FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Competing Interests Wage Typical Auckland Tug Of War

15 March 2007

"Competing interests waging a tug of war on the Mangere Bridge duplication project is typical", agrees NZ Council for Infrastructure Development Chief Executive Stephen Selwood. " We CAN do better. The stimying effect Auckland interests and transport entities have on transport planning is the number one reason Aucklanders deserve governance and planning reform."

Transit NZ are aiming to complete the top priority project in time for the Rugby World Cup in 2011.

But up to ten public agencies will have to align in order to reach a decision. These would include Transit NZ itself, the Auckland Regional Council, Manukau City Council, Auckland City Council, the Auckland Regional Transport Authority, Ontrack, Land Transport New Zealand and most likely the Ministers of Transport and Finance andther government Ministries. All with their divergent viewpoints.

"Assuming all the public agencies can find common ground on their bones of contention, their collective view will then need to be reconciled with the divergent views of the various communities affected. Onehunga town centre and Mangere Village at the very least and those interested parties like the Volcanic Cones Society, the Campaign for Better Transport, environmentalists and business groups - all before a commitment to proceed is made.

"It pays to remember that increasing the capacity of the Mangere Bridge is just one component of completion of the Western Ring Route from Manukau to Albany. A project which also requires the timely construction of the $1 billion plus Waterview connection", adds Selwood.

"Major infrastructure projects always require difficult trade offs. But our complex administrative process makes it impossible to make effective decisions on key infrastructure projects. Yes infrastructure is the foundation on which a city thrives. Infrastructure needs are becoming more pressing by the day. We can no longer afford tortuous decision making processes.

"Ahead of more substantive local body and transport governance reform, it's time for the Government to take a leadership role and set up a task force. A task force of relevant public agencies to ensure this critical transport link, and the projects that wait in the wings with it, are completed to maximum advantage in the shortest possible time."

ENDS

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