverbial hard place when it comes to infrastructure,
(03:49):
and they should be saying, and we need to make
the big calls as to what really is most important.
That's what these two politicians should be saying, and not
just politicians in Canterbury, politicians everywhere. Because I can't argue
with what the Infrastructure Commission are saying. Of course we
should be putting more money into hospitals before roads. The
(04:13):
Commission says, look, it's a no brainer that with a
growing population and an aging population, we're going to need
more things like hospitals. And I agree, But what about you.
It's a very simple question for you. Would less new
roads and more hospitals? Would that be a trade off
(04:33):
that you'd be happy with?
Speaker 1 (04:36):
For more from Caterbory Mornings with John McDonald, listen live
to news talks It'd be christ Church from nine am weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
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