Some of you with a passing knowledge of the Cook Islands will remember back when (Sir) Albert Henry redefined pork barrel politics. Drive on the ring road and those areas that returned Cook Island Party MPs were easily recognisable … the road was sealed. In constituencies held by the opposition it was potholes galore.
And the pork barrelling continues here in Northland. As part of our punishment for reelecting a National MP it is now reported that the gummit has reduced the subsidy paid to the Far North District Council’s road maintenance budget by 30% and canned completely any contribution to the district’s capital roading budget. I guess they had to find the $1 billion dollars needed to fund Auckland’s second harbour bridge (limited to bikies and pedestrians) from somewhere. Payback for the Greens.
Whoops … we didn’t reelect Matt King. The seat was won by the Labour candidate. Her score to date … the Wellsford to Whangarei four lane highway canned; Marsden Point to Whangarei highway upgrade canned and now the guts ripped out of the FNDC roading budget.
Payback to Northland … Labour Party style.
No Minister 
Self-inflicted injury. Enjoy your Shane Jones taxpayer funded bribe money Northland, while it lasts. Don’t spend it all in one place 🙂
Off thread but you may find interesting Vet. Ambulanced into hospital at Tauranga. Full ED so shuffled in an out of the ED admittance area for xrays and the like. At one point a Detective and Constable arrived looking for the passenger on the helo. Buzzed in by reception and later walked out Detective leading a young Maori girl with moko followed by the Constable, No handcuffs but certainly under rein. Gotta hand it to her when she noticed the hand sanitizer station she quickly left them . When finally back in file the Detective said “You do that entering the hospital”. Maybe Bridges should ask who came in the chopper. Relative visiting said there was two lazing on their hogs outside when she came in.