Greens Kaikoura Rail Campaign Breaches Party’s Own Mantra
MEDIA RELEASE
Green Party Kaikoura Rail Campaign
Breaches Party’s Own Mantra
27
NOVEMBER 2016
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The
Taxpayers’ Union is calling out a Green Party online petition calling for the
Government to “commit to funding rail rebuild” as
precisely the dangerous political rhetoric taxpayers should
fear.
Last week the Taxpayers’ Union called on
rail and roading links to be examined with equal measure
as transport officials examine options in rebuilding
transport corridors in the upper South Island damaged in the
Kaikoura earthquake.
"Effectively what the Greens are
calling for is another blank cheque for rail,” says
Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director, Jordan Williams. "The
petition is inconsistent with comments in August by Green Transport
Spokesperson, Julie Anne Genter, calling for rail funding to
be treated in the same way as roads in the land transport
funding system."
"The situation post-quake is that it is
even more important that every dollar of infrastructure
money is put to best use. Contrary to the Green Party’s
claim that the Taxpayers’ Union is ‘pressuring the
Government not to rebuild the rail line’, we want an
objective examination of putting the money in better roads
vis à vis replacing the rail line - precisely what the
Greens wanted when it suited them.”
“The Greens often
justify their faith in rail on environmental grounds. But if
not replacing the rail connection to Picton means
inter-island ferries return to Littleton, emissions will
almost certainly be reduced in comparison to returning the
freight to rail. We'd be mad to spend billions bailing out
Kiwirail yet again, for a transport result which is worse
for the
environment.”
ENDS