One Good Thing About Transport Package

New Zealand First has welcomed the belated awakening by the Government to the fact that New Zealand has a major transport infrastructure problem but slates the solution and the delay.

“Unfortunately they have not seized the moment and have come up with a plan that satisfies no-one,” said deputy leader and transport spokesman Peter Brown.

“There is a large government surplus. The government is not spending all it currently collects from the motorist. Transfund has $225m unspent and even Transit has a $36m surplus in its State Highways budget. The obvious starting point is to commit what is currently available.

“Some of the surplus funds could be used to service the borrowing that would enable the development of the necessary infrastructure in a reasonable time frame. Years of neglect has brought New Zealand to a point where a continued piecemeal approach and petrol taxes and road user charges cannot and should not be the first port of call,” said Mr. Brown.

“Constant charges on the motorist and the transport industry simply add to costs of production and to the cost of living and are both business and consumer unfriendly. These latest increases are neither justified nor economically soundly based.

“The government has failed to provide either a vision or a creative long term solution. Frankly it has missed the bus, and so will the rest of us as a result,” said Mr. Brown.

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