You might be interested in this chitter-chatter from the ether - The Standard in fact, where several commentators are discussing the as-yet-uncreated Haast/Hollyford road.
Apologies to the originators, whose names I've scrubbed for the sake of propriety.
11 June 2011 at 1:33 pm
Well I have it on good local source near to one of the mining industry’s main targets that the issue has risen straight to the top of the agenda again with respect to the fantasyland Haast-Hollyford dreamroad, which of course is a side-issue to gain access to the loaded-to-the-gunnels Red Mountains.
If you want one target to really watch then check this one. Push hard the Westland and Central Otago regional councils and DOC for info. There have been talks again.
It has blasted to the surface super-quick again. This post together with this recent happening in the deep southwest place pieces of a puzzle
- It’s also coupled in with corporate Queenstown wanting to build a connection straight to Milford instead of via Te Anau (current proposal is a tunnel through the Humboldt Mts into the Hollyford). Are there connections between those in Qtown pusing for this and the mining interests in the Red Hills? This is not only National Park, it’s a World Heritage site.
- Yes there will be a tie-up. But it is completely and utterly brainless on two simple fronts. One, the cost benefit. They seem to think it can be done for $2-300million. ha ha ha ha ha ha f*cking lying tossers. Add at least 1 zero to that. Why do you think the Haast stretch of the coast road was the last connected in late 1960s? Because it was so difficult (i.e. expensive) due to swamp and river and swamp and river and swamp and river. So several billions at least would be the answer. Which will then have people all over the country saying ‘hey what the f*ck about the dangerous intersection down our street where our mate died last year? You can bloody fix that before you start paying for touro’s to go for a drive. Especially when they can already drive shitloads of that coast. F*ck off.” There is no cost-benefit. Simple.
And two, environmental. That coast is the largest stretch of untouched and walkable coastline remaining in New Zealand. It is virgin New Zealand. The environment would be devastated. It would be Manapouri all over again. I will be lying in front of the bulldozers you can bet on that. In fact, I will place my own bulldozer in front of their bulldozer. No I wouldn’t, I would place ten bulldozers in front of them. And shove them all the way back to whatever over-developed barren wasteland part of NZ they came from.
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