After weeks of complaints from Northlanders about the state of their roads, Emergency Management Minister Kieran McAnulty has got an aerial view of the damage.
With damage cutting residents off from main centres and keeping kids from school, a scathing email from the deputy mayor reading “where the bloody hell are you” may have been the push McAnulty needed.
“There's no better way to understand the extent of the damage than from the air, we couldn't have been able to see that much in hours if we were the ground,” McAnulty said.
READ MORE: 'Certain death' - Northland outraged, say damaged roads ignored
“By getting up there we were able to see the extent of the damage, the underslips, the overslips and the fact that Waka Kotahi has got in there immediately, but this is going to take some time, the damage is quite extensive,” he said.
His office initially told the council he didn’t have time for a tour, so they took the initiative.
“We needed to make this happen so he could see it first hand and putting on the chopper was the thing that made it happen and I'm really glad we took the initiative,” said Far North Councillor Felicity Foy
The storm that rocked Nelson also hit the Far North, closing the Mangamuka Gorge on State Highway One again, after multiple slips.
A weather event closed it for 12 months in 2020 and it only reopened last year.
The alternative route is State Highway 10 through Kaeo.
On the ground, the traffic from roadworks is now compounded by the extra traffic using the alternative route. And when that route closes, as it often does, communities north of here will be cut off.
“I think for us here in Northland, we see the standards of our roads and we see for example what Southland has and the question is where's the equity?” Foy said.
Hokianga’s West Coast Road, a lifeline for many residents so they traversed it anyway to get to work and into Kaitaia for supplies and medical care, was closed for three weeks.
Far North District Mayor John Carter says the Government needs to invest in Northland’s already appalling roading network
“At the moment we need a catch-up, and that's not going to quickly happen in two minutes, it's going to take ten or twenty or thirty years and we need a parliamentary response to ensure we have the right investment regime,” Carter said.
Some have questioned where their ministers and MPs have been.
McAnulty acknowledged the frustrations of far-north residents but said the issue is not a simple one.
“Mayor Carter knows as a former minister that when there are regions that have declared states of emergency they have to be the priority and then when appropriate you come and look at the other areas like Northland and Taranaki,” McAnulty said.
He says he’ll brief Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
“I'll pass back how struck I was by the extent of the damage and how important this route is to the region,” he said.
In the meantime, locals will keep the pressure on.
“We'll continue asking that question, but of course, as I say, it's not a quick fix,” Carter said.
Waka Kotahi confirmed it will be months before they’ll know the best way forward.
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