June 11, 2019
‘Hillbilly thinking’ seals Waikaremoana road fate
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has asked officials to keep working to overcome opposition to sealing a road to Lake Waikaremoana.
Funding for the work was supposed to be announced in Wairoa this week as part of a Provincial Growth package for the Hawke's Bay.
But it dropped off the list after opposition from Tūhoe Te Uru Taumatua chair Tamati Kruger, who told Hawkes Bay today that sealing the road contributes to damage to the environment and would increase traffic into Te Urewera.
"I'm not impressed by that hillbilly thinking, and the reality is we'll work away on it. It's important that the infrastructure of provincial New Zealand isn't neglected and I've said to the officials go back and see Mayor Craig Little and I don't want to let down the broader Wairoa community because obviously tourism is an emerging industry in many of our provinces and we should encourage it," Mr Jones says.
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