An Albert Street business owner, struggling to turn a profit alongside ongoing City Rail Link works, has let rip in the blame game being played by the government.
Transport Minister Michael Wood says the absence of compensation for businesses is partly because the last National government did not provide any funding.
But Shobhana Ranchhodji said she has heard it all before - another politician, another promise, but still no pay off.
"It's been with Labour for so long. Minister Wood, catch up.
"Maybe he was the wrong person to have there, you know, let's get somebody that's faster, that knows what's happening, let's do something straight away.
"These are your people, these are the people of New Zealand, we have been paying taxes for far too long, some for more than 40 years in just one business."
Wood is the man with his hands on the CRL purse strings.
For years, those trading alongside a huge trench on Albert St behind large fences have wanted compensation for the ongoing disruption.
It's not just the noise, they are also losing foot traffic, as people around town avoid the clogged-up construction zone.
Business owners want to know when the government is going to help.
"I hope to be in a position to provide some certainty about whether we can provide some support in the very near future," Wood said.
He heaped blame on the last National government.
"Ideally, I think we would have had something set up in the design of the CRL scheme from the beginning, which the previous government set up, but there was nothing set up in terms of compensation," he said.
"And indeed, in New Zealand, there is pretty much no history of building in compensation into these schemes, so we are having to come back and retrofit something into something that was set up some years ago."
The view from Shobhana Ranchhodji's shop on Albert St. Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro
And CRL is not solely to blame for the business hit in the area, Wood claimed.
"There are some real challenges, some of that is related to CRL disruption, but there have been other disruptions occurring in the central city as well," he said.
"Obviously, the impact of the global pandemic, cruise ships, international students and a general loss of business due to some of those conditions."
Checkpoint played Woods' comments to Shobhana Ranchhodji, co-owner of Albert Street's Roma Booms.
She was far from impressed, and said she is growing sick of words and no action.
"Avoidance. He's just avoiding it," she said.
"I feel like the ministers, Auckland Council would say that until the project's done.
"They will keep us holding onto hope a false hope - it's a false hope to us because nothing has happened."
Ranchhodji does not want to hear a blame game between political parties.
"It's not the Nats, it's nobody, it's whoever's in who has got the responsibility at this present time to just listen or do the right thing."
As for the suggestion CRL alone is not to blame for the plight of business owners on this part of Albert St, Ranchhodji said the construction firm is by far the main culprit.
"We know that Michael Wood talked about other problems that are coming our way, just not the CRL.
"That's only what 5 percent ... compared to the 95 percent that's happening at our doorstep."
In recent weeks, some of Ranchhodji's neighbors have shut up shop.
Da Vinci Italian restaurant shut its doors in the last couple of weeks, while Taj Mahal Indian Eatery has been cutting back trading hours.
City Rail Link work on Albert St. Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro
Ranchhodji took a video diary of Da Vinci owner Antony Ariano before he left the street.
"They have money to splash here, spend here to destroy business like us and others," he said.
"But to help? Never, never ever."
For Roma Blooms, the constant noise, road layout changes and 2m high cage fences on their doorstep mean they are sometimes forced to check out thousands of dollars' worth of perishable flowers on any given day.
"For us, our other effect is our staff. I've had to let good staff go because of CRL," she said.
Meanwhile, Wood remains adamant the government is moving as fast as it can in considering a $50 million compensation package pitched by Heart of the City.
"We've been looking closely at what the justifications for compensation might be," he said.
"How, for example, you would differentiate between the impact of the CRL versus other impacts that might have caused some difficulties for the businesses.
"And question how you would make sure, for example, that landlords are also stepping up and playing their part here, given that landlords stand to make windfall gains from the significant public project."
