John Key: Greens' influence adding to Aucklanders' impatience

COMMENT

The Auckland business community needs no reminding that economic growth in our city is being held hostage to a problem they are powerless to fix. Day after day our transport network, designed for the population and economic base of the 1960s, groans to a crippling standstill, bringing with it a colossal price tag.

It is estimated that Auckland's transport problems cost over $1 billion in lost economic activity annually, so it's hardly surprising major employers are threatening to pack up and move to Australia.

For four years, Aucklanders have waited patiently for the Government's solution; needless to say there was more than a passing interest when the Land Transport Management Bill was reported back to Parliament this week, with the clear intention it will be passed into law before Christmas.

But does the bill live up to any of the promises made by the Government to fix the problem? Not according to business leaders it doesn't. Business New Zealand calls the bill "a red light for road users", the Employers and Manufacturers Association says the bill is "almost hopeless", Auckland City Council says "it's only half the toolbox", the AA says the "overall effect will be bad news for the majority of New Zealanders", and the Road Transport Forum says that "it is disgraceful that the Government is putting a bill through Parliament deliberately designed to increase the extent to which they can fleece road users and waste money simply to buy the support of the Greens".

You would be excused for thinking the political stakes in getting the bill right wouldn't be lost on this Labour Government. After all, John Banks demonstrated the power of the ballot box two years ago when he swept to victory after a campaign focusing on the issues of roads, roads and roads.

But the bill won't solve our city's transport problems. Why not? For starters, the bill, known in Wellington as "The Green Dream", has been significantly influenced by Greens co-leader and avid car hater Jeanette Fitzsimons. Only weeks before the bill was introduced to Parliament, Fitzsimons was promoting her own solution - the Road Traffic Reduction Bill, which promoted the modern equivalent of car-less days. She is opposed to building more roads, even if they have been planned since 1963.

Fitzsimons, who doesn't even live in Auckland, says our city's problems will be solved with more trains, buses, bikes and skateboards. That might work in the uninhabited countryside of Coromandel, but last year Aucklanders undertook 925 million journeys, 875 million of them by car. Factor in a growing population (in numbers and affluence) and urban sprawl and it doesn't take long to realise that a completed road network would shorten the average commute for most Aucklanders.

So how does the bill stack up? It starts by substituting "economic efficiency" (a core requirement of the existing act) with that laudable green term "environmental sustainability" - admirable, but tricky to achieve when building roads.

Next the bill plans to siphon off roading revenues - petrol tax and road-user charges - to develop cycle ways, walkways and coastal shipping.

It ignores the present situation where over half the road taxes are already siphoned off for all manner of Government expenditure, with the exception of building and maintaining roads! There is, of course, a delicious irony that some of these roading taxes may be invested in the so-called Cullen Superannuation Fund. This plans to shunt 85 per cent of its assets overseas to be invested in infrastructure projects such as building better roads in other countries.

Then there's another problem. After hundreds of submissions, from community advocates and business groups, you would expect the bill to address the already tortuous consultation process. So you may be dismayed to learn that not only has the process been extended, but flaky, new-age terms such as "widespread community support" will be required before some toll roads can be considered. The problem is, not even Ministry of Transport officials can define "widespread", nor what comprises a community. If someone plans to use the proposed Orewa to Puhoi motorway to visit their holiday batch at Omaha, are they part of the "affected community"? The ministry simply doesn't know.

The greatest disappointment of all, however, lies in the clause that, in principle, allows the development of Public Private Partnerships (toll roads) to solve Auckland's transport dilemma. Instead of a strong message welcoming the private sector's innovation, commitment and capital, it's a piece of prescriptive mumbo jumbo likely to deter even the most ardent investors.

So, what should we do? One thing's certain; Auckland will continue to grow, bringing more cars and even more congestion. And let's not kid ourselves; we need the growth to get the country's economy moving - already New Zealand has slipped down the international wealth ladder, making us much poorer than Australia, when we used to be the rich relation.

Any solution revolves around three core issues: approval, funding and structure. Over the past six months, the Government has tried to tackle these core issues through the Resource Management Amendment Bill, the Local Government Act and now the Land Transport Management Bill. It has failed miserably.

The Government may understand the problem, but it has neither the will nor commitment to fix it.

That's hardly surprising when it depends on the Greens, New Zealand's naysayers to progress and prosperity.

The Government needs to realise Aucklanders are fed up with traffic jams and long commutes, they are sick of party politics and nebulous coalition deals. We need practical solutions to solve the traffic jams and endless hours wasted on congested roads. After four years of waiting, this doesn't seem an impossible request.

* John Key MP is National's spokesman on communications.