Thursday, January 14, 2010



Bulldozing our natural heritage

The above is a picture (stolen from the gallery here) of some of the stunning scenery of the Hollyford Valley. The valley is the route of the Hollyford Track, one of New Zealand's great walks. It traverses a glacial valley full of lowland forests, lakes, and rare native birds, a place where our natural environment is at its most unspoilt, and where people can enjoy the isolation and wilderness.

Gerry Brownlee wants to bulldoze a road right through it. Which means that instead of the isolation and natural wilderness, people will get the roar of mining trucks, the stink of diesel, and the invasion of pest species into a world heritage area. And all because some rich guy wants to direct more traffic to his hotel.

This government are simply wreckers. There is no other way to describe them. They see a forest, they want to cut it down. A mountain, they want to dig it up. A river, they want to fill it with cowshit. And all so their rich mates can make even more money. Meanwhile, the natural wilderness the rest of us want to protect and enjoy gets despoiled for the profit of a few.

[Hat-tip: The Standard]