Life is a challenge

Posted by on 27 February 2010 | 0 Comments

Life is a challenge and at times particularly so. As a Mayor of the largest land mass council in New Zealand, there are always exciting projects led by enthusiastic people and an example of this is the strong push again from various individuals to build a road from Haast to Hollyford. This isn't the first time this proposal has been investigated and I am sure it won't be the last.

Southland District Council was criticised when it put ratepayers money into an extensive study into the possibility of building a road connecting the West Coast and Milford in 1992-93. We updated the study in 2005, and now the proposal has made another appearance and some people are calling for us to put more money into it.

In 1993 we had a private operator willing to process to an owner-operator making it a toll road. At that time it was looking like costing well over $100 million to construct.

However, the road is now projected to cost about $300 million and will have large maintenance costs. It will cost several million dollars just to go for resource consent. Council is struggling to pay for its own infrastructure and basic services and we simply cannot load more on to our ratepayers.

There is significant potential in this project, but it has to be funded by either Government or a large personal funder, not Council. One of the key promoters of the proposal this time round is Christchurch businessman and tourism accommodation owner Earl Hagaman, who commissioned the latest report on the road.

Council is very happy to continue offering technical know-how through our asset management staff and/or economic development unit, but funding the building of the road is simply not a possibility.

We already have the most extensive roading network of all territorial authorities to service and our ratepayers are paying the highest rate per person for roading in New Zealand, so any new project would need to be weighed up very carefully to even reach the consultation stage.

At the moment there are 13 different proposals on the table for changing the way people get to Milford Sound, and whatever project that wins approval, if any do, has to be done to world environmental standards because it will be in a World Heritage Park.

I don't believe the proposed Haast-Hollyford Road is possible without some individual or group funding it and if someone does come out of the woodwork, there still needs to be some substantial work carried out before any construction begins.

Council is aware that there are a large number of people supporting the proposed road and is equally aware that there are a large number opposing it. We have to look at it objectively and we will continue to play an active role in feasibility assessments.

The Westland District Council is spending $100,000 on then road, and 135km of the route is within its boundaries, while only 67km is within the Southland District Council's.

We are facing many challenges with our roads throughout Southland and in the next few years, as many of the raods reach the end of their lives, we will face some large costs. At the same time the dairy boom continues and so southern roads are seeing more tankers more often. Several of the Southland forests come of age in the next few years. This all points to the need to spend money on the roads we have now.

Good management and good leadership both mean having to make tough decisions frequently and within local government, those decisions are often not liked by some people within our District. I am sure Southland District Council is making the right decision in not only keeping a watchful eye and not closing the door on the possibility of a Haast-Hollyford Road in the future, but also not putting any more ratepayer money into the proposal at the moment.