Better headline:

Bored people bitch and moan about something; because they don't have anything better to do.

Holdom said it was a bit rich for opponents of the project, who had cost the country millions of dollars fighting it through the courts, to complain about the cost of the pies.

Damn good point actually. How bitter do you have to be to complain about roading workers getting a free pie, even if it is once a week?

The people in articles like this are a good reminder as to why NZ keeps voting in National governments despite their lives never materially improving under them.

It's not clear to me whether this is a weekly or monthly thing. Is it a poorly worded article or does the author not know? Is it weekly, but the New Plymouth Mayor says he things monthly is ok?

Anyway, I think if you raised their pay by $8 a week no one would argue. But because it's a pie then it's wasted money.

Edit: Oh I see, it's monthly but the complaining group assumed it was weekly because it's called Whānau Friday/Pieday Friday