June 13, 2019
Wairoa rail restart planting seed for future
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters says tomorrow's reopening of the Napier to Wairoa railway line sends a signal to all of provincial New Zealand.
The line has been closed since 2012, and the reopening is the first significant rail project funded through the provincial growth fund.
The New Zealand First leader says Wairoa has been through tough times, and getting its rail back should give its people an uplifting experience.
"It's a demonstration we have not forgotten the importance of Wairoa or the regions around the country and it's a critical asset for Wairoa and to have the thing closed down in an organised wind-down of railways which the previous Government was guilty of was a darned disgrace so we hope they turn out," Mr Peters says.
Mr Peters and Regional Development Minister Shane Jones will also visit Prolife Food's Maungataniwha Plantation near Lake Waikaremoana to observe the planting of the millionth mānuka seedling in a four year project to plant 3,500ha of cutover forest land for honey production.
Copyright © 2019, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com