Transport plan hits speed wobbles

Cr Bill Shepherd

The Government was nearly sent another message that Northland is feeling rebellious before the chairman's casting vote saw the Regional Land Transport Plan adopted.

Yesterday Northland Regional Council members debated whether to hold back the six-year, billion dollar wishlist and template for roading priorities as a protest - objecting to funding restraints, prior commitments and tight planning timelines imposed by central Government when it came to compiling the Regional Land Transport Plan (RLTP) 2015-2021.

It was adopted only through chairman Bill Shepherd's casting vote.

The plan has been a year in the making, with input from all the region's local government authorities, and has gone through public submissions. It has to be in New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) hands by the end of April or Northland could miss out on this year's funding round, chief executive Malcolm Nicolson said.

But several councillors said that despite the hard work and local democratic processes involved, the plan amounted to little more than an acceptance of the Government's "status quo" attitude to Northland's needs.

Eighty per cent of available roading funding for the next three years, nationwide, has already been allocated to projects prioritised at central level.

Despite Northland's $1 billion-plus roading needs in that period, most of which is tagged for state highways projects funded wholly by NZTA, the RLTP did not address the region's biggest problems, such as unsealed roading, heavy industry traffic and dust issues, Far North Te Hiku ward Monty Knight said.

"It's appropriate given the byelection result that we keep letting the Government know we're not happy about their treatment of Northland," he said.

Dover Samuels agreed: "It's about time this council stood up and was heard."

When Joe Carr suggested that by holding back the plan, Northland would send a "mean ripple" to Wellington, Craig Brown pointed out that in the past regional delegations had successfully lobbied the Government. They could work together and do so again, he said.

"To turn down the well-compiled plan in front of us is to risk failing in any of our objectives."

Mr Shepherd said regional and central government representatives needed to keep talking about the issues

David Sinclair, Paul Dimery, Mr Brown and Mr Shepherd voted for the plan to be adopted as it is. Graeme Ramsey, Mr Knight, Mr Samuels and Mr Carr voted to hold it back.