16 December 2019

Simon Bridges - National will deliver on housing, transport and infrastructure

National has today released the ninth and tenth in our series of discussion documents, which contain a range of proposals to ensure New Zealand has the high-quality housing and infrastructure it needs to prosper, Leader of the Opposition Simon Bridges says.

“National gets on and builds things. Whether it’s first-rate social and economic infrastructure or Roads of National Significance, New Zealanders have come to know National as the party that delivers on its policies.

“The current Government cancelled or stalled all of the former National Government’s plans to build New Zealand. This has left Kiwis worse off as congestion grows, our economy slows, and the number of people waiting for housing has skyrocketed in two short years.

“National will make sure New Zealand’s infrastructure is fit for purpose for the 21st century.

“We’ll deliver economic infrastructure that will grow our economy and create jobs, as well as social infrastructure that will see our kids taught in world-class facilities and provide us access to the best healthcare possible.

“We will get New Zealand moving again by investing in the safe, efficient high-quality highways that motorists deserve in return for all the tax Labour has stung them with.

“We will keep the Kiwi dream of home ownership alive by freeing up planning rules and restrictions around consenting to make sure houses and infrastructure gets built.

We are committing to:
• Repeal and replace the Resource Management Act
• Develop a clear pipeline of major infrastructure projects
• Repeal the Auckland Regional Fuel Tax and not increase fuel taxes in our first term
• Use private capital to build the critical infrastructure New Zealand needs
• Introduce legislation that will implement roadside drug testing

We are proposing to:
• Complete our Roads of National Significance (RONS) and begin a second generation programme
• Introduce new funding for Roads of Regional Significance
• Introduce a target to reduce the time it takes to house priority clients on the social housing register
• Increase support for community housing providers
• Introduce new transport authorities in Wellington and Canterbury
• Introduce a performance auditor for Auckland CCOs, including Auckland Transport
• Establish a new Water Infrastructure Fund to help councils improve water quality.
• Decrease the use of random speed cameras and increase signposted cameras
• Move to congestion charging and road user charges for all vehicles over time

“Quality infrastructure gets us to work on time in the morning and home again to our families at night. It grows our economy and gives the places we live vibrancy as well as functionality.

“National is the party of infrastructure. We’re doing the hard work now so we can hit the ground running in 2020.”

Our Discussion Documents can be found HERE

ends

© Scoop Media