Now this grates, it really does, but credit where credit is due. Nick Smith going to announce that he won’t get in the way of more roads and quicker delivery of the roads for Auckland, ultimately meaning they will be cheaper to the tax payer.
Environment Minister Nick Smith will announce tomorrow that he is putting Auckland’s $1.4 billion Waterview motorway project on a fast track for resource consent hearings.
He is expected to announce a board of inquiry, headed by a judge, to hold public hearings early next year on conditions to be attached to the Transport Agency’s construction of the final link in the western ring route.
The agency, which wants to start a five-year building programme next September for the 4.5km partly tunnelled link between the Southwestern and Northwestern Motorways, lodged applications on August 20 with the new Environmental Protection Authority.
Although the authority had 20 working days to recommend whether the applications met a “national significance” test, Dr Smith told Auckland Mayor John Banks yesterday that he intended making a major announcement about Waterview tomorrow.
Finally the road that Helen Clark wouldn’t build will get started.
Nick Smith is politician of the week.
