Andrew Williams MP
Environment Spokesperson
15 March 2013

Basin Reserve Flyover Should Be Hit for Six

New Zealand First holds serious concerns about the merits of constructing a flyover at the Basin Reserve and believes other options should be explored.

Environment spokesperson Andrew Williams says the flyover is an outdated concrete and steel monstrosity unsuitable for the area.

“The Government is spending about $80 million to trench part of State Highway 1 and create a National War Memorial Park on the land above ready for the 2015 Gallipoli centenary commemorations.

“It’s an insult to the memory of our fallen servicemen and women that just metres down the road a nine-metre high flyover will blight the landscape.

“The flyover will destroy the heritage value of a special precinct of Wellington which will include not just the memorial park but also the Basin Reserve and Government House.

“The Government must instruct the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) to find an alternative to the flyover.

“Whatever NZTA comes up with must be sympathetic to the sacred nature of the memorial park,” says Mr Williams.
ENDS

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On Failures Of Care For Those With Mental Disabilities

Hard to imagine a more disturbing insight into the treatment of the vulnerable than the Health Ministry report on Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau. The Ministry has found that the country’s only kaupapa Maori intellectual disability residential care provider has been “seriously dysfunctional.”

The ministry says the business has failed to recruit and retain quality staff – and says the kaimahi (caregivers) that have been employed are seriously unsuitable for the job, lacking basic knowledge. But Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau doesn’t get all the blame. The report says there’s a significant gap under disability laws to ensure there’s oversight by qualified clinical professionals. More>>