Angry Residents Confront Transport Minister

This morning a group of around 15 residents confronted Transport Minster Steven Joyce in protest against the planned state highway 20 extension. Joyce had been intending to walk through Alan Wood Park which would be destroyed by the new motorway but residents who are members of a group “Tunnel or Nothing” had become aware of his visit and were waiting for him when he arrived. The residents immediately surrounded him and began expressing their concerns over the planned project. The planned extension would involve bulldozing many homes as well as destroying a large swath of green space to build the state highway twenty extension.

This was the first time Joyce has faced up to the community and a wide range of concerns were raised. These included falling house prices, increased noise and visual pollution and spending on motorways instead of public transport. Joyce’s laryngitis did little to disguise his lack of clear answers and brushed aside most of the concerns that locals had. When alternatives to the motorway such as public transport were raised such as public transport Joyce replied that New Zealanders were a nation of drivers and would stay that way. One resident talked passionately about how his house would be bulldozed by the new tunnel.

Residents expressed their frustration that no real consultation was being undertaken and that they were being given a choice between “option a and option aa”. Residents are vowing to continue their fight against the planned extension and have previously said they will lie down in front of bulldozers if need be.

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