Marlborough District Council was informed last week that due to funding cuts nationally, the money available from Waka
Kotahi NZTA to fund the Marlborough road maintenance programme has been reduced by $5.1m over the next three years.
A new Marlborough Network Outcomes Contract (NOC) started in April 2020 and is worth $160m over seven years, covering
state highways and the Council’s local roads network and footpaths. It’s jointly funded by Waka Kotahi NZTA and the
Council.
Chairman of the Regional Transport Committee Councillor Francis Maher said it was a difficult message to hear.
“Last year Council agreed to fund the Marlborough Roads network operating contract with new joint venture partners and
we allocated a 40 per cent increase in funding compared to the previous contract. This meant our planned programme of
works for road maintenance across the region was greater, with higher levels of service and a focus on improving
maintenance for Marlborough Sounds’ roads, amongst other initiatives.”
“The funding cut announced by Waka Kotahi NZTA means we won’t be able to make as much progress as we had hoped over the
next three years. To maintain standards the Council will have to increase its share of total funding. It’s a bitter pill
to swallow.”
“Road maintenance is like maintaining a house – if you keep up the painting on a regular basis, you won’t have major
problems. A cut like this undermines that regular maintenance programme and means we’ll have to find more money to play
catch up,” Councillor Maher said.