Drilling tunnels into the Kiwi equivalent of the Alps to service communities that are mostly in the range of hundreds to thousands of people is neither simple nor financially feasible.
GGGP (alexdong) lives there and apparently wants easier access to doctors, nurses, and midwives.
That's a sample size of one, but I suspect at least a few other people will agree if they're ever in need of medical care. People are fickle; they say they want quiet when tourists are rummaging around, but don't even care about a helicopter landing in their backyard when there's a doctor on board.