Last week in Parliament both Judith Collins and Gerry Brownlee called on the Government to release their list of the 800 projects they say are “shovel ready”. As I pointed out in my previous article, petty squabbling in the Cabinet Room, otherwise known as the Coalition Childcare Centre, plus red tape and bureaucracy have held the projects back. However, late in the week, a list of just under sixty was released.
I don’t for one moment think this is a true reflection of a proper list at all. If it is, it’s a joke. It would appear to me this is a cynically put together list in an attempt to keep Collins and Brownlee quiet. As I also pointed out in my previous article, the Government plan appears to be a drip-feed of projects to try and gain maximum political advantage. Whether this cynical ploy works, again, remains to be seen.
This childish carry on is a far cry from Judith announcing roading improvements in the Wairarapa and telling journalists quite firmly that anything National announces will be done. So be in no doubt: there will be a four-lane highway from Whangarei to Tauranga. There is now a stark choice regarding transport for voters in this region – vote left for rail or vote right for roads. It will be interesting to see the patronage on the Hamilton to Auckland commuter service when it starts in November. I’ll be watching.
Back to the bucket and spade ready list. They are a range of sporting, transport, social, business and community projects. Here are some examples:
- The Sarjeant Gallery in Whanganui
- Gore public library improvements
- Pohe Island bike park in Northland
- William Stewart Bridge replacement in Grey District
- Fire Stations nationwide
- Yarrow Stadium redevelopment in Taranaki
- The Mawhitiwhiti Kanihi Pa building project also in Taranaki
There are some more likely shovel ones listed such as Queenstown Town Centre, Whakatu Inland Port at Napier, SH 94 Homer Tunnel, Northwestern Busway, and the Ferry Basin Redevelopment. Most however resemble the examples given above. These might create a few jobs but are hardly visionary or likely to give the necessary post Covid kickstart to the economy. The list as it stands shows a lot of money being spent, and at the end of the day, little to show for it in terms of providing any sort of economic stimulus.
Allowing for the fact there must be some of greater significance in the remaining 740 odd, many of the projects not included on the list suggests a Government with a bucket and spade mentality, whereas it’s Judith who has her hands on the shovel and heavy machinery. As she has pointed out, for too long in this country we have not started projects until they are needed. We need a mindset where we get things in place before they are required.
This is what she means by being visionary in the area of transport, specifically roads. The dictionary meaning of vision in this sense is the ability to think about or plan the future with imagination or wisdom. So we will tunnel through the Brynderwyns and we will tunnel through the Kaimais. Whatever it takes to get the job done. It’s a vision to make an area of high population a powerhouse, maybe of Australasia.
Meanwhile, the pre-schoolers in the Childcare Centre squabble over a political port in Whangarei versus a silly tram up Dominion Road. They really do need the bucket and spade – for the sandpit they’re playing in.
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