Very good point by a columnist in the Sunday Star Times today - couldn’t have said it better myself!

Ministers are allocating billions and billions on new state highways, including some kind of multi-billion dollar tunnel to Wellington Airport, all in the name of productivity. But what assessments have Ministers made of the relative productivity gains from a proper Dunedin Hospital?

If, as the Infrastructure Minister says, the govt is facing the reality of the fiscal situation despite its past promises, there’s no need to ditch Dunedin’s Hospital build or pit it against work on other hospitals when the massive highways budget is clearly not facing reality.

The things that are unaffordable and the things that aren’t

$3 billion for a new hospital? Unaffordable. $3 billion for a new motorway? Now we’re talking.

Kathryn Ryan talks to Geoff Cooper from the Infrastructure Commission here, with Cooper explicitly noting that infrastructure decisions could lead to having “less of something else whether it’s hospitals, schools, justice, defence”. It really shouldn’t be this hard. www.rnz.co.nz/national/pro....

Power, water, roads: what's the long term plan?

Infrastructure around the country is in need of investment - from the electricity grid, to roads, public transport, hospitals and schools. The Infrastructure Commission Chief Executive, Geoff Cooper, ...

Rather than cancel or disrupt well advanced projects for new Cook Strait ferries, new regional hospitals and major social housing developments, Ministers could save billions - including for council rates in opex - by making economically rational, better value decisions on urban infrastructure.

The Infrastructure Commission CE made *the crucial point* about the cost of roads, water, energy being “significantly higher building out” this week on RNZ, saying we “don’t need marginal additions to the network on the edge of the city if we can get more capacity inside the city.”

I think short term outlook is undeniably bad. But I think this trajectory cannot be sustained over the longer term. The questions to me are how to limit the damage and how to accelerate the inevitable change in direction.

GNS have confirmed they are cutting over forty science roles including in areas like risk modelling and geohazards, in service of “improved” profits. This is what a commercial model for public good science does. The damage to our capability and reputation will be long-lasting.

‘Huge blow’: GNS Science confirms move to cut 10% of its workforce

Hazard-focused roles among dozens of jobs to be cut in confirmed GNS Science restructure.

In Wellington’s morning peak, buses are only 3% of the vehicles on Thorndon Quay but carry 60% of the people. On Adelaide Road buses are 1% of the traffic, but 40% of the people. Want more people in the city without more congestion? Fund more bus lanes, and higher capacity, higher frequency buses.

“Public transport fares are up and service is down because we’ve promised multi billion dollar fantasy highways. New homes in the city will be less affordable because developers with greenfield land get priority. But don’t you dare work from home because you’re killing the city.”