John MacDonald: The South Island gets by-passed yet again

Author: John MacDonald,
Publish Date: Mon, 13 Jul 2026, 12:15pm

Follow the podcast on

Transport Minister Chris Bishop said New Zealand is an outlier internationally in requiring a second practical driving test when moving from restricted to full. NZME photograph by Mark Mitchell

Yet again, the South Island is taking a back seat to the North Island.

With Transport Minister Chris Bishop announcing that the Government had done a re-think on all the new roads it promised before the last election.

And for us here in the South Island, that means none of the ones we were promised going ahead anytime soon - including the much-anticipated Woodend Bypass.

More than 20,000 vehicles go through Woodend every day and local residents, the council and MP Matt Doocey have been fighting for years for a bypass to divert traffic away from the township.

This has been going on for 20-odd years, or so.

But the Government says there’s no more money for the project. Other than what’s already been approved for design work, land purchases and some early works.

But there’s no money for actual construction of the road and, therefore, no start date. And I wouldn’t put money on it happening anytime soon.

Waimakariri Mayor Dan Gordon isn’t taking no for an answer. And he’s demanding answers from Wellington.

But good luck Dan. Because what you’re fighting here is bigger than just the Woodend Bypass.

What Dan Gordon and the rest of us are fighting is the fact that the South Island has always and will always take a back seat to the North Island.

And, despite what any politician from any political party says, the South Island will always play second fiddle.

And that’s exactly what we’re seeing here.

The Woodend Bypass is effectively on ice. The same with the only other major South Island road promised at the last election - the Hope Bypass, in the Nelson-Tasman area.

As someone was pointing out over the weekend, the Roads of National Significance have become the Roads of North Island Significance.

And it’s not just a Woodend thing. Just look south of Christchurch for another roading example of the South Island playing second fiddle.

Someone was telling me this morning that it took them two hours to get from just south of Ashburton to Christchurch last night.

Another traveller heading home after the long weekend told me they had similar issues on that stretch of road last night. With the average speed between Ashburton and Christchurch about 60 kilometres per hour.

There may have been a crash somewhere. But it just reinforces how hopeless that stretch of road is.

And is another example of how happy Wellington is to dish out the lip service to the South Island, but that’s all.
I’ve never been a “cut the cable” kind of guy. Because that sort of stuff is way too parochial for me.

But, at the same time, I can’t ignore the fact that our political parties - when they’re in government and when they’re out of government - don’t care as much about the South Island as they do about the North Island.

And this announcement about the Woodend Bypass going nowhere anytime soon is just another example.

LISTEN ABOVE