Decision digest | Finance and Performance Committee
24 November 2017

Auckland City Rail Link on time and on budget

Auckland Council’s Finance and Performance Committee today met to receive a series of reports and presentations, including first quarter reports on the council performance and finance.

It also received first quarter reports from council-controlled organisations (CCOs) and a presentation on the City Rail Link (CRL).

City Rail Link Limited reported that the project is both on time and on budget, presented the committee with artist’s impressions of what stations might look like, as well as an overview of the impact of the completed project for the city. The CRL is part of a wider network which will allow greater opportunities for taking rail capacity forward throughout the city.

The agenda is available on Auckland Council’s website and minutes will be added once confirmed. This meeting was also webcast on the council’s website and items are available on demand.

Below is a summary of the decisions made at the committee:

Items 1-8 were administrative items.

Item 9: City Rail Link
Sir Brian Roche (Chair), Chris Meale (CRL Project Director) and John Williamson (CRL Consultant) from City Rail Link Limited gave an update on the CRL Board establishment, and progress on the project, reporting that all is on time and on budget.

An update was given on the tunnel, digging, and excavation which is well under way and substantially complete for the initial project stages. Traffic and pedestrian management in the early project stages have afforded some insights as to how these might be better managed, which will be acted upon going forward.

Final costings for C3 and C7 – the biggest part of the project – should be known by Q3 next year.

The committee thanked Sir Brian, Mr Meale and Mr Williamson for their presentation.

Item 10
Auckland Council Q1 results.

A presentation on organisational performance was given by David Gurney, Manager for Corporate Performance and Reporting.

Penny Pirrit, Director Regulatory Services, answered questions regarding the delivery of resource consenting.

Item 11
Kevin Ramsay, GM Corporate Finance and Property, and Christine Begbie,Manager Group Accounting & Reporting, presented the Auckland Council Group results for the Q1 quarter which, other than an accounting treatment variance for the CRL, is in line with phased budget.

The committee received the report.

Item 12
Auckland Council received presentations from Watercare and Auckland Transport, as well as Q1 reports from the following council-controlled organisations:

• Watercare Service Limited (Watercare)
• Auckland Transport (AT)
• Auckland Council Investments Limited (ACIL)
• Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development Limited (ATEED)
• Panuku Development Auckland (Panuku)
• Regional Facilities Auckland (RFA).

Watercare presentation
Margaret Devlin (Chair), Raveen Jaduram (CEO), and Brian Monk (CFO) gave a presentation outlining Watercare’s Q1 report. Financial measures were on target.

Watercare has been liaising more with developers to enable understanding with a view to streamlining the building process with regard to water connection and optimising environmental outcomes with regard to wastewater. A number of environmental initiatives are current being trialled, including the use of bugs to convert ammonia into nitrogen.

There is also a public campaign asking the public to resist flushing wet wipes which are causing blockages in the system. These moist wipes are being sold as ‘flushable’, which is not technically incorrect, however they are causing issues in the wastewater treatment system.

The committee thanked Watercare representatives for their presentation.

Auckland Transport presentation
Lester Levy (Chair) and Richard Morris (CFO) from Auckland Transport (AT) gave its Q1 report.

AT reported healthy financials - revenues are up, debts are down. Programme delivery is on track for capital and operating targets. AT is keen to ensure value for money and is constantly at work on ensuring that value for money is maximised.

With regard to road safety, there have been 630 deaths and serious injuries compared to 464 last year - a 37% increase over the same period last year, and with no obvious attributable cause.

The Public Transport Operating Model (PTOM) has proved very successful, with a 37% increase in peak service kilometres, but only 7% cost increase. The Northern Busway usage is also up 7% year on year, taking about another 500 cars off the motorway.

15 new EMUs have been ordered for the rail network due to increased demand. These successes are being attributed to the success of HOP cards as well as progress towards a more user-friendly network.

The committee thanked Lester Levy and Richard Morris for their presentation.

ENDS

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