Rt Hon Winston Peters
New Zealand First Leader
Member of Parliament for Northland
27 MAY 2016

Budget 2016: Govt Outed Allowing Kiwirail to Die a Lingering Death

The government’s real intentions for KiwiRail can be seen in the Budget 2016 which dooms much of the national rail network to closure, says New Zealand First Leader and Northland MP Rt Hon Winston Peters.

“Whilst boasting $4 billion of expenditure on rail since becoming the government much of that has gone to the big urban centres and regional rail has received a pittance.

“Under the 2016 Budget $190.2 million of capital funding is all the national freight network is going to get in a limited two-year package.

“Despite the Prime Minister’s denials the government, by its actions, clearly wants support reduced further.

“Road transporters have been huge contributors to the National Party coffers. They have National’s ear and they are getting their pound of flesh.

“The writing’s on the wall – the government is letting KiwiRail die a lingering death.

“The road trucking industry does not pay for the billions of public spending that goes into new motorways.

“The roads that industry uses form a massive subsidy.
“Yet the government promotes the fiction that rail is heavily subsidised and is a taxpayer burden.

“Abandoning rail is an absolute no brainer and gives the lie to Messrs Key, Joyce and Bridges worthless assurances. Worse, they can’t even be honest about it.

“Rail needs to be treated the same way as the road infrastructure and given the necessary levels of transport funding,” Mr Peters says.
ENDS

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