Winston Peters receives warm Katikati welcome in support of bypass

First the harbour bridge, now Winston Peters is throwing his support behind the Katikati bypass.

The New Zealand First leader was given a warm response when he spoke to about 250 locals at the Katikati War Memorial Hall yesterday about the need to create a bypass, the earthquakes, civil defence and the economy.

"Katikati is one of the most pretty places in New Zealand . . . But you're still here with the same road through the town," he said.

"Katikati has been calling for a bypass for donkey's years. The quality of life has been seriously affected by the increasing numbers of trucks and vehicles passing through.

"You deserve better."

He said the crowd did not seem "angry or upset" about the bypass issue.

"It's the easternmost branch of the Mother Theresa society.

"So still the question is how long are you prepared to wait for the bypass?"

Mr Peters said one of NZ First's policies was to ensure provincial areas in the country "got [their]fair share of infrastructure investment money".

"We would ensure a bypass is built around Katikati."

NZ First MP Clayton Mitchell said the bypass was a "big issue perplexing the Katikati residents".

"It's dear to the locals' heart. There is no reason why they can't."

He described the current situation as "unbelievable".

Mr Peters based his speech around the recent earthquake, which then looked into the New Zealand economy and in turn the bypass.

He called for a public inquiry to be undertaken of the "overall state of New Zealand's resilience to major natural disasters".

Mr Peters also touched on the tsunami sirens.

"You can't have people finding out about a potential tsunami three hours after".

Mr Peters answered questions about who he would likely side with in the upcoming election, by reminding the crowd of his "firing from the front bench" of the 1996 Government.

Katikati Bypass
In August, nearly 400 people packed the Katikati war memorial hall at a public meeting to discuss the creation of the $42 million Katikati bypass. A New Zealand Transport Agency engineer present at the August meeting said that, over the next six months of investigations into safety options, they would be looking at putting right-turning bays at each intersection between Tauranga and Waihi where possible.