The Greens' Julie Anne Genter. Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
The Green Party's transport spokesperson says it is not too late to stop the Mt Messenger Bypass project in Taranaki.
Julie Anne Genter visited Tony and Debbie Pascoe's Mangapēpeke Valley farm - which lies in the route of the new road - with former Wellington mayor and Green list MP Celia Wade-Brown last week.
The Pascoes were this week ordered to pay $180,000 in court costs to Land Information New Zealand after losing a bid to halt 11ha of their land being acquired under the Public Works Act for the $280 million project.
Tony and Debbie Pascoe at their farm at Mangapēpeke Valley. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin
Genter would not comment on the Environment Court decision, but said she was gravely worried about the Mt Messenger Bypass.
"I can say having met the Pascoes and visited their land I have huge empathy for them and what they have been through, and I have huge concerns about what NZTA and the government are planning to do with the Mt Messenger Bypass.
"It doesn't seem the most cost effective way to fix the existing road and it's going to take out 30 or more hectares of native bush and an inland wetland. It seems quite outrageous really."
Genter was not concerned that construction of the bypass had already been underway at its southern end for a year or more.
"It should never be too late to make a better decision and particularly for Tony Pascoe who was born on that land and has lived there well over half a century and clearly knows the land better than anyone else.
"I think this is just completely unreasonable for the project to go ahead in such a way that it's destructive to the natural environment."
Genter was not convinced NZTA's promised ecological remediation project - which involved the planting of thousands of native trees and pest control in perpetuity - would return the construction area and beyond to a better state than it was now.
"I really don't find that convincing having seen it [Mangapēpeke Valley]. You know we are in a moment of climate crisis and biodiversity crisis and it's really a time when our roading infrastructure should be designed in a way that causes much less harm because ultimately we are talking about pretty small time savings and there was a viable alternative [route] that used bits of the existing road.
"Anything we can do to stop the destruction of native bush and the natural environment I think is good and NZTA have been remarkably bad at estimating what the true impact is of changing landscapes like this."
Genter said there had been a number of projects that had problems with water and excess water such as the Kāpiti Expressway while Transmission Gully had violated its consents conditions.
"It feels like a very 20th century approach to infrastructure that is undervaluing our natural environment and the people who have a bond with the land that is being taken."
Judge rejects alternative route proposal
In his costs decision, Judge Brian Dwyer rejected the proposition put by the Pascoes that there was a suitable alternative route over Mt Messenger.
"What was clear from the engineering evidence, was that revised Option Z at $206 million would not adequately address the Washer Landslide and resilience issues arising from the proposal to establish the road on the Landslide and that the design team exercising its professional judgement, had reached that conclusion before presentations to the Board."
He found the Option Z:
- Would not adequately stabilise the Washer landslide
- Would provide a lesser level of stabilisation to the landslide and road than the originally proposed retaining wall
- Would not meet the resilience requirements of the Bridge Manual
- Would not meet the project objectives
- Was not a feasible alternative and accordingly was not developed further following considerations in July 2017
"In short, revised Option Z did not withstand engineering scrutiny," the decision said.
Judge Dwyer also rejected the argument negotiations undertaken by the Minister of Land Information regarding the land acquisition had not been carried out appropriately.
He found rather that the Pascoes had been difficult to deal with.
In his submission on costs, Land Information Minister Chris Penk was critical of the Pascoes' objection to the Public Works Act decision allowing acquisition of their land.
He said the "breadth and lack of clarity in the notice of objection" and having to respond to "numerous discovery requests and repeated attempts to adjourn" had caused unnecessary delay.
And while Penk accepted the Pascoes "of course have a right to object and raise their concerns with the Court" he submitted "that all the grounds raised by Mr and Mrs Pascoe lacked merit and their conduct has led to unjustified delay and unnecessary costs".
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