Baldock welcomes $150m Bay road funding package

United Future’s Tauranga MP, Larry Baldock, has welcomed today’s announcement of a $150 million road-funding package for the Bay of Plenty.

“Since my time on the Tauranga City Council and subsequently as an MP, it has been impressed on me by Local Authorities, Priority One, and the Chamber of Commerce, just how essential it was for Tauranga to complete its strategic roading network within 10 years.

“The work can now be continued with confidence and that is fantastic news for Tauranga and the wider Bay of Plenty,” Mr Baldock, United Future’s transport and local government spokesman, said.

“This has been something I have worked on over the past three years beginning with ensuring that the Land Transport Management legislation would be able to allow tolling where necessary to assist in funding, but today’s announcement just tops that off,” he said.

If you add the 50% contribution already coming from the National Land Transport Fund for the harbour link project as well as other Transit committed projects, Tauranga and the Bay of Plenty is being very well resourced and on a population ratio this compares very well with Auckland's road funding package.

“Some politicians will, of course, still promise to find another several hundred million to avoid any tolls in the area, but given all the pressures on funding from every area of the country I think frankly that is unrealistic.

“This is a tremendous result for the Bay of Plenty, a great team effort by many, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to play my part in it and I thank the Minister for recognising that fact.,” he said.

ENDS

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