The New Zealand Transport Agency has unveiled its proposals for State Highway One in Wellington, which would see a second Mount Victoria tunnel "affect some Town Belt" land.$4 billion is a huge cost, and you immediately have to ask where else it could be better spent. What would it do for housing? For education? For health? For the environment? Or indeed, for public transport in Wellington, to make those giant new roads unnecessary? How many Dunedin hospitals or Christchurch commuter rail networks would it pay for?An additional tunnel was part of the National Party's campaign promise, with improvements in the area discussed for years.
The revamped state highway corridor from the Terrace Tunnel through to Kilbirnie is expected to cost $2.9 to $3.8 billion and is a bid to "alleviate Wellington's longstanding bottlenecks".
The proposal - which is being considered for fast-track approval - includes second tunnels created at Mount Victoria and The Terrace, and sees traffic moving in both directions around the Basin Reserve.
But none of these things matter to National. No, what's important is ensuring that rich business fat cats in suits can get to their pointless meetings "up to" ten minutes faster. And said rich business fat cats don't use public schools and public hospitals, let alone trams or trains - and they think they can avoid the current environmental apocalypse by hiding out in bunkers with their rich pedophile mates.
Its a perfect example of National's priorities: they care about nothing but roads.