Hon Annette King
Minister of Transport
Hon Parekura Horomia
Minister of Maori Affairs

14th October 2008 Media Statement
East Coast gets safe, reliable roading alignment

Labour’s commitment to ensure remote communities are provided with reliable roading infrastructure has been further strengthened by today’s announcement of a $2.5m SH35 alignment for the East Coast, says Transport Minister Annette King and Ikaroa-Rawhiti MP and Maori Affairs Minister Parekura Horomia.

The Ministers say August’s three-day closure of the highway near Ruatoria due to subsidence had demonstrated just how vulnerable a remote community could be.

“We understand how tough this isolation was for the community, for business, for the whole lifeblood of the region,” the Ministers said.

“While New Zealand’s weather and topography will always put some areas at risk, this Labour Government aims to ensure people and goods can move around New Zealand safely and reliably, which is what we are seeing with this realignment.”

About 5ha of Maori land is included in the alignment, and Mr Horomia says it was due to the co-operation and generosity of the trustees that the project was able to proceed.

Ms King says since 1999, total Government investment in transport has increased by more than 180 percent from just over $1 billion in 1999/2000 to a forecast $3.1 billion in 2008/09.

Central government spending on roading has more than doubled from $850 million in 1999/00 to an allocation of over $1.9 billion in 2008/09. This includes both capital and maintenance expenditure on State Highways and central government funding for local roads. Transport investment as a percentage of GDP has grown from just under 1 percent in 1999 to 1.6 percent in 2008.

Total central government public transport investment in 2008/09 is more than 15 times higher than in 1999/00. Including capital investment in rail infrastructure, public transport spending is forecast to be around $640 million in 2008/09, compared with investment of $41 million in 1999/00.

14th October 2008 Media Statement
Ka whiwhi huarahi rori haumaru, tōtika te rohe o Ngāti Porou

Ki tā te Minita mō ngā Waka a Annette King, me te Mema Pāremata mō Te Ikaroa- Rāwhiti, te Minita mō ngā Take Māori, a Parekura Horomia, kua pakari ake te piriponotanga a Reipa ki te whakapūmau kia whiwhi rori tōtika, pai ake ngā hapori o tuawhenua, i te pānuitanga i te rangi nei, o te whakawhiwhinga kia $2.5 miriona hei whakapai, hei whakatika i te huarahi SH35, kei te rohe o Ngāti Porou.

Me te kī a ngā Minita, i te katinga o te huarahi matua kei Ruatoria i te marama o Akuhata nei, nā te horonga whenua, nā konei ka kitea te nui o ngā whakararu ka pā atu ki ngā hapori mamao nei.

“ Kei te mārama rawa atu māua ki ngā raruraru o te whakataratahi kā pā atu ki te hapori, ki ngā rōpū umanga, me te oranga katoa o te rohe,” e kī ana ngā Minita.

“Ahakoa te tau mai o te whakararu o ngā huarere me ngā mahere whenua o Aotearoa, ka whai tonu tēnei Kāwanatanga Reipa ki te whakapūmau ka haere haumaru ngā tāngata me ngā taputapu ki ngā wāhi katoa o Aotearoa, arā, koia nei e kitea ana e mātou kei tēnei whakatikanga rori.”

Āhua 5 ha te rahi o te whenua Māori kei roto i tēnei whakatikanga, me te kī a Horomia nā te whakaaetanga me te tautokotanga a ngā kaitiaki whenua i tutuki pai ai tēnei kaupapa.

Me te kī a Minita King, mai i te tau 1999, neke atu ki te 180 ōrau te pikinga o ngā moni Kāwanatanga ki runga i ngā rori, mai i te āhua $1 piriona i te tau 1999/2000, ki te $3.1 piriona kua tohua mō te tau 2008/09.

Kua piki aparua anō ngā moni whakapau a ngā kaunihera ā-rohe, mai i te $850 miriona i te tau 1999/00 ki te whakawhiwhinga o te āhua $1.9 piriona a te tau 2008/09. E tāpiri ana tēnei i ngā moni whakapau haupū rawa, me te whakatika i ngā Rori Matua, me ngā rori kei ngā rohe kaunihera. Kua piki te whakahaumi atu ki ngā rori, hei ōrautanga o te GDP, mai i te āhua 1 ōrau i te tau 1999, atu ki te 1.6 ōrau i te tau 2008.

Neke atu ki te 15 te taureatanga haumi a ngā kaunihera ā-rohe ki rungā rori i te tau 2008/09, ki tā ngā tau o 1999/00. Tāpiri atu ki ngā moni haupū rawa ki ngā huarahi tereina, kei te āhua $640 miriona te pūtea kua whakamanatia mō ngā huarahi katoa hei te tau 2008/09, pērā i te $41 miriona i whakapaua i te tau 1999/00.

ENDS

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