Todd Niall05:00, Apr 30 2021
LAWRENCE SMITH/STUFF
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, flanked by Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Finance Minister Grant Robertson, announces a $12 billion infrastructure package (Video first published January 2020).
Billions of dollars of government-promoted transport projects in Auckland are legally untouchable, despite public submissions currently being sought on the city’s ten-year transport plan. The Auckland Transport-led Regional Transport Committee has been given legal advice that its ability to make changes to the proposed blueprint of spending, stops short of purely government-funded projects. These included the controversial Mill Road highway south of the city, and the Penlink connection onto the Whangaparaoa Peninsula, funded by the government’s New Zealand Upgrade Programme.
Then on Wednesday the regional transport committee deliberated on submissions to the Regional Land Transport Plan – a total of 45 written submissions were made on the 10-year transport plan – and Nelson Tasman Regional Public Transport Plan which had a total of 144 submissions. The committee approved an amended transport plan to go to full council for submission to Waka Kotahi, however the public feedback on the public transport plan called for more significant changes than time allowed, so the committee recommended for the council to consider those changes as part of its Long Term Plan deliberations. On Thursday the community and recreation committee, chaired by Councillor Tim Skinner, met for a 3-hour meeting.
NZTA says it never committed to spending $43m on SH3 upgrades stuff.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from stuff.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Neil Holdom.
Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin
Holdom said people were dying on State Highway 3 while the transport agency replaced its original plans with what he called half-arsed alternatives, cutting millions of dollars off the budget in the process.
Since July 2015 seven people have been killed on State Highway 3 between Waitara and New Plymouth, and 27 have been seriously injured.
A toll with an estimated social cost of $43.3 million, according to the New Plymouth District Council s submission to the 2021 Regional Land Transport Plan.
Holdom said there was genuine excitement about plans for the stretch of road when they were first aired in 2015.
Have your say on PenlinkBy: Janet Fitzgerald We’re starting to feel the temperature drop and the leaves falling from the trees as autumn settles in. We’re also now halfway through the three-year Local Board term. As I reflect on my last year and a half, it has certainly been marked by significant advocacy and the highs and lows of Penlink.
The Penlink journey has been a long one – I’ve been campaigning for it for just over 30 years.
Getting big projects like Penlink achieved takes time, commitment, and a whole heap of passion. It’s one thing to have a ‘can-do’ attitude, but to achieve real results, it means tirelessly advocating at every opportunity. It means utilising the correct processes within the system to get buy-in from the right people. Things don’t just happen; you have to drive the change you want to see.