From Penk’s Pen

Greetings!

Usually in these columns I write on a topic that has a local focus but somehow linked to broader themes of what’s going on nationally.

I see my role as trying to inform northwest Auckland about what’s happening in Wellington, as well as the other way around.

This month, however, the picture I would paint in terms of New Zealand as a whole might almost be too obvious to do in detail. Readers of Kumeu Courier will already be familiar with the fact that efforts to rebuild the economy are bearing fruit slowly but it has been a tough 2024 for many.

For this reason, my contribution here will simply update on my attempts to get the key infrastructure that this area needs.

In terms of an additional high school, my latest pitch to the Ministry of Education is that they should order classrooms built “off-site” without delay, so that a school can quickly be put in place (quite literally) once they finally purchase land, using the Public Works Act if necessary.

As for SH16 improvements, I’m advised that it will only be once the Waimauku end works are complete that the equivalent widening will take place between Brigham Creek and Huapai. We cannot miss that window in 12 months.

And regarding the Kumeu bypass (officially “alternative SH16”), this remains on track in the planning phase but no new roads get built quickly in this day and age.

Finally – and staying with transport – last weekend could have been a test case for passenger rail to Huapai, as the excellent Public Transport Users Association has been trying to arrange. Kiwirail tell us that safety testing is needed to use the tracks for that purpose once more, even though freight trains have recently resumed following repair of the tracks following the Cyclone Gabrielle havoc of last year.

In short, I continue to bang my head against the brick wall of bureaucracy in the hope of eventual results for this area.

Cheers, Chris Penk

 

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