Forest & Bird is urging the Government to take a
closer look at the proposed Fast-track Brynderwyn highway
replacement, warning it could become one of the country’s
most expensive infrastructure mistakes while causing
significant harm to rare native wildlife.
The impact
on native wildlife is concerning as independent ecological
assessments show the preferred route, on the south side of
the Brynderwyns, would cut through very steep old-growth
native forest. This habitat supports critically threatened
pekapeka long-tailed bats, rare pepeketua Hochstetter’s
frogs, copper skinks, kauri snails and glow
worms.
“The issue is not whether a new route is
needed, but whether the chosen route is the right one,”
says Dean Baigent-Mercer, Forest & Bird’s Northland
regional conservation manager.
Hochstetter’s frogs are
among New Zealand’s most threatened native frogs. The
Brynderwyn population is incredibly important for the
species’ survival.
“There’s no doubt nationally
vulnerable frogs will be killed with this route and
critically threatened long-tailed bats would be at risk from
their roosts being felled and having a highway through their
habitat,” says Mr Baigent-Mercer.
Forest & Bird
says this Government’s new Fast-track process has
prevented proper public scrutiny of a project that could
cost taxpayers billions of dollars.
“It’s one thing to
have a Fast-track process, but it shouldn’t come at the
expense of transparency and robust environmental
scrutiny,” says Mr Baigent-Mercer.
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“The public
deserves assurance that infrastructure this expensive
protects Northland’s precious native wildlife rather than
imperilling it.
“The whole point of the new highway
was to avoid the Brynderwyn hills after Cyclone Gabrielle
caused the road to be closed due to severe slips. But the
route being fast tracked would run not far downhill from the
existing State Highway 1 over the same geology already known
for ongoing landslides.
“This proposal appears to
lock taxpayers into a multi-billion-dollar project that
isn’t climate resilient and carries major and known
ongoing geological risks – as revealed in NZ Transport
Agency’s own application.”
NZ Transport Agency’s
Fast-track application acknowledges “major geotechnical
risks”, widespread landslides and slope instability, and
notes construction could require ongoing problem-solving and
experimenting during construction.
“Major geotechnical
risks are a serious red flag for this project,” said Mr
Baigent-Mercer.
“If the existing road has been plagued
by instability, it’s fair to ask why taxpayers should fund a
hugely expensive new highway through similarly challenging
terrain when the public are expecting the new highway to
completely avoid all the problems we already experience over
the Brynderwyns.”
Additional
information/notes
- On page 47 of NZ Transport
Agency’s Fast-track application, under GROUND RISK, the
report says that “Major geotechnical risks are expected…
due to geological conditions”. They note under LANDSLIDE
MANAGEMENT that there are “widespread landslides and natural
slope instabilities” which will lead to problem solving and
experimenting while constructing. Source: Substantive
Application under the Fast-track Approvals Act 2024 – Volume
A – Main Application –
https://us.list-manage.com/1CFQLVtFXJj?e=f5d66bb423&c2id=1175979a5e8c20453001087f9fe08730&m=Ow9IsYId18rR_a7FOW8Mf5JWgHHSH2zezK3eljmncr_h8HJG19MZ9QSyOopX
- Indicative
costs for the wider Te Hana-to-Whangārei Northland Corridor
is $15.3 billion to $18.3 billion. The Infrastructure
Commission has previously warned the megaproject could be
one of New Zealand’s most expensive infrastructure
projects, consuming $1 of every $10 of all government
infrastructure spending over 25 years. History tells us that
each previous major roading project has increased in
cost.
