Transport portfolio a shambles

Two big transport announcements today reveal a transport system showing the effects of wasteful mismanagement, Labour’s Transport spokesperson Phil Twyford says.

“Gerry Brownlee’s handling of his ministerial portfolio is a shambles.

“His new $12.3 billion National Land Transport Programme shows that even though the Government is spending more money than ever before on roads, it is also looking to raise taxes and increase borrowing.

“Not only that, but it continues to flat line funding for the maintenance of local roads and state highways, causing real cuts to the maintenance of local roads and an effective moratorium on new state highway projects - unless they fall under that other mega roading programme, the $12 billion, gold-plated Roads of National Significance.

“Most of those RONS have very low economic value for money by the Government’s own figures. Despite that it has thrown $8 million at public relations for them and poured $216 million into investigation and design even though some of them won’t be built for many years.

“Meanwhile KiwiRail’s results, also out today, reveal a rail company being set up to fail. It has missed its financial targets in spite of a promising result from the freight business and is having to lay off 181 workers and defer three years of network maintenance

“Add to that the fact that the Government refuses to support Auckland’s City Rail Link, insisting it be subjected to a far more rigorous assessment than any of the Roads of National Significance have had to go through, and you’ve got a portfolio in crisis,” said Phil Twyford.