Northland Must Speak with One Voice On Infrastructure Projects

Major infrastructure decisions to be made over the next four months by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters will determine Northland’s economic prosperity for the next hundred years, the Mayors of the Far North, Whangarei and Kaipara said today.

“This year, 2020, is Northland’s year, and Northland must speak with one voice,” the Far North’s John Carter, Whangarei’s Sheryl Mai and Kaipara’s Jason Smith said as they launched Kia Kaha Northland, a campaign for Northlanders to say yes to five major projects that will connect Northland to Auckland and the world and transform the regional and national economy.

An initial video will appear on around 300,000 Facebook and other social media accounts today to alert Northlanders and other New Zealanders to the Kia Kaha Northland campaign.

“We need all Northlanders to support Kia Kaha Northland by liking it or following it on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, or by emailing, calling or writing to the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and our local electorate and list MPs,” the Mayors said.

“A unique set of economic and political circumstances has put all five projects high on the Labour-NZ First Coalition’s agenda all at once, with the combination of all five being massively greater than the sum of their parts. We have strongly welcomed last week’s historic announcements by Ms Ardern and Mr Peters about funding towards new road and rail links to Port Marsden.”

But the Mayors said the projects were by no means assured. For example, while the Prime Minister announced on 9 December 2019 that the car and container port in Auckland’s CBD will close, her Government has not yet decided where it will go.

“All the people of Te Tai Tokerau must tell the Government, the National Party and all of Parliament that we want all five projects to start now,” they said.

“It would be a complete failure by this generation of Northlanders and a betrayal of all our mokopuna to let this opportunity be lost.”

The five projects Kia Kaha Northland is campaigning for are:

· A $240 million dry dock to enable ships from New Zealand and Australia to be serviced and repaired in Whangarei rather than have to make the long trip to Asia
· A new base for the Royal New Zealand Navy to replace that at Auckland’s Devonport
· An expanded Northport to take the cars and containers currently entering New Zealand through the port in the Auckland CBD, and for exports from Northland and elsewhere
· The completion of a four-lane expressway from Whangarei to Auckland, including the planned four-lane highway to Port Marsden
· Fast-tracking a double-tracked rail line from West Auckland to Whangarei, including the planned spur to Port Marsden

The Mayors said the campaign sought a win-win-win for Northland, Auckland and New Zealand.

“Too often, Wellington bureaucrats have behaved as if New Zealand ends somewhere just north of Albany, with Northland missing out on the infrastructure necessary for Te Tai Tokerau to reach its full potential,” they said.

“That has meant parts of our region continue to lag behind the rest of New Zealand on important economic and social indicators, creating an additional cost to taxpayers throughout the country in welfare benefits and other support.

“This campaign is about Northland reaching its full potential to create wealth for all the people of Te Tai Tokerau and New Zealand.”

The Mayors are launching Kia Kaha Northland as private individuals but the campaign will belong to all those who like it on Facebook or became otherwise involved. The initial video and Facebook advertising launch is being funded by private donations with further fundraising to occur in the weeks ahead. Donations can be made to 12-3126-0259126-00. Donations to this account will be used entirely for the purchase of additional social media advertising and not used for any administrative overhead.

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