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Nothing makes the blood boil quite like sitting in traffic.
That's why the promise of a wider road, a new bridge or an extended highway is electoral gold for politicians.
So it was during the last election campaign when John Key took to the streets of Hamilton to announce that National was going to fast track the Waikato Expressway , a 94.5 kilometre, four lane upgrade of State Highway 1 from Cambridge in the south to Mercer in the north.
The benefits were clear: You shave maybe 20 minutes off a journey between Cambridge and Mercer and cut at least 10 minutes of driving time between Mercer and Hamilton.
In a helpful little Q & A sheet accompanying the announcement National asked itself: How will the Expressway be funded? It answered its own question saying: "This money will come from the additional infrastructure funding signalled in our fiscal policy. There will be no tolls charged to pay for this project."
No mention of the six cent tax per litre of petrol foisted on the country's motorists this week.
National is engaging in the smoke and mirrors routine so often seen in the transport sector, where massive amounts of money are announced for huge projects spread over gigantic stretches of time, funded from a bewildering array of sources and then the projects are re-announced six months later in the feeble hope that we've all forgotten about them.
Do a Google search and see how many times Kopu Bridge, Transmission Gulley or the Christchurch Southern Motorway have been announced.
This is just the latest government guilty of not being upfront about transport.
The headline National wanted - and got in some media - was: "Government puts $1 billion into State Highways". OK, it's partly true but where is the money coming from?
Well, $283 million comes from the new national fuel tax on every litre of petrol you buy. Sure, nearly $260 million is new Crown investment but $420 million is "reallocation from non-statre highway classes".
Lovely phrase that, but what they're actually talking about is filching money from a raft of road safety, public
transport, walking, cycling and shipping initiatives and ploughing the money into roads.
Now, don't get me wrong.
I'm no Greenie weighed down by a bone carving, the weight of the world and the belief that personal hygiene is a political issue, but where has National been hiding? While Barack Obama cuts a New Green Deal, motor companies selling gas guzzling Hummers go bust and the world grapples with climate change, National is cutting back on cycling, walking and shipping programmes to fund motor ways.
The benefits to the environment - not to mention the health of a nation with an obesity problem - of getting people out of their cars seems to be lost on Transport Minister Steven Joyce and Prime Minister John Key. It's one thing championing a national cycle way as a tourist attraction but what about actually making cycling and walking a safe and easy way of getting around?
As someone who likes to take the option of biking to work now and then, I can assure Key and Joyce that in Wellington it's something you do at your peril.
Sadly people literally die doing it.
The irony was clinched Wednesday morning when Joyce took part in a photo op launching Walk to Work Day.
My challenge to Joyce is this: Try cycling, mate - you'll risk more than your political reputation.
What do you think about what Guyon is discussing? Share your view on the messageboard below.
Add a Comment:
Post new commentGeoff Keey said on 2009-08-14 @ 01:47 NZDT: Report abusive post
Guyon, I was surprised to see you citing the Government's climate change cost estimates so uncritically given the extent to which they have been discredited.
stephen6565 said on 2009-08-13 @ 22:15 NZDT: Report abusive post
Another very poor article. You are part of the fourth estate and should be asking the hard questions of the govt. Making the govt accountable is not just the oppositions job. This whole article is just rubbish 'feelings' centred around your personal political views. Stick to policy and 'news' items.
geekypolitics said on 2009-08-11 @ 19:34 NZDT: Report abusive post
Mr. Espiner has some good advice for Labour especially on the environment, but the idea that Goff should "cuddle" up to Key is appalling. It is always difficult for the opposition to take a stance on matters that are of an international nature, as the reputation of the country as a united entity is at stake. Democrats in the U.S. had the same problem with regards to the Iraq War. I'd hate to see Labour make the same mistake in the name of "solidarity behind the troops."
Andrew Nichols said on 2009-08-11 @ 14:17 NZDT: Report abusive post
"Polls in Britain showed, counter-intuitively, that support for their troop deployment increased even as casualties mounted. " You're flat wrong! Current polling in the UKs major dailies actually shows majority and growing option to Britains involvement in Obams purposeless war. Not that that's ever bothered the govt there, who in time honoured fashion enjoy perpetuating "Britains post WW2 role as the Greeks to the US Empire" (Harold McMillan 1943)
Kereama said on 2009-08-11 @ 13:39 NZDT: Report abusive post
Of course Labour need to find their direction! They lost the election and they lost touch with grassroots NZ - National did too once, and it took them years to get back on track - but they did. The point is, the "road to nowhere" isn't permanent (unless you're Winston Peters... let's hope anyway). While it may be the opposition's role to critique the Government, the media has an obligation to do so also. Let the opposition "find" themselves and focus instead on the ones that count.