New Zealand First says it would scrap tolls on Route K.
New Zealand First says it would scrap tolls on Route K
Tauranga City Council will have $62.5 million of debt wiped from its books thanks to a NZ Transport Agency promise to take on ownership of Route K.
Councillors yesterday signed off on an NZTA proposal to make Route K a state highway and take on all but $1m of the $63.5m debt currently held by the council.
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters and local candidate Cr Clayton Mitchell, who had earlier pledged to shift the debt to the Government if elected, welcomed the announcement but vowed to take it a step further by having the tolls removed from the bypass.
The agreement would see NZTA make a payment of $62.5m to Tauranga City Council on June 30 next year at which time they will take over the debt, the ownership, the maintenance and the tolling. Tauranga City Council will be left with $1m to pay off through rates across a number of years.
NZTA's Waikato Bay of Plenty regional director Harry Wilson said the decision meant the agency would be able to commit to electronically tolling Route K and the Tauranga Eastern Link together.
Tauranga mayor Stuart Crosby welcomed the announcement which he said was the culmination of about five years of discussions and work with the NZTA. "This is a great day for the ratepayers of Tauranga, the motoring public and sub-regional economic development."
The reduction in debt would likely see the council's credit rating upgraded from A+ to AA-.
NZ First candidate Cr Mitchell had been campaigning on the promise of getting rid of the Route K debt and the tolls and welcomed the news but said he was 100 per cent committed to getting rid of the tolls.
Mr Mitchell said it was no coincidence the announcement had been made weeks before the election.
"I find it ironic that after all this hard work five years of slog to get to that point that within five weeks of making it a pledge by Winston and myself it's gone away," he said.
Mr Peters said it showed that NZ First was already having a positive influence coming into the election.
Tauranga MP and National Party candidate Simon Bridges said he expected ratepayers to benefit from the announcement.
"The council had a very significant financial burden removed by the Government so it is incumbent on it to ensure the ratepayers feel the gain from it," he said.
He said NZ First's campaign promise played no part in the decision and said it was based on legal advice given to the agency.
National had spent $700m on infrastructure in Tauranga since 2008 and that figure would be almost $1 billion by the time the Tauranga Eastern Link was finished and ownership of Route K taken over, he said.
Removing or retaining tolls would be a decision for NZTA.
Yesterday's decision is subject to Cabinet approval.