Moving Auckland forward - PPP legislation

“Today’s news from Wellington is good news for Auckland,” Auckland Mayor John Banks said as he welcomed the introduction of the Land Transport Management Bill into Parliament.

“The region's mayors are committed to completing Auckland’s long-planned integrated transport network by 2007. The Minister of Transport’s bill is key to us succeeding. Over the next few days we will be closely examining the detail. It is important the legislation meets the urgent transport needs of the region.

“Paul Swain is enthusiastic about Auckland completing its transport infrastructure, and today cements a rare Auckland-Wellington accord.

“There is simply not enough money in the public coffers to do what Auckland needs. We must allow the private sector to build, operate and toll roads.

“Sydney is completing its network with the private sector investing around $10 billion. New Zealand is now clearing the path for private sector investors. There is at least $4 billion of overdue roading work to complete in Auckland and realistically we can’t expect the ratepayer and taxpayer to cover all the costs.”

The public sector by itself could only provide Auckland with “catch-up, patch-up” solutions. Public-private partnerships would allow things to be done once and done properly.

“Low-cost solutions, like those currently proposed for the viaduct over Victoria Park, are unacceptable. Projects will only meet environmental and community expectations if sufficient funding can be found. PPPs will open more doors.

“Innovative funding provisions provide the best opportunity for Auckland to complete critical components of the roading network. At the same time, the Auckland City Council is doing work on streamlining the consent process to ensure completion is sooner rather than later.

“My vision is for Auckland to be a truly internationally competitive city complete with investment, jobs and growth,” Mr Banks concluded.

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