7. NIKKI KAYE (National—Auckland Central) Link to this
to the Minister of Transport
What steps is the Government taking to improve Auckland transport planning and delivery?
Hon STEVEN JOYCE (Minister of Transport) Link to this
Yesterday I confirmed, as part of the Auckland governance reforms, the establishment of a new Auckland Transport Agency to focus on delivering transport projects and services across Auckland. The single Auckland Transport Agency will replace the nine separate entities that currently govern Auckland transport, and will be responsible for all local authority transport delivery functions in Auckland, including local roads and public transport. The new agency will be responsible for an annual budget in excess of $1 billion.
Rolling the multiple current entities into one transport agency will provide the focus and continuity of decision making required to deliver a transport network that supports Auckland’s growth and economic success into the future. The Auckland Transport Agency and the new Auckland Council will work closely on urban and transport planning, meaning that they will identify areas of population growth in the city and design improvements to transport infrastructure to support those growth areas in an integrated way.
It will be structured as a quality delivery agency, to be overseen by the new Auckland Council. The Auckland Council will set the strategic direction, appoint the board—which will include up to two councillors—provide planning and guidance, and determine the levels of regionally sourced funding. The new agency will undertake the sequencing of projects, tendering, and the procurement of operational decisions. It will work closely with, and be partly modelled on, the New Zealand Transport Agency, which operates at a national level.
Hon Darren Hughes Link to this
Why on earth do we need a new agency in Auckland, given that the Minister is so brilliant that the last plan for Auckland, which would have delivered rail-track electrification, electric railcars and rolling stock, integrated ticketing, and the very important Penlink road, was disregarded by the Minister, even though all the projects had been costed and funded? Now, thanks to him, all those projects are delayed. That is his brilliance at work!
If the member looks, he will find that all those projects are going ahead. It is, of course, possible and, indeed, perhaps necessary for a Government to do more than one thing at once, and that includes developing the projects and organising the governance. The important thing for the member to understand is that, going forward, we need to have a strong, integrated process between the council and transport in Auckland. It is not enough for local body people in Auckland simply to announce they want a project here and a project there, without any consideration of the overall plan to develop the big city.
Mr SPEAKER
Jeanette Fitzsimons Link to this
Are there any Auckland motorway projects that he has announced must keep within their initial budget allocation, even if that means they cannot be completed; if not, why has he imposed that condition on Auckland’s rail electrification and the railcars to run on it?