Editorial: Not too late for U turn, NZTA

There is no shame in admitting you got it wrong.
It says something for the city of Wanganui and its people that, faced with the decision to stay put and lose your job or move to another centre, anyone would opt for the first option.
Such is the case, sources tell us, with workers whose positions are being moved to Palmerston North as part of a restructuring of the New Zealand Transport Agency.
In all, 15 jobs are slated to go from Wanganui but, according to our sources, most are not interested in shifting or commuting and are seeking redundancy. That must have been a hard decision, balancing the upheaval of shifting or changing your life to accommodate extended travel against the uncertainty of finding new employment.
It is understandable that staff would resist change, but when industry leaders such as Tom Cloke can't see the logic in it, the folly of the move becomes evident. As Mr Cloke and others have said, they have yet to see any tangible evidence presented to explain the benefits of the shift. Yet the downsides are plain to see: the loss of skill, costs of recruiting new staff, increased travel costs, to name but a few of the more obvious.
As this paper asked when the restructuring was first announced, if something isn't broken, why fix it? Words NZTA central region director Jenny Chetwynd should, perhaps, heed. She confesses that the decision is not about cost savings or staff cuts. This is just as well, as any savings would be significantly dented by the additional costs of setting up new office space in Palmerston North and New Plymouth, as well as recruitment to fill any vacancies that arise.
Quite apart from the great reputation Wanganui's NZTA staff have earned, the move casts a cloud of uncertainty over other engineering organisations and consultancies based here. What will become of them and their staff?
When the people involved don't want the change, the industry questions the wisdom of the move, and the only voice crying out for the change is from within the organisation, you are left wondering why.
It is not too late for Ms Chetwynd and the NZTA to do a U-turn. There is no shame in admitting you got it wrong and calling a halt to changes that appear to bring only harm and would certainly undo a mountain of good work.