4 August 2011

Auckland Mayor Len Brown has tried to quietly drop two key pre-election promises to deliver rail to the Auckland Airport by 2020 and rail to Albany in 2025, in unveiling the direction setting for the Auckland Council’s 2012-2022 Long Term Plan today,” says Auckland Councillor Cameron Brewer.

“This is probably the biggest breach of an election promise we’ve seen in New Zealand politics for many years. Delivering those two big rail projects in those promised timeframes was a key platform of the Mayor’s campaign last year. He was absolutely insistent about it – no ifs no buts, no maybes. Now it has been scaled right down to possibly protecting the routes over the next decade. It’s an absolute disgrace him not being upfront with the public on this.

“At today’s Strategy & Finance committee meeting, I called for the Mayor to be honest with the public and make it explicitly clear as we enter the Long Term Plan process that these two projects will not and cannot be delivered in the previously promised timeframes.

“The massive engineering challenges the $2.4b City Rail Link presents, and securing the necessary funding, is a big enough challenge for the council, with the other two mayoral promises proving to be a distraction, and costing credibility with the Government and the public.

“As we start drafting the Long Term Plan, let’s not try to push these projects under the carpet and mince our words. Let’s be honest with the Auckland public about the Mayor’s big campaign promises not happening in the next nine and 14 years. The public deserves to hear it black and white,” says Cameron Brewer.

ENDS

© Scoop Media