Daniel Hutchinson From The Hutch

Few things get me more excited than a big infrastructure project.

I love a big idea, the concept drawings make me tingle and don't even get me started on those videos that show the whole she-bang from start to finish in just a few minutes.

Last night I parked up on the couch and watched NZTA's drone footage of the Waikato expressway. I can't wait for the new season when Hamilton city is completely by-passed by the flash new highway.

The only problem with this project is the big hill in between it and Tauranga. The so-called golden triangle between Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga is actually more of a pineapple lump than anything or possibly a rocky road.

The Tauranga Northern Link is still just re-runs of old concept drawings and the projects that have been started are starting to get a bit old before they are even finished.

What you don't see on the concept plans is the boring bits, and when it comes to that little stretch of road between Baypark and Bayfair that's all we have been seeing for the last few years.

Day after day, commuters have been fed a diet of road cones and the dramatic moments have been few and far between. Even those people who used to stand on either side of the traffic lights to make sure people got across safely have gone.

So it was with some excitement that a giant drill and an equally giant pile of some kind appeared at Bayfair on Wednesday morning. By Thursday morning the big pile had gone – presumably buried in the ground.

But it's all I needed – a sign of progress. Word on the street is that it was 'ground improvements” to support the new flyover bridge.

Stop it – that's just too much excitement for one day.

Council

Now, only about 40 per cent of people really care enough about local politics to actually vote, although a far larger number care about local roads and rubbish, parks and amenities etc.

Local people are elected to make all these decisions. If we don't like their decisions we vote for new people next time. If we do like them, we keep them around.

In reality, it's not like people are lining up down the street to be the decisions makers, but last time around we had enough contenders to make it seem like we had a choice.

It's a thankless job at times. It's not like people are ringing you all hours of the day and night to tell you how impressed they are that their sewage is flushing away nicely and they didn't hit any potholes on their way to work.

There is no 6pm ritual where residents stand at the end of their driveways and raise a glass of perfectly ph-balanced water – ‘cheers to the councillors and staff!'

They just expect it.

That's partly because they pay for it of course - $60 or $70 a week – but also because when you set a standard, people get used to it and not only want that standard maintained, but improved upon.

In the case of the Tauranga City Council, there has been some fairly well documented internal struggles in recent times but do we really want the government to step in and take over the show, as could well be the case as early as next week?

How boring would that be if you just hand over your money to someone you don't even know and you don't have anyone to complain to?

I think if they do bring in a commissioner or commissioners, they should at least have a panel of people you can complain about.

Nevertheless, the decision needs to come sooner rather than later if we are to maintain any sort of interest in the process of local government and local democracy.

People are waiting in the wings to have a crack at local politics and we should really give them a chance to show their worth.

It's not always going to be an easy ride and goodness knows the city needs some cohesive decision making, but democracy is pretty important and it needs to run its course.

Christmas rush

Finally, if you are busy Christmas shopping you may have noticed a few things are in short supply. Apparently goods like electronics and household appliances are in short supply.

Frankly if you are the kind of monster that buys a vacuum cleaner as Christmas gift, you deserve to have your brand choices limited.

Anyway, enjoy this week's paper and we will be back next week with our special pre-Christmas edition.

Daniel@thesun.co.nz