National’s transport infrastructure package is just the first part of the Delivering Infrastructure theme of its Plan to Get New Zealand Working. Today initial announcements focus on the Upper North Island with announcements planned for across the rest of the country.
What projects are part of National’s Upper North Island Infrastructure Package?
National’s Plan would see the connections for Upper North Island built and upgraded from Whangarei to Tauranga.
Projects include:
Connecting the upper North Island
• Building an expressway between Warkworth and Wellsford.
• Building the Hamilton Southern Links project.
• Building the Cambridge to Piarere extension of the Waikato expressway.
• Upgrading State Highway 29 to an expressway between Piarere and the Kaimai
Range.
• Upgrading State Highway 2 between Tauranga to Katikati, including the Tauranga
Northern Link.
• Upgrading State Highway 1 between Ruakaka to Wellsford (including a tunnel under the Brynderwyn Hills).
• Upgrading the State Highway 29 route from Tauranga to the Kaimai Range including a tunnel through the range.
Building Auckland
• Constructing a Fourth Main Rail Line in addition to the Third Main Line.
• Constructing the East West Link.
• Delivering Bus Rapid Transit from Onehunga to the CBD.
• Building Northwest Bus Rapid Transit.
• Building the Puhinui to Airport Rail Link.
• Building rail from Onehunga to Auckland Airport.
• Electrifying the rail line to Pokeno in Waikato.
• Adding a diesel rail shuttle to Huapai.
• Starting work on the Second Waitemata Harbour Crossing.
• Adding funding to upgrade Auckland’s Ferry Network.
• Introducing additional funding for Auckland Local Board priorities.
• Investigating electrification of rail to Kumeu.
• Investigating rail between Avondale and Southdown.
This is a Plan that will connect the upper North Island, create jobs, support growth and allow for greater opportunities between Whangarei and Tauranga.
How much does National’s transport infrastructure package cost?
Over the next ten years National will spend $31 billion on additional transport projects across New Zealand. Of this, $17.5 billion will be on additional transport projects in the upper North Island. This includes $12.8 billion for Auckland and $4.7 billion for the remainder of the upper North Island.
What is National’s new ‘intergenerational approach’ to transport funding?
National is proposing a major change to transport funding to allow significantly more investment in infrastructure to create jobs and support growth across the country.
The intergenerational approach will let the New Zealand Transport Agency borrow
significantly more on its own balance sheet, using the $4 billion annual revenue from fuel tax and road user charges, to service the debt.
This would allow transport funding to operate on an intergenerational basis rather than year-to-year. The current approach is like a household trying to buy a house without a mortgage and does not make sense.
Our change allows NZTA to borrow $1 billion per year for ten years to fund our massive new investment in transport infrastructure.
This allows us to properly develop a pipeline of projects around the country and invest ahead of time rather than after an investment is needed.
How is National paying for this package?
We will use National’s intergenerational approach to increase the capacity of the NZTA to fund projects.
National will also restore state highway funding within the National Land Transport
Fund, reallocating from the funding cut by the current Labour Government.
Finally, National will allocate funding from the Covid-19 Response & Recovery Fund, unallocated New Zealand Upgrade Programme funding and future capital allowances.
Will National increase fuel taxes?
No. National will not increase fuel taxes in our first term and will repeal the Auckland Regional Fuel Tax in our first 100 days in office – delivering savings of $150 million per year into Aucklanders’ back pockets.
When will work begin on these projects?
National will begin work immediately on delivering transport projects to benefit New Zealand from Northland to Southland.
The last three years have seen transport projects stall across the country as funding was cut from the state highway budget, projects were paused, re-evaluated and cancelled, and other projects had to wait in line for a light rail programme that never eventuated.
The Upper North Island package will see work beginning to prepare for construction through the decade. Projects that will begin within the decade include the Fourth Main Rail Line, Cambridge to Piarere, the East West Link, rail between Huapai and Swanson, City to Onehunga Bus Rapid Transit, Electrification of rail to Pokeno, the Warkworth to Wellsford upgrade, Northwest Bus Rapid Transit, Tauranga to Katikati upgrade, the Puhinui to Airport Rail Link, and the Piarere to Kaimai Range upgrade.
Work will also begin in the Second Waitemata Harbour Crossing within the first decade
