Road process shatters Beth’s faith in democracy

Since hearing the news that our home is to be “acquired” and bulldozed to build an expressway, I have had an education in politics.  A ringside seat has given me a close look at the conduct of politicians, at both local and national levels. The illusion that I live in a democracy has been shattered.

One November morning last year, two representatives from the New Zealand Transport Agency arrived unannounced to visit us at home. They unfolded an aerial map, which showed yellow lines running straight through our property and through 24 of our neigbours’ homes and gardens. There was a plan to construct a new expressway, we were told, part of the first RoNS, a “Road of National Significance” for which our home would be required….READ MORE