ARC uneasy on 'picking winners' in the north

The Government was accused yesterday of "picking winners" by promoting a new highway north of Auckland for up to $2 billion while KiwiRail is considering closing its line to Northland.

Auckland Regional Council transport chairwoman Christine Rose said more investment in rail was needed to carry some of the freight load for which the Government is earmarking the proposed dual-carriageway road between Puhoi and Wellsford.

"We have a real concern there is a clear picking of winners in [transport] modes," she told Transport Agency regional director Wayne McDonald at a meeting of her committee.

Her language was reminiscent of criticism of National's Think Big energy projects of the 1970s and 1980s.

Mr McDonald said just 2 per cent of freight between Auckland and Northland was carried by rail, compared with 67 per cent by road and 31 per cent by coastal shipping, most of which is fuel from Marsden Pt.

He said with KiwiRail considering closing or mothballing its Northland line by 2012 unless "anchor customers" emerged in the meantime, the importance of the new road for serving the region's freight needs would increase.

The North Auckland line is one of four which KiwiRail is reviewing as part of its $4.6 billion "turnaround plan", into which the Government will pump $750 million over three years.

But councillors passed a resolution of concern about the cost implications of "state highway duplication, especially in the absence of a cost-benefit analysis and cost of capital considerations compared with other modes".

Mr McDonald said the project was still in its initial consultation stage for selecting a route, and a cost-benefit analysis would follow as part of a full scheme assessment.

Council strategy and planning chairman Paul Walbran said although Auckland should consider ways by which it could support Northland, given that region's large areas of economic deprivation, is was unclear whether the new road was the answer.

"I note that Mr McDonald has got the order to do it and work out the costs and benefits later," he said.

But he thanked the agency director for supporting the regional growth management strategy by deciding that the only two access points to the new highway north of Orewa should be at Warkworth and Wellsford.