Iain Lees-Galloway

Transport Spokesperson

27 June 2013  MEDIA STATEMENT

City rail loop, but at snail’s pace and what cost?

National's obsession with its Roads of National Significance (RONs) still trumps all other transport projects despite its U-turn on the Auckland City Rail Link, Labour's Transport spokesperson Iain Lees-Galloway says.

"It is great to see National finally catching up with Labour with its plans to part fund the Auckland City Rail Link. However the link is still not a Government priority and will not be started until 2020 if National has its way.

"That's because the National Land Transport Fund is over-committed to unaffordable and uneconomic motorways like the Holiday Highway between Puhoi and Wellsford.

“Thanks to National's profligate spending, the cupboard is bare - meaning the rail link is still on the back-burner.

"National also hasn't ruled out borrowing, using a public-private partnership or using money raised from asset sales to fund the rail link. All of those options would make the project more expensive for taxpayers.

"Unlike National, with its blind fixation on highways as the answer to everything, Labour in Government will deliver a coherent transport strategy that supports investment in high quality and high value projects across a range of transport modes.”

ENDS

© Scoop Media