Motorway madness

I blogged on Monday about the desecration of wāhi tapu that will occur if the planned motorway bypass in Kāpiti goes ahead, as looks likely.

Later that same day, the ruling of the High Court on the appeals of Save Kāpiti and the Alliance for a Sustainable Kāpiti were made public. They rejected the appeals on all grounds. This is a win for the Government, and the conservative Kāpiti Coast District Council that has been working in an alliance with NZTA.

David Farrar has blogged at Kiwiblog saying:

It was due to local input, that the Government ended up doing the Western Link Road. Originally what was proposed was basically four-laning the current State Highway 1, but many locals were opposed to that, and hence the long sought after Western Link Road was then changed in design from two to four lanes to become the new SH1, and the existing section will become a local road.

At best, this is Farrar being disingenuous. The initial proposal, which was so bad no one could it support it, was deliberately put up by the Government who knew it wasn't going to be accepted.

They then did a round of so-called consultation  that divided the community by proposing three different alternatives, all of which would have done significant damage to natural heritage, property values and the local economy in different areas of the Coast. It pitted local communities against each other, as you would expect.

In reality, the majority of Kāpiti residents are opposed to a four-lane motorway dividing their community. But we are represented by a conservative council that hasn't stood up for the interests of the local community. Mayor Jenny Rowan is now complicit in the damage that this project will cause. It is infuriating to see her laud the High Court's ruling. She should be representing the interests of the community and fighting for the tangata whenua.

David Farrar and other motorists in Wellington will apparently see 12 minutes cut off their travel times to Auckland if the entire Levin-Wellington corridor is built, but this is not justification enough for the project. Congestion in Kāpiti is minimal anyway. The real bottleneck areas are in Paremata and before Pukerua Bay.

Also, the numbers don't stack up at all, it has a cost benefit ratio of only 0.2! That is incredibly low. It will also significantly damage the local economy which has been built around the current SH1, and our attractiveness as an area of retirement and raising a young family. Who would want to retire next to a trucking bypass?

Councillor and mayoral candidate K (Guru) Gurunathan has said that Save Kāpiti has 'waged a heroic struggle' but that now we should stop protesting and let the Government get on with it. I know his wish won't be granted and the anti-expressway movement will continue to fight. An appeal to the Supreme Court is a possibility.

The Dom Post reports:

Te Atiawa ki Whakarongotai Marae chairman George Jenkins said he believed there would be protests by individual iwi members and members of the public when construction started.

Like George Jenkins I also expect protests, and probably land occupations. When our wāhi tapu are under threat, we won't sit meekly by and enable it's desecration.  In my view civil disobedience is now inevitable.

One thing I know for sure is that the bulldozers will have to get past me.


Post by Jack Tautokai McDonald

Updated: Desecration of wāhi tapu is morally repugnant

One of this Government’s many disturbing characteristics is its indifference towards the effect of its infrastructure projects on Māori wāhi tapu. We have seen on multiple occasions that it will prioritise the interests of the trucking industry above all others in relation to major motorway projects. It’s actions have been morally repugnant.

I have previously blogged here on the Kāpiti Expressway and at that time I labeled it ‘an attack on community values and tangata whenua rights’. This was when the EPA gave the green light to this massively destructive project that is opposed by the vast majority of the Kāpiti Coast community, Māori and Pākehā.

The latest development in this sad saga is the decision of the Government to ‘turn the sod’ on their project this week before the Māori Land Court has decided upon the appeal of Patricia Grace and the High Court has decided upon action from Save Kāpiti and the Alliance for a Sustainable Kāpiti. Patricia Grace is an affected free-hold land owner, and along with the Takamore Trust and the Historic Places Trust is actively opposing the project that will desecrate our turangawaewae.

Grace, who is of Ngati Toa, Ngati Raukawa and Te Ati Awa descent, made an impassioned submission at an expressway hearing before the road was given the go-ahead.

"It is where my ancestors established homes, gardens and constructed birthing units, and buried the placenta [pito] of their offspring back into the whenua.

"It is where they discussed, negotiated and made important decisions for life and survival.

"I do not believe there should be any further alienation of Maori land, particularly sites of cultural and historical importance. We know there are burials on my land . . . our ancestors have given much to this community, let them rest in peace. So little of our Maori freehold land remains in Maori hands."

Her great-great-grandfather Wi Parata lived in and had cultivations around the village, she said. She has applied to the Maori Land Court for the land to be set apart as a Maori reservation.

The Chairperson of the Takamore Trust Ben Ngaia has said “our standards will never be met, because we are foremost opposed to a road destroying our wāhi tapu, despite every effort made by NZTA to try and alleviate the concerns, at the end of the day a road is still going through our wāhi tapu and our people feel aggrieved as a result.”

The Government wants to portray that the result of this project is a foregone conclusion, but they have a long way to go to build this motorway, and we still have time to oppose them.

Opposition group Save Kāpiti has planned a protest at the ‘turn-the-sod’ ceremony which will be attended by ministers, most likely Nathan Guy and Gerry Brownlee.

I would encourage Kāpiti residents, and anyone who cares deeply about tangata whenua rights to come and support this protest and stand in solidarity with Patricia Grace, Takamore and Te Āti Awa ki Whakarongotai. It is scheduled for Thursday 22 August at 12 noon at 220 Otaihanga Road, just outside Southward Car Museum.

This may be our last chance to protest this before the bulldozers move in.

This is the last unspoiled wāhi tapu on the Kāpiti Coast and we must unify as Māori like our tupuna did to protect it.

UPDATE: The New Zealand Transport Agency has announced that they are no longer intending to hold the ceremony this week and that it was just an 'option' to do so. I think this is revealing of the situation; Gerry Brownlee would have been pushing NZTA to get on with it, despite High Court action. Brownlee himself is probably been pushed by Steven Joyce, who is the architect of the Roads of National Significance projects. NZTA clearly have a bit more sense than they do.

However, they will continue to rush forward with these projects so that it if Labour and the Greens enter Government in 2014, the projects will be irreversible.

The fight goes on, we must stand in solidarity against this top-down Government oppression of tangata whenua and the wider community.

Post by Jack Tautokai McDonald