Wednesday 8 September 2004

Waste Management NZ Ltd Managing Director Backs Action Hobson's Approach

The Managing Director of New Zealand's largest waste management and resource recovery service provider has publicly backed Action Hobson's approach to inner-city transport reform in newspaper advertisements to run in local newspapers today.

Kim Ellis, Managing Director of Waste Management NZ Ltd and a founding member of the New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development, said today he was pleased to see the new political ticket promoting longer-term solutions to Auckland's traffic woes.

"Waste Management is a major road user with more than 120 trucks on Auckland's roads and, like many other transport companies, congestion costs us dearly through lost time and fuel," Mr Ellis said. "We need a solution to the city's transport failures that will be sustainable for future generations of Aucklanders.

"We don't believe this will come from spending billions of dollars of scarce capital to accommodate more traffic. In fact, the experts seem agreed that a motorway through the eastern corridor will inevitably be gridlocked from the day it is completed.

"The solution that future generations will appreciate, will come from us all accepting that we must reduce vehicle traffic in congested areas. That includes our trucks from Waste Management, the port company's trucks, private cars and anyone else who uses the road transport system.

"We at Waste Management are keen to work with anyone, including Action Hobson, who will commit to that outcome."

Christine Caughey, an Action Hobson candidate for Council, said Action Hobson was thrilled a leading business figure such as Kim Ellis was prepared to offer such public support.

"Action Hobson is about our environment, our heritage and our community, but it is also about making Auckland a better place to do business," she said. "We have strong business representation on our ticket, and we are offering a platform that is better for business - big, medium or small - than that offered by Citizens & Ratepayers."

Christine Caughey said it had been estimated that Auckland's shambolic transport system costs the New Zealand economy in excess of one billion dollars a year.

"The current administration's 'roads-first' approach risks only making that worse," she said. "If we are to retain and attract business and investment to our city, we need to fix our transport woes once and for all, and only a serious commitment to Rapid Transit Solutions will do that."

Action Hobson is the new community political vehicle, opposed to the planned Eastern Motorway and in favour of Rapid Transit Solutions to Auckland's traffic woes. It is offering a full ticket, standing for the three Hobson ward seats on the Auckland City Council and the six seats on the Hobson Community Board.

The Action Hobson advertisement featuring Kim Ellis will run today in the East & Bays Courier and the Central Leader.

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