King: National's Maurice Williamson shows bare-faced cheek

National's transport spokesman Maurice Williamson is showing "bare-faced cheek" in critisising the announcement of the Newmarket Viaduct project as "too little, too late," Transport Minister Annette King said today.

"This is the Rip Van Winkle of the transport sector, the man who, through all his years as Transport Minister in the last National Government, hardly completed an access ramp in an outlying suburb.

"He even admitted in a public forum that he found it impossible as a National Minister of Transport to get any funding for roads out of a National Government.

"While he has been sleeping, however, Labour has started or completed the following major projects in Auckland:

• Central Motorway Junction stages one and two
• Northern Busway
• ALPURT B2 Northern Gateway
• Manukau Harbour Crossing
• Mount Roskill extension
• Greenhithe deviation
• Duplication of the Upper Harbour crossing
• Manukau Extension
• Ramp signalling on the entire motorway network
• DART (developing Auckland's rail transport) programme.

"Today Prime Minister Helen Clark also announced the $195 million Newmarket Viaduct project which is going to be started ahead of schedule.

"Maurice Williamson, who has been muzzled on transport issues for the past six weeks since he said New Zealanders would be prepared to pay $50 a week for tolls, refuses to say how National will fund any roading or rail projects. His party voted against regional fuel taxes. They also voted against the dedication of all petrol tax, road user charges and motor vehicle licensing fees to land transport projects. The only vague idea National seems to have is to borrow.''

Ms King says Auckland cannot trust National to produce the world-class transport infrastructure that Auckland needs and which Labour is now funding.

ENDS

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