Tim Robinson: NorthChamber chair on the proposed $4.50 Northland Expressway toll

The NZ Transport Agency has proposed a $4.50 toll on the proposed new highway between Warkworth and Te Hana, and it's proven controversial.

AA has called on the Government to lower the proposed toll price for the first stage of the Northland Expressway.

NorthChamber chair Tim Robinson says this is going to bring a significant benefit to the region economically, and the toll is fair.

"Those of us here in Northland, we've been crying out for the opportunity to grow our economy and create the right environment for our kids and our grandkids - to be able to choose to live and work and play here." 

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Would you pay four dollars fifty to save ten minutes
on your commute? That is the proposed cost for the
new Northland Highway toll between Walkworth and to Huna. The option,
the alternative you have, of course, is you can use
the old State Highway for free. Now the AA says
the toll is too high for residents. It would like
to see that amount lowered. Tim Robinson is the chairperson
for Far North for North Chamber Rather and it's with us.

Speaker 2 (00:21):
Hi, Tim, good evening here. Thanks for having me on here.

Speaker 1 (00:25):
You're more than welcome. Do you think four to fifty
is too expensive?

Speaker 2 (00:28):
Look, I don't be fair. I mean when I think
about the numbers that are being quoted around that, I
suppose the time saving I think are incredibly conservative. When
I think about the Perhoy two to walk With piece
of road that was completed, it saved way more than
the eight or ten minutes that they talked about back then,
because you when you sort of factor in getting through

(00:50):
that Walkworth round about on the six or seven sets
of traffic lights they had by the time that the
road was finally opened, it's safely saved close to half
an hour, even forty minutes of travel time just for
that one stretch alone, and hand on heart, I reckon
it'll be exactly the same for the next stretch of
road that happens as well. So I think, you know
number one, I think the I think the I feel

(01:12):
like the time estimates I think are a low, and
I think when you sort of consider that the benefit
that it's going to bring to the region economically, I
think it's actually pretty fair.

Speaker 1 (01:22):
Okay, but is it fair that you guys are having
to pay a toll of forour dollars fifty and people
using Transmission Gully near Wellington no toll, people using the
Waycato Expressway no toll.

Speaker 2 (01:33):
Look without getting into I guess a deep philosophical debate
about how these things happen. I mean, because the answer
your question, of course, no, it's not fair at all.
But I think that's a that's a separate conversation. I think,
you know, for those of us here in North and Look,
you know, we've been crying out for I guess the
opportunity to I guess, grow our economy and create the
right I guess environment for our kids and our grandkids

(01:56):
to be able to choose to live and work and
play here in their own futures, and we can't have
that without a road that actually unlocks the economic opportunity
for the region. If we sort of look at the
numbers today, I mean, as a region, we're sitting on
about twenty billion annual GDP. The numbers that have been
done by NZIAR actually sort of demonstrate that within by

(02:17):
twenty fifty we could actually be doing sixty billion in GDP.
On the basis of that, what that road will actually
unlock in terms of goods and services getting in and
out never mind, I guess the incidental trade that will
happen through a much better tourist highway that will actually
allow far greater numbers of a free, independent travelers to
get in and out of our region for us. So
I think when you sort of when you look at

(02:39):
it through that lens, I mean, yes, we would love
to see the government and I don't see why they
can't do it retrospectively as introduce tolls into other new
expressways as well, because that would be a great way
to number one, pay for those roads for their ongoing maintenance,
but also to start to provide a bit of a
funding pipeline for other future roads to places such as
hawks By and other places who actually needed is what

(03:00):
we do? Yeah, do you know.

Speaker 1 (03:01):
Actually that is fair? I mean, if you put it
like that, I think people may come on board with
the idea of like a retrospective toll just really quickly.
What about a fifty dollars cap for weekly travel on
these roads.

Speaker 2 (03:12):
So I'm kind of interested in that one because when
I thought about it, and I'd be interested to see
some data on this, I'm not sure how many particularly
you know, families or what I call private travelers are
traveling to and from Auckland that much. You know, I'd
really sort of question that, because again I think we
have the empirical evidence. The freight companies quite happily will

(03:33):
pay them pay whatever the toll is because they've already
they've already agreed that the time saved on travel time alone,
let alone the saving and diesel and tires more than
pays for the additional tolls. So they're quite on board
with this. And I think before I suppose I took
a position on that, I'd really want to know how
many people, how many private travelers are actually traveling that often.

(03:54):
I mean, even people who maybe live up here and
work in Auckland. That's one return trip a week. I'm
not quite sure if the numbers hold true.

Speaker 1 (04:02):
Yeah, fair enough, Tim, Thanks very much for talking to us. Appreciated.
It's Tim Robinson, chairperson of North Chamber. For more from
Hither Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to news talks.

Speaker 2 (04:11):
It'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio