With 2023 now behind us and the coalition government’s legs planted under the table, we now wait to see if all the pre-election promises come to fruition. Already, we have seen that this government is not afraid to move at pace to deliver what it said it would. But the question is, ‘Can it keep up with the pace it has set?’

Whether by coincidence – or perhaps they are shell-shocked – I have noticed a change in attitude, for the better, from several government departments and agencies I deal with occasionally. There appears to be an outbreak of common sense. Let’s hope this continues.

I fear, though, that it’s just a sign that the bureaucracy has yet to regroup and reorganise to meet the challenges of adapting to a new administration – but regroup they will.

Wouldn’t it be nice if the way in which the repairs to SH25A were handled became the norm? Completing a project like this under budget and under time is something we are not used to, but it proves that if there is a will to do something, then it can be done; one would have to be cynical to suggest that the pending election in 2023 had anything to do with it.

One thing that has not changed with the new administration is the number of groups seeking government (our) money to support what they do. I am sure that each of these groups is sincere in what it wants to do and who for but, unfortunately, except for taxing the ‘rich pricks’, each appears devoid of ideas about where the money will come from.

The decision to axe the planned Cook Strait ferry revamp caused more than a few adverse comments. I am all in favour of getting new ferries, but why do they have to be so big? At 50,000 tonnes, they were the size of some aircraft carriers. I wouldn’t like to be on board one if control were lost navigating the Tory Channel.

I cannot understand why you would want to build something that would not fit the existing facilities, and why only two? The answer is to build two new passenger ships with roll-on roll-off capability that fit the current terminals and get one dedicated to rail. Also, isn’t it about time that discussion was opened up again about reinstating a daily Wellington-to-Lyttelton service?

The scrapping of the Let’s Get Wellington Moving Project comes as no surprise, and I am heartened by the intention to put a second tunnel through Mount Victoria and to fix the shemozzle around the Basin Reserve. But, of course, there are already two tunnels through this pile of dirt. In 1907, a tunnel was driven through to accommodate trams, now buses. It is still in daily use. Why somebody has not devised a plan to use this better beats me. Also, if you can get hold of a copy of Don Neely and Joseph Romanos’ book, The Basin, published in 2003, have a look inside the back cover. There is a drawing given to the Wellington City Council in 1907 that proposed lifting the playing surface of the Basin by 10 feet, providing for shops and other amenities underneath and a tunnel for trams to connect both sides of the Basin. Minus the shops, this concept of lifting the playing surface and putting a traffic tunnel underneath is being discussed again.

Finally, with the reorganisation of Te Pukenga looming, it is time for the industry to decide if it wants an equivalent organisation to an ITO or if it is comfortable with another organisation looking after its training needs. We have had our own ITO once, and while we gave it good verbal support, the industry was sadly lacking when it came to the practical side.

A hope I have for 2024 is that the industry organisations will organise themselves again under a single united umbrella and speak with one force for all the industry. After all, if David Seymour and Winston Peters can do it, surely, they should be able to. Or do David and Winston just have common sense?