National promises to build more roads

8.00am

National leader Don Brash has promised to complete Auckland's roading network within 10 years of his party coming to power.

He has promised a rewrite of the Resource Management Act within nine months of being elected to power so that more roads can be built faster.

Tolling and private financing of roads would be facilitated under a National government.

National would set up a new agency to manage all parts of the public transport system in metropolitan Auckland.

Dr Brash has also said money on rail would only be spent when that was proved more cost-effective than other options.

In a speech to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, Dr Brash said the Automobile Association estimated the cost of completing the Auckland roading network over about 10 years to be some $7 billion -- not including several billion needed for capital expenditure on public transport.

Currently about half that figure was in sight when current funding, money from Infrastructure Auckland, and the Government's promise last December of $1.6b spread over 10 years was taken into account.

"... the next National government will ensure that the Auckland corridor network is built within no more than 10 years of our election. That should have been done years ago. We will get the job done," he said.

The real solution to Auckland's traffic congestion lay in "building more roads and doing so without further delay".

There were three major hurdles to overcome if Auckland was to get a decent roading network within a decade, he said.

"First, central government needs to remove the legislative obstacles which currently make getting consents to build any major project a hugely slow and expensive process."

The main factor behind delays in getting consents was the Resource Management Act.

"A National government will introduce a substantive RMA Amendment Bill within three months of being elected to office."

It would limit legal aid for objectors to those who were "immediately, genuinely and personally affected" by an application.

It would provide new mechanisms to prevent "vexatious and frivolous objections".

It would allow for direct referral to the Environment Court, and rewrite parts of the Act that were inconsistent with his party's one law for all race relations policy.

"These changes will be in law within nine months of our being elected to office."

Dr Brash also promised changes to the Land Transport Management Act which placed "strict limits" on private sector participation in building roads, and required Transit New Zealand to consult with iwi about individual road projects and the overall prioritisation of the roading building programme

National would radically change the law within a year of being elected to power, he said.

Dr Brash said a single agency, perhaps called Transport Auckland, needed to be established. It would be responsible for management and control over all parts of the public transport system in metropolitan Auckland.

Its board would be elected using the current electoral college process, widely accepted by Auckland local bodies, augmented with representatives from central government because of the crucial roles Transfund and Transit played in the Auckland roading system.

Transfund would bulk fund Transport Auckland with Auckland's share of central government transport funding -- estimated to be 32 per cent of the total -- and the assets of Infrastructure Auckland and Auckland Regional Transport Network Ltd.

Dr Brash said tolls and congestion pricing could have an enormously beneficial impact on road congestion.

"Over time, we should move away from heavy dependence on property taxes, excise taxes on petrol and road user chargers towards greater use of tolls, which would vary depending on the road and the time of day."

Eventually, there should be scope to reduce both rates and excise taxes on petrol as tolls were introduced "so that the net fiscal effect of introducing tolls in neutral".

New Zealand needed legislation that actively encouraged the private sector to invest in roading either through public/private partnerships, or so-called BOOT schemes where the private sector built, owned and operated roads before finally transferring them back to the government after an agreed period.

Dr Brash said the Government collected about $650 million a year from taxes on petrol over and above what went into roads.

Perhaps some of that revenue should be diverted for a time, he said.

However, right now the constraints were "not financial" -- Transfund ended the last financial year with some $250m in the kitty.

Rather the constraints were in getting the consents needed to start building and getting the decision-making structures right, he said.

Dr Brash also said rail systems were almost certainly a more costly form of public transport than other forms, such as buses.

The next National government would complete rail projects which were already committed but would only spend additional money on the Auckland rail system where that was demonstrably more cost-effective than other options, he said.

Michael Barnett, Auckland Chamber of Commerce chief executive, welcomed Dr Brash's commitment to fixing Auckland's road problems.

"National's promise to divert some of the $650 million of funds raised from road taxes currently going into the consolidated fund back to help faster network completion if and when a money shortage is a problem, is also greatly welcomed," Mr Barnett said.

The commitment to shift the funding of roading from dependence on rates and road taxes towards greater use of tolls is a call that business has been making to Government for the last five years, "but which has fallen on deaf ears".

It was refreshing to hear from a politician who has clearly listened to the concerns of business.

"We will want to ensure that the sense of urgency and timeline to get these changes in place inside a year are honoured," Mr Barnett said.

- NZPA