Over on wellington.scoop Lindsay Shelton is asking how the NZ Transport Agency has become the object of so much contempt from local communities. He notes that even columnist Karl du Fresne at the Dominion Post is increasingly skeptical about the performance of this agency:

Can anyone think of a good reason why the head of the Transport Agency, arguably one of the least impressive government departments, should be our highest- paid public servant?
Come to that, can anyone think what 221 other Transport Agency staff have done to earn annual salaries of $100,000-plus?

It's not hard to understand the antipathy - just take a look at the NZTA website for the Basin Reserve flyover. It's full of PR-speak and plain disinformation, speaks down to readers as though they are small children, and generally conveys the very strong impression that NZTA will be forging ahead with this project irrespective of what local residents think.

And looking at the comments in response to Lindsay's article, it seems there isn't a community in the country that trusts NZTA to do the right thing. Here in Wellington memories are still fresh from NZTA's incompetent approach to managing the Te Aro historic precinct, where historic buildings ended up empty and vandalised for years on end as the agency dithered and prevaricated.

It seems the fastest way for the NZ Transport Agency to regain the trust of New Zealanders would be to demonstrate that they are willing and able to change their plans in response to the concerns of local residents. But on their track record to date we're not holding our breath.