Let’s Get Wellington Moving might be the biggest oxymoron of the recent age.
A six and a half billion dollar dream that is in tatters, confirmed by the obligatory review that tells us such, as a result of the report out Friday everyone is now freaking out.
How is it this country, through local government ineptitude, has become so broken?
I note the Auckland Council has voted unanimously to remain a climate change group. And that’s councils, isn’t it, in a nutshell? If it involves symbolistic nonsense that actually goes nowhere and achieves nothing, they’re in like robbers dogs.
When it comes to hard graft, real world decisions, inevitably when they’re made, they’re a mess.
The irony of the climate change vote in Auckland is I would have thought emissions are way down given so many have given up on the city.
People are moving out. Those that live here don’t go downtown. Employment drags the rest of the country down, growth is troubled compared to the rest of the nation, navigating the place is a nightmare and the stuff they’re trying to do - the CRL, the Watercare projects - don’t have the staff, so they’re poaching each other, are over budget and behind schedule.
Meantime in Dunedin, the water freaks the bejesus out of people, Tauranga has the commissioners, and poor old Wellington has water sludge and muck running through the streets a massive rate rise coming.
And now a report that shows that a gargantuan utopian dream based largely on theory not reality is a complete and utter bust
A series of ideas that the real world doesn’t want, won’t use and therefore the inevitable outcome emerges when the reports are conducted
Have a look at the Herald a week or so back they did a piece of downtown Auckland and what’s gone wrong, the things that might have been, that never were and most likely never will be - Wellington is the same.
That’s the countries two biggest cities. The economic engine room and the capital, both broken, both off track, both behind, both broke.
Now many reports like the LGWM one do we need before someone introduces a bit of reality to our future? Surely even the biggest apologist for this nonsense must now realise the price has been too high to achieve so little.
Mike Hosking is a New Zealand television and radio broadcaster. He currently hosts The Mike Hosking Breakfast show on NewstalkZB on weekday mornings.
2 comments:
I agree with most of this this, and as an Aucklander, lament the incompetence of our rulers, elected and unelected.
But is Auckland the economic engine or the millstone of NZ, and if so, where is this engine taking us? I would have thought NZ’s farmers, much criticised by ignorant townies and politicians, are NZ’s economic engine.
I agree Dave. The "engine room" label is overused, and actually incorrect.
How many exporting farmers and food producers are there in Auckland?
As for the article itself, I heartily agree with Mike. The councils he named are well and truly broken. Climate change emergency declarations are ludicrous. New Zealand contributes only about 0.2% of global emissions.
On that basis, it is totally pointless for New Zealand to reduce emissions by banning petrol cars and gas barbeques.
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