Barry Soper: ZB senior political correspondent on Minister Simeon Brown unveiling new direction for transport

The Government's earmarked an extra $32.9 billion as part of its new National Land Transport Plan for the next three years.

The plan includes $5.5 billion for pothole prevention and $7 billion for state highway improvements.

ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says Auckland motorists will see the full benefits of this scheme - but there's less funding for walkers and cyclers.  

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Barriso Per, senior political correspondence with us now Berry.

Speaker 2 (00:02):
Hello, good afternoon, Heather.

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Looks like Auckland's the big winner with this land transport plan.

Speaker 2 (00:07):
Yet, well it seems so, and I heard you say
earlier hither that we've heard a lot of talking about transport.
Now we'd like to see spades in the ground and
some of the stuff being started. And it doesn't happen overnight.
We know that, I mean, the big bug bear I
think for motorists around New Zealand has always been potholes

(00:28):
and the damage that they can do to cars. Well,
they're getting five and a half billion over three years
while maintenance and operations of state highways and local roads
which are jointly funded by councils. Incidentally, they get almost
five billion dollars state highway improvements. They are going to
be very much to the four seven billion dollars public

(00:52):
transport services, which is I guess more city in the
cities and infrastructure they'll be increase from five billion dollars
to six and a half billion, So they're spending a
lot more money. The only downside, I guess if you
like to walk and cycle around the place, the funding

(01:12):
for that has been halved from a billion to under
five hundred million dollars in this latest plan. So the
last plan, when you look at construction of new roads
that was six point six billion, that's been increased to
eight point three billion. And the current plan, so more
money is being spent. Now we want to see the

(01:33):
work started.

Speaker 1 (01:34):
Yeah, I see he's had a massive crack of cycle
ways and speed bumps. Do you hear that?

Speaker 2 (01:38):
Yes, yeah, exactly, Well speed bumps. You know we've heard
how much councils spend on them, which is patently ridiculous.

Speaker 1 (01:47):
Did you have a look at what's going on in
Wellington Bury. I don't know if you've seen this, but
quite an interesting little development in the Reading Cinema deal.

Speaker 2 (01:54):
Oh well, look, is there anything that goes smooth and
Wellington when it comes to the city council. Now you'll
be aware that, in fact, the council had voted in
favor essentially of buying the land under Reading Cinemas, which
is on Courtney Place, a very prominent part of the place,

(02:17):
and then allowing the cinema to spend a bit more
money on doing up the place. Magg it earthquake proof. Well,
apparently somebody leaked information of that and the allegation was
that after they voted in favor of it, a Councilor
Tony Randall said he was going to publicly release details
about that particular aspect, and that allegation was made by

(02:42):
the Deputy Mayor Lourie foon Well. The claim was based
on an account given by Tory Fanale's chief of staff,
Nardine Walker. And you may remember her hither at Parliament.
She was the Green Party Press secretary at Parliament. I
think she may have been actually I don't know about married,

(03:04):
but certainly they were partners. I think Linda Clark, the
lawyer formerly a journalist, was called in and the rappayers
spent forty three thousand dollars on inquiring into the leak
and what was going on at the council and they
really haven't got any further ahead. You've got now counselors
licking their wounds saying that this simply isn't good enough.

(03:25):
And the point that has been made that the public
can see just how badly this council is being run.
Now the councilor Young she said it improves their allegation
that the Code of conduct inquiry, and that was Linda
Clark's inquiry was a political attack by the Greens, costing
the equivalent of the average of annual rates of fifty

(03:49):
homes in Wellington. You'd have to say, though, you know,
really Tory far how she's come out supporting staff saying
that they should feel empowered to raise concerns or complaints,
But honestly, is it the staff's job?

Speaker 1 (04:03):
Very very good point. Hey, listen, thank you very much,
really appreciated this very sober senior political correspond

Speaker 2 (04:08):
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